Chapter 90: An Even More Special Victory (5)

[Can City truly make a comeback against Chelsea in the second half?]

[Ah, but it seems they had a serious talk in the locker room.]

[The players’ faces are still brimming with fighting spirit.]

[The whistle blows, and the second half begins!!]

[“Hoo… I can do this. I can do it.”]

Chelsea launched a swift counterattack from the very start.

‘Right, I can’t play like Jeong Taewoo.]

[I’ll contribute to Manchester City in my own way.’

Unlike the first half, he could now see the players’ movements clearly.

The game analysis skills he had honed through countless second-division matches were slowly coming back to life.

“Castillo!]

[Don’t push up, hold your position!]

[If you hold your ground, the others will see your movement and get into position too!”

“Marco!]

[The left is open!]

[One more step to the left!”

“Push the center-back line higher!]

[Chelsea is looking for a counter!”

With each passing moment, his voice, reading and analyzing the game to command the defense, grew louder.

The passive and timid figure from the first half was nowhere to be seen.

With his signature quick judgment, he read the opponent’s patterns and coordinated his teammates’ positions.

Lucan knew well that a goalkeeper isn’t just someone who blocks shots; he is the team’s last defender and the starting point of the first attack.

Besides, his son was here.

He would never let his son see him concede a goal.

“Bruno!]
[Chelsea’s attackers are trying to use the flanks!]
[We force them into the center!”

The anxious goalkeeper from the first half had vanished.

Standing before the goal now was only a veteran goalkeeper who had spent 15 years analyzing countless matches and studying tactics.

[What is this?]

[City’s defense, unlike in the first half, is starting to come alive.]

[Looking at the defense, no players have changed.]

[No, wait, something has changed.]

[Lucan, unlike in the first half, is raising his voice and coordinating the defensive line.]

[That’s right.]

[Even in the second division, his defensive coordination was considered a greater strength than his saves.]

[If he could do this, why didn’t he do it in the first half?]

“Left!]

[The left is open!]

[James, don’t you dare turn back!]

[Chelsea always prefers to cut back after a flank breakthrough!”

Lucan’s instructions were precise.

As predicted, the Chelsea attacker tried to pass the ball back, but City’s defenders were already occupying that space.

[Oh… this is surprising.]

[City is anticipating Chelsea’s attack routes and moving first.]

[This is an impact we never felt when Taewoo was starting.]

[This is Lucan’s strength.]

[His game analysis is shining.]

[It’s a completely different performance from the first half.]

The defenders also began to trust Lucan’s directions implicitly.

The defensive line, moving according to his voice, moved in harmony like a single organism.

‘Oliver, are you watching? This is what your dad has built over 15 years.’

Lucan muttered to himself.

It wasn’t a spectacular save, but this was his true value.

His reaction speed might be lacking, but he made up for it by preventing the opponent from shooting in the first place.

[Even if a shot came, he would guide it to a spot he had predicted.]

This was Lucan’s unique style, perfected over 15 years of his football life.

[Now I understand.]

[I see why Coach Peter chose him.]

[He’s a true genius of coordination, capable of filling the gaps Taewoo had.]

Lucan, who had never once been called a genius.

He, who had only been called a hard worker for 15 years.

This was the moment he was acknowledged as a ‘genius’ by the veteran commentators who had watched countless prodigies on the Premier League’s grandest stage.

***

“Oliver, just a little longer. We’ll be at the stadium where your dad is soon.”

His wife, Emma, soothed Oliver in the back seat.

The five-year-old had been talking about nothing but his dad the whole car ride.

Inside the car, driven by an employee sent by the club, Oliver wore a pair of small goalkeeper gloves.

“I want to see Dad’s game quickly!”

Emma smiled faintly and stroked her son’s head.

She couldn’t believe she was heading to the stadium with her son on the day her husband was making his first-division debut.

Ever since Oliver said he wanted to be a goalkeeper like him, Lucan had tried to keep him from watching his games.

Even when his first-division debut was scheduled, he had told his family not to come.

Emma gazed out the window, lost in thought.

How could she not understand her husband’s heart, not wanting to show his mistakes in front of the son who looked up to him like an idol?

As a mother herself, she knew all too well that feeling of not wanting to show her shortcomings in front of her child.

That’s why Emma, understanding Lucan’s feelings, had initially decided not to go to the stadium.

But last night, a phone call from Manchester City’s coach, Peter Guardian, changed her mind.

“Hello, this is Peter Guardian, the coach of Manchester City.
I heard Lucan’s son, Oliver, hopes to be a goalkeeper.”

The coach’s voice was warm.

“Lucan will be starting in tomorrow’s match.

The Lucan I’ve seen… he can definitely be a proud and respectable father to his son.

His true value isn’t in flashy saves, but in the leadership that guides the team.”

After a brief pause, the coach continued.

“Please come to the match and cheer for him.
So that Lucan can show his true worth, so that he can find his courage.
It will surely be an unforgettable moment for Oliver.”

After that call, Emma came to understand her husband’s heart on a deeper level.

It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to show his weaknesses.

It was the desperate wish of a father wanting to show a better version of himself to his son, even if just a little.

Emma looked at Oliver, who was chattering excitedly while fidgeting with his gloves.

The child was still too young to understand the meaning of victory or defeat, or the weight of a mistake.

To him, just seeing his dad playing on the field was everything.

“Mom! Dad can block the ball like a real superhero, right?”

“Of course~
Your dad has a special power.”

“What kind of power?”

Emma thought for a moment, then smiled.

“Hmm… Your dad is a magician who makes all the players become one.”

Oliver’s eyes sparkled.

“Wow!
Then Dad is a soccer magician!”

Emma smiled once more at her son’s innocent expression.

As the car neared the stadium, her heart filled with excitement.

Today would surely be a special day for the entire Lucan family.

By the time they arrived at the stadium, the second half had already begun.

Guided by a club employee to the VIP seats, Emma and Oliver were immediately engrossed in the game.

“Dad! Dad is over there!”

Oliver shot up from his seat and waved.

Lucan’s figure, standing in front of the goal, was clearly visible.

She had heard that he had conceded three goals in the first half, but the Lucan on the field now didn’t look defeated at all.

“Look, Mom! Dad keeps talking to the defenders!”

Oliver watched his father’s every move intently.

Whenever Lucan raised his arm to adjust the defensive line, Oliver’s little gloved hand moved in perfect sync.

“Wow…
It’s like he’s a real magician.
When Dad moves his hand, the defenders follow.”

Emma, too, saw the change in her husband.

‘Just yesterday, he was so nervous about his first-division debut…’

Emma remembered Lucan, her childhood friend.

Flashes of him, frustrated by remarks about his lack of talent yet endlessly striving, passed through her mind.

Now, seeing him standing proudly in a Manchester City uniform, her eyes welled up.

“Mom, why are you crying? Dad is doing so well…”

Oliver looked up at his mother with a worried expression.

“No, I’m not crying. I’m just so happy.”

“Shouldn’t you be laughing if you’re happy?”

Emma smiled at her son’s innocent question.

“Oliver, you might not know this yet, but sometimes, tears come out when you’re really, really happy.”

“Hmm…
Is that so?
I only laugh…”

Emma sat Oliver on her lap and looked towards the field.

“Dad’s doing really great, isn’t he?”

“Yeah!
He’s the best in the world!”

***

“Wow…so that’s possible too.”

In the 78th minute of the second half, Jeong Taewoo watched Lucan’s play intently from the bench.

His style of play was the complete opposite of his own.

‘To block it like that…’

The scene just a moment ago was particularly impressive.

Predicting Seojun’s mid-range shot and adjusting the defenders’ positions beforehand was the basic part.

But Lucan went a step further.

He moved the defensive line considering even the passing options, completely shutting down Chelsea’s attack routes.

‘It’s not just split-second judgment… he’s reading the entire game.’

While everyone was focused on Lucan’s defensive coordination, Jeong Taewoo saw something more.

A vision that encompassed the entire field, and the precise judgments made within it.

‘It’s like having a coach on the field, rather than a goalkeeper…’

Lucan was not a simple goalkeeper. He was a commander on the field.

Only then could Jeong Taewoo read Coach Peter’s deep intentions.

Why he had insisted on starting Lucan became crystal clear.

‘He didn’t tell me directly, but he wanted me to watch Lucan and learn…’

If he had told the first-team starting goalkeeper to learn from a second-division player, his pride would surely not have allowed it.

But the coach chose a wiser method.

He made him see and feel it for himself.

Watching Lucan’s game coordination from the bench, he realized this was the path he needed to take to reach the next level.

‘I was arrogant…I thought I was already the best in the goalkeeper position…’

Like a guiding star, the coach was quietly presenting his future.

‘Wait…Does that mean he planned to bench me from the start?’

Jeong Tae-woo stared at Peter Guardian, who was passionately giving instructions from the sideline.

‘He acted so sorry… it was all an act.’

A small smile touched his lips.

As expected, Peter Guardian was the kind of top-tier coach who wouldn’t even shy away from acting for the sake of the team’s development.

The scoreboard still showed Chelsea in the lead, but in Jeong Tae-woo’s heart, watching the game from the bench, a conviction grew.

‘It won’t end like this.’