I'm Younger -2
—‘Rising Star’ Rika Romero fires his 3rd goal of the season... Lazio 3 : 0 Cagliari Calcio
└This guy is the real deal.
└3 goals already in 7 appearances. The future of Lazio.
└The word ‘star’ might be inappropriate. This kid is only sixteen.
└Better a prodigy than a star.
└A real genius we haven’t seen in a while. This kid knows how to handle the ball.
└His level of play is high for his age.
└Haven’t seen such a destructive dribbler at this age in a long time.
└The second Messi.
└Ewww, don’t cross the line.
└That’s a bit much, but anyway, he’s definitely a genius.
“···So he really is a genius?”
While we were looking at the laptop screen together, Jiu said.
I answered, pouting my lips.
“It’s not like there are only one or two geniuses in the world.”
“But even among geniuses, there’s a hierarchy, isn’t there? He already scored 3 goals, you know?”
3 goals? That’s a lot.
I tried to play it cool with a shrug, but Jiu wouldn’t let it go.
“Our Jian has only scored two so far. Hmm. So there really is a different level of genius. Should I start cheering for him instead?”
···Very funny.
“···If we only count goal contributions, it’s the same.”
“Goal contributions?”
“I have an assist too. 2 goals and 1 assist makes 3. That’s what I mean by the same.”
“Huh? Aren’t goals more important than assists?”
“···Ha.”
I started to argue back but gave up.
I was about to point out that he has 3 goals in 7 games, while I have 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games... but I didn’t even know why I had to be the one arguing about it in the first place.
As I sighed, Jiu giggled.
“Okay, okay. Don’t be mad. Let me search for our Jian too.”
Clack-clack-clack.
As Jiu typed ‘Jian Lee’ skillfully, several news articles popped up.
I pretended not to care but stole glances out of the corner of my eye.
—AS Roma manager José Mourinho’s lavish praise... “Lee’s play is very impressive.”
└Just for today, Lee >> Pellegrini.
└Is there any 16-year-old who can do this at Roma’s home?
└You wouldn’t see this often even if you raised the age to 26.
└This is the kind of player you call a genius.
└His sense is incredible. He knows how to win.
└I’ll dare to say it. He’ll become a better player than Bernardeschi or Chiesa.
└Lee was the most beautiful lily today.
└I’m a Roma fan, and Lee has our respect.
└He was a genius, and Juventus didn’t know it.
└What’s with Juventus?
└He moved from Juventus to Fiorentina a year ago.
└They’ll buy him back for hundreds of billions in 3 years. That’s their way.
└As a Viola, I love Lee♥. He is a true genius, one whom no one can rival. I won’t send him anywhere on earth♥♥
Reading the somewhat awkwardly translated comments, I felt a laugh bubbling up without realizing it.
It’s a bit burdensome, but they’re all good words anyway.
But I held back my smile. I have to be strict about my own praise to be cooler.
“Ooh. Jian has more comments?”
“Ahem.”
“They all say you’re a genius.”
“Why make a fuss about it...”
“Ha! True enough.”
I shrugged for no reason, and Jiu snickered.
I don’t know who writes comments like these, but I’m grateful to them all.
Thanks to them, I saved face.
“So, you’re playing against their team this weekend?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, then it’s a showdown between geniuses?”
“Well... if I get to play in the match.”
“If our genius doesn’t play, who will? Hey, you have to win, okay? This is a battle of pride.”
I’m not really interested, honestly.
With Coach Luca and Jiu telling me to win, I have to win.
Hmm. But...
“If I lose, will you cheer for him?”
I asked casually, and Jiu looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
Then she raised one corner of her mouth and pinched my cheek.
“What are you talking about, you fool.”
“Ah, stop...”
I pretended it hurt and removed Jiu’s hand, and Jiu smiled brightly again.
···
An afternoon when training for the weekend match was in full swing.
“Huff, huff—”
My body felt light today.
I felt like I had more strength than usual, and my speed seemed faster too.
“Nice, nice! Nice, Jian!”
After last week’s match, I decided to put aside my impatience and started by changing my diet again.
I ate the same things but reduced the amount slightly.
I used to eat five meals a day, but this week I cut down to four. I removed one meal.
Thanks to that, I didn’t feel bloated, and my body wasn’t heavy. I was worried about losing weight, but daily checks showed that wasn’t the case.
The human body really doesn’t change easily after all.
I decided not to overdo individual training either. I just trained hard, but not excessively, like when I was in the U17s.
Doing so, I naturally felt my condition rising.
“Huff—”
As my body became comfortable, my mind actually grew anxious... but it wasn’t unbearable.
I controlled my mind by thinking only the best thoughts.
The most effective thoughts were like this:
I’m still young, and because of that, people look at me with a more generous eye.
So I can take it a bit easier.
Thoughts like that.
Look at the last match. Honestly, my performance in that game wasn’t that great.
But just because I scored 1 goal, people praised me.
Most reactions were like, “He’s amazing for a 16-year-old.”
You get more praise for the same play when you’re young. You get less flak for the same mistake when you’re young.
I have that privilege.
I decided to take full advantage of that privilege.
Then I felt some of the pressure disappear. And my desire to win grew stronger.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a match you can afford to lose... but for this match, I want to win more than ever.
I want to show Coach Tony and Coach Luca that I’ve grown into a fine pupil, and I don’t want to become a “lesser genius” in front of Jiu either.
“Faster, faster, faster, faster!”
Lazio, our opponent, is no easy team.
They were said to be a team ranked higher than AS Roma, a team with good enough results to compete in the Europa League, an international competition.
“Huff, huff!”
So I just trained harder.
Because that was all I could do.
···
November 7, 2021.
Serie A Round 12.
The match between Fiorentina and Lazio is about to take place at Fiorentina’s home ground, the Stadio Artemio.
“Not an inch of standing room.”
The stands were packed with near-capacity crowds.
Tremendous fervor filled the stadium even before kickoff.
Compared to the last match and the one before, the crowd had noticeably grown.
Probably because Fiorentina’s recent performance had visibly improved.
Just a few matches ago, their frustrating, stifling play had thinned the crowds, and there had even been calls for Coach Vincenzo’s dismissal, but—
Now public opinion had completely reversed.
It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say it was all thanks to one player.
“Both are playing. Nice. Let’s show them properly.”
“What did he do to annoy you so much?”
Coach Luca and Coach Tony, sitting in a corner of the stands, checked the starting lineup and spoke.
Unlike the A League, which plays 38 matches in a season, the youth league only plays 24.
Today was a day without a youth match, so the two had come to watch the game themselves.
“Don’t even mention it. I only blocked him because it was that bad. But I’ll unblock him after today’s match ends.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? We have to pay him back in full. Our Jian will show them. Show them who the real genius is.”
“Using your pupil for personal revenge. When will you grow up?”
“Grow up? There’s no such thing on the football pitch.”
Coach Luca cackled, and Coach Tony shook his head.
However, he wasn’t wrong.
Jian will show them. Who the real genius is.
Because he is someone who yields to no one when it comes to talent.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Soon, the players’ entrance began.
“Forza—!”
*
“Viola—!!”
After shouting the cheer, they scattered to their positions.
Heading to my position, I looked around the stands once.
Today it was a sea of purple.
“Hoo.”
It occurred to me that I strangely get more nervous at home matches than away matches.
Home fans are scarier than away fans.
Before stepping onto the pitch, the coach had said that since it was a sellout crowd today, we should show them a winning performance.
It wasn’t just called a sellout; there truly wasn’t an empty seat in sight.
It had been a while since I felt this nervous... To find something to focus on, I looked at one of the opponents standing at the halfway line.
Number 17.
That’s Rika Romero.
He was small, about senior Torreira’s height, but had a solid build.
I had been told to be careful because he has quick feet and frequently attempts aggressive dribbles.
I suddenly wondered.
Maybe, like we do, the opposing team also talks about me too?
If they do, what do they say?
“Beep—!”
The match began.
Vlahovic, who took the kickoff, passed to me, and I sent the ball back to start the match slowly.
···Hmm.
No. I don’t think we can start slowly.
Tap-tap-tap—!
The moment the match started, opposing players brushed past me. It was a movement to press high up the pitch quickly.
I already knew their style, but I didn’t expect them to push up like this from the start.
Not just the attackers, but the midfielders too passed me and moved up toward our half.
In an instant, sky-blue players began positioning themselves in our half. The sight instinctively felt threatening.
So I quickly dropped down deep as well.
Today, what the coach emphasized most was breaking pressure from the back and quick transitions.
The opponent had deployed fast players in their attack. That made their press inevitably threatening, but conversely, he said many chances would come our way if we could overcome that pressure and move up.
It’s important to stay calm and not be afraid.
But it won’t be easy.
Easier said than done; if I were a defender, I might be panicking right now.
That was how fast and strong their pressure was.
I have to help the defense.
I might not be able to help directly on defense, but I have to position myself where I can receive a pass at any time. If there are no options, the pressure on the defense will only increase.
Tap-tap-tap—!
I moved while reading the rhythm of their press and the flow of the ball...
“···”
“···”
I locked eyes with Milenković, who had the ball.
He was under quick pressure.
A situation where he had to get rid of the ball quickly.
But passing to me was the wrong option in this situation. For the ball to reach me, it needed to go through somewhere else first to be safe.
However, his gaze wasn’t moving.
Had his judgment clouded in the urgent situation?
I raised my hand to point in a direction, but senior’s foot was already moving.
Thwack—!
He sent the pass to me,
Thwack—!
and it was intercepted midway.
An opposing midfielder who had been waiting lunged like a starved beast and cut the ball off right in front of me.
The ball immediately went to the left.
Thwack—!
Rika Romero received the pass.
The guy who received it on the left side immediately lowered his stance and started shifting his body.
Had he been ordered to attempt a breakthrough unconditionally whenever he received the ball?
He started dribbling with his eyes solely on the ball, and it was quite threatening.
Tap-tap-tap—!
The left side broke open.
Romero moved as if cutting to the center but drove toward the corner flag, and the defense was fooled.
But it might have been intentional on the defense’s part.
Our center-backs are tall. They are strong in aerial duels off crosses, so they might have deliberately funneled him to the side.
But whether he knew that,
or was just overflowing with confidence,
Romero made a different choice.
Bbaaamm—!
A huge sound rang out from the left side of the box.
He took a direct shot right then and there.
Swooooosh—
Fortunately, the shot went over the crossbar.
There was no angle to begin with, so it wasn’t a particularly threatening shot.
But the situation itself was dangerous.
The ball was lost in a very dangerous position, and we immediately allowed a dribble past us followed by a shot.
It was fortunate it didn’t lead to a goal, but a play like this right as the match began was a very bad sign.
I could see the seniors letting out sighs of relief, while the opposing players clapped and raised their spirits.
If you shrink mentally, you inevitably become more vulnerable to pressure. The reason Milenković made a poor decision just now was because he was mentally rushed.
What should I do in this situation?
I bit my lip and wracked my brain...
“One more time! One more time!”
I heard Italian with a familiar accent.
It was senior Torreira’s accent—that is, Italian full of a Spanish accent.
“Give me one more!”
It was Rika Romero.
He was shouting to his teammates.
···Didn’t they say he was sixteen?
But how can he be like that?
To take a shot and then immediately demand the ball again was a level of confidence I couldn’t even imagine.
I looked at him with curious eyes...
and suddenly met his gaze.
“···”
Then, one corner of his mouth twitched.
···Did he smile?
I don’t know why, but I think he did.
···Not a face I particularly like.
“Beep—!”
The match was about to resume with our goal kick, but the opponent still wasn’t retreating.
Like a swarm of crocodiles waiting for prey, they remained in our half, forcing a long kick.
It was a situation where a long kick would be acceptable to play it safe... but winning the ball back wouldn’t be easy.
Even with Vlahovic, we were outnumbered.
And if we all pushed up, they would drop back too, so it wouldn’t make much difference.
The best option was to build up from here... but our defenders seemed to want a long kick.
Everyone looked uneasy.
Seeing that, our goalkeeper too stepped back as if preparing to kick it long.
But at that moment, my hand went up without me realizing it.
It was me, standing almost in the defensive midfielder’s position.
I don’t know what kind of courage it was, but I wanted to signal for the ball.
“···”
I’ll try.
So, give me the ball.
When I sent that signal, I could see a flicker of hesitation in the goalkeeper’s eyes...
But that hesitation didn’t last long.
Thwack—!
The ball came to me.
I could feel the opposing players rushing toward me.
Tuk—!
In the middle of their pressure, I lightly dropped the ball at my feet and turned.
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