Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 121

< 121. A Sluggish Genius Striker >

– [Champions League Group Stage 1R] Group E: West Ham 3 : 0 Barcelona… A shocking shutout.

– Johan Van scores a hat trick against Barcelona… A dazzling Champions League debut.

– Is it the era of West Ham Academy rather than La Masia [Barcelona’s famed youth academy]? Tryout competition rate hits all-time high.

There were many big matches in the first week of the Champions League this season.

There was Real Madrid vs. Juventus, Manchester City vs. Dortmund, and Liverpool vs. AC Milan.

However, the match that received the most attention was West Ham’s 3-0 shutout victory over Barcelona.

└Even though it was West Ham’s home, Barcelona lost so listlessly.

└They seemed completely overwhelmed. Barcelona might just be keyboard warriors.

└As a ‘cule’ [a nickname for Barcelona fans], it was a really hard game to watch. West Ham fans were no joke…

└’Cules’, book your home game tickets in advance. Minimize the number of away fans as much as possible.

└It’s Johan as expected. Why drag things out? He destroys everything that gets in the way of leaving work on time.

└What happens to Group E now? It’s getting confusing who will advance.

└I’m betting on Paris and West Ham. You might call me a contrarian, but I think that’s the obvious choice.

└Well, we’ll have to see the Paris vs. West Ham game to know for sure. Paris might get crushed even more.

└But that game is at Paris’ home. It’ll be a bit different.

Premier League fans knew that West Ham’s strength was better than expected.

However, fans of other leagues who don’t watch every Premier League game were bound to be surprised by that match.

They thought of West Ham as just a Johan one-man team.

Besides him, they only knew Capello and Bellamy, that was about it.

However, West Ham’s performance in the Barcelona game was solid overall.

Of course, Johan, who scored a hat trick, stood out the most, but all the other players were also doing their part.

In particular, people were surprised by Schmidt’s tactical capabilities.

Michael Schmidt is a fairly well-known manager in European football, but he’s definitely not a top-tier manager, not someone who deserves the title of ‘master tactician’.

That was until the season before last.

However, he achieved second place in the league and won the FA Cup last season.

And this season, he even beat Barcelona.

Also, the tactics he showed in that game completely overwhelmed Barcelona.

People were paying attention to Schmidt.

Of course, everyone knew that those results and the victory against Barcelona were all possible because of Johan.

However, when the story of Schmidt picking Johan, who was practically an amateur, was revealed, people acknowledged Schmidt’s eye for talent.

In particular, the fact that he was handling the lazy genius Johan well with tricks (?) like training exemptions was also worthy of recognition.

Well, these stories were already known to PL [Premier League] fans, but they were new to fans of other leagues.

Schmidt’s leadership began to receive renewed attention.

Naturally, that interest led to the second round of the group stage, the match between West Ham and Paris.

The biggest strength of Paris Saint-Germain, according to experts, was not the countless star players or the deep squad depth.

It was that Omar Debussy, a prominent French master manager, was leading Paris.

Many experts said that was why Paris was a scary team.

Omar Debussy, who was in his fourth season as the manager of Paris this season.

Debussy, nicknamed the ‘Notebook Prince’ because of his habit of always holding a notebook and writing something throughout the game, had achieved double wins [winning multiple trophies] for three consecutive seasons since taking over Paris.

Of course, winning Ligue 1 [the French premier league] for three consecutive years with a mega-club like Paris might not be that difficult.

However, winning the League Cup, which has many variables, for three consecutive years is definitely proof that Debussy’s capabilities are outstanding.

Debussy was a manager of the outstanding tactician type.

In particular, his greatest strength lies in his flexibility to bring customized tactics depending on the opponent.

He doesn’t stick to Plan A, but can use a variety of tactics.

Therefore, it wasn’t just the fans who were looking forward to the game between Paris and West Ham.

Many football experts and coaches from various teams were also paying attention.

What method would Debussy, the tactician, present to stop Johan?

Wouldn’t Debussy have a method that would make you slap your knee in admiration?

In any case, the game between Paris and West Ham seemed to be one where the battle of wits between the two team managers would be an important highlight.

ㆍㆍㆍ

“Nice! 4 wins in a row! Everton was a bit tricky, but thankfully. Johan only played for 70 minutes. Good job.”

Lohan, sitting in a corner of the stands, cheered quietly.

The 4th round of the league, the game against Everton, had just ended.

The result was a 2-0 victory.

Johan led the victory by recording 1 goal and 1 assist in 70 minutes.

The 4th round was quite worrying because of the aftermath of the game against Barcelona in the middle of the week, and because the opponent, Everton, was also a tricky opponent, but fortunately, they achieved a clean victory.

Thanks to that, they should be able to prepare for the next game against Paris without any problems.

Lohan nodded and put the phone with the broadcast screen in his pocket.

Then, he looked towards the ground.

The game was in full swing on the ground.

“Oh, they’re going with almost a back-three formation when attacking.”

The place where Lohan was sitting was not the London Stadium.

Parc des Princes.

It is the home stadium of Paris Saint-Germain.

Lohan was on a special business trip today with some club front office staff.

It was to watch and observe Paris’ game directly.

Today’s opponent for Paris is Marseille.

Marseille is a decent strong team that finished 3rd in Ligue 1 last season, and the game between the two teams is also a derby match called ‘Le Classique’ [The Classic].

Even if there is a Champions League game in the middle of next week, Paris has no choice but to do its best today.

Thanks to that, today’s game seemed to be a great reference for West Ham.

That’s why Lohan came to see the game in person.

“Shall we take a look…”

Lohan, who had been watching the game for a while, took out a pair of binoculars from his bag.

“Can you see anything?”

“…Hmm. No. I can’t see anything.”

“Haha. There’s no way you could see it.”

“Tch.”

What he was trying to see with the binoculars was the Paris bench.

He was trying to see the notebook of manager Debussy, who was watching the game and writing something today.

He brought it just in case, but there’s no way he could see it.

“That notebook is his main body.”

“Is there any way to steal it?”

“I wonder what he’s writing so much.”

Lohan and the front office staff exchanged jokes.

Lohan, who failed to spy on Debussy’s notebook, soon began to focus on the game again.

“Hmm…”

The flow of the game was actually a bit unexpected.

He thought Paris would be overwhelming, but it wasn’t.

Marseille unexpectedly took an aggressive approach, not focusing on defense, but putting up a fight.

The Paris players seemed to be pushed back by that momentum.

There would be no team in Ligue 1 that could think of fighting Paris head-on.

Because of that, the Paris players would have always played against opponents who were sitting back.

They were used to it, but they seemed flustered when Marseille pressed hard.

“They might be weaker to pressure than expected…”

Lohan watched the game while typing on his laptop.

But, after a while.

“Oh, he tore a page from his notebook.”

“He’s moving right away.”

It was seen that manager Debussy tore off a page from his notebook, on which he had scribbled something, and handed the paper to the coach.

The coach passed it on to Lian Dre, Paris’ midfielder.

After checking the contents of the note, Lian Dre began to gesture to his teammates and adjust their positions.

“Oho.”

“Is something about to change?”

Could Debussy’s note change the flow of the game?

He began to watch the game more closely.

“…”

“…”

After watching the game, Lohan and the front office staff thought.

The game against Paris Saint-Germain.

It didn’t seem easy.

Because the flow of the game changed 180 degrees after Debussy’s note was delivered.

He was definitely an outstanding tactician.

“Manager, you’re going to have to do well…”

Manager Debussy, who runs the game like a fox.

Paris Saint-Germain, led by such manager Debussy.

In this game against Paris, manager Schmidt’s role seemed to be more important than ever.

ㆍㆍㆍ

September 17, 2028.

Parc des Princes.

“Boss. You seem particularly nervous today.”

“Me?”

“Your shoulders must be heavy. You have to have a battle of wits with a master tactician like manager Debussy.”

“Keep messing around. Your position might disappear without anyone knowing.”

“Hey, boss. You know I’m just kidding, right? I’m just trying to relieve your tension. Haha.”

Coach Jamie wipes sweat while massaging manager Schmidt’s shoulders.

Today is the day of the second game of the Champions League group stage, the game against Paris Saint-Germain.

West Ham brought all the best members and crossed the sea to Paris.

“What. Our stadium is better. Aren’t they a rich club?”

“They must not have enough money to build a new stadium.”

“I don’t feel nervous playing in a neighborhood playground.”

“It seems like only the manager is nervous today.”

The players, who were chatting while preparing for the game, said playfully.

Ahead of today’s game, several media outlets cited the tactical battle between the two team managers as a point to watch.

Manager Schmidt, who boasts a long career, and manager Debussy, who is making a name for himself as an innovative tactician.

The one who wins the battle of wits between the two will win the game.

Most media outlets were saying this with that nuance.

One of West Ham’s biggest anxieties is manager Schmidt’s tendency.

– Can manager Schmidt, with his firm Plan A, respond appropriately to manager Debussy’s cunning moves?

– Manager Debussy has already completed his analysis of West Ham… Manager Schmidt’s response is a variable.

– Long career, but lack of experience? Manager Schmidt, who lacks Champions League experience, can he win the tactical battle against Debussy?

To be very honest, the size of manager Schmidt’s reputation in Europe was much smaller than that of manager Debussy.

Clearly, manager Schmidt, who was appointed as the firefighter for the falling West Ham, received quite a lot of expectations from the time of his appointment.

However, that expectation was not to the extent that he could turn West Ham into a team that would be active in the Champions League.

They just wanted him to create a team that could aim for the Europa League.

That’s what manager Schmidt does best.

However, that’s why some are now expressing anxiety.

Manager Schmidt’s specialty is to raise mid- to lower-ranked teams to mid- or upper-ranked teams, not to put top-ranked teams at the top.

The manager’s experience is bound to be important on the big stage.

And, in order for a team to become a top team from the top ranks, the manager’s capabilities are bound to play a very large role.

It’s not for nothing that they say football is a manager’s game.

Football is a sport with many players, 11 players.

Rather, the role of the manager who controls those 11 players is bound to be great.

In that respect, most people were giving manager Debussy a higher score.

Manager Debussy was a manager who had only been in charge of big clubs throughout his career, a manager who wouldn’t be strange to be called a master.

Therefore, people were saying that West Ham’s weakness compared to Paris was manager Schmidt.

Now, on this best stage called the Champions League.

“Let’s unite and show them.”

“Yeah. We have to save our manager’s face.”

“If we don’t do well today, the manager will get criticized. Let’s all pull ourselves together.”

Of course, the West Ham players’ thoughts were completely different.

They trusted manager Schmidt more than anyone else.

No one denied that manager Schmidt’s role was great in getting the team to this point.

Manager Schmidt is the players’ mental pillar.

He is the team’s father.

No son would want to see his father being criticized.

Therefore, while the players seemed particularly motivated today.

“Johan.”

“Yes?”

“Save the manager’s face. There’s no such manager. There aren’t many managers who let you skip training and overlook your lateness.”

“Ah, yes.”

Just before the players went out to the stadium.

Coach Jamie said to Johan.

Johan nodded and headed to the stadium.

“Hey.”

“Ah! Why are you hitting me.”

“Why are you saying such useless things?”

“What’s useless about it?”

Manager Schmidt poked Coach Jamie in the side.

Jamie, that playful guy, really.

“Hmm.”

But, honestly, I’m a little grateful.

Because he said something that I couldn’t bring myself to say.