Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 142

< Chapter 141 – Forgetting How to Lose >

“That guy doesn’t even get injured…”

“He uses both feet well…”

“His speed is top-tier…”

“His loyalty to the club is unwavering…”

“Granagh?”

“Don’t even mention it.”

That day, Manchester City fans could only watch with envy as the 90 minutes ticked by.

Compared to Johan, Granagh seemed to have nothing but flaws in their eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t that Granagh was worse than Johan in every single aspect.

Granagh certainly had his strengths.

He was more proactive than Johan, more energetic, and a diligent attacker who actively pressed opponents from the front.

He was clearly a good player, taking on the responsibility of a striker and trying to finish his own chances whenever possible.

However, in a game like today, his weaknesses were bound to be magnified.

Even his strengths seemed like weaknesses.

There’s a saying that a diligent employee who can’t do their job is more troublesome than a lazy one.

There’s also the saying, ‘doing nothing is better than doing something badly.’

Granagh was constantly moving, frequently caught on camera, but that only served to actively irritate Manchester City fans.

Moreover, Johan on the opposite side scored two goals and led his team to victory.

It was inevitable that the two would be constantly compared.

The game ended 2-0, as predicted.

For Manchester City, it was their first scoreless game of the season.

Also, their first defeat.

It was especially painful to concede it to league leaders West Ham.

With this loss, the gap between the two teams widened to 9 points, and Manchester City suffered the humiliation of falling to 3rd place in the league, below Manchester United.

On the other hand, it was a satisfying game in every way for West Ham fans, the Hammers.

Aside from winning against their biggest rival, Manchester City, and achieving their 14th consecutive win, the players’ interviews after the game resonated deeply with them.

-Jacob Buckley, after a perfect performance, “Manchester City transfer rumors? My mom told me not to go. I’m a mama’s boy.”

-Jonathan Neithan, when asked about Manchester City’s scouting, “My heart only beats twice as fast when I’m wearing the West Ham uniform.”

-When asked if they didn’t want to play for the best team in the world, Buckley and Neithan answered in unison. “We’re already playing with the best player in the world.”

-In this day and age, there’s nothing that money can’t buy, but West Ham had a bond that money couldn’t buy.

-Enchanted by the romance on the field shown by West Ham? Hammers.com membership surges… catching up with the Gunners [Arsenal] ?

-New Hammers.com subscribers revealed to be mostly Manchester United fans… “United is one.”

The word ‘tradition’ commonly used in football isn’t really anything special.

This is what tradition is.

The current West Ham was a club steeped in tradition.

…

“How are the dishes? Do they suit your taste?”

“Yes. They’re really delicious.”

“Your son’s mother’s cooking skills are as outstanding as his football skills.”

“Ma, my taste buds are overwhelmed.”

“It’s much better than British food.”

Johan’s house was bustling today.

The day after the game against Manchester City.

Several players visited Johan’s house.

They were invited to dinner.

The four who were invited today were Neithan, Buckley, Harry Kane, and Capello.

It was a somewhat unusual combination.

They demonstrated close teamwork on the training ground and on the field, but in reality, this was a group that rarely socialized in private.

Neithan was known for being boring, and Buckley was avoided because everyone said their ears would hurt from his constant chatter.

Kane didn’t have much free time because he spent most of it with his family, and Capello preferred to stay home rather than hang out with dimwitted guys.

It was Kim Ra-hee who brought those four together today.

She wanted to feed the hardworking players a good meal.

“You two, eat a lot of this. This is called 낙지 (nakji) [small octopus], and in Korea, there’s a saying that even a dying cow will get up if you feed it 낙지 (nakji). It’s that good for your body.”

“Really?”

“···!”

Buckley and Neithan had made a strong impression on Kim Ra-hee in the game against Manchester City.

She was very impressed with how tirelessly they ran around.

She wanted to give them nutritious food so they would continue to work hard in the future.

“Please take good care of our Johan in the future.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

Kane was invited because Johan answered that Kane took the best care of him when asked who took the best care of him on the team.

Seeing Kane exploring every corner of the house with a delighted face, Johan gave him a look that said he shouldn’t have answered Kane, but it was too late.

Anyway.

Kane had been smiling brightly since earlier.

“How can you guys have such good teamwork with Johan? Were you a couple in a past life?”

“Ha, haha…”

Capello, with an awkwardly smiling unfamiliar appearance, was Kim Ra-hee’s personal pick.

The reason was simple.

Because he was the player who recorded the most assists for Johan.

Capello, who was usually aloof, was now as polite as a little kid meeting his friend’s parents.

“Wow, I feel like I’m already getting stronger after eating this.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I know why Johan is so strong. He grew up eating this stuff!”

“Haha.”

The players were enjoying their meal.

The meal today was Korean food.

It was an unfamiliar diet for the players, but they all took a bite and were eating it like crazy.

Honestly, British food isn’t exactly world-renowned for its deliciousness.

Everyone’s eyes were bound to light up.

Kim Ra-hee looked at the players eating deliciously with a pleased expression, and Ban Seok-ho and Rohan, who wore West Ham uniforms because they were coming, also smiled with satisfaction.

Only Johan had an anxious look on his face because of the rapidly decreasing food.

“By the way, aren’t you guys having a hard time? Playing with our lazy maknae [youngest member].”

“Oh, ma’am. How can you say that.”

“It’s an honor for us.”

“That’s right. We have to play hard when we’re playing with the best player in the world. There are players lining up to play with Johan. Aren’t we lucky?”

“Hey, but hard is hard. If it’s too hard sometimes, shout it out. Hey! Run a little! Like this.”

“Haha! Can we do that?”

Everyone laughed at Kim Ra-hee’s words.

But,

Neithan was serious.

“Ma’am. To be serious, we’re all benefiting a lot from Johan. It’s no exaggeration to say that we can be playing on this team because of Johan. Johan is that great of a player.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course. Johan is the best in the world. However, I’m not the best in the world, so I’m just running hard.”

Kim Ra-hee stroked Johan’s head as if she was proud of Neithan’s words.

“But, this is what I think. I don’t know much about football, but after all, this is a team sport. How can he be the best alone? If he’s the best, then the player next to him is also the best. And the player next to him too. Otherwise, how can you play as a team? Don’t you think so, honey?”

“Correct.”

“So, you guys are all the best in the world.”

Everyone looked unexpectedly moved by Kim Ra-hee’s words.

Especially Capello.

‘Righteous parents…!’

Indeed, these people are different.

They have an eye for things.

The seat next to the best in the world can only be occupied by the same best in the world.

Of course.

“Anyway, please help our Johan a lot in the future. Johan, you help your hyungs [older brothers/seniors] a lot too.”

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

“Yes.”

A warm atmosphere filled the dinner table.

As they faced each other, ate together, and shared affection, everyone felt like they had become one family.

…

West Ham’s opponent in the league’s 15th round, having overcome a major hurdle called Manchester City, was Newcastle United.

Newcastle was a team that was lagging behind in 12th place in the league this season.

In terms of objective strength, they didn’t seem like a very difficult team for West Ham.

However, the variable was that players who had consumed a lot of stamina in the Manchester City game were left out of the starting lineup.

Jacob Buckley and Jonathan Neithan, these two took a rest.

How great the benefits these two bring to the team were well revealed in the Manchester City game.

Newcastle, aiming for the fact that these two were missing, rushed in as if to devour West Ham with their energy.

However,

Unfortunately, Newcastle’s attempt ended in failure.

Neithan and Buckley were missing, but West Ham still had Johan.

Moreover, Johan, who had heard the news that he would be resting in the next game, was eager to perform.

After the Newcastle game, West Ham’s schedule included the last game of the Champions League group stage, against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

West Ham, having won the previous 5th game against Malmö, had already secured 1st place in the group.

In the midst of an already busy schedule, West Ham didn’t need to put effort into the Paris game, where winning or losing was meaningless, so Johan was scheduled to rest in that game.

So, Johan was rather in a hurry.

Since he wouldn’t be playing in the next game, he was thinking of earning enough credit for next week in this game.

So, Newcastle was unlucky.

Paris and Barcelona were badly beaten by West Ham for no particular reason in previous matches, and now Newcastle was beaten to a pulp on a rainy day.

Johan recorded 4 goals and 1 assist, smashing Newcastle.

With Johan’s carry, the team won 5-1, showing the monstrous power of recording 15 consecutive wins in the league alone.

*

As expected, West Ham took it easy in the game against Paris.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, all players who had been warned in the previous game were excluded from the list, and West Ham rested all other key players who needed stamina management.

On the other hand, Paris went all out.

The game that day was one where the result could be predicted to some extent just by looking at the starting lineups of both teams.

The score was 0-2.

It was West Ham’s first defeat this season.

Of course, it was a defeat that didn’t matter at all.

Rather, it was a defeat that resolved the strange anxiety that had been felt while only winning.

Well, if you call this mental victory, I have nothing to say, but it was really like that.

After cleanly losing one game, I felt relieved.

It was more like a good thing.

Group E

1st place West Ham Utd 5 wins 0 draws 1 loss 15 points

2nd place Paris Saint-Germain 3 wins 2 draws 1 loss 11 points

3rd place Barcelona 2 wins 2 draws 2 losses 8 points

4th place Malmö FF 0 wins 0 draws 6 losses 0 points

At the time of the first group draw, Group E, which seemed difficult to advance to the tournament, turned out to be quite manageable.

However, when the results were revealed, West Ham recorded an overwhelming 1st place.

Taking 1st place in the Champions League group stage was a significant advantage.

Because in the round of 16 draw, the 1st place team in each group will meet the 2nd place team in another group.

After all the games in each group were over and the rankings were confirmed,

the teams that West Ham could meet in the round of 16 were as follows.

-Juventus FC (2nd place in Group A)

-AFC Ajax (2nd place in Group B)

-Borussia Dortmund (2nd place in Group C)

-Villarreal CF (2nd place in Group F)

-Inter Milan (2nd place in Group G)

-Sporting CP (2nd place in Group H)

It was clear that they were all difficult teams.

However, if there was one team that stood out, it would be Juventus.

Juventus, who happened to be in the same group as Real Madrid and stayed in 2nd place in the group.

However, if Juventus had gone to another group, they had a solid enough strength to take 1st place in the group.

Therefore, if the draw was made avoiding Juventus as much as possible, West Ham would be satisfied.

The draw to determine the round of 16 was held in Switzerland on December 13th.