<013. Chaminator on a Lamborghini>

Hyung Jun Suk.

It was a name that even a casual fan of Korean soccer knew, and was the star player that was called the Zlatan of Korea.

His weapon was his towering height of 190cm.

‘How tall was he again? I remember it as being over 190.’

His skill was subjective.

There was a different feeling to a person from the Netherlands, which is known as the land of giants reaching more than 190cm, and a Korean person reaching over 190cm, as a Korean’s average height was short.

It was a similar reason to why an Englishman’s English speaking isn’t a skill.

And, Jun Hyung’s skill ‘unlimited potential for height growth’ (B+) wasn’t a common skill.

‘I will take that skill, no matter what!’

Perhaps it was because a big room for growth was a congenital skill, but the difficulty of the criteria was a bit high, although it would be achievable if he put his mind to it.

By focusing on making chances for Hyung Jun for the whole match, he was able to make a record of 4 assists. It was closer to a ‘second striker’ rather than a ‘poacher’, which was what Coach Cha had ordered.

As the match ended, Director Cha called Ho Yung to his office.

“You scored one goal and 3 assists in your first game?”

“Yep!”

“Do you like assisting more than scoring goals?”

“No. I like scoring goals more.”

“Then why did you keep making chances for Hyung Jun?”

“So that my teammates can lower their boundaries and accept me.”

He was also good at lying.

Bum Gon Cha was already remarking at Ho Yung’s humble words.

It wasn’t a thought that could come out of a child in year 3.

“Your thoughtfulness runs deep. And, you understand your teammates. Then, let’s train in the competition team from today on. I’ll talk to your mother separately about the competition, so all you need to do it practice. Got it?”

“Yep!”

“Haha. You seem happy. But why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? Oh… it’s nothing. Haha.”

Slurp.

Ho Yung, who had been unconsciously licking his lips, retracted his tongue.

In truth, there was another reason, and it was because of this.

[Bum Gon Cha]

Skills Possessed

The thighs of Cha Bum (L)

Leadership that comes from experience (B+)

A talented vision that can spot future stars (B)

A brilliant understanding of skills and techniques (B)

(You cannot see the skills that have been degraded.)

(As long as you meet the criteria, you may choose from one of the skills.)

(Criteria 1: Score 30 goals from at least 30 meters away in a formal match.)

(Criteria 2: Contend in the semi-finals of a FIFA approved formal competition.)

Bum Gon Cha had thighs that were 7 inches thicker than Ronaldo’s, which were 24 inches.

It was the standard of an average woman’s waist, and it wasn’t an overstatement to say that an incredible amount of strength and force game from his thighs.

It was at the level where it would make Du Rim Cha, who boasted the best physical capability in Korean Soccer, pack his bags and go home.

The things that they called horse thighs were Bum Gon Cha’s trademark.

And they weren’t just thick.

His thighs were a typical pillar form, and although his femoral region was much thinner than his inside muscle form, his special trait was having an explosive speed along with the endurance of a marathon runner.

‘Wow. Does L stand for Legend?’

It was the first time he had seen that ranking.

It seemed like the type of skill that only a retired player with standards would possess.

But the criteria…

‘It’s basically telling me to not get greedy, huh?’

Since it was a Legend ranking, the difficulty of the criteria was significantly hard to fulfil.

Of course, Bum Gon Cha was a special kind of different.

‘Maybe the World Youth Soccer Competition would be the easiest out of the formal competitions approved by FIFA. Hmm…’

He decided to put it aside for now.

It wasn’t criteria that he could fulfil at the current time.

Bum Gon Cha began to speak.

“Is there no word from San Paulo?”

“What word?”

“Maybe something about going to Brazil with them. When a club called Flamengo came, they took one of our players with them.”

“Ah. Yes, I got an offer too.”

Since Bum Gon wasn’t some transfer merchant, there was no real reason to hide it from him.

“So what do you want to do?”

“I want to go!”

“Haha. Good thinking.”

Cha Bum Gon continued, putting a hand on Ho Yung’s shoulder.

“It’ll be tough, but you need to keep holding on if you are to become an amazing soccer player. If you want to awaken your skills, it’s good to experience it in a lot of different countries.”

“I appreciate the advice!”

“Haha. Little kid. Let’s keep in touch even if you go overseas. Tell me if there’s anything holding you back.”

“Yep!”

From that day on, Ho Yung participated in team training and excelled while wearing the team colours.

Even so, he focused on assisting Hyung Jun. Ho Yung was no longer a poacher who scored goals.

Because of that, Sang Un created a strategy that revolved around Ho Yung, and the new position that was created because of it was Ho Yung’s position, the second striker.

Second Striker.

It was a position that Argentina’s Diego Maradona was in, and the second striker’s role was to help with the frontline attack and contribute to scoring goals. It was a position that needed the skills of a midfielder or striker such as dribbling, charging, passing, and shooting.

“Ho Yung, you need to try very hard to support the attack. That being said, don’t get pressured and play confidently, okay?”

‘Coach, I think there’s a contradiction in your words.’

Swallowing his words, Ho Yung replied with spirit.

“Don’t worry about it!”

On that day, Ho Yung’s name was included in FC Chabum’s final entries.

And on the day before the competition.

“Nice pass!”

“Nice header!”

The two-top strategy that consisted of Hyung Jun – Ho Yung was close to perfection.

It had the feeling that Ho Yung kept to the rhythm and unilaterally supported him, but the most important thing was winning the match.

‘Has Ho Yung taken a liking to assisting? Well, anyway… with this competence, the semi-finals don’t look too far away.’

Before Ho Yung was added to the roster, the team’s full combined power was barely enough to get into the quarter-finals.

It was because the teams that were included in their division were all powerful by themselves.

Europe’s strongest, Poland Under 13s Representative team.

Portugal League’s strongest, FC Porto.

And even Sweden League’s under-average team, Djurgårdens IF.

But, as long as Ho Yung was in the team, FC Chabum didn’t have many reasons to fall behind.

Since the players in the youth competition haven’t fully physically developed, the key players were the big ones, and if Ho Yung does well, the runner-up spot would be well within reach.

There was a pressure on FC Chabum since everyone was expecting big things from them, but it felt like there was a big load off their shoulders now.

Beep!

Coach Sang Un blew the whistle.

“You guys did well! Go inside, have a stretch, and get some rest.”

Thus, the last team training was finished.

It was also the glorious moment of Ho Yung’s 15th assist.

‘Now I just need to fulfil the second criteria!’

It was the criteria that required him to spend at least 250 minutes with the team in a formal match.

‘One match is 50 minutes, so that means I need to get into the semi-finals.’

He would cross that bridge when he came to it, but for some reason that he didn’t understand, he felt confident.

* * *

The next day, the 18th of December.

The World Youth Competition, which was managed by the collaboration between the Korean Soccer Association and MBS began.

[Hello to all the viewers! This is Paju NFC’s green stadium. I am Ju Hwan Im, and I will be your commentator for the World Youth competition, managed in collaboration with the Korean Soccer Association and the MBS. And beside me is commentator Yung Uk Seoh. Nice to meet you.]

[Nice to meet you.]

MBS must have taken a great interest in the competition to put Ju Hwan Im at the desk, who could be called a legend among the sports commentators.

It was easy to notice after seeing that they were sponsored by the most prominent large company, Shinsung Electronics.

[This is the first time that a World Youth Competition has been held in South Korea, right?]

[Yes, that’s right. Maybe it’s because it’s the next national competition that has been held since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, but there seems to be a lot of interest from the citizens. This looks like a good opportunity for the youth players.]

[Certainly. Ah, the players are entering the stadium!]

FC Chabum’s first opponent was Poland’s representative team.

After passing through the entrance and onto the field, Ho Yung felt lighter.

‘This is it.’

Paju NFC Green stadium.

It was a natural grass stadium that required 70000 Korean Wons to book just for a single day.

Of course, there were close to no spectators, but it felt like he was already a soccer star.

They gave the players time to shake hands with the opponents, while grinding their teeth.

But other than exchanging greetings, Ho Yung was busy rolling his eyes.

‘Aoh! If Lewandowski was born just a few months later, I could’ve met him here. That’s such a shame.’

In his prime, he was to be the world’s greatest striker, playing alongside Luiz Suarez and Harry Kane.

It was such a shame that Poland’s legend, Lewandowski wasn’t here.

But right now, the most important thing was winning.

Ho Yung tightened his focus.

And,

Beep!

The whistle signalled the start of the match.