Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 49

< Episode 048 - Money is Good >

The idea came from my brothers’ casual chatter.

“Instead of just hoping they pass to you, it’d be quicker to force the goal yourself.”

“Force it?”

“Yeah, like Inzaghi.”

“Who’s Inzaghi?”

“You don’t know him? Well, I guess you wouldn’t. There’s this famous goal of his. He took a free kick, it hit his body, deflected, and went in. They say it wasn’t luck, but intentional.”

“Hey, but was it really intentional? Or did he just say that to save face?”

“Who knows? But if it’s Pirlo and Inzaghi, it might actually be true.”

What my brothers were talking about was a pretty famous goal among soccer fans.

A goal created in collaboration between AC Milan legends Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi in a game against Liverpool.

Though it was debatable whether it could really be called a collaboration.

Usually, to say they ‘collaborated,’ either the player who assisted or the player who scored needs to have had some intention.

But that goal was just Pirlo kicking the ball towards the corner of the goal, and it happened to hit Inzaghi’s chest as he ran, deflecting it in.

It was clearly just a lucky goal caused by a deflection.

But the funny thing was, Inzaghi himself claimed he aimed for that goal.

Saying he knew Pirlo would kick it there, and he ran accordingly.

People debated about that interview.

Wondering if it was really possible.

One side said it was nonsense, that it was just a lucky shot and he was just saying that.

While the other side said it was possible for Pirlo and Inzaghi.

In any case, the truth was only known to Pirlo and Inzaghi, so the debate was never resolved.

In reality, if it were that easy, other players would have actively tried it.

No keeper can do anything against an unpredictable deflection, so if it were possible, it would be an invincible free kick.

Anyway, everyone agreed it was difficult.

But after watching the video at home, Johan thought this was it.

Whether Pirlo’s free kick was a shot or a pass, it still hit a teammate and went in, so wouldn’t that be an assist?

This was currently the most likely way to rack up assists.

Even more so than creating a one-on-one chance with a brilliant pass.

That’s why Johan called Buckley to practice deflection shots.

The large Buckley was perfect for scoring forced goals.

And after trying it himself, it definitely seemed doable.

The problem was Buckley.

“No, you can’t dodge it.”

“Man, people have instincts. I can’t help but dodge.”

“Just bear with it. You need to score.”

“You better aim right. If you hit me in the wrong place, you’ll be responsible for me for the rest of my life.”

“Don’t worry.”

Buckley was the problem, constantly getting scared and dodging.

I mean, how can he not just stand still when I’m practically spoon-feeding him a goal?

Still, after repeated practice, Buckley seemed to get used to it.

And that’s how the free kick from just now came about.

Whoosh-!

“···!?”

The shot that hit Buckley’s abdomen, who was half-turned towards the goal, deflected diagonally and started heading towards the goal.

No one can stop a deflection.

Burnley’s goalkeeper was already prepared for a strong shot, so he couldn’t react to the deflected shot.

Thwack-!

“Yessssss!”

“Hahaha! What was that!”

The ball went into the empty goal, and cheers and laughter erupted from the stands.

“Are these crazy guys actually doing that?”

“Amazing, amazing!”

“Anyway, it went in, so it’s fine!”

The players ran over with dumbfounded expressions.

And,

Buckley, who had become the scorer, had a pale face.

“Hey! This isn’t what we agreed on!”

“What do you mean?”

“We were supposed to hit my chest! It was too low! What if it hit just a bit lower!”

“I was worried about hitting your face.”

“Hit my face instead, hit my face! I still need to get married!”

A goal was scored, but there was a minor mistake.

Though it wasn’t minor from Buckley’s perspective.

Anyway, the ball was a bit lower than promised.

Buckley was relieved that he had protected his manhood rather than happy about scoring a goal.

“Whatever, congrats on the goal. Hey!”

“Man, Scottish hillbilly! Is this your second league goal? You’ve made it!”

“Congrats, Buckley!”

It was Jacob Buckley’s second goal in the Premier League.

“Lazy guys are always the problem…”

“Yes?”

“They only think about using their brains in sneaky ways.”

“Hehe.”

Coach Schmidt was dumbfounded and clicked his tongue after seeing Buckley’s goal.

At first glance, it looked like a normal deflected goal.

But Schmidt knew Johan well.

He definitely aimed for that.

To get an assist.

Since assists are more cost-effective than goals, he forced Buckley to score and took the assist for himself.

Those lazy guys are so good at using their brains.

He didn’t mean for the kid’s assists to increase in this way.

“Well, it’s good if the result is good.”

“Ha, really.”

Well, whatever.

It was a ridiculous goal, but that early opening goal made the game much easier to play.

An early goal against a team like Burnley is very significant.

An opening goal has the power to make even a team like Burnley come forward.

Of course, Burnley didn’t immediately change their stance after conceding a goal.

They continued to maintain a defensive stance, and West Ham continued to lead the game, aiming for an additional goal.

But it was important that time was on West Ham’s side.

That alone made them feel much lighter.

They’re in a hurry when they’re tied or behind, but why be in a hurry when they’re ahead?

When you’re comfortable, it definitely affects the players’ performance.

You can try more diverse things and try out what you’ve been training on with a light heart.

That’s what happened now.

Whoosh-!

As soon as Johan got the ball near the box, two defenders quickly came to mark him.

But, it wasn’t just two men, in fact, the entire Burnley defense was watching Johan.

It was as if all the defenders were just focused on stopping Johan.

The two defenders who directly marked Johan roughly pushed him away from the box, as if they wouldn’t allow him to shoot at all.

But the important thing was that they weren’t actually pushing him away.

Rather, it was more accurate to say that Johan was pulling the defenders out.

As if they were possessed, the defenders’ eyes were only on Johan.

And since their bodies had no choice but to follow their gaze, Burnley’s defense naturally moved at least two steps forward from their original positions.

And,

Nathan and Buckley penetrated through that space on both sides.

It was a penetration they wouldn’t have normally attempted.

So there was no response from the Burnley defenders,

And Johan didn’t miss it.

Whoosh-!

In training, Nathan’s finishing was slightly better than Buckley’s.

So Johan’s choice was the left, Nathan.

Swishhhhh-

Johan’s pass slipped through the tight defense so exquisitely.

The pass was so sharp that the audience gasped at once.

Whoosh-!

Of course, the subsequent process wasn’t entirely smooth.

Nathan’s touch was unstable.

But it was okay.

Johan’s pass was so exquisite that just holding onto the ball somehow opened up a one-on-one chance with the keeper.

Bang-!

Swoosh-

Thwack-!

Even if it was Nathan, it was a chance he couldn’t miss, so Burnley’s goal was opened.

“Nice-!”

“Yeah, Nathan scored too! It’s a goal bargain sale today! Everyone take one!”

Thanks to Johan, who was aiming for assists rather than goals, contrary to expectations.

The game was going quite easily in West Ham’s favor.

“Whistle, whistle-!”

The whistle blew, and the game ended.

The final score was 4-0.

West Ham won a cool victory against Burnley.

It was the first time this season that Burnley had lost by such a large margin.

They had lost to strong teams like Chelsea and Liverpool before, but they had never lost by such an overwhelming score of 4 goals.

But today, they completely collapsed.

The reason was that West Ham brought out a game plan that Burnley didn’t expect at all, and they couldn’t cope with it.

Only block Johan’s scoring, that was the entire game plan for Burnley.

In fact, they succeeded in that itself.

Johan played a scoreless game today.

But the important thing was that they couldn’t stop Johan from getting attacking points.

As many as 4 assists.

Johan recorded 4 assists in today’s game alone and was involved in every goal, even though he didn’t score.

In fact, he could have recorded even more.

If Nathan and Buckley had reduced their big chance misses a bit more.

Thanks to Johan, who drew all the aggro [aggression] and still delivered amazing passes in the midst of it.

Nathan and Buckley had several unmarked chances.

If they had connected all of them to score, it could have been an 8-0 game.

Coach Schmidt grabbed the back of his neck at the sight of the two missing chances in the early part of the game, but it was encouraging that the two seemed to be getting their senses back as the second half progressed.

Well, even so, it still seemed like a long way to go.

Anyway.

“Whew.”

Johan’s mood was the best after the game.

There hadn’t been a moment like this where he felt so good recently.

He felt even better than when he won against Manchester City.

Of course, there was also the fact that he had crushed Burnley, who he had been aiming for, but the biggest reason was still that he had recorded 4 assists.

As many as 4. 4.

And since it’s a double event, that’s 8 exemption coupons.

That meant he could enjoy 8 days of vacation.

“Coach. What should we do?”

“…”

“If we say let’s just forget about it…”

“Then he might ask to be released.”

“That wouldn’t work.”

Jamie, the coach, and Schmidt were making difficult expressions even though they had won a big victory.

What to do about this.

8 days. That means they won’t see Johan at the training ground for the entire next week.

And even then, there are 3 days left.

Not only that, but if he records another assist in the next game…

This, won’t we ever see him at the training ground again?

“Should we take away the first goal? Honestly, that’s a bit of a stretch.”

“Let’s not be petty as adults. Instead…”

“Instead?”

“It would be good to end the event early.”

Coach Schmidt let out a hollow laugh.

I thought I knew Johan better than anyone else now.

Wasn’t I?

Calling for a double was a mistake from the start. I underestimated him.

“Yeah. Rest well, and just show up well on game day.”

Like Romario, who scored a hat-trick in El Clasico [Real Madrid vs. Barcelona soccer match] because he wanted to go to the Rio Carnival.

Johan also got an unexpected vacation with his own power.

ㆍㆍㆍ

“It’s a very important time.”

“That’s right. We’ve been a bit complacent lately, but I think we need to be nervous.”

“The opponent is Johan. He’s not an easy guy.”

“He’s not an easy guy. We mustn’t be fooled by his emblem kiss.”

Two men are having a meeting with serious expressions.

It’s Seok-ho Ban and Rohan.

“8 days!?”

When Johan said he didn’t have to go to training for 8 days, Seok-ho Ban and Rohan were nervous.

In fact, they had been a bit complacent lately.

Whenever Johan went out to the game, he was active, and he showed some love for the club.

They thought there was nothing to worry about now.

But,

“What are you going to do while resting?”

“I’m going to sleep. Without thinking about soccer.”

When they asked what he was going to do while resting, Johan answered with a really happy expression that he was going to sleep without thinking about soccer.

Seok-ho Ban and Rohan had no choice but to be nervous.

Because they realized that it was a mistake to think that Johan had become close to soccer.

“Hmm…”

“If he rests for this long, he’ll hate going to the stadium.”

“We need to find a way we can do something.”

October. It was an important time.

Of course, it was good to take a sufficient rest before the weather got cold.

But Johan is Johan.

If left alone, he’s a guy who can drift away from soccer indefinitely. It was uneasy to leave him like this.

So Seok-ho Ban and Rohan wondered if there was a good way.

“Shall we call Grandpa?”

“Grandpa? Should we?”