Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 154

< Episode 153 – Special Assistant >

“Was Juventus always like this?”

“Like what?”

“Were they always this chatty?”

Gordon clicked his tongue, scrolling through his phone during the break.

The Juventus match was just around the corner.

West Ham had no connection to Juventus.

They weren’t in the same league, and this was their first time meeting in a European competition.

The last time they played was over 10 years ago, and that was just a friendly match.

There was no rivalry, no connection whatsoever.

But, leading up to the game, the Juventus players were constantly running their mouths.

Saying things like an asteroid was mixed in with the stars, questioning whether London Stadium could host a Champions League game, and what was it? They thought it was the Europa League?

“They’ve always been like that. What else would you expect from a team called the Mafia? They’re just thugs.”

Capello said cynically.

Capello was particularly targeted by Juventus.

The reason, of course, was because the transfer link with Juventus had fallen through.

It was ridiculous.

Capello had never officially, or unofficially, said he would go to Juventus.

Of course, Juventus was a dream club for all Italian players.

But, did that mean all Italian players had to go to Juventus if they called?

Capello, who belonged to Fiorentina, had always had a strong desire to beat Juventus whenever they met.

“Wow, you’re getting roasted.”

“I don’t care what those soccer ignoramuses say.”

“You say you don’t care, but you’re paying a lot of attention, aren’t you?”

“Me?”

“It’s obvious, man. Why else would you increase your personal training time?”

“···”

What Gordon said was true.

He was paying a lot of attention.

Honestly, it would be strange if he didn’t care.

└It’s funny that they were going to bring Capello when they already had Bolerovic.

└Going to West Ham was a good choice for Capello. He got a starting spot without any competition. If he had gone to Juve, it would have taken him 2-3 years to get a starting spot.

└Starting in 3 years? No way. He was always a backup player.

└He’s a player suited for a mid-sized club like West Ham.

└The only world-class player on West Ham is Johan. It’s laughable to see people say Capello is good.

└He’s just not a helpful style for the team. All the assists he got in the league were thanks to Johan. None of his stats are meaningful.

Even if he tried not to care, how could he not be angry when he was being unfairly criticized like this?

Capello remembered clearly.

When he was playing for Fiorentina, and when he performed well against Juventus.

What the Juve fans had said.

They were all telling him to come to Juve.

Saying he could become an ace right away if he came to Juve, that they wouldn’t have to worry about the midfield for 10 years, that he could become a club legend.

It was absurd that the people who had praised him so much were now saying something different.

And it wasn’t like his performance had been poor since coming to West Ham.

Not at all.

This season alone, he had played in 20 league games and already recorded 14 assists.

He was, of course, the sole leader in assists.

His average match rating was also 7.71, second in the team.

Saying he was second in the team might make it sound like he was just decent, but he was 5th in the entire league.

It was just that there was a monster in the team who was overwhelmingly in first place.

Well, he couldn’t complain since he was the assist king thanks to that monster.

In any case, Capello was receiving even more attention than before thanks to his performance at West Ham.

From the Premier League, as well as big clubs all over Europe.

There were no officially announced stories, but Bayern Munich and Manchester City had approached him.

In this situation, Capello could confidently call the Juventus fans’ attacks ‘unfair criticism’.

“I’m going to shut their mouths with this game.”

“Good idea. It won’t be easy though.”

“It won’t be easy?”

Capello smirked.

“I already have a good plan.”

“A good plan? What is it?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“You don’t need to know? If it’s a secret to beat Juventus, we should all know it.”

“I said you don’t need to know.”

A way to beat Juventus and stop their unfair criticism.

Capello already knew how.

“Hey.”

“?”

“That, what is it.”

“What is it?”

“Open your locker.”

At Capello’s words, Johan tilted his head and opened his locker.

Soon, Johan’s eyes widened.

There was a famous brand donut box inside the locker.

When he opened it, oh my god.

It was a donut covered in Nutella.

“But, why is this here?”

“That’s, well.”

Capello scratched his head and hesitated.

When Johan asked again, Capello sighed and said.

“I found it on the way.”

“You found this on the way and put it in here?”

“You like that, don’t you.”

“I can’t get enough of it. But why this···?”

“Hoo. I have a favor to ask.”

“What favor?”

Capello scratched the back of his head as if his pride was hurt.

“Can you help me just once in this Juventus game?”

“With what?”

“I want to score a goal.”

Johan made a dumbfounded expression at the request that was difficult to make.

As if to say, why are you asking for something so easy with such difficulty.

“But, why suddenly?”

“I’ve helped you a lot so far.”

“That’s true, but I thought there might be another reason.”

“Those Juventus guys, those guys who don’t even know soccer, are looking down on me. I can’t stand it.”

It wasn’t a reason he could particularly understand, but Johan shrugged and nodded.

It wasn’t difficult.

“Okay.”

“······Thanks.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard you say thank you.”

“That’s it. The main point is over.”

Capello was very happy inside, but he answered curtly.

Johan shrugged again, and Capello began to organize his locker.

Then, suddenly.

Capello had a question and asked.

“Did you feel like this when you played against Manchester City?”

“Manchester City?”

“Manchester City wanted to take you. But you didn’t go. Thanks to that, you probably got unfairly cursed at by their fans like me. Did you want to get revenge for that too?”

Johan scratched his head at Capello’s words.

Manchester City fans?

“No? I’ve never been cursed at.”

Even if the team wasn’t great, their fans were nice.

Even when he beat them at Manchester City’s home stadium, he didn’t remember being cursed at by their fans.

He had seen fans asking him to come to their team even after he won.

“···You’re annoying.”

Capello shook his head.

ㆍㆍㆍ

Turin, Piedmont, Italy.

Juventus FC training ground.

“Okay, a little faster! One more time!”

Training was in full swing to prepare for the Champions League Round of 16 match against West Ham.

“Focus more on your vision! If you focus, you can cut off all the passes!”

“The reaction is slow! You must never let the cross go up! You have to cut it off on the side!”

As expected, Juventus was focusing on defensive training.

Of course, Juventus is a team that spends a lot of time on defensive training.

However, they are spending even more time on defensive training while preparing for the West Ham game.

It was all because of Johan.

Juventus believes that Johan is the only player in West Ham who is worthy of the ‘Champions League level’, as the president said.

They didn’t care about the rest.

They thought they could win the game if they could only stop Johan, so they were focusing on defensive training.

“The best thing to do is to block the pass itself in advance, but if the ball goes to him? Then three people can stick to him. No, don’t even think about the number of people. You have to abandon the original concept and approach it with a new concept. Regardless of the position, stick to him if you think you need to.”

As a secret plan to stop Johan, Juventus trained hard on two things.

The first was training to block the pass from Capello to Johan in advance.

The second was the so-called swarm defense, where as many people as possible stick to Johan when he gets the ball.

Usually, even if the opponent’s attacker is an ace, there are rarely more than three defenders sticking to one player.

Even if the situation happens that way, there is no story of setting a manual in advance that three people must stick to him.

If such a situation occurs, it is usually seen as a situation where the defensive balance has collapsed.

It is a failure of defensive tactics.

However, if the opponent is Johan, the story is different. He is a guy who needs at least three people to stick to him.

Therefore, for this game, the concepts that were stuck in the heads of the defenders had to be changed.

“As it is an important tournament match, West Ham will have no choice but to rely on his personal ability. You don’t have to worry about the other side.”

Of course, if all the defenses stick to Johan, there will be a problem that the other side will be empty.

But that problem seemed to be okay to ignore.

It’s a tournament where the winner is decided in just two games, home and away.

Moreover, it is West Ham’s first Champions League tournament.

They will be quite nervous and somewhat uneasy.

If they play in that state, they will naturally have no choice but to rely on the highest probability.

They will somehow concentrate the ball on Johan and have him finish it.

Because he is the only guy they can trust.

In other words, the choice is easy for Juventus.

Put everything else aside and only stop Johan.

That was a very simple secret plan to beat West Ham.

“Okay, let’s stop here today. Since it’s a short-term tactic for the Round of 16, there’s no need to do it for too long.”