Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 114

< New West Ham United >

With only a few days left until the start of the 2028/29 season,

A surprising piece of news was announced, shocking many fans.

Shay Bellamy was leaving Chelsea to join West Ham.

-[Official] Shay Bellamy Joins West Ham… 4-Year Contract, Teaming Up with Johan

└ For real? Out of the blue!

└ No rumors and suddenly official? What happened?

└ There were rumors about Bellamy leaving since last year, but West Ham suddenly is unexpected.

└ He’s going to a team that *can* play in the Champions League.

└ Man City and Liverpool are also *out* of the Champions League. Bellamy could easily be a starter in any of those teams.

└ It’s because of Johan, lol. He’s afraid of facing Johan; that’s why he went there, lol.

└ Ah, lol.

-Shay Bellamy Reveals Reason for West Ham Transfer: “I Was Afraid of Facing Johan as an Enemy.”

└ Is this real?

└ It really *was* because of Johan, wow.

└ Bellamy got injured by Johan last year, lol.

└ The only player who doesn’t get caught up in Bellamy’s antics, lol.

└ If you can’t beat them, join them.

└ He even won the Euros thanks to Johan.

└ Bellamy, you want to win the Champions League?

West Ham fans were surprised and welcomed Bellamy’s arrival with open arms, as if they had received a surprise gift.

Thinking about it, it was a truly fitting acquisition.

Could there be a better signing than this?

West Ham needed a classy defender anyway.

And if it’s Bellamy, there’s nothing more to say.

As everyone knows, he’s the kind of player you’d hate to face on the opposing team but is the most reliable when he’s on your side.

└ Playing in the Champions League really changes the team’s status…

└ Honestly, as a Hammer [West Ham fan], this is a really unfamiliar sight. Not a transfer from West Ham to Chelsea, but from Chelsea to West Ham…

└ All thanks to Johan.

└ One player can change a club’s status like this.

└ It’ll go even higher when the Ballon d’Or [annual football award] is announced.

As Bellamy himself stated in his introductory press conference, Johan’s presence played a significant role in this transfer.

As one fan said, they’d seen many West Ham players transfer to big clubs, but it was rare for a big club player to transfer to West Ham.

Moreover, it might be the first time a key player in their prime has come.

The fans felt that Bellamy’s transfer had greatly changed West Ham’s status from before, and they thanked Johan once again for making it possible.

In any case, Bellamy’s transfer was very welcome news for West Ham but a significant blow to Chelsea.

Chelsea was already in a disorganized atmosphere after failing to qualify for the Champions League, and with Bellamy’s departure, Chelsea’s prospects for the next season turned red.

However, other big clubs besides Chelsea—that is, teams that could be considered West Ham’s title rivals—were having quite a successful summer.

-Liverpool Signs Sporting’s Left Winger Martinez Lozano… Expected to Form a Duo with Carvalho

-Inter’s Midfield Core Federico Chierni Finally Agrees with Arsenal

-Manchester City, Unable to Win Johan’s Heart, Pivots to Plan B… Acquires Leipzig’s Monster Striker

Each team successfully reinforced their weak positions and prepared for the season.

As a result, this season is expected to be more competitive than ever.

“Yo, Jenkinson! Long time no see!”

“Hey! Am I not visible?”

“Oh, right. Buckley. Good to see you too. I thought your accent was getting better, but it’s back to normal after going home.”

“Long time no see, everyone. It feels like a real training atmosphere now that it’s noisy.”

“Where’s Johan?”

“Have you already forgotten how long it’s been since you saw Johan? Do you think he’ll be on time?”

“I miss him, that’s why.”

A week before the opening, the players who had been called up for the Euros [European Championship] returned to West Ham’s training ground.

Also,

“We haven’t *officially* met, but we’ve all seen each other on the field. Still, I should say hello, right? I’m Shay Bellamy.”

“Boo!”

“Hey. We’re on the same team now. Why are you booing?”

“Yay!”

“Now that we’re on the same team, let’s forget about the old days. Haha!”

Bellamy also joined the training.

“Johan… he’s still not here, is he?”

“Oh. You know him well since you played together on the national team. He’ll be here later.”

Bellamy also greeted his new teammates and then looked for Johan.

“But, I heard he’s become a bit strange?”

“Strange how?”

“They said he’s turned into Capello?”

At the mention of turning into Capello, Capello frowned and pointed at himself.

“…This body?”

“What did you do to the innocent kid, Capello?”

“…I didn’t do anything.”

“But what does it mean to have turned into Capello?”

“I don’t know, either.”

Has Johan changed somehow as he enters the new season?

The players began to wait for Johan even more.

*

“…Why are you here, *hyung* [older brother/male friend]?”

“Like I said back then, I just transferred. Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Yeah, well…”

“What’s wrong? You don’t look too happy?”

“It’s probably not because of you, Bellamy. For him, today is like the first day of school.”

Johan, who appeared at the training ground after a long time, still didn’t look bright.

Literally, the face of a student coming to school after the holidays.

Johan had enjoyed a sweet rest after the Euros.

Sleeping all day, not having to clean his room thanks to the butler.

He literally enjoyed the life of a nobleman and rested intensely as the season was long.

Doing absolutely nothing.

After spending such a heavenly life, he had to come back to the training ground, so his expression couldn’t help but be sulky.

Unlike ordinary soccer players, who should have felt restless after resting that much, Johan hated going to the training ground even more than before.

But, what can he do?

“Hey, kid. Cheer up a bit. You’re happy to see your *hyungs* after a long time, right?”

“Yeah, kid. We’ve been waiting for you for a month.”

“Hey, you missed me too, right?”

“…”

Hmm.

But, by the way.

These *hyungs*, their tone is a bit disrespectful?

“Kid…?”

“Huh?”

“I’m not a kid anymore.”

“Then what are you?”

“Please attach ‘Lord.’ You must now show respect to the nobility.”

“…”

Everyone had an expression between bewildered and embarrassed at Johan’s answer.

But… it’s not exactly wrong, is it?

Everyone knows that Johan received a title.

Everyone had seen it on the news and applauded.

“Th, then. Okay. So, from now on, should we call you Kid Lord?”

“What kind of strange word is that?”

“Then? Should we call you Lord Johan?”

“I’ll make an exception during games.”

“Uh… okay. Thanks.”

Saying thank you, the players were still unsure whether they should be grateful for this.

Johan headed to the locker room with a proud expression, and the players looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“He’s still a kid.”

“He’s still young. I see what they mean by saying he’s turned into Capello.”

“Hey, hey. Let’s try to accommodate him so the kid doesn’t get disappointed.”

“Yeah. Honestly, we’re the guys who have to bark if the kid tells us to.”

“What’s so hard about attaching ‘Lord.’ I can even call him Johan *hyung*.”

That’s right.

How much have they benefited from Johan?

Everyone nods.

Then,

“…Why? What are you looking at?”

The players’ gazes are focused on one side.

It was Capello.

“You too. Got it?”

“Got what?”

“Call him Lord Johan.”

“No, I don’t want to. Why should this body?”

“Tsk. You have to do what Johan says.”

However, Capello shakes his head as if he would never do it.

Show respect to that guy?

No way.

His pride won’t allow it.

“Really? No matter what, you’ll never do it?”

“Of course. Never.”

“Really? Even if Johan makes you the assist king?”

“Hmph. This body is the one who makes him the scoring king, not the other way around.”

“Whatever. Johan will take care of it.”

Well.

We’ll have to wait and see if Capello’s resolve will be broken.

*

“You want me to stand here?”

“Yeah. You know how it is sometimes—when you feel cramped standing in the middle, when you feel like your *hyungs’* passes keep getting blocked in front.”

“Hmm.”

“At times like that, come out to the side like this. What’s important here is that you have to come out to the opposite side of your teammates. If the players are crowded on the right, go to the left, and if they’re crowded on the left, go to the right.”

Full-fledged complete training began only a week before the opening.

The training given to Johan was basically no different from last season in terms of quantity.

What *has* changed is the tactical aspect.

Until now, the only instruction given to Johan was just one thing: Score goals.

That alone was enough.

Johan had fulfilled that instruction more than 100 percent.

Of course, it’s no different in the new season.

However, in detail, *how* to score goals more easily—a guide to that method—has been added.

That is, the movement to break away to the opposite side of the teammates.

Isolation.

In other words, it was a movement to isolate himself.

“Do you understand?”

“Hmm, yes.”

“Actually, I got this idea from your *hyung*.”

“My *hyung*?”

“Yeah. I’m going to lose my job soon because of your *hyung*.”

Coach Jamie said with a chuckle.

Not as a joke, but Rohan became the savior of Coach Schmidt, who had been immersed in worries during the pre-season.

Rohan suggested ideas more passionately than the coaches, and one of them was this voluntary isolation tactic.

“Don’t just talk about it; let’s try it out first.”

“How do I do it?”

“Receive the ball from this side and score a goal.”

“I understand.”

Without further ado, the training proceeds.

Attacking situation.

Johan waits not in the box where he used to be mainly positioned, but on the right side.

Meanwhile, his teammates develop the ball to the left.

Naturally, the defense is concentrated there.

Of course, this is a training situation, but it won’t be different in a real game.

No matter how much Johan is on the right, if the ball is on the left, the defense will have no choice but to lean that way.

And, when this happens,

“Receive it!”

Thud-!

A big switch pass is sent to Johan.

The role of giving that pass is Capello.

Because there is Capello with accurate kicking power,

Swoosh-!

Johan was able to receive the ball before the defense could reorganize.

From here, it’s simple.

Johan just needs to score a goal.

With a 1-on-1 situation already created with the opposing full-back, it was too easy for Johan.

Tap tap tap-!

Johan, who brushed off the defense just by shaking his upper body a few times,

Thud-!

Shot lightly,

Thwack-!

The goal was easily opened.

“Nice. How is it? Isn’t it easier for you too?”

“Well, a little…”

Johan nods at Coach Jamie’s words.

In fact, Johan is a player who can cram goals in no matter where he is.

But, that doesn’t mean he has to score in a difficult way.

If there is an easy way, it is best to go the easy way.

Of course, that was better for Johan too.

“You’ve scored one goal, so only nine more times! Then you can leave immediately!”

“Let’s go quickly.”

The training continues.

Johan went back and forth between the right and left sides and completed the training neatly without a single mistake.

“Okay. Good job.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“See you tomorrow, Johan.”

“…Didn’t you say training was over?”

“Oh, right. See you tomorrow, Lord Johan.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Of course, even after Johan left early, the training continues.

In fact, if this isolation tactic is used too blatantly, the opponent will also take countermeasures.

So what’s important is the attack on the opposite side of the side Johan is breaking away to.

“Bailey!”

“Okay, nice!”

The presence of Bailey, who can be the counterweight on the opposite side, is important.

The more opportunities Johan gets, the more opportunities Bailey will get on the opposite side.

And if Bailey shows a threatening presence in that chance, more space will be created for Johan again.

Simple is best.

It’s a pretty simple pattern, but it will probably be a pattern that is difficult to stop even if you know it.

“Everyone’s going to have a hard time?”

“I know. I can’t guess how many goals he’ll score this season.”

“It’s the first time I’ve ever thought I’m glad I transferred on the first day of training.”

Bellamy sticks out his tongue.

Not as a joke, but he’s glad he transferred.

This season’s Johan has taken on an even more terrifying role.

And, how far West Ham, led by such Johan, can go.

Bellamy was already starting to think that he had made the right decision to transfer.