Chapter 59 – Olympic Group Stage (5)

059

Macdonald Jones Stadium, the home ground of Newcastle United Jets FC, which is based in Newcastle, a coastal city north of Sydney, New South Wales, is a stadium with a capacity of 33,000.

Compared to the leading giant stadiums, this stadium, which boasts a capacity that is not small by any means, was crowded with various people in the match between Korea and Spain today.

Michel Merino of the Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo was one of them.

‘I’ve come a lot. That accent is from Madrid. Is that the Andalusian side? Seeing them gather like this even in a game against Korea, it seems like they have high expectations for the golden generation.’

El Mundo Deportivo.
The sports newspaper, commonly referred to as Mundo Deportivo, is one of Spain’s most historic and representative Barcelona-friendly media outlets.

Mikel Merino took out a camera, a notebook, and a writing instrument.
These days, he writes real-time articles on his laptop while watching the game, but Mikel, who is in his 60s, is still familiar with the traditional notebook and writing instruments.

‘Let’s see. The roster… Okay. Jorge is coming.’

Jorge Garcia.
A genius who stands out the most among the young Spanish players who are called the Golden Generation. Unfortunately, however, Jorge rejected the call from Barcelona and headed to the cursed Real Madrid.

Mikel tutted and clicked his tongue as he skimmed through the roster.
A number of familiar names were on the starting list.

‘Well? The composition has changed a lot from the last match against Morocco.’

Like a football journalist, Mikel quickly picked up on the manager’s thoughts.
A series of matches held every three days. It is expected that the opponent will not be difficult, so he must be thinking of actively using the rotation.

‘Thanks to you, I’ll be able to see Fernando today.’

Mikel smiled contentedly.
He visited this stadium publicly for a column about the Korean War, but privately to see Fernando. Because Mikel was an avid Barcelona supporter.

Fernando Dominguez.
Member of the golden generation who earned a place in the best 11 when Spain won the U-17 and U-19 Euros back-to-back and even won the U-20 Youth World Cup. And above all, the sacred bone youth of Barcelona.

He was a 22-year-old young player this year and was a valuable two-footed defender who could handle both left and right side defense.
However, he was having a hard time getting a chance to play because he was hit by Barcelona’s first-team defenders, who were so outstanding right now.

‘There is no player as motivated as a player who longs to travel. I can see Fernando’s performance today.’

Watching Fernando waiting for the match to begin, Mikel raised his notebook.
No matter how much he has been watching Barcelona since childhood, his evaluation has to be cold.

Beep, beep!
Only 7 minutes into the game.

Mikel, who was watching the stadium blankly, dropped his pen.

“Oh My God….”

* * *

July 30, 2032, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, McDonald Jones Stadium.

South Korea 0 : 0 Spain

GK Song Chan-shik / GK Alvaro Fernandez
RB Ojiu / RB Fernando
CB Byeonggi An / CB Bayech
CB Youhyun Kim / CB Oscar Gill
LB Seol Yohan (c) / LB Minguesa
DM Daesung Kim / DM Jose Merino
DM Yoon Hyuk      / CM Martin Subimendi (c)
RW Chae Kyu-Seok / CM Ceballos
AM Oh Pyo-shik / RW Jorge Garcia
LW Min-jun Hong   / LW Rapa Mir
CF Yoo Ji-ho / CF Harvey Puado

Our team came out with the same composition as the last match against Honduras.
On the other hand, the composition of Spain’s best 11 changed more than half from the Morocco game.

“Those bastards rotated.”
“How dare you rotate against us? Senior, I will destroy you.”

I made a firm promise with senior Yoon Hyuk and took my seat at the stadium.
Spain is the golden generation that won the UEFA U-17 and 19 football championships in a row, called the Euro Youth World Cup, and even won the FIFA U-20 Youth World Cup.

Not to mention Jorge Garcia, players such as Rafa Mir and Malaga’s Ceballos, who play for Valencia, are also talents that cannot be ignored.

‘And that beard is Barcelona too.’

A right-sided defender who has no choice but to fight frequently due to his position. Is your name Fernando?
As I was looking through the analysis data, he grinned at me as if he felt my gaze.

‘… Crazy.’

How is that 22 years old?
Even if the face value is 32 years old, I would believe it. I shake my head at the gruesome smile of the shaggy bearded man.
Too bad. It’s a very sad face.

The match started with Spain’s first axis.
From the start as expected, the Spaniards are constantly exchanging short passes to increase possession. We sat tight and waited for the Spaniards to come over to our side.

Tok, tok.
Passes were exchanged around the half-line as if tempting them to run, but our team players focused on blocking the space as they practiced and applied pressure only when the ball came nearby.

The Spanish players, who had been spinning the ball for a while looking for gaps, gradually widened the range of their passes to the left and right, probably feeling that our team’s defense was solid.

And by the time the 6th minute of the first half had passed.
The Spanish players, who had been exchanging the ball leisurely at a slow tempo, suddenly raised the tempo.

‘Overlapping!’

Guy Fernando who digs into our team’s camp as if he’s been waiting for it. Because he was watching, he was able to catch up right away.

‘Definitely fast.’

During the preliminary power analysis, I heard that it has excellent instantaneous acceleration, so be careful, but the explosive power is no joke.

‘But it doesn’t work for me!’

Fernando started first, but because of the distance, I was able to quickly catch up before he passed me. As if believing in Fernando’s explosive power, the pass that leads exactly to the empty space in front of him.

It was a pretty good pass. If it wasn’t just me
He secured possession of the ball before Fernando and passed it to Seol Yo-han.

Right after that, I made a sudden stop and quickly turned around, and the ball came back to me.
The bearded guy seems to have a good sense of balance, so he doesn’t lag behind and follows him, stretching his legs.

Are you trying to steal the ball against me?
As I concentrated, I saw a stud approaching from the side with a slowing vision. After slightly dragging the foot that is touching the ball back and doing a drag-back, turn around using the guy’s body as a pillar.

Fernando’s feet passing in vain.
Scanning the empty space, I leave behind Fernando, who lost his balance, and run away.

Was he trusting him?
After defeating Fernando, a wide open field opened up.

‘There was no one to stick with. It’s an opportunity.’

In this case, it’s too hard.
Kick the ball long and run with all your might.

Spanish players hurriedly catching up late.
With a faster reaction than expected, I almost lost the ball kicked forward in vain, but I ran with all my might and managed to protect it.

‘Go out more? Or to the center?’

Momentary worries.
If you go further here, it’s too much of a corner. If you get stuck on the left flank, your options become too narrow… I’ll have to cut it in the center.

“Here!!”

At that time, Seol Yo-han, who ran from behind, passed by and headed further to the corner. The eyes of the Spanish players are directed towards the senior Il-soon in the movement to dig into the space. And Fernando, who was hurriedly following, also followed with his teeth clenched, as if he could not neglect Seol Yo-han, who was digging into the side in a no-mark state.

Momentary freedom.
Without any checks or pressure, I quickly looked around.

I see our team players pouring into the Spanish camp.
It was not a pre-planned play, but as promised during the attack, all players except for the two center backs and senior Yoon Hyuk crossed the half line and penetrated the Spanish camp.

The Spaniards were visibly taken aback by the unexpected attacking move.
Still, he’s reacting quickly like a player full of talent, but…

‘You made a mistake. You’re going to stop me with just one person?’

Only one player came to mark me to keep the other players in check.
Martin Subimendi. The captain of the Spanish national team and a player selected as a wild card. He is originally a player who plays as a left midfielder or winger, but as he rotated the rotation, it is said that he played as a central midfielder today.

There’s no way a player in an offensive position, not even a professional defender, can stop me.
After shaking the guy’s balance with a few upper body paints, he hits the center. He was a guy who caught up easily, but as soon as he caught up with him, he turned round and round and the other guy lost his balance and fell to his knees on the floor.

As if he was trying to grab the uniform, he passed by his hand, and before he knew it, the penalty line was right in front of him.

‘More to go… Dangerous.’

He’s confident, but if he makes a mistake, it’s a big deal.
Since we left our camp empty and everyone came up to the attack, the back was empty.

‘Let’s hit it.’

Immediately after beating Martin Subimendi, there was no player who could interfere.
Put your feet firmly on your feet, look at the ball until the end, and make an accurate impact.

Bang!!