Romantic on the Field

127.

Jamie brought the ball directly from the half line.

Rhys Chilwell, who was man-marking him, eagerly followed him as if it were natural.

‘He’s a diligent friend.’

Jamie glanced at him.

Rhys Chilwell followed Jamie right into the game. And so far, not even for a second had I been more than 2 meters away from Jamie.

Considering that the maximum distance is generally set at 2 meters when defending against people, Reese Chilwell was working hard today.

‘He’s also a prudent friend.’

However, even though he followed closely throughout the first half, he never tried to steal the ball.

‘Even like this?’

‘No, they don’t tackle me like this?’

The same was true even if Jamie deliberately took a long touch or changed direction a beat late.

Prudent defenders are tricky to break through. To be precise, it’s a bit more cumbersome. So Jamie decided not to overdo it and play a game that utilizes his teammates.

‘That’s 10 minutes, 20 minutes.’

But now the first half is over.

At this point, I thought I had been patient with myself and the opponent’s defense for a long time.

Two-woong.

Jamie sped up.

“…!”

Fortunately, Rhys Chilwell followed Jamie well.

However, it was only to follow.

Tuduk. Jamie exchanged two-on-one passes with Brian, then turned right and pricked a pass to Benn at all, which he couldn’t stop.

“In the middle!”

“I’ll pierce myself!”

It was the same after that. No, not only Reese, but all other Newcastle players.

Ben gave the ball back as soon as Jamie raised his hand again. swish, swish. The eyes of the Newcastle defense team were busy with the continued movement of ball possession, but that was it. Jamie roamed around the Newcastle camp with ease, almost to the point of being ‘free’.

“Now.”

“come out!”

It was when Jamie caught the ball from the penalty box arc that the Newcastle defence changed.

Seemingly swayed helplessly, they lined up as soon as the Newcastle coaches shouted.

Rhys Chilwell, who had been man-marking Jamie, came close to hugging him right away, and two central midfielders joined on either side of him.

‘Well?’

But the real surprise was what happened next.

The core of Newcastle’s defense, two central defenders, Yorit Wurst and Richard Madden, moved forward leaving the front of the goal empty.

‘If this is the case, how can Brian and Ben…’

Jamie was not embarrassed by most things, but this time there was nothing special.

It’s not inside the penalty box, it’s outside – it’s right in front, but it’s definitely outside the penalty box. Both central defenders came out and pressed.

In this situation, it would be embarrassing if Jamie’s grandfather arrived instead of Jamie.

“…!”

In the end, he narrowed the distance in an instant and lost the ball to Jorit Bwst, who bumped into him.

‘Are they crazy?’

Embarrassed for a moment, Jamie quickly returned to his seat to defend the counterattack.

Jorit Wust skipped through the midfield and played a long pass straight to Pavel Kopekki.

Originally, the two players were not strong against long balls, but this time the ball was well connected.

‘Harry Harry and Mark Rice.’

And Mutombo and Sancho.

There were as many as four players in the Stoke City camp, and they were all reliable players.

There were more numbers than Newcastle players trying to counterattack. It was no exaggeration to say that the term ‘counterattack’ did not hold true.

‘Well?’

However, Pavel tried an unexpected play. It could be said that the game exceeded expectations.

Without waiting for a colleague to rush in, he broke through directly.

After ‘hit and run’ in Harry’s direction, he suddenly turns in Sancho’s direction.

And one quick shot.

[eee-YeeeA! ]

That one exceptional shot led straight to the goal.

“…”

Jamie couldn’t help but be overcome with absurd feelings again.

‘Or did you aim for this from the beginning?’

Then I thought that.

He turned his head and glanced at the bench with the Newcastle staff, specifically at manager Johnjo Selby.

**

Director John Cho was cheering.

‘do.’

It works.

No, it worked.

my tactic.

Rather than the fact that the team scored the first goal, the fact that ‘Jamie Lee’s response method that I came up with worked’ made him cheer.

‘No, it’s too early.’

But he soon calmed down. Exactly, I tried to calm myself down.

I only blocked it once.

You won’t know until the game is over. It could even concede an equalizer for Jamie in the first half.

‘I wonder if the same scene comes out one more time.’

I thought about that while trying to calm myself down, but unfortunately, soon after, almost the same scene as before was reproduced.

‘…Really, did I invent the world’s first Jamie Lee Pawe Law?’

Jonjo muttered blankly.

**

“Nice defense!”

“The pressure was good! continue! Continue!”

Just before the end of the first half, a similar scene was played once more. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the same scene.

I felt the pressure from Jorit Beast, who suddenly jumped out in front of the penalty box, and lost the ball in the meantime.

The difference from before was that the opponent who stole the ball was Reese Chilwell, who had never attempted a tackle.

‘These guys have big livers.’

Jamie, who fully grasped Newcastle’s defensive principles, had no choice but to stick out his tongue.

“Jay, are you okay?”

As the second half began, Robin, who was put in instead of Ben, tapped him on the shoulder and asked.

“what?”

“not. hahahaha.”

Jamie responded right away, as usual, but Robin smiled relieved at his response. It seemed that he was worried that he might be intimidated.

“Ah, Robin.”

“Well?”

“Do you want to cross the penalty box for the first time in a while?”

“……Crossing the penalty box?”

Moments later, after catching the ball, Jamie started running from the half-line toward the right half-space.

It was a run close to sprinting, with more speed than in the first half. Reese Chilwell was also on the fast side, but Jamie was completely determined and ran, so he couldn’t catch up properly.

“Go back!”

“Concentrate, focus!”

As if sensing that Jamie’s momentum was different from the first half, the Newcastle coaches hurriedly shouted.

Of course, that didn’t change anything.

Almost without slowing down, Jamie knocked off the guy in front of him with a back shot. Then, he changed direction to the front and center of the penalty box.

In line with Jamie’s movement, the position of the surrounding Newcastle players also changed.

‘Is it now?’

Newcastle’s midfielders immediately surrounded him, and at the same time two central defenders aggressively closed the angle and bounced out.

‘A fullback?’

The fullback also moved to the center as in the first half and covered the central defender position.

By raising the defensive line in an instant, an offside trap is deployed, and the fullback covers at almost the same time, preparing for possible line breaking.

That was the ‘Jamie response’ that Newcastle had prepared.

It was a very groundbreaking yet bold response, and the key was time.

1-2 seconds. No, even if he hesitates for half a second, the ball can be lost to the central defender. No matter how you get away from them with a momentary skill, the midfielders cover in the meantime. Soon after, the defenders will join the pressing ranks again.

In other words, as time goes by, Jamie becomes surrounded by more and more Newcastle players.

‘Either have someone to shake it with, or just pierce it all.’

There were only two ways to break it.

‘Now.’

Jamie chose the latter.

Tuduk.

Along with the upper body painting, he changed the position of the ball momentarily and hit forward.

The phantom dribble, or a technique called ‘La Croqueta’ in Spanish, was often used by Lionel Messi in his prime when he was surrounded by players.

“…!”

And it was also the most suitable personal period for Jamie to write in the current situation.

He beat Yorit Bust and Richard Madden right in front of him with two phantom dribbles in a row.

It had gone by so quickly, or it felt like it had been penetrated so easily, that the defenders seemed to get out of the way on their own.

“Narrow!”

“come out!”

The same goes for both fullbacks who have covered.

Took, toduk. Jamie’s continuous phantom dribble collapsed helplessly.

‘Move.’

Next was shooting.

For a moment, I thought that Robin standing in front of me was getting in the way, but it didn’t bother me too much. Jamie fired a shot in the direction he wanted.

[eee-YeeeA! ]

The result is goal.

“ha ha ha.”

The away fans who were sitting across from us all stood up from their seats and cheered.

Jamie burst into laughter and ran to them.

“Hey, Mr. Jay! Cross the penalty box!”

Robin protested behind his back, but it was hard to hear because of the cheers of the crowd.

**

[Gooooool! Jamie Lee finally scores a goal! ]

[That’s a really cool goal. An elegant goal! ]

[ This is Lee who scores an equalizer that is unbelievable even after seeing it in person! ]

[Uh, Jamie Lee. run again! ]

[Do you solve it yourself this time? ]

[Ah, Robin Price. Robin Price gets Jamie Lee’s pass! ]

[Go come come! Substitute Robin Price scores a come-from-behind goal! ]

The ‘cross the penalty box’ Jamie instructed Robin to shine just before the end of the second half.

Robin moved from the right through the center to the left while the defenders’ eyes were focused only on Jamie, and then received a pass and scored the goal himself.

“…”

And the expression of Barcelona coach Xavi, who watched the scene, was very dark.

That would also be the case, because a few days later we had to play Stoke City in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.

[The game is over! In the end, it was Stoke City who came out victorious. ]

Soon after the game, Xavi turned off the TV and took out his cell phone.

Unlike the game against Manchester City, I also thought that it was fortunate that I watched today at home rather than in the power analysis room.

If you had seen it in the power analysis lab, you would have had to squeeze out a solution that didn’t even come to mind. Even if he didn’t necessarily offer a solution, he would have to throw in a positive word or two. But at this point, not a single positive word came to mind.

‘It is impossible to stop Jamie.’

‘But I have to stop other guys besides Jamie.’

‘Isn’t this really a ridiculous defeat?’

I couldn’t be negative, so only despair thoughts came to my mind.

[Stoke City, who defeated champions Newcastle United on the road. ]

[Stoke City, who won a dramatic comeback. ]

[1 goal, 1 help, Jamie Lee played a big role again. ]

[I couldn’t stop it this time either. Jamie Lee selected as ‘Man of Match’. ]

[ A series of amazing performances. Past Watford FC coach’s remarks re-examined. ]

ㄴ [Watford FC coach Tom Cleverley, “How to stop Lee? You can shoot.” ]

[ condi** – This is correct. ]

[metin** – Jamie can’t stop a gun]

[ candy** – (Breaking News) Barcelona coach Xavi leaves home to buy pistols ]

“Damn it.”

Watching the articles coming up after the game, my anxiety intensified.

And after a few days…

[ GOOOOAL! ]

[ Jamie Lee, great mid-range shooter! ]

[ great! Jamie Lee puts a bullet through the heart of Barcelona! ]

Chabi’s anxiety became a reality.