Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 63

< The Backup >

“Peeeeep, peeeeep, peeeeeep!”

The three whistles signaling the end of the match blared.

The Brighton players slumped to the ground right then and there.

“Haa, haaa… damn it…”

Their faces were filled with a sense of emptiness.

And no wonder.

This was a game they thought they could win, even up to the first half, no, even up to 20 minutes before the end.

But,

it had been unbelievably overturned.

Because of that monster who was subbed in during the 30th minute of the second half.

They had played well for 75 minutes, only to have the game flipped on its head in 15 minutes.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t even 15 minutes.

If you only counted the pure time it took for him to score the equalizing and go-ahead goals, it wouldn’t even amount to a minute.

The Brighton players couldn’t help but feel despondent.

They had lost a game they had in their grasp because of one guy.

The score was 2-1.

Thanks to Johann’s two goals, West Ham managed to come back and take a valuable 3 points.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Golden Boy!”

“Sorry, kid! Forgive your incompetent older brothers!”

The players rushed towards Johann, one after another, expressing their gratitude and celebrating the victory.

And Johann also shared in the joy with his teammates.

It was a rare sight to see Johann expressing his joy like that.

The reason was obvious.

“I don’t have to go to Newcastle!”

Because he didn’t have to go to work next game.

Anyway,

West Ham fans were simply happy to see Johann so happy, a sight that was rare to behold.

“Not just a Golden Boy, he’s a Ballon d’Or [the most prestigious individual award in football]! At least to me, you’re the Ballon d’Or!”

“Our golden maknae [youngest member]! You’re the best!”

“We wouldn’t say anything even if we got reported for violating underage labor laws! But thank you! We can’t do without you!”

West Ham fans cheered for Johann without holding back and enjoyed the joy of victory together.

There’s definitely a charm to come-from-behind victories.

Even though Brighton was a team they should have beaten today, the fans were celebrating as much as when they beat Manchester City.

And, in the midst of all that.

There were only two people who couldn’t fully enjoy the moment.

“Hmm…”

“There was no need to make such a promise, Manager.”

“I was desperate.”

“Johann would have done it anyway, even without the promise.”

“Then you should have stopped me earlier.”

“You didn’t even tell me beforehand, so how could I have?”

“Come on, shouldn’t you be able to tell what I’m going to say just by looking at my eyes, after being by my side for so long?”

“…Tch.”

Manager Schmidt and Coach Jamie were the only ones who couldn’t fully enjoy the joy of victory.

Of course, it was a very happy thing to win and take 3 points.

However, once the immediate fire is put out, the next thing you worry about is the next problem.

Like the saying, ‘People change their tune after they get what they want,’ Manager Schmidt felt like he had made an unnecessary promise to Johann.

What to do about the next game?

Without Johann.

Hmm.

‘Damn it.’

Manager Schmidt sighed, lost in thought.

He felt a little pathetic himself.

Since when had he become a manager who depended on one player?

He had only managed mid-to-lower tier teams from the start.

Back then, no, even until the beginning of this year, he was used to getting through the season without star players, and that was the norm.

However, the reverse effect is more keenly felt than the actual experience. It’s more empty when something is taken away than when it’s never been there.

Especially Johann, that kid isn’t just any ordinary guy.

He’s like a drug.

Highly addictive and brings great pleasure.

He didn’t want to touch it today, but he did.

So there’s no helping it. For the sake of the games after next, he’ll have to grit his teeth and bear it next time.

More than anything, seeing him so innocently happy at the thought of skipping work.

“Is he that happy?”

As an adult, he couldn’t bring himself to go back on his word.

Kid.

Yeah, take a good rest and come back.

The adults will figure out the rest somehow.

“Cute bastard.”

Manager Schmidt burst into a hearty laugh.

***

There are so many strange things in the world.

Reality is full of things that defy common sense.

For example, even siblings who are born and raised under the same parents can have completely opposite personalities.

“Seriously, you’re really Johann’s older brother, right?”

West Ham club officials always said that when they saw Rohan.

How can brothers be so different?

“Everything except the eyes, nose, and mouth is the complete opposite. How?”

If their eyes, nose, and mouth didn’t look so alike, no one would have believed that they were brothers, even though they had the same last name.

That’s because Johann was extremely lazy, while his older brother Rohan was extremely diligent.

December 12th, the day of West Ham’s season 17th round match against Newcastle.

Johann was resting at home, but Rohan traveled to Newcastle’s home stadium, St. James’ Park, which was almost 400 kilometers away from London.

“Let’s see.”

Rohan placed a pile of documents on his desk with a thud and opened his laptop.

That day, after receiving the offer from Manager Schmidt to learn about power analysis and whether he would like to try it.

Rohan hadn’t taken a single day off.

Of course, it was of his own volition.

In fact, he was still learning, so there were only a few days a week when he had to go to work in person.

However, Rohan worked every day.

He analyzed West Ham’s games, of course, and analyzed the next opponent’s games, up to the last 7 games.

He followed major media outlets and social media in various European leagues to keep up with the trends.

But Rohan didn’t feel like it was work at all.

He had been doing it that way even before he started working here.

But doing it as a job felt like a total steal.

In fact, people say that your hobby shouldn’t become your job.

However, Rohan didn’t understand that at all.

He was just happy as the amount of work increased.

Therefore, Rohan was the happiest he had ever been.

With the winter transfer market just around the corner, the amount of work pouring in was enormous.

“First, let’s set several conditions. And then create several lists of players that meet those conditions.”

There’s about an hour left before the game starts.

To handle all that work, you have to use even these short breaks.

What Rohan is trying to do now is related to the winter transfer market. Of course, these are not tasks that a power analyst would normally handle.

However, Manager Schmidt no longer thought of Rohan as a simple power analyst.

Because his knowledge was so vast and extensive, he began to entrust Rohan with things beyond that.

He even asked what kind of players should be added to the squad this winter and next summer.

Of course, Rohan was excited and said he would look into it.

Why, isn’t it fun?

It was a club he had always liked, and during the transfer market, he had only wished that someone would come.

But now he could be directly involved.

It felt like playing a soccer game in real life.

“First of all…”

Reinforcing the squad.

It’s not really a difficult problem.

Currently, West Ham is running first in the league and is on a 9-game winning streak after the last win against Brighton.

However, does that mean the current squad is perfect?

No, it’s full of shortcomings. Rather, it’s full of shortcomings.

Those shortcomings could be found in the starting lineup, the best eleven, and the bench, not to mention the bench.

Therefore, deciding which resources to target first was not a difficult problem.

Moreover, Manager Schmidt hinted that the transfer funds promised by the club were at a level that would make your eyes widen, so he only had to worry about what to do with all the money.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that what he has to prepare this time is the winter transfer market.

There is a clear difference between winter and summer.

First of all, the biggest thing is that it’s in the middle of the season.

Moving teams in the middle of the season is a very burdensome thing for players.

Because they can’t have a preparation period like the pre-season in the summer.

Therefore, it’s safe to say that core players rarely transfer in the winter.

In other words, there are no big signings in the winter, and it’s difficult to bring in big-name players.

“It’s definitely impossible to get these guys. Even if we can match their salaries or transfer fees…”

Therefore, he puts off some of the players he’s been eyeing until later.

It would be really great if these friends came to the team, but it would be difficult in the winter.

He’ll move this to the summer recruitment list.

Then he’ll fill the list with players who are likely to come now.

Currently, the most urgent positions are about three.

First, the right fullback.

Manager Schmidt doesn’t seem to have given up on the current right back, Michael Jenkinson, but in Rohan’s opinion, it seemed clear that a resource to replace him was needed.

The tools he has are definitely good, but he doesn’t feel like he fits in with the current team.

Like Petrovic on the left, it would be good to bring in a player with good straight side breakthroughs and crosses.

Second, the defensive midfielder.

This is the same. A position they failed to reinforce last summer. They are still showing decent performances, but the problem is that they are getting old. Considering the second half of the season and the next season, this side needs a transfusion of young blood.

Of course, it would be even better if they had the ability to pass forward in addition to their young activity.

He’ll have to look for those kinds of players first.

Finally, the backup striker.

A reliable backup striker is needed so that Johann can take the rest he needs.

The need for this backup striker was revealed in the game right before.

If there was a reliable backup, Johann wouldn’t have needed to play in the game.

Therefore, even if they can’t find other positions, they must bring in this backup striker as a priority this winter.

However, the problem is that this is the most difficult position to find at this point.

First of all, it’s hard to find a decent striker, regardless of winter or summer.

Why is Johann’s price soaring to unimaginable heights? Because strikers themselves are rare.

In addition, the problem is that players will know that if they get a striker from West Ham, they will inevitably be a backup.

In the current situation, no one can come and take over the starting position from Johann.

I’m not just saying this because he’s my brother, but really, no one can completely push Johann to the bench.

Therefore, if they want to bring someone in, the player himself must be satisfied with the position of backup.

But there aren’t many players like that.

That’s the problem.

“But that’s not my business.”

In any case, solving that problem is the responsibility of the club’s front office.

Rohan only needs to make a list of players to be recruited.

“…Okay. This is about it in Serie A [Italian Football League]. Next, shall we go to the Eredivisie [Dutch Football League]…”

With one laptop, Rohan scans all over Europe, searching for players that meet the criteria he has set.

Since he already has some ideas in mind, Rohan’s list is quickly filled with players.

“I think this is enough.”

Filling the players according to their abilities is not a difficult task.

Therefore, the list of items was completed quickly.

However, now is the real work.

He has to narrow down the list to players who can realistically be brought to the team.

This will take quite some time from here.

This is because he has to check everything, such as what position the player has in the team, what the team’s situation is, what the contract issues are, and what the player’s situation is.

Rohan opened a new window and began to search for accounts of soccer journalists or local articles on SNS that he had followed.

While he was grasping the trends of the players.

“…Hmm?”

Rohan frowned and tilted his head, discovering an eye-catching article.

What is this? Is it a tabloid?

No.

The name of the reporter who wrote the article is Fabrizio Bernar.

He’s the top reporter with public confidence, right?

“He wants to come to our team…?”

It was an article that an unexpected name revealed his intention to come to West Ham, even though he is heading towards the end of his career as a player.

No, no matter how much he’s heading towards the end of his career as a player.

He, who was once the representative striker of a rival team, wants to come to West Ham?

“Hmm…”

However, Rohan nodded after reading the article.

The reason he revealed was that he wanted to play with Johann one last time.