I Want to Be an Adult -3
“So, can you keep going?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“If you think it’s getting too hard, raise your hand right away. That’s what the coach said.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
He nods while receiving a massage from the team trainer.
Today his body had already felt somewhat heavy, and now it sags even more like waterlogged cotton.
It had been quite a difficult first half.
No, to be exact, it was the most difficult first half he had ever played.
If you only counted the physical toll, that is.
The problem was that he had clashed with the opponent’s number 7 throughout the match.
It was because he had been given a defensive assignment, and because the opponent wasn’t the type to play with a high line.
They couldn’t help but clash frequently.
If the opponent had been an ordinary team, the coach probably wouldn’t have given him a separate defensive role. Just like in the matches against Genoa and Sampdoria.
But Roma was definitely different.
It wasn’t just talk based on rankings; having faced them on the pitch, he felt he understood.
Roma was a solid team with good balance between attack and defense.
That was why he too had to participate actively in defense. Thanks to that, he had to stretch his legs now, slumped over as if he had already played a full ninety minutes.
It was nice that his tired body didn’t give rise to distracting thoughts, but the problem was that the second half still remained.
“Whew...”
He places a palm-sized ice pack on his forehead.
Right now, he felt he needed to cool his head more than anything else.
Because of the unsatisfying first half, honestly, he was still irritated.
So, what was it that he didn’t like?
He poses the question to himself.
The fact that his condition was worse than usual was nothing but an excuse, so he sets that aside.
First, on defense.
There had been several situations where he faced the opponent’s number 7 one-on-one. There, he had succeeded in pushing him back a few times, but a few times he had allowed him to turn, and a few times he had allowed him to break through.
Let’s say that can happen.
He hadn’t thought he had a talent for defense from the start. Moreover, the opponent was a player serving as the ace on a big team like Roma.
So it was possible to allow a breakthrough a few times.
What the coach had asked of him was primary pressure and delay, not an order to stop him at all costs.
But just because he lost in those few contests, he played emotionally.
That’s right. He should have been calmer; it had been foolish.
In many ways... it was because of his physical condition.
First, his condition wasn’t good, so his body had been heavy.
Today, he had felt his body couldn’t keep up with his thoughts. Normally his body and mind moved together, but today his body was consistently a beat slower.
The reason situations where he had to contest physically with the opponent came up so often was also because of that. Because he moved a beat late, he kept ending up in situations where he had to use his body.
And as he kept losing those physical battles, he seemed to have become more emotional.
He had definitely been able to predict how the opponent would move, and the opponent had actually moved that way too.
The fact that he couldn’t stop him even though he knew was frustrating.
Moreover, he had deliberately charged in more because he felt that if he showed a struggling appearance, he would worry his teammates.
They weren’t seniors who would sit still seeing him struggle. He hadn’t wanted to burden them.
But... after cooling his head and thinking about it, it was so stupid.
It wasn’t that he had played emotionally. To be exact, he had played stupidly.
And yet he had only made excuses and felt wronged.
Saying he would have won if they had met when he was fully grown?
Hey, Lee Ji-an.
Didn’t you say you wanted to be an adult?
Then why are you using your age as an excuse the moment things get tough?
“...”
He removes the ice pack he had placed on his forehead.
Had his head been that hot? The ice pack had already gone soft.
In the second half, he had to play smarter.
If his body moved a beat slower than usual, he just had to make decisions a beat faster.
He had been too arrogant from the start.
He had wanted to do well. He had wanted to play longer, and show a better performance than the last match.
But... since when had he thought he was a player who could play a full ninety minutes and beat the ace of a team like Roma?
Perhaps the one who had been expecting the most from him, more than anyone else, had actually been himself.
“Alright, let’s get back out there!”
“You’re doing great, you’re doing great! Let’s just do a little more!”
It was a first half he had lost because he wanted to win too much.
So in the second half... let’s just do what I can.
Focus with the thought of playing just ten more minutes.
He nodded and followed his teammates out of the locker room.*
“Are you sure you don’t want to say something?”
“I’m fine.”
“Still, I think we need to set the direction again...”
“Leave him be.”
Coach Vincenzo shakes his head and answers the coach.
It’s about Lee Ji-an.
Because he had shown a somewhat struggling appearance during the first half.
No, actually, if viewed objectively, saying he had struggled might be inappropriate.
After all, he had done well.
He had pressured Pellegrini, the core of the opponent’s attack, making things uncomfortable for him, and in attacking situations, he had shown himself overcoming pressure and advancing.
It was his first start, this was Rome, and he was sixteen.
Saying he had struggled just because he didn’t score or get an assist was too harsh an evaluation.
Rather, he deserved praise that wouldn’t be enough.
By “struggling,” it meant that he himself felt he looked like he was struggling. Because his expression hadn’t been very good throughout the match.
So he had wanted to say something.
That he was doing well. That he was doing incredibly well.
But he deliberately didn’t say such things.
Saying this might invite some strange misunderstandings, but... Coach Vincenzo found Lee Ji-an, fuming with anger on his own, sexy.
He had always thought of him as just a fresh-faced kid, but that appearance felt quite adult-like.
That was why he wanted to see more of him struggling on his own.
Lee Ji-an was in the process of becoming an adult in real time.
Unable to be satisfied with his own play, thinking for himself whether there wasn’t a better way.
Players who develop quickly don’t have some special secret.
They merely possess a heart that hates to lose even if it kills them.
Honestly, it had been hard to see such a side in Lee Ji-an until now. Perhaps it was because there hadn’t been a player capable of making things this difficult for him.
But today, a rather difficult problem named Pellegrini had made Lee Ji-an’s head hurt.
Thanks to that, Lee Ji-an was finding the answer himself.
It was to the point where he felt grateful to the opponent.
Because Lee Ji-an, who had been struggling wanting to solve this problem, would have grown by leaps and bounds once he solved it.
Lee Ji-an is a smart player.
Since he was a player who could find the correct answer on his own anyway, the coach deliberately held his tongue.
Coach Vincenzo believed he would definitely find and show the answer.*
His head heats up again.
Not because of irritation or anger.
Simply because it was spinning at full tilt.
He looks around.
He grasps the positions of his teammates and the opponents, keeping them in his head. And thinking of each one as chess pieces, he moves them one by one.
The opponent, having failed to score in the first half, has pushed up a bit higher.
Pellegrini has also moved up into our half, and the opponent’s defenders are closer to me.
But our central defense is solid.
Not just talking about the back line, but we are lined up from the midfield.
The reason Pellegrini had frequently dropped deep during the first half was also because of that. Because we had isolated his position well, he had no choice but to move out of position to receive the ball.
But now, instead of him dropping back, it seems they have changed their method by moving the back line forward.
But I think only the overall positions have changed slightly; nothing fundamental is different.
In the end, the opponent will try to give the ball to Pellegrini and attack using him.
Only their approach has changed.
Then what I must do is clear.
While reading the opponent’s movement and the flow of the ball, I have to find the route through which the ball can flow to Pellegrini.
And I have to stand near there.
The opponent has come up because they need a goal.
That also means that when I intercept the ball, the layers of defense I have to break through have decreased.
It’s an opportunity for me too.
Thump—
—Thump—!
The opponent plays a lateral pass while gauging the situation.
I don’t know why, but seeing that makes me feel like laughing.
Is it because I can see exactly what they’re thinking?
They’re trying to find a way to somehow give the ball to Pellegrini.
I had been continuously blocking that route... when I stopped my feet for a moment. Thinking about it, I felt there was no need to stubbornly stand there blocking it.
Rather, let’s open it up.
Make it so the pass heads toward him.
To intercept a pass, the pass has to come out first.
I just have to move one step ahead.
Then I can cut it out.
Thump—
—Thump—
The lateral passes and battle of wits continue.
Then... the moment I stop my feet.
“...”
I see the feet of the defender, who was about to play a habitual lateral pass, hesitate.
Did he see Pellegrini through the path I left open?
It seems so.
His leg, folded to the side, folds back.
It’s the motion of trying to play a forward pass.
Tap-tap-tap—!
At that moment, I run.
I dash quickly toward the path I deliberately left open.
Swoosh—!
It’s too late for the opponent to stop his leg.
The ball begins to head in the direction I’m running.
Glancing to the side, I see Pellegrini standing at the end of the pass’s trajectory.
I may not be able to beat him physically, but it had been proven that I could keep up with him mentally.
Swoosh—!
I intercept the pass midway.
At the same time, I regain my balance, knock the ball forward, and start running.
Tap-tap-tap—!
I read the movement ahead.
Ahead of me are four opponent defenders, and Vlahović.
Though there are as many as four defenders, none of them seem willing to recklessly rush at me.
It must be because of Vlahović.
Because he’s charging toward the box at explosive speed, they can’t help but be aware of him.
Let’s use that.
While dribbling forward, I keep sending my gaze to Vlahović, making the defenders more conscious of him.
Tap-tap-tap—!
Thanks to that, I was able to bring the ball up near the box quite comfortably.
But from here, the opponent can’t leave me be either.
I use him again.
Tap-tap—!
Confirming that the two defenders who had been blocking the passing lane are finally closing in on me,
Swoosh—!
I send a pass to Vlahović, who had been slowing his pace to avoid offside.
Tap-tap-tap—!
Without stopping, I run toward the inside of the box.
Thanks to the pass, the defenders who had been closing in on me had their attention drawn to the ball.
Thanks to that, my penetration is faster.
Swoosh—!
I see Vlahović lightly chip the ball with a one-touch. After clearing the defenders’ heads, that ball begins to fall slowly.
The closest to the ball is me.
However, I have a gut feeling that if I trap it and then shoot, I’ll be interfered with by the defender who has stuck close.
This has to be hit on the volley.
I don’t look at the goal; I look only at the ball.
And, timing it with the slowly falling ball...
BOOOOOM—!
Twisting my body, I strike with a right-footed shot.
The timing was perfect.
Thanks to that, plenty of power was loaded into it, so as long as it flew on a decent course...
SHOOOOO—
My shot was flying not just on a decent course, but on a perfect one.
SWISH—!!
The net ripples.
And the noisy stadium fell silent for an instant.
At the same time, a small cheer is heard.
Our team’s fans, no more than a handful, had beaten the tens of thousands of home fans with their voices.
...
AS Roma’s number 7, Lorenzo Pellegrini, is a very highly rated player in Serie A.
Within Roma, needless to say, he is called the “Next Emperor” following in the footsteps of Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi.
Excluding direct rivals like SS Lazio or Napoli, even fans of other clubs evaluate Pellegrini as a good player.
To that extent, Pellegrini is a player with a good reputation.
Therefore, the fans watching the match between AS Roma and Fiorentina couldn’t help but be surprised.
[Broadcast] Matchday 11: Fiorentina 1 : 0 AS Roma
└Who’s Fiorentina’s number 20?
└Him? He’s a rookie playing his third pro match today
└They say he’s 16
└He’s 16? But he seems better than Pellegrini?
└What the hell is going on. A 16-year-old is shutting down Pellegrini and outshining him?
└Wow... what kind of rookie plays like that?
└What was Pellegrini doing at that age?
└He must’ve been in the youth team
└Pellegrini is called a genius too...
└Then he’s a genius on another level lololol
└Look at Mourinho’s expression lol he’s laughing in disbelief
└I’m letting out a hollow laugh too
The live comments in the broadcast are going up like crazy.
All of them are talking about Fiorentina’s number 20, Lee Ji-an, who is showing a performance greater than Pellegrini’s.
“Hehe...”
And Kim Ji-woo was watching all of it.
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