Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 110

< Euro Finals >

The commentator was right.

Not only did they have to catch up from a score of 0-2, but first, they needed to stop England’s offense.

Considering the remaining time, 0-2 was possible, but 0-3 was highly improbable.

‘Who knows what could happen if we just make it to overtime?’ Viega thought.

England wasn’t exactly in great shape either.

‘I need to pull myself together. Me first…’

Viega thought, looking around at his teammates.

Right now, the problem wasn’t tactics or skill, it was their mentality.

Everyone was not in a normal mental state, and they weren’t performing at their best.

Of course, that included himself.

In the first half, they got caught up in the opponent’s sly plays, and now the atmosphere was down due to the reversed momentum.

Even though the opponent scored an additional goal, they didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping.

Rather, they were coming up aggressively as if trying to end the game right then and there.

‘I have to turn this around.’

Viega thought about what he could do in this situation.

Of course, contributing to the defense as much as possible was a given, but honestly, he didn’t think that would be of much help.

He wasn’t a player strong in defense.

Just having one more person standing in the defensive area wouldn’t be of much help in stopping England’s offense.

“…”

Viega glanced at Johan and thought.

Thinking back to the first half, the game that had been going well according to plan suddenly started to go awry when that guy disrupted the atmosphere of the stadium with his counterattacks.

In other words, instead of awkwardly helping his teammates, he changed the atmosphere by taking advantage of his strengths.

It was the same for him.

What he needed to do now was, of course, attack.

He had to somehow possess the ball and move forward. He couldn’t let the ball circulate in their own territory, in dangerous areas.

He had to get the ball out of there.

That way, the opponent would also back down.

To do that, it wasn’t his teammates who were important, but himself who had to do well.

Just like Johan had shown.

He too had to overcome this situation with his own strength.

If he couldn’t, he wouldn’t deserve to win or receive the Ballon d’Or [an annual football award presented to the best male player].

Because that guy had done it.

England’s pass was cut off in front of the arc.

Spain passed the ball to Viega instead of clearing it, and Viega started to dribble up the field with the single thought of breaking through.

Paah-!

Avoiding the deeply incoming foot,

Tuk, tuk-!

Dodging the roughly rushing guy,

Tatatatat-!

Viega managed to keep the ball and started running towards the front.

Viega’s ability to escape from that narrow space, especially among the England players, was truly remarkable.

It showed why he was the core of Real Madrid and Spain, and why he was a Ballon d’Or candidate.

Viega crossed the halfway line and continued to dribble.

Since most of the players were concentrated in the Spanish territory, England’s rear was wide open.

In the first place, if the first tackle wasn’t successful, this crisis was a natural result.

Three attackers and three defenders.

Viega dribbling the ball, Quintes entering along the right line, and Enrique penetrating diagonally from the left to the center.

Normally, in this situation, Viega would have passed to Quintes on the right.

The England defense seemed to be anticipating that, and instead of rushing at Viega with the ball, they took a position to block the passing lane.

But at this moment, Viega couldn’t trust Quintes.

‘I have to do it.’

Instead of passing to the right, Viega ran into the left space that Enrique had opened up.

And when he reached near the box, the moment the opposing defender stuck to him.

Bbeoeoeoeoeong-!

Viega took a left-footed shot.

Kudangtang-!

After taking the shot, Viega rolled on the ground.

He had no choice but to fall because he took a shot with his weight on it while running at full speed.

Viega, who rolled once on the ground, looked up at the goalpost.

“…”

The ball was in the goalkeeper’s arms.

Viega lowered his head.

He could hear Enrique and Quintes saying something over there.

They must be asking why he didn’t pass.

“…”

Viega didn’t answer and returned to his own territory with his head down.

As he did, he thought.

The reason he didn’t pass was because he thought he had to take responsibility for everything.

But, was that really the reason?

Viega asked himself.

He hesitated to answer.

“…”

Johan’s figure came into view in the distance.

Yeah.

Let’s be honest.

The reason he didn’t pass wasn’t because he was worried about his teammates.

It was because he didn’t want to lose to that guy.

The reason he thought he had to do it was not because that was the only way to turn the game around, but perhaps.

It might have been because he didn’t want to be overshadowed by that guy.

Viega realized a little late.

He wasn’t a player who could do everything alone like that guy.

The reason he was able to come this far was because he made good use of his teammates.

“Hoo.”

At this point, Viega thought that today’s game would be difficult.

Perhaps if Viega’s counterattack had led to a goal, the game atmosphere might have flowed into chaos again.

However, Viega’s choice, which ultimately failed, caused Spain’s strength to wane.

The advantages that Spain had been proud of were not visible at all.

In the bleak atmosphere, the Spanish fans, decorated with various cheering tools, Spanish flags, and body paintings, had gloomy expressions.

On the other hand, the England fans were already acting as if they had won, putting their arms around each other and singing cheering songs at the top of their voices, raising the atmosphere.

The clock on the scoreboard, which was getting closer and closer to 90 minutes, was just a countdown.

A countdown announcing England’s first major tournament victory in history.

10 minutes, 9 minutes, 8 minutes, 7 minutes.

With each number decreasing, the atmosphere at Wembley became even hotter.

There’s one thing that goes well with this countdown.

Fireworks.

However, today’s fireworks were a little out of sync.

Usually, fireworks explode with a bang when the count reaches 0, right?

But today’s fireworks, perhaps because of the fans’ desire for the whistle to blow quickly, exploded a little early.

42 minutes into the second half,

It was Johan.

It started from the right.

A switch pass was connected from the left to Johan, who had temporarily moved to the right side.

Johan, who received the pass, dribbled past the opposing left back and center backs one by one.

Just as Danny White and the England defense had expressed difficulty with Quintes’ dribbling that shook them with an unfamiliar rhythm today.

The Spanish defense also couldn’t keep up with Johan’s rhythm at all.

Johan, who single-handedly turned three defenders into scarecrows, shook the net with a powerful right-footed shot, and that literally became fireworks.

“…”

Johan, who scored the goal, naturally stood in front of the cheering crowd as if a riot had broken out.

The crowd raised their hands and repeatedly bowed to Johan.

As if worshiping him.

In this tournament, Johan was the protagonist of the first and last goals.

Euro 2028 was Johan’s tournament without a doubt.

“Beep, beep, beep-!”

“Wowaaaaaaaaaat-!”

The moment the whistle blew to signal the end of the game.

Wembley became the loudest place in the world.

The crowd cheered, the players on the field knelt in place with emotion, and everyone on the England bench poured onto the field.

Everyone was happy at this moment.

However, Johan didn’t even have time to feel joy.

Because of the teammates who were rushing at him from all directions as if to kill him.

“Uwaaaaaa!”

“Hey, you crazy kid!”

“You did it!”

“It would have been difficult without you!”

If Johan hadn’t been of that physique, he might have been crushed to death.

The players rushed at Johan without exception, expressing their gratitude and sharing their joy.

No, it wasn’t just the players.

All the coaching staff, even coach Ranister, were in the middle of it, wailing.

And, in one corner of the distant stands.

There were those who were just as happy as them.

“Kheuheuk… !”

“Don’t… Don’t cry, Dad… Heuk!”

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan were shedding tears of emotion with their bomb-like hair.

They believed.

That the talent of the Ban family was the best in the world.

That Johan would prove it.

“Why are you guys like this, really.”

Kim Ra-hee clicked her tongue as she watched the two acting sentimental.

However, Kim Ra-hee’s eyes were also moist.

“It’s just that our son doesn’t set his mind to it, but he does well when he does.”

Kim Ra-hee, saying the lines of typical parents, took out her cell phone and took a picture of Johan in the distance.

Kim Ra-hee immediately uploaded the photo to SNS [Social Networking Service].

Then, she made a phone call somewhere.

“Yes, Father. Ah, were you watching the game? Our grandson is really amazing, right?”

The most professional of these was Kim Ra-hee.

The reason why the final is good is that there is time to enjoy the afterglow of victory.

After the excitement of the stadium subsided a little, the awards ceremony followed.

The Spanish players, who finished as runners-up, headed to the podium with applause from the England players.

Finishing as runner-up is also good, but no one will be satisfied with the result at this moment.

The players headed to the podium with their heads down and gloomy expressions.

However, even those players raised their heads and shook hands with Johan as they passed in front of him.

Viega was the same.

“Congratulations.”

“You worked hard.”

It is said that the silver medal is less satisfying than the bronze medal.

Because the bronze medal is a medal obtained through victory, but the silver medal is a medal obtained through defeat.

However, Viega felt grateful that he had made it to the final.

If he had fallen in the semi-finals and hadn’t played the game with Johan, he would have felt wronged.

In the event that he failed to win the Ballon d’Or.

However, he felt like he could admit it cleanly now.

This guy was definitely above him.

At least for today, at least for this season.

Next, it was the turn of the England players.

The players took turns putting the shining medals around their necks.

Johan also put a medal around his neck.

“Congratulations.”

“Ah, yes.”

UEFA [Union of European Football Associations] President Anton Schreger, who gave Johan the medal, hugged Johan with an expression that he would die if he was pretty.

Thanks to the new star named Johan, this tournament recorded the highest ever revenue, so it’s natural that he’s beaming.

Not only that, but he is also a star who will be responsible for the success of European football in the future.

After the players and coaching staff put the medals around their necks.

President Anton Schreger handed the heavy Euro trophy to captain Shane Murray.

“Ooooooooo-”

The players stomped their feet and raised the atmosphere.

Murray stomped his feet in unison with his teammates and bent over,

“Yeeeeeeeeee-!”

He shouted and lifted the trophy high.

Peopeopeopeong-!

Fireworks exploding at the same time.

Wembley was filled with a huge roar.