Chapter 26: Teaching Mr. Nakamura a Lesson (2)

“So these are the guys.”

In the tunnel, Nakamura felt the sharp gazes of the Korean players.

Most of them were looking at him with hostility due to his pre-match interview.

However, among them, two handsome players were completely ignoring Nakamura with expressionless faces.

‘Ha, kozome (brats). Pretending not to care.’

“Ryosuke, Hiroki, let’s crush Korea with our samurai spirit.”

“Of course, Kenji.”

“Anyway, Korea won’t get past me. No matter how strange that tactic is.”

As the Japanese national anthem played, Nakamura and his teammates entered the stadium with confident strides.

Enthusiastic cheers erupted from the Japanese fans in the stands.

‘We are players already proven on the professional stage. Especially me, I’m the best among them. Amateurs can’t even compare.’

Nakamura glanced at the Korean players.

My gaze, in particular, was fixed on the two players who had acted dismissively in the tunnel earlier.

‘Hmph, no matter how handsome your face is, football isn’t played with your face.’

I fiddled with my captain’s armband and said to my teammates.

“We are the pride of Japan. Let’s show them how strong we are today.”

Their eyes were filled with the will of the samurai.

Japan had prepared a strategy to play defensively against Korea’s extremely offensive tactics and counter-attack at once with tiki-taka.

“As expected, they’re using that strange tactic,”

Looking at the South Korean players’ positions before the match started, it seemed they would use the same tactics as in the Spain match, just as anticipated.

‘Do they think something like that will work against us, against Japan? We’ve already anticipated everything.’

However, two minutes after the match started, we realized something was strange.

‘What, why aren’t they pressing like they did against Spain?’

That’s right.

Korea was currently using a completely different, ordinary 4-3-3 tactic, unlike the Spain match.

The tactic we had prepared had become useless from the very beginning.

I looked towards the Japanese bench at Coach Moriyasu with a bewildered expression, and he held up three fingers.

I immediately understood its meaning.

Just as baseball managers use hand signals to convey strategies to players,

Some football teams also use hand signals to quickly relay instructions to players.

Our Japan was also utilizing this, and the coach holding up three fingers meant ‘push the line up.’

‘Is he telling us to go on the offensive…’

I took a deep breath and exchanged hand signals with my teammates.

It was an unexpected situation, but we had to adapt quickly.

We started passing the ball around, pushing our line up, and playing more aggressively.

I exchanged 2-on-1 passes with my teammates, crossed the halfway line, quickly assessed the defenders’ movements, and then sent a sharp pass to the midfielder behind me.

And immediately, I broke into the flank.

Simultaneously with my movement, Tanaka Ryosuke, who was playing as a striker duo, also sprinted quickly to the opposite side.

Our movements were perfectly synchronized, as if reflected in a mirror.

Now, watch.

The defenders, flustered by Japan’s quick adaptability and sharp attack patterns–

“Huh? What?”

What in the world?

Weren’t the South Korean players letting me go forward without blocking me?

‘Are they aiming for an offside? No, this is definitely onside.’

Something felt strange, but after simply thinking, ‘South Korea is being South Korea,’ I took the ball and ran towards the goal.

‘If I pass to Ryosuke on the side–’

“What? Where did Ryosuke go?”

Looking back slightly, I saw Ryosuke blocked by two defenders.

‘Right, no need to panic. It’s just a 1-on-1 situation. I can definitely break through.’

I regained my confidence and charged towards the goal.

In front of me was the arrogant goalkeeper who looked like a pretty boy, the one who was getting more attention in Europe than himself.

‘Amateur brat, this is what a pro’s shot looks like.’

POW!!!

The moment the ball left my foot, the ecstasy of victory enveloped my body.

No one in the J-League could block a shot like that.

But at that moment, an unbelievable sight unfolded.

That pretty boy moved like lightning, as if using superpowers, and snatched the ball.

“Nani!!!!!!!!”

My voice echoed through the stadium.

‘How… How can this be…’

However, the shock didn’t end there.

As soon as the goalkeeper caught the ball, he kicked it long and hard, and only then did I realize we had fallen into a trap.

‘Damn it, was this planned from the start?’

While the long ball soared through the air, I faced the desperate reality.

Our defensive line had pushed too far forward.

‘No… Please…’

Seeing Chelsea’s Park Seo-joon receive the long ball and charge towards our goal like lightning, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

I belatedly came to my senses and started running back, but it was already too late.

Another pretty boy, who had received Park Seo-joon’s sharp through-ball, had perfectly bypassed our goalkeeper and shaken the net.

“This can’t be!!!”

I stopped running and could only stare at the goal in disbelief.

But what had already happened couldn’t be undone.

With one perfect counter-attack, Japan had conceded a goal to South Korea in the early 6th minute of the first half.

‘But this doesn’t make sense. To execute something like this, the goalkeeper has to be certain he can block a striker 1-on-1.’

“He was sure he could block a shot like mine 1-on-1? Does that even make sense?”

Nakamura didn’t want to admit it, but he had to face the undeniable reality.

Why the younger kids from South Korea were getting more attention than him,

He was feeling the reason with his entire body.

“No way… Me, the J-League top scorer, am worse than South Korea’s brats? This can’t be!”

A fierce conflict between pride and reality was erupting within Nakamura.

Anger, frustration, and a subtle fear flickered across his face.

In this moment, though he wanted to deny it, he was keenly realizing the true difference in skill on the international stage.

“Chikusho!!!!!!!!!”

***

“Chikusho!!!!!!!!!”

I almost burst out laughing at the opponent’s shout.

Nakamura’s face was crumbling to the point where it reminded me of my Kim Chan-ki days, a face I barely remembered, and that crumbled face was a mixture of bewilderment and frustration.

‘Yes, you must be flustered. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing as talent-dependent as sports.’

I believe there is no field where the influence of talent is as great as in sports.

Therefore, I think ignoring young players is a truly foolish act.

Just like Messi in his Kim Chan-ki days, there are people who overcame the disadvantages of a young age and became the best players.

‘Just like I overcame the disadvantage of my appearance and became the best player.’

“But now, I’ve eliminated the disadvantage itself.”

‘Hmm… Wait a minute.’

“Am I going to get criticized for lacking humanity if I keep this up?”

[Player Jeong Tae-woo, do you perhaps have a conscience?]

Strangely, I felt like I could hear the voice of the God of Football.

Ahem… I get it.

The game resumed.

We returned to a normal 4-3-3, not Wave Pressing again.

We had now given Japan a choice.

Want to attack like before?

But you might get counter-attacked again if you do.

However, naturally, Japan, having conceded a goal first, had no choice.

“This time for sure.”

Nakamura-san’s shot came at me once more, but that shot was definitely not as powerful and fast as

Brazil’s Gabriel Mendes, nor was it as sharp as Spain’s Pedri.

“Bakayaro! Why can’t you score, Kenji!!!!!!”

(TL: Bakayaro is a Japanese curse word, meaning idiot/damn fool.)

Despite the Japanese coach’s roar, Nakamura-san just froze in front of me.

‘Hmm, still, he’s a fellow Asian, he shouldn’t give up on going to Europe just yet.’

“Don’t be too discouraged.”

At my words, Nakamura-san looked at me.

“Your opponent is me.”

Just like the previous pattern, the pass connected to the midfielder went to Yoo Hee-sung, and the long ball Yoo Hee-sung kicked hit Lee Tae-yang’s head and shook the net.

18th minute of the first half.

It was the time the second goal went in.

***

Japan, unable to recover from the shock of conceding two goals early on, suffered a significant drop in form.

Our team rode this momentum and scored three more goals in the match, and this Korea-Japan encounter ended in an overwhelming victory for South Korea.

Yoo Hee-sung 6th minute

Lee Tae-yang 18th minute

Park Seo-joon 29th minute

Yoo Hee-sung 67th minute

Yoo Hee-sung 88th minute

Yoo Hee-sung put on an amazing performance, achieving his first hat-trick of the Olympics.

After the match, he went for an interview with the coach, and for some reason, I was also following along in that procession.

When we arrived at the mixed zone, an incredibly large number of reporters were waiting for us.

“Player Yoo Hee-sung, you achieved an overwhelming victory including a hat-trick. How do you feel?”

“It truly feels like a dream. It would have been impossible without the help of my teammates. Especially without Tae-woo’s perfect defense and passes, this result wouldn’t have happened.”

“Coach Cheon Mu-seok, was this tactical movement prepared from the beginning?”

“That’s correct. I believed Tae-woo would definitely block it, and I chose that strategic movement.”

‘Lies. You just tried it once to save stamina for the final.’

I suppressed a laugh inwardly.

Before the match started, Coach Cheon Mu-seok had said, “If you concede a goal, I will immediately push the line up.”

Well, sometimes strategic remarks are necessary.

“Then, Player Jeong Tae-woo, what do you think about Nakamura Kenji’s remarks before the match?”

‘What, why is it only me getting this kind of question? I didn’t really have any particular thoughts…’

Well, still, I should make a strategic remark like the coach to boost morale, right?

“About Nakamura-san’s remarks?”

I smiled slightly, mockingly, and continued.

“He said he couldn’t understand why the Korean players were getting attention… Hmm, he also called me an amateur, right?”

I shrugged and continued.

“Well, I’d like to say one thing to someone who says such things. Isn’t it harder to block a striker from our high school tournament than the J-League top scorer? I’m glad today’s match result seems to have proven that.”

I finished speaking with a slightly provocative smile.

I could see the reporters’ eyes widening.

Perhaps this remark would decorate tomorrow’s newspaper headlines.

For a moment, I felt Coach Cheon Mu-seok’s sharp gaze, but I pretended to be unfazed.

I thought such confident remarks were necessary sometimes.

Especially now, when we had achieved such an overwhelming victory, was the perfect timing.