Chapter 303 Qualifier finals XX
They were expecting to see some disputes and tension on the opposing side. But what graced their eyes wasn't tension or dull looking eyes of the opposing players instead it was one that of determination and the composure that of a man without any fear.
Witnessing those eyes flaring with determination, somewhere deep inside their heart some of them felt their heart shiver as they nervously gulped their saliva.
Most of them even started having a bad premonition like as if they were stranded in a completely unknown place devoid of any light.
The sun, a golden sphere of light while spreading it's brilliant warm rays was shining brilliantly in the vast azure expanse.
Yet even this piping hot rays of sun felt insignificant when compared to the rising intensity in the field.
Not only the players but even the fans and the whole stadium was bustling with intensity right now — the players with their intense performance on the field and the fans with their intense cheers off the field.
Right now the ball was lying infront of Shun, completely motionless. Just before, Lee Jun the opposing left winger while firing the ball from outside the box had barely missed the post inturn granting the opposing team a goalkick.
At this point, it was anybody's game. With only 9 minutes remaining on the clock and both team failing to capitalise their opportunity, the score of the match was still tied.
It wasn't that Hiro and his teammates weren't trying enough. Infact after conceding that second goal, with unwavering determination they had been launching themselves towards the opposing team without any rest.
However it's just that they weren't being able to find the back of the net. Call it bad luck or simply inability to produce results, even with everything in place, they were still not being able to procure results.
And the fans who were witnessing their performance were quite aware of their struggles. They knew that their players were trying their best. But the opposing team wasn't an easy opponent either.
That's why their efforts weren't showing any results. However even though they were aware of the performance their players were putting on the field, they still couldn't help but be disappointed and anxious upon seeing no changes in the scoreboard.
They wanted their team to win. Not only Japanese fan but the Korean fans was the same as well. Both of those fan groups wanted their respective team they supported to come out victorious.
Thus despite being aware of their struggles, they were still putting pressure on their players by yelling at them to do even more better and push their limits.
Some of them were even going as far as to say that they could have played better than the players on the field.
Obviously those were simply empty words. If they could have performed better than this players in the field then they would have been the one who'd be playing on the field instead of the players if they were aged less than seventeen of course.
Every onlookers at some point in their life while looking at the game thinks they could have done it better. It's like there's a hidden manager or a player in all of us.
Before rushing towards the ball, Shun stood upright at a certain distance behind the ball, observing and analysing the position of his teammates and the opposing players.
Even though he was one of the most helpless player on the field given his inability to move forward to provide assist or score a goal.
Still he didn't want to sit behind with his arms folded, doing nothing. Although he had faith in his teammates, he didn't want to completely rely on them to produce changes in the game.
Despite being aware of his helplessness, he wanted to get involved.
Goalkeeper contributing to the goal, although it wasn't a new thing. However it still rarely happened in official matches. And most of the times in top leagues, keepers wouldn't even leave their box.
It's not that they couldn't get involved. It's just that the gap they would leave behind while trying to get involved directly with the goal is just too big.
Leaving their position to move forward to contribute to the goal was a risky decision. And oftentimes managers of most of the team would despise such keepers.
Obviously there are few exceptions such as Manuel Neur or Ederson of Manchester City, however even while looking at them moving upfield at times their managers heart would start to bleed.
Shun however couldn't imitate those goliaths. His ball skill was simply terrible. Those goliaths were thriving in their position because not only were they good with hands, they were also good with feet.
But Shun, he was just averagely good with his feet. His main weapon were his reflexes and his ability to use his hands.
However that didn't mean that Shun was extremely terrible with his feet either. Although he was bad at dribbling and ball holding, being a keeper not only had he trained his hands but he had also trained his feet. And he had trained enough to sent the ball flying in the field.
Suddenly Shun's eyes flashed with a bright gleam as he sprinted towards the ball; preparing to take a long goalkick.
At this time, Hiro who was trying to find spaces suddenly jerked his body as he swayed his body to his left then to his right.
The reason why he changed his direction in rapid succession was to trick his mark and shook his mark. One could say that given his abilities to easily dribble past multiple opponents at the same time, his off the ball skill was one of his major flaw.
It's not that his off the ball movement was bad. It's simply that his on the ball movement were so refined that his off the ball movement completely paled against it.
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