Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 40

“Yesssssss!”

As Yohan’s equalizing goal exploded, Wembley Stadium shook as if it were about to collapse.

It had been a frustrating game, and the equalizer came late, but judging by the atmosphere, it felt like they had already turned the game around.

That was probably because there was so much to look forward to.

The expectation that Yohan’s substitution could be the key to reversing their fortunes.

‘We can definitely turn this game around.’

With that feeling, even though they had just tied the score, the crowd was already roaring as if they had already won.

‘Those British guys really know how to get hyped up,’ Barcelli spat, displeased.

‘Cocky bastard,’ Barcelli glared at Yohan’s back.

It was a huge blow to his pride, to concede such a breakthrough to that brat.

Moreover, he hadn’t just been beaten while defending alone; he was overpowered even when blocking together with Marcio, who was like a brother.

In that respect, it was fortunate that this wasn’t Italy. If it had been his home country, all sorts of things would have been flying from the stands.

‘Consider yourself lucky,’ Barcelli thought inwardly.

He needed to understand that the absurd breakthrough he’d allowed was purely beginner’s luck.

Logically, no attacker would attempt such a move, especially in front of him and Marcio.

Who would even dare to imagine such a thing?

That’s why they hadn’t anticipated it. They were caught off guard and beaten. It was possible because they were new to him, just as he was new to them.

But from now on, it would be different.

Top-class defenders can immediately get a feel for an attacker after just one physical encounter, even without any prior information.

Barcelli had just finished figuring out Yohan: tall stature, good physique, a style that utilizes that to dominate aerial balls and enjoys duels with defenders – a typical target man.

Barcelli knew how to deal with all types of forwards. With this type, you should defend gently because what they want is to rub and tumble while pushing in.

Therefore, instead of rubbing against them as they want, it’s better to step back and defend cleanly.

Barcelli was famous for his good physique and spirited defense, but he considered his defensive intelligence and technical tackles to be his real strengths.

So, this was rather welcome. Now that he had finished analyzing him, there would be no more goals conceded to him for the rest of the game.

Not only for the result of today’s game but also to restore his personal pride.

‘I’ll shut you down,’ Barcelli was determined to take responsibility and stop that guy at all costs.

With Barcelli’s renewed determination, Italy reorganized their defensive formation, returning to their original crouching posture.

The equalizing goal had been a mistake caused by overzealousness in trying to secure the victory. It wasn’t that the opponent did well, but purely their own error.

Italy had no doubt that they could maintain this score for the remaining 20 or so minutes if they locked down as they had been doing until then.

“Back! Hold your positions!”

“Line! Match the line, you idiots!”

At the shouts of Barcelli and Marcio, all the Italian players surrounded the box. England, when Maguire was present, hadn’t dared to directly attack the box formed in this way.

Therefore, they thought it would be the same now, but Italy’s thinking was a delusion.

Unlike the first half, England continued to batter the inside of Italy’s box with attacks through the center.

*Paah-!*

The sharp passes of Manchester City’s midfielders, and

*Paah-* *Ppeooo-!*

Yohan, receiving those passes, continued to threaten the goal with sharp shots. The synergy between the two was tremendous.

Even if it wasn’t a high-quality pass, Yohan was threatening as long as it connected. But what if the quality of the pass was also sharp?

Italy seemed flustered by the opponent’s unexpected frontal breakthrough and began to lose their composure.

“Don’t think about anything else, just give it your all for the remaining 30 minutes,” the England manager, Ranister, had said while subbing Yohan.

There were no other tactical instructions. Just give it your all for the short time of 30 minutes.

Perhaps, from Italy’s perspective, the 30 minutes after Yohan came on might have felt longer than the previous 60 minutes.

In fact, there were more shots on target in the last 30 minutes than before. For Italy, for Barcelli and Marcio, and even for Juventus, it was a humiliating last 30 minutes.

They couldn’t stop Yohan, who was backed by Manchester City’s passers.

*Ppeooo-!*

*Shooooo-!*

*Thwack-!*

“Wowwwww!”

“Barcelli is completely melted!”

“Crazy!”

Yohan’s go-ahead goal came with 10 minutes left in the game. This time, Barcelli had kept about two steps away from Yohan.

He thought that if he kept that distance and defended with high-level technique, Yohan wouldn’t be able to do anything. However, Yohan was not a simple target striker as Barcelli thought.

Yohan was a complete forward, at least when it came to scoring goals.

Yohan, with Barcelli not sticking to him, shook his upper body and swayed his center of gravity, and the moment Barcelli’s center leaned slightly to the right, he fired a shot with his left foot, tearing through Italy’s net.

That moment was when Barcelli’s pride completely collapsed, and at the same time, it was when the pride of Juventus and Italy collapsed.

And Yohan showed his fingers again. This time, it wasn’t one, but two.

“Wow, that guy! He didn’t do celebrations in the league!”

“Is it because the taste of scoring is different when wearing the national team uniform?”

“The kids’ passes are different, right?”

“Yeah! He looks happy, you bastard!”

A cauldron of frenzy. In the midst of it, some West Ham players, including Gordon, were cheering like crazy.

They were playfully expressing their betrayal, looking at Yohan raising his fingers, but they were very proud.

They were proud that he was West Ham’s striker and proud that they were his teammates.

Today’s game was virtually a clash between the Premier League [the top professional football league in England] and Serie A [the top professional football league in Italy].

And it seemed like Juventus and Manchester City were at the center of that clash. But not now.

In that place teeming with players from Premier League big clubs, the one who scored was not a Manchester City player, nor Chelsea, Manchester United, or Liverpool.

It was West Ham.

Gordon and the players were as happy as if they had scored the goal themselves.

“~I’m forever blowing bubbles!~

~pretty bubbles in the air!~

~they fly so high!~

~nearly reach the sky!~”

It was an amazing thing. As the game turned around, Wembley Stadium, filled with nearly 90,000 spectators, began to overflow with the cheers that the fans were shouting out.

But that wasn’t the England national team’s cheer. What was adorning Wembley now wasn’t the England national team’s cheer ‘Three Lions’, but West Ham’s cheer ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’.

Someone started singing that song first, and it gradually spread and took over Wembley.

“···”

Gordon and the players silently watched the song they only heard at the London Stadium [West Ham’s home stadium] echoing at Wembley.

The emotions revealed on their faces seemed beyond description.

Also, somewhere in the stands at the same time…

“···”

Ban Seok-ho, listening to the same song and making the same expression.

The moment Yohan’s goal secured the victory, it wasn’t Wembley, but the London Stadium. Yohan was making it so.

“Beep, beep, beeeeeep-!”

After the whistle signaling the end of the game sounded,

“Yessss!”

“We did it!”

“We made it!”

Ranister hugged the coaches, enjoying the joy of victory, then put everything aside and headed straight to the ground.

Ranister seemed particularly happy. It was natural to have achieved a come-from-behind victory at home, but especially since the player he put in as a substitute scored both the equalizing goal and the go-ahead goal, he couldn’t help but be even happier.

“Barni!”

Ranister went straight to Yohan.

“Hahaha, well done!”

Ranister hugged Yohan tightly. He was truly commendable.

Honestly, Ranister couldn’t completely erase a hint of worry even while putting Yohan in. Even so, it was his debut game for the national team, and it felt like he was entrusting him with an important role at a very important moment.

“Thank you.”

“No. I’m thankful.”

But Yohan, as if he had no pressure at all, played his role, no, 200% of it. He couldn’t help but be thankful and commendable.

“You’re going to get scolded by your manager, this.”

“…Our manager?”

“Yeah. I had a promise with the manager that I wouldn’t let you play in the game.”

He promised not to let him play, so he felt sorry for Schmidt for not keeping that promise. But how could he not use this?

Schmidt would also understand. No, maybe he knew from the beginning that it was a promise that wouldn’t be kept because Schmidt knew Yohan’s talent better than anyone else.

“Hey, kid. You killed it today!”

“This guy is the real deal. Weren’t you nervous for your debut game?”

Following Ranister, England teammates also came to Yohan to congratulate him.

Now, they were all star players boasting the highest salaries in Europe, but if they thought about their debut, there were many who couldn’t imagine their current position.

No matter how great a talent you had, overcoming the pressure exerted by these many spectators was a problem that required another talent besides soccer talent.

But Yohan seemed to have been born with that right away. Because of that…

“Come to Chelsea? I’ll treat you well.”

“Would you go to Chelsea? You know, right? What happens if you go to a rival team. Don’t do that and come to Liverpool. I’ll forget about what happened last season.”

“Um, is there any way Everton could work out? Hehe.”

Solicitations from each team’s players continued. Of course, they were telling stories playfully, but it wasn’t just a joke.

He was a talent too good to play with only in the national team. Conversely, he was a scary guy to meet as an opponent in the league.

Besides, he belonged to West Ham. If he belonged to another big club, they wouldn’t be able to say these things 함부로 [hamburo – carelessly], but West Ham had possibilities, didn’t it?

It was when Yohan was making an annoyed expression at the players’ solicitations.

“Hey, hey. All the losers get out of the way.”

“If you’re coming, you have to come to our team.”

“Last season’s winning team is coming out. Everyone clear the way!”

A group of players appeared with their arms around each other’s shoulders – Manchester City players, including Jack Price.

When the Manchester City players appeared, players from other teams, including Chelsea and Liverpool, sighed and stepped aside.

When Manchester City joins the negotiation table, it is the order for other teams to back down.

Jack Price put his arm around Yohan’s shoulder.

“How was it, kid? Now that you’ve felt it today, the quality of the pass is different, right?”

“You received it well. You match well with us. Don’t you think so too?”

Certainly, the chemistry that Manchester City’s midfielders and Yohan showed was good. How could it be bad? The combination of top-notch passers and a forward who connects any pass to a shot was even scary to imagine.

Yohan playing for Manchester City, that is. Even though Manchester City had been suffering from a drought of outstanding strikers for a long time, they were overwhelming in the league.

But if Yohan joins there, maybe there would be even fewer rivals in the league.

“···”

But Yohan shrugged his shoulders. Naturally, Price’s arm, which had been placed on Yohan’s shoulder, fell off.

“When are you playing with our team?”

“Huh? When are we playing?”

“When is the game between our team and your team?”

“Are you talking about the league game? Uh… when was it?”

“It’s at the end of October. Is it the round after next?”

“Ah, right. The round after next. But why are you asking that now?”

To Price’s words asking why he was asking that, Yohan just nodded instead of answering and left the spot.

And Price and the Manchester City players tilted their heads and looked at Yohan.

“What’s up with that guy?”