092. Emperor and Prodigy (3)
Ronaldo.
A legendary soccer player who emerged in the 1990s and shocked the world.
There is no other person in this era for whom the word 'goal scorer' is more suitable.
It would take me an entire night to describe his career, but I can briefly explain it like this.
-His amazing
heyday began when he scored 30 goals in the Dutch league at the age of 17.
After that, he performed well at the Olympics and moved to Barcelona, where he scored a total of 47 goals in his first year and won the league's top scorer title.
But what was most shocking was that many of those 47 goals were scored by Ronaldo alone.
The so-called Ronaldo One-route.
He was a front-line striker, but he did everything on his own.
He was a man who, when he received the ball, ran to the goal and scored.
It didn't matter whether there was one defender or ten.
Whether it was a hand-to-hand defense or a meticulous offside trap, nothing could stop Ronaldo in his prime.
It overwhelms the presence of Luis Figo, the star of Barcelona at the time.
Shock and horror itself for Spanish soccer fans.
That was Ronaldo's golden age.
Afterwards, his prime did not last long as he suffered a serious injury after moving to Italy's prestigious Inter, but what was certain was that he was the emperor of his time.
The Emperor's amazing play.
He was about to show it at today's second-team training match.
Percussion!
Ronaldo went down slightly and received the ball.
Not long after that, tension took over the field.
The movements of Team A's defenders became noticeably stiff.
The fact that they played against Ronaldo made them do that.
Soon a typhoon swept through.
Ronaldo's solo breakthrough.
He showed off his rust-free individual skills, such as breaking a wrong leg.
However, because there was concern about injury, excessive movements were not performed.
Nevertheless, he had already passed two defenders in an instant.
With that, there is only one goalkeeper left.
But to Ronaldo, the goalkeeper was like a scarecrow.
Because his goal-scoring ability is unrivaled.
Slosh!
A strong shot from inside went into the goal net as quickly as a bullet.
The young players of Team A stood with their mouths shut, as if they were dumb.
Because it was a shocking play.
But my thoughts were different.
'My body doesn't move.'
Compared to his prime, his skills were poor.
As expected, his weight is currently close to 94kg.
The body was not capable of the destructive power it once had.
Nevertheless, in a 25-meter straight sprint tested not long ago, he set an astonishing record of 3.84 seconds.
This was 0.2 seconds slower than Kaka's speed, which is currently considered to be in his prime.
However, because the risk of knee injury was quite high, such plays could not be played as much as before.
The energy was still surging, but the hardware was broken and could not be used.
But that alone was enough to astonish the players.
The trend that Hoyoung had controlled now began to flow around Ronaldo.
Ronaldo took the lead in the team from Hoyoung with his overwhelming performance.
Before I knew it, all the balls were heading to Ronaldo.
He successfully scored a goal after receiving a key pass.
His skills are hard to believe that he is only 30 years old.
It was a 30-minute show that showed that even toothless tigers have claws.
"As expected, it is El Fenomeno (IL Fenomeno)."
"Heulheul."
Observation room located between the 1st and 2nd Army training grounds.
The board members who were watching the training from their seats burst into applause.
Ronaldo deserved it.
Indeed, it was worthy of being evaluated as a 'tactic itself' along with Maradona.
That made Perez even more sad.
Because even though I have the qualifications, I can't show the fans what I have.
'You will be the most upset.'
The more I saw Ronaldo like that, the more pitiful I felt.
I had a strong desire to do something for him, but there was no way I could do it unless I changed myself.
Because soccer is business.
'Ronnie still loves football.'
If there is a problem, it is your physical condition.
He was constantly gaining weight due to hypothyroidism.
However, not only the club but also Ronaldo himself did not know that fact yet.
Lack of self-management also played a role.
His doctor said that he could play for a long time if he quit drinking and fatty foods and changed his playing style, but Ronaldo always had fatty foods in his mouth.
Alcohol and cigarettes were a bonus, and there were many nights where we spent the night at nightclubs.
It wasn't once or twice that I got into trouble because such a scene was captured by the paparazzi.
'Tsk tsk. 'What a pitiful genius.'
Perez swallowed his disappointment and watched the next training session, which started immediately.
The second game began immediately after a 7 minute and 30 second break.
What's interesting is that while Hoyoung moved to Team A, Ronaldo stayed in Team B.
In terms of squad, Team B had a much advantage.
This is because not only Ronaldo but also Miguel Torres, the core of Castilla's defense, was there.
The 21-year-old was a fullback who joined Real Madrid's youth academy at the age of 12 and has consistently shown potential.
Last year, his skills were so outstanding that he made his debut by participating in a first-team match.
In addition, he was a player who was good at responding to the opponent's strategic moves with excellent vision, judgment, and defensive intelligence.
Therefore, Team B did not have much to worry about on defense.
… was what the coaches thought, but the reality was different.
This happened just one minute after the second game started.
Hoyoung, who played as an attacking midfielder in Team B, boldly abandoned the traditional playmaker style and made a surprise move.
It was a breakthrough right away.
"!"
Miguel, who was following Hoyoung's movements, made a mistake in the blink of an eye.
Just like Ronaldo in the first game, this time Hoyoung attempted to break through alone.
However, Hoyoung did not use any personal techniques.
With his young body at the forefront, he won with pure hitting and running.
Kaka's speed and Cha Doo-rim's power.
Explosive power from fast-twitch fiber type muscles.
And Zidane's ball control was improving the perfection of his dribbling.
"Tsk."
Miguel was not a slow player.
He was quite confident in his speed, so much so that he often played as a wingback.
However, since Woo Ho-young was the fastest player in Castile, they could not resist his surprise breakthrough.
Although it did not result in a goal due to a save by the goalkeeper, Miguel did not recover from the shock for a while.
"Miguel. Wake. "Are you going to show something like that to the kid who just arrived today?"
"… Oh yeah. "You need to come to your senses."
Miguel came to his senses after hearing his colleague's words.
I shook off my shocked heart and focused more on Woo Ho-young's play.
'Don't let your guard down just because you're young. That guy is a monster.'
Miguel wasn't the only one surprised.
Ronaldo.
As a striker, he felt a sense of crisis even though he was in a position that had nothing to do with Hoyoung.
The atmosphere and flow that had overwhelmed him earlier were more depressed than before.
This is because Woo Ho-young, who was in charge of playmaking, was not on the same team.
"haha."
Ronaldo was so dumbfounded that he burst out laughing.
'It's pretty good.'
My heart was pounding.
"Loco Loco Loco."
The word meaning 'crazy bastard' in Portuguese popped out three times without me realizing it.
Endorphins surged in broad daylight as if I had been heavily intoxicated.
Suddenly a sense of nostalgia came over me.
The time when I debuted in a professional team at the age of 14.
He was in Brazil's second division at the time and was already a key player and tactician for the team.
Hoyoung was showing that side of himself right now.
It was amazing.
Moreover, isn't this Real Madrid?
It is a 'graveyard of prospects' with a higher level than Brazil's second division.
And it is Woo Ho-young who is showing unrivaled performance at the graveside.
Only then did Ronaldo realize something.
'landlord.'
I fully understood why Zidane, whose only tutoring job was teaching his four sons, was in charge of tutoring Woo Ho-young.
Isn't this a very interesting situation?
This didn't feel like playing with teenagers.
I felt like I was competing on equal footing as a professional player.
The reason was Hoyoung's very mature play for a youth.
'The kid knows how to control himself.'
14-year-old Ronaldo couldn't do that.
I just ran and ran.
He scored numerous wonder goals by beating all the defenders who blocked his path.
That was the cause of the knee injury.
'I'm thinking about all sorts of things.'
He usually doesn't think about it during the game, but today was special.
Smirk.
The corner of Ronaldo's mouth curled up, and his eyes turned to the soccer ball again.
It was immediately after that that the fight for dominance between the two began in earnest.
The third game, which started after the second game, was reaching its halfway point.
The heat of the game was getting hotter.
Even though it was just a training session, the game continued to be full of speed and power.
The team composition was the same as in the second game, with Woo Ho-young and Ronaldo on different teams.
Perhaps that is why the power struggle between the two sides continued.
The energies of a 30-year-old aging emperor and a 14-year-old god clashed violently.
Eventually, when the final whistle sounded, the baseball score of 5 to 3 was recorded on the electronic display.
It didn't matter which team won.
What is meaningful is the performance of each player.
Among the twenty-eight players, it was Ronaldo who showed the most outstanding performance.
He showed off his explosive scoring ability by scoring a total of four goals.
Even if it was a first-team match, it was a performance that would have been selected as MOM.
On the other hand, Hoyoung, who had his first game in Castile today, failed to show everything.
Indeed, the professional world with 22 players was different.
Although he recorded great stats of 1 goal and 1 assist, he did not have the impact of Ronaldo, who treats large adult defenders as if he were a child.
In the first place, there could be no comparison between a promising player who still had a long way to go and a legend whose skills were already in full bloom and on the decline.
But Ronaldo had slightly different thoughts.
'I lost today.'
Today's Ronaldo wins, but 14-year-old Ronaldo loses.
No matter how much he was considered the emperor of soccer, his potential was nowhere near that of that boy.
Talent.
And his ability to utilize it was quite outstanding.
There are many promising players around the world who are at Maradona's level of talent but cannot match it.
In that respect, Woo Ho-young's level was extraordinary.
'Basic talent for football. 'It's scary.'
That was Ronaldo's one-line review of Hoyoung.
The so-called soccer prodigy.
I became interested in a type of player I had never seen or experienced before.
More than anything, I was curious.
Will we really be able to grow like this?
Or will he become a mediocre player due to various negative factors?
If not, will it be possible to surpass this level?
It was interesting.
And that made Ronaldo take action.
To the halfway line.
On the other side, Woo Ho-young was already walking.
The two men stopped walking at Center-Circle.
It was in the middle of the field.
It was Ronaldo who opened his lips first.
"Hello, genius."
Hoyoung's eyelids fluttered.
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