Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 120

West Ham focused on defense throughout the first half, partly because a draw wouldn’t be a bad result for them.

More importantly, they had faith in their ability to capitalize on their limited attacking opportunities.

‘The space has gotten bigger,’ Daniele Capello thought, scanning the field.

He noticed that Barcelona’s formation had widened considerably.

Was it due to the approaching end of the first half, or simply excitement? Perhaps both.

Barcelona typically maintained a tight, compact formation.

Their spacing is usually excellent, keeping players close enough for short, quick passes. This forces opponents into a relentless game of keep-away, a ‘Rondo hell’ [a training drill where players try to keep the ball away from a small group of defenders in a confined space].

Barcelona was not an opponent against whom you could easily attempt risky forward passes.

But now, things were different.

Passing lanes were opening up.

Not only that…

“···!”

Johann signaled, hand raised, requesting a pass.

There was no reason to refuse him.

BBAAAAAAAAAANG-!

Capello’s long pass soared from left to right, diagonally across the field.

Johann had drifted out to the right flank.

Johann usually dominates aerial duels against center backs, even when double- or triple-teamed.

So, outjumping a relatively short opposing full-back would be easy.

PAAANG-!

He leaped, controlled the descending ball with his foot, and found himself in a one-on-one situation with the full-back.

Tuk, tuk-!

Johann slowly advanced, eyes fixed on his opponent, while Barcelona’s left-back, Rayo Musiela, leaned back, lowering his stance.

‘Good, come on.’

Musiela was determined not to be beaten in this one-on-one.

Barcelona boasted some of the best dribblers in La Liga [the top professional football division of the Spanish football league system].

And he trained against them every day.

His foundation had been laid during his time at La Masia [Barcelona’s youth academy], where a swarm of talented players competed fiercely.

To survive as a defender there, losing a one-on-one was unacceptable.

He had survived and become a regular in Barcelona’s first team.

‘I’ll show you that even your academy’s best would have been average in La Masia.’

Musiela focused intently on Johann’s footwork.

No fancy technique would work against him.

But then, in a flash…

PAAANG-

Ta-ta-ta-tat-!

The ball vanished.

Johann accelerated away.

There were no elaborate tricks.

No dazzling feints, no psychological games.

He simply tapped the ball forward and ran.

Musiela, who had anticipated countless scenarios, was caught off guard by the unexpectedly direct approach.

‘Damn it. I forgot they were simple guys…’

He belatedly tried to recover, but Johann was already inside the box, showing him his back.

He had momentarily forgotten that they favored straightforward soccer over intricate plays.

But Musiela needed to understand something.

Was it that Johann *couldn’t* do fancy things, or that he *didn’t need* to?

Johann simply didn’t have time.

Time for leisurely showboating.

‘7 minutes…’

Musiela shouldn’t feel too disheartened.

Stopping Johann, who was clearly frustrated by the 7 minutes of added time in the first half, would have been a challenge for anyone.

BBAAAAAAAAAANG-!

Johann unleashed a low shot from the right side of the box, aiming for the far post.

The goalkeeper was positioned near the near post, narrowing the angle, but the shot’s trajectory was perfect.

CHWAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Thud-!

The ball pierced the opposite side of the net like a bullet.

“Waaaaaaaaaa-!”

An uncontrollable roar erupted from the London Stadium.

The moment Johann’s first Champions League goal exploded.

“Johannaaaa!”

“You bastard!”

“Woo-hoo-hoo!”

Teammates roared and swarmed around Johann.

West Ham players celebrated inside Barcelona’s box.

“You guys are in big trouble today!”

“···.”

They laughed, teasing the crestfallen Barcelona players.

It seemed they were indeed in big trouble.

As if one goal wasn’t enough to vent his frustration, Johann didn’t seem happy at all.

*

Daring to make Johann work overtime.

The overtime pay that Barcelona had to pay was quite expensive.

With Johann’s goal, the first half ended with West Ham leading 1-0.

And then the second half began.

Barcelona certainly started to play with more urgency.

There were several reasons why they couldn’t afford to lose today’s game.

But beyond that, the players seemed determined to win and return home with their pride intact.

Iago Quintes took on the responsibility of leading the attack.

Quintes, feeling frustrated, dropped deeper to receive the ball and began attempting forward dribbles, searching for a breakthrough.

‘Ballon d’Or [an annual football award presented to the best male player]…’

Quintes had been seething throughout halftime.

The war of words he’d had with the opposing players in the first half had taken a toll.

His pride was wounded.

Frankly, he had no real counter-arguments to their taunts.

The achievements of La Masia’s alumni were undeniable.

But, in any case, those achievements weren’t *theirs*.

No matter how much La Masia emphasizes unity and a shared philosophy, players with the same DNA…

What’s not, isn’t.

They didn’t deserve to boast about it.

Barcelona fans still yearned for the days when La Masia graduates dominated the world.

The era when they conquered Europe with homegrown talent, without relying on external signings.

La Masia’s reputation remained unmatched.

Even West Ham Academy, which was quite renowned in England, couldn’t compare.

But La Masia’s peak output wasn’t the current generation.

Quintes knew that, and he admitted it.

Until now.

But their generation was still in progress.

Quintes had only one goal.

To retire in the future as La Masia’s greatest product.

To be the first name mentioned when people discussed La Masia alumni.

To achieve that, they had to overcome their current challenges.

Those guys and the like.

Becoming La Masia’s greatest product meant becoming the best in the world.

So, they couldn’t afford to show weakness to anyone.

Quintes’ shot narrowly missed the goal.

But there was no time for disappointment.

Goalkeeper Jeff Hurrichel immediately kicked the ball after the ball boy handed it to him.

Shooooooooong-

The ball sailed straight towards Johann.

Defenders swarmed around him.

But…

PAAAAAANG-!

Johann headed the ball back.

The one-touch pass found Joshua Bailey on the left.

Bailey glanced forward and sprinted down the line.

Ta-ta-tat-!

Bailey quickly advanced down the left flank.

Reaching the corner flag, he delivered a simple cross.

Shooooooooong-

The cross headed towards Johann again.

Johann, already inside the penalty box, leaped high to meet the cross.

PAAAAAANG-!

Thud-!

The West Ham Academy duo created a wonderful goal.

They seemed to be saying that if La Masia’s heyday was in the past, West Ham Academy’s heyday was right now.

*

“Hey, you. Say that again like you did before.”

“···.”

“Try it. Your club’s maximum output is the GOAT [Greatest Of All Time], so what are we?”

“Shut up a bit.”

“Oh, are you getting angry? Are you getting angry because you have nothing to say?”

West Ham’s corner kick situation.

While Capello prepared to take the kick, Bellamy was relentlessly taunting his opponent.

He was a truly annoying type.

I wanted to tackle him, but he was the kind of player who could easily draw a red card.

“See you at Camp Nou [Barcelona’s home stadium]. You won’t be able to talk like that then either.”

“Wamma, scary. Hey, but the game isn’t over yet. Shouldn’t you wait before saying that? Have you already given up today?”

He only spoke the truth, making it impossible to win a war of words.

In the end, I had no choice but to respond on the field.

BBAAAAAAAAAANG-!

Capello’s corner kick curved sharply towards the goal, and the players fiercely contested for position.

However, Barcelona might be the strongest with their feet, but they seemed less dominant in the air.

No matter how many players were in the box, there didn’t seem to be anyone who could stop Johann’s header.

PAAAAAANG-!

Johann’s downward header exploded into the net once again.

The goal completely demoralized them.

The stadium erupted in cheers once more, and the Barcelona players sank to their knees.

Something unimaginable before the game had become reality.

It was unacceptable, but it was true.

Today, they were being completely outplayed by their opponent.

And Bellamy kindly emphasized that point again.

“It’s understandable to give up. Sorry, man. You were right.”

Looking at Bellamy, all the Barcelona players could do was promise to see him at Camp Nou.

At that time, they would repay this humiliation twice over.

First of all… today didn’t seem to be their day.

“Yaa! West Ham Academy’s best output! I’m proud! I’m proud of you!”

“Hey, Bellamy. But you’re not from our academy.”

“I know. Why are you proud?”

“Did you get a promise of a coaching course when you signed the contract?”

“···How did you know?”

“Wow, I’m jealous.”

Today was the day West Ham Academy achieved a perfect victory against La Masia.

*

The game ended with that score.

I expected a win, but not this dominant.

West Ham defeated Barcelona and became the second team in Group E to earn 3 points.

“Certainly, those guys are the biggest problem.”

The first team to earn 3 points in Group E was Paris Saint-Germain, who played against Malmö a few hours earlier.

Paris displayed overwhelming force, securing a 7-0 victory.

Winning against Malmö was expected.

Paris coach Omar Debussy watched the West Ham vs. Barcelona game as soon as their game ended.

West Ham was undoubtedly the biggest obstacle in Group E.

When West Ham was drawn into Group E, coach Debussy sighed even more deeply than when Barcelona was drawn.

It’s not for nothing that people called Group E the group of death.

West Ham’s presence made it so competitive that Paris and Barcelona couldn’t be certain of advancing to the round of 16.

And today, West Ham proved their strength by completely defeating Barcelona with an unexpected score.

Coach Debussy knew he had to prepare for the game against West Ham even more thoroughly than the game against Barcelona.

“How should I stop that monster…”

Again, the problem was that guy.

Coach Debussy watched Johann’s Man of the Match (MOM) interview after the game.

The reason for Barcelona’s crushing defeat was, of course, that guy.

How on earth should he stop him?

He considered various methods but couldn’t find a suitable answer.

But coach Debussy, watching the interview, tilted his head.

“You seemed a bit emotional today. Were you stimulated by the Barcelona players’ interviews before the game? I’m talking about the talk about each other’s academies.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. I was a little angry. They were dragging out time. There were 7 minutes of extra time in the first half alone. Thanks to that, I had to be on the ground for 7 more minutes. That was annoying.”

“Ah ha. That’s why you scored a hat trick [scoring three goals in a single match].”

What are you talking about?

He scored a hat trick because he was annoyed that he had to be on the ground for 7 more minutes?

“···.”

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Coach Debussy wrote a memo in his tactical notebook.

-Do not create unnecessary additional time.

He didn’t know why, but it was best to avoid actions that would upset him.