Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 87

< 086. Two-Way Battle >

“Beep, Beeeep, Beeeeeeep!”

The final whistle blew.

The game ended with a 3-0 victory for England.

The England players, who had secured first place in the group and direct qualification to Euro 2028, were ecstatic, while the Italian players, who had suffered a crushing defeat at home, hung their heads.

“Haa…”

Capello also sighed.

Of course, he didn’t hang his head.

Capello isn’t the type to be discouraged or self-blaming after a defeat.

He’s just frustrated.

In fact, Capello did well today, so it’s understandable that he’s frustrated.

“Good job. You definitely stepped it up a notch.”

“…Of course.”

“Go easy on us in the league.”

“No way.”

Capello shook hands with the England players.

And then,

Capello shook hands with Yohan last.

“…You shouldn’t get the wrong idea.”

“About what?”

“It’s not that you beat me. It’s just that your team beat our team.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“How is that the same thing!”

Capello, irritated by Yohan’s cheerful demeanor, retorted.

“If our team’s strikers had done a little better, we would have won! It’s not like I lost because I wasn’t good enough!”

“Then score the goals yourself… Ah. Never mind.”

“What was that?”

“Anyway, I won because I played well, so I did win, right?”

“Th, that’s… Haa…”

He was frustrated, but he had no comeback.

Because it was true.

In the end, Yohan’s three goals decided today’s match.

What Capello said in the first place was an admission in itself.

Saying that Italy’s strikers would have won if they had done a little better meant that Yohan was better than them.

“Haha.”

Yohan laughed as he watched Capello seethe.

Actually, Yohan doesn’t like teasing people.

But for some reason, he just wants to tease Capello whenever he sees him.

He learned it all from his teammates.

Yohan patted Capello on the shoulder and said,

“Still, I think you’re definitely Italy’s ace.”

“Hmph. Of course. Even a soccer newbie like you can tell.”

“But do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not an Italian national.”

“…What?”

“If I were an Italian national, you wouldn’t be Italy’s ace. Just like in our team.”

“You, you little…!”

Capello’s face turned red.

It was just bad luck! It’s not my fault!

Don’t think that one game is the end of it!

It’s not decided who the real ace is yet!

“Then, do you want to bet on who gets a higher rating?”

“Ra, rating? That’s disadvantageous for me!”

“Hmm. I guess so. It’s a fact that I did better. I’m bound to be higher.”

“Th, that’s not it! Machine-calculated ratings only look at the result. The real beauty of soccer can’t be judged by numbers.”

“You seem to check the ratings pretty diligently for someone who says that?”

Capello couldn’t answer Yohan’s words. His face was about to explode.

He couldn’t win because he was being attacked with facts in such a petty way.

“Ugh…”

Yohan laughed and returned to the locker room,

Capello also kicked the turf irritably and headed to the locker room.

And he thought again.

He wanted to go back to London quickly.

To go back and get revenge for today.

Of course, that revenge was to perform better than that cocky brat and get MOM [Man of the Match].

To prove that today was just bad luck.

‘I can’t do this.’

He didn’t think he could sleep like this.

Instead of returning to the accommodation, Capello felt he had to stay at the stadium and train for at least an hour before returning to feel better.

—

“What are you looking at that’s so interesting?”

“Yes? Ah. It’s nothing.”

Ban Seok-ho asked Yohan, who was smiling and looking at his phone.

In fact, he was looking at something interesting.

He sent a message to Capello, which was a screenshot of the ratings of both teams’ players after the game.

no.9 Yohan Van 10.0

no.10 Daniele Capello 8.5

Clearly, the 1, meaning the message was read, had disappeared.

But there was no reply.

I guess he has nothing to say anymore.

Yohan liked Capello’s silence very much.

Ah, I hope he doesn’t bother me anymore.

I was so annoyed because he kept asking me to have a free-kick competition every training session.

“Don’t look at your phone when you come all the way here, look at the city scenery in front of you. Isn’t it nice?”

Anyway, Yohan was at a cafe on the outskirts of the city with his parents.

Located on a mountainside, it was a place where you could see the entire city at a glance.

To be honest, he definitely didn’t want to come.

He just wanted to sleep more at the accommodation.

So he was going to make an excuse about his condition, but Coach Ranister pushed him to go, so he couldn’t.

It doesn’t matter since you’re not playing in the Swiss game anyway.

Well, anyway, the scenery is really nice.

It’s annoying to come all the way here, but once you settle down and spend time like a loafer, your body and mind become comfortable.

It’s also fun to watch his mom and dad talking affectionately.

“Did you just say that to me?”

“Say what?”

“Don’t just look at your phone.”

“I was talking to Yohan? Why? Do you feel guilty?”

“I’m working? Managing Yohan’s Instagram! I’m working even when I come to a place like this, and instead of helping me…”

“I found this cafe and drove here. What’s wrong with you?”

…No, they were definitely really friendly just a moment ago.

Well, anyway.

Yohan was on an unexpected vacation with his parents, thanks to winning the game against Italy.

“I wonder if Rohan is doing well. I wish he had come with us. Hey, contact your brother.”

“Brother? He’s probably doing well.”

His brother seems to be having a good time on his vacation as well. He got a message last night, and he sent a picture of him inviting his friends to his house to watch soccer and play games.

My brother is looking forward to the next season.

That’s when the game will be updated, and he wants to play as West Ham this season.

The West Ham he can play now is last season’s West Ham, and the stats are too bad.

Anyway, my brother looked much happier than coming here.

Sigh. Yohan is jealous of his brother.

“Anyway, we’re having such a good time thanks to our youngest.”

“We raised one son well.”

“Not one, but two.”

“Are you going to keep picking on me? Don’t you know idioms?”

“Is that an idiom?”

Anyway, it’s good.

This A-match week [International match week], which he spent leisurely like a vacation, seemed to be quite helpful for the rest of the season.

When he returns to London, he will have to focus on the league again.

Because there’s really not much left.

—

-England defeats Switzerland 2-1, advances to the tournament with 5 wins and 1 loss… Semifinal opponent is Portugal

-‘Golden Generation’ England aims for Nations League title and Euro 2028 title

-Aiming for Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup… England’s New Generation, the center of which is Yohan Van!

-Italy, 2nd in the group, failed to qualify directly for the Euros but saw hope… 2-1 victory over Spain, Daniele Capello MOM

The last schedule of the Nations League group stage.

England defeated Switzerland despite the absence of many key players, finishing with a good result.

Of course, even if the starters were missing, England’s squad was so good that it didn’t have a big impact.

To the extent that the media’s hype about the golden generation didn’t feel like hype.

Because of this, fans were looking forward to good results in the Euro finals that will be held after this season.

Among those happy England fans, the happiest would be West Ham fans.

For them, this A-match week went according to the best-case scenario.

Yohan and Capello showed great performances, raising West Ham’s status to a higher level.

And Yohan didn’t play in the Swiss game, so he rested well for a week.

West Ham fans were waiting for the league to resume as soon as possible.

They wanted to see Yohan, who had come back after a good rest.

Of course, it wasn’t just the fans who were waiting for the league to resume.

Capello, who had been frustrated to death in the game against England, also wanted to get revenge, even though he had relieved his anger by receiving MOM in the game against Spain.

Capello aimed to restore his honor by focusing on training without rest after the England game and waited for the league to resume quickly.

However, only the fans of one team were hoping that the league restart day would not come.

It was the fans of Manchester United.

Because the opponent of West Ham on February 15, the day of the league restart, was Manchester United.

—

This season’s Manchester United felt unlucky in many ways.

They lost nearly 10 points due to goals conceded after 90 minutes, or a player they signed for a large sum was injured and laid up in a month.

Strangely, this season, something didn’t feel right.

It was the same this time.

Just before the game against West Ham, a piece of bad news rang out.

The news that Manchester United’s starting center back, Jude Harrison, was likely to miss the game due to injury.

According to the article, Harrison complained of hamstring pain after playing in both the Italy and Switzerland games and was unable to train.

Although it wasn’t severe, he would sit on the bench for now, but he wouldn’t start.

It was only natural that Manchester United manager James Hiddleston was greatly enraged by this news.

Hiddleston was so furious that he even publicly criticized Coach Ranister.

He said that while the key players of other teams were given a rest in the Swiss game, only Harrison was made to play.

It wasn’t fair.

In particular, Coach Hiddleston specifically mentioned Yohan.

He said that while he was taking care of Yohan so dearly, why didn’t he take care of Manchester United players.

He said that’s why there were injuries.

Of course, it was true that Hiddleston was upset.

However, public sentiment did not side with him.

After all, Harrison wasn’t the only one who played in both games, and it was only natural to take care of Yohan, who was only 16 years old.

Even Manchester United fans sighed.

Since the team was unable to move up from 6th place, trust in Hiddleston was already on the ground.

In addition, Jude Harrison, who was also the top player among PL [Premier League] defenders in terms of value, could not avoid criticism because he was always injured.

But the funny thing was that even Jude Harrison himself was thinking similarly.

‘I shouldn’t have said that…’

Harrison, who was sitting on the Manchester United bench at the London Stadium waiting for the game to start, thought as he watched the fans in the away seats shouting angrily.

I’m going to get cursed even if I stay still, but the manager is unnecessarily attracting aggro [aggravation], so I’m going to get cursed even more.

In fact, he told the club that the pain was quite severe and he didn’t think he could play in the game.

To be honest, the pain wasn’t that bad.

Enough to play in the game.

But Harrison was scared.

Harrison, who played in the same team as Yohan in this Italian expedition, had complicated thoughts.

Unfortunately, the first game after the league restart is against West Ham.

He was so scared to face that monster.

In addition, Capello of Italy, whom he had faced directly, was no ordinary guy.

He already had the memory of being completely defeated 1-5 at home by West Ham, so what would it be like in their home?

Even Yohan comes out after a good rest.

It was obvious.

Those wall-like defenders in Italy were also brutally털렸는데 [defeated], would he be any different?

Because of this, on the day of demobilization, Harrison jokingly but sincerely said to Yohan.

Please go easy on me in today’s game.

But then, Yohan smiled and replied.

“Anything else is okay, but not Manchester United.”

Harrison couldn’t help but be happy with the slight hamstring pain he felt after hearing that answer.

And,

He watched the started game from the bench as if he were dead.

Thank you.

Thank you to Coach Ranister for letting me play until the Swiss game, and thank you to my thigh for feeling pain.

From the start, West Ham seemed to be overwhelmingly dominating the game.

Capello, who seemed quite motivated, and Yohan, who seemed to be in good condition after a good rest.

Manchester United seemed quite overwhelmed by just the two of them.

And the Manchester United fans who were watching the scene began to think that way.

It might be better that Harrison is out due to injury.

Because there’s an excuse.

An excuse that they lost because Harrison was missing, which they wouldn’t have known if Harrison had been there.

“So let’s all thank Harrison’s hamstring.”

“Damn it! Thank you for hurting, hamstring!”

“You get hurt at just the right time! Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The Manchester United fans, who were laughing and making self-deprecating jokes while the team was being pushed back, looked somewhat out of their minds.