Chapter 124 – Europa (2)

124

The screen that illuminates Group D expands.
A logo with a red shield pattern on a yellow crown that moved from Pot 1 to the top of Group D.

“Damn it! It’s Monaco!”

I wondered how familiar it was… It was only then that I remembered the sigh of the French fitness coach.

Although it is based in Monaco, a small principality in the south of France, the professional league actually participates in France’s Ligue 1, a club with a unique identity that nominally participates in leagues in other countries.
It was AS Monaco.

“Oh my… It must be Monaco.”

Among the many teams in Pot 1, Monaco is one of the three teams that are difficult to deal with.
A strong team with many outstanding players based on tax benefits unique to the homeland of the Principality of Monaco and enormous capital.

Even if we met, we wanted to meet in the higher rounds, but it took a tricky team.
I’m trying my best to calm myself down against a formidable opponent,

“Uh huh?”

Another team was added to Group D.

“Galatasa!”

Without knowing the atmosphere over here, the presenter exclaimed cheerfully across the screen.
A logo added to the empty space in Group D.

“…Damn it. A Turkish expedition?”

Turkey’s Galatasai has been added.
And lastly, with the addition of Port 4 Norway’s Rosenborg, the Group D draw was completed.

—Group D—
AS Monaco
Frankfurt
Galatasai
Rosenborg

The lottery ceremony, which started happily, ended in such a gloomy atmosphere.

* * *

『The Europa League finals kicked off!』
「August 29th, the draw ceremony for the group stage of the Europa League finals. From Pot 1 to Pot 4, the group draw with 32 teams was successfully completed.

Group A Lazio, Marseille, Standard Liege, Antwerp
.
.
.
Group D AS Monaco, Frankfurt, Galatasai, Rosenborg
.
.
.”

『Frankfurt against AS Monaco』
“Frankfurt, where Hong Min-joon (21) plays, is in a group with AS Monaco, Galatasai and Rosenborg. Group D is evaluated as the group of death by some. Is it really the group of death?

AS Monaco, which once showed aggressive investment, seems to have faltered.
Monaco has been pushed back by PSG, who has risen as the absolute powerhouse of Ligue 1, and has been beaten by traditional prestigious Lille and Marseille.

However, AS Monaco, which is still subject to the tax laws of the Principality of Monaco, is a strong team that cannot be ignored as it has many good players with a low real tax rate thanks to strong tax benefits.

AS Monaco’s representative players are veteran midfielder Alex Richards, who played for Chelsea, and Montina Alvaro, the ‘iron wall’ from Real Madrid.

As players with outstanding careers representing midfield and defense, respectively, they are showing great success despite being in their mid-30s.

On the other hand, AS Monaco’s weak point is their attacking team, which lacks weight compared to their outstanding bottom line.
However, the name values ​​of ‘Alex Richards’ and ‘Montina Alvaro’ are very high, and Monaco’s attacking team is filled with substantial players.

The match between Frankfurt, who has a powerful spear named Hong Min-jun, and Monaco, who has an iron wall, Alex Richards and Montina Alvaro, is expected to be a battle between spear and shield.

Attention is focusing on whether Hong Min-jun will be able to break through Monaco’s defense.

On the other hand, Turkey’s prestigious Galatasai and Norway’s ambush Rosenborg are also in Group D and have a match against Frankfurt.”

Immediately after the Europa League group draw ceremony, articles were pouring in.
Especially in Korea, there were a lot of articles pouring in, but I think it’s because the only Korean players who advanced to the European competition this year were me and senior Yoon Hyuk.

While Hamburg, where senior Yoon Hyuk plays, managed to join the Europa League, both teams of the two senior players in the EPL failed to advance to the European competition, and the media’s attention was focused on this side.

Right after the lottery ceremony, on the other side of the globe, the people who had been arguing that Min-jun Hong was in the death zone and Hyuk Yoon’s group was more difficult ended the rambling discussion.

“Hong Min-jun takes over! Chicharo’s decisive pass!!”
“Martin Fossa’s blockage, pierced!

The match against Dortmund, which took place the day after the Europa League draw.

Dortmund, which once stood tall as the second player threatening Munich, the absolute powerhouse of the Bundesliga under the guidance of manager Jurgen Klopp, who once popularized the tactic trend of gegenpressing, suffered many ups and downs.

No matter how much they threaten Munich, they are only second in the end, so Dortmund, which is behind in name value as well as financial power, has been constantly deprived of outstanding players.

Teams like Leipzig, the rising powerhouse of the Bundesliga, and Schalke, the traditional rival, were making their way up, and Dortmund, now in second place, was shaking, but it was still a strong team in the Bundesliga.

As a strong team that finished second in the league last year, the prediction for the match against Frankfurt this time was predicted to be Dortmund’s advantage, and the moment when it seemed that the match would end in an overwhelming victory by scoring the opening goal 11 minutes after the start of the game.

Just two minutes after the opening goal was scored, Frankfurt midfielder Chicharo, who caught the ball, received an artistic through pass that pierced Dortmund’s camp, and Hong Min-jun immediately scored the consolation goal.

“Ah~ Chicharo passing through the space behind the player was an art.”
“I saw Hong Min-jun, who instantly penetrated, well. It was a good teamwork.”
“It was like watching the old Son Heung-min.”

Watching the replay, the commentators burst into admiration.

At that time, what was the reason why Son Heung-min was called a beekeeper and was training the ‘Yellow Uniform’ team?
Isn’t it because the back space is empty?

It has already been 10 years since director Jurgen Klopp left.
In the meantime, many coaches have passed through Dortmund, and the color of ‘Gegenpressing’ has faded, but Dortmund is still a team known for strong forward pressure and a high defensive line, and through this, they were able to intercept the pass of the Frankfurt defense team and score the opening goal.

And that high line acted as a poison this time, and Chicharo’s wonderful pass and Hong Min-jun’s penetration, which dug into the wide back space, conceded.

“Furthermore, Martin Fossa, who stopped Hong Min-jun, was too impatient. Hong Min-jun’s foot skills are well-known?
“It’s a joint goal with Chicharo’s pass and Hong Min-jun’s instant penetration and breakthrough power. The two players seem to be getting closer.”
“It’s already my ninth goal in the league. A wonderful comeback goal that solidifies the league’s leading scorer!”

Top scorer in Europe’s major leagues.
What a sweet word

The commentators smiled and continued to praise.

“Hong Min-joon’s momentum is unusual. Last year, he was in the second division, but didn’t he become the top scorer after only half a season? Right after the , the first leg of the Europa League group stage against Monaco awaits.”
“That’s right. It’s the first European match of Hong Min-jun’s career. Monaco’s defense is solid, but isn’t Hong Min-jun, who scored goals against Munich and Dortmund, worth looking forward tohaha.”

Despite conceding a goal by Frankfurt, who attacked the wide back space, Dortmund never lowered the line.

Intense forward pressure sealed the rear build-up itself, and the first half ended by knocking on Frankfurt, and the second half was about to flow in a similar fashion.

“Ah… It was Frankfurt that was good at blocking, but in the end they conceded.”
“Dortmund’s firepower is strong. They are neutralizing Frankfurt’s build-up with tireless and constant forward pressure.”

Dortmund scored a goal with a counterattack immediately after intercepting the pass of Frankfurter who was awkwardly turning the ball in the middle.

But again, the same

“Georg Stefan missed Minjun Hong! Fast, fast!!”
“Run Minjun Hong!!! Shooting!! Ah, goalkeeper’s punching… Alberto Mondi!!”
“Goal!! Alberto Mondi decides Hong Min-Jun’s shot that bounced off by punching!!”

* * *

“Did everyone have a good time?”

In a dark room, the edited match scene was playing on the only lighted large TV.

“Frankfurt will probably come out with the tactics they showed against Munich or Dortmund this time against us. When they are clearly inferior in terms of power, their method is extreme defense followed by a counterattack.”

Monaco manager Carl Hessen manipulated the footage to show several scenes on the screen.

“The formation is 4-3-3 at the start, but takes a 5-3-2 or 5-4-1 form when defending, and when he gets the ball, he shoots a long pass straight into the empty space on the side.”

The screens that follow are the scenes of Munich and Dortmund conceding goals.

“This is a counter attack entirely utilizing this player, Hong Min-jun. As you can see, he is fast and technical. He is a threatening player.”

The heart of Monaco, Alex Richards, whose face was darkly shaded by the light emitted from the screen, grinned.
Even the director is startled by the stern look, thick hair, shady face with a shaggy beard and a young smile.

“I’ll stop you.”
“Can you even mark while participating in the build-up?”
“Absolutely.”

Said Alex Richards, stroking his shaggy beard.

“Isn’t this kind of guy my specialty?