Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 132

“Martin!”

“···”

“Martin!”

“···”

“God damn it, Petrovic!”

“Huh? What?”

“Open your ears! Wake up!”

Barely a few minutes into the game.

Bellamy’s voice already sounded like it was about to give out.

Bellamy, along with goalkeeper Hurrichel, was in charge of controlling the entire defensive line.

Thanks to that, he often had to shout at his teammates, but today he had to raise the decibels even higher.

The Camp Nou was deafening.

~Tot el camp!

The whole stadium!

~És un clam!

Is a cry!

~Som la gent blaugrana!

We are the Blaugrana supporters!

Imagine it.

Today, 90,000 out of the 96,000 people who came to the stadium are home fans.

All 90,000 home fans were shouting Barcelona’s anthem at the top of their lungs.

You could believe it was El Clásico; no, it was even more intense than that.

Naturally, even the voice of a teammate right next to you was hard to hear if you didn’t concentrate.

A game that requires twice the concentration.

But today, Petrovic seemed especially anxious.

In fact, Petrovic had been unusually nervous since yesterday.

He said himself that he had a chicken heart [meaning he gets scared easily].

Anyway, Petrovic wasn’t even hearing Bellamy’s words properly, even though he was the closest.

Communication between defenders is a very important issue.

Because it wasn’t working well, Petrovic kept exposing vulnerable scenes.

And unfortunately, it was on Iago Quintes’ side, Barcelona’s ace.

Tata tat-!

Iago Quintes showing active movement in the early minutes of the first half.

Quintes was moving almost on the sideline, like a classic winger.

Taking a position outside of Petrovic’s field of vision.

This was bound to distract Petrovic, who was already on edge.

He had to check the position of the ball and grasp the movement of Quintes moving behind him, all at the same time.

If he missed Quintes’ position even for a moment,

Faaaaang-!

A lob pass towards the back space comes in like now.

Quintes digs into the short gap where Petrovic’s attention was momentarily loosened.

“I told you to catch him turning around!”

Bellamy swore and ran to cover the defense.

Bellamy had already noticed that Quintes was turning around by looking at the opposing midfielder’s gaze.

So he called it out.

But it seems he didn’t hear it again.

Faaang-

Tata tat-!

Quintes, who caught the pass on the right side of the box, confronts Bellamy, who came in to cover.

Bellamy tensed his body and lowered his center of gravity.

The position of the confrontation is quite bad.

Facing each other with the penalty box line in between.

In this position, the attacker can boldly attempt a dribble breakthrough.

From the attacker’s point of view, it’s a try that costs nothing.

If it works, it’s a jackpot, and if not, it’s likely to lead to a corner kick.

Even if it’s taken away, it’s the opponent’s danger zone, so you can immediately put pressure on them.

On the other hand, from the defender’s point of view, it’s the worst position unless the defense is perfect.

Not only is he broken through, but if he accidentally stretches out his toes, it’s a penalty kick.

Moreover, the opponent is Quintes.

The ultimate dribbler on the ball.

No matter how good Bellamy is, all he can do is take his position and wait.

Tata tat-!

One good thing was that Petrovic was quickly following behind while the confrontation continued.

Petrovic rushes in as if trying to push Quintes into the corner.

But,

Sreureureuk-!

Quintes started dribbling as if he had been waiting for it.

The direction is straight ahead, that is, in the direction of Petrovic who was coming in from the side, not Bellamy.

In that moment of sudden change of direction, Petrovic’s presence rather became an obstacle.

Petrovic, who belatedly ran, was caught off balance, but Bellamy couldn’t get right next to Quintes because of Petrovic.

Inadvertently, Petrovic’s cover became a screen play for Quintes.

Bellamy and Petrovic could only watch Quintes slip away before their eyes.

Tata tat-!

The shooting angle opens for Quintes, who quickly overtook the two.

Ppeoeoeoeong-!

Near the corner of the box, Quintes pulled his left foot without hesitation.

This spot, right where it’s good to curl and shoot while looking at the far post, is called ‘Quintes Zone’ among Barça fans.

So,

The fact that he gave up a shot meant it was already fatal.

Shuuuuuuuuung-

Cheolssseok-!

The moment Quintes’ shot curled greatly and shook West Ham’s goal net.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah-!”

The deafening shouts of 90,000 spectators filled the Camp Nou.

*

The opening goal in the 10th minute of the first half.

After that, Barcelona intensified their attack even more.

The atmosphere of Camp Nou is completely heating up.

Football is a sport of momentum.

When the momentum comes, you win if you catch it, and you lose if you don’t.

That is football.

The Barcelona players seemed to sense that the momentum they had to catch was right now.

They became more daring.

There was no reason to let go of the reins here.

‘This is a big problem.’

Bellamy sighs in that momentum.

This is really a big problem.

You could think that conceding a point itself is not a big deal.

Because Johann is there anyway.

But the problem is that it doesn’t seem like it will end with just one goal.

After conceding a goal, it would have been nice if his teammates had woken up.

Somehow, they seem to be falling into panic more and more.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because it’s the first time everyone is playing in a stadium with this kind of atmosphere.

‘It would be nice if they would at least open their ears.’

His worries deepen.

In fact, it’s true that Bellamy is the core of West Ham’s defense.

Bellamy also lacks experience as a defensive leader.

In Chelsea, Matthias Gustavo was the leader, and in the England national team, there was no need for a separate leader.

The main players of the national team were players who had been working together since the youth national team.

So I didn’t want to blame my teammates.

Anyway, he also lacks the same thing.

If it was Gustavo instead of himself, he might have been able to catch his teammates well somehow.

So now is not the time to blame others.

We need to find a focal point that can somehow overcome this momentum.

What should I do?

Just shouting loudly doesn’t seem like a good answer.

That rather seems to distract them and take away their concentration.

Hoo.

Anyway, since Johann is there, all we have to do is weather this crisis in front of us.

‘Ah.’

That’s right, Johann is there?

Bellamy snapped his fingers.

“Hey! Everyone! Look far! Far away!”

Bellamy’s teammates look at Bellamy at Bellamy’s shout.

When Bellamy points to the front, everyone’s heads turn back again.

Look far away?

“···!”

Ah.

Johann is there.

In an instant, Bellamy’s meaning was conveyed to everyone without saying a word.

There’s no need to think complicatedly.

Let’s not worry about anything else.

Everyone, all you have to do is not miss the guy in front of you and block him.

Then, Johann will take care of it.

The West Ham players grabbed Johann’s hand and relieved some of their tension before entering the field.

But when the game started, they forgot all about it.

Like fools.