I Became a World-Class Striker
Episode 10: Rapid Advance
After the match against Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Suwon FC's victory was enough to send K League 1 into a frenzy.
Should I call it the storm stirred up by a team that had just been promoted?
Football fans did not take Suwon FC's march lightly—a 3:2 comeback victory against Suwon Samsung.
—This Suwon FC team is really something else.
—A team that just got promoted going undefeated with 2 wins and 1 draw up to Round 3… Dang.
—Honestly, I still can't believe it. They beat Seoul and Suwon Samsung?
—I don't want to jinx it, but one thing's for sure—they feel like they'll be the hottest team this season.
And no wonder—they beat Seoul and even Suwon. One time might not seem like a big deal, but it happened twice in a row.
That was proven by their record: 2nd place in the overall standings.
Although it was only Round 3, Suwon FC's performance, having continued their matches without defeat, could be called encouraging.
And the fans knew all too well that at the center of that performance was one player.
"Coach Lee Geon-il, could you give us your overall evaluation of today's match?"
After the match. Coach Lee Geon-il, facing the reporters, slowly shook his head with an expression that said he still couldn't believe it.
"I think it was a match where all the players became one. Truthfully, we had difficulties in the first half. The opposing team's player, Lee Areumdaun, put on a truly amazing performance. However, we entered the second half with a desperate resolve, and in the end, we claimed victory."
"Were there any special orders or tactics?"
"Above all, we needed to check the opposing team's main striker, Lee Areumdaun, and I mentioned the set-piece attacks we'd been practicing, but that wasn't the important thing."
"The important thing? What was it?"
"To be honest, after the first half ended, everyone was steeped in despair. When the players' faces showed their helplessness, one player slammed his fist down and shouted that we hadn't lost yet. That shout… eventually reached all the players' hearts. It might sound like a joke, but it's true."
"Is it possible to reveal who that player was?"
"Is there any need to hide it? It's Lee Chang-ryong."
"Ah!"
"Oh!"
All the reporters in the meeting room let out exclamations. They hadn't expected Lee Chang-ryong to bark at everyone like that.
"Hehe, perhaps it's only natural that you reporters are surprised. Lee Chang-ryong isn't an older player, and there are seniors in the locker room… how should I put it, it's quite removed from Korean etiquette."
The world of sports is a place where senior-junior relationships are rigid. But Coach Lee Geon-il defended Lee Chang-ryong.
"But still. Even if he's young, he says what needs to be said. That's the kind of player Lee Chang-ryong is, and his teammates learned a great deal from it."
The reporters' hands busied themselves on their laptops as if the coach's words were good material.
Meanwhile, outside was chaotic too.
"Player Lee Chang-ryong!"
"Please take a picture with us!"
"Please sign!"
'Huh? Uh….'
Fans swarmed the players heading to their lodgings after the match.
If it was Suwon FC's tradition for players and fans to meet this closely because the lodgings were located at the stadium, then it was tradition, but today, the fans' gazes were unusually focused on one person.
Namely, Lee Chang-ryong.
* * *
*Squeal*♡
Wow!!
"That Chang-ryong guy is the most popular today. Haha. I'm jealous."
"Hehe, just endure it for today. Chang-ryong is the savior who saved our team today."
"True, if it weren't for Chang-ryong, we wouldn't have this joy. Hehe."
"I'm jealous, Lee Chang-ryong!" Hahaha!
Even at my teammates' mischievous jokes, I couldn't laugh. There were too many swarming fans to handle easily.
Of course, I signed and took pictures one by one, and later a Suwon staff member came and calmed the fans down, so the situation ended.
'Because this was the first time….'
This was the first time in my life receiving such attention, so while I was happy, something felt uncomfortable in a corner of my heart.
In fact, today too, goals and an induced own goal had come about because things happened thanks to various lucky breaks. Because I hadn't done it through my own ability, receiving this attention and love felt burdensome and pricklish for no reason, making one side of my chest feel heavy.
If only that were all….
"Player Lee Chang-ryong, you're really the best! From today, I'm really a fan for life!"
"Ah…."
At the young boy fan's voice, I felt somewhat ashamed for no reason. Of course, I had done my best every time I played a match. I was receiving attention because of luck, and I felt a pang of conscience, so I had decided to at least do my part. I exercised harder too.
But could I confidently tell the young boy looking at me with eyes of admiration to keep liking me? Thinking that, I somehow felt a bit pathetic.
'I'm lucky. But there's absolutely no way this luck will continue to come forever. Even though I always thought that… it wasn't like I didn't have a heart that relied on luck at all.'
I wanted to do well too. I wanted to be able to do something through my own strength, not luck. But because I couldn't, because there was a wall, hadn't I given up?
Watching the boy who received the autograph, said he was happy, and turned to leave, many thoughts crossed my mind. While the other players were laughing and enjoying the thrill of the comeback, I was leaving my seat due to some unknown bitterness and heaviness.
'Do I really want to succeed only through luck…?'
Fatigue washed over me; I wanted to return to the lodgings and just sleep.
* * *
I had a dream.
It was a dream where my luck eventually ran out, my true skill was exposed, and I was scolded by people. The fans who had sent cheers and support turned their backs, and I was eventually released, ending my life as a football player.
My mother and father, who had expected much, looked at me with disappointed expressions, and thanks to that, I woke from my sleep crying.
A pathetic dream.
But an all-too-realistic dream. Thanks to that, tears flowed without stopping.
'…Damn it.'
Even if you have a dirty dream, time in reality flows just the same. I got up, ate at the cafeteria, and did recovery training with my teammates.
Today was the weekend, and my personal coach, whom I had hired, came; considering it was the day after a match, we focused on core training and stretching to condition and observe my body.
But then.
"It's good?"
"Huh? Wha? What do you mean…?"
"I think your flexibility has improved compared to last time. Look."
At the coach showing me his tablet and something like a graph, I made a dumbfounded expression.
The numbers I saw last time and today's numbers were definitely different. Just a little… but really just a little, they had gone up.
"I—is that so?"
"Right? It's a sign that your body is getting better."
"Ah…."
"Haha. Is it that surprising? It's a natural result since you're a player who never misses a session and trains hard, and manages your diet strictly too…."
"But still… I feel like my skills aren't improving much."
"What? You scored two goals just yesterday? Hahaha, you're quite greedy."
'That was… luck, though….'
I wanted to say it with a choked-up feeling, but the coach continued.
"That's good. Personal greed. That greed will eventually make your body even better. Honestly, when I first met you, I was skeptical."
"Huh?"
"Usually, players get personal coaching for what they lack. But when you asked to start from the basics, I was very surprised."
'That's because I felt I had to start from the fundamentals. Because I knew I was lacking in every way.'
"Honestly, I know it's difficult for a pro player to say that. But Lee Chang-ryong wasn't like that. You weren't ashamed. So I personally felt greedy too. I wanted to coach you even harder."
"Ah…."
I had been receiving personal coaching since a few months ago. To be exact, from the day after the promotion playoffs ended and I went down to my parents' home.
"You train with the team, but it's my role to fill in the gaps you don't get there. And you've followed along properly. As the graphs prove, your physical condition is improving. And you'll gradually learn how to use your body too."
"…Is that so?"
"Haha. When I look at you, you have many negative aspects. I don't know what hit you, but that's not good."
"Ah…."
"Your body knows whether you're thinking positively or negatively. Power comes from the mind itself too. If you think negatively, your body will shrink as well? If you're going to be ambitious, try accepting your body's changes joyfully."
The personal coach patted my shoulder and congratulated me on the comeback. He said he was surprised watching it on TV too.
But I was more fixated on his words telling me to think a bit more positively.
Come to think of it, I had always been negative. I had shrunk from continuous mistakes. As a result, when I ended up on the bench, I sank even more mentally.
Unlike my childhood days when I had been bright….
'Should I… try changing my thinking a bit more?'
Just as the coach said.
"Wow, but that final comeback induced own goal really took luck too. If it hadn't gone in, you couldn't have turned it around. Even I watching was nervous. Hahaha."
"……."
Of course, it seemed like a bit of luck was needed too.
* * *
Suwon FC was causing a stir. They were surprising fans with their performances in consecutive matches.
In particular, the statistic that even more people had become Suwon FC fans after watching the match against Suwon Samsung Bluewings was enough to make the Suwon FC officials' lips curl into smiles.
Click—
"Now, raise your hand slightly. With an expression like you're eating deliciously."
"L-like this?"
"Yes. Very good."
Click—
And the higher-ups all knew that this popularity was coming to one player.
Thanks to that, Lee Chang-ryong was currently undergoing a barrage of camera shutters from the promotions team chief as the model for a new hamburger at the club store.
It wasn't a big deal even if he was a model. He just wore his uniform and held a hamburger in his hand.
Its name: the Changryong-i Burger.
"But Chief… doesn't 'Changryong-i Burger' sound a bit off?"
"Hey, no. This name was chosen by fan vote on the homepage."
"What?"
Since the fans chose it, Lee Chang-ryong simply looked at the hamburger without a word of protest.
'Isn't it the mischievous fans' prank?'
He thought.
Then, at that moment.
"Chang-ryong. Let's go together. Chief, you're done shooting, right? The chairman is calling."
"Coach?"
"Ah, yes. You may take him."
"Really? Come, come, let's go."
"Ah… yes."
At Coach Lee Geon-il's call, Chang-ryong followed behind him with an awkward expression.
"*Cough*. Changryong-i Burger… it is funny."
"Come on, Coach…."
"Did I name it? The fans did. Be grateful and do well."
"…What do you mean, do well?"
"The chairman called. What else could it be? He probably wants to talk contract renewal. You don't even have an agent."
"Ah."
The approaching contract expiration. Only then did Chang-ryong seem to grasp the situation, and his expression turned serious.
* * *
The contract renewal talk wasn't anything firm. There were still months left on the contract, and I had things to think about too, so it was correct to say I only received a proposal.
Still, thinking positively, the feeling that a first-division team was trying to hold onto me put me in a good mood for no reason.
"Positively…."
I smiled slightly and headed to the pitch for team training.
The players were already gathered, warming up with running, and soon after the coach and coaches appeared, full-fledged training began.
"As you know, the next match is the Gwangju away match."
…..….
Gwangju away match. As you could tell from those words alone, the next Round 4 match was against Gwangju FC, a team based in Gwangju.
"The atmosphere of the next match will be a bit different from the teams we faced this time."
It was just as Coach Lee Geon-il said. It was different from strong powerhouse teams like Seoul, Incheon, and Suwon. But that didn't mean this team's strength was weak.
"Gwangju was also a team in the second division in the past, and they are a first-division team with more experience against us Suwon FC than anyone else. Their experience is different from other teams."
Gwangju FC… a team that had been in the second division in the past. So they knew our team all too well.
So it was obvious the atmosphere would be different from the strong teams that had maintained their composure.
Literally….
"It'll be a mud fight."
"…Right. It'll be like that."
When I spoke quietly, Park Won-woo next to me nodded, saying it was correct.
"Plus, our compatibility with Gwangju isn't very good."
"Tch, well yeah…"
Other players around chimed in one by one. That's right. Gwangju and Suwon FC didn't have very good compatibility.
It wasn't strategic… how should I put it, it was like a jinx.
Because there had been very few proper wins when playing against Gwangju.
Above all.
'It's a team I've never won against when playing… and a team that has given me humiliation too….'
As you could tell by my furrowed expression, I didn't much like that team.
So I was slightly worried about this away match. But the coach seemed to think differently.
"The flow of consistently getting good results. We break this long-standing jinx on this away trip."
He spoke words overflowing with confidence in victory. Moreover.
"Of course. We won't lose this time."
"We have to fight them properly. Break the jinx like the coach said."
The players were burning with passion too. Really… I realized morale was this important.
But then.
*Burning up!*
"That's right, because we have the awakened Chang-ryong!"
Hyung Yang Hyeok? W-what are you saying right now….
"That's right, we have Lee Chang-ryong!"
"Now Gwangju might as well be dead to our Chang-ryong."
No, what are these people saying!
"Now, now, attention!"
Phew. As expected of the coach. That experience in calming down excited players….
"We will deploy offensive tactics for the first time in a while, led by Chang-ryong at the forefront."
'Damn it….'
"Waaah!"
"Let's properly do what we've been holding back in this Gwangju match!"
It wasn't veteran composure. He was egging the players on even more. In the end, I too was shouting along with the players, crying inwardly.