Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 22

< 021. Willing >

“Cheer up, man. You got at least one day off, didn’t you?”

“Burnley or Burnlay, whatever, they’re so annoying.”

“Why? Just because they only defended?”

“It’s like, who defends like that? They weren’t even trying to win the game.”

“What can you do? That’s their strategy. Anyway, we won thanks to you.”

Yo Han looked like death warmed over during Tuesday’s training.

He hated Burnley.

Because those guys were so focused on defending, he only managed to score one goal.

Thanks to that, he had to come to training for four days this week.

Last week was heaven, but this week is hell.

Burnley, those bastards.

He’d have to score at least two attack points in this weekend’s game, no matter what.

But,

Who are we playing next?

“Next? Liverpool.”

“Liverpool. What kind of team is Liverpool? Are they like Burnley?”

“…What?”

At Yo Han’s question, team captain Gordon, who was warming up with him, looked dumbfounded.

The other players around them were the same.

Liverpool is like Burnley?

“You don’t even know what kind of team Liverpool is?”

“I’ve heard the name.”

“Do you know what rank they are right now?”

“No. I don’t watch soccer…”

Beyond dumbfounded, he was just flustered.

Well, yeah.

There are surprisingly quite a few soccer players who aren’t that interested in watching soccer.

Putting that aside, is there even a player in the PL [Premier League] who doesn’t know what kind of team Liverpool is?

What is this guy?

“They’re second in the league. They’re in the Champions League semi-finals. If my memory is correct, they’ve lost less than five times this season. They’re completely different from a team like Burnley.”

“So they’re not just going to defend like those Crap-ley guys.”

“Crap… what? Uh… yeah. Of course.”

“That’s good.”

“What’s good?”

“I think I’ll be able to rest a lot next week.”

Gordon understood what Yo Han meant and laughed.

So, he thinks that Liverpool isn’t a team that just defends like Burnley, so he’ll be able to score a lot of attack points.

Seriously.

He just can’t get used to this kid’s absurd confidence.

“Yeah. If possible, score five goals and rest for the whole week.”

“I should.”

“But, it won’t be as easy as you think. If I had to guess, Liverpool has fewer goals against them than Burnley, right?”

“…How?”

“How? Because they create situations where they don’t have to defend.”

Yo Han tilted his head at Gordon’s words.

Gordon added an explanation.

“They don’t give the opponent the ball. If they don’t give up possession in the first place, how long would they have to defend?”

“Ah.”

“It’s not like they can’t defend either. Their defense is top-notch too.”

“Well, they’re in second place, so there must be a reason.”

Even if Yo Han doesn’t know much about soccer, he knows that a team in second place must have a reason for being there.

But,

When he thinks about it, West Ham is 9th.

Burnley was said to be 16th in the league.

There’s a 7-step difference between West Ham and Burnley.

The gap with Liverpool is also 7 steps.

“Then it doesn’t seem that difficult.”

“Huh?”

“We struggled against Burnley, right? We barely won 1-0. So it’ll be similar against Liverpool.”

“That’s too simple of a calculation. The reality is a bit different. Even if the rank difference is the same, the difference between the top ranks and the mid ranks, and the mid ranks and the bottom ranks is completely different.”

“What’s different?”

“Have you ever heard of the Big 4?”

Big 4?

Yo Han shook his head, and Gordon sighed.

“Man City, Man U [Manchester United], Chelsea, Liverpool. Well, one team seems to have a lot of issues these days, but anyway, these four teams are called the Big 4. Tottenham and Arsenal wanted to join in, so they created the term Big 6, but I don’t recognize that.”

“Man City, Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool.”

“It’s not for nothing that they’re called the Big 4. They’re some of the best teams in Europe. The scale is different. Below that, they’re all pretty much the same.”

Gordon explained that Liverpool was on a completely different level from the teams Yo Han had faced so far.

They have such a strong team,

That you might not even get to touch the ball a few times during the game.

‘Why is everything always on a different level?’

Yo Han pouted as he listened to Gordon’s explanation.

Even if he doesn’t know anything, isn’t he scaring him too much?

When he first came to training, he was scared that the youth team and the first team were on different levels, and during his debut match, he said that practice and the real game were different.

But,

After experiencing it himself, there wasn’t much of a difference.

In the end, soccer is still soccer with a ball and a goal.

If you kick it the way you always do, the ball goes into the goal.

That was it.

Yo Han thought that even though Liverpool, his next opponent, was said to be a strong team, it wouldn’t be that different this time either.

“Yeah. Well, this time, all I can say is that you’ll know once you experience it yourself.”

Gordon chuckled and stroked Yo Han’s head.

He’s really clueless.

No matter how much you explain, seeing is believing.

You’ll know once you experience it, you’ll know.

But even Gordon, who thought that way, couldn’t be sure this time.

That his thoughts would change after experiencing the game against Liverpool.

Gordon was sure that when he made his debut, his thoughts would change once he tasted the real game.

But he was still the same.

It was Gordon who had changed his mind.

So, you never know.

Even after playing against Liverpool, his thoughts might not change.

“Alright, alright. Let’s train hard. You know we have to work harder to play with him, right?”

“I know. We have to run an extra mile for this kid.”

“Let’s die today.”

The players laughed as they prepared for training.

Yo Han shook his head as he watched his teammates.

How can they laugh before such intense training that they say they’re going to die?

He couldn’t understand at all.

What’s so good about training?

However,

There was something Yo Han didn’t know.

The reason why those players could laugh even while preparing for intense training.

It wasn’t because they were perverts who enjoyed pain.

After Yo Han joined, and after he showed good performances in the league games.

The players had to accept the increased training time.

Also, the most basic physical training was increased.

Everyone knew the reason.

It was to use Yo Han more effectively.

To use Yo Han as a striker, the other players had to run an extra mile.

Of course, the existing players could have resisted.

Increasing the amount of training to accommodate a kid who joined less than a month ago.

But,

The reason why the players could laugh and willingly accept it was because the players had also seen it.

That kid who joined less than a month ago, the potential.

If you estimate the size of that potential, you can willingly do this much.

“Hoo. Let’s go!”

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Let’s die!”

May 29, 2027, London Stadium.

“It seems like there are more spectators, is it too much of a father’s heart to think it’s because of Yo Han?”

“It’s not entirely wrong.”

The stands were filled with more spectators than the last game against Norwich.

Of course, there are more spectators when the opponent is Liverpool than when it is Norwich.

But it’s good to think that many spectators came to see Yo Han.

It’s not entirely wrong.

“Anyway, I’m a little worried. It’s a pity that the rankings haven’t been confirmed yet.”

“Yes. That’s what’s bothering me. Liverpool has to win today’s game no matter what.”

Since many spectators have come, I hope Yo Han shows a great performance.

But, the problem is the opponent.

Liverpool.

And Liverpool, whose ranking has not yet been confirmed.

Liverpool, currently in 2nd place, was only 1 point ahead of 3rd place Chelsea.

They can’t confirm their ranking until the last game.

Therefore,

It was obvious that Liverpool would do their best in today’s game.

Looking at today’s starting lineup, the best eleven players all came out.

So,

What Yo Han has to face today is 100 percent Liverpool.

“I just hope there’s no major disaster.”

“We must never lose, but even if we do lose, I’ll be satisfied if Yo Han scores a goal.”

Ban Seok-ho and Ro Han knew very well how strong 100 percent Liverpool was,

So, for now, they just hoped that they wouldn’t lose by a big score.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Kim Ra-hee was the one who looked at the men in the family with a pathetic look and snorted.

“Yo Han promised me. He’s going to score 3 goals today. What did he say if he scored 3 goals? Short track?”

“…How does a hat trick [scoring three goals in a game] become a short track?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s it. Tsk, showing off because you know some terms. You can’t even predict how many goals your son will score.”

“I’ve said it so many times. That’s not something that can be predicted? Yo Han was just unbelievably good.”

“Yeah, yeah. So he promised Mom that he’d do unbelievably well today too. 3 goals no matter what!”

Ignorance is bliss.

Ban Seok-ho and Ro Han made eye contact and sighed.

They’re saying that because they don’t know what kind of team Liverpool is.

Liverpool at 100 percent is at a level that doesn’t fall behind any team in Europe.

A hat trick against such a Liverpool?

In the first place, Liverpool rarely concedes 3 goals.

“No, but Yo Han made a promise with you? To score 3 goals?”

“Yeah. This morning.”

“He’s amazing too.”

“Dad. Yo Han is good at soccer, but when you think about it, he doesn’t know much about soccer.”

“That’s true.”

Because Yo Han never even looked at soccer.

When you think about it, Kim Ra-hee and Yo Han are similar.

“Are you ignoring our Yo Han now?”

“Hey. Who’s ignoring who? That’s just how it is when you think about it.”

“Let’s see. Yo Han definitely promised.”

“Yeah. I hope I can keep that promise too.”

If Yo Han scores a hat trick, I’ll be so happy that I’ll jump around.

The problem is that it’s going to be difficult.

“The players are coming out!”

“Yo Han! Fighting!”

*

The number one goal for all teams is to win.

West Ham and Liverpool, who are playing in today’s game, are the same.

But, the second goal of the two teams was different.

Liverpool’s second goal was also to win, and West Ham’s was to draw.

A team that is satisfied with just a draw and a team that must win.

The game was naturally flowing in a situation where Liverpool was pushing from the beginning.

“Narrow the gap! Don’t get dragged out!”

“Run, run! Wake up, you bastards!”

First, hold on.

That was West Ham’s goal in the first half.

It’s impossible to imagine facing Liverpool normally.

The best thing to do was to get through the first half 0-0.

Then the opponent gets impatient.

West Ham is a game that they can lose anyway,

Liverpool is a game that they have to win.

If they get impatient like that, even Liverpool will have no choice but to expose their weaknesses.

So,

They’re thinking of holding on until that opportunity comes.

Bboeooeoooong-!

“Don’t give them a shot, Antonio! You almost got eaten!”

“Oh, sorry!”

Looking at the shape, it didn’t seem easy to hold on.

A sharp shot that exploded in the 2nd minute of the first half grazed West Ham’s goal.

Liverpool is in full attack mode from the start.

Liverpool couldn’t have known.

The faster they score, the easier it will be to manage the game.

Liverpool already had a variety of attack options.

League-best wingers are placed on the left and right, central midfielders all have cannons on their feet, and Europe’s best fullbacks also come up to the top like attackers.

It is no exaggeration to say that 10 people, excluding the goalkeeper, all have scoring ability.

So,

Just around the 10th minute of the first half.

The West Ham players had no choice but to grit their teeth.

They’re holding on, but how long can they hold on?

20 minutes? 30 minutes?

At this rate, it seemed like it was only a matter of time, no matter how long it took.

Just crouching down.

“Sigh, we need to shake them up once.”

Coach Jamie, who was watching the game, says.

That’s right.

When you have to endure while being hit unilaterally like this, the best thing to do is, paradoxically, to attack.

You have to attack so that the opponent can raise their guard.

You have to prevent the opponent from using both fists to hit you completely.

That way, you can hold on longer.

‘The ball has to go…’

Coach Schmidt, who was watching the game, bit his lip.

Today, West Ham stood defensively with everyone except Yo Han.

Therefore, even if they counterattack, it is not easy because Yo Han alone has to cover a wide range.

He focused on long pass training for the defenders during training,

I hope they send the most accurate pass to Yo Han.

“Hmm…”

Liverpool’s attack is getting stronger and stronger.

It was about time to feel impatient.

Bboeooeoooooong-!

Shooooooooong-

“Oh, it’s done.”

“…!”

The arbitrarily cleared clearance began to head towards Yo Han.