Episode 211: Better in Person -1
There is a saying that someone else’s rice cake looks bigger.
It is not a proverb unique to Korea.
There are English proverbs with perfectly identical meanings.
‘The grass is greener on the other side’ is one such example.
Seeing this, the notion that someone else’s rice cake looks bigger seems to be a psychological instinct of humankind.
Someone else’s bread looks tastier than my own, someone else’s knife looks sharper than my own.
And just as another team’s players look better than our own.
Tapat—
On a grass field bathed in intense sunlight, a boy in training gear is running and warming up with a coach.
And watching that sight from afar is Manchester City’s manager, Guardiola, quietly observing.
“···”
In the football world, such cases are more common than one might think.
A player who showed outstanding form at Team A and transferred to Team B, yet fails to replicate that same form at Team B.
Perhaps it could even be described as more than just common—frequent.
Even players who transferred for massive fees while receiving evaluations that left no room for doubt often fail.
In a way, that may be somewhat related to the idea that someone else’s rice cake looks bigger.
The psychology of feeling that another team’s player seems incredibly good, yet once he becomes your own team’s player, he does not seem quite so good.
A kind of optical illusion.
The board members and scouts who decide on player signings are people who always guard against this illusion and strive to remain objective, but they too are, after all, only human.
It is not easy to be free from a mentality so close to instinct.
Perhaps that is why.
The expression of Manager Guardiola watching the 200-billion-won boy warming up looks somewhat anxious.
“···”
In truth, he does not doubt the talent.
Had he, he would not have pushed for the signing so aggressively.
To be honest, he had been so determined that he was even prepared to overpay.
No matter how rich Manchester City is, 200 billion won is an enormous amount of money. Moreover, even more could be spent on top of that.
Had he not been certain he was ‘the real deal,’ he would not have gone so far.
However, it is only natural that having invested so much brings a slight anxiety.
A toy bought for a thousand won breaking the next day is of no concern, but a car bought for a hundred million won breaking the next day would cause a commotion.
Not to mention 200 billion won.
He had even brought him in with the title of successor to Kevin De Bruyne.
From now on, all those expectations will immediately become the yardstick by which he is judged.
He will inevitably be judged more harshly and coldly than other players.
He must do well.
If he falls even slightly short of expectations, criticism and denouncement will pour in from every direction.
Therefore, this is a project that must not fail.
That was the reason Manager Guardiola had come personally from the very first day to see I Jian, who had simply come to train individually.
“Shall we go lightly?”
“···Yes.”
Having warmed up to some extent, the coach who had been helping with the warm-up tossed several balls over.
Tuk—
I Jian received the ball and began lightly lifting it. Tuk, tuk.
Skillfully handling the ball from the instep to the knee and the forehead, he awakened his touch.
A slender build just over 180 centimeters tall.
His physical condition was similar to De Bruyne’s, though slightly leaner.
Perhaps because of that, he did not look sluggish or slow.
However, it was still a question how much he could endure in rough situations.
Tapat—!
Having finished his lifting, I Jian began to dribble lightly.
He was fundamentally a type who handled the ball well.
Clean, without unnecessary movements.
Yet perhaps precisely because of that, he did not feel particularly extraordinary.
Tadadat—!
I Jian, who had been dribbling in short bursts, began to pick up speed.
He ran fast, tried changing directions, and tried knocking the ball long and chasing it.
“···”
He was not what one would call athletically gifted.
The Premier League is filled with monsters.
Of course, he could not be called bad, but if asked whether he could stand out even among those monsters, he clearly could not.
Fwoooong—!
He took a few light shots at the empty goal too.
He tried with the instep and with the inside of his foot curving it.
Even accounting for the fact that it was just a warm-up, it still did not feel extraordinary.
There was a sense of precision, but anyone could take shots of that caliber.
Having watched De Bruyne’s kicks every day, he might look even more ordinary because of it.
“···”
If looked at only like this, he was ordinary in many ways.
There was no instant impact, no “wow” factor.
Of course, it is not easy to be strongly impressed watching someone warm up alone.
But he is a 200-billion-won player.
That is not a price tag achievable by being moderately good.
It is only natural that a price tag like that demands something exceptional, something brilliant to be visible at a glance.
When looking through glasses with a 200-billion-won filter, I Jian only looked ordinary.
Then why.
One might ask why they invested 200 billion won in a player who only looked ordinary.
Of course, it is because there is something exceptional.
And that exceptional quality of I Jian’s is only revealed when there is an ‘opponent.’
Squeak—
At the sound of the training ground door opening, Manager Guardiola turned his head.
He saw players walking in lazily, soccer boots in hand.
The Manchester City reserve team.
In other words, players belonging to the 2nd team.
They had not been called specially.
This training ground was simply the reserve team’s training ground.
They were players who had training scheduled at this time anyway.
However, when I Jian requested personal training time, he had told him to do it at this training ground.
Killing two birds with one stone.
He wanted to see the picture.
The picture that 200-billion-won paint would draw.
It was Manager Guardiola, who had found it hard to wait because he wanted to see it even a day sooner.
“Start right away.”
“Yes.”
The reserve team players headed onto the grass to warm up, and Manager Guardiola clasped his hands in front of his chin and began to watch I Jian.
*
“You, wear this. This bib.”
“Ah, yes.”
“You know what it is, right?”
At the coach’s words as he handed over the training bib, I nodded.
Unlike the other players who were not wearing bibs or were wearing red bibs, the bib handed to me was fluorescent.
A training session that had started somewhat suddenly.
They said we would play a mini-game, and it seemed they intended to assign me the role of joker, which we had often done during team training.
The joker’s role is simple.
Join whichever team is attacking and continue the attack.
For example, if it is the red bib team’s attacking situation, move as if you were part of the red bib team, and vice versa.
Since I had done this training often at Fiorentina as well, there was nothing difficult about it.
However··· Hm.
I had planned to do individual training today, so I was just a bit taken aback at why it had suddenly turned into group training.
And from earlier, the manager’s eyes staring fixedly at me from under the shade were just a bit burdensome.
“···”
Well, I don’t think it is anything special.
It is only natural that the manager would want to see a new transfer firsthand.
Training with the team is more fun and motivating than training alone.
But is it just my imagination that this feels like some kind of test?
Of course, I am clearly getting scared prematurely on my own··· but the manager’s gaze is a bit frightening.
It is a completely different gaze from when we met at the stadium while I was playing for Fiorentina.
Rather than respect, what I feel first is coldness.
It even seemed to be saying:
Show me why you are worth 200 billion.
That I must absolutely not show a disappointing performance.
It might just be my own thought, but even so, it is a correct and natural thing.
Having received that kind of money, I must show the reason for it.
“Ready?”
“Ah, just a moment.”
I retie my shoelaces for a moment.
Then, after nodding, I stand in the middle of the training ground.
And I recall what my agent had said.
Just do as you’ve always done.
Whether this is Fiorentina or Man City, nothing changes.
Manchester City signed me after seeing me at Fiorentina.
I just have to do the same.
Beep—!
The coach’s whistle blows.
The game begins from the red bib team goalkeeper’s feet.
“···”
First, I quickly scan my surroundings, taking in the information within the small pitch.
In truth, they are all players I am seeing for the first time, and with no information whatsoever, I can only catch fragmentary things visible to my eyes.
But the pitch is narrow and the numbers are not 11 versus 11, so getting a rough grasp is not difficult.
Having finished recognizing the surrounding situation, I immediately run to the position I should be in.
Tapat—!
I drop down slightly, and I feel a defender stick to my back.
This means one defender has left the line, drawn out.
“···!”
The moment I am about to ask for a pass to my feet, a pass comes my way on its own.
The tempo is fast.
I feel that from the very first pass.
Fwaaang—!
Then I match that tempo as well.
Without trapping the pass, I turn it first-touch straight to the left.
Fwaaang—!
That pass connects back to the center.
The space I had drawn the defender out of was already filled by a red bib.
They are definitely reserve team players, yet.
Their understanding of this passing game does not seem like that of reserve team players.
I feel like I’ll be in big trouble if I take them lightly.
I quickly find an empty space and move.
Tadadat—!
I circle into the left.
The red bib who had filled the center was originally a left-sided player.
But I do not stay long.
Because that player played the ball back to the right and ran left.
I too move back to the center, naturally bringing about a switch.
It is obvious that in a tight space, you must make these movements constantly to create cracks in the defense.
Yet the tempo is faster than I thought, making me think I cannot let my focus slip for even a moment.
Fwaaang—!
A pass rolls in from the right.
At the same time, a defender sticks to my back again, and I glance behind to gauge the distance.
At the same time, while turning my head back forward, I also take in the shape of the defensive line flashing past.
And before the ball touches my feet, I finish my judgment for the next play.
Srrk—
I scrape the rolling ball with the sole of my foot, maintaining its direction as I turn around.
Because the defender had been right up against my back, simply turning around shook him off.
Without missing that gap, I stab a through pass into the predetermined course.
Fwaaang—!
A pass threaded between defenders.
The player on the left runs onto that pass.
The defenders who had been turning their bodies the other way are late to react because they have to flip their bodies around.
Swhaaa—
Fwaaang—!
The player who penetrated following up lightly disposes of the ball with a one-touch shot, and soon the goal net ripples.
Earlier, seeing him come to the center then slip out wide again, I thought he was a fast player, so I gave it a bit strongly.
Fortunately, it seems my judgment was correct.
Beep—!
But there is no time to feel proud.
Play resumes immediately from the opposing team’s goalkeeper.
No, not the opposing team.
Since I am the joker, I am on the attacking side again.
Tadadat—!
Switching my brain over, I drop down again.
I reverse-calculate the information I had inputted during the last attack and start the attack from this side now.
Fwaaang—!
If you look at it only like this, it might seem like your head is going to explode.
It is true that you must concentrate since your position changes every single moment.
But to me, it is not that complicated.
It was something I did every day, so there was nothing special about it.