Chapter 245 – Boxing Day (5)
245
10 wins, 2 draws, a match between Newcastle, who had been at the top of the league with an undefeated streak until the 13th round, and Chelsea, who faltered in the beginning but were expected to return to their place in the second half of the league.
The match between the two teams, which drew a lot of attention as a match between the so-called’championship’ team, ended with Chelsea’s victory.
Chelsea deserved attention as they won the team that showed signs of faltering after the manager changed, not the team that was running undefeated, but all the spotlight was on Newcastle, the loser, not Chelsea, the winner.
It is Newcastle’s new ace, Hong Min-jun, who is called ‘Sungju’ by home fans.
“He is an obvious clutch player. When the team is in trouble, when the team needs it, whenever the team needs to perform in a big game, they play beyond their limits. When Hong Min-joon is fully immersed in the game, he achieves great growth as if he is being reborn. Most surprisingly, the growth is by no means temporary. He is the greatest talent I have ever seen.”
Starting with the rave reviews of director Lorenzo Federico,
“He must have eaten… I stopped, but it has changed. He’s a weird player. He’s a boring player. … Damn, okay? He’s a guy I really don’t want to deal with again.”
From an interview with Chelsea’s key defender, Mbaba, shaking his head, to SNS fans who watched the game.
It was also because he shined alone by scoring two goals with his fantastic individual skills despite the team’s defeat, but above all, the reason Hong Min-joon is attracting attention is—
“Crazy! Hong is really crazy!! Did everyone see it? I told you, he’s a guy who really thrives on crises! You showed me this time too. Shouldn’t everyone admit it now? Hong Min-jun is Crazy Boy.”
“Hong’s performance is unbelievable. In the first half, he was the usual Hong Min-joon, but in the second half, he was the second coming of Messi and Ronaldo. How is this possible? Surprisingly, this is not the first time Hong Min-joon has had such an ‘awakening’. Every moment of crisis, he shows a crazy look as if he has awakened!”
It was because of the explosive growth shown at the moment of crisis.
Just like the main character in a cartoon, when the team is in trouble or when it needs to be active, it shows more than the limit, and it is not temporary, but it is settled as the person’s own growth, so even soccer experts stick out their tongues at his strange growth.
The loss against Chelsea, which was buried as a hot topic about Hong Min-joon, began to be highlighted again as the match against Man United ended in a draw.
“The form of Newcastle’s squad has generally declined. He makes simple mistakes and shows a lack of concentration, which is because of his lack of stamina? Perhaps this Boxing Day will be a turning point for Newcastle.”
Despite the overwhelming performance of Hong Min-jun, who was selected as the MOM of the match, Newcastle’s performance against Man United was poor.
As a result of the two consecutive matches that led to Chelsea and Manchester United, the invisible crisis theory was secretly sticking its head out when they were undefeated, but it is not easy to solve the problem caused by the overall deterioration of the team’s form, not the problem of one or two players.
At a time like this, you need to win somehow, even if you win, but the next opponent is,
“I do not know. It’s hard to agree with the assertion that Boxing Day is a humpback. I think Newcastle will already be in tatters by Boxing Day? Right now, the opponent in this game is Man City.”
Manchester City was at the top of the league.
And on match day.
Even the 2 consecutive sluggish performances against Chelsea and Manchester United could not dampen the passionate Toonami’s hopes, so Toon is full of dreams and hopes that this season, too, he will be able to win against Man City, who is in top position in the league in an extremely strong form. ARMYs filled the home stadium.
And soon after, Toonami’s dreams and hopes were dashed into a cold reality.
League round 15 against Man City.
Because Newcastle suffered an overwhelming defeat of 1:5.
* * *
I didn’t show it, but the match between Chelsea and Man City gave me a big setback.
Especially against Man City.
If the match against Chelsea was difficult as an individual player, Man City felt overwhelmed as a team. No, not a feeling, but definitely overwhelmed.
In the match against Chelsea, I felt the competence and competence of new manager Lorenzo Federico, but I didn’t think of it as a ‘wall’, perhaps because I hadn’t completely tidied up Chelsea yet.
But Manchester City… The skill of each player, the ability of the manager, and even the perfection of the team were perfect.
It really feels like facing a wall.
And the results of the three-game series, starting with Chelsea, followed by Manchester United and Man City, left a big impact on the team as well as me.
Despite the favorable performance at the beginning of the season, 1 draw and 2 losses in 3 consecutive matches against top-ranked competitors.
Personally, I was disappointed with the disastrous result of running on the undefeated road, but the team atmosphere went beyond disappointment and reached the level of frustration and despair.
Frustration felt all the more acutely since I had been so energetic until recently.
This is a problem that neither the coach nor the captain can solve.
Victory is the only answer that can rectify this atmosphere. Only victory will be the medicine.
Fortunately, the opponent in the next match was an easy team.
Victoria Plzen, a powerhouse in the Czech Republic.
The 6th leg of the Champions League group stage was held with more desperate for victory than usual.
The coach, who decided to activate the best 11 to ensure victory despite the harsh schedule,
“After the first half, Hong Min-jun and Locke fall to the bench.”
I put forward a plan to confirm victory as soon as possible and actively replace it.
As one of the most played players on the team, it goes without saying that I roll similarly to myself… No, since the amount of activity per game is much higher, it was agreed that Luke, the housekeeper in the midfield, who rolled more harshly than me, would be replaced after only the first half… During the game, I realized belatedly that my back muscles were not serious.
I thought that my body would be sore from running too much recently, or that it was because of the accumulation of lactic acid in my muscles.
‘… I can’t do this.’
Time passed and the sense came.
That the muscles are slowly coming up.
‘This time… ‘
End of the prequel.
Regular time is over and extra time is almost over.
I want to send a replacement signal right away, but the time is ambiguous.
Just 1 minute… 2 minutes left at most.
‘If I send a replacement sign now, the injury issue will explode. In an already bad team atmosphere, if even Ace leaves due to an injury, the momentum will fall to hell… Let’s hold out a little longer.’
However, if he overdoes it and gets injured, he pretends to spend the remaining time garbage time.
‘Leave as much strength as possible on the painful side.’
Standing tall on the ground with their hands on their hips with their legs crossed, the opposing players who were holding them in check seemed relieved.
Yes, if he is replaced after being a little proud like this, he will be able to hide his injury.
Of course, the team should be notified, but it would be beneficial to delay the spread of the injury outside the team.
By the way…
“Red!! Receive!!”
“Minjoon!!”
“…….”
Under… Shit.
Don’t you believe in your ace too much? Is this Ace’s responsibility?
Even in a winning game, my teammates send a pass without even noticing why they couldn’t attack so far until extra time.
2:0 situation in the first half.
I know you’re happy with an easy victory after a long time… I know the director ordered us to drive as hard as possible…
“Dameyo!!”
As soon as I took a step, I reflexively shrunk my body at the excruciating pain I felt, and Victoria Plzen’s fullback, who was holding me in check, quickly cut me in the middle and kicked it off.
A rare Asian in the Champions League.
It was a Japanese fullback who had been talking to me in Korean with strange pronunciation even before the game.
“Watashi did a good job.”
Sure enough, this time I ignore the babbling in strange Chinese and check the back muscles, but this situation is not good.
“Fuck. Fucked.”
“Hey~ Shibaru from the mainland!”
“… Get out of here, you bastard.”
“Hee~~ Bad words from the mainland!!”
… Really sucks
* * *
Fortunately, he was substituted right after the first half and was able to avoid reporting the injury—
『Hell’s schedule rush! Newcastle has 5 games left in December!』
『From November 25th to December 23rd, Newcastle played 9 matches in a month before Boxing Day. Did you face a hurdle?』
『Newcastle sluggish in the league, but the Champions League is different? Newcastle advanced to the Champions League finals after winning against Victoria Plzen in first place in the group stage.
“Hong Min-joon missed the 16th round of the league. The team achieves a close draw』
『Newcastle’s throne is empty!! Hong Min-jun, who also missed the 17th round against Stoke City!! The reason is that?”
“Injury? Fitness issues? Where is Team Ace?』
『Recent 5 league matches, 3 draws, 2 losses, put on a true test ahead of Newcastle Boxing Day』
The team was falling apart.