Chapter 30: Olympic Finals (3)

As the first half ended and they entered the locker room, all the players were panting, exhausted.

Sweat-soaked uniforms, ragged breathing, and expressions of released tension were noticeable.

“Ha, ha… This is so tough.”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect the opponent to come out this aggressively either.”

“Phew~ Is this France after all? They’re really good.”

“Is it a relief we met them in the final?”

“Yeah. Even if we lose, we don’t have to go to the army.”

At those words, a few players let out small laughs.

‘This isn’t good…’

A warning bell rang in my head.

A thought of accepting defeat was subtly rearing its head in the hyungs’ minds.

They had clearly come with overflowing motivation for military exemption at first, but now that they had achieved that goal, it seemed they were overwhelmed by the pressure of French football.

‘We can never win with this kind of thinking.’

In the first half, we had defended well against France’s attacks and counter-attacked, but there were parts where our tactical movements creaked.

Bang!!

Amidst the players’ laughter, Coach Cheon Mu-seok kicked open the locker room door and entered.

“Hey, what did you guys just say?”

Coach Cheon Mu-seok looked around at the players with an angrier expression than anyone.

“What? It’s a relief we met France in the final? Even if we lose, we don’t go to the army? Do you really think those are words that should come out of the mouths of players representing South Korea?”

The anger and disappointment in the coach’s voice filled the entire locker room.

The players sat silently with their heads bowed.

“You can lose in the final, but if you lose with that kind of shitty mindset, isn’t it embarrassing, I’m asking!”

The coach slammed his fist on the table in front of him, drawing the attention of the players who had their heads bowed.

“There was something I emphasized every time we trained. What was it, Lee Tae-yang?”

“The game isn’t over until it’s over, sir.”

“Right, that’s what I always emphasize to you guys. But!! Why on earth is the word ‘defeat’ coming out of your mouths?”

At Coach Cheon Mu-seok’s words, a heavy silence fell upon the locker room.

“Park Seo-joon!”

“Yes!”

“Was military exemption your ultimate goal?”

“No, sir!”

“Then what is your ultimate goal?”

“The gold medal, sir!”

Yes.

This is the coach.

I listened attentively to every word Coach Cheon Mu-seok said.

What the coach was doing now was what we commonly call ‘locker room dominance.’

Bringing the players’ hearts back together as one, and reminding us of our true goal.

And by having Seo-joon hyung, the most senior player on the team right now, mention the gold medal, he had once again imprinted that goal onto our players.

“First half, you guys are tired, so you’re doing Wave Pressing like that? You were cowering in the back, scared of conceding a goal! And the defenders? They kept missing players because they were tired!”

The coach’s shouting continued.

“You have to stick to them and pressure them until the end! Whether you concede 1 goal or 10 goals, you should have pushed the line up according to the tactics! And if we lose, that’s my responsibility.”

From this point on, the players’ eyes began to change little by little.

“So you guys create a justification for me to take the blame. Make it so that the reason we lost while executing my tactics 100% is me, not you. And when we win? You praise yourselves because you executed my tactics not 100%, but 200%!”

For a moment, the locker room became quiet.

“…”

“Answer!”

“Yes!!”

“Good. From now on, I’ll tell you the tactics we need to take in the second half. Focus.”

I really can’t be a coach.

How does he say things that stir men’s hearts so passionately?

With my personality, I could never say such things.

Wouldn’t I just barely manage to say something like “Let’s do well”?

Come to think of it, is Da-min watching the game right now too?

No, she’s probably busy with debut practice and can’t watch… Still, it would be cooler to say ‘We won the gold medal’ when she sees the results later.

Confessing while giving her the gold medal…

Suddenly, a small voice was heard from the side.

“Hey Tae-woo.”

“What?”

Tae-yang whispered with a troubled expression.

“I need to poop right now, but this isn’t the atmosphere to say it. What do I do?”

How can this kid be so consistent?

“Just say it quickly and go. Don’t poop when the game starts.”

“No, but the atmosphere…”

…He must really need to go.

Tae-yang’s face was gradually turning pale, and cold sweat began to form on his forehead.

“Lee Tae-yang, if you need to poop, go quickly.”

Tae-yang shot up with a surprised expression.

“Yes, I’m sorry!!”

The coach chuckled and said.

“I’d have no complaints if he ran that fast during the game.”

“Hahahaha.”

As expected, coaches know everything.

***

[“In the first half, both goalkeepers played incredibly well. It was strange that no goals were scored on either side, considering the number of effective shots, but they blocked them all.”]

[“I guarantee it. If the goalkeeper wasn’t Jeong Tae-woo, at least three goals would have gone in. Even if you brought a world-class goalkeeper currently playing for a big club, they probably would have conceded 2 goals.”]

[“The second half is about to start now, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of performance South Korea will show.”]

Wow… It’s a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time.

It was just like this when I first met Coach Cheon Mu-seok and started training.

My position has changed a bit now that the second half has started.

Instead of standing near the penalty box, I’ve pushed the defensive line a bit higher, so the area I have to cover is much larger.

What do I mean?

That’s right.

I’m tired now.

After the Spain match where my Kim Chan-ki stamina was combined, I thought, ‘Will I even get tired?’ but…

Trying to cover this widened defensive range makes me breathless.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that the opposing goalkeeper is in a similar situation?

[“France’s Hernandez makes another save against Park Seo-joon’s shot.”]

[“It’s hard to criticize him for not scoring; there was nothing he did wrong. It was a shot taken a beat faster, accurately bent into the right corner. But both goalkeepers are really going wild.”]

‘Ah, it’s my turn again.’

[“Uwaaak! Jeong Tae-woo blocks that too! Isn’t he a player who truly fits the description of a monster!”]

[“To call him a monster, our Jeong Tae-woo is too handsome and sexy. His football skills are sexy too.”]
A breathtaking back-and-forth battle with both teams’ offense and defense alternating.

[“France’s Dubois quickly breaks through the flank!”]

[“A cross comes flying in! Dupont’s header!”]

[“Jeong Tae-woo’s super save! Unbelievable!”]

[“South Korea counter-attacks! Yoo Hee-sung has the ball!”]

[“Yoo Hee-sung passes to Lee Tae-yang! Tae-yang sprints!”]

[“Lee Tae-yang takes a shot! Ah… Hernandez blocks it again.”]

I don’t know how many times this pattern repeated.

A showdown of super saves by both goalkeepers, relentless attacks by the strikers.

But still, no goals.

It was France’s turn to attack again, but it was a bit different from before.

A situation similar to when they scored 1 point in the first half unfolded.

France’s striker, Luca Dubois, breaking through the defensive line.

But this time, he wasn’t alone.

Mathieu Goulain was also joining the attack.

“I conceded last time, but…”

I took a deep breath and raised my concentration to the maximum.

Goulain and Dubois, it was difficult to predict which of the two would shoot, or if they would pass to each other.

‘Calm down, Tae-woo.’

Dubois passed to Goulain, and Goulain received the ball, dribbling forward.

How far did he advance?

Goulain took a shooting stance from a position slightly away from the penalty area.

‘He’s not coming in further. This is a feint.’

My intuition was correct.

At the last moment, he passed back to Dubois.

The moment I realized, I threw my body.

At the same time, Dubois’s powerful shot flew towards the goal.

‘This time… This time for sure!’

Thwack!

“Damn it, I couldn’t catch it.”

I blocked the ball, but it bounced off my hands and floated back into the air.

I quickly got up and dived again towards the rebounded ball.

The French players, not wanting to miss this chance, Goulain and Dubois, both ran towards the ball simultaneously.

[“Jeong Tae-woo! Jeong Tae-woo perfectly blocks the ball in a 2-on-1 situation and safely catches the rebounded ball as well!”]

The moment the ball entered my hands, a sense of relief and a thrilling shiver ran through my entire body.
Clutching the ball tightly, I collapsed onto the ground.

[“An unbelievable super save! Jeong Tae-woo’s amazing reflexes and concentration have saved South Korea!”]

‘Wait a minute, when I jumped, France’s line was definitely…’

I quickly got up and scanned the front.

Two of our defenders were near the penalty box line, and I could see that the opponent’s defensive line was relatively high up.

The two conditions I thought wouldn’t come again were both met, weren’t they?

I quickly picked up the ball and ran, then put it down on the ground as soon as I left the penalty box.

Then, I rolled the ball with my foot and increased my speed.

I could hear the shouts of the French players from behind, but I didn’t care.

‘Yeah, you didn’t expect me to come out in a situation like this, did you? Surprise.’

With each step, the distance to our goal widened.

As I sprinted towards the halfway line, the stadium began to stir, and the crowd’s cheers grew louder.

“Tae-woo, you can do it!”

“Oppa, fighting!”

[“82nd minute of the second half, a situation that could be the last. Jeong Tae-woo is dribbling the ball out himself!”]

I caught my breath and looked ahead.

‘As expected of Seo-joon hyung.’

Seo-joon hyung, seeing me coming out, was immediately reorganizing the formation.

As I crossed the halfway line, French players quickly swarmed in, but I didn’t bother trying to break through them.

There was a better option.

I fired a sharp pass towards Seo-joon hyung, who was running from the right.

Seeing the ball land perfectly at his feet, I ran towards an open space.

If it’s the Seo-joon hyung I’ve known until now, he’ll send a perfect pass no matter how much the opponent obstructs.

And that belief was not wrong.

When a French defender rushed at Seo-joon hyung, he passed the ball back to me at an exquisite timing, as if he had expected it.

‘Two defenders right in front, and Lee Tae-yang between them.’

Lightly touching the ball with the inside of my right foot, I feinted to the left with my upper body, and the opponent defender’s body leaned to the left.

Not missing that fleeting moment, I quickly turned my body to the right.

The moment I passed the first defender, the second defender rushed in.

Without hesitation, I fired a sharp pass towards Tae-yang, and the ball passed precisely between the defender’s legs.

“Tae-yang, now!”

Tae-yang moved with my shout.

As soon as Tae-yang received the ball, he passed it to me as I was running.

In front of me, who had received the ball again, was Hernandez, who was putting on the best performance alongside me.

And Hernandez, just as I had done earlier, quickly ran out to narrow the angle.

‘Sorry, friend, but I can pass just like your team.’

I flicked the ball upwards with the tip of my foot.

Hernandez stretched out his hands in a collapsed posture, trying to catch the ball somehow.

But you think I can’t control it that much?

The ball went over his fingertips without touching them.

And where the ball landed, there was Yoo Hee-sung.

“Nice, Tae-woo.”

Yoo Hee-sung received the ball with perfect timing and took a powerful shot.

‘Swish.’