Chapter 1
Title: In Commemoration of the 2039 Asian Cup Elimination, the Asian Tiger GOAT is Coming.
(2036-2037, Kang Yoon-ho performing a clutch move and celebrating in the Champions League final with Munich.JPG)
Total record for the 36-37 season: 49 matches, 11 goals, 22 assists. Are these stats even for a defensive midfielder…?
– A legend who gave Newcastle the Big Ear, which even Shearer couldn’t achieve, and the GOAT of Korean football… Shouldn’t we worship him?
└ Sorry, but that bald Blackburn bastard is not a legend of our team. Keegan, Jackie Milburn, Beardsley, Robert, and Kang Yoon-ho are the real legends.
– How can changing just one defensive midfielder suddenly get you to the semifinals?
└ Well, Kang Yoon-ho was always an asshole, but damn, he was good at football. Just seeing a Korean defensive midfielder on the Ballon d’Or podium is insane.
– It’s all thanks to Kang Yoon-ho that we even made it to the semifinals of the 2038 World Cup. Even when the crazy coach used him as a lone defensive midfielder, he brought stability to the midfield.
– But what’s Kang Yoon-ho up to these days after his retirement? Judging from his playing style, I thought he’d be out there doing DUIs left and right after retiring.
└ What the hell does playing dirty football have to do with DUIs, lol.
└ When he transferred from Juventus, he said, “Serie A players are too nice, it’s boring,” and then moved to Newcastle. So I thought he had a nasty temper. But honestly, after retiring, there’s been no news about him.
└ Our Yoon-ho’s role model is Guimarães, so his playing style is rough, but he’s actually a good guy. He’s a Rodri type, calm outside the pitch.
└ That’s true. I went to see him live, and on the field, he’d turn red and curse like crazy, but when signing autographs for fans, he couldn’t even make eye contact and spoke so gently. He’s like a shy bookworm in the library.
└ A shy bookworm, lol.
– So, what is that guy doing nowadays?
As I read through the comments, a smirk crept across my face.
“What am I doing? Reading a novel, you idiots.”
After suddenly suffering a heart attack at the age of 29, I barely survived and retired from the world of football. The emptiness that followed hit me hard.
I had started my professional career with a semi-pro contract at Jeonbuk, winning the K-League Young Player of the Month award six times in a row. Then I moved to Italy, sweeping up the Serie A Player of the Year, Midfielder of the Year, and Assist Leader awards.
And at Newcastle?
I started by winning the League Player of the Year, led the club to its first-ever treble, and even made it to the Ballon d’Or podium as a defensive midfielder.
Maybe it’s because I had such a dramatic career?
Being forced to retire because of an unexpected heart attack during a match left me with a lot of regrets.
– Surviving was a miracle.
– You’ve done enough, so just rest now.
These were the countless comforting words I heard from those around me, trying to console me.
Of course, I understood what they were saying. I knew I was lucky to be alive.
But still…
“It’d be a lie to say I don’t have regrets.”
Even while watching football games or studying tactics to prepare for a coaching role, the emptiness in my heart wasn’t easily filled.
Strangely enough, what filled that emptiness was reading soccer novels.
‘At first, I heard there was a crazy novel that turned me into a psychopath, so I checked it out.’
They said the novel depicted me, the so-called gentleman off the field during my playing days, as a character with a terrible personality, and I was furious. But as I read it, I found some unexpectedly entertaining parts.
Unlike me, who barely dragged Korea to the World Cup semifinals, the protagonist won the World Cup single-handedly.
And the way he coolly defected to Germany or Brazil after clashing with the Football Association, flipping off the chairman, was satisfying.
Some might scoff, saying, “What’s so great about such unrealistic stories that only kids would enjoy?” But who cares? If I enjoy it, that’s all that matters.
If it were completely unrealistic, that’d be one thing, but it was grounded enough to provide just the right amount of escapism, so it was worth spending money on.
“The money I’ve spent on this has already exceeded a million won. I must be going crazy.”
What started out as simple curiosity had become an irreplaceable hobby.
As usual, I started browsing through the newly updated sports novels, and before long, I smiled brightly.
[The Striker Scores Too Many Goals]
“It’s here!”
The Striker Scores Too Many Goals.
As the title suggests, it’s a story about the protagonist, Yoon Seung-hwan, a striker, who rises to the top.
The refreshing plot, the chemistry with the characters around the protagonist, and the sense of vicarious satisfaction, which is essential for sports novels, were all there.
‘If my heart attack was caused by stress, those damn triangle-headed strikers must have contributed a lot to it.’
A striker who turns every awkward pass into a goal. This novel had the kind of player I had longed for during my playing days.
Judging by the events of the previous chapter, this chapter would surely show him winning the Champions League final.
Filled with a sense of anticipation, I clicked on the latest chapter to read.
[Author’s Note]
– It seems like many of you are angry about the Asian Cup elimination… This is just my humble opinion, but I think developing proper strikers is essential for the growth of Korean football… Defensive midfielders and full-backs are important, of course, but football is ultimately about scoring goals to win, isn’t it? Many people say that the failure to fill the gap left by Kang Yoon-ho’s retirement in the number 6 role was the reason for our loss, but… honestly, even in the 2020s, the national team did well without a traditional defensive midfielder. We made it to the round of 16 in the Qatar World Cup, after all.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
I squinted my eyes, forgetting everything I had read earlier.
What nonsense is this crazy author spouting?
Korea did well without a traditional defensive midfielder?
The reason we bombed in the 2023 Asian Cup was because we didn’t have a proper defensive midfielder and had to use Park Woo-yong, who’s far from being a traditional defensive midfielder, in a ridiculous two-midfield one-volante setup!
[The Best Thing Is Losing]: No, author. Strikers are important, but there’s no position more important than full-backs and defensive midfielders. The defensive midfielder has become the centre of modern football’s buildup over the past few years, and you’re still going on about strikers… To be honest, did you even watch football in the 2020s? It’s so frustrating… [Read More]
Before I knew it, I found myself writing out a lengthy response.
Striker? Sure, it’s important. But there’s no position more critical in modern football than the defensive midfielder.
To ensure stable progression, backline buildup has become a necessity, not an option, and the concept of a sweeper-keeper with good footwork has emerged. At the same time, the defensive midfielder has evolved beyond simply defending at the back, becoming the core of midfield battles and build-up play.
In the 23-24 season, Declan Rice, who transferred to Arsenal for a fee of £105M, setting a new Premier League transfer record, only to be surpassed less than a month later by Moisés Caicedo’s £115M transfer to Chelsea, showed a clear reality.
‘What a load of nonsense…’
I couldn’t accept it. Accepting that would be equivalent to denying all the hard work I put in during my playing days.
No matter what kind of nonsense they spout, I will thoroughly refute it. With that mindset, I stared at the screen.
[Love Soccer]: It seems like you can’t accept that strikers are more important than defensive midfielders. And I watch soccer a lot. I even play in an amateur league every week. If you’re that frustrated, why don’t you come and prove it yourself?
‘What?’
Are they saying I should go play if I’m frustrated? Are they mocking me right now?
I didn’t expect them to accept their mistakes, but they could at least show some respect instead of mocking me.
[Love Losing]: Sure, I’ll play. Where should I go? Send me your address, and I’ll come over to prove it to you.
Holding my throbbing head from that insane reply, I soon sensed something strange.
“What’s going on? Why is my phone’s brightness increasing?”
The brightness of my phone, which had been still, started to increase on its own.
At first, I thought I was imagining things and tried to lower it again. But the brightness setting remained at 50%, just like before.
Then… why is it getting brighter and brighter?
“Are my eyes playing tricks on me…? Wait, what’s happening?”
Eventually, the screen became so bright that I couldn’t even read the text anymore.
Just before the display was filled with pure white, a short message appeared.
Ding!
[Love Soccer]: No need to come. I’ll send you over instead.
At that moment, a single thought filled my mind.
[Love Soccer]: Why don’t you try playing as a defensive midfielder? With how confident you are, I’m sure you’ll win the Ballon d’Or and even the World Cup. Go ahead and give it your best shot.
“Could this be… transmigration? Damn it!”
Whoosh!
Transmigration.
As soon as I realized it, the light from my phone engulfed me.
***
[The Striker Scores Too Many Goals] is a novel that gained popularity with its refreshing plot and abundant sense of vicarious satisfaction. But that doesn’t mean it was without flaws.
To achieve the sense of vicarious satisfaction and refreshing plot, the story inevitably featured many characters who tried to undervalue and dismiss the worth of the protagonist, Yoon Seung-hwan.
As a result of creating so many characters, some lacked unique traits, while others developed severely twisted personalities.
“Baek Ian…”
A character who, like the protagonist Yoon Seung-hwan, joined Jeonbuk Future Motors through a semi-pro contract at the age of 18.
“Despite his genius talent and being hailed as a promising defensive midfielder in Korea from a young age, he’s naturally lazy, doesn’t train properly, and has a jealousy so strong that he nearly broke Yoon Seung-hwan’s ankle when his skills skyrocketed.”
He could serve as a villain, but he would also frustrate readers with his actions.
I didn’t like the character of Baek Ian either.
Even though I made a name for myself with dirty plays on the field, I still despised a slacker without work ethic.
Normally, I would have ignored or despised him outright.
But now, I could no longer curse Baek Ian.
Why, you ask?
[A Quest Has Been Generated!
[1. Win the 2038 England-Ireland World Cup]
[2. Win the Ballon d’Or as a Defensive Midfielder]
[Failure will result in death.]
“What the hell is this… Why does my face look like Baek Ian’s? What’s this status window-like thing in front of me? It says I’ll die if I fail? Are they serious?”
Why, you ask? It’s because I had become Baek Ian.
Could it be that when they told me to go play myself, they meant this? I thought I’d have to join some amateur league and prove myself, maybe even consult with my doctor about it.
‘Did I really end up transmigrating? Just because I refuted some absurd comment?’
Frustrated, I closed my eyes tightly.
And it wasn’t just transmigration; there was a quest too. A quest with the crazy condition that I’d die if I failed.
My mind went blank, overwhelmed with what to do, but only for a moment.
Soon, my confusion turned into anger.
I gave some constructive criticism as a reader, and they transmigrated me into the story?
This was unacceptable.
‘Fine, if they can’t understand even after explaining, I’ll show them directly.’
I remembered a fair amount about Baek Ian’s character.
With talent and physical abilities rivalling those of the protagonist Yoon Seung-hwan… No, had he only been diligent, he might have even surpassed him.
“How bad must he have been for the coach and manager to try to cover for him when he tried to break his own teammate’s ankle?”
What would happen if I combined my football IQ with this monstrous body?
‘Before my heart attack, many media outlets were convinced that I’d win the Ballon d’Or without question. It became an impossible story after I retired, but… now it’s different.’
With this body, I don’t have to fear another heart attack and can fully display the abilities I had in my previous life.
Baek Ian has the talent for it.
“Time to stir things up properly.”
After glancing away from the mirror, I picked up a photo sitting on the desk.
People wearing green jerseys, smiling brightly from the centre of the podium.
Among them was Baek Ian, holding a trophy and smiling.
The photo clearly had this written on it:
‘2028 K-League Youth Championship Winners… So this is right before the 2029 season when he got promoted to the first team with a semi-pro contract?’
It’s around the time Baek Ian started to be bothered by Yoon Seung-hwan, who was catching up to him.
If my memory serves me right, this is when his jealousy began to grow.
Baek Ian’s serious attempts to take down Yoon Seung-hwan happened during a training session a few days after the K-League started.
“This should be interesting.”
In other words, it wasn’t too late, and I could still fix things.
—
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