Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 126

< The Golden Ball - Episode 125 >

└????????

└Wow, what is that? It’s Big Ben, lol.

└There was a surprise event like this?

└He came here with the Ballon d’Or?

└Is this live? If I run out now, can I see Johan?

└Awesome, lol! An award ceremony at Big Ben is next level!

└His soccer skills are exploding, lol.

└Look at Johan being so cool. He looks so handsome with his hair done and wearing a suit.

└He was handsome even when he had messy hair and was wearing a uniform?

└Keeeeee! I’m finally seeing this scene! As a Hammer [West Ham fan], I have no regrets even if I die now!

└I’m not a Hammer, but this scene is overwhelming. The Ballon d’Or being presented to an English player at Big Ben.

└Congratulations for today. From Manchester.

└Congratulations from Newcastle!

└From Liverpool too. We congratulated you, so you have to go easy on us when we meet?

└Ballon d’Or winner! Johan Ban! Johan Ban! Johan Ban!

English soccer fans who were watching the live broadcast of the Ballon d’Or ceremony couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was a completely unexpected event.

The Ballon d’Or ceremony at Big Ben.

Fans were a little disappointed after confirming that Johan hadn’t attended the ceremony in France.

Well, even if he didn’t attend, it wouldn’t change the winner.

But they wanted to see an English player lifting the golden ball with their own eyes if possible.

Isn’t that in itself a symbolic scene?

Announcing to the world that an English player has reached the top.

But who knew such an event was hidden.

Again, the Ballon d’Or ceremony at Big Ben.

The fans watching the live broadcast couldn’t control their surging pride.

Of course, the West Ham fans were beyond words.

└A moment to be remembered in history!

└Did you see the West Ham uniform fluttering at Big Ben? ㅜㅜㅜㅜ

└I’m so looking forward to the Tottenham game, lol.

└2028 Ballon d’Or winner Johan Ban (17 years old, West Ham United)

└A Ballon d’Or winner from our team!

└Info) Only 4 teams in the Premier League have produced a Ballon d’Or winner. One of them is West Ham United.

Hammers.com exploded.

The traffic was so heavy that the page wouldn’t load properly.

Anyway, the whole of England was enjoying this moment.

“···”

“···”

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan were silently watching Johan’s appearance.

Their emotions at this moment couldn’t be the same as other fans.

It was more complex.

As a West Ham fan, as a soccer player, and as family.

The two, intricately intertwined with Johan, couldn’t help but be deeply moved.

This moment has come.

They had been sure that Johan would receive the Ballon d’Or since the end of the Euros, or even since the end of the season.

But actually witnessing it with their own eyes was a different feeling.

“He looks good. I’m so glad both my sons inherited my good looks.”

Only Kim Ra-hee was fully expressing her joy.

-You have become the youngest and only teenager to ever win the Ballon d’Or. Let’s hear a brief acceptance speech from the winner.

Johan’s acceptance speech followed.

Everyone swallowed hard and began to focus as if they were being sucked into the TV.

Tension filled the living room.

The reason they were nervous was simple.

“Okay, you just received the award. They ask you to say a few words. What would you say?”

“Acceptance speech? Um… well, thank you. Ballon d’Or.”

“Not ‘Bal-dong-ror.’ It’s ‘Ballon d’Or.'”

“I know. My tongue just twisted.”

“Anyway, say more.”

“More…? Um… I got the award, so I’ll be on my way?”

“···.”

Johan’s acceptance speech was so terrible that his family had to write a script for him.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to include an expression of gratitude to West Ham?”

“Oh, that’s right. Then, it would be good to add a sentence after that.”

“We should also include thanks to parents, brother, grandfather, and grandmother.”

“Of course.”

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan were excited and wrote the script as if they were receiving the award themselves.

And Johan, who received the script, rubbed his forehead.

“How am I supposed to memorize all of this?”

“You’ll memorize it quickly. It’s not that much.”

“Sigh…”

Johan sighed, but he memorized the script anyway.

Now, it was his turn to say it as he had memorized it.

With his family holding their breath, Johan, who received the microphone, opened his mouth.

-First of all, I feel infinite honor for receiving the Ballon d’Or. It is a very proud moment. However, I don’t think I am receiving this award alone.

“That’s right!”

“Good job, our son!”

Unlike their worries, Johan calmly continued his acceptance speech, and his family nodded vigorously.

-Thank you to my family who gave me excellent soccer DNA and raised me with love. And to my West Ham teammates, coaches, and manager who have been playing together and winning. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today. This award is given to me by you. Thank you.

It took a little time to think each time he said a sentence, but Johan managed to complete his long acceptance speech smoothly.

“See, he’s the kind of guy who does it if he tries.”

“If he had studied, he would have done well too.”

His family breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with pride.

But,

“Huh?”

Johan’s speech didn’t end there.

Clearly, the script they wrote ended there, but Johan continued to speak.

-I will receive this award again next year. This season, I will do everything I couldn’t do last season. I will win all the championship trophies. Then, I can receive this award again, right? That’s how it will be.

Johan spoke with confidence.

Watching Johan, his family opened their mouths.

“That’s cooler? Did we write it for nothing?”

Rohan scratched his head, and Ban Seok-ho and Kim Ra-hee applauded with all their hearts.

*

“Oh, yeah. It’s been a while. You saw it too? Thanks. Okay.”

“Uh-huh, Su-jin’s mom. The Ballon d’Or is like the Nobel Prize of the soccer world. I know! Can you believe it.”

“Hey, we have the real Ballon d’Or at our house. Isn’t it amazing?”

After the awards ceremony.

The family was busy with the flood of congratulatory calls from everywhere.

It seemed to be a hot topic in Korea as well.

It was only natural.

After all, the son of a former South Korean national team player had won the Ballon d’Or.

“Oh my. Even guys who haven’t contacted me for 10 years are calling.”

Ban Seok-ho said as if he was fed up with the calls from Korea, but on the one hand, he was proud and relieved.

Those who used to say things like whether he thought he could succeed if he went to England, whether he thought he could play for the national team, were now calling and texting, saying they were proud and knew it would happen.

They’re probably wondering if they can get some crumbs.

Some had already started talking about wanting to invite him to Korea.

Of course, there were also people who were purely proud of him.

He was sorry and grateful to those people.

But seeing the names that still made him shudder groveling was a satisfying thing.

What? Invite him to Korea?

Would he go?

“Johan’s display case has become fancier than Dad’s.”

“I know. It’s a little embarrassing.”

Even as he said that, Ban Seok-ho looked at the display case filled with Johan’s trophies with a proud face.

The golden ball that had just been placed on the top shelf of the display case.

Looking at it, he felt like he wouldn’t have to eat to feel full.

To think this day would come.

The Ballon d’Or was sitting right there in the living room.

Today was a truly special night.

“By the way, he said he was going to change his clothes and come out, but why hasn’t he come out of his room?”

“Is he sleeping?”

“No way. Wake him up if he’s sleeping. He has to wash his hair before he sleeps.”

“Hey, Johan! Mom said to wash your hair before you sleep!”

“Tell him to brush his teeth too.”

Perhaps it was just an ordinary day for the award winner himself.

ㆍㆍㆍ

“It’s a dirty world where only attackers are recognized.”

“Then you should have been an attacker.”

“Do you think this body didn’t do it because I couldn’t? I just liked being a trequartista [a creative offensive player who operates between the midfield and the forwards] more than a striker.”

“Capello, you have to be jealous in a situation where you can be jealous. You didn’t even make it into the top 20.”

“That’s why it doesn’t make sense! There are so many problems with this Ballon d’Or!”

“He really lives in his own world.”

“Haha!”

The players laughed because of Capello, who was full of complaints.

Today was the day of the league round 6 match against Tottenham.

The players who gathered in the locker room were, as expected, talking about the Ballon d’Or.

Everyone congratulated Johan, but only Capello refused to congratulate him.

He said he couldn’t accept the results of this Ballon d’Or vote.

“No, Capello. What ranking did you think you would get?”

“…I should have been in the top 5.”

“Top 5…?”

“Puhahahahaha!”

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Hey! You didn’t even make it into the top 20, what top 5 are you talking about.”

“Capello, where’s your conscience?”

In this Ballon d’Or, Capello was ranked 27th.

His performance for Fiorentina and West Ham last season.

And his performance up to the Euro semi-finals was highly praised.

But that ranking was not at all satisfactory for Capello.

“The 27th-ranked guy can’t recognize the winner Johan? Isn’t this complete insubordination?”

“27th-ranked…? You didn’t even make it into the rankings! Don’t talk below my ranking!”

“Uh-huh. Capello, my younger brother. This older brother is here, but your voice is too loud? If you’re going to rank by Ballon d’Or ranking, you have to be polite to this older brother first.”

“…Keuk!”

Capello clenched his fists as if he was angry at Shay Bellamy’s words.

That sight makes them laugh again.

Bellamy was highly praised for being the main player in the Euro victory and was ranked 19th.

A whopping 8 places higher than Capello.

According to Bellamy’s expression, it’s a difference that you can’t even make eye contact with.

“Wow, but our team has really gotten stronger. Until two years ago, the Ballon d’Or was a story that had nothing to do with us.”

“I know. There are three guys on the team who are in the rankings.”

“We’re so lucky to have Johan. If it wasn’t for Johan, our academy graduates wouldn’t have been able to spread their wings.”

“Well, if Johan wasn’t here in the first place, those guys wouldn’t have come here either. Isn’t that right, Capello? You came here because you wanted to pass to Johan.”

“…What?”

“That’s right. You came because you like Johan.”

“I came because I like him, what…? I just wanted to play with a guy who was at my level.”

“Hey. The ranking difference is too big to say that the levels are the same.”

“The vote was wrong!”

The players burst into laughter again as they watched Capello tremble.

“By the way, it’ll be worth watching.”

“What will?”

“Later, the Tottenham guys’ expressions. If Johan lifts the Ballon d’Or in front of them, their expressions will be worth seeing.”

“I’m already looking forward to it.”

The players rubbed their hands together, eager to get out to the stadium as soon as possible.

They had never looked forward to derby day as much as today.

They wanted to brag in front of the rootless Tottenham guys as soon as possible.

*

-Prior to the start of the match, spectators in the stands are kindly requested to rise from their seats for a moment. Please prepare to commemorate the most special moment for our club.

At the announcer’s announcement, all the spectators who came to the London Stadium stand up from their seats.

Today, the 66,000-seat stadium was packed.

A slightly unusual point is that almost 90 percent of those 66,000 people are home fans.

There were hardly any Tottenham away fans.

Even though it’s an away game, it’s next door, so you should normally be able to see quite a few Tottenham fans.

However, today, there was an event that they obviously didn’t want to see.

Tottenham fans gave up on watching the game in person.

~Ooh-! Ooh-! Vanny!

~Dash like a Vanny! Ooh-! Ooh-!

Johan’s cheer song begins to fill the London Stadium.

Soon, the players’ entrance begins.

-Please welcome our pride with a big round of applause!

A thunderous applause erupted.

The players and Johan appear to receive the applause.

In the passage where the players enter, Johan’s Ballon d’Or was placed.

The players glanced at the Ballon d’Or with its radiant figure as they passed by.

-The best player our club has produced has become the best player in the world! Please congratulate him once again with a big round of applause! Ballon d’Or winner! Johan Ban!

At the announcer’s words, Johan stood in front of the players and spectators with the Ballon d’Or in his hand.

And he held up the Ballon d’Or in all directions.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap-!

A standing ovation poured out even louder.

66,000 spectators, all teammates, and coaching staff began to applaud only for Johan.

With a very emotional expression.

A historic and monumental moment.

Everyone celebrated the moment Johan brought the Ballon d’Or to the London Stadium with applause.

And, in the meantime.

‘Sigh. Today’s fucked [screwed].’

The Tottenham players, who were making expressions like scarecrows, were sighing deeply.