159. Battle of Spear and Shield (4)
The lineage of goalkeepers goes back 50 years and begins with Lev Ivanovich Yashin, the greatest player in soccer history.
He left behind the rare saying, "Only I can prevent blind spots," and was recognized by others as the all-time number one, and a goalkeeper award called the "Yashin award" was even created after him.
Since then, great goalkeepers such as Dino Zoff, Gordon Banks, Schmeichel and Oliver Kahn have emerged and presented nightmares to strikers around the world with their monstrous skills.
And in the mid to late 2000s.
There were three main goalkeepers representing each league.
Edwin van der Sar of the English First Division (EPL).
Gianluigi Buffon of the Italian first division (Serie A).
Iker Casillas of the Spanish first division (La Liga).
I could roughly name this much, but if we expand to the French 1st division league, we could also include 'Gregory Coupet'.
Born in France, he was a legendary goalkeeper who led the French first division team Olympique Lyonnais to its heyday.
However, he left France this season and came to Spain's La Liga.
Atletico Madrid.
It was a new home for Coupe, which took on new challenges in its later years.
And his emergence with experience and skill seemed to solve AT Madrid's chronic defensive problems.
Until today's game.
'Damn…'
The home team's locker room after the end of the first half.
Coupe was devastated and bowed his head after allowing a goal.
nightmare.
The effort to get into peak condition for today's game was in vain.
'Fucking damn damn.'
I felt guilty.
It may be that the goal was conceded in an unexpected way, but Woo Ho-young's mid-range shooting and change of direction had been thoroughly prepared over the past few days.
After training, I watched Woo Ho-young's play video uploaded by the strategy room and became familiar with his movements.
Calm shooting, often used when penetrating, half-beat, fast toe kick, spin kick, left foot shooting that doesn't fall too far off the right foot, his favorite shooting angle, powerful mid-distance shooting, etc.
I was fully prepared for all of that.
Of course, I didn't think I could block all the balls, but I had to at least block the ones I was prepared for.
But when I opened the lid, I couldn't stop it even though I knew it.
"Haa…."
A heavy mid-range shot that was the first goal conceded.
The angle was angled, but the shooting power was no joke.
The moment I punched the ball, it felt like I was blocking a basketball.
'what the.'
In his 16th year as a professional, he has blocked numerous shots.
I once broke my finger while blocking, and I also experienced my wrist being bent due to the speed of the ball.
It was a similar moment earlier.
It wasn't that he was careless, but that one shot put a strain on his wrist again, and he ended up allowing an additional goal after that.
"Is your wrist okay?"
It was the worried voice of coach Javier Aguirre, who returned from a tactical meeting.
He answered as if the coupe was nothing special.
"I was just a little shocked. "I can play another 45 minutes."
"Hmm."
Coach Aguirre, who was quite dissatisfied with the results of the first half, was red in the face.
There is nothing more frustrating than scoring the first goal and losing.
Still, Aguirre believed in the coupe.
"Yeah, I think you know your body better. Show your fighting spirit. The opponent is Real Madrid. "Real Madrid, the team you have frustrated so many times."
right.
It was Coupe who brought despair to Real Madrid in the Champions League three years ago.
That memory helped him regain his confidence once again.
'Okay, let's give it a try, kid.'
If you can't stop Woo Ho-young from shooting, it's best to create a situation where he can't shoot.
'You have to read the flow of the game.'
If you can't use your hands, block with your feet and head.
'You can't beat me on experience.'
Coupe, who regained his confidence through mind control, taped his fingers.
After tightening the goalie gloves, I sprinkled water on my palms.
The purpose was to improve the performance of the glove by increasing viscosity.
After going through that series of processes, I developed a winning mentality.
We spent halftime determined that there would be no more goals conceded.
Around the time when Coupe was burning his will.
The players in the visiting team's locker room were also undergoing final inspection.
"No more, let's just talk about two things."
After the tactical meeting was over and Schuster left, Raul went to the middle of the locker room and was raising his voice.
"Firstly, we played well in the first half. Everyone faithfully carried out their duties. Unfortunately, Gregory's early performance was too dazzling."
"that's right. That kid is in full swing mode. But I was taken on a tour by Young! Tsk tsk."
"Pepe you need to control yourself. Actions that cause the team to become embroiled in gossip should never occur."
"Oh yeah."
"If you learn from your mistakes, that's okay."
Raoul continued speaking without forgetting the sharp advice.
"The game starts now. In the second half, we will fully implement the tactics we have been preparing for the past two weeks. We just need to run a little bit harder. That's the shortcut to victory. Madrid cannot lose to ATM. "Everyone understood, right?"
"yep."
Clap clap clap.
After the speech was over, Raoul immediately called Hoyoung aside.
"Young. "It was a fantastic goal."
"thank you. "But it's unfortunate that I didn't take advantage of all the opportunities."
"It's better not to think about that. The disappointment at the end of the first half is left on the field. Instead, you just need to find what needs to be improved."
Words that touch my heart.
Hoyoung was learning another thing today.
"All right."
"Okay, and at the end of the second half, I turn my back to the defense and look at the goal. Since this is my first time working full-time, I need to save up my stamina in advance. "Today's replacement card is scheduled to be used in the second line."
"I will do my best."
What do I need to say?
Raoul held out his palm, and a voice came out along with the sound of them hitting each other one after another.
"¡Vamos."
"¡Vamos!" Kick
–
off took place as AT Madrid's exciting cheering song filled the stadium.
[The second half has begun. Real Madrid continues as is without any substituted players.]
[On the other hand, AT Madrid changed its lineup and strengthened its attack power.]
AT Madrid, which had no place to retreat, began to move forward aggressively.
Accordingly, the heat in the stadium became even hotter.
When our team caught the ball, we went crazy, and when our opponent caught the ball, we booed like crazy people.
One way or another, the shouting did not stop for the entire 90 minutes.
But Real Madrid did not suffer like fools.
As time passed, contrary to their wishes, their attack power was getting stronger.
AT Madrid was not the only team that received special training over the past two weeks.
Real Madrid also analyzed AT Madrid carefully, as if dissecting them one by one, and came up with sufficient countermeasures to deal with them.
The important thing now is the second half.
This was the place of victory.
[Woo Ho-young! Escape Assunsang's pressure with a simple dribble! Yon Hatingya tries to stick it out, but it doesn't work out!]
Crack, tap.
Swish.
"urg!"
The Marseille turn that you get hit even if you know it.
Hoyoung instantly rotated his body in a semicircle as if drawing it with a compass and flipped out the hat.
A player who knew how to use his personal skills at the right time and at the right time was truly scary.
[Woo Ho-young! The pass flows between the defender's legs!]
[Raul catches it!]
Once AT Madrid's defensive line has cracked, there is no going back.
Hoyoung, who has a superior sense of soccer, did not miss the opportunity.
Opportunities were created through constant off-the-ball movement, and the coupe began to shake more and more under the constant threat.
Finally, 74 minutes into the second half.
A perfect chance came up.
It was a counterattack of a counterattack.
Forlan's mid-range shot was blocked by Casillas and the ball fell at Zidane's feet.
The counterattack began from there.
[Real Madrid's counterattack! We will continue without delay! Zidane's pass heading forward!]
Real's counterattack chance.
AT Madrid had lowered their four-back line in preparation for a counterattack, but cracks had already formed and holes were opening in various places.
Percussion!
Zidane's ground ball pass split the earth.
[Raul with his back to the defense! Receive the ball near the halfway line!]
[The attack and defense numbers are exactly 4 to 4! With so many places to block, what choice will Raoul make?]
"Run!"
A movement that does not delay even for a moment.
His choice was a roving through pass to the left back space, where Woo Ho-young was waiting with his eyes on the goal.
It's literally an empty plain.
The pre-arranged play was unstoppable, and Hoyoung just ran toward the back space, looking at the pass.
The line has already collapsed.
AT Madrid's four-back line collapsed after just one linked play.
[Woo Ho-young runs along the left touchline! [On the verge of catching the ball!]
However, this was not a coupe that could just sit around and suffer.
He was watching the flow of the game, and this time he reacted quickly and ran out of the box.
There was a risk that the goal was empty, but I was confident that I could cut the ball from this distance.
And that moment.
A desperate struggle broke out between the two to take the lead on the fast-rolling ball.
There were only two people in that large back space.
Woo Ho-young and Coupe.
The two running from both sides never slowed down, as if they were playing a game of chicken.
and.
"Tsk!"
Coupe, who arrived first by a narrow margin, slipped and extended his foot to cut the ball.
We tried to clear it to the opposite side, but Woo Ho-young's speed was faster than expected, so we had to be satisfied with sending him out of the touchline for now.
[The coupe arrived first by a narrow margin! As soon as you get the ball out with a sliding tackle, it goes back to the goal! It was a bold and excellent decision that only a veteran could make!]
[That's right. For Real Madrid, a nearby teammate would have to come quickly and receive the ball. Real Madrid's throw-in is awarded.]
But.
Sigh.
There was no need for that.
Hoyoung instinctively took the throw-in and hurriedly caught the ball out of the touchline.
Before his eyes, he saw the back of a coupe rushing back to the goal.
It was that moment.
"hey!"
Whoop!
[ah! What are you doing, Woo Ho-young?]
[Surprising action! In a situation where there are no colleagues nearby, I lightly throw the ball forward!]
There were no colleagues nearby, but Hoyoung threw the ball and watched.
This is because I couldn't just wait for the coupe to return to the goal.
Immediately after, the ball thrown by Hoyoung landed at the desired target location.
That place is none other than…
Tuk.
"what?!"
The back of the coupe.
Hoyoung's lightly thrown ball hit the back of the coupe, which was hurriedly turning around.
And it makes sense that a ball that hits your back bounces back.
The ball, bouncing and bouncing back like a boomerang, returned to Hoyoung's feet again.
"Hey you idiot! Where can you find something like that! Referee!"
For a moment, Coupe complained that it was unfair, but the referee let the game proceed as is.
This is because it was an iron rule that even if you intentionally hit the opponent for the sake of play, the game should proceed as is if excessive force was not used.
Coupe was shocked to see that, but there was no time to complain.
I just hurriedly returned to the inside of the box.
Then he shouted.
"Hey! Everyone get into the goal!"
At that shout, the defenders standing on the other side hurriedly ran into the goal, but the ball had already missed Hoyoung's toes.
Cross from the left touchline towards the goal.
No, the 43-meter shot went parabolic and headed toward the goal.
Defenders running inside the box tried to cut the aerial ball in the middle, but they all failed and the ball landed on the floor.
While making a cute sound.
And there was no sound of the goal net rattling behind it.
The ball that fell to the floor rolled straight into the goal net and quietly landed.
and.
"downpour!"
A ceremony more intense than ever.
Coupe muttered quietly to himself at that sight.
"There are all these guys."