The Little Prince of the Field - Chapter 20

Central defender David’s cross missed the mark. 

The opponent striker had a good opportunity, but luckily he didn’t get a good hit with his head and the ball flew towards the goal without power. 

As the goalkeeper Martinez received the ball straight into his arms, the crowd sighed in relief and gave Martinez fierce applause. 

“Dani!” 

Martinez called Dani Casteyano’s name and threw the ball to Bella.

As soon as Bella’s pass went to Inigo, the opponents around him flocked together to block the Las Palmas midfield.

Inigo moved succinctly. 

Pedri approaching from the left, they exchanged triangular passes by using Pecardt, who went down to the second line. 

I didn’t react in time, so Inigo made a pass to Pecardt which was returned, and then he made a straight shot from mid-range. 

The shot was far beyond the right side of the goal. 

“sorry.” 

“Take it easy.” 

Inigo went back to the midfield, waving his hands at my apology.

As the offensive of the two teams continued, 10 minutes had passed since the start of the second half. 

The good news is that the Las Palmas players are operating normally in line with Manager Pepe’s instructions, and the bad news is that I’m still not able to get in the right position, although I swapped positions with the forward-line striker Pecardt several times. 

I wondered if I was more confused about my position than the Alcorcon players. 

Me occasionally owning the ball by chance disturbed the rhythm of the team. 

Even though the number of errors got reduced, I still couldn’t find my path as a forward.

In addition, the act of receiving the ball with my back to the goal post every time, the Las Palmas’ hardcore fans may mistake me for Juan Narvaez, who has become shorter and now playing.

Suddenly, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to play in a way that protects the ball and moves forward, like Juan Narvaez, who played as a left-wing forward in the first half.

On the half-line, Pedri avoids the Alcorcon midfielder’s tackle and retains possession of the ball. 

I ran up to the left-wing forward position where Pedri was originally.

“Pedri!” 

Checking the defensive position and positioning my feet,  the ball went straight in. 

The defender who was stuck in the back was Alcorcon’s right full-back. 

There is more room to balance my body than to pierce the center.

Normally I would have admired Pedri’s reaction speed and quality of passes, but I don’t have time for that today. 

Before releasing the ball with a shallow touch, I used my back muscles to trick the opposing full-back who was pressing me down with his upper body. 

Turn right and give a signal as if I’m going to get out, and then try to get out to the left. 

It was important not to use exaggerated muscle movements too much.

Naturally, the opponent was not completely deceived. 

Although he had lost some of his body balance, his thighs blocked my path, and his hands reached out to the top of my uniform to buy extra time to react. 

The ball is already passed between the legs of the opponent’s fullback.

I changed the direction of my feet to offbeat even with the risk of instantaneous slowdown. 

If my left foot does not cross the opponent’s thigh first, then there is a high probability of losing the ball due to a battle of strength.

Done. 

The tip of the left foot passes under the opponent’s knee.

Now that I have secured a way out, I have to strike the opponent’s hand that is trying to grab my jersey. 

If I don’t hit his hand with my right palm at the right time, then I will eventually be caught, or the referee will call me the attacker and give me a penalty card.

It’s something that I have experienced countless times while in Team B of Las Palmas.

When the opposing defender’s finger is snapped off close to my body, my hand reflexively shrugs. 

Midfielders ran after me, but they were at least three steps away from each other. 

It was a successful breakthrough. 

As I entered the left line of the penalty box, Alcorcon’s central defender greedily approached and hurriedly filled the empty space.

 “Kim!” 

Pecardt, who entered the penalty box, and Pedri, who ran after him from outside the box, shouted almost at the same time. 

While I was concentrating on dribbling, I glanced at both of them and noticed that there are marks on them. 

I erased both of them from my mind in an instant. 

A teammate with a mark is meaningless if I can’t make a good pass. 

Once again, I should concentrate a little more before I run out of energy.

Without slowing down, I closed the distance between the central defender and went head-on. 

I quickly got close to the opponent who was standing apart from the path I chose.

I was afraid that the ball would be taken away by a ball touch mistake, so I kept pushing forward with the thought of giving more pressure on my opponent. 

Alcorcon’s central defender did not expect this outcome until the very end. 

Would he have thought I’d just crash at him like this? 

Two steps to one step. 

From one step to another half a step. 

As soon as the opposing player twitched, I touched the ball with my left foot and bent it towards the edge of the goal. 

The defender’s right foot was lightly missed. 

The shooting angle was not good, but the distance was close, and above all, there is only the goalkeeper in the diagonal direction in front of my eyes.

Pecardt is offside. 

If he had gone deep into the right of the goal post, I would have passed the ball. 

The situation where the angle for the pass did not occur. 

I made a shot without any hesitation. 

The right foot kick was uncomfortable, and it was a better angle to shoot with the left foot.

The ball hits the goalkeeper’s right elbow and bounces back into the goal. 

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!” 

I shouted after a long time and clenched my fists to express my joy. 

It was amazing to be able to produce such results with a poor body condition, and at the same time, a sense of accomplishment came rushing in. 

Fans sang the strange Prince Canary song which felt a little touching today. 

“You damn bastards! Don’t hit me!” 

“Why are you so good when it comes to scoring goals?” 

It’s no use screaming. 

Pecardt kicked me in the ass, Pedri tickled me, Inigo and Cedris hit me in the back as soon as they came running. 

Laughter flowed from the crowd as I fled to the centerline to avoid Courbelo and Aitami, who came late.

Damn it

As we waited for the match to resume at the half-line, my eyes met the Manager’s eyes, he smiled with satisfaction and raised his thumb in silence. 

I was embarrassed and grateful. 

It’s great to live up to the expectations of the person who believed in me.

 As the players settle down in the stadium, the game resumes with the referee’s whistle. 

The players of Alcorcon ran around on the grass with heavy expressions.

With a goal in the 50th minute of the second half, the game was 2-1.

Las Palmas has the upper hand, and time was not on my side. 

My body is getting heavier and it is getting difficult to play the defense, so neither forward pressure nor the cooperative defense can be properly carried out.

From now on, there is only one chance. 

There will be no second chance.

Courbelo, the right fullback, wins the shoulder fight and steals the ball. 

Although the touch was rough, he shook off the opponent’s forward pressure through a one-two pass with Harvey Casteyano and soon jumped up near the half-line.

“Courbelo!”

 “En marcha!” 

Courbelo exchanges triangular passes with Cedris, the right-wing, in the vicinity while trying to approach Pecardt. 

Alcorcon’s No. 8 player momentarily missed Pecardt, who he was marking.

Opponent No. 8 seems to have forgotten Pecardt’s existence, as he was trying to follow Courbelo going up to his side, but belatedly comes back to his senses at his teammate’s cry. 

But it was a little too late.

Approximately 24 meters away from the goal post, Pecardt gained shooting space in the center. 

The opponent’s central defender, who was pulling my jersey behind my back in the penalty area, as I moved forward to narrow my shooting angle. 

Pecardt sent me a ground pass as if he knew. 

“Kim! Watch your back!” 

Alcorcon’s left center-fielder sticks close to the area to support the defense. 

I Passed the ball through the crotch before the opponent’s speed slowed down. 

It’s already terrifying for the ball to go out of my control, but everything worked very well. 

I overcame the resistance of the central defender and entered the penalty box. 

It would be nice to go in more, but I can already feel my strength is falling. 

I don’t have the confidence to score a goal by shaking off the opponent midfielder who came rushing to join the defense. 

I lacked stamina.

I bent my ankle wide and kicked at the bottom of the ball. 

It was the most aggressive pass since the game started. 

The ball has been rotated to the right as it leaves my foot and rolls. 

Assuming that Pecardt continues to run, the ball will reach his feet. 

“yeeeeeeeeeee-!!” 

I can see the waving yellow shirt and the back of Pecardt running to express the joy of scoring a goal. 

This was it for today. 

After receiving compliments from Inigo, I signaled to the bench for a substitution. 

In the 63rd minute, I was replaced by Srnich and left the field.

Without an extra goal, the match is 3-1. 

Las Palmas played the remaining time well without losing a point, mainly due to defenders Aitami and David. 

The rest of the time went well with no goals scored. 

Martinez, the goalkeeper, was replaced due to a minor finger injury, which created a brief disorganized atmosphere, but we were able to continue the competition for the lead by scoring three points in the 15th round of the League.

“Kim, here!” 

“Can’t someone else do it?” 

“No matter how tired you are, you must do media interviews and take care of your fans.” 

Head coach Rios said with a stern expression on his face. 

Leaving behind the players exchanging uniforms, I approached the middle-aged announcer with a familiar face. 

“Kim! Congratulations on your victory.”

 “Gracias.” 

My voice cracked, probably because I was very tired. 

Apologizing for a moment and I made my voice return through a series of coughs. 

“You look very tired. Are you okay?” 

“Just a little. It’s not that hard.” 

“Has your health been affected by the fact that you recently started playing as a starter? What do you think?” 

“I don’t think it’s because I particularly ran for a long time. It’s because I don’t have energy in general.” 

The announcer listens to me and laughs so much that he reveals all his white teeth. 

What’s so funny? 

Before I knew it, the players of Las Palmas, who gathered together and listened were also laughing.

“Oh, Kim, let’s go with fuerza fisca instead of energy. You can’t put it bluntly, and energyia sounds a little weird.”

“okay.” 

I don’t know what’s weird about it. 

Should I ask about this at school? 

I was a little annoyed because my nerves became sharp from tiredness. 

That’s why I said that I didn’t want to be interviewed. 

“I know it was hard, but you scored 2 goals and 1 assist today. The goal was great, while the assist was beautiful. 12 goals and 2 assists until the 15th round. You are closest to the top scorer in the La liga league. So, Do you have any goals in mind? Like I want to do this.”

“Well, I don’t have a goal. I’ll try to put what Manager Pepe tells me into practice.”

“There are a lot of stories about you and Manager Pepe. Do you talk often to each other?” 

“We don’t. He’s the Manager. He has been a great help to me for making up for my shortcomings.”

The announcer, who was nodding his head, as he moved the big microphone back and forth and continued with the next question. 

“You got 12 goals in 15 rounds, but you have played only 6 of them. That’s two goals per game. Considering that Las Palmas didn’t get such a good rating before the season started, a lot of fans say that half of the team’s current standing is due to Kim.”

“That just sounds stupid.” 

“yes?” 

“I can’t play soccer alone.” 

“It is true that you are contributing greatly to the team.” 

“I don’t want to exaggerate my role. Don’t do that.” 

“Yes, yes.” 

Hesitation flashed across the face of the announcer who said it was the last question. 

There is nothing worse than doing an interview, so I hope it ends sooner. 

“This is probably the question that fans are most curious about. Rumors about your transfer poured out this week. Ahead of the winter transfer market, I heard that not only La Liga but also foreign leagues such as Germany and England made suggestions.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard anything about it.” 

When I thought about what kind of question it was, it was nothing. 

If it had been a proper transfer proposal, Uncle Bari would have informed me earlier.

Didn’t any offers come in through the club?

“No. I don’t know. And I’m not interested.” 

Before they start asking this and that, I took the lead. 

I wanted to finish this quickly and go home to wash my body in warm water.

“When I switched to a contract with Las Palmas, it was extended to three years. There’s still over a year and a half left. It’s meaningless to go somewhere else without taking proper responsibility for the starting position. I’m just gonna prepare for the next game.”

“…Yes. Thank you for agreeing to the interview.” 

“Gracias.”