Lazy Genius Striker [EN]: Chapter 95

< 094 – Let’s Play >

Greetings from Wembley Stadium in London. We’re here to broadcast the FA Cup final between Manchester City and West Ham United.

Wembley is already buzzing. Of course, Wembley is sold out today.

Wembley Stadium, the sacred ground of English football and England’s largest stadium, was filled with fans from both teams.

The atmosphere was so grand that even the sound of the 90,000 spectators breathing felt majestic.

The significance of a final is always special.

Especially today.

With the league standings already decided.
The clash between the winning team and the team that narrowly missed out on the title.

It was truly a meeting of teams worthy of a final.

The atmosphere at Wembley today was as heated as a Champions League final, where the best teams in Europe compete.

~Blue moon! You saw me standing alone!

~Without a dream in my heart!

~Without a love my own!

~Blue moon!

On one side, Manchester City’s signature chant, ‘Blue Moon,’ echoed,

~I’m forever blowing bubbles!

~Pretty bubbles in the air!

~They fly so high! Reach the sky!

~Then like my dreams they fade and die!

On the opposite side, West Ham’s anthem resonated.

The fervor of both teams’ fans, eager to defeat each other, clashed intensely.

“Hmm…”

Enjoying the fantastic atmosphere, Rohan bit his lip while checking his phone.

“Rishard is in the starting lineup… He must be in good condition.”

“Starting? Ugh. I expected it, but it’s not good news.”

The starting lineups for both teams had just been released.

Samir Rishard’s name was on Manchester City’s lineup.

He must be at his peak.

“Why? Who is it?”

“There’s Rishard, their ace.”

“Is he better than Yohan?”

“Well… you’ll see.”

“I’ll see? Is he that good?”

Kim Rahee’s eyes widened at Ban Seokho’s reaction.

To Kim Rahee, the best football player in the world was her second son, Yohan.

But if her husband was saying that, how good could he be?

“He’s second in league goals this season. Second in attack points too.”

“Yohan is first, right?”

“Yes. Overwhelmingly first. But, Rishard didn’t play a full season; he played fewer games. Considering that, his record is honestly amazing.”

Samir Rishard recorded a total of 29 goals and 9 assists this season.

19 goals and 5 assists in the league, 6 goals and 3 assists in the Champions League, and 4 goals and 1 assist in the FA Cup.

Of course, it was quite a difference compared to Yohan.

Yohan scored 60 goals in the league alone.

60 goals.

It’s an unbelievable record.

It surpasses Lionel Messi’s record of 50 goals in the 2011/12 season by 10 goals.

However, it was harsh to compare him to Yohan based solely on goal records.

Rishard’s stats alone were incredible.

Most of all, the fact that he achieved that record despite missing the first half of the season due to injury was monstrous.

Rishard only played in 25 games this season.

Manchester City played well over 50 games in total, so he didn’t even play half of them.

Yet, he was second in individual scoring, following Yohan.

Talent is talent.

No, it’s super-talent.

But, the problem isn’t the record.

“The record isn’t the problem? What do you mean?”

“What I mean by ‘you’ll see’ is that you really have to see it to understand. His influence is enormous. The atmosphere changes just by him touching the ball.”

“The atmosphere changes? You always explain things in a hard-to-understand way.”

“But it’s true. I can’t explain it any other way right now. You’ll see.”

Manchester City is a team with the best talents in Europe, no, the world.

And the fact that he’s the ace of that Manchester City team needs no further explanation.

Samir Rishard.

The fact that he was starting today was definitely a difficult situation for West Ham.

However, interestingly.

The expressions on Rohan and Ban Seokho’s faces as they waited for the game to start showed more anticipation than anxiety.

Rishard.

Of course, he’s a great talent.

But, they have Yohan.

And a very angry Yohan.

“Ugh, I wish it would start soon.”

“I can’t wait either. Yesterday, Yohan’s expression was… fierce.”

“I’d be angry too. He’s about to have to retake his college entrance exam by a hair [referring to the pressure and importance of the game, akin to a make-or-break exam].”

“Even Manchester City won’t be able to stop him. Not against that Yohan.”

“What? You were just saying how great this Rashard or Rishard guy was.”

Rohan and Ban Seokho smiled at Kim Rahee’s words.

“That’s right. He’s an amazing player. But, Yohan is Yohan.”

Tournaments have far more variables than leagues.

Especially the final, which is a single game.

Anything can happen.

In these games, one ace often changes the course of the game.

The story of who went crazy that day can determine the winning team.

In that sense, today seemed to be a showdown between the aces of both teams.

Samir Rishard.

And Yohan.

Who will lead their team to victory?

“Ah, they’re coming out.”

“Yohan!”

“Son! Don’t get hurt, and win!”

The game started with the players entering.

*

Although Schmidt had many concerns before the game, there wasn’t much West Ham could do against Manchester City.

Raising the line and going head-to-head with them was honestly difficult.

In the end, the best option seemed to be to solidify the defense and aim for counterattacks, just like they did in the 8th round.

Manchester City slowly passing the ball around. West Ham isn’t pressing aggressively, but rather slowly holding their positions.

They probably can’t press recklessly. Not against Manchester City. If they did, they’d just exhaust themselves.

Manchester City doesn’t launch a fierce attack from the start either.

However,

rather than feeling like they can’t easily penetrate, it feels like they’re very relaxed.

Lightly, lightly.

After the pass made a full rotation, as if all the players were just touching the ball once.
The ball eventually went to Samir Rishard.

I’m curious how West Ham will stop Rishard today. I wonder what solution Schmidt has come up with.

Looking at the formation, it seems they’re trying to minimize Rishard’s range of activity by bringing in a lot of defenders. There’s really no other way.

Isn’t there also the option of assigning a dedicated marker [a player specifically assigned to guard another]?

Well, if you look at scenes like this, you can see that it’s not a good method.

Rishard started dribbling lightly, as if greeting them, and West Ham’s midfielders were easily brushed aside.

Of course, it felt like they were letting him do it to some extent, as Rishard wasn’t attempting to dribble vertically towards the goal, but rather horizontally, scanning the field.

But Rishard’s dribbling was definitely light.

A dedicated marker wouldn’t be effective.

That’s right, and in terms of formation, Rishard is a left-wing forward, but he doesn’t actually stay on the left much. If you look at Rishard’s heatmap this season, his footprints are all over the place past the halfway line. So, there’s no point in assigning a dedicated marker.

No team is foolish enough to assign a dedicated marker to Rishard.

Not because a dedicated marker isn’t needed, but because it doesn’t work.

West Ham was the same.

No player could block Rishard with individual skill.

Jonathan Neeson or Jacob Buckley could annoy him, but it would be too costly to use them as dedicated markers.

After all, Rishard isn’t a defender.

Paah-!

Paah-!

Rishard, passing and moving with his teammates, had already reached the right sideline.

And, as if confirming what West Ham’s defensive strategy was.
Rishard began to penetrate in earnest.

Tatatat-!

From horizontal to vertical.

Rishard instantly shifted gears.

Neeson was easily brushed aside by Rishard’s dribbling.

Neeson, who had the defensive skills of a decent full-back, was almost a scarecrow in front of Rishard.

The same was true for Petrovic.

He quickly gets past two players and penetrates deeply! He’s already in a dangerous area!

Getting past two players seemed like a piece of cake for Rishard.

Frankly speaking, it was hard to say that West Ham’s defense was worthy of their current league ranking.

West Ham has conceded more goals than Liverpool, Chelsea, and even Arsenal.

And since even they couldn’t completely stop Rishard, it wasn’t surprising that West Ham’s defense began to falter against Rishard alone.

He’s dragging the defense around! In a tight space! Ah, he connects to the center! There’s a lot of space!

Jack Price, shoots-!

Ah, it narrowly misses the goal! A sharp shot! The first shot of the game came from Price.

It was a threatening attack from the start. Rishard’s ball control was too easy.

The West Ham players stayed close until the end, but they couldn’t prevent the pass that created the chance.

The shot missed, but Manchester City fans applauded, and West Ham fans bit their lips.

As expected, it was Rishard.

Concentrating the attention of all the defenders with a light dribble, then passing to a free teammate for a shooting chance.

It looked too easy.

As if they could score at any time.

Because of that, the atmosphere in the Manchester City stands began to heat up.

“Didn’t those guys prepare for the game?”

“They already lost the league, and they should have put their lives on the line here! They had plenty of time to prepare, what did they do?”

“Hey, hey. Could they have stopped him even if they prepared?”

“That’s true. Haha! Since they can’t stop him anyway, I’d give up too!”

“But they should at least show some effort! The game is getting boring!”

“They must not know much since it’s their first time in the final! I’ll understand!”

Laughter erupted from the Manchester City stands.

West Ham’s defense felt like they hadn’t prepared enough.

It would have been difficult even if they had come up with special measures to stop Rishard, but their response was so bland.

It felt like a lack of experience.

Not only the players but also the manager, who had only managed mid-table teams.

He had almost no experience in finals.

So, he probably didn’t know how to prepare.

“Treble [winning three major trophies in a single season]! We’re going for the Treble!”

“Out of the three trophies, today will be the easiest day to lift a trophy!”

While West Ham was preparing for a goal kick, Manchester City fans were chattering away.

But,

Ppeoeoeoeong-!

The moment the game resumed with West Ham’s goal kick.

Those laughter and shouts began to subside little by little.

And,

Shuuuuuuuuung-

When that goal kick connected.
The faces of the Manchester City fans gradually changed to tense ones.

It was because Yohan had the ball.

Paah-!

Hurichel’s goal kick flew deep.
Yohan controlled it with his head in the center.

The Manchester City encirclement quickly narrowed.

Unlike West Ham, Manchester City seemed to be planning to increase the intensity of their pressure.

From their perspective, they didn’t want to spend a long time defending.

Manchester City had been playing games like that no matter which team they faced.

But,

wasn’t that a lack of preparation?

Manchester City should have known.

That Yohan would be highly motivated today.

His life goal was thwarted because of them.

Then, shouldn’t they have prepared different measures than usual?

Tatatat-!

Yohan didn’t engage in a probing battle like Rishard.
The moment he got the ball, he turned and started heading straight for the goal.

A charge that seemed to show his anger.

However, even in the midst of that, there was elegance.

The turn he made to escape from the three opposing midfielders was fresher than Rishard’s light dribbling.

‘Bastards…’

These guys blocking my way.

These guys blocked my retirement.

If it weren’t for these guys, I would be resting comfortably at home by now.

Then, they have to pay the price.

You guys called me here, so you have to pay the price for calling me out.

Tatatat-!

Yohan, who was running quickly, began to take small steps in front of the penalty box.

It was a charge.

Of course, it didn’t take long.

Yohan placed the ball on the instep of his right foot.

Ppeoeoeoeoeong-!

A shot filled with anger.
The roar was so loud that it was almost worrying that the ball would burst, echoing throughout Wembley.

Even in that noisy Wembley, where over 90,000 people had gathered, the sound of Yohan’s shot was clearly audible to everyone.

Shuuuuuuuuung-

Manchester City’s keeper, Eduardo, watched the flying shot and thought.

Thank goodness.

The shot was heading for the blind spot.
The blind spot that the goalkeeper couldn’t react to.

But how is that a good thing?

If that had come straight at me, I would have dodged it.

If I had, I would have been cursed out with every swear word imaginable.

But, I’m innocent if I can’t react to this.

That was rather fortunate.

Thud-!

The moment the fastest shot of the season, both official and unofficial, was fired from Yohan’s foot.