Chapter 75: Mr. Nakamura is Kawaii (1)

The 20th-round match against Brighton was held at Manchester City’s home ground, Etihad Stadium.

Normally, a showdown between 1st and 19th place would have been a foregone conclusion in City’s favor and wouldn’t have garnered this much attention.

But today was different.

Someone had provoked Jeong Tae-woo, a player the City fans now loved as much as their captain, Matias.

To Manchester City, Jeong Tae-woo was like a god.

For an unheard-of player to dare provoke him created an atmosphere hotter than a Manchester Derby.

The Manchester Derby had been held at Old Trafford, not City’s home ground, so the crowd size had been somewhat smaller, but today was at the Etihad.

This was our territory.

Jung Tae-woo stands so proud and high,

You say our Euro top is luck and lie?

But who are YOU to speak that way?

Oh, Nakamura? That’s your name?

And who is THAT again?

YOUR TEAM’S 19TH, KNOW YOUR PLACE TO BE!

Ha! Ha!

City fans had adapted Jeong Tae-woo’s chant to taunt Nakamura.

The lyrics mocked him for being a nobody provoking Jeong Tae-woo, and for a 19th-place Brighton team talking down to the 1st-place team.

“Those sons of b*tches.”

“Calm down, Cruz. We were the ones who provoked them first.”

“You want me to calm down? No, I absolutely can’t. They’re telling us to know our place.”

Of course, a protective barrier was installed between the Brighton and Manchester City supporters for safety.

Clashes between fans of different teams were a common sight in Europe.

Between the barriers, security guards hired by Manchester City tried to calm down the angry Brighton fans.

“Don’t you dare cross over!”

“You there, please refrain from excessive swearing.”

“What, you bastard! Are you taking their side because you’re in league with City?”

If the supporters were the type to listen to that, they would have watched the game quietly from the start.

They were spewing insults, looking like they were about to climb over the barrier and fight the City fans at any moment.

Naturally, the Manchester City supporters didn’t back down and returned the fire.

The tense situation continued, with no telling what might happen, until the main characters of this atmosphere appeared on the jumbotron.

Their conversation wasn’t audible from the jumbotron, but their actions made the situation clear.

When Nakamura approached, Jeong Tae-woo ignored him with a blank expression, as if he didn’t even know who the player was.

“Hahaha, that’s right! We don’t need to get worked up over 19th-place Brighton. Everyone, let’s not get heated. We’re the champions, after all!”

“Hahaha, right! Anger is for the weak.”

They had forgotten they were once in the position of the weak and were now fully savoring this sense of superiority.

Of course, the Brighton fans watching this cursed them out, even throwing in insults about their parents, but the City fans, following their god Jeong Tae-woo, thoroughly ignored them.

“Those bastards!”

“Hey, Cruz, where are you going!”

“I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t punch those guys in the face!”

Watching this, security team leader Oliver Harrison thought as he tried to stop him.

‘Ha… this all started because their own new signing provoked us, damn it.’

Even if European football matches were always heated, a match between a relegation-zone team and a title contender, where the winner was obvious to anyone, was usually not this intense.

“Phew… at least it’s calming down a bit now that the game has started-“

Just as he was about to relax a little as the game began, the walkie-talkie on his chest crackled to life.

-Team leader! A Brighton fan has crossed the barrier and is now fighting with City fans!

“What! How could you let that happen!”

-I’m sorry. Too many of them rushed at once…

He thought.

Today’s match had to be treated like a derby, or even more.

“I’m on my way right now, hold them back as much as you can. And tell them upstairs to send more men!!”

I held back a laugh as I heard Nakamura’s words while walking away.

I hadn’t forgotten Mr. Nakamura.

‘How could I forget someone so satisfying to beat.’

Back then, he had a look of despair after the match, so I thought I wouldn’t see him again.

But I do think it’s impressive that he quickly got his act together, worked hard, and made it to Europe.

However, whether he’s overconfident or just delusional, his interview made it seem like he thinks he can do what I did just by coming to Europe.

‘Does he think European football is easy? It’s only possible because it’s me.’

Unless it’s a special case like mine, the barrier to entry in Europe, the dream stage for footballers, is quite high.

Even promising players who performed at the highest level in their home leagues often fail and return home.

So… an ordinary… no, he’s probably not ordinary.

The fact that he transferred to the Premier League means he has some talent.

Anyway, promising players don’t usually start with such a fiery provocation.

What, you ask if I didn’t do the same?

‘If you have the skills to sweep everyone away like me, you’ll eventually be loved. Just like now.’

But the Nakamura Kenji I saw at the Olympics, with a bit of refinement, might be able to survive in the Premier League, but he’s not good enough to become his team’s ace.

‘He’s more of a backup for stamina purposes.’

But this guy, as soon as he set foot in the Premier League, casually dismissed the 1st place Manchester City.

This wasn’t just an attack on our team.

It was as if he was provoking every team that had lost to City.

According to Nakamura Kenji, they had only lost to a lucky Manchester City, and to a goalkeeper named ‘Jeong Tae-woo’ who was inexperienced and had clear limitations.

‘How could anyone accept that.’

It’s easier to curse the person who says such things than to admit it.

In the end, in just one day, he was on the blacklist of not only Manchester City fans but the entire Premier League fan base.

Is this a talent in itself?

Besides, it wasn’t just the fans who were angry…

“What did that arrogant bastard say to you earlier? Taewoo, tell me, I’ll teach him a lesson.”

From a furious Guerrero,

“Taewoo, don’t worry. I’ll break that guy today so you won’t even see him on the pitch.”

to an incredibly passionate Castillo,

“Taewoo, you can’t injure him just because you’re angry. It’ll ruin your image. If it has to be done, I’ll do it.”

and even Sanchez, who looked like he would tackle him from behind if I told him to.

Even without these three, the rest of the team was quite angry.

It wasn’t that our friendship was that strong.

It was just that they felt insulted that an unknown Asian player had insulted their teammate, and by extension, them.

They were so angry that even our captain, Matias, who was called a ‘saint’ by the team, said,

“Who the hell is that guy to say such things to us. If he were on our team, I would have taught him a lesson.”

He might seem calm, but for the captain to say that much meant he was truly furious.

‘Can that guy survive today?’

I thought, looking at Mr. Nakamura from a distance.

Mr. Nakamura was just glaring at me, as if he wanted to do something to me, unaware of his own future.

That look was quite kawaii.

***

“Damn it, give me the ball!”

The match had started, and 20 minutes into the first half, Nakamura was getting increasingly anxious as he hadn’t had a single proper touch on the ball.

Signed as Brighton’s new hope, he had never imagined his Premier League debut would go like this.

No, he had planned to announce the start of his legend with a debut hat-trick, putting three goals past the arrogant guy guarding the net…

‘Damn it, we’re both Premier League teams, why is there such a huge difference.’

He absolutely did not think he was doing anything wrong.

He just wasn’t getting the ball, so he couldn’t score.

“Hey, what are you doing! Connect the ball. I said I’ll score!”

Hearing his words, the defensive midfielder Joaquín Fernández, who had also been signed this winter transfer window, approached him when the ball went out of play.

“You bastard, in times like this, you’re supposed to come down and receive the pass.”

In truth, Nakamura Kenji was not that untalented or foolish of a striker.

If he were, he wouldn’t have been able to perform in the J-League either.

But right now, his vision was clouded by the word ‘revenge’.

“What! Isn’t it your job to give me the ball? I’m the one on the counter-attack. What’s the point if you can’t even give me the ball?”
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“Ha, forget it. What am I even saying to you…”
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Watching his retreating back, Nakamura Kenji shouted at him with a chilling face.
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“You, that’s racist!”
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Of course, Joaquín Fernández ignored him and returned to his position.
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It was only natural that Manchester City was dominating.
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It’s impossible for a team to change completely just by bringing in new players.
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The four from Manchester City were just that special.

They were the exception to the exception.
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And naturally, Manchester City was completely controlling this match.
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The scoreboard already read 2-0.
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A score created by Guerrero’s fantastic long-range shot and Matias’s header.

Nakamura’s boastful interview was now becoming a noose tightening around his neck.