123

123. From Seoul to Beijing (2)

Kim Seong-gyu.

After playing in the J-League and Busan I'Park, he joined FC Seoul last year and was once the hope of Korean soccer.

He developed his skills through youth representation at various levels, and was later selected for the adult team, where he gradually made his name known.

And now.

The golden opportunity to represent the Olympic Games is just around the corner.

Since it was a competition with military exemption at stake, I had to board.

This is because the group composition at this Olympics was good, so there was a prospect that if the matchups were lucky, the team could advance to the semifinals.

That's why today was important.

However, the important game was canceled just 5 minutes after it started.

'Fuck.'

To be honest, I never thought that I could completely stop Woo Ho-young.

That's why I've been preparing hard for today's game for a few days now.

Even though it was a friendly match with a strong event-oriented nature, I didn't know that if I did well, I might not only get a spot on the Olympic team but also get the attention of Real Madrid.

Didn't Ferguson do the same when he took Ronaldo to an overseas friendly match in the summer of 2003?

It was an opportunity to advance to the Spanish league even if it was not Real Madrid.

That's why we had to catch Woo Ho-young, so the card Kim Seong-gyu brought out was physical defense.

Body-heavy defense.

That was the talent of Kim Seong-gyu, a fighter-type defender.

I knew very well that I could never deal with Hoyoung with my head.

however.

The physical strength of Woo Ho-young, who had just collided with him, was not at a level that could be taken lightly.

Kim Seong-gyu's eyebrows narrowed.

'Lee Cheong-ryong clearly said that… physical fighting is his weakness.'

A few days ago, I harassed my teammate Lee Cheong-ryong to find out Woo Ho-young's weaknesses.

But when I opened the lid, it wasn't like that at all.

'It's a complete rock.'

Tight.

I closed my eyes in frustration.

I struggled to come to my senses.

Even if I had to put my pride as a senior on the line, I couldn't let it fall apart like this.

I wanted to let Woo Ho-young know that 'this is Korean soccer.'

'You've probably never experienced it before.'

Learning soccer by getting hit.

I wanted to clearly show how strong a person's mental strength must be to be able to endure it.

Of course, Woo Ho-young never said he wanted to know, but he still wanted to tell it voluntarily.

And I wanted to be respected by him.

I wanted to make Woo Ho-young, a world-recognized top prospect, into a respected junior.

Crack.

I gritted my teeth.

Because Kim Seong-gyu was confident that even though he was not talented, his mental strength was second to none.

I had no doubt that I could do it.

[The game resumes with Lee Cheong-ryong's kickoff. At the same time, a pass is delivered to Kim Seong-gyu at the back.]

[FC Seoul's Kim Seong-gyu steadily rotates the ball, gradually creating an attack opportunity. [He seems to be showing the ambition to return the favor since he was harmed once.]

It was Kim Seong-gyu, who was equipped with skillful build-up and defense coordination skills.

Due to his rough personality, he was often criticized, but his actual skills were so good that he was ranked among the top in the league.

And now, with him as the starting point, FC Seoul is gradually reviving the spark of attack.

[Lee Eul-ryong! Attempting to break through the left flank!]

[It's a shame. It is blocked by Real Madrid's right fullback Mitchell Salgado. Still, it was a good attempt.]

Lee Eul-ryong, a pillar of the team, was struggling and bringing vitality to the game.

At the same time, Ki Sung-ryong, who was appointed as a central midfielder, came back to life and gave strength to Lee Cheong-ryong in the front line.

However, Real's defense was solid and the offense became sharper as time went by.

25 minutes in the first half.

Zidane and Woo Ho-young's chemistry was revived again.

Tap, tap.

"Ho!"

At that moment, Zidane's through ball went wide.

[Ah, Woo Ho-young! As soon as he receives Zidane's pass, he tries to break through!]

[Kim Seong-gyu tried to catch up, but it felt a little late!]

On the other hand, Woo Ho-young was crazy fast.

Kim Seong-gyu tried his best to stick together, but the gap between the two only gradually widened.

So much so that laughter poured out from the audience.

That affected Kim Seong-gyu's temper, and he ended up showing off his hot-tempered personality.

It was a sliding tackle inserted from the diagonal side.

However, Kim Seong-gyu's legs could not keep up with Ho-young's speed.

"That bastard!!"

Kim Sunggyu allowed Hoyoung to break through without doing anything, and all he could do was kick the grass.

At that sight, the spectators wearing white uniforms booed in unison.

Director Bernd Schuster also expressed his disapproval with open arms.

But either way.

Woo Ho-young, who had fallen to the side, was concentrating on his own play.

There was no blood or tears.

It looks like he just made a plan.

To him, Kim Seong-gyu was not even worth dealing with.

It was beneficial to kick the ball one more time during that time.

I was planning to solidify my path to the Olympics through this attack.

Hoyoung's eyes turned to the left penalty box.

Higuain, a top prospect from Argentina, was moving through the center with unusual movements.

Hoyoung's ground ball cross went straight toward that point.

Percussion!

A ground ball cross that split the ground hit Higuain's foot and was sucked into the goal.

Crash!

"What a piece of shit."

Kim Seong-gyu poured out his anger at that scene.

Only then did I realize it.

The fact that the soccer he plays and the soccer Woo Ho-young plays are on completely different lines.

Even after that, Hoyoung's fierce attacks did not subside.

The first goal was just the beginning.

Real Madrid's real fear began from there.

In the 40th minute of the first half, Roberto Carlos' overlapping depleted FC Seoul's back space like a dehydrator and continued to provide golden opportunities to Woo Ho-young.

It almost feels like the spotlight is being put on Hoyoung to commemorate coming to Korea.

It was truly Hoyoung's solo performance.

By the end of the first half, the score was already 3-0 on the electronic display.

But the real problem was different.

After Kim Seong-gyu's tackle earlier, the crowd's booing continued as soon as he caught the ball.

Lee Eul-ryong, who was worse off, spoke as captain.

"You bastard. Are you playing the Korea-Japan battle alone? "Why is it so sharp?"

"…."

"Do it straight, dude. What year is it now? "Don't let your team be criticized for no reason."

"sorry."

"Tsk. Even if you do, shouldn't you be selective about the time and place? "How many people are watching right now, so is there any chance of being labeled as trash?"

"sorry."

Even if I regretted it now, it was already too late.

The crowd's boos got louder and louder, and the friendly match was no longer a friendly match.

As if to show off, Hoyoung focused his efforts on Kim Seong-gyu's defensive zone.

Every time that happened, Kim Seong-gyu collapsed due to Ho-young's personal skills.

It's literally a joke.

It seemed as if it was done on purpose.

It's not that it wasn't, but Real Madrid's players were concentrating the ball on Hoyoung.

As if he was enjoying it.

And as this was repeated so many times, Kim Seong-gyu was driven crazy.

I had to experience frustration every time I stood in front of Woo Ho-young.

Then, I ended up completely losing my mind.

A sense of shame tormented my mind.

'Ha… That's it.'

It was the first time in my life that I hated soccer so much.

Just running was painful.

Is there any other humiliation like this?

I couldn't raise my head even for a second.

But eventually he raised his head.

Instead, we raised our hands together.

'Please let me out.'

It was a voluntary replacement request.

FC Seoul coach Guinesch was already preparing for a replacement.

[OUT 2. Kim Seong-gyu]

[IN 19. Park Chan-soo]

When Kim Seong-gyu returned to the bench, Gunes clicked his tongue.

"Tsk."

Because coach Gunes trusted Kim Seong-gyu more than anyone else, his disappointment in him was even greater.

"That's what happens when you only focus on what you see in front of you. "I'm going to go in and get some self-restraint."

"… ha."

Kim Seong-gyu, who had nothing to show, had no choice but to swallow his anger and go to the bench.

And as if to show off.

Cough!

From Hoyoung's toes came a mid-range shot that shook the audience.

It was as if he was conveying an unspoken message to Kim Seong-gyu.

If you don't want to see the end, don't start at all.

That's how Kim Seong-gyu accepted Ho-young's fiery shooting.

I just hoped that if we met again in the field next time, something like that wouldn't happen.

Real's offensive continued in the second half.

At least around the 55th minute of the second half.

As key players left and second-team players filled the field, FC Seoul's offensive power began to revive.

At the same time, cheers poured out from the audience.

FC Seoul's pride, Park Joo-hyung, came on as a substitute.

but.

Beep –

[OUT 43. Woo Ho-young]

[IN 10. Robinho]

The match between the two did not take place because Woo Ho-young was replaced.

As expected, Woo Ho-young had played in four games in a row until today, following Seattle-Chicago-Los Angeles.

Since I had already consumed more than the standard amount of stamina, I had to start controlling my stamina for the next schedule.

Still, Hoyoung gained something.

Ki Sung-ryong's talent.

[Choose the talent you want to pursue.]

-Excellent passing (A-)

-Wide vision (B+3)

-Ball cutting in an instant (B+)

-(More)

'I have a pass, so start with vision.'

done.

This was a sufficiently successful preseason.

The other main players on the team were also achieving the U-level talent requirements one by one.

Now the only thing left is the Beijing Olympics.

That was the real problem.

'There is a big difference in level.'

I felt it through today's game.

The fact is that the current level of Korean soccer is lower than expected.

Maybe it was because my eyes had become higher after playing with world-class players at Real Madrid.

But reality is reality.

Just avoiding it and gaining mental victory is neither porridge nor rice.

There are a lot of athletes competing in the Olympics right now, such as Messi and Ronaldinho, whose names alone make your heart flutter.

'Perhaps this Olympics will serve as an important stepping stone.'

There is one goal.

Overcome your team's limitations to advance to the tournament and then compete against them to covet their crazy talent.

And then become a monster and debut in the first division.

Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps all over my body.

I could only wait for that day to come.

And the next day.

An article like this was featured on the front page of a sports newspaper.

[Park Sung-ho announces the final 18 Olympic team entries… Woo Ho-young joins]

There were differing opinions for and against Ho-young's age within the association, but this result was made based on the fact that he is the youngest Olympic soccer player and public opinion.

And the national soccer team was the first among the Korean players to leave the country.

The date is July 28th.

News related to him had been reported since morning.

[The Olympic soccer team, attempting to win its first ever medal, headed to China, the land of decisive battle. There is news that the team of 18 players, including coach Park Seong-ho and 4 coaches, has just arrived at the Beijing Athletes' Village and unpacked. The national team then immediately moved to the training camp and is scheduled to play the first round of the group stage against Cameroon in Qinhuangdao the next day, on the 7th…]

10 days later, on August 7th.

On this day, the day before the opening of the Olympics, the Beijing Olympics soccer group stage began.

Starting with Group A matches held in Shanghai, matches were held simultaneously in Tianjin-Shenyang-Qinhuangdao.

Korea's opponent was Cameroon.

5pm.

Press conference room at Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center.

Before the start of the game, interviews were conducted with the coaches of both teams.

The first batter was Cameroon coach Martin.

"With your overwhelming performance, you advanced to the Olympics by finishing first in your group in the African regional qualifiers. Today there is a match against Korea, which advanced to first place in the Asian regional preliminary round. Are you confident?"

To this, Director Martin gave a short and bold answer.

"of course."

It was a bold ambition to take the lead.

Then a reporter asked:

"There are young prospects in Korea who are making a name for themselves these days. "He's a Real Madrid player. Are you ready to stop him?"

"Real Madrid…"

Martin continued with a slight smile.

"That's great, but we have Samuel Eto'o, the Black Panther of Barcelona."

Samuel Eto'o, who showed great success at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and won a gold medal for Cameroon.

He boarded the Cameroon Olympic ship at the last minute and was waiting for Woo Ho-young.

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