TRCSSITE 09

Episode 9. The Talent of a Play maker (1)

The match was over, but the day’s work remained.
The players who played on the field proceed with recovery sessions.
The players who didn’t play on the field expend energy through tactical training.

“Good work, everyone.”

After the squad returned.
All the coaching staff of Suwon F C’s U-18 team gathered in the manager’s office.

“Did you bring the drawn mat came out?”
“Yes. Please take a look.”
“Our next opponent is, as expected, Bupyeong High.”

The purpose of youth teams in South Korea is to develop professional players.
Therefore, they imitate professional team methods as much as the budget allows.
Opponent team analysis is no different.

“They’re not a strong team, but their organization is incredible.”
“Even while using defensive tactics, they switch gears in an instant. They seemed skilled at reversing momentum.”

A professional performance analyst briefs the information, and the coaching staff gathers to establish countermeasures.
From the next day, training aligned with these measures begins.
While numerous opinions swiftly exchanged hands,
Manager Ham Gwang-chun quietly observed the meeting.

“Manager, your decision.”

On this team, the manager doesn’t necessarily need to voice his opinion.
After all, all decisions are made by the manager. The responsibility also lies with the manager. It was that kind of team structure.

“What about Gwang-jae’s condition?”
“They say with two days of rest, he can return to training. He should be back to normal condition before match day.”
“Still, we can’t push a youth player recklessly. He’s not even team ace-level. Let’s consider excluding Lee Gwang-jae from the roster for now.”

To Manager Ham Gwang-chun, Lee Gwang-jae was a player like the rib of a chicken.
When used, he’s unsatisfactory.
When discarded, there’s no suitable replacement.
But with the emergence of Seo Jae-woo, this worry was instantly resolved.

“Yes. That Jaewoo kid deserves more chances.”
“Now that it’s come up, let me ask, Manager. How should we use that Seo Jae-woo kid? I simply can’t get a feel for it.”
“Do you think I know?”

Seo Jae-woo had changed one hundred and eighty degrees.
Anyone passing by would notice he’d changed.
The problem was how he had changed.
No one could clearly pinpoint Seo Jae-woo. The sample size was too small.

“For now, continue discussing. How we should attack Bup-yeong High.”

The meeting resumed.
Ham Gwang-chun picked a few good opinions from those presented.
And he processed them by mixing in his own thoughts.

“Alright. Alright. Good work, everyone. Hearing your thoughts, this method also seems fine.”

He picked up the magnet with number 77 written on it and placed it in the center of the opposing half on the tactics board.

“You’re putting Jae-woo in the attacking midfielder position?”
“Yes. I plan to prepare two forms of attack, so understand them and reflect them in the training sessions.”

Thereafter, the coaches busily took notes on Ham Gwang-chun’s words.
There were countless grounds for rebuttal, but no one raised an objection.
Here, the manager’s word is law.
Also, in a situation where they were gathered until late at night, keeping quiet to leave even a moment sooner was the best policy.

“That’s all. Good work, everyone. Rest well and see you tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Let’s go home, go home!”

The meeting ended, but Head Coach Yoo Hae-wan didn’t leave the manager’s office until the very end.

“Something on your mind?”
“Manager, isn’t this treatment too unconventional?”
“You mean Seo Jae-woo?”
“Yes. Just suddenly rising to the starting roster could cause talk. Moreover, if we entrust him with an unfamiliar role, someone will surely harbor discontent.”

Head Coach Yoo Hae-wan’s words were correct.
The tournament had already begun.
What if Seo Jae-woo consistently showed good performances within limited opportunities going forward?
Naturally, he would become the team’s core and play an active role.
The players also wouldn’t be dissatisfied with executing tactics centered on Seo Jae-woo.
But right now, showing one real match is all he’s done.
He scored two goals, but they didn’t look like difficult goals.
A situation lacking grounds and justification to enter the starting roster.

“From the kids’ perspective, Seo Jae-woo is just a guy who got lucky and played well in one game.”
“That would be so. So?”
“It’s too hasty a decision…”

The manager cut off the head coach’s words.

“What the kids chatter about isn’t my business.”
“Huh?”

Yoo Hae-wan’s eyes widen as if he hadn’t expected this at all.

“What did we say was our team’s realistic goal for this Champions Tournament?”

Basically, Suwon F C U-18 belongs among the top-ranked strong teams domestically.
They should be a team that can aim for national tournament victory at any time.
But this year is a bit different.
The players are willing, and support is abundant, but that’s it.
For the past three years, Suwon F C U-18 has been a continuous drought.

“Advancing to the quarterfinals is the best. Reaching the semifinals would be a miracle. We were very lucky in the group stage draw.”

The objective power difference with other prestigious teams was clear.
Since Manager Ham Gwang-chun doesn’t lead youth team recruitment, for him, squad quality is purely a matter of luck.
The guys who were famously touted as promising were all empty husks.
Immediate skills are usable but lack growth potential, or.
They’re lazy, so their growth rate is slow.

“You know it well. Let me ask one more. How many players in our current team have the talent to later advance and perform in the adult stage?”
“…If they work hard, wouldn’t two or three manage? You never know with people.”
“Nonsense. At most, one, generously speaking. Kim Jinwoo.”

Kim Jinwoo.
The ace of Suwon F C U-18.
Possesses dribbling skills that can toy with youth-level defenders. Additionally, he can unleash powerful shots heading inside the goal from anywhere in the attacking third.

“That guy won’t have it easy either. He kicks well, but his stamina is too weak. Talent is ambiguous, but activity level is low. That’s the reality by pro stage standards.”

So.
In other words.

“Guys with different potential easily overcome this level of pressure. If Seo Jae-woo proves it with skill, there won’t be room for noise.”

Did Manager Ham Gwang-chun properly see through Seo Jae-woo?
The fact that he can’t even grasp what kind of player he is remains the same.
But the difference from the coaches is that he has observed far more players than them.
Even more closely.
According to that data, Seo Jae-woo was a guy who would make it.
A guy who would do well no matter what you ask of him.

“Whether we fall in the quarterfinals, the round of 16, or lose and get eliminated in the very next match, it’s the same. It’s early elimination. Then shouldn’t we bet on the method with the highest peak?”

Given the current team circumstances, there was no reason not to use Seo Jae-woo as the core.

A week.
For a player to learn a new role and apply it in a real match, it’s a hopelessly insufficient amount of time.
World-class? A genius of the century? None of that is needed.
To handle an unfamiliar role and tactics, a much longer preparation period is necessary.
In that sense.

“Seo Jae-woo! To the attacking midfielder position!”

This team is crazy.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t put me in as an attacking midfielder.

‘They’re not in their right mind.’

Still, it’s fortunate. Because the subject is me.
After all, I have no experience in any position.
From the start, there’s no experience of playing as a player on the field itself.
The field I experienced was limited to neighborhood soccer in elementary school. After that, I lost my legs in an accident.
Fullback?
Wing forward?
Attacking midfielder?
All are unfamiliar.

“Seo Jae-woo. Your role here is–“

Manager Ham Gwang-chun stops Head Coach Yoo Hae-wan.

“First, let him move as he thinks.”

And then he unexpectedly grants a free role.

“…Understood.”

Did I misjudge the person?
Clearly, from my perspective, Ham Gwang-chun was a decent manager.
But then.

‘Throwing him into a new position with no explanation and putting him in tactical training?’

At that moment, one thought flashed through my mind.
Wait.
Could it be that the manager thinks I’ll adapt quickly anywhere?
That would change the story.
It could mean he’s not stupid, but rather more competent than even I thought.

‘That’s not important.’

I am not a manager now. I’m merely a player who has to do as he’s told when ordered from above.
For now, just doing as told is enough.
Being freer from a sense of responsibility is also a player’s privilege, isn’t it?

Beep!

Training began.
The purpose of tactical training is simple.
Confirmation. And adjustment.
Seeing how the given instructions are implemented on the field, and adjusting them so their power comes alive in real matches.

Fight!

A forward pass comes from the center. I received the ball lightly.
A certain clumsiness still remains in my movements, but not enough to hinder the attack progression.

‘Let’s see.’

There are teammates all around.
Lee Gwang-jae on the left.
Ham Jun-woo on the right.
Kim Jin-woo as the center forward.
This is pretty much the best line.

Toouk.

Luckily, I saw a passing lane. So without hesitation, I kicked the ball.
A through pass piercing between the right center-back and fullback.
Ham Jun-woo sprinted nimbly, received the ball, and advanced near the goal line.

“Cutback!”

Thud!

People tangle in the dangerous zone of the penalty box.
The winner was the defender.
Blocking the attacker and clearing the ball away.

“Nice pass!”
“What a pity!”
“That was good just now!”

Passes continued to be distributed thereafter.
It’s tactical training done by creating attacking situations from the start. Naturally, countless opportunities are given.
The start of the team’s attack was always me. It seems the instruction has been given to the other guys in the back to pass to me first.

Toouk.

“Nice pass!”

Who is the person in the world who knows football the best?
I don’t know.
It’s too subjective. It would differ based on criteria or perspective.
However, I think I have the qualification to at least be on the candidate list, no matter who judges.
I’m that much, aren’t I?

‘……Why is this working?’

But while conducting today’s tactical training, I felt as if my football common sense was crumbling.
The manager gave me a free role.
And I moved as a play maker from the attacking midfielder position. Because I thought that was my strength.
A play maker is a considerably difficult role.
Because you must provide the starting point for threatening plays that directly involve scoring.
Anticipation, vision, and passing ability are all important.
You must clearly see through the flow of the game, of course.
It’s a role that requires good coordination with teammates too.
It should naturally be impossible.

‘Why on earth?’

But it works.
Very well.
Too easily.

Thud!

slam!

Swish-swoosh!

“Wow- what was that pass just now?”
“This is really good, huh?”
“Nice shooting.”
“No. This was all the pass. You just had to touch it and a good shot came out.”

I’m happy that many good plays came out, but anger surges in a corner of my heart.

‘No, was this something you couldn’t do? Those bastards?’

Unpleasant memories from my managerial days come flooding back.
Clearly, it was an established theory that only selected players could play the play maker role.

‘Is this difficult?’

Based on experience.
Many struggled with it.
So I always tried to understand.
Being a play maker is truly a difficult role.
Killer passes aren’t easy.

‘……Is that all it is?’

It might merely be a peak of ignorance.
There must be a huge difference between the pro level they played at and the youth level of this football periphery nation.
Nevertheless.
The fact that I performed this role so incredibly easily remains unchanged.

Peep!

“That’s it! Good work, everyone! Rest up!”

The teammates disperse.
Players passing by me exchange greetings with eye signals or nods.
To Seo Jae-woo, whom no one used to properly look at.
When Ham Joon-woo, with whom I first coordinated, made eye contact with me, he nodded his head.
Kim Jin-woo patted my shoulder.
Even Park Jae-hyuk, who suffered as a center-back today, showed me a thumbs up.
And on the bench…

‘They’re busy.’

They’re busy whispering among themselves.
With expressions like children who’ve been gifted a new toy.
I know that feeling better than anyone.
I achieved the first plan earlier than expected.
Today, I perfectly acted out the fragment of dazzling talent.