Save 13. War of the Roses
The English FA Cup.
A competition in which a total of twelve leagues participate, its prestige is high by virtue of being the oldest competition in the world.
Though that may no longer be the case, there was a time when it was held in higher regard than the average tournament.
Of course, that was because of the sheer number of matches, as many as there were participating teams.
Premier League teams do not participate from the very beginning; they join starting from the Round of 64, where the full-fledged tournament begins.
[Official] FA Cup Round of 32 bracket confirmed.
And among the teams that had passed this Round of 64 were Manchester United and Leeds United.
And as fate would have it, these two teams were set to meet in the Round of 32.
The Roses Derby.
Also known as the War of the Roses, this derby was once one of the most famous and fiercely contested derbies in England.
True to the origin of its name, the regional sentiments of the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire were deeply intertwined.
When the rivalry reached its peak, fights between hooligans were frequent.
Well, after Leeds' decline it had faded somewhat, but—
every time they clashed in cup competitions, the two teams put on fierce displays.
[Sky Sports] Both teams in poor form; who will be the winner?
[Manchester Evening News] David Moyes may face mounting dismissal rumors depending on the match result.
The atmosphere around both teams at present was not good. Their stagnating performances meant that even when they did win, the process was far from satisfactory.
At least for Leeds' McDermott, expectations were not as high.
But the expectations and pressure directed at Manchester United's manager, David Moyes, were on another level.
Namely, because he had taken over from none other than Alex Ferguson.
With fans' discontent growing by the day, it was obvious that losing to an old nemesis would turn public opinion extremely sour.
"Joasseu, let's smash those red bastards!"
"Yeah!"
The training atmosphere for Leeds as they prepared for the match against Manchester United was not bad.
For a second-division side, such a big match was a rare occasion; moreover, with it being such a renowned derby, it was only natural for them to be excited. It was an event they could enjoy precisely because they were Leeds players, for once.
"Sin, can you try passing it over there?"
Meanwhile.
Sin Uison was undergoing a different sort of training than usual.
Of course, being a goalkeeper did not mean he only ever did diving drills.
Even with a different position, there were basics required of any professional player.
However, today was slightly different even from that—he was focusing intensively on passing.
"All the way over there, sir?"
"Yes. Can you do it?"
Sin Uison looked to where the manager was pointing.
A short distance away, one of the coaches was standing.
Having finished his calculations, Sin Uison nodded.
"I'll give it a try."
Gathering his breath and taking a few steps for his run-up, he sent a long pass.
*Thwack!*
The ball was delivered precisely to where that coach stood.
After conducting several more tests, McDermott broke into a broad grin.
"This is very good."
Brian McDermott had seen firsthand the difference Sin Uison's passing had made in the match against Millwall.
Especially as he had been striving to change their style of play.
He had to make use of whatever he could.
*Perhaps we've signed quite a promising player.*
He hadn't expected him to adapt this quickly.
The decision to sign Sin Uison in the first place had not been his own, but the will of the club, including the scouting team.
"Let's change today's training schedule."
In accordance with the manager's orders, a change came to Sin Uison's training as well.
Passing training.
More precisely, the focus shifted toward building chemistry with his teammates.
Of course, that was not as easy as it sounded. It wasn't something that would click immediately just because they started now.
"*Whew.*"
Returning home, Sin Uison pulled a USB from his pocket. It contained opposition analysis data he had received from the coaches.
The so-called big clubs were said to have teams dedicated to analyzing the opposition, but that was not the case for Leeds.
[The coaches must have a hard time too.]
"It's hard to expect high-quality analysis in many respects."
Given such limitations, there were bound to be qualitative differences in the analysis materials.
Sin Uison connected his laptop to the TV and opened the files on the USB.
There wasn't much time left until the FA Cup Round of 32.
Realistically, analyzing every Manchester United player was impossible, so he had to focus on the core forwards.
Robin van Persie.
And Wayne Rooney.
*These two are dangerous.*
Sin Uison still couldn't forget the shocking performance Van Persie had shown in the 2012/13 season.
Manchester United's squad had been evaluated as a mess before the season began.
But it was Robin van Persie who overturned such evaluations and contributed the most to Manchester United's title triumph.
[He's not in the same form as he was back then, is he?]
"Even so, the fact that he's the most threatening among the current Manchester United players hasn't changed."
The team called Manchester United was currently going through a severe transitional period, but that was no reason to feel relieved ahead of the match.
"The analysis itself can be simple if one chooses to keep it simple."
Van Persie was a striker with a high ratio of left-footed shots.
If the defenders didn't give him shooting angles, it wouldn't be too difficult, he thought.
Sin Uison looked at the other striker.
Another card they held.
Wayne Rooney, who was struggling hard this season, likewise could not be overlooked.
*What if these two appear together?*
[That would be a headache.]
"If it ended at a headache, we'd be lucky."
Sin Uison didn't take his eyes off the screen. The habits he had developed analyzing shadows proved helpful here.
Without that experience, wouldn't he have struggled considerably analyzing those two?
"I'm tired."
Quite a bit of time had passed.
Sin Uison leaned back on the sofa with a sigh. How long had he been massaging his tired eyes?
Shortly after.
When he opened his eyes again.
It was not the living room of his home.
"Did I doze off?"
[Yes. If you wish, I can configure it so that you do not come here when dozing off.]
"That wouldn't be bad either."
Scratching his cheek sheepishly, Sin Uison stretched.
After spacing out for a moment, he skimmed the training window.
【Penalty Kick Save Training - Low Difficulty】
During the last training session, Sin Uison had cleared the lowest difficulty.
He had been able to confirm two things from that.
The minimum requirement to advance to the next difficulty was a grade of B.
And that as the difficulty increased, one could obtain more experience points.
[That's assuming it turns out to be a proper training session, though.]
Just as those words implied, higher difficulty wasn't unconditionally better.
Conversely, if one received even an F grade, the experience gained would be less than recording a C on the lowest difficulty.
First, Sin Uison invested an opportunity as he had done on the lowest difficulty and analyzed the shadows.
As expected, one might say.
The pattern had changed.
Moreover, they utilized a more varied array of shots, making it look harder than expected.
"Then, this time."
【Shooting Save Training - Lowest Difficulty】
【Shooting positions will be selected at random.】
It was a training he had done just as many times as the penalty kick save training, if not more.
Since recently acquiring the Prediction and Intuition traits, it was also a training where he aimed for a grade of C or higher.
From this, one could see the difference in nature between reality and the dream.
Training in reality was, quite literally, coaching.
Managers and coaches instructed Sin Uison, demanding the player they wanted from him and developing his growth, whereas training inside the dream was similar to a stage in a game.
Not in terms of stats or experience points.
The defining trait was that if one failed to satisfy certain conditions, one could not advance to the next difficulty.
"Disgusting no matter when I see them."
Sin Uison frowned at the multiplying shadows.
[Yet you greet them every time training starts.]
"That's different from this."
[······?]
"I suppose you'd call it one-on-one communication; anyway, there's such a thing."
[I understand even less......]
The voice seemed concerned about his mental state.
Sin Uison roughly ignored it and assumed his stance.
For this training in particular, there was little need for analysis.
In other words, it was also the training most influenced by stats.
The first to move was the shadow near the halfway line. Occasionally, shots came from positions like this. Sin Uison knocked the ball away without difficulty and quickly surveyed his surroundings.
*Next one.*
The second was a bit closer. The shadow located not far from the penalty area began to move.
*Bang!*
This time, a rather sharp shot was fired.
Toward the shot curving toward the corner of the goal, Sin Uison threw himself.
*Thud!*
He succeeded in blocking the shot, but his posture was thrown off instead.
From here, the critical moment of the shooting save training began.
There was nothing as terrifying as a barrage of shots while his posture was broken.
*This time it's different, you bastards.*
Since obtaining Intuition, Sin Uison's number of saves had increased. The intuition that things would somehow work out despite the bizarre posture proved quite helpful.
As now.
Planting one hand on the ground while extending only his legs upward.
When shots poured down in rapid succession, he would slightly twist his hips to block one, then immediately block two simultaneously with his hand and foot.
[Hoho. What a strange pose.]
"Laugh all you want."
Waving his hand as if shooing away a fly at the giggling laughter, Sin Uison paid it no mind. As long as he could make the save, what wouldn't he do?
*The remaining time.*
The shooting save training was about blocking shots within a time limit.
Sin Uison checked the remaining time.
There wasn't much left.
He had blocked almost all of the shots.
【Calculating score!】
【Rewards will vary depending on the training results······.】
【Grade: B】
-> You can handle this level without issue now!
Breathing heavily, Sin Uison looked at the results window.
He had cleared another lowest difficulty.
***
Finally.
Match day.
Elland Road, Leeds' home stadium, was burning hotter than usual.
"-I'm delighted to be broadcasting this match! Who would have thought the War of the Roses would come to fruition in the FA Cup Round of 32!"
"-A clash of the roses, a clash of the Uniteds!"
In English football, when one says "United," it mostly refers to the two clubs of Manchester United and Leeds United. And in the Roses Derby where the two Uniteds faced off, they were distinguished as the Reds and the Whites.
And there Sin Uison stood.
To greet the away team players as a home team player.
"-First, Manchester United's lineup."
Van Persie at the forefront.
In the second line, Welbeck, Rooney, and Valencia.
Carrick and Fellaini stood as central midfielders.
The back four consisted of Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, and Smalling.
It was a lineup of players worthy of being called starters.
Whether it was a show of intent to go all out.
Or a sign of desperation.
*Gulp.*
Someone among the Leeds players swallowed hard.
Unlike their bold cries at the training ground, their nervousness was plainly evident.
However bitter the rivals, these were star players who had lifted countless trophies. Diverse emotions filled the faces of the Leeds players.
*Ah.*
Sin Uison was no different.
Sin Uison, shaking hands with the players passing by one by one, opened his eyes wide.
David de Gea.
The guardian of Manchester United's goal, and—
one of the players Sin Uison had taken as a role model.
He had met one of them.
Strength surged into the hand with which he shook.