Chapter 58 – Olympic Group Stage (4)

058

In front of the large TV, the director continued to explain passionately.

“Basically, Spain are good at using their third man and free man, and we need to mark this third man especially well—”

Well. Well.
It’s third man
I know What do you mean tactically? Anyway, something like that.

“The player to watch out for the most is Jorge Garcia. Anyone who doesn’t know? As everyone knows, he is the star that attracts the most attention in Spain. He debuted at the age of 18 and is said to be moving to Real Madrid this year at the age of 20.”

Well. Jorge Garcia. You know, you know
… Huh?

“Ugh! Jorge Garcia!?”
“Yes. Jorge Garcia. Do you have something to say to Hong Min-jun?”
“…There is not.”
“You slept very well. Hearing Jorge’s name wakes you up, doesn’t it?”
“Sure. Jorge Garcia is my rival.”

The strategy analysis room went cold at his confident answer.
… What?

“Euhahaha! Rivals! Rivals!! Kuhhahaha!”
“You say you’re crazy, you’re crazy, but I never thought you’d be this crazy. Great Minjun.”
“This bastard is so amazing. Dude, do you know who Jorge is?”

I was moved by the sight of the seniors bursting into laughter here and there.

“Wow everyone is so good. Of course you know! Jorge Garcia! He debuted for Bilbao as an 18-year-old and scored 9 goals in his first season, and last year he scored 16 goals as a 19-year-old!”
“Do you know someone?”
“What? A rival~? A rival~?”
“Quiet.”

Only then did the seniors stop teasing at the director’s one word.

“Hong Min-joon is a Jorge-level genius.”
“…OMG?”
“Director?”
“Um. What is it? Why is everyone reacting like this?”

Senior Yoon Hyuk muttered as he fluttered through the analysis data.

“It’s strange. The reliability of the data has suddenly decreased.”

The only one who knows me is the director!
As expected, our director, like a European, has a sharp eye.

As I watched the TV screen playing on repeat, I suddenly became curious.

“But coach. Seeing that, it came to my mind. How about actively putting pressure on the Spaniards?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Yes?”
“You’ll have to try that, but… Morocco did that and got robbed.”

The director scratched his chin.

“Anyway, due to the nature of the national team, it is difficult to match the organization, so in the end, the defense strategy is to defend the area through zone defense or to pressure based on the ability of each player… As you can see, the Spaniards are playing shit. It’s the confidence that I have.”

Since the national team has a short time to match their feet, it is difficult to expect good organizational skills like the club team.
In soccer, organizational power shines more in defense than offense, and pressing requires team-level organizational skills rather than individual player abilities.

In other words, it is difficult for the national team to exert systematic pressure.
The Spanish national team used this to play on the premise that each player’s ability to release pressure was superior to that of the opponent.

“Can you stop the Spanish depressurization?”
“…”

Looking at the quiet players, the coach smiled bitterly.

“Attack is the best defense. This match against Spain. Our team’s concept is attack.”
“…Yes? Coach, what is that…?”
“Hong Min-jun.”
“Yep!”
“You are the center of this tactic. Take this opportunity to show the world that you are no less than Jorge.”

* * *

At the same time, the Spanish Olympic team was also in the midst of analysis.

“Our next opponent is Korea.”
“Hey~ Korea!! But where is Korea?”
“You idiot Jose! You don’t even know Korea? It’s a country next to leader!”
“No, idiots. It is a country next to Indonesia.”
“Oh, Pedro! After all, it’s our brain!”

Spain’s Olympic team coach, Unai Simon, did not stop the loud players. Not because he ignored Korea, but because this was his way.

Unai Simon is a director who values ​​creativity. And creativity comes out in a freewheeling atmosphere rather than a tight and disciplined atmosphere.

That’s why his team always had to be free.

“Now. Gentlemen. Korea is a country in East Asia.”
“Oh! East Asia! Know! Japan!!”
“Right. The country above Japan is Korea. So, shall we begin the power analysis now?”

However, freewheeling and self-indulgence must be distinguished.
It was Unai Simon’s philosophy that moderation was necessary in training, and power analysis, which was mainly audio-visual, was also an important part of training.

Unai Simon, who has coached the Olympic team for nearly two years, knows his way well.

As soon as the video was played, the players, who were busy talking loudly, all shut their mouths and began to focus on the video. Unai Simon smiled contentedly.

‘It’s a pity that Rodrygo and Raoul are missing. If it were just those two, I would have been in first place in the group right now.’

Now that Group D matches were played one game at a time, Korea was still in first place, while Spain was closely following.

The same 3 points, but because of only one goal difference between South Korea winning 4:0 and Spain winning 3:0.

Unai regretted the absence of Rodrygo and Raul.
Those two players were two of the three players who led Spain to the last U-17 and U-19 Euros with overwhelming performances.

Today’s young Spanish players are being referred to as the ‘Golden Generation’.
And at the center of it all are Jorge, Rodrygo, and Raul.

Among them, Jorge is evaluated as the best, but the other two players are also excellent players who are evaluated that it is not strange if the ranking changes at any time.

If all three of the main players who won the last Euro Youth World Cup had participated, it wouldn’t have been strange if the victory against Morocco had been 6:0 instead of 3:0. It was only 3:0 due to lack of goal decision, because there were countless decisive opportunities.

Unfortunately, however, there was no compulsory selection rule in the Olympics, and clubs did not welcome the selection of their cherished prospect.

Also, the Olympic Games are held between July and August.
Isn’t it the period when the transfer market is just over and the pre-season is in full swing?

The pre-season is a very important period.
It was a period in which I had to build up my stamina and condition so that I could endure a season that could be called a marathon, keep pace with new transfer students, and learn tactics.

However, if you participate in the Olympics, you will blow through the preseason.
At the beginning of the season, you have to pull the body condition that should be slowly raised, and there is no time to match the team’s tactics or the sum of the transfer students.

Of course, from the club’s point of view, the selection for the Olympics would not be satisfactory.
Unai Simon asked all three representatives of the golden generation to be called out, but there was no expectation that anyone would respond. Jorge’s participation is, in some ways, unusual, if not unusual.

‘This time I’m moving to Real Madrid. The contract is also definitive enough to be signed by the person himself. That’s probably why.’

Young Jorge was eager for the Olympics. Regardless of whether he was a young man out of patriotism, Jorge wanted to compete in the Olympics, and his agent also wanted to increase his ransom based on his performance at the Olympics.

Bilbao, a team that can prevent this, did not bother to block the player who was scheduled to transfer, and Real Madrid was not happy, but the contract has not yet been confirmed, so the player’s will cannot be blocked.

All of these are exquisitely intertwined, and Jorge, who is considered the most advanced among the three main actors of the golden generation, was able to participate in the Olympics.

“Hey gentlemen. Our opponent, Korea, is on the rise after winning 4-0 against Honduras last time. Actually, the rankings are also above our heads.”
“It’s because you haven’t stuck with us yet!”
“That’s right! I’ll smash it in the next game!”
“It’s nice to see everyone’s confidence. Then we need to dig into their tactics and capabilities to destroy Korea. Now, this is Korea’s defense move.”

Unai explained to the players what he analyzed while watching the match against Honduras last time.
Of course, neither Unai nor the players are serious. No matter how vigilant they may be, to them, Korea is still a football periphery that needs a lot of development.

“You’ve seen what happened to Morocco, who had been actively pressing in the last game, so Korea will focus on regional defense. The player to watch out for is number 28. His name is… Yunhyeok? Yoonhyeok? It’s hard to pronounce. Anyway, this player needs to be careful. Have.”

Unai said while watching a video edited separately of Yoon-hyeok’s movements during the game against Honduras.

“He’s not special technically, but he’s a very good player. In particular, he has good anticipation, so you can often see him blocking the middle. He also has a good long pass ability, so when he loses possession of the ball, it’s important to press as quickly as possible. “

After several players passed by, the player with uniform number 7 appeared on the screen.

“Whoah~ What is this boy. Is he a model?”
“Boss! Is this corrupt guy a soccer player too?”
“Puhaha. You look very pretty. Shouldn’t you send them to the women’s game?”
“Wow~ He’s very handsome. Churup.”
“…Jorge?”

For a moment, the atmosphere became gloomy.

“Focus on it. Does this player read Hong-Min-Jun…? Korean names are difficult. He is a 20-year-old young player this year. He is in charge of the left wing attacker and made several good key passes in the last game, and the team’s offense He led the group. His ability to find empty spaces and move is not bad.”

An edited video focusing on Hong Min-joon passes by.

“Now. Does anyone feel anything strange here?”

One of the players, who had been blinded by the coach’s question, raised his hand.
It was Jorge.

“Yes, Jorge. What’s wrong?”
“You look really cool when you sweat.”
“…I see. Anyone else?”
“Your posture is like a dribbler.”
“Right!”

Afterwards, the director who played the video picked up points one by one.

“Look at this scene. The movement to receive the pass. The first touch. You can tell by looking at the direction of the body and the line of sight at this time. He is a typical dribbler. I can see what you’re trying to do.”

Unai said after turning off the video.

“Korea’s tactics are not difficult. They have a clear center of attack. In the midfield, you just have to pay attention to No. 28 Yun-Hyuk? Not so great, Fernando.”

A player with a shaggy beard slightly raises his hand at the coach’s call.

“Due to the location, you are the one in charge of Mr. Hong. Can I trust you?”

The player called Fernando smiled, showing white teeth through his shaggy beard.

“Boss. I will erase Mr. Hong from this match.”