Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 35

< Who to Use? >

The key to the second half was stamina.

A battle of stamina.

Both teams had expended a considerable amount of energy during the first half.

West Ham, having spent more time defending and needing to cover more ground, naturally faced greater physical strain.

Tottenham, with their aggressive high pressing, also experienced significant fatigue.

As both teams began to feel the limits of their endurance, they started making substitutions.

The game was evolving into a battle of minimizing mistakes rather than tactical perfection.

However, this led to a somewhat ironic situation.

At the point when all players from both teams were nearing exhaustion,

there was only one player, excluding the substitutes, who maintained perfect stamina.

Naturally, it was Johann.

Johann, who had recorded the lowest activity level among all players.

Johann’s stamina was certainly not the best in terms of absolute maximum value.

However,

his energy consumption was significantly lower than others.

He barely ran half as much as everyone else.

Even with less stamina, he conserved much more.

Therefore,

in the 14th minute of the second half,

the Tottenham defenders could only perceive Johann as moving faster than his usual speed when he had the ball.

“Go for it alone, kid!”

“Do it! Do it!”

On the left side of the box,

as Johann received the ball and faced the opposing full-back, he heard his teammates encouraging him to take a chance.

Following their advice, Johann began to চাপ [apply pressure] the opponent’s defense with light touches on the ball.

And,

Pieter Simaang, the Tottenham right-back facing Johann, leaned back and swallowed hard.

Simaang was exhausted from his involvement in both offense and defense throughout the game.

Facing a guy like this in such a tired state was grueling.

The situation was undeniably difficult.

‘This guy is two-footed.’

Simaang had already familiarized himself with Johann’s information.

A two-footed player who uses both his left and right feet equally well.

Moreover, his dribbling and instantaneous speed were excellent.

Therefore, he shouldn’t recklessly charge in or lean too much to one side while defending.

The problem was that his shooting was also good, and more than anything, his timing was quick, so simply waiting and giving him space wasn’t a good option either.

“···”

Simaang, recalling Johann’s information in his head, cursed.

All he could gather from that information was,

‘How am I supposed to stop him, then?’

It was nothing but the fact that this guy was unstoppable.

Tata tat-!

Johann pushed the ball with the outside of his right foot.

A movement to cut inside towards the center.

Simaang’s reaction to it wasn’t bad.

Certainly, the opponent was the type with good shooting and didn’t hesitate to shoot from a distance.

Simaang had predicted that he would move to the center to create a wider shooting angle.

Indeed,

Johann was pulling back his right foot as if to take a shot.

However, the problem was,

what came next.

Shwaaaaaa-

Swoosh-!

Simaang dove in to block the shot.

However,

the shot didn’t come.

Instead of shooting, Johann scraped the ball with his right foot.

Johann, bending his instep like a hoe to form a ㄱ shape [Korean letter resembling a hoe], changed direction while scraping the ball.

And that process was so smooth.

As if the ball was flowing over silk, Johann’s ball control was incredibly smooth.

Anyway,

once he had completely shaken off Simaang, a left-footed shooting angle immediately opened up,

Banggggg-!

Johann’s left foot unleashed without delay.

The target was,

above the head of the opposing goalkeeper, who was narrowing the angle by sticking to the near post.

Precisely the spot that was most difficult for the keeper to react to.

Shooooooo-

Thwack-!

“Waaaaa-!”

Johann’s second goal exploded.

“···Ah.”

“···”

The Tottenham players lowered their heads as the net shook, and the Tottenham fans were left speechless.

Now,

no one could raise any objections.

*

“Beep, beep, beeeeep-!”

Final score, 2-1.

The game ended with a rather unexpected result.

Although Tottenham’s consolation goal in the late second half led to an unpredictable flow,

the equalizing goal didn’t come, and West Ham took the 3 points.

As a result,

West Ham continued their winning streak after the season opener, maintaining their top spot, albeit early in the season, showing an amazing performance.

“Certainly···”

“The difference was in the goal-scoring ability, right?”

“Amazing.”

After the game.

A man who had watched the game from the VIP seats at the London Stadium stroked his chin.

This man, with his neatly combed-back hair with pomade and a suit to match, was named Chris Ranister.

The current manager of the England A national team.

Manager Ranister had come to the stadium to check on Maguire’s condition in preparation for the UEFA Nations League at the end of this month.

Manager Ranister, who had been leading the England national team for two years already.

Manager Ranister had appointed Maguire as the starting striker immediately after taking office.

In fact, what manager would dislike a striker like Maguire, but Manager Ranister especially highly valued Maguire.

Even before he transferred to Tottenham, since his days as a promising player at Southampton.

Maguire, who was selected by Manager Ranister, played well in the 2026 US World Cup, leading England to the quarter-finals.

Therefore,

people predicted that as long as Manager Ranister’s regime continued, Maguire would be England’s striker.

That was the extent of Manager Ranister’s love for Maguire.

But.

“···”

Not today.

Today, Manager Ranister’s attention was stolen by a player other than Maguire.

Not Tottenham’s number 9, but West Ham’s number 9.

Johann van.

“Assassin···”

It was an incredible killer instinct.

It really felt like watching an assassin.

Lurking throughout the game, suddenly appearing when a chance came, and cutting off the enemy’s breath,

an assassin.

Frankly, today’s game wasn’t a game that West Ham should have won.

Tottenham missed many chances, but it wasn’t as if West Ham had many chances either.

However,

Johann, that player, connected all those few chances to goals, leading the team to victory.

“I don’t know much about it, but do you know this player’s record for the youth national team?”

“Youth national team? Just a moment···”

At Manager Ranister’s question, the analyst started searching on the tablet.

Soon, the analyst shook his head.

“There isn’t any.”

“Not even one game?”

“No.”

“What’s his nationality? Is he Korean, or?”

“I think we need to investigate further, but for now, it seems he has dual nationality. British, Korean.”

“I guess it’s because he’s still a minor.”

“There seems to be some talk from the Korean side already. Regarding the national team.”

“Is that so.”

If it’s Korea, they would naturally want to take him.

Even I’m tempted, so Korea would be even more so.

Then, we need to hurry on this side too.

“Hmm···”

Manager Ranister couldn’t take his eyes off Johann, even after the game was over.

*

“Hehe.”

Alan Kiddies, a reporter waiting in the press center for the MOM [Man of the Match] interview, seemed to be in a good mood.

Of course, it was also because he was a West Ham fan, but more than that, it was because Johann was selected as MOM again.

Kiddies had prepared questions to ask Johann in advance, assuming he would win MOM today as well.

Johann van.

He was an interesting character.

Until recently, he just felt like someone difficult to interview,

but looking at it openly, isn’t he practically an unprecedented character?

There have been many geniuses so far.

Among them, there were many so-called lazy geniuses, geniuses who refused to be ordinary.

But Kiddies had never heard of an extraordinary genius who exploded his talent on the first-team stage from such a young age.

‘He’s good enough to be a superstar.’

West Ham may have a bit of a drop in performance, but in terms of popularity, they are the best in London.

They are at a level where they are neck and neck with Arsenal, the most popular team in London.

Therefore, becoming a popular star at West Ham means becoming a popular star in England.

Johann had many elements to gain a lot of popularity.

Soon, Johann appeared at the interview venue, and the interview began.

“First of all, congratulations on today’s victory and two goals.”

Congratulations on the victory and routine questions about the game continued, and routine answers followed.

Kiddies then brought out the questions he had personally prepared.

“Today’s game was against a local rival, Tottenham. Was there anything special you prepared for today’s game?”

At the question of whether he had prepared anything special for today’s game, Johann scratched his head.

“Um··· No. Not really.”

“Is that so? How many days did you train this week?”

“Two days? Two days.”

“Two days··· You didn’t specifically analyze Tottenham or research how to break through their defense?”

“Well, no. There wasn’t a need to···”

Okay, that’s enough.

Kiddies nodded as if he liked Johann’s answer.

I’ve already got two headlines.

‘Johann van, Tottenham? Two days of training is enough.’

‘Johann van, Tottenham? A team I don’t need to know.’

It’s a phrase that West Ham fans would go crazy for.

Of course, Tottenham fans too.

Good, good.

Next question.

“Many fans were paying attention to today’s match against Mason Maguire, England’s best striker. Did his presence stimulate Johann at all?”

Was Maguire’s presence stimulating?

Johann tilted his head.

“I’m sorry, but who was that?”

“Haa! Ah, I’m sorry.”

Kiddies apologized, involuntarily making a moan because a more stimulating answer than expected popped out.

Oh my god.

As a reporter who is a West Ham fan, that was an unbearable comment just now.

‘Johann van, Maguire? Who’s that?’

Calming himself down, Kiddies explained about Maguire.

After listening to the explanation, Johann nodded, saying ah.

“Weren’t you stimulated by Manager Reyes’s words comparing you to him?”

“Um··· I actually just found out.”

“Is that so? But Johann, your eyes looked different in today’s game, didn’t they? They looked like they were full of determination.”

“Ah.”

Did I take today’s game especially seriously?

There’s a reason for that.

“···Hehe.”

Johann suddenly burst into laughter.

Johann had a happy smile all over his face.

“If we won today, my dad said I could eat a whole jar of Nutella.”

“···Ah?”

What? Nutella?

What is he talking about?

Well, anyway, it doesn’t matter.

Either way, this is a good source too.

‘Johann van, can score 2 goals even while eating Nutella against Tottenham? Legendary devilish talent.’

Johann van.

He was truly an unprecedented character.

*

“Is it that delicious?”

“Chomp, chomp. Yes. Chomp.”

“Okay. Eat a lot. Only until today.”

Ban Seok-ho frowned, horrified by the calories listed on the container, but since a promise was a promise, he had no choice but to allow Nutella.

Ugh.

It’s a devil’s jam that seems to rot your teeth just by looking at it.

Ban Seok-ho, who is terribly concerned about his health, has never put it in his mouth in his life, so he felt uneasy seeing Johann spreading a handful of it on bread and eating it.

But,

still, he felt like he was flying.

“You were really amazing. It was so refreshing to see those guys become mute after conceding a goal.”

“That’s right. Those who are nothing were ignoring us. Johann taught them a lesson.”

Ban Seok-ho and Rohan, still unable to shake off the lingering feelings, smiled brightly as they recalled today’s game.

This is a memory that will make them happy just by thinking about it for the rest of their lives.

Even if something depressing happens in the future, they can overcome anything just by remembering today.

“Wow, Johann. Look at this. There are so many articles about you.”

“Chomp, chomp.”

“Where, let me see too.”

“Here.”

Ban Seok-ho’s mouth tears again as he looks at the laptop screen that Rohan handed over.

“Bani Jr. silences Maguire’s Tottenham… Johann van answers Manager Reyes’s question with 2 goals… 16-year-old boy who was better than the national team… Hehehe!”

Articles praising Johann were overflowing.

The world was recognizing his son’s true worth.

Really, just looking at this, I can eat two bowls of rice without any other side dishes.

“···Huh?”

But,

there was also an article that made Ban Seok-ho frown.

This, this is absolutely not allowed.

Ban Seok-ho quickly turned the laptop to his side, afraid that Johann might see it.

These people, who are they trying to ruin?

I’m already worried about giving him one jar of that.

Ahem.

What’s not allowed is not allowed.

“Hehehe···”

Anyway, except for that, all the articles were good to see.

Ban Seok-ho, who had been substituting his meal with articles about his son for a long time,

“···Um?”

found an article that particularly caught his eye and widened his eyes.

-England national team manager Chris Ranister directly watched Johann’s performance… Possibility of changes in the upcoming Nations League call-up list?