I Just Wanted to Play Soccer, But I Became a Hollywood Heartthrob

The visitors' locker room still had its usual funky smell.

But the mood inside was completely different from when they first arrived.

After all, they had just fought back from 2-0 down, snatching a crucial away point—a point that could be the difference between advancing or going home early.

Even better?

They had completely shattered the morale of Manchester School's arrogant students.

As the players settled down, Coach Carter finally walked in, his sharp eyes sweeping across the room.

Everyone straightened up immediately, feeling his intimidating presence.

After a moment, Carter finally spoke.

"Today's match… was acceptable."

Phew.

The entire team let out a quiet sigh of relief.

They all knew Carter's standards were high—if he only said "acceptable," then it meant they actually did well.

Then, as expected—

"But we still have a lot of problems," Carter continued, his tone sharp and critical.

Weak physicality in duels Low passing accuracy Poor off-the-ball movement Disastrous crosses Defensive gaps in central midfield Lack of counterattack rhythm

"…and much more."

The room went silent.

No one dared to argue.

Because everything he said was true.

"But," Carter added, "this draw gives us breathing room. It means we have a chance to fix these issues.

So, starting tomorrow, we will train with purpose—to improve on every weakness."

Everyone nodded seriously.

Then, Carter narrowed his eyes.

"Tomorrow's training will be mainly recovery-based. But a few of you will have extra drills to adjust to new roles."

The room tensed.

First, Carter looked at Watergate.

"Watergate! Starting tomorrow, you'll also train as a left midfielder. Get used to swapping flanks."

Watergate nodded immediately.

"Yes, Coach!"

But before anyone could react—

"Westbrook!" Carter turned to him.

Westbrook's eyes lit up.

"Coach! **You're finally switching me into Watergate's false-nine role?! I promise I won't let you—"

Carter snorted coldly.

"You think too much."

The room erupted into quiet snickers—especially Flower, who was laughing the hardest.

Westbrook's face fell.

"From now on," Carter continued, "you will focus on defensive overlaps with the left-back.

No more attacking runs.

No more drifting into central positions.

No more horizontal dribbling.

Your job is to support defense."

Westbrook's soul left his body.

"Coach, noooo… That cross was just one mistake! I already talked to Gu Ran! We'll improve our chemistry—"

Carter cut him off with a glare.

"SHUT IT.

I'm already letting you stay in the starting eleven—that's me being nice.

Now either train where I tell you to train, or get the hell off my team."

Westbrook deflated instantly.

"Y-Yes, Coach… I'll train…"

Then Carter turned to Captain Bread.

"Captain! Your job is to focus on left-side link-up play. When you get the ball, your first option should be to pass left. No hesitation."

Bread nodded firmly.

"Yes, Coach!"

He had almost wasted a crucial chance today by hesitating—if not for Carter's screamed instructions, the team wouldn't have equalized.

Then, Carter's eyes landed on Bawanglong.

"Goalie."

Bawanglong stood up straight.

"You will train ground ball saves—because your ability in that area is shit."

Bawanglong gritted his teeth.

"Yes, Coach."

"And another thing."

Bawanglong flinched.

"You will train hand distribution—your throws were garbage today. If you hadn't messed up, we might have won."

Bawanglong looked like he wanted to disappear.

"Yes, Coach…"

Then, Carter paused.

His voice suddenly softened.

"And finally…"

He turned to Gu Ran.

"Gu."

Gu Ran blinked.

"Starting tomorrow, you won't train with the others."

Everyone looked over in shock.

"You'll be training with me—one-on-one."

The room exploded.

"COACH, NO—!"

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"WE ALL WANTED TO TRAIN WITH GU!"

"COACH, YOU'RE JUST STEALING HIM!"

Carter narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"SHUT THE HELL UP."

The room fell dead silent.

Then, he looked back at Gu Ran.

"Gu. You don't need to train with these morons.

Your only weakness right now is stamina.

Starting tomorrow, I will personally train your endurance."

Gu Ran's heart pounded.

Carter saw through everything.

With Gu Ran's intelligence, vision, strength, speed, and passing ability—

If he fixed his stamina, he could carry the team.

And if he could play a full 90 minutes, the Bucks could go toe-to-toe with any team.

Gu Ran nodded firmly.

"Yes, Coach."

Carter gave him an approving look.

The rest of the team groaned in frustration.

"COACH—!"

"WE ALREADY BOOKED HIM FOR TRAINING!"

"THIS IS AN ABUSE OF POWER!"

Carter snorted.

"Shut it.

Now, let's go over the post-match ratings."

The team perked up instantly.

"The highest-rated player was… Albert.

7.2."

Everyone scoffed.

"Albert?! That idiot?!"

"He was 7.8 in the first half! That means he dropped 0.6 points!"

"HAHAHA! His second half was trash!"

Carter ignored them and continued.

"The second highest-rated player… was from our team.

And their score was… 7.1."

The room erupted.

"WHO?!"

"7.1?! That's only 0.1 behind Albert!"

"It must be Watergate! He had one goal and one assist!"

"But Watergate had a bad first half…"

"Then… who else could it be?"

Carter smirked.

"This player had:

5 key passes (2 led to goals). 7 successful dribbles. 25 total touches. 20 passes with 90% accuracy. 12 duels won out of 12. 3 fouls won. 0 turnovers."

The room went dead silent.

"0 turnovers?! That's insane!"

"Who the hell is that?!"

Carter's grin widened.

"And according to FA tracking, this player covered 7.85 km, had a longest sprint of 48m, and hit a top speed of 8.9 m/s."

The entire team gasped.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"8.9m/s?! That's like 11.7 seconds for 100m!"

"That means—"

Carter clapped his hands.

"That player was…

Gu Ran."

The locker room exploded into applause.

Everyone turned to Gu Ran, their eyes filled with admiration and excitement.

Gu Ran took a deep breath.

A young body…

Really is amazing.

(To be continued.)