08. Rebuilding, From Tip to Toe (2)
Danny Scott was swayed, but he didn't consent on the spot.
But that was alright. I hadn't thought I could persuade him in just one day.
"Nottingham?"
The next day, I sought him out again. Max, who accompanied me on the business trip today, unlike yesterday, only opened his eyes in surprise after we arrived at the club's clubhouse.
It was because I hadn't bothered to explain in advance whom I was coming to recruit, as he had been entirely focused on preparing his report.
"The place where you said there was a player to bring was Nottingham Forest?"
"He's a player we're recruiting, so the chief coach needs to see and judge for himself."
"Of course, seeing with your own two eyes is better than watching on video, but what's confusing me right now is, are you really targeting a Nottingham player?"
"There's no need to be confused. Because it's accurate."
"My friend. Nottingham is a team that frequently goes back and forth between the Premier League and the Championship, isn't it?"
In a word, they were in a different league from our team.
"I thought you wouldn't know much about English football since you were only in Germany, but you've studied a lot. That's a good attitude. Coach. Continue to strive further."
"I can't understand. How are you planning to bring a Nottingham player?"
"You didn't say much while we were in the car, why are you suddenly whining like that?"
"I thought we were going to Notts County. They're a League Two team, there."
"Where are we going to use a player who's playing in League Two?"
"...You wouldn't be unaware that we are a League Two team."
"In four years, we'll be a team in the Premier League."
Max touched his forehead as if he didn't even have the strength to reply.
Even he, with his high pride, found it difficult to react to my words.
Since an appointment had been made in advance, we were able to enter the clubhouse without difficulty.
"Wait, where are you going?"
Max suddenly shouted.
"To meet the player."
"To see the player, you have to go to the training ground, right? The players are running over there right now, aren't they?"
"He's not there."
"What do you mean? A player isn't at the training ground?"
Max frowned sharply.
A well-organized office. The people visible among several empty seats were wearing light sportswear, not uniforms.
"This is the coaches' office, isn't it?"
"He's here."
"Why is a player in the coaches' office..."
Ah, was that what he was curious about?
"He's retiring as a player next month and preparing to work as a coach."
"...This is driving me mad."
Leaving the dumbfounded Max behind, I waved at the man over there who was looking at various documents with a frown.
"Danny Scott. It's Yoojin."
"...You really came again today."
Danny Scott, upon seeing my face, gave a hollow smile, then looked around.
"First, um, please come this way."
"You seem busy?"
"Yes, well. My player contract still has a month left, so it's before my coaching contract, but I'm already working. I didn't know when I was a player, but there's so much to do just preparing for the training camp."
"Then wouldn't it be better if you continued not to know? Continue your playing career."
"You're really persistent."
His tone was one of exasperation, but his expression wasn't entirely displeased.
And why wouldn't it be? In that poignant moment of finally ending a long playing career, acknowledging and resigning himself to being a has-been.
If there was someone who believed in and supported his skills. And if I could, I would support him even more generously.
"My offer is the same as before. Play for our team."
"..."
"Your skills are too precious to retire like this. Our team needs you."
"Phew. I'm sorry. I've made up my mind."
"Hmm."
I turned my head and pointed at Max, who was standing there blankly.
"Please greet each other. This is our team's chief coach."
"I am Maximilian."
"Ah, yes. I am Danny Scott."
"Max told me. That no matter how much we are in League Two, we're not such a wretched team that we'd use an old, retired player."
"!"
I gave a light glance. Max's eyes seemed to shout, 'No, when did I ever!', but I paid no attention. Danny Scott's cold gaze was directed not at me, but at him.
"Yes, that's right. We are a weak team, but we're not so wretched as to bring in a retired player. If you look at the market, free agents are plentiful, and we can also play around with loan cards."
"..."
"Max is my chief coach. And he's the greatest tactical genius I can think of."
At those words, Danny Scott, who had been silent, glanced at Max.
A hint of interest flickered, but his gaze was cold. Only Max, who had suddenly been put in an uncomfortable position, didn't know what to do, his pupils darting left and right behind his horn-rimmed glasses.
"So, I actively follow our coach's advice. Because he's the only skilled person I trust."
At these words, the look in Max's eyes as he looked at me changed subtly.
When I went this far, Danny Scott looked back and forth between me and Max with a complicated expression.
"As I said, we're not a wretched team that would even bring in a retired player. My desire to bring you is not because you are a retired player, but because you are a truly good player."
"..."
"But my chief coach has serious doubts about this idea of mine."
Danny Scott let out a long breath.
"What is it you want to say?"
"Prove to me, that my eyes were not mistaken."
"!"
Danny Scott showed a look of bewilderment, then frowned.
"Proof? Are you asking me to show you my ball-playing skills?"
"Yes."
"Just a moment. I have retired. Retired. There's no reason for me to show my ball-playing skills..."
Just then, Max spoke.
"Let's go. What are we going to do with a player who's retiring, by recruiting him?"
"!"
Danny Scott's complexion changed instantly.
He snorted, then stood up.
"I don't want to remain in the memory of that tactical genius, whom you, Manager, acknowledge so highly, as just some retiring player. I'll show you. My ball-playing skills."
While talking with Danny Scott.
On the training ground outside, an internal blue vs. white practice match was in full swing.
Danny Scott approached the coach supervising the training and had a conversation.
Not long after, Danny Scott entered the pitch wearing a blue vest.
"You knew he had strong pride, didn't you?"
"Is there any player who has played professionally for nearly 20 years without pride?"
"...That's true."
"A pro is a pro. And the mentality that maintains a pro is pride. Players without pride? They disappeared before becoming pros. Even if they became pros, they disappeared not long after. That's how this world is."
Max showed a slightly surprised look.
"Is that a picture only a coaching staff member can see?"
"It's something a performance analyst, who only watches videos and plays and writes documents, wouldn't know."
"Among the coaches I've seen, there were many hopeless ones. You seem a bit peculiar."
One couldn't understand everything about how this world worked just by coaching for a year or two.
Even if it was the same football, this world was entirely different depending on the club, the league, the competitions participated in, the country of origin, the play style, and the position.
"It won't be easy. To act as a chief coach. You'll at least need to have the kind of eye you possess."
Acknowledgment mixed with slight admiration.
A smile appeared on my face at the small acknowledgment from the football genius I had considered my lifelong rival.
It would be difficult for now.
Because it was something acquired through living as a coach for ten, even dozens of years.
"So, you're going to provoke that pride, and try to coax him? For instance, by encouraging him, saying he's not dead yet, he's pretty good, and then bring him in?"
"No. I'm going to shatter his self-esteem first."
Max narrowed his eyes.
Beyond his thick horn-rimmed glasses, a look of incomprehension was evident.
However, he didn't immediately question it but fell into thought, as if trying to find the answer himself.
That was Max's style.
He sought out answers himself and eventually found his own, even greater answers.
But he was still young.
Actually, it wasn't right to say young, as he was now in his forties.
However, compared to the genius-type manager I knew, he was significantly younger now, and lacked experience.
'Grow up quickly.'
Within four years.
Only then would he be helpful.
I turned my gaze and looked at Danny Scott, who was lightly jogging as if warming up.
Players' lingering attachments usually stemmed from the confidence that they could still play.
When I dealt with him, I treated him as a player.
I wasn't a fool either.
I knew very well how preposterous my words sounded to those I had just met.
Nevertheless, Danny Scott ultimately didn't storm out of his seat.
'Because I treated him as a player.'
Because I treated him as a player.
He had no choice but to respect a conversation partner who protected that pride.
However, today I brought Max and blatantly wounded his pride.
I showed him a scene where my opinion, which acknowledged him, was refuted right in front of him.
Hook, it came in. Denying someone who acknowledges me. It was a more overtly unpleasant feeling than being openly insulted.
"I don't know. That player, do you really think he's usable?"
"What are your thoughts?"
"The moment he decided to retire, he collapsed as a player. It's just over. It means he himself couldn't believe in himself and ended his playing career with resignation."
He still looked displeased.
Come to think of it... when he abruptly stood up at the end saying 'Let's go,' it wasn't that he was trying to help me out of astuteness.
'Was it really because he was displeased?'
"The manager and chief coach came in person, on their own two feet, just to get one retiring player. Do you think this kind of thing is common? A manager coming in person, not even calling? The guy who's about to become a coach, maybe his ego got inflated because of that."
He had strong pride. Above all, having suffered the sorrow of being a non-former player, he harbored ill feelings towards former player coaching staff itself.
Indeed, hadn't Danny Scott also started coaching at a Championship team immediately after retiring? His start was different from Max's from the beginning. However, I couldn't help but burst out laughing at his complaint.
"Are you sure?"
"...?"
"I'm sure. At least for a few years."
My eyes gleamed. Recalling the brilliant achievements Danny Scott would show in the past, no, in the original future that would unfold.
"You're, the manager, right?"
The moment I was reminiscing while looking at Danny Scott.
A coach approached.
At first glance, a smiling face full of smiles.
"Yes. I am the manager."
"...Ah, nice to meet you. I am Coach Daniel of Nottingham Forest. I hear you came to meet Coach Danny Scott."
"Yes. I intend to recruit player Danny Scott."
The coach's smile deepened.
"League Two... did you say? Well, for the 4th division, Danny Scott, who was a substitute resource in the Championship, would be an excellent player. I understand."
"I didn't expect understanding, but thank you for giving it."
"..."
The corner of the coach's mouth twitched slightly.
"But, is he going?"
"I have to make him come."
"Hoho, so it was true. Someone said they were trying to take away a retired player, and I thought Danny Scott was trying some clumsy trick to extend his playing career even a little, you know?"
The coach chuckled and crossed his arms. He turned his gaze and looked at Danny Scott.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
The moment he tried to receive and control the ball. He was seen being pushed away by an opposing defender who had collided with him.
The corner of the coach's mouth rose.
"As you can see, the defender who just collided is a 2nd team player. He's far from debuting in the 1st team, you know? The Championship has to be rough. But even against a player like that, he can't win physically at all. Well... then again, for the 4th division, he might be somewhat coveted."
"Have you ever watched a League Two match?"
"League Two? Phew, no. The scout team sometimes observes League Two players, but for our team, aiming for Premier League promotion, to watch League Two players, it's not something we usually do."
"That's the same as me."
"...What?"
"I'm also aiming for Premier League promotion. That's why I came to see Danny Scott, not a League Two team player."
A sneer was mixed in the coach's laughter.
"You don't seem to believe me much?"
"Ahaha, no. Phew, your ambition is great. I hear this is your first managerial experience."
"For a first meeting, you've heard a lot."
"..."
"I coached in the Bundesliga for quite a long time. Right now, tactically, Danny Scott's position is ambiguous."
"...Ambiguous, you say?"
He frowned and turned his head. The raised corner of his mouth was particularly noticeable. It was not a very pleasant smile.
"Well, you probably don't know, but League Two and the Championship, the game tempo itself is different, very different. There's a certain standard one looks at, isn't there? Danny Scott simply isn't fitting in."
"It's no different from pestering a mammal about why it can't lay eggs."
It meant making him perform an impossible role.
The coach's smile vanished instantly. He showed his displeasure openly.
"It sounds as if there are tactics suited for Danny Scott."
I opened my eyes wide and looked at him.
"You said you heard a lot, it seems you just have good hearing."
The coach's lips twitched, then closed. A complicated light flickered in his pupils. It was a look as if he didn't know whether to get angry or how to react.
Then, after some time passed, he put on a sneer.
"Then shall we give it a try?"
It was 5 minutes before the first half of the blue vs. white match ended.
"Just try commanding the blue team, where Danny Scott is, for 30 minutes."
I looked into his eyes without replying.
"Is that alright?"
It wasn't unheard of for staff from other clubs to observe training.
Exchanges between clubs were active. Moreover, if the leagues themselves were different, there were many exchanges even just to maintain good relations for things like player recruitment.
If it were the same league, they would probably prevent observation of team training, but Nottingham Forest was a powerhouse in the Championship. Our team, considered the weakest in League Two, the 4th division, well, rather than increasing exchanges, it probably meant it didn't matter if we watched.
So, visiting Danny Scott, and coming and going from the training ground to see him, wasn't really a concern for the Nottingham club.
However, even if that were so.
"To entrust command to someone from another club, even if it's just a practice match, I've never heard of it. Because my hearing isn't very good."
"Phew, what's the problem? There was no blue vs. white match originally today. It's just a day for warming up. Everyone's busy, preparing for the training camp. It's a blue vs. white match because the players wanted to play lightly, so it's not important. Why. Can't you do it?"
He blatantly, threw down the gauntlet.
If he was going to take responsibility like that.
Before recruiting a player, wasn't he a nice coach for letting me try him out once?
I smiled.
"I'll do it."
"What are you trying to do?"
"They're letting us try out a player before even buying him, where else would you find a shop that does this? It's a touching spirit of service."
"Does it make sense to play a blue vs. white match when you came to recruit a player?"
"It's not even a bet, is it?"
"If we lose, it's an embarrassment, isn't it? That bastard, he's just a coach, but he's disrespecting people. I'm clearly a manager, but he keeps looking down on me, harping on about the 4th division."
"There's no way we'll lose."
"Yoojin! Arrogance is poison. And your arrogance right now absolutely cannot be confidence."
Max was always one who knew how to see reality coolly.
Generally, managers who rose to the ranks of master tacticians had a strong tendency towards that.
Because only with a realistic judgment could one efficiently implement one's tactics on the field.
And those words meant.
I was just as realistic as Max.
"You don't even know the players' names and you're confused about their faces right now, what's going to happen just by giving them one tactic?"
"It's possible."
"Wait, I knew from Germany that you were tenacious, competitive, and bold, but lately, Yoojin, you're becoming strange, to the point where...!"
"The blue team's striker, he has a bad habit of planting his standing foot half a beat late when he shoots."
"...Huh?"
"The freckled left winger. Even though it's not his natural foot, he's only running the touchline, perhaps because he was instructed to. His role assignment is wrong. The central midfielder, his passing timing is too late. The left fullback doesn't turn his head. His vision is narrow."
"..."
Max's eyes, which had been glaring as if to say, 'What are you talking about?', soon wavered.
Because if one watched the field briefly, the points I was indicating were immediately visible.
Watching after knowing, and watching without knowing, what one saw was different.
I didn't stop and pointed out the shortcomings of the blue team players one by one.
Max, who had heard all of it, soon raised his hand.
"I know, I got it. Wait a moment. In that short time, no, even while you were having a mental battle with that team's coach, you saw all that?"
"I'm a negative guy. When I see people, I tend to pick out the bad points first, not the good ones. You know that, right?"
"...I know, because you used to point out the shortcomings I had analyzed and organized about the opposing team for days, even without looking at the report."
"Right. Then, do you think I only identified the shortcomings of the blue team right now?"
"!"
Seeing his surprised eyes, I smiled lightly.
"I know the opponent's weaknesses, and I also know our team's shortcomings."
"Persistently bite at the enemy's weak spots, and conceal our team's weak points as much as possible...?"
"The break time is 10 minutes. Can you do it?"
"Do what?"
I looked at him and coldly rebuked.
"When I talked to the coaches, I said we should base our conversation on the contract. Max, it's the same. I didn't bring you as a performance analyst. You're the chief coach."
"...!"
"Create it. Just once. The thoughts you used to limit to reports."
"That's..."
The pupils behind Max's horn-rimmed glasses wavered.
How could he not know?
The thoughts he had in his head while writing reports. What tactics to devise, how to respond, and with what to break through the opponent's schemes.
"Unleash it. Right now."
Max's expression hardened. Beyond the rising tension, a faint smile formed on his lips.
The moment I saw that smile, I felt it. It was worth a try.
10 minutes.
That was the time given to him.
And he, exactly when 9 minutes had passed, came back with the right answer.
"We'll go with the formation and positions as they are. Instead, the defensive strategy in the defense zone..."
Max was indeed Max.
Instead of complex tactics, he maintained the first-half formation and positions.
"The goal is to maintain offensive and defensive balance."
Instead, he established a core basic context. And then he set detailed instructions to achieve that context. However, time was short, there was no tailored training, and information was also scarce. Therefore, he grasped only the concise and clear core.
"Defenders defend, fullbacks also defend, wingers run and cross, strikers just crash into the goal."
In modern football, one position was responsible for numerous roles.
A defending attacker, an advancing defender, a passing goalkeeper, a fullback who had to be active in both offense and defense.
"Take all that away and have each perform only one role."
"Then won't it be clunky?"
"That's why we need a commander. A player who has an eye for coordinating the game and can simultaneously rush to the right place at the right time when needed."
"Danny Scott."
I glanced slightly at Max.
I had told Max a few of Danny Scott's shortcomings and weaknesses.
However, with just that, it was difficult to fully understand Danny Scott's playing tendencies.
In that case, it was a kind of inference. Or....
"I'm not without an eye for things either, Yoojin."
He lifted his chin and slowly pushed up his descended horn-rimmed glasses.
Indeed, even an unripe fruit's value doesn't change.
In a short time, he had brought the most efficient and applicable best option.
However, in my eyes, there was one thing that stuck out jarringly from that solid tactic.
"Let's just change one thing."
Max's expression, upon hearing the ensuing words, changed strangely.