135

135. Telephone and fortune (1)

Nicolas Pareha was a central defender who was making a name for himself by playing as a rotation member in the Belgian first division.

Although he is not big in stature, he has strong strength that is unusual for an Argentinian, so he was selected as a representative for the Olympics and has shown good performance against African countries in this competition.

And today's game.

His job was to coordinate the defense near the penalty area and hold his position firmly until the end.

Right now, at this moment, it was time for him to step forward.

'I will endure no matter what.'

A very anxious situation.

Mascherano, whom he trusted, allowed Woo Ho-young to break through.

Garai succeeded in stalling the time, but it wasn't time to catch his breath yet.

Woo Ho-young's judgment is sharp and his shooting is sharp.

Even if there is a chance of getting through, you should never give up the shooting angle.

All you have to do is wait until your allies come to support you.

That was the director's order given to Pareja.

And he seemed to play that role well.

but.

"Ugh!"

It's just that Woo Ho-young's ability to initiate action was ridiculously fast.

Thump percussion.

Taaaaagh!

I focused all my attention on Woo Ho-young, but my timing was lost in an instant.

[Woo Ho-young! Take a long dribble to the left! Nicolas Pareja tries to follow, but it's not enough!]

There was a keenness in Woo Ho-young's eyes.

The wide-open shooting angle was visible to my eyes.

If you don't hit a shot here, it's the same as losing your qualifications as a striker.

The timing and angle were that good.

There was no need to hesitate.

'Top left.'

As soon as Hoyoung decided on the target point, he stretched out his feet.

He boldly extended his right foot precisely, quickly, and heavily.

But it was that moment.

Bah!

"… ah!!"

A back tackle suddenly came in from behind.

'Mascherano!'

Indeed, the level of defense is different from that of the second division.

As Garai and Pareja were buying time, Mascherano calmly and leisurely extended his right foot and cut off Hoyoung's ball.

It was a perfect tackle that just cut the ball.

[Ah… Just before Woo Ho-young shot, there was a perfect tackle. It's so perfect that I have nothing to say.]

[It's unfortunate, but it's okay. It's not that Hoyoung Woo did poorly, but Mascherano did well. There was a moment of silence when you were about to shoot after dribbling? Mascherano is not a player who will just sit by and watch something like that.]

[Woo Ho-young Still, it was a good attempt! Even though he didn't hit the shot, didn't he already make Argentina's defense useless? In particular, I think it can be said that it is quite an amazing achievement to have succeeded in deceiving Mascherano, who is the starting player at Liverpool.] [

That's right. The ball control he had when dribbling with his knees after chest trapping was very good. However, there seems to have been some shortcomings in ball keeping, but I hope that this will help Korea's offensive line come back to life.]

Argentina.

As expected, the walls of the world were high.

Hoyoung was keenly aware of this.

I completely agreed with the statement that the team was assembled solely to win the gold medal.

In a competition with strong amateurism, a squad of this size would almost destroy the ecosystem.

I suddenly remembered the Adidas ad featuring Lionel Messi and David Beckham last year that said, "Impossible is nothing."

Fuck you.

There were many things that were impossible.

Literally, 'a wall I have never felt before'.

It was on a different level from many of the players he faced in the second division.

Moreover, it was my first time dealing with a key member of a big club.

There were a lot of things I felt.

'It probably means that I can't fully utilize my talents yet.'

Still, Hoyoung stood up again.

Mascherano was not yet at his full potential, but the same was true for himself.

Hoyoung cast his gaze far away.

And then ran again.

[Woo Hoyoung There is too much time left to give up. This attempt will not be in vain.]

[That's right. It's not that it's not, but Argentina's midfield is shaking beyond recognition. The Mascherano-Gago line gave up only one goal throughout the competition. They must have been quite embarrassed to have been defeated by just one Woo Ho-young.]

They were clearly embarrassed.

However, the first half continued in a similar fashion for a while.

The soulful double Volanci consisting of Gago-Mascherano completely dominated the midfield and drove the ball to Riquelme based on stable ball distribution.

Argentina's attack began from there.

Riquelme's playmaking saved the lives of Messi and Di Maria at the front line, and Aguero, who was appointed as the top player, took on the role of solver.

A truly perfect squad.

Even if they went to the World Cup instead of the Olympics, they were at a competitive level.

Naturally, Korea was not good enough to stop their attack and was dragged throughout the first half and had to concede goals.

26 minutes in the first half.

With one key pass from Riquelme, the space behind the defense was completely destroyed, allowing Di Maria to concede a goal.

Beep –

1 to 0.

It was Argentina's first goal.

After the first goal, there was a gloomy mood in the Korean national team.

A goal was a goal, but because the game was completely behind, we lost what little momentum we had.

Still, there was a glimmer of hope.

Woo Ho-young.

Just before the end of the first half, a threatening mid-range shot came from his toes, revitalizing Korea's momentum.

It was stopped by a fantastic save by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero.

'damn.'

Hoyoung swallowed his regret.

Unfortunately, there were too many walls.

After a lot of effort, he won the ball from Riquelme and Mascherano stood in front of him, and beyond him stood high-quality defenders and guardian Romero.

Still, he didn't give up.

When I fall, I stubbornly stand up.

The only answer was to hit it until it broke through.

If it was a royal road, that was it.

Fighting spirit.

Taking advantage of that, they posed a threat to Argentina with consistent and sharp play.

There was literally no such thing as a child head of a household.

[Woo Ho-young is good. The water is gradually rising. If this continues, I really don't think I'll be able to accomplish anything!]

[That's true, but how difficult it must be if things don't go as you want. I'm really proud of this.]

Commentator Woo Sang-cheol choked up.

He wanted to say that he was having a hard time in such a poor team, but he couldn't bear to say that in front of the public.

Still, there was hope.

Because Korea was slowly regaining momentum through continuous counterattacks.

The hope is that they can launch a counterattack after halftime.

But around the 2nd minute of added time.

Ki Sung-ryong's tackle to catch Messi caused anger.

Beep-

[Ah… The referee shows a yellow card to Ki Sung-ryong. The referee awards a free kick to Argentina. The distance is 23 meters. It's a distance worth hitting it yourself.]

[Juan Roman Riquelme is the kicker.]

Riquelme.

As a dead ballist who boasts world-class free kick skills, he was a player with tremendous kick skills.

To make matters worse, the angle and distance were perfect.

And he succeeded without a doubt.

Crash!

2 to 0.

This was the score at the end of the first half.

After the first half ended.

Argentina's locker room was peaceful.

2 to 0.

Most people responded that it was a natural result, but some had slightly different thoughts.

They were Mascherano and Garay, who almost gave up a goal to Woo Ho-young.

"What kind of kid is that fast? "I'm glad I didn't let my guard down. If I had underestimated him, I would have gotten seriously hurt."

"Let's be careful in the second half as well. His play is getting better. "The mid-range shot at the end of the first half was really dangerous."

Mascherano.

Although his intelligence was not that high, he was still not a smarter player than the average person.

Among soccer players, he is in the top tier.

Nevertheless, the fact that he was beaten by Woo Ho-young could only be explained by his outstanding soccer intelligence.

"It would be better to be an idiot when dealing with that guy. There is a saying that sometimes you have to let go of your thoughts and rely on your instincts to discover your true skills."

"Sometimes there are players like that. "These guys have no common sense."

The two greatly agreed with each other's words.

Meanwhile, there was a man who was overhearing the conversation and laughing quietly to himself.

"haha."

The captain was Riquelme.

'I can't understand those who lack genius and creativity. 'Why is he acting like that at that time?'

It is an area that even top players cannot understand.

Because it is a separate issue from brains and skills.

'Just as even Maldini of the world becomes a fool in front of Maradona.'

In fact, it is not easy to use your mind and play like chess in a field where changes occur all the time.

People watching from outside the stadium can see it, but the players directly playing the game cannot see it.

This is because the body is ahead of the head.

That is why even players who are known to be thorough brainiacs fall prey to basic tactics.

Impromptu and unorthodox tactics.

That is why even weak teams can beat strong teams.

It is not common to understand changes in the opposing team on the field in just one turn.

However, Riquelme understood all of Woo Ho-young's movements throughout the first half.

Based on that, they constantly kept him in check.

That was the reason why a weak team called Korea could never beat a strong team called Argentina.

'It's not a problem to tie up a player who has no experience in the first division.'

Looking at the result of 2-0, it was very successful.

So Riquelme was even more excited for the second half.

I was very curious about how the little boy was going to get out of this crisis.

Beep!

As the second half began, Riquelme came down to the line and persistently harassed Woo Ho-young throughout.

They tightened the midfield and left no space for him.

At the same time, he adjusted his passing route to prevent the ball from passing under his feet.

It wasn't because I had personal feelings.

Woo Ho-young was the enemy team's ace, so it was only right that it should be like this.

at last.

Hoyoung, who had not caught the ball properly for 15 minutes since the second half, changed his position after consulting with coach Park Seong-ho.

"Let's make it just once."

"All right."

Hoyoung, who returned to the field, suddenly remembered what Riquelme had said to him the other day.

'I said there would be a day when we would meet again.'

That day is today.

Riquelme was showing off all his skills as if he had been waiting for this moment.

The real fear was Riquelme, not Messi.

It seemed like there would be even a 1% chance of winning if he stepped on the person who was interfering with his play.

I had to get out of his shadow quickly.

'A head-to-head match is still impossible.'

Hoyoung's eyes turned to him.

[Juan Roman Riquelme]

Talents

– A traitor to modern football (T)

– A traitor's playmaking (U)

– Phenomenal ball keeping (S+)

– Unrivaled creativity (S+)

– Overwhelming free kicks (S-)

– (See more)

(You can covet one talent when you meet the conditions.)

(You can acquire some of the senses when you covet a T grade (Title). However, you can only covet it if you are over 18 years old.)

(Hidden conditions are required for S grade or higher. You must achieve this to earn it.)

(Condition 1: Win the game)

(Condition 2: Block Riquelme's pass twice)

(Hidden condition: Successfully dribble through the dribble four times while safely keeping the ball)

'Better ball keeping and free kicks than last time. This has been reduced one step at a time.'

On the other hand, unrivaled creativity (S+) remained.

As I got older, my technical skills seemed to deteriorate quickly.

'are you okay.'

Even if it's just this much, I'm grateful.

Because I could get an S grade if I just fulfilled the hidden condition.

'I'll be able to get free kicks from Roberto Carlos sooner or later, so it's better to get ball keeping.'

Ball keeping.

It was a talent that was essential for playmaking and would be a great help in modern soccer, where avoiding pressure is emphasized.

In other words, this game was both a crisis and an opportunity.

A blessing in disguise.

It couldn't collapse like this.

My body and mind were on the verge of collapsing due to the continuing hellish schedule, but I gritted my teeth.

Of course, that didn't change anything.

There were still 22 people on the field and the opponent was as strong as ever.

However, Hoyoung's movements became more intense as time passed.

Just like bone broth.

As I gradually adapted to the flow of the field, nutritious play emerged from my movements.

As the night sky deepened, Hoyoung became more and more alive.

The eyes said so.

It's not over until it's over.

There was still a chance.

Now it was time to put it into action.

70 minutes in the second half.

The game, which had been slow as a turtle, was gradually speeding up.

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