All Football Talents Are Mine Chapter 130

130. Mountain beyond the mountain (3)

Riccardo Montolivo.

With his impressive blue eyes, he was recognized for his skills and came to Beijing at the young age of 23.

His skills were good enough to earn him a starting position at ACF Fiorentina, a team in the Italian first division.

However, since he was a player who did not fit the type of soccer Coach Casiraghi was pursuing, his selection as a starter was unexpected.

But the opportunity has come.

An opportunity to send Woo Ho-young away and gain the director’s trust.

Moreover, since Casiraghi was a strong candidate to be the next national team coach, it was clear that if he made the most of this opportunity, it would be of great help in his future selection to the national team.

That one action would make him an enemy of the Republic of Korea for the rest of his life, but that was something he could take into account.

Because you can become a hero of your country.

Free kick situation now.

Montolivo had to survive unconditionally.

[Ki Sung-ryong’s free kick! Heading to the post outside the goal!]

[Woo Ho-young! Do you see Woo Ho-young! Hoyoung Woo jumps!]

Hoyoung, who had taken an advantageous position in advance, kicked off the ground and jumped up.

He tilted his head towards the flying ball.

However, Montolivo, who had no intention of allowing Hoyoung’s header, did not just sit there and watch.

A very short moment.

Montolivo jumped up almost at the same time and competed for heading with Woo Ho-young.

Without missing that moment, referee Franco’s eyes turned to Montolivo.

Since there was something suspicious about Montolivo from earlier, the intention was to observe Montolivo in preparation for any situation that might arise.

If you have the intention of dipping your opponent, your fists will instinctively be clenched when competing for a heading ball, and your gaze will be directed at the opposing player rather than the ball.

That is human instinct.

Those were the things referee Franco paid attention to.

but.

Montolivo’s eyes were focused solely on the ball and he did not use his forearms or elbows at all.

No fouls were used and only ball competition was attempted.

It was fair play.

However, Montolivo was not a very good air superiority player, so he had to give the header to Woo Ho-young.

It was defeat.

‘You lost.’

Montolivo ended the ball contest there.

Nothing more was done.

Use your hand to knock them down or hit them on the bridge of the nose with your elbow.

He did not do anything directed by Director Casiraghi.

Just accept defeat.

All I could do was watch Woo Ho-young’s header hit the goalpost.

Great love!

“ah!”

Hoyoung expressed his disappointment when his header hit the goalpost and went out of the goal line.

Looking at him like that, Montolivo let out a quiet sigh.

I felt like the burden had been lifted.

Although I wasn’t able to fulfill my role, I at least maintained the spirit of sports.

There was no romance, but there was conscience.

He couldn’t do something like that to Hoyoung, who had given him first aid just five minutes ago.

As fellow human beings and sportsmen playing on the same field.

When Woo Ho-young’s header hit the goalpost, the Chinese who had been booing the crowd as if cold water had been poured on them fell silent.

There were also people who secretly criticized Italy.

“Stupid Italians. They are struggling against Korea. “If it were China, we would have already scored one more goal!”

“No joke, I think our Dong Fangzhou is better than Giovinco? What on earth is that little bastard doing? “Why can’t I score a goal if I just drill?”

Some spectators were openly expressing their dissatisfaction by comparing their country’s ace with Italy’s ace.

Looking at the atmosphere, it was as if Italy had already lost.

But the game was still in full swing.

The first half isn’t over yet and the score is still 1-1.

Italy did not give up.

Because we had enough power to overturn a 2-point or 3-point gap.

‘Woo Ho-young, if that guy isn’t there!’

Director Casiraghi exploded with anger.

Woo Ho-young.

The impact of one person can be quite large.

Casiraghi was on the verge of going crazy because that young boy was giving positive energy to the Korean players.

‘How can they bring a game that was overturned to this point? Montolivo, you idiot.’

I felt like my head was going to explode.

Even though he had several good opportunities after the free kick, he failed to fulfill his role.

It wasn’t like he was hesitating, and he didn’t seem to have the will to do so at all.

When the first half ended 1-1, Casiraghi went straight to the locker room and expressed his anger.

bang!

He kicked the steel box containing various soccer equipment with all his might, loosened his tie and looked at Montolivo.

“You idiot. “You can’t do even one thing after being treated like that?”

Casiraghi was so angry that he fiercely criticized Montolivo in front of the other players.

But Montolivo did not sit still either.

“Are you human? Hoyoung Woo said he helped me. “Is that what a person would do, to do something like that to him?”

“What a fool. You are a simpleton who knows nothing about soccer. Are you thinking this is just a kid’s ball game? This is professional sports. Wealth, honor, and national pride are at stake! I mean, never take it lightly. This is war. War!”

Casiraghi.

Despite his handsome appearance, he had a harsh side during his days as a player, but it wasn’t to this extent.

It was after he became a director that his personality reached this point.

Italy’s baton was such a heavy position.

If I won, it was natural, and if I lost, I was criticized, so it was only a matter of time before my spirit broke down.

In particular, there were death threats from extreme Italian fans who said, ‘Don’t even think about coming back’ if you don’t win this game.

It is inevitable for any manager to receive criticism, but the stronger the team, the more severe it is.

The problem was Casiraghi’s unstable mentality.

Therefore, he had no place to retreat anymore.

“It’s your last chance. 10 minutes, just 10 minutes. A chance to make up for your mistakes. The rest of you, come to your senses. If we don’t get to the top of the group, Brazil will be waiting for us. Ronaldinho Robinho Ronaldo. If you have the confidence to deal with them, you can be brave enough. opinion.”

“yes.”

“Let the players regroup.”

“That’s right, so please go out.”

“We’ll wait and see in the second half.”

With those words, Casiraghi left the locker room.

There was still a lot of halftime left, but their locker room was no longer a place to relax.

The atmosphere was so heavy that it was difficult to even breathe.

Montolivo was troubled again.

Marchisio, who noticed this, approached and said.

“Montolivo.”

“huh.”

“Listen carefully. This game is only 90 minutes, but you still have 90% of your career left. I hope you don’t throw away the rest of your future to become a 90-minute hero. Everyone thinks so. “No one will blame you.”

It was touching advice.

And one more thing.

“Woo Ho-young must have already noticed.”

“what?”

“That you’re after him. “That’s how I feel.”

Marchisio, who is famous for being quick-witted, was already feeling it earlier.

“It’s been like that since you started fighting with Woo Ho-young earlier. Hoyoung Woo kept his distance from you to prevent injury. Same thing when you fall. Even before that, I was maintaining my distance from you. “When our bodies are close, we put our legs together to make the tackle angle ambiguous, and when our bodies fall, we widen the distance and deviate from the tackle angle.”

“Is that true? I didn’t feel it…”

“I guess I didn’t feel it because I was only focusing on the tackle. But I stayed around you. “I know because I’ve seen it a few times.”

“… That young guy is so good at preventing injuries?”

“He received intensive marks in the second division, so Real Madrid must have trained him with special care. “Because Woo Ho-young said he was the second-team ace.”

“Ah…”

Montolivo nodded as if he now understood.

The act of submerging an opposing player by disguising it as an accident.

I realized that this is not something that can be done just by putting your mind to it, but that it can only be done if you and the other person are on a certain level.

It feels like Woo Ho-young is standing on top of my head.

Montolivo had goosebumps all over his body.

The second half has begun.

Hoyoung still played as an attacking midfielder and led the flow from the start of the game.

At the same time, Hoyoung’s eyes turned to the midfield.

He constantly watched Montolivo’s actions as he followed him.

‘You have to be careful until the end. ‘You never know when a tackle will come in.’

In fact, Hoyoung had a hunch.

The fact that Montolivo was intentionally trying to tackle him.

Hoyoung was already very perceptive, but after gaining Ki Sung-ryong’s vision talent, he began to see more things that he had been unable to see before.

Moreover, there was no way he could not have noticed that Montolivo, who was weak, suddenly started fighting.

From then on, Hoyoung kept a close eye on him.

Whether competing for the ball or receiving a pass, he instinctively protected his body.

‘I told you to take care of your body no matter what anyone says.’

He reflected on the valuable advice he received from Ronaldo and used the injury prevention techniques he learned from him to prevent Montolivo’s tackles.

This was possible because Montolivo is a player who is very weak in physical fights.

For example, if a ruthless player like Gattuso had decided to attack him, he would have already broken his leg by now.

On the other hand, Montolivo was a young player who was just establishing himself in the first division.

Hoyoung was even planning to send him to the station if necessary.

Like Kovacevic.

But now.

‘Have you given up now?’

Montolivo did not struggle any further.

Still, you always had to be careful.

‘Saying I’m sorry may have been a trap.’

When I think of Kim Tae-young, who broke his nose in the game against Italy during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, I still get chills. Therefore, Italian players always had to be careful.

But that was then.

Beep!

When the ball went out of the touchline, Montolivo was called off the pitch.

11 minutes in the second half.

It was a player substitution in Italy.

[Montolivo is missing. Chigarini comes in to replace him. Director Casiraghi’s face looks quite bad. It looks like something is not going well.]

[At the same time, the lineup of players is changing. This means that we will no longer focus on Woo Ho-young and focus on attacking. As for our players, we need to hold firm.]

Italy reduced the defense and increased the number of attacks.

It was Director Casiraghi’s last weapon.

Onslaught.

I couldn’t be satisfied with a draw.

But at that time.

Korea wasn’t just sucking its fingers.

Coach Park Seong-ho reduced the defense to five backs through player substitution and began to solidify it by having all of the offensive linemen, including Woo Ho-young, participate in the defense.

It was a lock-and-lock tactic.

In particular, Hoyoung was positioned right in the center and actively helped with the side defense, but there was a player who would swear at that time.

Giovinco became infinitely smaller whenever he met Hoyoung.

In fact, he was showing decent form in the first half alone.

Even though he wasn’t able to finish, he continued to show a threatening appearance every time he caught the ball and performed well.

But now things are completely different.

The play was slowly dying due to the cooperative defense of Woo Ho-young and Ki Dong-jin.

‘It’s ruined.’

I strengthened my resolve by shaving my head before the competition started, but it was no use.

Determination in the face of skill did not have much effect.

“Aaaah!”

Giovinco screamed in frustration.

I felt like I wanted to run to Woo Ho-young and headbutt him right away.

However, this did not mean that Korea had an advantage.

Italy was still strong and took the lead until the end.

As time went by, his concentration became stronger and he launched a fierce attack until the end.

[It’s also Italy. It’s powerful. Our players must not relax until the end.]

[That’s right. Even if it’s hard, you have to try a little harder. You can do it!]

[5 minutes Only 5 minutes left! In the match between Cameroon and Honduras that ended earlier, Cameroon won? Therefore, if we draw, we are almost guaranteed to advance to the quarterfinals!]

As our stamina depleted, we gradually lost strength, but the same was true for the Italian players.

And eventually.

Beep-

[Game over! Korea drew 1-1 against Italy, which was mentioned as a contender for the championship, and earned one valuable point!]

[Yes, I am proud. If our players get a draw in the third game against Honduras, they will advance to the quarterfinals.] Even if they get a draw

in the game against Honduras, the weakest team, three days later, they have laid the foundation to advance to the top of the group.

It was a valuable victory, and an especially meaningful match for Hoyoung.

Because after 4 years, I started to covet that talent.

[The talent vessel is currently full. The Black Panther’s elastic muscles (22 days) are waiting.]

[Select the talent you want in advance 22 days later.]

– Sculptural beauty (A+2)

– Precise and fast kick (A+2)

– Menacing sliding tackle (A+)

-(See more)

Hoyoung’s choice was the former.

[Sculpting Beauty (A+3)↑]

‘This is also one level left to S.’

A little laugh escaped me.

Is there anyone who wouldn’t like to be handsome?

But then there was someone approaching.

“Marcisio?”

“It was a good experience. “Can I change my uniform?”

Whoops.

With those words, Hoyoung took off his uniform.

Marchisio held out his hand.

“Good luck with the rest of your game.”

Just watching the two handsome players exchanging uniforms was a heart-warming scene.

Moreover, it did not end there.

“Woo.”

Montolivo.

He approached me wordlessly and shook my hand.

Although he didn’t shed any tears, his face was already filled with sadness and regret.

Hoyoung, who felt it slightly, hugged him slightly instead of shaking hands.

I didn’t know that I would end up comforting him who was trying to punish me, but it was a truly ironic situation.

Knock knock.

Montolivo said as they hugged and shook hands.

“The game was tied, but we lost. And thank you again.”

Because Montolivo’s English was limited, he couldn’t speak for long and ended the conversation there. The two returned to the

tunnel

after being baptized by flash.

It seemed like an intense game ended on a touching note.

But after some time.

The press conference room at the stadium was truly chaotic.

The first reason was that Korea drew against Italy.

But the real one was different.

An interview with Director Casiraghi conducted right in the basement.

And Montolivo’s interview, conducted in the athlete’s passage on the ground, caused a huge stir.

In the meantime, Woo Ho-young’s name was constantly mentioned in each interview.

And the interview with Woo Ho-young that followed was a highlight.