Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 92

< 091. The Full Moon Rises >

-West Ham 4:1 Liverpool, Ruling Out Championship Race as a Two-Way Battle… Johann Van Scores 4 Goals

└Liverpool utterly destroyed

└You’re the ones barking like dogs. We’re going to lift the Big Ears [Champions League trophy]

└Let’s talk after you reach the finals ^^

└Manchester United is all smiles

└What are you so happy about with your Europa League status?

└Liverpool was never our opponent~~

└Manchester City, watch your head. The moment you slip up, we’ll take it

-‘Looks Like a Brazilian’ Johann Van, What’s the Background Behind Suddenly Attempting a Rainbow Flick? ‘Because of a Bet with Capello.’

└So, Capello told Johann, “You can’t do something like this, can you?” And Johann got pissed and used a rainbow flick against Liverpool?

└He did something he hadn’t even practiced in a real match? Against Liverpool? It was too perfect to be true, wasn’t it?

└Do you believe that? No wonder you guys get hammered, you’re so naive. Of course, he must have practiced it

└Johann? LOL. Practicing? LOL. You’re even more stupid to believe that, idiot LOL

└Does he not know who Johann is?

└Is there any genius like this… He was like Ronaldinho yesterday

└Ronaldinho would have practiced before using it in a real match

The Hammers [West Ham fans] reacted jovially to Johann’s interview.

To think that those seemingly perfect skills were all things he was trying for the first time.

It seemed like a lie, but they knew Johann very well.

They knew that his words about never having practiced were not a lie.

Therefore, West Ham fans flocked to taunt Liverpool fans even more amusingly, reveling in their victory.

They also hoped that this atmosphere would continue until the FA Cup, sending great support to the team.

And that FA Cup Round of 16 match,

Took place on March 12, 2028, at Riverside Stadium.

In fact, the FA Cup has far more unpredictable elements than the league.

Just look at West Ham’s Round of 16 opponent being Middlesbrough from the Championship [the league below the Premier League].

After all, it’s not that the FA Cup isn’t an important competition, but it’s true that its importance is ‘relatively’ lower compared to the league or European competitions.

In any case, the league is the priority.

Next would be European competitions such as the Champions League or the Europa League.

The FA Cup is next in line.

The lower league teams you meet in the FA Cup are tricky for that reason.

Because this FA Cup is the biggest competition for them.

They play with everything they have on the line, while Premier League teams are thinking of advancing while exerting as little energy as possible.

The FA Cup was where upsets always occurred due to the difference in attitude towards the game.

The difference in positions between West Ham and Middlesbrough this time was similar.

West Ham is still in a fierce league title race, and Middlesbrough is far from promotion.

Therefore, Middlesbrough was in a position to put all their efforts into this game to advance to the higher rounds as much as possible.

Of course, West Ham is still the favorite to win, but it was clear that it would be a tricky game.

However, Harry Kane’s presence was of great help to West Ham in times like these.

Kane started instead of Johann.

Kane, who had won the league’s top scorer title three times in the past.

And usually, top scorers are great at scoring against weaker teams.

After all, the top scorer is determined by the total goal record for the entire season.

Whether you score against a strong team or a weak team, it’s the same one goal.

In that case, it is more advantageous to score against relatively easy-to-score weak teams to win the top scorer title.

And, as I said, Kane had won that top scorer title three times.

Furthermore, Kane also holds the record for the most Premier League hat tricks in a year.

So, he’s the best when it comes to scoring.

Of course, all of this is a story from his prime, but that doesn’t mean his class disappears.

In the match against Middlesbrough, Kane’s class was still proven to be alive.

Kane was the oldest veteran in the current West Ham squad.

However, Kane was the one who ran the hardest in the match against Middlesbrough.

Kane had promised Johann before the game.

He would take care of the FA Cup up to the semi-finals, so he could focus on the league without worry.

Of course, he didn’t just promise out of consideration.

It’s because he wants them to win the league trophy.

Of course, the league trophy is what he wants the most, but he put all his effort into it because he also craves the FA Cup trophy.

West Ham players and coach Schmidt were already thinking.

Those Manchester City guys, be sure not to lose and make it to the finals.

Let’s meet at Wembley [stadium that hosts FA Cup final], friends.

Because that’s when we can smash your heads.

ㆍㆍㆍ

West Ham’s atmosphere is better than ever these days.

Of course, it can’t be helped.

They are performing much better than the goals they had planned at the beginning of the season.

They are even competing for the championship, which they couldn’t even imagine.

Every day, the media poured out articles analyzing how West Ham became such a strong team, and there was talk that the miracle that Leicester City had caused in 15/16 could happen again.

But was it because West Ham’s good atmosphere was unpleasant to see?

Or is it that big clubs usually have to go through these things?

All sorts of gossip also began to surface.

The most common story was whether they would be able to maintain the same performance next season after this season.

Most of them predicted that it would be impossible.

They cited the example of Leicester City again this time.

The media mentioned that Leicester City finished 12th in the 16/17 season, the season immediately after winning the championship, and said that the transfer of key players to big clubs was inevitable, so West Ham would follow suit.

A typical example was N’Golo Kante.

Kante joined Leicester in 2015, tasted victory that year, and transferred to Chelsea the following season.

His transfer fee jumped more than four times in just one season, so you can see how great Kante’s role was.

After Kante left, key members such as Danny Drinkwater and Riyad Mahrez all left the team for a price that was incomparable to before.

Since then, Leicester has established itself as a team that cannot be ignored, but it has become a team that is far from the championship.

In the end, the media predicted that West Ham’s key players would also leave for big clubs.

Whether they win the championship like a miracle, or finish the season in 2nd or 3rd place.

West Ham’s performance this season was sensational, and as a result, the team’s key members have seen their values ​​rise a lot compared to the beginning of the season.

Johann, who has become a top-tier attacker in Europe, doesn’t need to be mentioned, as well as Jeff Huurichel, Jacob Buckley, Jonathan Neison, etc.

In particular, Jonathan Neison was the player who recorded the highest increase in value, except for Johann.

25 years old, English nationality, home-grown [developed in the club’s youth system], and left-footed.

Neison certainly had good qualities to be priced highly.

Of course, what is being evaluated most highly is his performance on the pitch.

Neison, who silently but passionately covers ground for 90 minutes, is popular among fans as an ‘unsung hero’.

Fans also knew that Johann was able to play soccer comfortably thanks to this Neison.

Because he runs to cover Johann’s defensive responsibilities.

In addition, there is no off-field drama at all.

He was the most dedicated player in the team.

He is always the first player to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave.

Reporters followed him 24 hours a day to dig into his private life, but the only place he went on holidays was the gym.

As a result, it was natural that he was often compared to N’Golo Kante.

So, there were many people who predicted that his actions next season would also resemble Kante’s.

-Arsenal Aiming for West Ham’s Jonathan Neison

-Chelsea, Offer for Jonathan Neison This Summer? Will He Become the Second Kante?

-Transfer Rumors Continue Despite Remaining Contract Period, Jonathan Neison Remains Silent

“···”

Before going to work.

Jonathan Neison, who was reading the morning newspaper, one of his routines, sighed inwardly.

As expected, there was an article about him again today.

As you can tell from Neison’s sigh, he is not happy with these articles at all.

It should be a welcome thing that many teams want him.

Because it means that his value is being recognized that much.

But now is the middle of the season.

It’s also a more important time than ever.

The team is competing for the championship.

In such an important time, articles related to transfer rumors only destabilize the team.

It’s a pretty malicious tabloid.

That’s right. It’s a real tabloid.

Because none of the teams that have officially contacted him were among those written in this article.

Even the articles related to transfer rumors had so many baseless speculations that they couldn’t even be treated as tabloids.

There were even reporters who were saying that his expression was always stiff at the training ground, implying that he was unhappy at West Ham.

What did they say?

Neison, the icon of diligence, hates being with Johann, the icon of laziness?

“···”

Neison chuckled, thinking it was absurd again.

Of course, it looks serious to others, but this is Neison’s version of a hearty laugh.

Anyway, Neison knew better than anyone.

That his value has skyrocketed in the past year is not entirely thanks to his skills.

He was the moon.

The moon cannot shine alone.

It just reflects the light emitted by the sun.

Therefore, you shouldn’t mistake it for being a full moon.

The moon can become a crescent moon at any time.

Neison thought he was no different.

I hate Johann?

That’s ridiculous.

How grateful I am to him.

“···”

Neison had always been silent until now.

He thought it was a waste of time to respond to these tabloids one by one.

However, if these rumors become a nuisance to the team, things will be different.

Now is the time to unite even more.

Neison always thought that it was best to show it with actions rather than words, but he thought he should speak up this time.

I have to reveal it after winning the next game as if to show off.

How grateful he is to Johann.

ㆍㆍㆍ

March 18, 2028.

St. Mary’s Stadium in Hampshire.

Today is the day of the 32nd round away game against Southampton.

As the commentators said, the last game against Southampton was quite tricky.

This was because Soton had successfully exploited West Ham’s weak point, the left defense.

Today’s game didn’t seem to be much different.

This is because Soton explicitly telegraphed their intentions by placing Luca Hernandez, the dribbler who harassed Petrović, on the right again today.

Of course, West Ham did not make any other changes because they had won despite that.

Just as usual.

The mindset that they can win if they trust Johann and play their game.

But, after the game started.

Slightly different situations began to unfold than expected.

Hernandez was not able to create any threatening chances today.

It wasn’t because Petrović’s defensive skills had grown rapidly in a short period of time.

It was thanks to Jonathan Neison.

Neison is a player with a lot of energy anyway.

But today, he had a lot of movements coming back in particular.

He knew that Petrović was having trouble facing Hernandez.

Hernandez is not a world-beater enough to break through a well-organized cooperative defense.

Thanks to this, West Ham started to control the game easily.

And, as always, Johann’s scoring streak was activated, and the victory of the game went to West Ham.

<2-0, West Ham won a clean victory. Southampton didn't show an impressive performance unlike the last game.>

Neison was not interested in personal accolades at all.

The only important thing is the team’s victory.

However, he felt that he wanted to be selected as MOM only today.

If possible, because there is something he wants to say directly to the camera himself.

So, after the game ended.

Neison looked around, secretly hoping, after returning to the locker room, and

“Hey, Neison! Let’s go for an interview! You are the MOM today!”

“Oh, I knew it! It’s Neison today!”

He was delighted – looking serious to others – at the news that he would be doing the MOM interview and headed to the interview site.

“···”

However, he doesn’t feel confident as he’s about to head to the interview site.

First of all, I have a prepared script, but can I pull it off?

I think I’ll be embarrassed.

Hmm…

I have to be brave, well.