061. French Legend(5)

As soon as the second half began, Germany changed their tactics.

The formation, which was 4-4-2, was changed to 3-5-2 and two players were replaced at the same time.

It was Coach Jonas's plan to take the lead with a numerical superiority in the midfield and launch a powerful attack.

The player who replaced central midfielder Daniel was a face Hoyoung knew well.

"long time no see."

Holger Badstuber.

His original position is center back, but in this game he played as a defensive midfielder to ensure a more stable defense for the team.

The intention was to strengthen the midfield and at the same time build a double defensive wall to prevent Hoyoung from breaking through.

The two met in the athlete's aisle and shared a sparkling handshake.

"When did that little boy grow up like this?"

Surprisingly, Badstuber seemed confident even when the team was in crisis.

I already wanted to face Woo Ho-young once again, but that opportunity happened to happen.

And above all, he had a corner of belief.

Another boy who was substituted as an attacking midfielder.

'You said you were injured and you finally came out.'

Hoyoung's fists clenched as he saw the boy.

As sweat ran down the back of my neck, the tension grew.

Because I knew.

What a great player he is.

[Toni Cross]

Talents

-Soccer genius (A+3)

-Exquisite and fast kick (A-)

-Excellent passing (A-)

-Exquisite build-up (A-)

-(See more)

(One option if the conditions are met ) You can covet talent.)

(Condition 1: Score as a striker)

(Condition 2: Be selected as Man of the Match in this match)

The main character who will be responsible for the tank corps' attack along with Müller and Gotze Özil in the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Tony Cross.

Although he was only 15 years old, he was already a promising player with great potential, to the point where rumors of his professional debut in a big club were rising.

Not long ago, he played as an attacking midfielder in the U16 youth tournament held in Italy and showed outstanding performance.

The talent was also enormous.

'Hey.'

It was indeed a cross that had the potential to become the world's best central midfielder.

Also, due to his age, he was better than Neymar overall.

'He has a lot of talent.'

His versatility was evident, but his talent for assists stood out rather than his scoring ability.

So it was difficult.

We struggled through the first half, but when we got over the mountain, it was like a snowy mountain.

but.

'If we do well, we can explore three talents in this game alone.'

From Müller Hummels to Kroos.

It seemed like it would be a special game.

The second half seemed to follow a similar pattern to the first half, but when Germany changed their tactics, the game completely turned over.

Just one person.

With Kroos' appearance, the German team took the lead and started making fast attacks.

It was a completely different situation from the first half, which focused on ground attack.

The tempo of the game was strangely accelerating, as if someone was encouraging it behind their backs.

Cross created a quick counterattack by creating space with a short, organic pass.

It was manager Jonas' customized 'Toni Kroos' tactic, designed in reference to Arsenal's Wengerball strategy.

As a result, Cross used his superior vision like a fish in water to create space, and even Müller in front came to life.

10 minutes in the second half.

Germany, who had been leading the game all along, finally got a decisive chance.

It started with Toni Kroos.

Percussion!

He suddenly threw a low, fast forward pass and collapsed Korea's defensive line.

"no!"

It was Kim Shin-woo's mistake.

They missed Müller, who was digging into the gap, and gave up a one-on-one chance.

Although the goalkeeper came out in a hurry, Müller was not an ordinary striker but a player who knew how to shoot calmly and accurately even in front of the goal.

He did it again this time.

Crash!

The collaboration between Kroos and Müller opened the goal for Korea.

1 to 1.

The game returned to square one.

As Müller was celebrating his goal by doing a strange dance, Kim Shin-woo was swearing under his breath.

'crazy. Even if I knew, I couldn't stop it.'

He was fully aware of being fooled by Thomas Müller's space penetration and intelligent play.

If things continue like this, even a draw cannot be guaranteed.

'How can we stop that…'

As the captain, my shoulders were heavy.

As the oldest player, it was embarrassing to see the players.

I feel like I owe it to myself to come this far thanks to the youngest member of the team.

'Damn it. Damn it. 'Damn it.'

It was that moment when I was constantly blaming myself internally.

The youngest member of the team came to me and gave me advice.

"Block it with your head."

"uh?"

I was shocked for a moment because I thought I was going to hit my head, but fortunately that wasn't the case.

Hoyoung continued speaking in a serious tone.

"Thomas Müller. If you block it with your body, it will be too late. "You have to block it with your head."

This is Hoyoung, who had coveted the talent of 'space penetration by digging into gaps' from Müller a year ago.

That's why I knew.

Learn its true value and how to deal with it.

"I told you last night. "Müller is a player who specializes in surprise space penetration."

"So use your head?"

"It's about predicting the opponent's movements. "It will be easier than just using your body."

When it comes to space penetration, just 1mm decides the winner.

However, blocking it with only the body's reaction speed is virtually impossible unless you have beast-like physical strength.

That's why Hoyoung meant that we should use our heads.

"okay. I get it."

Although it was advice from a junior who was 5 years younger than him, Kim Shin-woo did not feel bad.

I would have been offended if another junior had done that, but Hoyoung was out of the question.

You are learning the four basic arithmetic operations, but a child learning calculus comes and helps you study?

Even though I said thank you, I sold the hat.

So instead of being offended, Kim Shin-woo gave Ho-young a friendly slap on the back of the head and said,

"Go quickly. "The hyungs will look after you as much as possible."

After Müller's equalizer.

South Korea's back four, including Kim Shin-woo, showed their fighting spirit and tried to stop Germany's offensive, but the more they tried, the more Germany's offensive power amplified.

They even used high-level switching play for a youth team, driving Korea into chaos.

20 minutes in the second half.

Müller's solid scoring ability once again shook Korea's net.

This time too, there was an assist from Cross.

'Are you sure you're injured?'

Hoyoung even had those doubts.

Cross created a chance despite the odds.

However, Hoyoung, who was placed at the front line, could not watch the defense.

As it was a high-level league, selection and concentration were necessary.

'We need to focus on attack. 'If we go to cover the defense, we'll run out of stamina in the second half.'

The game isn't over yet.

I had to save up my stamina for the second half of the play.

Opportunity will definitely come.

"Whoa."

It was only after Müller scored the comeback goal that Coach Jonas let out a heavy breath.

"okay. "This is it."

This made my heart feel lighter.

This was because if they scored just one more goal, their chances of advancing to second place in the group would greatly increase.

'Let's score just one more goal. Just one goal.'

Jonas' wish came true just before the end of the second half, as Germany created a goal chance.

As expected, it was a fierce counterattack that started from Cross' toes.

"yes! That's it!"

Jonas cried out in delight.

This is because a similar situation was occurring as when the first goal was scored.

This is the German team's specialty.

Following Cross' forward pass, Müller broke into the space behind him.

'Let's just make sure we finish.'

however.

widely!

Instead of finishing, Cross' forward pass was blocked.

It was a sliding tackle by Kim Shin-woo, who was concentrating on defense.

Thanks to my best efforts and anticipation, I was barely able to cut off Cross' pass.

In other words, I was lucky.

"damn. "If I had made it through, it would have been a goal."

Jonas swallowed his regret.

But it soon turned into lamentation.

Germany's failed counterattack turned into a counterattack by the Korean team.

"Stop it! Stop it!!"

Jonas cleared his throat.

Hoyoung, who was waiting for an opportunity, received the ball with his back to the defense.

It was a confrontation that occurred in front of the penalty box.

The opponent on his back is Holger Badstuber, the key player in Germany's defense.

'It's definitely different than before.'

An overwhelming sense of intimidation that comes from a large body.

It was incomparable to three years ago.

But in the meantime, Woo Ho-young wasn't just sitting around sucking his fingers.

Hoyoung's gaze turned to the boy's blue eyes.

[Holger Badstuber]

Talent

– Soccer gifted (B+)

– Excellent defensive positioning (C+3)

– Fairly sharp judgment (C-)

– Decent jumping ability (C+)

– Decent ball blocking (C-)

(If the conditions are met ) You can covet one talent: poetry.)

(Condition 1: Win the match)

I also faced Hummels Boateng, the German Wailing Wall, but wouldn't Badstuber be able to break through it?

It is now a wall that can easily be overcome.

can do.

Hoyoung believed in himself.

And it was that moment.

Whick!

An upper body fake that shows off Neymar's flexibility.

It was a movement captivating enough to make Badstuber's pupils dilate.

As expected, Badstuber's foot stretched out.

At the same time, Hoyoung caught the motion and pulled the ball back slightly.

'I got caught.'

With the Brazilian's unique rhythmic movements and flashy footwork, he caused Badstuber to make a futile attempt.

Then Badstuber's large body stumbled, losing its balance.

"Whoop!"

Hoyoung took advantage of that gap and attempted to break through.

It was a hit and run that combined Kaka's speed and Cha Doo-rim's explosiveness.

Taaaaagh!

A sprint that burns off all the stamina you have saved up until now!

"Khaat!"

Badstuber had to look at Hoyoung's back as he quickly walked away with an expression of disbelief.

All we could do was trust the goalkeeper.

"hey!"

Badstuber opened his mouth.

With a sincere wish, he shouted at the goalkeeper.

"come out! "Come out!"

German team goalkeeper.

Ron-Robert Zieler, a member of Manchester United's youth team, was the last hope.

And, as expected, the chiller jumped out of the goal line.

Hastily.

I didn't expect that Hoyoung would shoot a shot half a beat faster and I jumped out.

So this division arose.

Crash!

Hoyoung, whose goal-scoring ability in this tournament has soared, scored the tying goal.

That wasn't all.

[Stable goal-making ability (B-)↑]

He was promoted due to his stable goal-making ability (C+3).

"Ugh…"

While Hoyoung was celebrating in the corner, there was someone in pain, pulling out their hair.

Holger Badstuber.

He flopped down on the floor and put his head down on the grass.

After making such a loud noise and being treated like this, my colleagues had no respect for me.

It was right then.

"I told you. "That guy is good."

"Ahhhh…"

It was Thomas Müller who came over to cheer up the devastated Bad Stuger.

But nothing could cheer him up.

What I lost was too great to regret.

tie.

Although the game was a draw, the real winner was Korea.

Beep!

Game over.

Korea secured one point and confirmed its advancement to the semifinals on its own regardless of the match between France and Côte d'Ivoire.

"nice!"

"Isn't this a dream?"

Tuk-tuk!

The sons of Daehan celebrated their victory by patting the tiger mark on their chests.

The same goes for Hoyoung.

It was so hard that my shoulders sank because I played full time, but the valuable achievement of advancing to the semifinals took all the fatigue away.

"downpour!"

"Hoo!"

"Haw!"

While Hoyoung was celebrating advancing to the semifinals with his teammates, Kim Shin-woo was the first to rush over and take care of Hoyoung.

"You had a hard time!"

"Thank you for your hard work~"

Kim Shin-woo, who had threatened Ho-young on the first day of convocation by saying that he would do well only if he got hit, had now changed 180 degrees.

If this was a peach orchard, I would have gotten a drink and become sworn brothers right now.

"Hmm."

Rubbing his nose, Kim Shin-woo brought out his true feelings.

"Did you see what I blocked earlier? Actually, it was a gamble. Tsk tsk."

The sliding tackle that blocked Cross' pass was actually close to a gamble.

If the prediction had been wrong, the goal would have been conceded.

In any case, it was true that Hoyoung's advice was helpful.

Hoyoung answered this.

"brother. Gambling and luck are both skills."

"Baby~ What do you know? Hehe."

It was around the time the two became friends.

This time, a German boy walked calmly, turning his wrist.

"cross?"

Toni Kroos.

The boy looked at Hoyoung with wide eyes and stuck out his thumb.

"It was a good game."

Then he took off his uniform.

Even though the team's future was uncertain, he was a cool boy who knew how to give in to a win.

'Was your personality always this good?'

Anyway, if Hoyoung had the chance, he wanted to play on the same team as him.

.

.

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