Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 159

< 158. A Slip of the Tongue >

After all the Champions League Round of 16 matches concluded, the next day,

The draw for the quarter-finals was held in Switzerland.

The quarter-final draw differs from the group stage or Round of 16 draws in several ways.

First, the quarter-final draw is the final draw.

Once the bracket is set by this draw, the tournament proceeds according to that bracket.

This means the bracket allows for predicting the semi-final or final matchups.

Also, unlike the Round of 16, teams from the same league can be drawn against each other.

West Ham from the Premier League could face Manchester City or Liverpool, depending on the draw.

There are no restrictions in the draw.

Any team can face any other team.

‘Let’s hope for an easier path this time.’

Watching the draw, Coach Schmidt sighed.

Of course, having reached the quarter-finals, there are no easy matchups.

Still, facing teams like Villarreal or Sevilla is better than facing Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, or Manchester City. That’s a fact.

West Ham had already faced Paris, Barcelona, and Juventus.

Having struggled so much to get here, he hoped for an easier draw, at least for this quarter-final.

But alas.

The god of the Champions League didn’t seem so lenient.

“The first pairing for the quarter-finals is Villarreal CF against Sevilla FC.”

Many team managers, including Schmidt, must have sighed.

The managers of Villarreal and Sevilla, on the other hand, would have rejoiced.

The two teams everyone wanted to face ended up meeting each other, dashing any hopes of an easy ride.

In any case, this would inevitably lead to a more exciting bracket for the fans.

With the two weakest teams facing each other, none of the other matchups would be easily predictable.

Now, the next draw is crucial.

Whoever ends up in the slot next to them will face either Sevilla or Villarreal in the semi-finals.

That’s the most favorable spot.

The teams that would take that spot were,

“The second pairing is Real Madrid against Manchester City.”

It wasn’t West Ham, at least.

Still, not getting that spot wasn’t so disappointing.

Facing either Real Madrid or Manchester City meant that advancing to the semi-finals couldn’t be guaranteed.

Therefore, neither Real Madrid nor Manchester City could be entirely happy.

The previous year’s final matchup was being replayed in the quarter-finals.

As a fellow Premier League team, I secretly felt good that Manchester City had to face Real again.

Anyway, the four teams on the left side were set.

The draw continued.

“The third pairing is Bayern Munich against West Ham United.”

West Ham’s name was called.

Their opponent: the eternal emperor of the Bundesliga [German Football League].

FC Bayern Munich.

“···”

The moment their quarter-final opponent was confirmed as Munich,

Coach Schmidt nodded with a blank expression, scribbling something in his notebook.

‘Scheiße.’

Scheiße means ‘Shit’ in German.

ㆍㆍㆍ

-Defending champions and revenge-seeking challengers clash again in the quarter-finals… Real vs. Man City confirmed

-Liverpool meets Atlético, ‘the Shield of God Returns’…

-Champions League quarter-final matchups confirmed… A fantastic bracket full of excitement

“A fantastic bracket? What a joke. It’s not fantastic, it’s maddening. Maddening.”

Lohan could only laugh.

Every round is like a Champions League final.

Seriously, after beating Barcelona, Paris, and Juventus, now they want us to beat Bayern Munich?

This is obviously rigged.

Could there have been manipulation in the draw?

Is this a UEFA [Union of European Football Associations] conspiracy to boost the tournament’s popularity, telling us to be satisfied and drop out gracefully?

“Try all you want to screw us over. See if we fall.”

Well, there was still belief.

A belief that they could beat Bayern Munich.

They beat Juventus, so what’s there to fear?

“···Objectively, Munich is much stronger, though.”

Actually, no.

It is scary.

Munich is a step above Juventus.

Even Juventus, the bully of Serie A [Italian Football League], hasn’t achieved something like ’12 consecutive league titles’ like Munich.

Bayern Munich has been at the top of the Bundesliga for 12 consecutive seasons, from 2012/13 to 2024/25.

That means Munich kept winning until a child born in 2012 turned 12.

It’s no wonder people say the Bundesliga is a league where Munich wins anyway.

However, it’s not like Munich was only strong within the league.

Looking at their major achievements in the last 10 years alone: Champions League titles in 2019/20 and 2023/24,

And a runner-up finish in 2024/25.

Munich is a team that never looks out of place in the final, and fans are disappointed if they get knocked out in the quarter-finals or semi-finals.

That’s been the case for the past 20 years or more.

Bayern Munich was such a team.

West Ham was in a position where they had to beat such a team.

Nevertheless, the confidence to win comes from the fact that the world’s best player is at West Ham, not Munich.

“By the way···”

While browsing articles related to the Champions League, Lohan frowned.

“Why is this guy flapping his gums again?”

It was an article about Johann.

The article reported that Johann had scored 16 goals in the Champions League up to the quarter-finals this season, approaching the record for the most goals in a single season.

The current record holder had something to say about this.

-Champions League single-season goal record holder Cristiano Ronaldo speaks about Johann… “I know what people are saying. But, what’s clear is that he has only scored one goal in the knockout stages. When I scored 17 goals, I scored 8 in the knockout stages. Especially against Munich in the semi-finals, I scored 2 goals to send the team to the final. My record becomes more valuable the closer you look.”

Lohan just smirked.

Okay.

I won’t deny that you’re a great player.

Especially if we limit it to the Champions League, Ronaldo is arguably the greatest star of all time.

Whether it’s the all-time leading scorer or the single-season goal record holder, he has all the records.

However, this guy becomes unsightly when he opens his mouth.

Johann is threatening his record, so he’s showing up like a ghost to keep him in check.

Seriously, he’s saying jealous things to a player younger than his own son.

How great would it be if he maintained the dignity of a legend?

If he just said something like he welcomes the birth of a new star, people would automatically praise him.

Or at least, if he had just said something like, ‘My record will be hard to break, but it would be a great achievement if it is broken,’ he wouldn’t be so disliked.

“Why are you huffing and puffing?”

“The ‘that guy’ that Dad hates said something about Johann.”

“That guy?”

“Ronaldoo.”

“I knew it. Ronaldoo couldn’t stay quiet.”

Seok-ho Ban doesn’t like Ronaldo.

He was a Messi fan, and also because of an incident from about 10 years ago.

“Hmm.”

Seok-ho Ban, who read the full article that Lohan showed him, smiled.

“Come to think of it, this is good.”

“How so?”

“Because my son, of all people, will break that Ronaldoo’s record.”

“I really hope he shuts that mouth of his.”

“How fun would that be? To see that guy seething.”

“Hehe.”

Seok-ho Ban and Lohan nodded.

Just imagining it already makes them laugh.

They hope Johann will definitely shut Ronaldo’s mouth.

But,

These two weren’t the only ones hoping Ronaldo would shut his mouth.

“Why does this bastard keep flapping his gums?”

Bayern Munich’s chairman, Lichten Hains, was furious while watching the news, slamming his fist on the desk.

ㆍㆍㆍ

“No, I mean, I don’t care about Ronaldoo or whatever. Just do the calculations.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s see. This is the league table right now.”

At Johann’s urging, Lohan opened his laptop.

On the screen was the league standings up to Round 26.

1st West Ham 24 wins 2 draws 0 losses 74 points

2nd Manchester Utd 22 wins 2 draws 2 losses 68 points

3rd Manchester City 21 wins 4 draws 3 losses 67 points

4th Liverpool FC 17 wins 5 draws 4 losses 56 points

5th Arsenal FC 15 wins 6 draws 5 losses 51 points

6th Tottenham Hotspur 13 wins 6 draws 7 losses 45 points

7th Chelsea FC 13 wins 5 draws 8 losses 44 points

.

.

.

This season is quite competitive in many ways.

The leading group is a three-way battle between West Ham, Man U [Manchester United], and Man City.

Liverpool and Arsenal are competing for 4th place.

Tottenham and Chelsea are competing for a Europa League spot.

On top of that, the relegation battle is also fierce, with teams within 5 points of each other.

What Johann was curious about was this.

How many more games does West Ham need to win to secure the championship, regardless of the other teams’ points?

“To put it simply, if you win all the remaining games until there’s only one game left, you’ll secure the championship. Even if Man U wins all their games.”

“···That’s all? We’ve won all the games so far? Are you saying we won’t know until the end?”

“Well, Man U is doing well too. That’s assuming they win all their games as well.”

“Then, it’ll decrease every time they lose, right?”

“That’s right. Thinking that way, when will the most important game be?”

“The Man U game.”

“That’s it. Winning the head-to-head is the most important. There’s a reason why it’s called a 6-point game. It really is. Giving them one more loss gives you one more game of leeway.”

The game against Man U is scheduled for Round 28, the week after next.

Man U has been showing even better form in the second half of the season.

Hauer’s system is taking hold as the games go on.

Of course, the fact that they are not participating in European competitions, giving them much more rest than other teams, also plays a part.

“Looking at how they’re playing these days, we’re the only ones who can beat them. We can’t rely on other teams.”

“We have to win no matter what.”

Johann nodded.

ㆍㆍㆍ

Premier League Round 27 was a round with quite a few upsets.

This was probably due to the aftermath of the European competitions.

The teams that played in the Champions League and Europa League the previous week all struggled.

The biggest victim of the upsets was Liverpool.

After beating Inter Milan in the Champions League Round of 16 and advancing to the quarter-finals, Liverpool lost to relegation-threatened Huddersfield Town, igniting the battle for a Champions League spot with Arsenal.

Even Manchester City struggled.

Although they didn’t lose like Liverpool, Manchester City barely managed a draw after a close game with Brighton, having to be satisfied with just 1 point.

Arsenal was the same.

At least Liverpool and Man City made it to the quarter-finals.

Arsenal was eliminated in the Round of 16, and they even lost in the league game, recording consecutive losses.

With Liverpool losing in the earlier game, it seemed like the point difference between the two teams would narrow, but Arsenal also lost like a ghost, maintaining the point difference.

Liverpool and Arsenal are indeed teams with good camaraderie.

It was a situation where they were both yielding to each other to go to the Champions League.

Fortunately, West Ham had nothing to do with these upsets.

West Ham had played against Juventus, but they had enough rest.

A team that can manage their stamina even against Juventus.

West Ham, who met Leicester City in Round 27, easily won 2-0.

Johann, who played 65 minutes that day, scored two goals and became the main contributor to the victory, and they secured 3 points by defending well for the rest of the time.

And now.

A very important game was waiting for West Ham and Johann.

Hauer’s Man U, who are chasing West Ham right behind them.

The head-to-head match against Man U was just around the corner.