Chapter 7: The Bullfrog's Appearance (2)

Few people welcome a stone that rolls in unexpectedly.

"That scrawny kid got picked for Jae-min?"

"Ah, it must be a joke."

"He can at least kick the ball."

"If he's not careful, he'll break a leg, what a joke."

"Does he think it's easy to become a pro? He'll never want to be a soccer player again after the initiation ceremony."

"Looks like he'll go forward when he's kicked back, doesn't it?"

Hmm.

That's not entirely wrong.

It was like that in the first round.

He didn't know the first thing about soccer, and his body was so cursed that even when he kicked forward, the ball would go backward or to the side.

Really.

Among them, there were some who openly showed their hostility towards me.

"Brat, I heard we're playing a practice match with you thanks to the head coach... Don't act cocky and just run quietly. If you don't want to break a bone, just pretend to play and get out of here."

This guy... who is he...?

It's been ten years since I faced this moment again, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Anyway.

'From his looks, he's just a thug.'

Right then.

I saw a hand reaching for my shoulder, and I caught it with both hands, smiling.

"Thank you for the advice, senior!"

"Eh, eh? Oh, yeah. Do your best."

The sturdy man in front of me, who I remembered was Jeong Jae-min's college classmate, came to mind.

'Park Se-chock... right, he was here too.'

Park Se-chock, surprised by my enthusiastic voice, glanced at the coach and then smiled awkwardly, stepping back.

There must be a reason why he hangs out with Jeong Jae-min, and his character is also quite bad.

He's known for his unsportsmanlike play on the field and will soon lose his player status due to illegal gambling.

But today's enemy isn't just him.

'Almost everyone, I guess.'

Regardless of character, anyone would be unhappy to see a regular person suddenly join a pro practice game.

I would have subtly fouled and made their life miserable too.

Then.

"Alright, everyone, gather up!"

Kim Gwang-soo, who had already climbed onto the podium, gathered the team.

Beside him was Coach Jo Gang-rae, wearing a deeply pressed cap.

His eyes were full of curiosity as he looked at me.

There was no small influence from Jo Gang-rae in my coming to Jeolla South FC.

He will become the national team coach in two years.

'He's marking me early.'

Kim Gwang-soo briefly introduced me.

"Here's Homariu, who has played in an overseas youth academy since he was 10. He was a promising prospect but had a two-year hiatus after a cruciate ligament tear at 15. He started playing soccer again a year ago. His skills have been verified from his overseas experience. He just doesn't have a team to train with right now, so let's build camaraderie through today's practice match."

"Yes, understood!"

Kim Gwang-soo tried to reduce the players' resistance by presenting me as an overseas youth player.

Some players knew the truth but nodded as if they didn't.

A few seemed to believe it.

'Their eyes changed to a pitying look.'

One or two even looked at me with a hint of admiration.

Indeed, at this time, having a career of playing overseas, whether in youth or adult leagues, made a difference.

In the 2000s, there were Kim Dong-guk of Middlesbrough, Cha Doo-ri of Mainz, Kim Dong-hyun of West Bromwich, Lee Yong-pyo of Tottenham, and Park Ji-sung of Manchester United.

Apart from these, European players were so few they could be counted on one hand.

The only Korean in European youth was Jang Dae-hoon, currently with Real Madrid.

Anyway.

"Please teach me a lot!"

I decided to loosen my belt a bit today.

* * *

Beep!

After a light run and basic training, the practice match began with Coach Yun Deok-yeon's whistle.

Our team had players with good experience.

Veterans Sung Gi-bok and Kim Hyo-in were in the midfield, and experienced Bak Jae-hong and Lee Sang-woong were in the center back.

Veterans Park Jong-woo and the ill-tempered Park Se-chock were also on the team.

On the other hand, the opposing team was mostly young players.

From Seung-min, my target, to his peers Kim Dong-chun and Park Jin-hee, who were in the midfield, and in the front, 20-somethings Kim Yeon-woo and Jeon Yun-seong.

The back four was also composed of 20-somethings like Ko Kyung-jin and Kang Gi-young.

'Still as slippery as a loach, as always.'

Jo Gang-rae's intentions were clear.

He divided the team into seniors and juniors to create a pride battle similar to a real match.

Indeed, the young players of the opposing team started the game with a fast pace.

"Seung-min!"

Thud!

A long through pass from center back Ko Kyung-jin stretched out and dropped right at Seung-min's feet.

Seung-min, who was facing veteran Kim Hyo-in, used his right foot to nudge the ball to the right and turned.

"Where are you going!"

Kim Hyo-in tried to pressure with a standing tackle using his right foot.

Thud!

"Damn..."

Kim Hyo-in's mouth burst with a rustic curse.

Seung-min, who had pretended to turn to the right, suddenly turned to the opposite side, shaking his upper body, and quickly got past him.

'Oh, not bad.'

He seemed like a rising star.

To pull off such a smooth feint against veteran Kim Hyo-in.

And it didn't stop there.

Thud!

Seung-min, having gotten past Kim Hyo-in, swung his right foot like a backswing.

The ball, drawing a parabola, dropped right at the feet of striker Jeon Yun-seong, who had reached the penalty area.

Thud!

Jeon Yun-seong, facing goalkeeper Choi Hyun, showed a running shot and easily scored.

Jeon Yun-seong, who scored within a minute of the game starting, gave a thumbs up to Seung-min instead of a goal celebration.

Then.

"Can't you play properly?"

Park Se-chock, on my team, spat out a complaint, clearly unhappy.

"Everyone here knows the head coach's words were a lie. So just match the tempo and get out. You might not even be able to match the tempo."

No, that's a few words.

No matter what he said, I ignored him and scanned the surroundings.

Some veteran players like Kim Hyo-in didn't seem to trust me, a new face.

They would rather fold the ball and solve it themselves than pass to me when I moved into an open space.

Of course, I didn't care. I even found it cute.

Even if I had lived 130 years, 10 years per cycle, I wasn't weak enough to be swayed by emotions.

But.

Defeat Seung-min in the competition!

The more victories, the higher the value of the random item!

2010-2011 Season Random Item ???

D- Belly of Wayne Rooney, retired for 10 years

I had a mission.

I knew very well how fatal the penalty would be if I failed.

Wayne Rooney, who retired in 2021, gained nearly 15 kg in just six months, becoming a topic in the media.

In Korea, he was even mocked as "the second Hoddin, Welden."

There was no choice.

If the ball didn't come, I had to dive into the pressure myself.

* * *

"Huff, huff!"

Seung-min maintained short breaths, focusing on ball control.

The first 10 minutes of the game went smoothly.

Striker Jeon Yun-seong effectively received the passes he set up and occasionally made threatening shots.

The back four also showed solid defense, so there was no need to drop deep to cover.

On the other hand, it was a bit disappointing.

"Hasn't he touched the ball even once?"

Kim Dong-chun, who was sharing the midfield, asked as he passed by.

Seung-min nodded slightly.

"That's right. The seniors are being too harsh. Even when he was in a good position, they didn't pass to him."

"It's favoritism, favoritism. And would you pass to him? His face clearly says 'I'm Ji-yeon!'"

No matter what, this was too much.

It was strange that the game wasn't stopped from the bench.

Homariu didn't connect with a single pass, no matter where he was on the field.

It was as if the space he occupied was disconnected.

"And you, play it cool. Park Se-chock has a lot of inferiority complex. If you keep passing to the back, he'll go ballistic."

"Ah, right."

Seung-min recalled the assembly a few days ago and grimaced as if he had eaten something bitter.

But about two minutes later.

Thud!

"Uh...?"

Seung-min, seeing Jeon Yun-seong waving his hand, tried to pass the ball forward but stumbled suddenly.

At that moment, the ball was taken away from his feet by someone's pressure.

Whoosh!

Seung-min's eyes widened.

It couldn't be helped.

Thud!

Homariu, who had stuck to him unnoticed, disrupted Seung-min's balance with a shoulder charge and then scored an equalizing goal with a powerful mid-range shot.

"Wow!"

A gasp erupted from the bench.

Even Coach Jo Gang-rae, who had been watching indifferently, jumped up.

Homariu had gradually moved down to the midfield, as he rarely connected with passes.

Some players grumbled about his position, but Homariu found his place and, when the opportunity came, charged at Seung-min and executed a shoulder charge.

At that moment, Jo Gang-rae was startled.

Even Seung-min, with his good center of gravity, lost his balance and was pushed away from the ball.

Not only that.

"Wasn't that shot just now... amazing?"

Coach Yun Deok-yeon, sitting next to him, couldn't close his mouth, muttering.

Homariu's following shot was also incredible.

The power in his left foot was immense.

Backup goalkeeper Kang Tae-san couldn't even dive and allowed the goal.

Jo Gang-rae, after staring at Homariu for a while, turned his head with an excited face.

"Head coach, that guy is something else, isn't he?"

"Haha, is that so?"

"Of course! To give such an impact with one shot...!"

Kim Gwang-soo, who was also watching, was equally amazed by the powerful mid-range shot.

It was quite miraculous that a player who hadn't even been near the ball in the first 15 minutes of the first half scored with just one touch.

On the other hand, one player was quite shocked.

'Was I outplayed?'

Seung-min, with a half-soulless expression, stared blankly at Homariu, who ran to the corner flag and shouted "Hoo!"

Seung-min was an ace in college, always responsible for ball control in the midfield and even charging into pressure when there was no passing space.

Since joining Jeolla South FC, he had always dominated the midfield in practice matches against seniors, showing exceptional talent in breaking pressure.

But he was knocked off balance by Homariu's charge, unable to even think about regaining the ball.

Most importantly, Seung-min felt that Homariu didn't just overpower him with strength.

'He took advantage of the moment my center of gravity shifted to one side and executed a shoulder charge.'

It was as if he moved like lightning to exploit a weakness.

Thinking about it, Homariu started to look different.

Like a predator targeting the weakness of a herbivore.

Didn't he deliver a fatal blow to me?

Like a lion that has successfully hunted, he mercilessly bit into the neck.

That's why...

Crunch.

Any feelings of sympathy were completely gone.

His boiling competitive spirit made his teeth grind.