< Honesty Is Comfortable -5
Truth is, I don't really like taking free kicks.
Of course, they're better than penalty kicks, but free kicks aren't all that different.
Especially direct free kicks.
Because whether it's a penalty or a free kick, it's a situation where one person takes responsibility and handles it.
“No matter how I look at it, the angle for a left-footed strike isn't there.”
But this time, things were a little different.
Normally, instead of watching Vlahović prepare to take the free kick, I should have been preparing for the next play.
Getting ready to rush in for the second ball, or preparing for a counterattack.
But before I knew it, I was blankly staring at Vlahović placing the ball down.
I guess I wanted to take it, too.
This free kick, at least.
“You take it.”
Could it be that he gave it up because I was staring too desperately? I looked down at the ball in my hands, a bit dazed. Anyway, the opportunity had come to me, so I couldn't miss it.
“···”
Carefully.
As I tried to place the ball on the ground, someone's face suddenly overlapped upon it.
So I lightly kissed the ball before placing it down.
Please, let this ball be one that brings me luck.
Thud. Thud-
I placed the ball and stepped back a few paces.
And I took in the goal, the keeper's position, and the defensive wall's positioning at a glance.
Past the long defensive wall, the keeper was visible. It was textbook positioning—trusting the wall and guarding the opposite side. And the textbook way to beat that was to curl it just over the wall.
However… the wall felt incredibly tall.
Is this really nine meters? It feels a bit close.
Or is it just that everyone is tall, so it looks high?
I don't know.
Can I get it over that wall?
Is there another good way…
Beep-!
But I wasn't given enough time to ponder.
The referee blew the whistle, and I had to take this free kick.
With a slightly rushed mind, I checked the wall once more, and suddenly I saw an empty space.
At the same time, a thought flashed by.
I had been rolling around on the grass a lot today, so my uniform was soaked.
Because there was a lot of moisture on the grass.
A gap that caught my eye in that instant.
And the wet grass.
Those two things became the clues that helped me decide.
“···Hoo.”
I took a deep breath,
Tatatat-
and lightly ran toward the ball.
The most important thing when taking a free kick is relaxing your body. When you kick a stationary ball, your body instinctively tenses up without you realizing it.
Suppressing that instinct, I lightly ran toward the ball.
And…
Bbaaaaaang-!
As planned, I struck the ball lightly.
I straightened the top of my foot, yet without power, impacting the ball as if pressing down on it.
A thuuum sensation.
Swhooooosh-
The ball struck that way flew low over the ground.
It essentially looked like a ground shot, but it was clearly flying rather than rolling.
Because the pattern on the ball was perfectly visible.
It meant it was flying without any spin.
Swhoooosh-
It burrowed through the gap beneath the feet of the wall as they jumped, passing through.
Around that point, I darted to the side.
Because my shot was blocked from view by the wall landing after their jump.
Tatatat-
As I moved to the side, my vision gradually opened up, and the moment the far corner of the goal beyond the wall entered my eyes,
the stadium was already silent.
Thwack-!!
What was visible beyond the wall was… the keeper collapsed, and the ball lodged inside the net.
“Yaaaaaah!”
“It went in!!”
At the same time, the seniors started raising their arms and running toward me.
······Did it go in.
My free kick… split the net?
It didn't feel real at all.
But…
“You little punk!!”
“You crazy bastard!!”
“You scored it like that, man, that's insane!”
The rough hands of the seniors rushing at me forcibly reminded me that this was reality.
This… is real.
I really scored a goal.
Me, who couldn't last at the Juventus academy and was cast out, had now become a player scoring against the Juventus first team···
“You! Go!”
“Go make the fans go crazy!”
The seniors surrounding me pushed my back.
Where I was pushed, fans in purple uniforms were screaming with joy and jumping up and down.
“···”
Seeing that, a memory from a few months ago suddenly came to mind. It was when Ji-u came to watch my match for the first time.
When I scored in that match, Ji-u had jumped around like that too.
Though Ji-u definitely wasn't here, I could find Ji-u in the fans cheering for me.
I ran toward those fans, swinging my fists as if venting my frustration, and shouted.
“······FORZA─!!!”
Falling is not shameful.
What is shameful is falling and being unable to get back up.
“FORZA─!!!”
I was not ashamed.
At least, not right now···
*
Maurizio, Juventus's chief executive, bit his lip. He was already in a bad mood, and now some mosquitoes buzzing next to him were really irritating him.
“Wow, look at that! From there down low! Wow!”
“You can't save that. Absolutely not!”
Two mosquitoes pointing at the scoreboard and making an unsightly fuss.
On the scoreboard, the goal scene from just now was being replayed.
“Show it once more… okay. From this angle… wow, I thought he just struck it low, but it was no-spin!”
“When it bounced, it caught forward spin and got incredibly fast! No way, did he even account for the rain before the match?”
“If it's that kid, he would. That kid plays while taking in everything about the pitch!”
If this weren't the VVIP seats, he might have told them to shut up. But since he couldn't tell who they were or where they were from, Maurizio could do nothing but glare.
One of those two mosquitoes, Marco Villazzo, former head scout of the Fiorentina youth team, lowered his voice and spoke.
“···I think we should lower our voices now, Director.”
“Ahem.”
The one nodding while clearing his throat at his words was Director Paolo Rosini.
These two had come to watch the first-team match as well after attending a U19 match held in the same Turin.
Director Paolo laughed, puffing out a breath, and spoke.
“It was the wisest money I'd ever spent. That player's weekly wage is a mere 4,000 euros. People might point fingers. Call it an unfair contract.”
“Do you remember, Director? You said back then. That he would become a first-team rotation player within a year. Honestly, I thought you were exaggerating… but rather than a rotation player, he's become the ace.”
“That's why you still have a long way to go.”
“···You honestly didn't know it would be to this extent either, Director.”
Director Paolo smirked.
It wasn't wrong.
He had watched youth players for decades and made his living assessing their potential.
That's why he could make the bold decision to sign a contract with a 16-year-old boy for a 4,000-euro weekly wage.
But even he didn't know it would be to this extent.
If he'd known it would be like this, 4,000 euros would have been nothing. He would have paid several times more and stamped a long-term contract.
He was shining much more than Federico Chiesa, who was on the same pitch right now.
“Anyway, thanks to you, Director, how much are we earning now? If we hadn't quickly signed a pro contract… whew.”
“If not, your desk would be stuffed in some corner of the office by now.”
“Even if you say that…”
“What, did I say anything wrong? You nearly wasted tens of millions of euros by being stingy over 4,000 euros. You should count yourself lucky you weren't fired.”
“Yes, yes.”
Director Paolo smirked.
And soon his gaze turned to Federico Chiesa.
Chiesa, belonging to Fiorentina, was currently at Juventus on loan.
However, it was practically a transfer. They had included a mandatory purchase clause in the loan contract, and the conditions for activating it were quite low.
Meaning, if Chiesa performed at a decent level, the permanent transfer would go through.
If that transfer went through, Fiorentina would receive a transfer fee exceeding 40 million euros from Juventus.
In other words, thanks to raising one youth player well, they would earn an astronomical income of 40 million euros.
And the person in the next seat was in the position of having to spend that money because he couldn't properly manage one youth player.
‘If just one more year passes…’
Chiesa was set to gift the team 40 million euros.
But it was clear that I Jian would become a player who brings in even more money.
How much would that be?
He couldn't dare to guess.
Because whatever he expected, it seemed it would surpass that.
However, one thing.
It seemed clear that one thing was certain: a 4,000-euro contract would become 40 million euros or more.
“Heh heh.”
A smile spread across Director Paolo's face.
Honestly, he couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority.
From the fans' perspective, Juventus was a sworn enemy, but honestly, from the team's perspective, there was no bigger sucker than them.
With Bernardeschi, and with Chiesa too.
And now they were coming with wads of cash again trying to buy even Vlahović.
And having discovered something even more mouth-watering in that situation, they must be going out of their minds right now.
But… who knows.
Whether Juventus can get their hands on I Jian too.
Although Juventus is the richest club in Serie A, there are clubs with much more money beyond the borders.
Especially that island nation across the sea—the scale of money they circulate is on another level.
A year from now, I Jian might be too big for Italy to contain.
“Later, when the first half ends, go to the concession stand and buy some hamburgers and beer.”
“Huh? The concession stand? If you're hungry, you can eat at the lounge over there.”
“Hey you. Have a conscience. You have to buy something from them if you want them to stay in business.”
“Haha. That's true.”
First Team Director Paolo and Youth Director Marco laughed simultaneously.
The two had changed ranks in just a few months thanks to the contract that foresaw the future.
It was all thanks to that 16-year-old brat.
*
After scoring the free kick, I had quite a hard time.
Because my heart, pounding as if it would burst, wouldn't calm down easily.
My head kept warning me not to get excited, but my body kept asking what I knew and demanding to move.
Those two kept fighting.
But before long, both would burn out.
Since their fighting did no good, I reconciled the two by accepting the demands of both.
I didn't get excited, but I ran hard.
“Block it! Hold the line!”
“If we don't hold this, we're the rookies!”
They say there are three most dangerous moments in soccer.
One is the five minutes after kickoff. Another is the five minutes before the end. And the last is right after scoring.
The common point of these three is that they are times when concentration drops.
Fortunately, our concentration was rising even higher than before the goal.
Maybe because we now had something to protect.
Those who have something to protect become stronger than usual.
Swhish-
“Nice defense!”
Captain Biraghi, who had been pushed down in a physical contest, sprang back up and rushed back in to clear the ball with a tackle.
Boom-!
“Ugh…!”
Senior Milenković blocked the opponent's shot without hesitation with his head.
Tatatat-!
Senior Saponara gritted his teeth and ran toward a ball that anyone could see was going out, keeping it in play.
And I…
“Urk…!”
was rolling around on the ground again.
But it was fine.
“You okay, rookie?”
Now there were seniors reaching out their hands to help me up,
“It's nothing.”
because I too knew how to fall and get back up.
I was even thankful to those who had made me fall.
If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have learned how to get up.
No matter how many times I'm knocked down, I'll get back up again.
Beep, beeeeep-!
And so, we ultimately finished the first half protecting our one-goal lead.
“Hoo…”
Becoming a sight where you couldn't tell if I was wearing a uniform or a rag, I sighed and headed toward the locker room.
As I did, I looked around the stands.
Whether it was my imagination or not, many spectators were looking at me.
It was the first time I felt good being the focus of so many people's attention.