155. Winning streak (2)
With that one word, "Yes," Perez looked like he had everything in the world.
On the other hand, Hoyoung looked a bit dazed.
I turned my attention to my smartphone again.
'what.'
I couldn't believe the article published by the Spanish media company AS even when I saw it with my own eyes.
[Written by Javier Sanchez]
[This morning, Woo Ho-young kicked out AC Milan's Leonardo Araujo from Madrid. This is a passage that shows Woo Ho-young's absolute loyalty to Real Madrid….]
The contents of the article cannot be said to be entirely true, but that was not what Perez wanted to ask in the first place.
Did you promise to contact AC Milan later or did you clearly refuse?
That was all he wanted to know, and Hoyoung willingly answered it.
But how did the reporter who wrote this article know this?
'Could it be Lucci?'
That couldn't have been possible.
If I was going to publish an article like this, I would have told Hoyoung in advance.
Then there is only one answer.
'Did it come from AC Milan?'
I don't know, but one thing that was certain was that I had impressed Perez and gained his trust.
That night.
On the way home, when Hoyoung asked a question, Lucci raised his eyebrows and said,
"It can't be. "I have no connection with AS reporter Sanchez."
"Then it must have leaked from Leonardo's side."
"Common sense tells us that it has to be that way. Well, anyway, it went well. "With this, we won't be bothered by other clubs for a while."
That was right.
For Hoyoung, all he had to do was focus on soccer.
Three days later, on the morning of Sunday, September 30th.
Real Madrid traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia for the second leg of the Champions League against FC Zenit.
FC Zenit is a powerhouse in the Russian first division and is a club widely known to Koreans as Ki Dong-jin and Lee Ho-seong are members.
So today.
Many soccer fans in Korea were looking forward to the match between Woo Ho-young, Ki Dong-jin, and Lee Ho-seong.
However, unfortunately, Dong-jin Ki and Ho-seong Lee were not included in the list of candidates, so the match was canceled.
Meanwhile, considering that Hoyoung is not yet accustomed to long flights, he was selected as a replacement member rather than a starter.
And at the end of the second half, he was able to play briefly as an attacking midfielder.
The given time is 15 minutes.
There wasn't enough time to show anything, but since the team was winning 2-0, I was able to play whatever I wanted without pressure.
And just before the end.
As a result of running around and focusing on creating chances, we succeeded in creating a good scene.
[Woo Ho-young's sensational pass to Argentine Robben! Zenit's back space was completely pierced!]
Robben's ground ball cross that followed right through Raul's toes resulted in an additional goal.
It was Raul's hat trick.
After kissing the ring, he ran to Robben and Hoyoung and shared his joy.
"Young's pass was good."
"thank you!"
With this, Real Madrid won 3-0 and stood at the top of the group.
The day after returning to Madrid was a long-awaited holiday.
It's truly like a sweet rain in a drought.
After Hoyoung finished his essential workouts, he went home and slept all day.
But isn't sweet rest short-lived?
Training resumed the next day.
There was no time to rest as the 6th round of the league was scheduled for four days later.
The match took place at the Santiago Bernabeu on October 5.
The opponent is RCD Espanol.
It wasn't a very difficult opponent for a team that was in the middle of the league.
'It's a good opportunity.'
Moreover, today is the starting game.
Hoyoung was planning to show everything with his soul on fire.
'I can rest after today's game anyway.'
La Liga will enter a two-week break after this 6th round.
And the next 7th round was scheduled to take place on October 19th, and since the opponent was Atletico Madrid (ATM), they had to participate.
Therefore, I was determined to make an impressive appearance today.
however.
Shoot,
the rain that had been falling slightly before the start of the game became heavier, and by the time we left the stadium, it was pouring down torrential rain.
'I heard the weather forecast is exactly right on days like this.'
The most important things in underwater warfare are 'basics', 'ball control', and 'mental'.
As the game started with Espanyol leading the way, Hoyoung put his head up and finished mentally cleaning up.
Today's position is right striker.
His partner, the left striker, was Dutch striker Van Nistelrooy.
[Real Madrid's players, playing 4-4-2, are using the stadium leisurely while keeping the distance between each other wide.]
[This can be seen as a tactic to prepare for an underwater battle. No matter how good a player he is, he cannot pass and control the ball properly when it rains this much. So, I think I plan to focus on long passes.]
Underwater combat is very physically draining.
This is because the more it rains, the more dull your movements, the lower your body temperature, and the more energy you consume.
Therefore, Coach Schuster's idea was to score points mainly through long passes rather than short passes.
[Argen Robben penetrates the back space and breaks along the touchline.]
[Cross to the center!]
Robben's cross was more inaccurate than usual, as if it would go over the goal, but Woo Ho-young used his amazing quickness and overwhelming speed to get into a good position right away. Preempted.
Central defender Daniel Jarque, who was in charge of marking Woo Ho-young today, tried to catch up a beat late, but there was no time to do anything.
Hoyoung, who had already jumped into the air, had pushed the ball that was about to pass over the goal line into the box.
And where Hoyoung's heading pass arrived, Van Nistelrooy, who was second to none when it came to positioning, was standing there.
Moreover, he was a special goal scorer known for his perfect goal-scoring ability.
It was only natural for the net to shake.
[goal! In the 26th minute of the first half, Van Nistelrooy took the lead after receiving a headed pass from Ho-Young Woo. Real Madrid ahead 1-0!]
[Espanol's players need to focus more. Overall, it looks very distracting. [He also lost a lot of momentum.]
Daniel Harke, who missed Woo Ho-young's movement, was so distressed that he went crazy.
'I can't keep up…'
In fact, until the game started, I thought I would be able to compete with Woo Ho-young.
This is my 7th year of experience in the 1st division.
I thought that if I couldn't do it with my skills, I could prevent it with various know-how and experience.
Moreover, they even went through special training for today's game.
However, after the game started, I could hardly come to my senses.
The constant crosses coming from both sides were a problem, but Woo Ho-young running around inside the box was a bigger problem.
'I should be able to follow the movements…'
Difference in basic skills.
Physical difference.
And the difference in skills.
Underwater combat can be a variable that can cause surprises, but on the contrary, it can also be a factor that widens the gap in skill.
This was the latter case.
'I'm screwed…'
It's only the 27th minute of the first half.
Although his body temperature was gradually dropping, Daniel felt as if he was walking through a hot hell.
After that, the game continued in the same way.
Sneijder and Diarra dominated the midfield and distributed the ball to both sides as they built up.
It was a simple pattern.
Nevertheless, 32-year-old right fullback Steve Finnan was unable to completely block Robben's breakthrough.
In fact, even this was a great defensive performance.
At least this much was blocked because it was Finnan. If it had been a defender from another mid-tier team, it would have been twice as much.
But the real problem was inside the box.
Woo Ho-young and Van Nistelrooy caught more than 80% of the balls that fell inside the box, occasionally creating decisive chances.
Even though I knew about it, I couldn't stop it.
Then, Espanyol's coach focused on increasing the number of defenders inside the box and taking away their air superiority.
However, Real Madrid's offensive line did not consist of only two people.
Outside the box, Sneijder, who boasts explosive mid-range shooting, was always on standby.
[Woo Ho-young drops the ball outside the box! Snyder runs toward that loose ball!]
[Mid-distance shoouuuut!]
[Go all! Sneijder scores Madrid's second goal with an assist from Ho-Young Woo! I can't believe it. Woo Hoyoung! How many aerial balls did you win today?]
[I couldn't believe it, but it's Woo Ho-young who shows a new side again today.]
There was no aerial ruler today.
However, it wasn't just about winning the header.
Whenever the opportunity arose, Hoyoung ran without hesitation through the heavy rain and created one or two decisive chances with Van Nistelrooy through space penetration.
As the ball moved faster on the wet grass, the passes became faster and the attack tempo also increased, resulting in an exciting game.
Then, 62 minutes into the second half.
'That's it for today.'
Schuster was seen giving a sign for a replacement.
[Higuaín enters and Woo Ho-young comes out of the field.]
[Real Madrid's home fans are applauding Woo Ho-young.]
Applause pouring in.
The crowd gave generous praise to Hoyoung, who recorded 2 assists in 62 minutes.
At that time, there was a man in the away seats watching the game with anxious eyes.
Fernando Alonso.
As Atletico Madrid's power analyst, he was astonished by the performance of their next opponent, Real Madrid.
Especially Woo Ho-young.
Other players such as Van Nistelrooy and Robben Sneijder were already well known, but there was not much information about Ho-Young Woo.
No, I thought I had analyzed it a lot, but after watching today's game, I didn't think that was the case at all.
'shit. 'What beat should I go to?'
Real Madrid is home to the world's best youth.
Even though they were strong this season, they were too strong.
A preparedness plan had to be prepared as soon as possible.
The next day, Monday afternoon, October 6, Mahadahonda.
This place, a 30-minute intercity bus ride from the center of Madrid, was a neat and quiet wealthy village that escaped the urban image.
However, even in this peaceful village, there was a place that was particularly crowded with people.
Ciudad Deportiva Atletico de Madrid.
It was the training ground of Atletico Madrid, where reporters flocked the day after a league game.
It was about to start training, so there were quite a lot of people, but on the other hand, coaching staff wearing red collared t-shirts were stampeding out of the parking lot and entering the training ground.
And in the middle of it all.
When a man got out of a black luxury sedan, the reporters who had been waiting eagerly rushed in.