Chapter 6

Lazy Genius Striker - Chapter 6 (6/202)

< Chapter 005 – Tryout >

"Okay. You two in the center. You two on the sides. Who can see the striker?"

"Me!"

"I can do it too!"

"I've been a striker since I was a kid!"

Before the practice match began,

it was time to assign positions.

The coach asked, and the kids raised their hands one after another.

As expected, the most popular position among the young players was the striker.

In football, the goal is the highlight, and the striker, who scores the goals, is the object of admiration.

Of course, that's why the striker is also the most important position.

'Hmm...'

The coach stroked his chin as he looked at the kids who raised their hands to be the striker.

Well,

when he checked the evaluation sheets of the kids who raised their hands, there was no one he particularly wanted to assign as the striker.

There was someone else he wanted to assign as the striker.

"You?"

"…I can."

"Good? Great. Then, the striker will be number 61. You take it."

"Yes."

Participant number 61, Johann.

The coach assigned the striker position to Johann,

and soon the other kids started to give him wary looks.

The kids knew too.

They knew Johann was on a different level.

They had all seen Johann's tryout.

This tryout was a relative evaluation.

A game where you have to be better than the kid next to you to be selected.

As a result, even if they were on the same team, they couldn't help but give Johann wary looks.

Moreover,

some kids were quite honest.

"Hey, how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Really? Then you still have time. I'm eighteen, so please pass the ball a lot."

"Hey, I'm also eighteen. Ask me too."

Kids who asked Johann to pass the ball more and patted his shoulder.

They probably wanted to stand out and be the main character.

However,

who would really stand out in the end?

That would be revealed after the game.

*

Johann's determination for the game was simple.

To prove that his brother's elimination was just a matter of bad luck.

In other words, to prove that the blood in the family was not at all inferior.

'Even so, my chest feels tight already.'

Although he was determined, Johann couldn't help but feel a tightness in his chest.

At least it was 60 minutes, not 90, which was a relief.

But the thought of having to play for 60 minutes with about 20 kids was still bothersome.

He had run away because he hated this, but now he had come back on his own.

But there was no choice.

Once he started, he had to play this game properly for his brother.

"Beep-!"

The game began.

The match started with a kickoff by Johann's team, Team B.

"Going back! Be careful!"

"Move to the side!"

From the start, Team A began to apply strong pressure.

A forward pressure that showed their determination to take the ball as quickly as possible.

It was a natural pressure given that everyone had to be proactive in this game.

Under this pressure, Team B's defenders fumbled the ball, creating tense moments.

It was impossible for the kids, who were meeting for the first time today, to have a well-coordinated passing play to break the pressure and launch an attack.

Therefore,

"Ah!"

Whooosh!

A defender kicked the ball forward.

It was more of a clearance to kick the ball away rather than a long pass to the front.

However,

the ball, which flew high, was heading towards where Johann was standing.

"Head it down!"

"Don't give up your position!"

Taking advantage of the high ball, kids rushed to the landing spot.

A chaotic situation where five kids simultaneously rushed for the aerial ball.

Among them, four were from Team A, and Johann was the only one from Team B.

To anyone, it looked like Team A would win the ball.

However,

Thwack!

Bang!

Contrary to expectations, Johann took the ball down with ease.

Exactly 1 month ago, on his 16th birthday, his height was precisely 185 centimeters.

Moreover, Johann could jump higher than any other kid when he put his mind to it, so taking the aerial ball was not difficult.

Even with four opposing players pushing roughly and jumping together.

"Take it!"

"Push!"

"Get in there, get in there!"

In the end, Johann did take the ball,

but the problem was what came next.

Four players immediately surrounded Johann with the ball.

Johann was isolated in an instant.

In such a situation,

it's usually the teammates who come to help break the surrounding net.

However,

"Hey! Over here!"

"I'm free! Pass it here!"

The kids from Team B didn't come near Johann; they were far away, raising their hands to ask for a pass.

With the defense focused on Johann, empty spaces naturally appeared.

Everyone was thinking about penetrating those spaces.

As a result,

even if Johann took the ball, it seemed only a matter of time before the opponents took it back due to the lack of support.

However, the outcome this time was completely unexpected.

"Oof!"

"Ouch!"

Like a dump truck breaking through a guardrail and invading the center line.

Defenders sprawling in all directions, and Johann driving through the gap with the ball.

It was an overwhelming physical presence.

A one-against-many battle where he didn't just hold his ground but dominated.

The kids who were pushed over by Johann looked at the referee with a sense of injustice,

but the referee, without a second glance, continued the game.

It was not a foul at all.

If Johann had any fault, it was only that he was much bigger than the older kids at 16.

"Hurry up!"

"Here! Here!"

As Johann broke through the defense and emerged, the kids became even more agitated.

Everyone was in a hurry.

With the defense focused on Johann, there were open spaces everywhere, so it was understandable.

'Let's see.'

Johann rolled the ball with his foot, assessing the positions of the kids who were shouting for the ball.

When he was younger,

Johann had quite a bit of experience being forced to play matches by his father.

Back then, Johann always got scolded by his father.

For everything else, he was good, but he didn't run enough.

It was natural.

He walked most of the game time because he found running bothersome.

However,

that's why his skills improved in one area.

Passing.

Since he didn't have to run and could pass the ball, which was only a bother when he had it, passing was the best option for Johann.

'The left and center have crossed the offside line.'

Thanks to this, Johann had a vision and passing technique that were quite remarkable for a striker.

Even now,

in just a second, Johann assessed the positions of his teammates and the opposing defenders,

Whooosh!

and launched a lobbed through pass to the best option.

The quality of that lobbed through pass,

Whooosh!

Whooosh!

was exceptional.

Height.

Trajectory.

Speed.

Power and even spin.

Johann's lobbed through pass, aimed at the space behind the defense for a penetrating teammate, was perfect.

With that one pass,

"Wow."

"Awesome!"

"What? This isn't just a one-time thing."

Cheers erupted from the sidelines.

It was the exclamation of the coaches who were watching the game.

From his physical presence to his ball control skills, number 61 had already stood out.

Based on the previous test alone, number 61 was better than the academy players.

However,

the coaches thought he wouldn't shine as much in the game.

It was a natural assumption.

Unaffiliated kids wouldn't have the same game sense as academy players who played league matches.

However,

"Unbelievable."

"His physical presence, vision, and that pass just now were all perfect."

"Where did this kid come from?"

The scene that number 61, Johann, showed just now hit the coaches hard.

Of course,

it was just one scene.

It was also a possible scene given that the kids he was playing with were unaffiliated amateurs.

But even considering all that,

the scene just now was enough to make one think they were seeing Harry Kane, England's top striker for the past 10 years.

"Whoa! Come on! It's me, baby!"

Johann's pass led directly to a goal.

The kid who scored the goal screamed and celebrated wildly.

He seemed to think that scoring the first goal would naturally draw the coaches' attention.

The other kids looked at him enviously.

However,

the coaches' eyes, despite feeling sorry for the kid, remained on number 61, Johann.

The goal was scored because the pass was perfect.

The coaches weren't paying attention to the kid who scored the goal.

The coaches were simply curious

about what Johann would do next.

*

At the end of the first half, the score was 3-3.

Johann's first-half stats were 3 assists.

However, it was a first half where he could have easily added more assists.

If the other kids hadn't missed Johann's perfect passes.

Almost all of Team B's attacks started from Johann's feet, and each one was sharp.

Looking at the first half alone, Johann was clearly the best player on the field, and it seemed like a sure thing that he would pass even without playing the second half.

However,

there was one regrettable part.

"I still want to see it."

"What? A shot?"

"Yeah. This kid hasn't taken a single shot yet."

"Hmm. His kicking power can't be bad. Maybe he lacks confidence in shooting?"

It was the shooting.

During the first half, Johann didn't take a single shot.

Of course,

"Maybe it's fine if it's just average, or even a bit below average. His other aspects are so outstanding, after all."

Even though he showed excellence in other areas, it wasn't a big issue.

Still, as a striker,

the coaches were hoping to see at least one shot.

Johann didn't take a shot because

passing was less bothersome than shooting.

Whether it was dribbling the ball to the penalty box to take a shot or penetrating to receive a good pass,

either way, he had to go through a bothersome process to take a shot.

For that reason, Johann couldn't find a reason to take a shot.

However,

'Hmm...'

At the start of the second half,

around the 15-minute mark of the 30-minute half.

"Nice!"

"Great!"

When the opposing team scored a goal to take the lead,

the story was different.

'What are they all doing?'

He was still creating chances as he did in the first half.

However, due to their excessive enthusiasm,

they couldn't convert even easy chances into goals.

Of course, it was an individual evaluation, so the game result wasn't that important, but winning was still more favorable for the evaluation.

Johann started to feel the need to change his pattern.

'But I don't want to do anything bothersome.'

However, Johann didn't want to do the bothersome things he mentioned earlier.

Things like dribbling to the goalkeeper or penetrating into open spaces.

But he had to score a goal.

In that case,

there was only one way.

Whooosh!

Whooosh!

As expected, the long ball went to Johann.

The kids already knew from the first half that passing to Johann was the easiest method.

The long ball,

Bang!

was easily taken by Johann.

Not many defenders rushed to him this time.

Because Johann had never given up the ball in numerous confrontations.

They knew they couldn't win, or they didn't even think about challenging.

Instead, the defenders positioned themselves to block Johann's passes, maintaining a distance from him.

Since Johann kept making threatening passes, it was a natural response.

However,

no one expected Johann to change his pattern at this moment.

Swoosh-

Johann pushed the ball with the sole of his foot.

And,

Thump-

taking a couple of steps to build momentum,

Whish!

he pulled his right foot back.

He intended to shoot from there without doing anything bothersome.

A mid-range shot.

"From there?"

"Is he going to shoot?"

The coaches' eyes widened in disbelief.

It was quite a distance.

At least 30 meters to the goal.

A distance that even adult players would find burdensome to take a direct shot from.

However,

it was nothing to Johann.

Running around was bothersome, and that applied not only to passing but also to shooting.

Whooosh!

Shooting was also bothersome.