The Rise of the Iron Wall!

Chapter 332: Kumiko’s Blunt Interview

"Hello, Shishida-san, it is nice to meet you again. You still remember me?"

While everyone was celebrating, on the sidelines, Kumiko joined the official media team to get interviewed. However, unlike before in the first game, there was a cameraman with more professional equipment here, recording everything in front of him.

"Of course, I remember. Miyamoto-san from JFA Press, right?" Kumiko accepted the handshake politely. "Anyway, what is this cameraman? Is it live or is it going to be published on social media?" She couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"No, this is not live, but this is going to be published on our YouTube channel." The woman named Miwako Miyamoto answered patiently.

When she heard that, Kumiko’s eyes lit up immediately. "Then, does that mean all of my words can be published there? Without any filter?" She asked for a confirmation. After all, in the last game, the girl talked a lot about the injustice her team suffered, and yet the media cut out that part somehow.

"I really apologized about that one. You will also not be able to speak freely here. We will still filter some of the inappropriate ones to be published. The Chief Editor didn’t want to publish a controversial article, after all..." Miwako smiled apologetically. "If you want, though, I have a media friend who would love to hear your story. Would you like to invite her here as well?"

Miwako knew that Kumiko would want to say a lot of words after this game was over. Unfortunately, her capacity here was as the JFA Media Press, so the report couldn’t be too controversial. However, that was why she brought a friend alongside her right now.

Kumiko’s eyes lit up once again when she heard this. "Is this like getting a free pillow out of nowhere when I yawn? Of course, I would love to have her here!" She nodded eagerly.

Soon enough, another woman came from the stand. She had short, brownish hair, wearing a thick winter jacket while also having an iPhone in her hand, probably getting ready to record whatever happened after this.

"Hiya, Love! Name is Erika Sawada from Pensupo, nice to meet you!" She introduced herself to Kumiko with a weird accent here. Then, a mischievous smile also formed as the woman added, "We have the footage of that incident, by the way, and we can see that it is not a penalty at all. So, don’t worry about what you say after this. Just cuss at him if you want to, because he is on the wrong side here."

The smile reflected on Kumiko’s face as the girl felt like she had met an ally here. "Thank you, I will not hold back later, you know?" She said teasingly.

"That’s good! We will appreciate your honesty here!"

The first fifteen minutes were spent with Kumiko joining the official interview. There, she spoke a lot about how proud she was of the boys, how they should be humble since the fight was not over, and so on. Well, basically, the polite and restrained one, since Miwako had already warned her not to go overboard.

Once the girl shifted to the second woman, though, she couldn’t hold it back anymore.

"It is a disgrace what he did in the game, by the way." She spoke bluntly to Erika’s question. "Even I could see from the bench, and all the people on the stands also recorded it, so how could he, the closest person on the pitch, be the only one who saw it wrong?! And when Fujinaga-kun complained, trying to point out his mistake, he couldn’t accept it and gave a straight red card! For complaining! He is so full of himself!" She said it in exasperation.

"For you guys who watch it at home, we will attach the footage that we have about the incident later. For now, though, do you resent Rihito Gonda, Shohei High’s number 16, for his unsportsmanlike behavior by not admitting his diving trick?" Erika asked.

"Oh, no. I can blame a lot of people here, but he is definitely not one." Kumiko shook her head quickly. "He was just doing his job, and if it were me, I would also instruct my players to keep quiet in that moment. Sportsmanship is nice, but in a crucial moment like that, winning the game is more important. I will only blame the referee for his incompetence to see that situation clearly."

Erika couldn’t help but have a sweat drop here. It was clear at this point that Kumiko had a big grudge against the referee, and she could see why.

"We could also see that you had an argument with the fourth referee on the sideline at that time. Can you tell us what happened there?" She inquired further.

"Oh, yeah, that incident." Kumiko’s face darkened immediately. "That man basically said that I need to control my player better, and he called me ’Girl’! That nobody! Called me ’Girl’! Can you imagine the hard work I put into being here, just to be dismissed as ’Girl’?! He would never dare to say something like that to the other head coaches, for God’s sake! Imagine he called the opponent’s head coach ’Old Man’ or something like that; he would never! So why did he dare to dismiss me like that?! Just because of my young age?!"

She crashed out a little bit here, feeling so emotional over everything. The girl might not show it in front of her players, but that moment really triggered all the volatile emotions inside her head.

Erika and Miwako stared at each other for a moment, with a solemn expression as they communicated silently. Even though no words were exchanged, they both determined to support Kumiko here, especially after knowing the reason for her crash out. After all, in a sport where men dominate the field, the women here should always have each other’s backs.

"Last question: you have already won this game, entering the third round of the tournament. This is the furthest stage any Hokkaido team has ever reached in history. So, is there any word you want to say here?"

For that question, Kumiko just smirked a little, the anger before dissipated a little bit. "Well, it would be pretentious to say, but we are not done here. Just watch us, because we are ready to go further."