Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 77

< 076. Going Together >

-West Ham defeats Birmingham City 4-0, advancing to the next round! Johan scores a hat-trick, Capello with 3 assists in his debut!

└Best decision to only let Johan play for 45 minutes, lol

└Let’s go for the FA Cup win!!!

└The early aggressive push was key

└Capello is really good. Thanks to him, Johan got a lot of chances

└Of course, Johan helped him get 3 assists too, lol

└Capello probably didn’t expect to get 3 assists, haha

-The chemistry between the two exploded from the first game! Johan and Capello combined for 3 goals!

└From the first game, wow

└Johan basically created everything, lol

└Hey, don’t say that. Capello reads all his articles

└Anyway, his aggressive forward passes were great. It increased the chances for Johan

└Definitely a successful signing

└Don’t get ahead of yourself saying it’s successful just because you beat a second-tier team

└Shut up before I track your IP

└I tracked it and it says Tottenham

└Capello: “Tottenham offer? Didn’t even consider it.”

└LMAO, are you seething?

-[Fancam] Capello staring at Barney, who gifted him 3 assists

└Is this some kind of unrequited love, lol

└How can you not fall in love? He just passes and gets 3 assists, lol

└Man, have you ever seen an attacker like this?

└The Serie A bumpkin is shocked, lol. I understand, I had the same expression when I first saw Johan

└He’s probably thinking, ‘What is this guy?’

└Keep passing to Johan like today, and you’ll be the assist king

After a complete victory in the FA Cup match against Birmingham City,

The atmosphere at West Ham’s training ground was as good as the fans’ enthusiastic reactions.

January, after December, the busiest month of the year.

Usually, this is the most exhausting time.

Even more so than the end of the season.

At the end of the season, you can at least see the end in sight, so it’s bearable even if it’s tough.

Now, just past the halfway point of the league, the physical burden is severe, and there’s also the psychological pressure of how far there is to go.

In many ways, it was a time when players were most likely to feel exhausted.

“Last year around this time, the team was a mess.”

“Hmm.”

“There were quite a few injuries, and the team atmosphere was depressed because the ranking wasn’t as good as expected. We were always anxious about whether our ranking would drop again next week. I only have stressful memories.”

Jamie, the coach, recalled this time last year. As he said, West Ham’s atmosphere last January was close to the worst.

We had high expectations for Schmidt, a mid-table specialist, but the results weren’t as good as we thought.

There were many injuries during the winter, and the front office provided little to no support, leaving holes in the squad here and there.

With so many difficulties piling up, there was no reason to laugh at the training ground.

Everyone was just focused on training with a dead look on their faces.

“I never thought it would change this much in a year.”

“I knew it.”

“You’re a good liar.”

“What? You disrespectful brat.”

“Honestly, you didn’t expect it to be this good, did you? That’s a real lie.”

“Hehe.”

But, now, a year later.

As Jamie said, the atmosphere at the training ground had changed 180 degrees.

First of all, the results are too good.

As of the 23rd round, we have 18 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.

We are running second in the league, just a hair’s breadth away from first-place Manchester City.

We’ve also advanced to the round of 16 in the FA Cup, and the draw is easy, with our opponent being Middlesbrough from the second division, so the possibility of advancing to the quarterfinals is quite high.

Results that cannot be compared to last year, when we were eliminated early from all cup competitions and even the Europa League was out of reach.

With such good results, the atmosphere couldn’t be bad.

But, more important than that was the atmosphere within the team.

“You definitely brought in some good guys.”

“Are you evaluating me now?”

“Why are you being so prickly again? You can’t be honest.”

“What? What am I doing?”

“When you get compliments, you get shy and get angry. You can just say thank you. You’re like a grumpy German grandpa.”

“You little punk.”

Before the main training, laughter never stopped among the players who were standing in a circle, warming up with rondo [a training exercise where players pass the ball to each other while trying to keep it away from one or two players in the center].

“You’re it. It’s your bad pass.”

“What are you talking about? I gave it right. You didn’t receive it, so you’re it.”

“Jenkinson is right. You’re it.”

“Wow, I’m so sad. You’re taking his side because we’re both fullbacks.”

“You two were a couple in your past life.”

“Be a couple in this life too.”

“What’s with those expressions that it’s not bad?”

Martin Petrovic and Michael Jenkinson are always together, to the point where people say they were a couple in their past life.

When there were rumors of Jenkinson’s transfer during the winter, Petrovic’s expression wasn’t good either, but recently, Jenkinson renewed his contract, and they are always smiling during training.

“Hey, man! Why is everyone attacking me!”

“Haha! What are you talking about? Everyone touched it once, Barkley.”

“Thanks, Barkley! Thanks to you, I don’t have to worry about being it!”

“It’s the most fun to pass to you. Your flustered face when you get the ball is really funny.”

“You’re all dead! I’m not going easy on you during training! I’m going to break your ankles!”

“What are you saying? You’ve been in London for half a year and you still can’t fix your accent.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m speaking standard Korean.”

“Not ‘is-uyo,’ it’s ‘is-eoyo.’ [different Korean sentence endings]”

“Is, uyo.”

Jacob Barkley is definitely the mood maker.

A style that’s perfect for teasing, unlike his size.

No, maybe it’s funnier because of his size.

Many guys endure the hard training by making fun of Barkley.

“Hey, guys. This time, the target is Capello.”

“What? Why me?”

“Why, are you scared? You’re a genius, so you’re confident that we can’t catch you no matter how much we attack, right?”

“Th, that’s right. I’m different from you guys from birth.”

“Did you hear that? Attack!”

“Hahaha! Got him right away!”

“Hey, you can’t pass that hard!”

“If you’re a genius, you have to take this much. Unless, you’re not a genius?”

“Hmph. I just wanted to experience being it. I just wanted to know how Barkley feels without talent.”

“What did you say? This cocky junior! Do you think your senior is a joke!”

“A joke.”

Capello, surprisingly, was as fun to tease as Barkley.

He firmly believes that he is the world’s greatest genius, so if you praise him a little and then hit him with a blow, his face immediately turns red.

But no matter how much you tease him, he converts it into praise, a guy with a tremendous self-centered process.

He doesn’t get hurt no matter how much you tease him, so he’s the target of his teammates’ concentrated attacks.

“Hey, look at these guys hiding quietly.”

“Wow, I almost passed quietly again. Attack them too!”

“…” “…”

In contrast, there are guys who are good to tease.

Silent Jeff Hurrichel and Jonathan Nathan creak like broken machines when their teammates play pranks on them.

In particular, Hurrichel, unlike his appearance like a Norwegian combat weapon, is a tenderhearted friend.

“Hey, let him catch Hurrichel. He’s getting hurt.”

“Look at his expression. He’s sulking.”

“That’s him?”

“Capello, you still can’t tell Hurrichel’s expression. That’s the expression right before he cries.”

“Not right before he kills someone?”

“Uh-uh. Don’t say that. He keeps that in mind and… Ah, never mind. Hurrichel, I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re the worst.”

He’s even got a cute side that doesn’t suit him.

On the other hand, Nathan is so quiet that even Hurrichel feels like a chatterbox, and he has no emotional expression, so he makes his teammates feel challenged.

They were even betting on who could make Nathan burst out laughing or get angry first.

“I wonder what it would be like for Hurrichel and Nathan to go out together.”

“Even if they go on a 7-night, 8-day trip, they’ll probably only say about three words.”

Jamie and Schmidt watched the players warming up, chuckling among themselves.

Maybe it’s because they’ve gathered guys who are missing something or are unique, but the atmosphere of the team is lively and better than ever.

There’s much more camaraderie than last year, and they’ve built up human intimacy.

In short, the team has become close-knit.

In some ways, all of this may be due to one guy.

“So, Johan won’t be out until Thursday?”

“Yeah. Three goals, so he gets three days off. It’s his special privilege.”

“Damn.”

“Why, do you miss the little guy so much? Capello?”

“I want to have a rematch in the free-kick competition.”

“More than that, you miss the assists he spoon-fed you.”

“Funny you should say that. You really don’t know how to watch soccer.”

“Uh-uh. No need to be shy. We’re all members of Johan’s fan club anyway. You can like him as much as you want.”

“…Like him? What are you talking about.”

“Since our Capello seems to be still shy, let’s help him. This time, praise Johan every time we pass.”

“Okay, good!”

“I’ll start. Johan is good at scoring goals.”

“Johan uses both feet well. Hup.”

“Johan is a genius.”

“Johan can sleep anywhere.”

“Johan stays home so his skin is good.”

“…”

“Okay, Capello. You’re up.”

“Capello is still awkward at expressing his feelings honestly.”

If you win, win, and win again, the team’s atmosphere can’t be bad.

If it weren’t for Johan, half of the points we’ve accumulated so far might have been lost.

Frankly speaking, Johan’s talent is carrying and feeding this team.

Johan was definitely the center of all these guys.

But, it was important that even Johan wasn’t perfect.

Schmidt recalled the story he had told the players last summer.

At that time, he told the players that they should become Johan’s mother bird.

He told them to fill in the gaps in his shortcomings, and they are actually doing so.

The players were proud of the fact that their existence could fill Johan’s shortcomings.

It gives them pride that they can be helpful to such a tremendous genius like Johan.

Perhaps, if Johan was a flawless, perfect human being, he might not have been a player that all his teammates liked as much as he does now.

If so, it might not have been the close-knit team it is now.

Schmidt chuckled as he recalled Johan dozing off on the bench.

“I hope that guy doesn’t suddenly become diligent.”

“Why?”

“If he becomes perfect, there’s no fun in cleaning up after him. That’s part of the fun.”

“Is it like, ‘What would he have done without me?’ Raising a son?”

“Hmm.”

“Wow, so you think Johan wouldn’t have been able to perform as well as he is now if he hadn’t met you?”

“Well, it’s not wrong. I’m the one who’s legally making up ridiculous excuses so that he doesn’t have to come to training.”

Jamie shook his head and laughed at Schmidt’s words.

Well.

It’s not wrong, but wasn’t he the one who valued principles more than anyone else?

His nickname is Kkon… Ahem.

Johan is just an exceptional genius who makes even such a manager make exceptions.

Well, anyway.

You’re working hard to make the most of Johan’s talent, so it’s true.

“But, does he even know?”

“What?”

“That everyone is working hard for him with a happy heart.”

“Does he need to know? It’s okay if he doesn’t know. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing.”

“Then, if he ever wins the Ballon d’Or [an annual football award presented to the best male player], later, you won’t be sad if he doesn’t mention you in his acceptance speech?”

“What?”

Schmidt scoffed at Jamie’s question as if he was dumbfounded.

Come on. It’s not like I’m a kid.

Do I look like I’d be sad about that at this age?

“…But, my contribution is big.”

…If that happens, I think I’ll be sad.

How did I raise him?

I raised him, taking care of all his poop and pee, and he doesn’t even say thank you?

“It’s not sad, it’s outrageous.”

“No, why are you getting so upset? It’s just an imagination. Do you think Johan would do that?”

“You… you have too many useless words. Shut up and go do the kids’ session!”

“Yes, yes.”

Schmidt sighed as he watched Jamie chuckle.

Many experts and the media were predicting that West Ham’s momentum would wane as the second half approached.

They were predicting that they would eventually lose their ranking to Liverpool or Chelsea due to a lack of stamina.

‘Will it really?’

But Schmidt could guarantee that they were wrong.

The team is closer than ever.

They are pulling each other, caring for each other, and complementing each other. As a team, they are one.

Such a team does not lose strength easily.

The strength of individuals can be easily broken, but the strength of a group that has become one mass does not break easily.

Schmidt firmly believed that this would be proven in the next league match against Chelsea.

People thought that Chelsea was a stronger team, even though West Ham was higher in the rankings than Chelsea and had won against them in the first half.

They were still thinking that Chelsea was a stronger team and that their chances of winning were higher.

However, he will show them.

That the current West Ham is not just causing an upset, but is becoming a strong team.