146. Champions League sortie (1)
European Champions League (UEFA Champions League).
Along with the World Cup, it is the world's most prestigious soccer competition and is the stage that determines the best clubs in Europe.
The best competition is the World Cup held every four years, but it is said that the stage that determines the best talent is the Champions League.
This is because there are teams in the Champions League that are at a higher level than the national teams.
Spain's first division (La liga), England's first division (EPL), Italy's first division (Serie A), Germany's first division (Bundesliga), etc.
If the regular league is a competition that proves 'steady skill,' the Champions League is a competition that determines 'best skill.'
That is why it is called the Star Wars.
The tradition of this competition has continued since the European Cup in 1955 and the 'European Champions League' established in 1992.
The first winning team was Real Madrid in 1955, and Real Madrid also held the title of most winning team.
However, despite its reputation, Real has not won a trophy since the 2001 Champions League.
Even last year, they had to suffer the humiliation of being eliminated by AS Roma in the round of 16.
That's why Real's top priority has always been the Champions League.
What fans want is also the Champions League.
If they could lift the trophy, they could have lost the La Liga title to Barcelona several times.
So definitely.
'I have to show a good performance at least in this competition.'
Schuster has a strong determination to win the Champions League.
The first opponent of the tournament was FC BATE Borisov.
They were the powerhouse of the Belarusian first division, but in fact, they were the weakest team in the competition, so there was no need to be that careful.
Moreover, it was a home game.
It's a game where if you win, it's natural, and if you don't win, it's worth getting criticized for.
Nevertheless, Schuster was doing his best to prepare for the game by watching Borisov's game several times.
'The central defenders are quick on their feet, but appear weak in air superiority. It would be better to target Van Nistelrooy at the front line. And in the second half, it would be nice to put Woo Ho-young in that position.'
Ssuk suk.
I wrote Woo Ho-young's name on the tactical board and completed the design to be used in the next game.
Two days later, on September 16th.
The 2008-2009 European Champions League round of 32 group stage has begun.
The first strike began with Group A's Chelsea defeating Bordeaux, a prestigious team in the French first division, 3-0.
In Group B, Inter's Adriano scored multiple goals to take the lead as the top scorer, and in Group C, Barcelona won with goals from Messi and Eto'o.
There was no surprise.
And the next day, the first match of Groups E-H was scheduled to take place.
In preparation for this, Real Madrid's players began training hard the day before the game.
And when the day of the game arrived, related articles heated up all over Madrid from the morning, and the same was true in Korea.
[Things that Ho-Young Woo can achieve when he plays in this game: Youngest player in the European Champions League – youngest player to score – youngest person to score a hat-trick, etc…]
[Woo Ho-Young would score a goal if he made his debut. Will Woo Ho-Young's miracle work this time too?]
[The key is physical strength… It is expected that physical strength will be needed for the first team match just three days ago… The possibility of playing is virtually low…]
└Reporter You don't even know the abbreviations of soccer. The other person is X rice, so of course I add it. Trust me, order chicken and you will get this.
└I don't think so. Woo Ho-young has been playing too much lately. Especially in the last game, you ran too far, right? The matches in the 1st division will be more physically demanding than the 2nd division. If
Woo Ho-young were to keep up with Ji-seok Park's physical strength, he would be a real monster
. But honestly, hasn't Woo Ho-young surpassed Park Ji-seok?
└ㅈㄹ Haha, can't you see that he was beaten 1-1 by Mascherano in the Olympics? Not yet ready to compete in the 1st division.
└Ah, it went too far. Honestly, that's not true. Ji Seok-pare made it to the semifinals of the World Cup and even won the EPL and Champions League. How
can he mix it up? └Ah, I want to watch the game. I think Woo Ho-young will really show up, but the game time is too long. With Woo Ho-
young being promoted to Real Madrid this year, various sports broadcasters in Korea are switching to La Liga. Jointly won broadcasting rights to Korea.
Therefore, anyone could easily watch Real Madrid's home game on TV, but it was difficult to watch because the game started at 3:45 a.m. Korean time.
Nevertheless, there were many people who gave up their sleep at night to watch the game.
Woo Ho-young was now continuing the passion for overseas soccer that Park Ji-seok had previously sparked.
In the meantime.
As the day slowly came to an end in Madrid, about 10,000 people gathered around the entrance to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
These were the spectators who came to watch the first leg of Real Madrid's Champions League match taking place today.
They poured out onto the road, guarded the line under police control, and anxiously waited for the Real Madrid squad to arrive.
And finally.
As two white horses ran and opened the road, a white limousine bus entered the marching road.
The surrounding area was heavily guarded by several police motorcycles and black horses.
It was a parade so colorful that foreigners who were not interested in soccer would mistakenly think that the king had come.
"Madrit! Madrit! Madrit-!"
"Let's win this time!"
The bus continued to run on the road while countless spectators, young and old, were cheering.
After driving on a straight road for about two minutes, a curve appeared and the horses in front began to run vigorously.
Occasionally, there were citizens who were so excited that they tried to cross the control line, but numerous police vehicles were blocking the road to prevent an unexpected situation.
Then, as the bus rounded a curve, more spectators greeted us, waving flags.
"Wow…"
Hoyoung, who was watching this ridiculous scene from inside the bus, could not take his eyes off the window for a moment.
It wasn't as enthusiastic as when we came to play against Numancia three days ago, but the atmosphere was still enthusiastic enough today.
No matter how many times I saw it, it was a sight I couldn't get used to.
"Wow…"
There was still a lot of time left before the game started, but my heart was already pounding.
'This is how I like playing soccer.'
A sense of presence that cannot be expressed in words.
Hoyoung was so shocked that he could not continue speaking, and then someone's low, thin voice reached his ears.
"Hey Woo."
"Oh, Mr. Pepe."
The 25-year-old shook hands with a hand that was scratching his bald head.
When Hoyoung stretched out his hand, an ear-piercing sound was heard.
High five.
It was Pepe's own extreme way of greeting people.
"Be proud. You are already a madridista. You shouldn't be nervous about something like this. "This is our daily life."
A term used to refer to all players, staff, and supporters of Real Madrid.
Madridista.
These words conveyed Pepe's true feelings of fully acknowledging Hoyoung as a member of the family.
Hoyoung gritted his teeth and nodded.
He responded by hitting Pepe's palm hard.
"All right."
"That's right. "Let's wipe out all of Europe."
And finally.
Squeak –
As the team bus stopped in front of the player-only entrance, the door slowly opened.
The bright lights of the parking lot came through the gap.
The first person to come down was Real Madrid's 'shining star' Raul González.
It was at that moment that a roar rang out as if the entire city was floating away.
"Waaaaaa!"
"captain! captain! captain!"
A loud roar descending on the road.
As soon as he got off the bus, reporters carrying large cameras on their shoulders flocked to him like flies.
However, in accordance with established principles and out of consideration for the players, they did not approach beyond a certain distance.
Raoul entered the entrance, receiving great cheers and kissing the ring.
Following him, Zidane Guti, Van Nistelrooy, Robben Salgado, etc. came out, and one after another, Hoyoung stepped on the stairs and got off the bus.
It was that moment.
"right! right! right!"
Enthusiastic cheers.
Even though Hoyoung only played one game, the fans' reaction was beyond imagination.
There was only a little applause in the last Numancia match, but today there were many fans chanting Hoyoung's name.
Hoyoung's body heated up with adrenaline surging.
Grumpy chicken flesh appeared on my forearms.
I definitely wanted to repay this warm support.
He clenched his fists and tapped his left chest twice in front of the camera before entering the entrance.
"Welcome, Woo Ho-young. good luck."
"Thank you."
Hoyoung walked down the stairs to the basement while being greeted by a security guard.
In a moment, the war of stars was scheduled to begin.
Exactly 8:45 PM.
As players from both teams came up from the tunnel, the large barrel installed in the center circle fluttered and the European Champions League theme song rang out.
'Ligue Des Champions' is like a hymn for European soccer fans.
As the lyrics flowed out along with the sacred and magnificent music, Hoyoung, who was sitting on the bench, got shivers all over his body.
Even though he didn't make it to the starting lineup, it was impressive in itself.
'I will definitely debut today.'
I felt a little queasy, but I felt like I could digest it easily for about 45 minutes.
And more than anything, there was one reason I desperately wanted to debut.
A person warming up in the stadium right there.
The man with the thickest thighs on the team.
A reliable eldest brother who is responsible for both offense and defense.
[Roberto Carlos]
Talents
-Left-footed cannon shooter (T)
-Cannon shooter's spin kick (U)
-Unrivaled overlapping (SS-)
-Explosive kicking power (S+3)
-Fantastic cross (S+)
-(See more)
( When you meet the conditions, you can covet one talent.)
(You can acquire some of the senses when you covet a T-rank (Title). However, you can only covet it if you are over 18 years old.)
(Hidden conditions are achieved for S-tier or higher. (Condition 1: Train together for 600 minutes)
(
Condition 2: Play together in the US World Tour)
(Condition 3: Play in the Champions League match together and record attack points)
(Condition 4 : Scoring with a direct free kick in La Liga)
(Hidden condition: Open when one or more talents are desired)
'Almost there.'
Conditions 1 and 2 have already been achieved.
Today was the day to achieve condition 3, which boasts the highest level of difficulty among the conditions.
Of course, this is under the condition that the team must win big.
'Because of my age, my kicking ability has declined a bit, but I'm still S+3.'
Cannon shooter's spin kick and explosive kick power.
These were talents I had wanted to pursue for a long time.
It was clear that it would be of great help in many ways, including mid-distance shooting and free kicks.
Beep –
The game started right after that.
[Four games have begun. Real Madrid on the left takes the lead. Close to 60,000 spectators are cheering for Real Madrid. We will have to live up to their expectations.]
[Real Madrid was in Group H this season along with Juventus, Zenit, and St. Petersburg FC. This can be said to be the third group of death among the eight groups. Zenit may emerge as an unexpected dark horse. Therefore, we must win today.]
Real Madrid came out with a 4-3-3 formation, with Florent Malouda on the left wing and Saviola on the right.
And in the center was Van Nistelrooy.
Coach Schuster wanted to send Hoyoung as a starter, but he couldn't because he had to pay attention to his physical strength.
It may be okay right now, but if fatigue continues to accumulate for a month or two, it will explode one day.
At that point, the problem grows out of control.
Hoyoung, who was so young, could not be forced out.
If a promising player takes the wrong route, he or she is likely to fail from then on.
Fortunately, Hoyoung had endured the hellish schedule in the Brazilian league and was holding up well, but he had to focus on bringing his physical condition to its peak until at least February of next year.
For the Champions League knockout stages.
However, if today's game goes well, I was planning on putting him in for the second half.
Because there was something I definitely wanted to experiment with.
Fortunately, today's game went smoothly.
It's easy, but it's so easy that it feels trivial.
Borisov's players, who arrived in Madrid after traveling about 3,500 km from Belarus, were moving slowly from the start of the game.
The game took a sharp turn to one side, and the first half ended with a score of 2-0.
The home team locker room is filled with the smell of sweat.
The expressions on the players' faces were brighter after getting off to a good start.
However, the sub members looked a little nervous.
It was because of a word from Schuster who entered the locker room.
"We plan to make various changes in the second half."
This means there may be a replacement player.
The moment everyone's attention was focused, Schuster stood in the middle of the locker room and spoke.
"Raphael. "I am competing in place of Sneijder."
"All right."
It didn't end there.
"Prepare to replace Woo."
It's time to participate.
However, Schuster's atmosphere was a bit unusual.
He continued, twitching his mustache as if he were about to make an important announcement.
"I'm going to give you an interesting role."
"Interesting role?"
"Go to the front line. Malouda van der Vaart Zidane Carlos Ramos will support you in the back."
It was one top.
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