The Little Prince of the Field - Chapter 2

Trivia

 

“Tommy, the defense’s coordination is terrible. Let’s go with what we did in the training, and if we sit down like this, the flow of the first half will continue. One more goal, I don’t care what you do Raise the line, okay?” 

“Si.” 

“Timor, do what you’ve been doing in front of the defense. If the line goes up, you’ll have less space to support. Show them your ability. Gonzalez should be more concerned about Inigo and the midfield, Castro, in the second half you put more pressure ahead. I’ll replace you in the 70th minute.” 

Castro nodded silently as he changed his socks. 

The team’s top veteran changed his socks and played a joke on Pedri, who was undergoing a massage. 

It was the first time I came into the locker room in the middle of a game and listened to the manager’s instructions. 

Even though we were losing, the atmosphere that was not heavy was unfamiliar, since it was different from the second division. 

“What are you doing?” asked Dani Casteyano, suddenly tapping my shoulder. 

The blue-eyed man grinned and whispered, with his arms round my neck. 

“I heard you don’t speak much. How are you today?” 

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear anything. The coach might ask you to warm up.?” 

His blue pupils shook, perhaps bewildered. 

The color of his eyes was amazing even when I saw it again. 

I didn’t care much about what Dani said. 

In the end, Manager decides who has to play. 

There are many cases where the game ends even after warming up until the last minute. 

Still, I liked the fact that I seemed to be in the Manager’s plan. 

He coughs, puts his hand in his pants pocket, and disappears somewhere. 

 

The second half began, and as Dani Casteyano said, the coach approached and instructed me to warm up. 

If I was lucky, I might pull off Castro’s absence. 

Is Dad at the stadium? 

I wish I could play for a while. 

Today’s game is for my father rather than for me. 

“Wow! It’s here!” 

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” 

Raising the line certainly had a positive effect. 

With a comeback goal, Las Palmas is completely overhauled. 

In soccer, the flow of the moment was important. 

The coordination of Aitami’s defense sometimes brought about a heart-breaking crisis, but at the same time, it creates strong pressure inside the centerline. 

From Pedri to Castro to Ramirez. 

It was not until the link between the attackers worked properly that the three Las Palmas strikers were beginning to exert their power. 

Expectations for my debut decrease as the game goes well. 

I focused more on the exercise to avoid making it obvious. 

Someone might see the frown on my face. 

“Kim…..Hey Kim.” 

While warming up, I heard my father’s voice from the stands. 

Dad walked down the stairs with a crown-carved Las Palmas muffler in his hand. 

I was grateful and sorry for him at the same time, even though I thought the muffler was ridiculous. 

I don’t think I’ll be in the game. 

When the game exceeded 65 minutes without additional points, a whistle was heard.

“Kim! Come here!”

As soon as I heard the Manager’s voice I waved my hand to dad and went to the coach. 

“ Yes coach.”

“Are you ready? How are you?” 

“Good.” 

“Castro twisted his ankle. You’re going in. Get ready.” 

“Okay.” 

When I looked into the stadium belatedly, I saw the opposite side player with number 17, given a warning from the referee. 

I took off my green vest and headed towards the assistant referee and the coach . 

I feel like I’m hearing all kinds of instruments in my ears. 

The sound of my heart was unusually loud enough to bury the roar of the crowd. 

I was nervous. 

Maybe I’m not ready. 

“Come here, Kim. Get into Castro’s position. Central striker. Do you understand?” 

“I understand.” 

“Role? Remember what role it is? Press the front as much as you can, link and…” 

“No!” 

Las Palmas Manager Pepe Mel half-screamed as Pedri missed his free-kick and the crowd cheered loudly. 

“Do whatever you want!” 

“Huh?” 

“Do whatever you want, do what you can.”

“But…” 

“You were seeing the match earlier, right?” 

I nodded without thinking. 

“ Okay..Go.”

I lifted my right leg, crossed the rope and entered the field.

I felt like I am watching the stadium in an analog TV screen. 

I’m sweating. 

“ Hey Kim, is the one you talking to your Father?” 

“Yes.” 

“He must be very proud of his son today.” 

Manager Pepe tapped me on my shoulder and nodded his head. 

While the assistant referee signals a replacement, my head turns to the place where I was warming up. 

Dad still stands on the stairs and looks at me with his fist clenched. 

When I looked at the playground again, it looked bigger than it actually was. 

Looking back, I’ve finally came this far. 

The first opportunity came only after preparations for the long journey was completed. 

It’s a place where I don’t see anything except my parents’ divorce, my dirty personality, and my soccer skills. 

It’s the moment to be on stage. 

Muscle tremors abate. 

More than ever. 

The world was clear. 

As soon as the replacement signal is heard, Castro comes out. 

I heard cheers from the stadium. 

Half of it was encouragement, and the other half was worry. 

The game resumes with Uesuka’s corner kick. 

The ball bounced off defender Timor’s head is caught by central midfielder Inigo’s foot. 

Inigo cleared the ball toward the half-line before Uesuka’s pressure began. 

Pedri, the left winger of Las Palmas, follows the ball flying over the left side of the half-line. 

It seemed like a good counterattack opportunity would be given if he did well, but his legs seem tense and the ball went out of the line at the first touch. 

He’s tired. 

The head coach substituted Pedri with Tony. 

Now he has used all the substitution cards. 

As soon as the game started, we were lucky enough to have a chance to score, and we fought quite well. 

In particular, the opposing team’s back number 17, who injured castro was at war of nerves with Dani Casteyano. 

Despite the boos from home fans, Uesuka stands firm and does not give up space. 

All we did for 10 minutes was to drive the ball next to the opponent’s penalty area. 

The path comes in the way I don’t want it to. 

It was a long way off to win a race with an opponent’s central defender who was more than 1.8 m tall. 

I have to think again about what to do. 

I glanced at the bench, but neither the manager nor the head coach didn’t order me anything. 

In the end, it was no different from playing for Team B. 

I can’t expect a good pass. 

The competition with the central defender was like gambling, so I’m going straight down to the second line. 

After seeing my movement, Tony, the left winger who replaced Pedri, switches from wing to center-oriented movement. 

Bella, the left wingback, also expanded the overlapping area and came deep into the enemy camp. 

I was trying to fill the vacancy of Tony, who was moving in the center. 

Ueska’s central defender focuses on Tony, who is cut into the penalty box, and Ramirez, a right striker. 

I receive a pass from Dani Casteyano while being marked by the opposing midfielder. 

The ball came in one step away from the right foot. 

The opposing midfielder rushed from the back left. 

The first touch is the sole of the foot, which gently drops the ball’s rotation. 

Turn the body to the front of the goalpost and switch to a confrontation with the opposing midfielder. 

Let’s just do what we’ve done. 

Drag the ball to the left with the bottom of my right foot, and roll it once more to the right as soon as the opposing midfielder’s foot enters to create a space for the ball to pass. 

Then, the ball was put into the space between the opponent’s feet. 

Uesuka’s midfielder, who lost his balance, slips onto the grass and falls while struggling to catch up. 

When I break through Ueska’s midfielder, Tony near the opposing defense and Ramirez on the right side take an aggressive move. 

The opponent’s central defender reflexively pulls down the line in response, and the space opens up momentarily after breaking through. 

Finally, the goalpost appeared. 

Both left and right were good angles for hitting shots. 

Every time I scored a goal in every practice game, it was in the same spot. 

I’m out of breath, but I’m terribly calm in my head. 

Running on the field was nothing to be afraid of. 

The heart, which had been eaten away by fear when I entered the field, is now ready to beat using joy as fuel. 

It was exactly what I had been doing so far. 

“Argh!” 

“Tipo loco!”” 

“Buen chico!” 

The yellow net fluttered as the ball hit it. 

When the goal went into the upper left net, the teammates rushed in to hit my head and hit me with their feet. 

I’m annoyed. 

I get out of the hands of the bloody humans and pick up the ball and run to the half-line. 

The crowd shouted and applauded as the music rang inside the stadium. 

They looked a little crazy. 

We still needed one more point to win. 

The remaining time was six minutes. 

The match, which started again with Uesuka’s kick, might be the final battle to determine the outcome. 

I ran as fast as I could. 

The players ran without hesitation. 

Before entering extra time, four more yellow cards came out, and Ueska’s number 17, who was warned for tackling Castro, was sent off due to accumulated cards. 

While substitutes enter the field Ueska players protested to the referee. 

Ramirez calls Tony and I to discuss how to attack. 

It was like a little war on the meadow. 

The game resumed. 

The regular time has passed, and the assistant referee marked the remaining time, but I did not look at it on purpose. 

It is more important to focus on the game. 

Uesuka aimed for a draw after one player was sent off the field. 

The defense, which had fallen completely in two rows, seemed difficult to attack. 

In this situation, it is meaningless to be in the second line.

I tried to go up to the front line and make a space so that a pass could come in between the opponent’s central defenders, but failed repeatedly. 

The Uesuka players’ concentration to narrow the space was fierce. 

The attack failed three times in a row. 

While the ball continued to spin in the Uesuka camp, there was no profit. 

At some point, the number of players looking back at the referee increases. 

The whistle came to the referee’s mouth as the time to end the game approaches. 

Ramirez on the right delivers the ball to central midfielder Inigo, who approaches the back when the cross space is blocked, and Inigo delivers the ball to Dani Casteyano in the center on the left again. 

According to the coach’s instructions, Las Palmas’ central defender, Aitami, came up to inside of the opponent’s penalty box. 

It was important to win the game. 

I erased the referee from my head and changed my position in hopes of eye contact with Dani casteyano. 

Even if the pass did not come in, I had to keep moving and create a little space. 

Dani Casteyano was thinking about whether to cross pass the ball to Aitami, but soon gave up and made eye contact with me. 

He probably thought I had better chance than Aitami, who was caught between the opposing team’s central defenders. 

It is a low and strong ground ball pass as it delivers the ball in a narrow space. 

The fierce looks of defenders approaching nearby were burdensome. 

However, the clean pass under the lawn was too wonderful to miss. 

I pushed myself through the defenders with a forceful determination. 

My plan was to lift the ball with the back of my left foot, turn to the front of the net, and connect it directly with a shot. 

However, the ball bounces too far to the side. The power on the pass was not properly killed. 

The La Liga official ball leaves my body mercilessly and flies to an area beyond control of my both feet. 

Near where the ball flew, I can see the head of Gomez, the opponent’s central defender who was running. 

The ball bounces off the from his reflective bald head. 

Like a magic just for me, the ball returns diagonally to the front of the net. 

It was like a one-two pass. 

All I have to do is run. 

Luck stood by me this time. 

In just three steps, the pressure of the breathtaking tall defenders disappeared, leaving only the goalkeeper and me. 

I could vividly feel the breath of the opponent’s goalkeeper and the swelling chest. 

I could see a naked man standing up screaming from the stands and a little boy waving his yellow uniform next to him. 

I swing my feet slightly at the center of the ball. 

The war between Las Palmas and Ueska on the grass field came to an end with the whistle of the referee.