102. Perverts on the ground (1)
Spain, the country of dazzling sun and passion.
After an unusually hot summer with many soccer stars moving to Korea, fall has officially begun.
And once.
As the cool breeze that cooled the sweat passed by, it was already October.
The temperature dropped sharply, but as the Champions League began, the heat became even hotter than summer.
The same goes for the Spanish 1st division league.
Cracks are beginning to appear in La Liga, which had been a top-two structure for a long time.
In particular, Barcelona's actions were unusual.
They were champions just two years ago, but got off to the worst start, recording 1 win, 2 draws, and 3 losses until early October.
Although it is still early in the season, what is more serious is that the future is more uncertain.
There were several reasons.
The first is that Gabriel Heinze and Abidal, who were brought in this season, have difficulty adapting.
The second was the poor performance of super-cracking Ronaldinho, who had been responsible for everything in Barcelona.
He was at his peak until just last year, and although he was only 27 years old, his skills were declining day by day.
It was the downfall of the current best soccer player.
Rather, Henry began to show his veteran fighting spirit and was feeding the team.
Same goes for Real Madrid.
They were currently on a six-game winning streak, with their veterans showing off their outstanding performances.
They have been in first place ever since the season began, but have now surpassed Atletico Madrid and risen to first place alone.
It was the result of the brilliant performances of Zidane, who recently turned 35, as well as 34-year-old Carlos, 31-year-old Van Nistelrooy, and 30-year-old Raul.
Of course, they are being teased and called 'old man' due to the aging of the players, but Robinho, Robben, and Sneijder are playing a big role, solidifying Real's bright future.
Due to this double tilt, President Perez's approval rating continued to soar.
At the same time, good days were continuing for Hoyoung.
He started 6 of the last 7 games and was named Official Man of the Match four times.
It felt physically more and more difficult, but I was still able to endure it.
Having experienced the Brazilian league, which was nothing short of hell, was a big help.
Moreover, the reserve team was not eligible to participate in the Copa del Rey King's Cup, so Castilla only had to complete the second division schedule.
Because of this, Hoyoung was able to focus only on the league.
As a result, he recorded 7 goals and 4 assists in 6 games, rising to the sole leading scorer.
Castilla was performing better than expected, ranking second in the league with 4 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss out of 7 games.
However, it wasn't all that good.
Hoyoung, who entered his third year of middle school last September, was having difficulties with his daily life as the time he had to invest in his studies increased.
In Spain, it was important to have an academic background when it came to playing soccer.
This is because for those under the age of 16, it is impossible to register as a player in the first place unless they are officially attending school.
This is the Spanish Football Association's intention not to raise half-baked players who only know how to play soccer, which is why Ronaldo graduated from elementary school, unlike Messi, who attended school.
In Ronaldo's words, "When my elementary school teacher was rude to me, I threw a chair at him. "And I got expelled." There were also rumors that that was the reason he decided to focus on soccer.
In any case, Hoyoung had to attend two more years to finish his school life.
If you want to graduate from college, you can do so after you retire from playing.
In fact, this was often the case.
These are players who begin their second soccer careers by attending sports-related departments at universities in England, Germany, and Spain to major in coaching.
In mid-October, there was an away match against Elche CF (Elche Club de Futbol), ranked 7th in the league.
The match on this day was difficult due to sudden heavy rain, but Castilla recorded a 1-1 draw with increasingly perfect teamwork.
The team they faced the following week, Gimnastic de Tarragona, was able to play an easy game as they were the weakest team in the league.
Moreover, because it was a home game, Castile won a resounding 7-1 with enthusiastic cheers.
Hoyoung achieved 2 goals and 2 assists on this day and received praise from various Spanish media as well as the official Man of the Match award.
Additionally, he received a perfect 3 star rating from the Marca tabloid and his name was featured in the Korean media.
Although they suffered defeat in the away game against Granada 74 Club de Futbol (Granada 74CF) the following week, Castilla was able to maintain second place in the league with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses.
Meanwhile, Hoyoung's popularity soared to the point where he received 20 to 30 letters a day.
Considering that Hong Myung-do, Korea's top sports star during the 1994 U.S. World Cup, received 60 messages a day, it was quite a lot.
There were sometimes negative letters, but the most important thing was that I didn't have time to read them.
The real problem was November.
Even before the start of the league, they faced difficulties as they faced Malaga CF, Sporting Gijon, and CD Numancia, known as strong candidates for promotion, one after another.
It would have been easy to do if there was one good player, but since there were multiple players and they had organizational skills, it was very difficult to deal with them.
The player value alone was more than 10 times that of Castile, so it was virtually like hitting a rock with an egg.
However, in the meantime, Hoyoung took advantage of the talent of the opposing team's players as much as possible.
The team ended November in 6th place in the league, recording 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 losses.
And December.
Winter has arrived in earnest.
Spain is known to be warm thanks to the Mediterranean sunlight, but winter was still winter.
One day, the temperature dropped to -4 degrees Celsius and it was extremely cold.
However, it did not have much of an impact on Castile's players.
Rather, as the league entered its mid-season, the excitement was heating up even more.
As a result, Castilla was able to move up to 4th place in the league after 2 games.
The key was the match against Barcelona B scheduled for December 23rd.
This was a game where pride was at stake, regardless of the points, and with the competition for prospects between the two teams intensifying recently, an even fiercer match was expected.
In a nutshell, it's Ho-Young Woo vs. Bojan Krkic.
Castilla's staff began preparing for the showdown several weeks ago.
Precise and detailed video analysis.
Barcelona B's team colors, Pep Guardiola's tactics, etc.
We gathered all kinds of information and made full preparations.
Now all that was left was up to the players.
Valdebebas basement audiovisual room.
Coach Mandya's explanation for the next game was in full swing.
"Barcelona B will be much easier to deal with than top clubs like Numancia Málaga and Sporting Gijon, who played against us last month. Their age and physical condition are similar to ours, and their experience is also the same. "It means there is absolutely nothing for us to bow down to."
However, one thing to keep in mind is that their offensive line is quite strong, Mandya continued.
"As you all know, the player you see on the screen here is Bojan Krkic. A right-footed striker. I know that among these, there are probably some who I already met last year. How was Miguel?"
"I hate to admit it, but his skills are incredible."
Bojan Krki?
Barcelona's huge prospect who has scored about 900 goals over the past seven years.
In particular, the year before last, he made a great performance by raising the team to the second division with a fantastic collaboration with Giovanni dos Santos.
And this season, he is currently competing with Hoyoung for 3rd and 4th place in the league scoring record.
It was a game that Hoyoung could never compromise on.
Because we had to win against Barcelona to be able to covet Ronaldo's talent.
Hoyoung burned his fighting spirit.
Around the time Hoyoung was burning his fighting spirit in the audiovisual room.
At FC Barcelona's Ciudad Esportiva training ground, Barcelona B team players were running around frantically.
Among them, there was a man who was particularly chaotic.
"Is it a machine? Do you think you can perform your role properly by moving so statically? I mean, act like an organism. You shouldn't be tied down to a set role. You are a soccer player, not a baseball player. A pitcher throws the ball, but a midfielder has to throw, catch, steal, put, block, roll, and play with it. Same goes for you. Being a goalkeeper isn't just about stopping the ball. Look at the players on the field. When kicking a goal kick, the rule is to kick it in the exact center. "Isn't that what we need to build up?"
Coach Guardiola was chasing and scolding players one by one who did not like their play, as if he were bullying a player.
I felt like a crazy person.
"Hey volante! How many times do I tell you to build a bond with your stopper? "If it is cut off, soccer dies."
This was a sight seen every day during training.
It's called 'Pep Mode', and it means instilling your own soccer philosophy into the players.
It may seem very hectic, but in fact, Pep's detailed tactics are reflected in their movements, and they come together to form one perfect entity.
The real problem is that players do not understand it themselves.
In other words, it was no different from cramming education.
"there!"
At that time, a scene he did not like came into Guardiola's eyes.
Then he ran straight there, grabbed one of the players, and scolded them.
"I lost the ball, what are I doing? Shouldn't you take it right away? "How many times have I said that you have to get the ball back within at least 7 seconds to continue the flow?"
"… All right."
The player who heard the scolding turned around and frowned.
'Ah, that psychotic guy is at it again.'
Guardiola, who is imprinted on the current players, was closer to a psychopath than a coach.
But what was even funnier was that all the players obediently followed his words.
"You run over there."
"yes."
"hey! stop!"
"yes?"
"Are you a car? I told you to run, when did I tell you to drive in a straight line? Opposing defenders are not idiots. "It means showing movement like a living creature."
"… yes."
A sight rarely seen at other clubs' training grounds.
Usually, when there is an order like this, the typical reaction is "Why should I do that?", but they were different.
The so-called top prospects were like elementary school students, obediently following Guardiola's words and simply doing as they were told without any sense of purpose.
It looked like a strictly controlled elementary school.
That's right, Guardiola will later be called a soccer pervert, not the stigma.
He has a perfectionist personality, measuring the length of the grass and even managing the ball boy for home games.
It was clear that if he were to undergo a medical test, he would be judged to be extremely paranoid.
Completely different from his masculine appearance.
But the results were clear.
There were twists and turns regarding the appointment of the Barcelona B team coach this season, but in the end, Guardiola took the helm and he lived up to expectations and achieved good results.
That is why he is currently receiving the most trust from President Laporta within the club.
The problem was that he was not yet able to gain complete trust from the players.
Still, there was only one person who understood what Guardiola meant.
"I believe in you."
A defensive midfielder who is the pillar of the team.
He, who would later become the world's best defensive midfielder, was the only way to stop Woo Ho-young.
"When Woo Ho-young runs to the right, you run back and forth and left and right. Do you understand what I mean?"
"yes."
"Then what should you do if Woo Ho-young runs to the left?"
"It jumps back and forth and left and right."
"Good. run."
"yes!"
While the special training continued like that.
December 23rd.
The long-awaited showdown is just around the corner.
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