119

119. Competition for starting position from the start (2)

Real Madrid's opponent today was Chicago Fire SC (Chicago Fire Soccer Club), a powerhouse of American professional soccer that uses Toyota Park as its home stadium.

However, today the game was played at Soldier Field, known as the home stadium of the American football team, the Chicago Bears.

It was around 2:20 PM.

[About 60,000 spectators filling the stands are cheering. I thought most of them probably came to watch Real Madrid, but it looks like there are quite a lot of Fire fans.]

[This is a game that Fire cannot easily give up. There was a survey of the audience before today's game. 40% said they came to see the Real Madrid team, and 41% said they expected the Chicago Fire to win. That means that Chicago citizens have high expectations for soccer.]

[What about the remaining 19%?]

[The response was that they came to see what kind of soccer game it is.]

[Hahaha. 19% is lower than expected.]

The United States, a sports powerhouse, is a barren land for soccer.

To put it mildly, it was said that the majority of Americans only learned what soccer was during the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Clearly, interest in soccer is very low in the United States.

While most countries call soccer "football," the United States is unusual in calling it soccer.

However, these days, the American soccer world has been achieving remarkable growth in just a few years.

In particular, as Chicago is a city with many immigrants, interest in soccer was higher than in other regions, so interest from citizens was great today.

[It would be nice if Fire took the win. But the opponent is not easy. Even though they are missing many key players, Real Madrid is still a prestigious team. Although he is only a 14-year-old boy, you must be careful of Woo Ho-young.]

[That's right. You've been touching the ball constantly since the game started. It's like trying to roast and boil a whole game. He continues to show moves to lead the team. No, it looks like he is already leading the game.]

[At the moment you mentioned, Real's center Woo Ho-young passes to left winger Callejon.]

It was just as the commentators said.

From the start of the game, Hoyoung took the lead and Robinho had to look to the mountains in the distance.

It was inevitable because Hoyoung was lower than Robinho in terms of position.

The first half of the game was a flat game with no major ups and downs.

Real Madrid slowly took control of the midfield, starting with the double Volanci consisting of Diarra, a high-quality defensive midfielder, and Tebar, who came from Castile.

Overall, it was a smooth flow.

10 minutes in the first half.

Chicago got a free kick opportunity due to Pepe's excessive struggle, but their attack failed to result in a goal.

Since then, they have not been able to make any significant attacks and overall have been dragged down by Real Madrid.

About 10 more minutes had passed since then.

Real's momentum, which had been writhing on the floor, slowly rose.

Thump percussion.

Hoyoung, who received Diarra's pass, stopped the ball at his feet.

He calmly cast his gaze forward.

'Robinho.'

Robinho was seen leaving his position and moving down to the second line to receive the ball.

He was gesturing in this direction with a face that looked like he was going to pout if I didn't give him the pass.

'Why is it so polarizing today?'

But Hoyoung looked away.

Because you don't want to give it?

It wasn't like that.

This is because, considering various conditions such as timing and spacing, there was little benefit from giving it to Robinho.

The pass must have a clear intent to score.

Only then can you threaten the opposing defense.

And Hoyoung didn't want to start a big fight even on the field.

A few days ago, he had the feeling that Robinho was keeping him in check, but he had no intention of countering that outright.

Of course, I wanted to be the star of the game.

However, I tried not to be too conscious of others.

Like Cha Bum-gon gave me, all you have to do is play soccer.

"pass! "Pass!"

Robinho asks for a pass.

And after taking a quick look at the surroundings, Hoyoung quickly turned his brain around.

'It's dangerous there. There are two defenders nearby who are good at pass blocking and ball cutting. Even though Robinho is the best dribbler in the world, the power of his play is halved when he receives with his back to the defense.'

It was a cool and quick decision.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the idea was 100% correct.

Sharp prediction, sharp judgment, and excellent spatial perception.

All I had to do was believe in my thoughts and put them into action based on these three things.

Hoyoung ignored Robinho's shout and turned his gaze to the left.

His eyes were intelligent and his movements were leisurely.

The heat that had been building up in that relaxed atmosphere seemed to have cooled down.

Ice-cold currents began to become evident.

Also, at that time, I saw a small man digging like crazy on the left.

Roberto Carlos.

He was attempting a reckless breakthrough along the left line under the hot sun.

His bold overlapping completely destroyed the left flank.

The stadium got hot again.

At the same time, Hoyoung's eyes also burned hotly.

Percussion!

The pass he took with a snap went into the left back space and fell at Carlos' feet.

A pass like a courier.

And like a gust of wind, a strong attack began to swirl from Carlos' feet.

At the same time, Hoyoung ran inside the box.

Same goes for Robinho.

Not to be outdone, as soon as he smelled the goal, he took a seat close to Carlos.

For a moment, Carlos' eyes sparkled.

Woo Ho-young a little further away or Robinho closer.

He threw a left foot kick without a moment of hesitation.

It was an explosive and sophisticated ground ball cross that made it hard to believe he was 35 years old.

And the place it was headed was not at Robinho's feet, but at Hoyoung's feet.

Percussion!

"why!!"

For a moment, Robinho frowned.

On the contrary, Hoyoung's eyes were sharply curved.

'It's an opportunity.'

The wide open front welcomed Hoyoung.

The goalkeeper was already completely scared.

Only 8 meters.

The distance was 3 meters closer than the penalty kick.

If you hit the ball properly, the odds of it going into the goal were overwhelming.

Moreover, it was Hoyoung who coveted Ronaldo's goal-scoring ability.

I haven't fully enjoyed it yet, but it's a start.

That was enough.

Hoyoung took a confident shooting stance.

With the momentum to blow away the heat, he kicked the ball slightly below the center hard and non-stop.

It was that moment.

"!"

The moment Hoyoung caught Carlos' heavy cross with his instep, he felt as if he had kicked a bowling ball.

Truly a masterpiece.

Carlos' kick was powerful.

However, Hoyoung's precise first touch helped him shoot successfully.

and.

The ball flew behind the goalkeeper diving to the right and hit the corner of the goal net.

Slosh!

"downpour!"

Real Madrid's valuable first goal and Hoyoung's second consecutive goal.

Today, Hoyoung was writing his second miracle.

On the other hand, Robinho's face, who did not receive the pass, was rotten and bruised.

Unable to hide his dissatisfaction, he ran to Carlos and expressed it.

"What on earth are you doing, Robert?"

"what?"

"Why did you pass on me and that bastard Woo Ho-young?"

"Rob don't ask stupid questions. "I just created more clear chances."

Roberto Carlos showed an expression of incomprehension.

There was no particular reason why he sent a cross to Hoyoung.

He is one of the best left backs of all time.

I just made the best choice for the team.

"Ho's position was better than yours."

Literally, Woo Ho-young's positioning ability was even better.

That's right, Robinho was not the type of player who took advantage of space, but was a player who tore up space through dribbling that was close to art.

It's not that he lacks positioning ability, but it wasn't his main weapon.

Moreover, since he did not have good prediction or judgment, he had no choice but to lose to Hoyoung in the battle for position.

Robinho was upset about that.

"Okay, give me the ball! Why is that guy…"

But.

Carlos cut off Robinho's words as if cutting them off with scissors.

"Stop acting like a fool. "This is the ground."

Carlos had no intention of making friends here.

Because this was Real Madrid, not the Brazilian Community Club.

"Tonto!!!"

Then Robinho openly criticized Carlos, calling him an idiot in Portuguese.

However, since this was not the first time this had happened, Carlos left without worrying at all.

Rather, he approached Hoyoung and gave him a thumbs up.

"It was a great goal. "The ball must have been a bit heavy."

"no. "It was good."

Hoyoung's voice trembled slightly.

Carlos was much shorter than Hoyoung, but the intimidating feeling that came from his stocky physique was truly amazing.

Now, we're playing on the same team, so it's like this, but if it was the opposing team, it would be terrible to even imagine.

'It's a bloody talent no matter what.'

As expected, his level of talent was maintained well as he was a sincere hard worker.

It seemed like I would be able to covet an S-class talent in the not-too-distant future.

widely.

Carlos said, placing his hand on Hoyoung's shoulder as he was imagining such things.

"But don't hate Robinho. "At this moment, we are one team."

It was not my intention to take Robinho's side.

Woo Ho-young also fully understood the true meaning of those words.

And those words made Hoyoung feel a lot of things.

"All right."

Midway through the first half.

Real Madrid, which had a one-point lead, continued to pound on the opponent's goal.

Chicago tried to block it by increasing its defensive numbers, but once the door was opened, it was already in tatters.

They were often robbed by Real's attacking team, which was worth well over 100 million euros.

[Robinho! Penetrate inside the penalty box!]

[But the angle is not enough. The left foot shot hits the goal post and is out. It was a good attempt. Robinho, who was invisible throughout the first half, is gradually coming back to life and showing his presence. After all, the title of the world's best dribbler is not there for nothing.]

[That's right. Woo Ho-young is taking advantage of Robinho's play by broadening his horizons. That's the trend that stands out.]

As Robinho gradually came back to life, Real's momentum became stronger.

In particular, the left line leading to Carlos and Callejon was a veritable bombing zone.

It asked for the result just before the end of the first half.

Callejon, who received a key pass from Carlos, scored an additional goal with a clever lob shot.

Chicago belatedly tried to counterattack by increasing the number of attacks, but it failed in vain and lost the win to Real Madrid.

'The skill level is that of a mid-to-high tier team in the 2nd division.'

In Hoyoung's opinion, their level was far below that of the Spanish first division.

I felt like I could achieve a great victory if I just did this without overdoing it too much.

But I was still thirsty.

There was a lot he wanted to show to the fans who came to the stadium to see him.

Since it is a city with many Koreans, there were many spectators who came to see Hoyoung, and among them there were even individual fans who personally brought in placards.

'Okay, now's the start.'

If the first half was a warm-up, the second half was the main stage.

I looked forward to the second half.

And when the second half began, Robinho's eyes changed 180 degrees.

'In the second line, Woo Ho-young keeps holding the ball, so my presence isn't revealed.'

Robinho, who thought so, had a bitter heart.

I thought it couldn't go on like this.

This is the professional world.

It was clear that if he continued like this, his rice bowl would be taken away.

He took a step back and went down to the second line.

It was a clash between two cracks that signaled a full-fledged competition for the starting position.

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