Chapter 12

After completing my hat trick, I immediately dedicated my goals to God and trembled with exhilaration.

So this is how I’m supposed to use it.

Johan was realizing once again just how extraordinary the specifications of his body truly were.

With only Jang Ikdeok’s “software,” it was impossible to make full use of the footballing talent Johan’s body possessed.

After receiving Robben’s experience and instincts through the Macro and actually putting them to use, he felt that fact more clearly than ever.

The timing for cutting inside with the ball.

The ability to read a defender’s movements while doing so.

The footwork needed to shake off defenders.

Even the timing of the shot.

Everything was so perfect that it was almost impossible to understand how it all worked.

And my body was executing it all with absurd ease.

In the past, I’d watched Robben effortlessly score from close range using his Macro-like move and could only marvel at him.

But now…

I felt as though I had become Arjen Robben.

Yes. At this point, I should admit something.

I’d always said I wasn’t satisfied with how I’d played in my previous life.

But it wasn’t simply dissatisfaction.

It was practically a complex.

I didn’t even want to hear people praise my dribbling by calling it “mortar-pounding dribbling.”

It’s like…

Well, imagine someone saying something they believe is a compliment, only for the person receiving it to find it offensive because of the underlying stereotype.

That’s how I felt about it.

God of Football, You are the greatest.

From this day forward, the God of Football and I were one.

To insult the God of Football was the same as insulting me.

The God of Football was my love, my light…

“Huh?”

The moment I thought that, I felt something change within my body.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but a faint white light seemed to shine between my hands, which were clasped together in prayer.

It looked almost like the light the Angel emitted.

What was this?

[Your faith has deepened.]

Huh? Didn’t you say you were going to disappear for a while because you’d run out of power?

[As your faith deepened, the value and weight of the goals you dedicate increased as well. Thanks to that, I can now manifest myself in the mortal world.]

Then does that mean…?

[Ah, but don’t misunderstand. I’m absolutely not strong enough to use any abilities. I can’t even examine other players’ abilities yet.]

Then I needed to pray even more diligently.

[Correct. God’s grace can be considered the reward for one’s faith in God.]

Good.

Then should I go dedicate some more goals?

I returned to the halfway line and prepared for the match to resume.

Looking at the opposing team, they seemed completely shaken by my hat trick.

This was an opportunity.

Football was all about momentum and flow.

We needed to keep pressing now and increase the scoreline.

How much time was left in the first half?

Fifteen minutes?

If we could score just one more, we’d be able to approach the second half much more comfortably.

“Push the line up!”

The instant the whistle blew, Grandpa shouted.

Whatever else might be said about our team, we were strict about two things.

Fundamentals.

And following the coach’s instructions.

We always kept our ears open, and the moment Grandpa’s voice rang out, the kids pushed the line forward and pressed Hangang Middle.

It was intense, aggressive pressing.

Normally, Hangang Middle might have escaped this situation without much difficulty.

But now, unable to overcome our pressure, they were being pushed this way and that.

Kim Daon had stolen the ball earlier.

This time, I was the one who won it.

“S-Stop him!”

As I cut in from the wing toward the center, Hangang Middle desperately tried to stop me.

No fewer than four players surrounded me, trying to shut down my Macro.

Arjen Robben had often been criticized in the past for stubbornly attempting his signature move whenever he wanted to score.

But he had evolved.

Under Pep’s management, Robben developed.

The Robben who had once focused solely on beating defenders and scoring had learned to use his threat to score as bait and slip passes through instead.

After beating two players to demonstrate the Macro, I looked toward the goal as if I intended to shoot.

At the same time, I searched for Yuchan from the corner of my eye.

Finding Yuchan wasn’t difficult.

He was bound to be standing in some absurdly perfect position, like Filippo Inzaghi—the legendary king of positioning.

And sure enough, Park Yuchan was looking at me from a spot that made me wonder how the hell he’d even found it.

While staring at the goal, I sent a no-look pass.

Park Yuchan was clumsy at practically everything.

But when it came to shooting in situations like this, he was unbelievably good.

His lightning-fast shot blasted into the goal and shook the net.

We were now four goals ahead in the first half.

For a powerhouse like Hangang Middle, it must have been a shocking concession.

Just look at their players staring at us with completely blank expressions.

Huh?

It wasn’t just the players.

Their coach’s expression was something to behold too.

At this point, I didn’t think there was any chance of some dramatic second-half comeback.

Seoul United had not won a championship for more than ten years since their victory in 2016.

Things were especially miserable after the K League Classic was renamed K League 1. Since then, they had finished in the top half only once—fourth place in 2024.

The club had fallen so far that other teams’ fans referred to them as a “former powerhouse” or mocked them as a permanently mediocre mid-table club.

But things began to change in 2030.

Third place in the 2030 season.

Second place in 2031.

And this season, although it was still early, they were sitting in first place.

How had a team once mocked as being lucky to finish sixth suddenly become strong again?

They had invested in youth football.

Taking advantage of being based in Seoul, the nation’s capital, they gathered talented children, invested in coaches and facilities, developed those youngsters properly, and promoted them to the first team.

The seeds they had planted began to bloom during the 2030 season.

Having seen the results, Seoul invested even more heavily in its youth system.

They formed a dedicated youth scouting team and sent scouts to every single match in Seoul’s middle and high school leagues, as well as the Champions Tournament.

A scout was also present at today’s match between Hangang Middle and Iron FC.

Not just any scout.

The head of Seoul United’s youth scouting team had come personally.

Hangang Middle was a powerhouse that had reached the final of last season’s Champions Tournament, and the club had been particularly interested in their number 10—the previous tournament’s top scorer.

“I didn’t come all this way to watch a match like this.”

The scouting chief stared blankly at the scoreboard as the first half came to an end.

Beside him, another scout spoke.

“Hangang Middle’s squad is basically the same as last year except for three players, right? They don’t look anything like they did last season. Has their coach lost it? Or were they just too careless?”

“They probably were a little careless… but not careless enough to concede four goals.”

As he spoke, the chief looked toward the boy sitting on the bench and drinking water.

Perhaps because he hadn’t properly entered puberty yet, the boy looked delicate and pretty—the sort of face that would probably captivate plenty of people when he grew older.

“It’s because of him.”

“Ah, that kid. When Bayern Munich were at their peak, I thought he looked like that player. What was his name again…? The guy who looked old despite being young…”

“Arjen Robben.”

“Right, Robben. You think so too, Chief? Doesn’t he play just like Robben?”

“That’s beyond just watching a few Robben highlight videos.”

The idol-like boy on the field was playing as if he were genuinely Arjen Robben himself.

“I came here to watch Hangang Middle, but I think I’ll need to keep an eye on that team instead.”

Maybe the result was a fluke.

But that one boy wasn’t a fluke.

No…

There was another one too.

The defensive midfielder who had cut off Hangang Middle’s attacks twice and laid the foundation for counterattacks.

Iron FC had two players with high-level talent.

“Actually… make that three?”

The boy who had created the team’s fourth goal had been displaying excellent positioning throughout the match.

In truth, if that boy hadn’t occupied such a good position and drawn Hangang Middle’s defenders’ attention, it might have been more difficult for the idol-faced boy to score.

And he hadn’t merely waited in a good position.

He had scored with his very first shot.

“The team’s fundamentals are good, and they have three good players. It’s difficult to say they beat Hangang Middle purely through luck. That’s a good team.”

“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you praise a team this much, Chief.”

“They deserve it. Mark down Iron FC’s number 9, number 30, and number 23. Make sure you get plenty of video. What are their names?”

“Number 9 is Kim Jinsol, number 30 is Choi Johan, and number 23 is Park Yuchan.”

“Mhm.”

While his colleague hurriedly prepared to film, the second half began.

Hangang Middle had completely lost their momentum.

When Iron FC started with possession, they dropped deep and responded passively.

Hangang Middle’s coach was shouting something at them, but it didn’t look as though his instructions were reaching their ears.

In a situation like this, Johan—who had already recorded a hat trick and an assist—was free to run wild.

Once again, he carried the ball down the wing and cut toward the center.

Aware of Johan’s attacks—which they knew were coming yet still couldn’t stop—Hangang Middle’s players ignored the other areas and rushed toward him.

Johan began to cut inside, saw everyone converging on him, and immediately lifted a cross toward the center.

The ball flew into the penalty area.

The one who rushed toward it wasn’t the goalkeeper.

It was Park Yuchan.

Yuchan threw his head toward the dropping ball.

THUD!

Iron FC scored their fifth goal just five minutes into the second half.

“The game’s over.”

There was no coming back from this now.

Sure enough, after play resumed, Park Yuchan stole the ball, Choi Johan received it, and raced directly toward goal.

Johan scored his fourth goal of the match.

He didn’t even use Robben-like play this time.

He simply knocked the ball ahead and sprinted.

And Hangang Middle practically stood there and watched him score.

“Kids these days are hopeless.”

They gave up far too easily.

The sixth goal was practically a gift.

Perhaps recognizing that, Iron FC substituted all three of their key players.

Hangang Middle made substitutions as well, seemingly hoping for a turnaround, but they couldn’t reverse the atmosphere of surrender that had already taken hold.

“From now on, we focus our attention on Iron FC.”

After saying that, the head of Seoul United’s youth scouting team left the stadium.

Our 6–0 victory over Hangang Middle became a topic of conversation.

Only briefly, though.

Hangang Middle had suffered a crushing defeat against a small football academy, so naturally people were interested.

But the attention didn’t last long.

As I’d repeatedly said, youth football was heavily influenced by mentality, momentum, and the flow of the game. A weaker team could defeat a stronger team, and absurdly lopsided victories could happen.

The prevailing opinion seemed to be that we’d somehow scored the opening goal, ridden the resulting momentum, and gotten lucky on our way to a huge victory.

Well, people could think that if they wanted.

All we had to do was keep proving that we hadn’t beaten Hangang Middle through luck alone.

In Round 2, we defeated Namsan Middle School 4–1.

Namsan Middle was also one of the strongest teams in Seoul.

Once news of that result spread, more and more adults began coming to watch our matches.

In Round 3, played under their growing attention, we faced Gangdong Youth Academy and won 5–1.

Our next opponent was Seoul Dream FC.

Like us, they were an academy team, but one considered a powerhouse among football academies.

They were several times larger than we were.

We beat them too.

Then came North Seoul Middle School.

It was a team with a long history, although they hadn’t accomplished much recently.

After defeating them as well, we reached five consecutive victories.

There were still seventeen matches left to play, but we finished the first half of the season in first place.

Why was the first half over?

Because there were no league matches from May until the end of June.

In May, there were qualifying matches for the National Youth Sports Festival.

In June came the main tournament, along with various other national competitions held across the country.

Football academies like ours usually participated in smaller tournaments against other academies during this period.

But Iron FC boldly chose not to enter any.

That was because Grandpa also considered academics important.

Most of the children were told to continue their basic training and focus on school.

However, Jinsol, Yuchan, and I received slightly different instructions.

Grandpa called the three of us aside privately.

“The three of you have received an invitation from Seoul United. They’re asking whether you’d like to visit and train with them.”

“…Seoul United? Why?”

Park Yuchan tilted his head in confusion, and Jinsol lightly smacked him.

“Idiot. They’re inviting us to take a look because they want to scout us.”

“That’s right. Jinsol understands.”

Grandpa chuckled.

Jinsol, however, immediately turned serious.

“I like it here, Coach.”

“Huh? Me too!”

Grandpa smiled even more deeply at their words.

“Yes. As your coach, I don’t want to send you away either. If I could, I’d like to hide this invitation from you. But I can’t do that.”

As he spoke, Grandpa took out the tablet PC he carried around instead of a tactical notebook and showed us the screen.

It appeared to be an official email from Seoul.

“Uh… an exchange match with Vissel Kobe… training with Barcelona youth coaches… Huh? Barcelona?”

“Yes. Apparently, Vissel Kobe is working with Seoul and has arranged for coaches from Barcelona’s youth system to come. You’ll receive training from Barcelona youth coaches, and there will also be matches involving Vissel Kobe and Barcelona’s youth team. And only the three of you were invited. I can’t hide an opportunity this good from you.”

He was right.

Barcelona was one of the strongest teams in the world—a club that continued winning league titles even during difficult periods.

More importantly, it possessed La Masia, the very essence of youth development, a system that had produced countless world-class players, including Lionel Messi.

“You don’t want to go?”

“Of course we do.”

The three of us answered in unison.