Chapter 94: Event Match

[Manchester City, reclaim Premier League title after 8 years]

[Manchester City, achieve first undefeated season since founding… A festival with the fans]

[Manager Peter Guardian: “Thanks to the fans. We will repay you with good results next season”]

[Jeong Taewoo: “I will win the league, Champions League, and FA Cup… and then retire.”]

[Goalie Jeong Taewoo’s amazing record… 5 goals and 7 assists this season]

-A goalie with 5 goals and 7 assists… He really was a Ballon d’Or winner in his past life, I tell you.

-Park Seojun hasn’t even won once yet, and this 20-year-old goalie already has an undefeated title.

-True. If this hyung keeps up this pace, he’ll easily score 100 goals by the time he retires lol

-If Taewoo’s a hyung, how old is he?

-30 years old, okay?

-If you’re good at soccer, you’re a hyung lol

Manchester City’s first undefeated season, which would be remembered for ages.

The club prepared various events to repay the fans for their support.

The area around Etihad Stadium was packed with people.

The fans who had gathered since dawn were acting as if they were in a frenzy.

“Hey, don’t push!”

“I’ve been waiting here in a tent since yesterday! Don’t cut in line!”

The fans’ shouts echoed, mixed together. Among the excited crowds, there were occasional squabbles.

Even though the stadium was full, there were many spectators trying to watch the game standing on the stairs.

The event that Manchester City had prepared this time was an 11-on-11 game between the City players, but there was something unique about it.

It was a position-change match where the usual attackers played as defenders and goalkeepers, and the defenders and goalkeepers played as attackers.

“Hmm… How many goals do I have to score to make Guerrero cry?”

Guerrero, wearing goalie gloves awkwardly and standing in front of the goal, was seen in the distance.

‘Would about 10 goals make him cry?’

Originally, I was planning to take it easy since it was an event match. But Guerrero’s provocation before the game changed my mind.

“Taewoo, no matter how good you are, being an attacker is really difficult. Being a goalie… Well, I can do that too. I’m full of talent, after all~”

There would be no holding back now.

Today was the day to show him what true ‘talent’ was.

‘You’re the one who provoked me first.’

[Hoo~ Hoo~]

With the words of famous comedian Mike Bennett, who was invited as a special commentator for this event, the event began in earnest.

[Manchester City fans, thank you for participating in this event. I’m Mike Bennett, the commentator for the event!]

“Kyaaaa!”

With his unique comical voice and humorous way of speaking, the fans cheered and laughed.

[Aigoo~ The response is so good that I’m getting more nervous! When City first offered me the commentary job, I was like, ‘Huh? I’m a comedian, though?’ But if it’s such a fun game! I have no choice, I’ll give it a try! Everyone, let’s have a good laugh today! Yeeeee~!]

“Wahahaha!”

[Now, let me introduce our proud Red Team players!]

As befitting a fan-service game, the images of the players being introduced were shown one by one on the large electronic display.

[Manchester City’s finisher! The Premier League’s top scorer and Player of the Month! The star of amazing performances, Guerrero!]

“Waaaa!”

Guerrero, who was shown on the electronic display, began to dance his signature celebratory dance with his unique smug expression.

His dance had become so famous among City fans that many of them followed along.

[Oh my! Guerrero, please teach me that dance~ I want to use it in my comedy shows too? Hahaha! The fans are all following along, is Guerrero going to open a dance academy? ]

“This dance is cool, not funny!”

[Aigoo, I’m sorry~ Guerrero! It’s really cool, right everyone?]

“Yeees~!”

‘At first, I wondered why they had hired a comedian instead of a professional commentator…’

It seemed that proceeding in such a cheerful manner, rather than with a rigid commentary, was more fitting for a fan event.

[Okay, let me introduce the second player! Our romanticist playing as a left-back! City’s captain! With a great personality and great skills, he’s perfect in every way! It’s Matias!]

“Matias! Stay with us forever!”
“I love you, Matias! My daughter can marry you anytime! Just come!”

From all over the stands, passionate support and proposals for Matias poured out.

Especially the support from parents with daughters was particularly fervent. With his handsome looks and good personality, he was the perfect husband material, except for the fact that he was already married.

[Wow! As expected of City’s captain! He’s so popular. Matias, I’m getting flustered by all the marriage proposals coming in! Oh my, there’s even a grandmother on the 3rd floor holding up a proposal picket! Is this what you call charm that spans all generations? Hahaha!]

Matias drew a heart with both hands, along with a shy smile.

“Kyaa!”

[Oh my, this is an unexpected reaction? A heart, not an O…? Ah, wait a minute! Wasn’t Matias already married?]

“Hahaha!”

The stands burst into even greater laughter at the sight of Matias waving his hands in a flustered expression and pointing to his wedding ring.

After the Red Team players were introduced, they began to introduce the Blue Team players.

[Okay, now for the Blue Team! First is our maestro, Sanchez… Oh my, wait a minute. Staff? Is it just me, or does the goal look really big right now? Is this right?]

As they introduced the players one by one, it was finally my turn.

[Okay, the last player. Honestly, I was really worried about how to introduce this player, um… Ah! A man who’s better looking than Michael Bennett! A man who’s more popular with the ladies than Michael Bennett! And… surprisingly! A goalie who also has his name slightly featured on the scoring charts!]

“Taewoo! Taewoo! Taewoo!”

[Oh my, what’s going on? I haven’t even finished my introduction yet… and the response is already this hot! As expected, our Jeong Taewoo is special! Everyone, cheer even louder!]

“Taewoo! Taewoo! Taewoo!”

[A goalie who’s better at dribbling than the attackers is now trying out as a real attacker! It’s Jeong Taewoo, the player you’ve all been waiting for!!]

I waved while smiling brightly, looking at my image on the electronic display.

‘Since it’s a fan-service game, I need to make sure everyone can enjoy it.’

I felt a little embarrassed when I remembered getting excited about Guerrero’s provocation earlier.

Hearing the fans’ cheers, I realized that I almost acted like a child for nothing. Today, I decided to focus solely on enjoying soccer with the fans.

***

[Castillo shoots! …Ah, where is he going? Is that going into space? Do we need to contact NASA?]

Castillo, who received the pass, shot with confidence, but the ball went far off the goal and flew high above the stands.

“Hahaha!”

[Oh my, what is this… Castillo! Were you planning to hit that passing plane? Or do you not like the new lights in our stadium? Hahaha!]

Castillo smiled sheepishly and raised both hands, gesturing an apology to the spectators.

The spectators responded to his innocent reaction with even greater laughter.

‘Should I score a goal or so, little by little?’

I was playing while focusing on passing as much as possible so that everyone could enjoy it, and I was enjoying the game with a smile.

But when I saw Guerrero smiling at me, the provocative words he had thrown at me earlier came back to mind.

‘No, today is a day for the fans.’

I kept telling myself that, but Guerrero kept bothering me.

Even now, I had a chance to shoot and score a goal from inside the penalty box, but I sent a pass to the youth player next to me.

In this fan service game, not only the first-team players but also youth players were participating.

The aim was to give the future first-team players a chance to play in front of the fans.

The faces of the youth players, who were playing with their seniors on the stage they had dreamed of, were full of excitement.

However, when the youth player was dispossessed of the ball by a defender and a counterattack occurred, Guerrero slyly approached me.

“Hehe, Taewoo. Attacking’s a little different, huh? The pressure isn’t easy, right? Well… I think I’m good at being a goalie, though?”

‘You’re really asking for it. Let me hit you a bit.’

I had no intention of directly harming him. However, it was necessary to curb that lively spirit of his a little.

As soon as I received a pass from Castillo, I flicked the ball up with my toes and passed it between two defenders.

“Ooh!”

[Is Jeong Taewoo finally showing us now?]

When I pulled off a scoop turn on the third defender, cheers erupted from the stands.

Now, a chance to shoot.

“Bang!”

“Ugh!”

Instead of heading for the goal, the ball struck Guerrero’s stomach, who had transformed into a goalie. Guerrero writhed exaggeratedly and collapsed.

“Haha, as expected of the talented Guerrero, he’s good at being a goalie.”

[Oh my, is Guerrero okay? Oh? Again?]

Even on the second chance, the ball hit Guerrero’s knee without fail.

“Ugh!”

“He’s really good at being a goalie?”

The third time, it was his shin. The fourth time, his butt.

Each time, Guerrero seemed to react exaggeratedly, like a character in a slapstick comedy, and the spectators enjoyed the situation as comedy.

[Aigoo, Guerrero’s acting skills are really amazing! When you retire later, let’s do a comedy show together?]

But unlike what everyone thought was acting, Guerrero, who was actually getting hit, was genuinely upset.

‘This isn’t acting…!’

The last ball that hit bounced off and landed in front of a youth player.

“Shoot!”

The youth player calmly kicked the dropped ball into the corner of the goal.

[Wow! Finally, a goal has been scored! Jeong Taewoo’s perfect assist… should I call it that? Hahaha!]

I approached Guerrero, who was still collapsed, and whispered.

“Do you want to say what you said earlier one more time?”

Seeing Guerrero’s face turn pale, I finally felt like I could enjoy the game comfortably.

‘Hoo… Now all the stress is gone.’