Chapter 11: The Shocking and Terrifying Roster Announcement? (2)

Ten minutes before the roster announcement, my family and I were gathered in the living room, watching TV together.

“Tae-woo, how much time is left?”

“Ten minutes left.”

‘Just waiting is boring, should I check out the gallery?’

Ten minutes before the roster announcement, the ‘Indomitable Taegeuk Warriors Gallery’ was more lively than ever.

[We can do it now! 10 minutes before the Olympic roster announcement]

-It’s a coach who came from studying abroad. I believe in him.

-ToughGuyFireFist: Believe what you should believe, you idiot.

-OriginalPoster: ? If you’re Korean, you should cheer for Korea. Are you a traitor?

-ToughGuyFireFist: Traitor, my ass. In the first place, even for the last Olympics, they brought in one coach from abroad, raised expectations like crazy, and then what happened in the end? Eliminated in the preliminaries. Now, I really have no expectations for the World Cup or the Olympics. Seriously.

-123451: I agree. In my opinion, Yoo In-hoo, Kim Hyun-soo, and Hwang Sun-il all need to be cut. Seriously, every time I watch them defend, I get so frustrated.

-KindWordsUser: Korea’s defense is a chronic problem, isn’t it? Besides, those three are from University, you think they won’t get picked?
​
[Roster Prediction]
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-This Olympics prediction. No matter how much the coach is from overseas, he can absolutely not ignore the KFA’s influence. They’ll just pick the same as the last Olympics and get eliminated in the preliminaries. If you disagree, you’re wrong.

-ToughGuyFireFist: I agree. In the first place, if they want to change things, they need to investigate the KFA from top to bottom.

-KkirukKkiruk1: You should live in the real world a bit. Why are you commenting on every single post?

-KkirukKkiruk2: So what if I do, you f*cker?
​
Miguel Clough, who was appointed as the previous coach, initially instilled tremendous confidence by discussing an Olympic victory, but in the end, after being eliminated in the preliminaries, an interview he gave caused a huge stir in Korea.
​
[Korean Football, No Hope: Coach Miguel Clough’s Shocking Statement

Coach Miguel Clough, on his way back to Korea after the recent Olympic preliminary elimination, made a shocking statement.

At a press conference held at Incheon International Airport, Coach Clough appeared with a stern expression from the start, drawing the attention of the press.

When asked, “What do you think was the cause of this failure?”

Coach Clough remained silent for a moment before dropping a bombshell.

He stated,

“Unless Korea fundamentally reforms its football association, it will be difficult to even pass the preliminaries, let alone win, even after 100 years.”

He added,

“The problem with Korean football is not simply a matter of players’ skills or tactics. Development is impossible without changing the overall system and culture of the football world.”

Coach Clough canceled the post-return evaluation meeting that had been scheduled and immediately left for his home country, Spain.

This statement is causing a huge stir in the Korean football world, and voices demanding a major reform of the football association are growing louder.]

-It’s true, it’s already been on the news a lot. They say there’s constant infighting.

-I agree. In the first place, there’s no solution unless KFA President Jang Myung-gyu is ousted.

-Ha, seriously, how did Korean football regress like this?

As this controversy continued, the football association hastily tried to quell the news by recruiting Coach Cheon Mu-seok, a fairly well-known coach from Germany, barely managing to calm the situation.

However, if there are no results this time either, it will be a very big problem.

‘In the novel, there was even a real parliamentary hearing.’

If asked whether I feel proud to be selected for the national team, I would honestly answer no.

But it’s also true that there’s no stage like the Olympics for playing in Europe.

No matter how outstanding my skills are, European teams probably won’t scout Asian high school football tournaments.

Besides, Ederson, the current Man City goalkeeper, is already receiving a lot of criticism for his unstable saves.

If I show outstanding performance as a goalkeeper in the Olympics?

Even if I can’t go to Man City right away, I could certainly catch the eyes of scouts.

‘Besides, if I can resolve the military service issue, there won’t be a prospect as good as me… An offer will definitely come from Europe.’

However, what bothers me slightly is whether I can quell the distrust arising from picking a high school student.

‘Last time, even when they only picked Yoo Hee-sung, it caused a huge backlash. This time, it’s me too, no, I don’t know who else will be picked since the tactics have changed.’

“Shall I just give it a little taste?”

[It would be good to pick Jeong Tae-woo as goalkeeper]

-Anyone who watched this high school tournament would agree. 1 goal conceded in 11 games, and that was a penalty kick. Isn’t that enough said?

-MaenggooMaenggoo: Jeong Tae-woo is good, but he’s still at the high school level.

‘Does this punk think 7 Ballon d’Ors are a joke?’

-OriginalPoster: No, he’s not. If he were high school level, a goalkeeper wouldn’t have come out of the goal and scored by dribbling. He even became famous on Instagram. In my opinion, he has plenty of potential.

-MaenggooMaenggoo: Nope, not true.

-Lipstar: By any chance, are you him?

-MaenggooMaenggoo: Tae-woo, it’s pathetic, just go practice soccer.

OriginalPoster: I’m not Jeong Tae-woo.

Lipstar: Tae-woo flustered because he got caught.

‘I’m caught.’

“Puhahahaha”

Jeong Mi-na, who had unknowingly come up beside me and was looking at my phone, burst out laughing.

“No, why are you fighting in the gallery? If you know you’re getting in anyway, there’s no need to fight.”

‘How would you know how I feel.’

My body is definitely different from before I was possessed, so not all of my skills are coming out, but rather, because I’m Jeong Tae-woo, there’s an ability that has developed even further.

That is, reaction speed.

With such fraudulent reaction speed, I was confident I could show even better performance than in my Kim Chan-ki days, no, even better than my Kim Chan-ki days, though as a goalkeeper.

“You think I’m high school level? If there’s a high school student as good as me, tell them to come forward.”

“Um… Hee-sung oppa?”

‘But why is Yoo Hee-sung ‘oppa’ to this girl, and I’m just ‘hey’?’

“Hey. If Yoo Hee-sung is ‘oppa’ to you, why don’t you call me ‘oppa’?”

“Hee-sung oppa is handsome.”

“Then what about me?”

Honestly, even from a third-party perspective, Jeong Tae-woo is more handsome than Yoo Hee-sung.

“You’re not seriously asking that, are you?”

Jeong Mi-na looked at me with an expression of disgust.

Well… is there anything I can do?

Even I don’t feel good about Jeong Mi-na sitting next to me right now, so she probably feels something similar.

“Mi-na, what’s wrong with your brother? There’s no man as handsome as Tae-woo anywhere.”

“Ugh, Mom, you tend to overpraise Oppa too much.”

“Overpraise, what are you talking about? Just look at your friend Seol-ah.”

“That’s because Seol-ah… Damn it, I’m not talking to Mom!”

***

Many reporters were seated in the sports press conference hall next to the Football Association.

“Sigh, it feels like they’ll be eliminated in the preliminaries anyway…”

“Still, they say he’s a famous coach from Germany this time.”

“Ha, but the KFA is still holding on. Do you think that coach picked whoever he wanted?”

“It might be different this time.”

“Suddenly?”

“That new coach apparently had a huge fight with the KFA directors this time.”

“With the directors? If he fought with the directors to that extent… Don’t tell me?”

“Yeah, it must be because of the roster. This roster announcement will probably be quite an issue.”

Amidst the reporters’ murmuring, a huge man opened the door and entered, and the reporters fell silent.

“Good morning. I am Cheon Mu-seok, the coach for this Madrid Olympics.”

Was it because of Cheon Mu-seok’s enormous height, or his scary face?

The reporters froze for a moment and couldn’t say anything.

“I will quickly announce the roster for the 2036 Madrid Olympic team.”

Startled by the coach’s words about announcing the roster, the reporters quickly composed themselves and threw questions.

“Coach, you’ve taken charge of the Olympic team this time. The previous coach, Miguel Clough, once said that as long as the Football Association exists, they will never pass the preliminaries. Do you perhaps agree with this statement?”

“Reporters, would it be alright if I take questions after the roster announcement?”

Was it because of his scary face, or were only polite reporters present? Everyone agreed.

“Then, I will make the announcement. First, the player who will be our goalkeeper…”

“It’s obviously Jeon Hyung-min, who plays for Jeonbuk, right?”

“Hey, of course. In the first place, there’s no one as good as Jeon Hyung-min.”

“It is Jeong Tae-woo of Pungwol High.”

“What? D-… Don’t tell me he called up a different player instead of Jeon Hyung-min?”

“No, that’s not the problem. Jeong Tae-woo is only a first-year in high school.”

The press conference hall instantly became noisy.

“Coach, are you by any chance referring to player Jeong Tae-woo?”

“That is correct.”

“Not Jeon Hyung-min, who plays for Jeonbuk, as number 1?”

“You must be very surprised. However, player Jeong Tae-woo, at 187cm, has a respectable height, unbelievable reflexes, and physical condition, and will reliably guard our Korean goal. Furthermore, he is also capable of the aggressive play that fits the tactics I will be using.”

“I know player Jeong Tae-woo is good, but he is still young, only a first-year in high school.”

“Reporters, I definitely said this at the beginning. I know you are surprised, but please ask your questions after the roster announcement is finished.”

“Ahem.”

Coach Cheon Mu-seok proceeded with the roster announcement, unfazed by the reporter’s question.