1 – Kick-off

About a minute of stoppage time remained. Checking the scoreboard, Je-rim held his breath. In moments like this, one must remain calm rather than rushing out of desperation. Cooling his head while making fast and accurate judgments was more important than anything else.

First, as soon as the ball rolled to his feet, he charged forward with fierce momentum, slipping the ball through the legs of the opposing defenders who had surrounded him. He performed a feint, stepping over the ball as if attempting to break through with a dribble, and fortunately, the defender fell for it completely.

The ball rolled away, safely reaching the vicinity of the teammate he had originally intended to pass to. With the match nearing its end, the Sefton players put every ounce of their strength into kicking off the ground and sprinting forward on a counterattack.

“Is there something wrong with your vision? Stop spacing out and chase him!”

Leaving behind Aaron, Tavarona’s striker, who was screaming at his own teammates, Je-rim also sprinted past the opposing players.

The teammate who had just received the pass saw the charging Je-rim and immediately passed the ball back. Crossing the halfway line, Je-rim scanned his surroundings. Should he run a bit more and take the shot himself, or pass? The deliberation didn’t last long.

Because the defense was concentrated on him, only one defender and the goalkeeper stood before Reman, the center forward. Reman wasn’t offside, and he was more than capable of beating a single defender, not to mention he was positioned much closer to the goal than Je-rim. It was a position so good that there was no need for prolonged hesitation.

“Run!”

As he signaled to Reman—who was looking at him with anxious eyes as if wondering whether the pass would come or not—Je-rim launched the ball with his right foot. He stood his ground, firmly keeping the pursuing opposing players behind him.

His body tilted from a rough physical clash. However, it didn’t matter since the ball had already left Je-rim’s foot. The ball sliced diagonally across the field and dropped right in front of the sprinting Reman, as if it had been delivered personally. Now, all Je-rim could do was pray.

Please.

This was the Champions League final, a stage he was stepping on again after five years. It was a historic match, the first one he faced after wearing the captain’s armband for Sefton. Now, with the stoppage time of the second half almost over and the score at 3-2, they needed a goal just to force extra time. A goal to tie the game with Tavarona.

‘If we just get to extra time, we have a chance.’

Tavarona’s squad had a higher average age compared to Sefton. Except for that damn Aaron, who ran tirelessly with monstrous physicality and recorded a hattrick in the Champions final, the other players’ stamina would clearly drop during extra time.

In fact, Aaron’s third goal had been scored by the man himself, who had dropped back to receive the ball because the midfield’s movements had noticeably slowed, breaking through alone from the halfway line to slot it in. True to his nature, he ran like a rabid dog, and as a result, he had been damn good at football since way back.

Reman, please. For about ten seconds, Je-rim prayed to every god in the country. If you let us win the Champions this time, I’ll observe Buddha’s Birthday, Christmas, and even Ramadan. I’ll actually starve myself during Ramadan. He bit his lip, praying like an idiot.

And then.

Thump! A heavy, clear sound hit his ears. It felt quite different from the satisfying sound of the ball wrapping into the net when a goal is scored. He didn’t even need to look back to know the ball had hit the post. A few seconds later, the whistle blew, signaling the end of the match. Je-rim stared blankly at the scoreboard.

[TBR 3 : SFT 2]

Taking in the unchanged score and the match time that had run out even through the second half’s stoppage time, he slowly turned his gaze.

In stark contrast to the cheering wave of wine-colored jerseys, the spectators in Sefton uniforms were standing up and leaving one by one. Golden confetti and placards cheering for Sefton were abandoned in the empty seats. Excited Spanish echoed from the stands and the field.

Contrasting with the Tavarona players who gathered in a circle, his teammates were scattered, trudging away. Some collapsed on the spot, burying their faces in their knees or pounding the grass in frustration. In particular, the young striker—the culprit of the missed shot—completely crumbled.

“Jerry, let’s get ready for the ceremony…”

William, the team’s Center Back and vice-captain, patted Je-rim on the shoulder. Only after hearing that lifeless voice did Je-rim acutely feel that he had lost again in the second Champions League final of his life. His knees buckled at the same time.

With this, the dream of lifting the Big Ear in his twenties became distant once more. There was now only one Champions League left that Je-rim could play in his twenties. And that was calculating by international age.

Even if they reached the final next year, Je-rim, whose birthday is in early May, would be 29. Setting aside the probability of reaching the final again next year after tasting bitterness in a final he first reached in five years…

Even if he were lucky enough to reach two consecutive finals, a problem remained. Tavarona FC, with Aaron on their side, lifted the Big Ear almost every season. There were seasons when other clubs won because Aaron was injured or in a slump, but Sefton had never benefited from that luck. And even if they won that way, he didn’t think he’d be particularly happy.

Above all.

‘Ah, fuck. Second place again…’

Collapsing haphazardly onto the ground, Je-rim sighed, wiping his sweat-soaked forehead. 2nd in the league, runner-up in the Champions—two 2nd place finishes in one season. And 2nd place again in the second Champions League final of his life. No doubt he’d be teased mercilessly for this. It was obvious.

What kind of humor and satire would be contained in the new nicknames? He was used to becoming a ‘Taegeuk Warrior’ when he did well and a ‘Kimchi Warrior’ when he didn’t, but the nicknames that were updated daily weren’t very welcome.

Of course, he knew that many of them were affectionate nicknames with good intentions. Still, he hated all the rat-related nicknames derived from the name ‘Jerry.’ No one likes malicious mockery.

But what could he do? He had already lost. He had long been accustomed to being a laughingstock in his own country. To earn this much money at his age, it was only right that he endure that much. Most of them were just pathetic sorts expressing their inferiority complex anyway.

“Sigh… Will! I’m fine, so take care of Reman. He looks like he’s about to dehydrate.”

Just as he was about to stand up, thinking that staying collapsed wouldn’t change anything and it wasn’t polite to the winners, he saw a pair of legs filled with muscles as solid as a horse’s through his sweat-blurred vision. The color of the tights was different from Sefton’s.

“Je-rim. …Are you crying?”

It was a familiar voice. In the time he had passed through three clubs abroad, there had only been one person who called his name ‘Je-rim’ so clearly. The large hand reached out as if to pull him up was also familiar. Though the tattoos covering that arm were unfamiliar, as they hadn’t been there ten years ago.

“I don’t need your hand, so fuck off, you son of a bitch.”

So, Je-rim brushed off the hand and sprang up with a perfectly fine face.

✲✲✲

≪Ah, he misses that! It was a position where it would be strange NOT to score. Our player Ban Je-rim gave him a magnificent pass, and yet!≫

≪It’s a shame. With this, Tavarona lifts the Big Ear again this season. They continue to solidify their position as the world’s most prestigious club this season as well.≫

≪I hope player Ban Je-rim isn’t too discouraged. Sefton is a club that always stays within the Big Four in the EPL, and their league performance this season was very good. They were 2nd, right? There’s another chance for the title next season.≫

≪That’s right, that’s right. Player Ban Je-rim is twenty-eight, or twenty-nine by Korean age. While he can’t be called young by football player standards, he’s still young. There are plenty of opportunities. So… eh? Aaron Reyes is approaching him?≫

≪Come to think of it, the two were youth teammates at Tavarona, right? He must be glad to see his old friend’s face after a long time.≫

≪Isn’t this a touching friendship? Reyes, who stepped away from his celebrating teammates, is comforting player Ban Je-rim… oh.≫

≪…He brushed him off? He brushed him off, right? Oh, that was quite fierce.≫

≪…That’s an action only possible because they’re really close! ‘Hey, why are you here? Go lift your Big Ear.’ Maybe it’s a playful gesture like that? Well then, we’ll wrap up the SpoChannel broadcast here!≫

Fierce Rat today ㄷㄷ

(Photo)

The definition of fierce

⤷ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Oh my, Jerry-ya

⤷ Don’t do this with a freeze-frame, his mental must be wrecked since they’re Champions runners-up;;

⤷ But it’s a fact that he brushed him off lol

⤷ His expression is fuckㅋㅋㅋ it was captured so funny, ‘fierce’ is the only word for it…ㅋㅋㅋ

The commentators were so flustered they cut the broadcast quickly, lol

‘Hey, why are you here! Go lift your Big Ear!’

Leaving behind a legendary quote fuckㅋㅋㅋ

⤷ It’s a fair point. He should’ve just played pat-a-cake with his teammates, why bother coming over to comfort him? Pouring oil on a fire?

⤷ They were fucking close during their youth days, that’s probably why he came?

⤷ But they unfollowed each other after that legendary World Cup lol

⤷⤷ That was already 10 years ago, they probably made up

⤷ If they made up, they would’ve followed each other again,,

⤷⤷ There’s even a theory that Ban Je-rim didn’t go to the Ballon d’Or ceremonies all this time because he couldn’t stand the sight of Aaron, so imagine them making upㅎ

Wow, but just how much did he hate himㅎㅎ

First time seeing Jerry react like that

⤷ fr he’s been flustered being caught in other teams’ home parties, but this is justㅋㅋㅋ

⤷ It looked like he said something while brushing off the hand, but his mouth was covered so I don’t know ㅠ Probably a curse?

⤷ If it’s a curse, isn’t his personality just amazing?? What’s with cursing someone trying to help you up

⤷ Here come the Gungyes lol you guys wouldn’t even understand if he spoke in Spanish

Je-rim really needs an exorcism

This is the curse of the 2nd place

⤷ Exorcism~ Exorcism~

⤷ It’s because there’s ‘Jae’ in his name, tell him to change it

⤷ Is the comment above illiterate? Where is there a ‘Jae’ in Ban Je-rim

⤷ It’s Ban Je-rim, not Ban Jae-rim, you idiots who don’t even read biographies

I wonder if I should be glad they were knocked out of other cup competitions early;;

If they had done a Kong Treble… horrific

⤷ Kong-jwi (Little Rat)

⤷⤷ Hey, you’re really mean

⤷ Kong-jwi ㅋㅋㅋ is this guy crazy??

It is a shame though

Tsk.. the pass was really good ㅠㅠ Is it easy to escape pressure with three opponents and give a pass like that immediately?

⤷ No matter how young Reman Fritz is, his finishing is…~

⤷ You have to consider that this was Reman’s first season after changing leagues, his basic stats are actually okay

⤷⤷ Agree… he’ll get better after the adjustment period. Honestly, being runner-up in the first season means Reman did well too

⤷ Our Jerry was flying from his first season after changing leagues at 18 ㅠ

⤷⤷ That’s because Jerry is specialㅋㅋㅋ Geniuses like Jerry or Aaron are obviously exceptions

⤷ Even for an adjustment period,, shouldn’t he at least eat the goals served on a silver platter? I could’ve scored thatㅋㅋ

If Sefton wants to win the Champions next season

They need to bring in a ready-to-play veteran striker this summer and keep Fritz as a substitute to gain experience

⤷ True, he needs some experience… scoring in clutch situations is about finishing, but it’s also a mental issue

⤷ Je-rim should’ve just taken the shot..ㅜ He’s good at long-range goals, why;;

⤷⤷ If he kept holding the ball there, a shooting angle wouldn’t have opened up. Je-rim made the right call

Honestly, they did damn well with this squad and this depth

Je-rim really hard-carried fr

⤷ Rather than a squad problem, the midfield and defense are good. It’s the attackers who are the problem

⤷ Is there any team where the attack, midfield, and defense are all good? Having two out of three is already good

⤷⤷ That’s true, but at least they shouldn’t be at a level where they just spit it outㅋ Even when Je-rim pokes a kill pass, Sefton’s forwards just chew it and spit it out

Fact: If they were really at a ‘spitting out’ level, they wouldn’t have even reached the Champions final

You National Pride addicts, stop overhyping Ban Je-rim

And individual fans of other players, please fuck off, the power struggle is annoying

⤷ fr please!! I’m sick of seeing it

⤷ I really relate ㅠㅠ There are many Sefton team fans here too?? Fuck, being runner-up is already frustrating enough

Aaron Reyes vs Reman Fritz

Isn’t it an undeniable fact that Reyes is on another level?

⤷ Compare things that are comparable;

⤷ I admit Fritz is a prospect, but Reyes isㅋㅋ incomparable

⤷ Excuse me, Aaron has 3 Ballon d’Ors at 27. He’s the same age as Je-rim in Korean age, but Je-rim has no Ballonㅜ

⤷ Je-rim’s is a nationality issue. If he had naturalized to Spain during his youth, he’d be playing well at Tavarona and would’ve won the Ballon?

⤷⤷ But then wouldn’t his Korean nickname be ‘Traitor’?? He already has many bad nicknames, sigh…

⤷⤷ If it’s World Cup win + Ballon,, I’d just be a traitorㅎㅎ

If Aaron came to Sefton, the dream squad would be complete

Isn’t the contract renewal with Tavarona not progressing? Transfer to Sefton

⤷ Yeah, that’ll never happen~ Tavarona FC = Aaron Reyes

⤷ Where do these people think they’re taking the pillar of someone else’s house from;; ptui

⤷ He’s a homegrown youth of Tavarona and the captain of the Spanish national team, so there’s no reason to transfer

⤷ Would the ace of a club that wins the Champions like it’s a daily meal actually… come? Delaying the renewal is probably just to negotiate the weekly wage

⤷ Was the comment above from a month ago?ㅋㅋ That actually happened

Aaron to Sefton Here We Go is up!!

(Article Link)

⤷ Holy shit

⤷ Hul, it’s even a free transfer;; He’s going to get cursed out so much? ㄷㄷ

⤷ Is this a dream

⤷ Suddenly? Did a small child in his heart whisper ‘Sefton’

⤷ Wow, this actually happened

⤷ What?? What?? Seriously, what??

A player scoring 3 goals in one match.

The Champions League trophy.

The first division of professional football in England, commonly referred to as the Premier League.

Triple runner-up: finishing second in three different competitions in one season.

A term referring to the combined skill level of the starting lineup and the backup players.

Transferring after a contract expires without the new club paying a transfer fee to the previous club.