139. A new leap forward (1)
A catastrophe.
There have been many upsets in soccer history so far.
North Korea, which defeated Italy, the United States, which defeated England, and Senegal, which defeated France, in the World Cup.
These were games that made the saying ‘the ball is round’ come to life.
And today’s game was also at a level that could be considered worthy of joining that ranks.
[South Korea won the first bronze medal in Olympic soccer history in Beijing!]
[With this, Korea achieved the valuable result of 3rd place in overall score. In addition, Woo Ho-young stood tall as the leading scorer with a total of 7 goals. Unless Messi scores 4 goals in the final between Argentina and the Netherlands, he is confirmed to be the top scorer.]
That wasn’t all.
Hoyoung achieved Ronaldo’s hidden condition by achieving the splendid feat of ‘international competition podium’.
Ronaldo’s talent as a result was ‘perfect composure (SS).’
This is because technical talents such as individual skills and dribbling had degenerated to S grade or lower over the past year.
Meanwhile, Robinho’s hidden condition ‘to win by 3 points’ was unfortunately not achieved, but up to this point, it was satisfactory enough.
‘I did it.’
That was the only thought that ran through my mind and nothing else came out.
Hoyoung lost his strength and fell down on the floor.
Approximately 100 minutes for both halves.
I don’t remember a single thing about how it got here.
Then, at some point, as I was looking at the black night sky, this thought suddenly occurred to me.
It was a really long journey.
I gained a lot.
Especially military exemption.
In this way, a huge burden was lifted.
There is still a lot of things I want to achieve in the future, but I still felt like I had crossed the 5th level ridge.
Now the Spanish first division and the Champions League.
The main stage was waiting.
Today was the jumping off point.
And after some time.
“It was a lot of hard work.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Captain Ki Dong-jin came and helped Hoyoung up, and then Ronaldo came and offered his hand.
“Congratulations. “Today was the best.”
I wasn’t saying this because he was my teacher.
Anyone would have given this compliment.
Anyone could see that the main character of the day was Hoyoung.
“thank you.”
Hoyoung answered with sincerity and kept this moment deep in his heart.
Then he approached Marcelo and Breno and encouraged them.
Brazil’s bench at that time.
Robinho’s face was red and he was unable to recover from the shock.
‘This doesn’t make sense…’
Regret comes flooding back.
If he had made just a little concession to Fatu, he could have won, but his greed made him angry.
That was the cause of the defeat.
He was too conscious of Woo Ho-young.
‘Damn it…’
My teeth were shaking.
I felt that Hoyoung Woo had ruined his competition.
But there was a further problem than this.
Competition for starting position this season.
I had no idea what Woo Ho-young, who was flying even in such a weak team, would do if he joined top-class players at Real Madrid.
Robinho already felt his position shaking.
It felt like it would be a turning point in my life, in a bad way.
12pm the next day.
The final match between Argentina and the Netherlands was held at the Beijing Olympics Main Stadium.
The result was 2-0.
Messi scored two goals in a row, giving Argentina a clean victory.
As a result, Woo Ho-young became the top scorer, and the tournament organizing committee selected Messi as the best player.
And this news was widely spread around the world through various media outlets.
Korea was in a festive mood, but there were definitely some regrets.
Reporter Hwang Tae-seok pointed out that point.
[Shadow of ‘Olympic top scorer’ Woo Ho-young]
[Korea, which had no connection to Olympic soccer, was able to rise to third place with the highest score in this tournament thanks to Woo Ho-young, who scored 7 goals.
However, Woo Ho-young alone was not enough to overcome the walls of the world. In other words, it was a competition where individual limitations were clearly revealed.
This was a problem that was clearly revealed in the semifinals against Argentina. In order for Korean soccer to take a step forward, it is left with the big task of having a solid midfield and stable defense to support Woo Ho-young.
Meanwhile, Woo Ho-young expressed his strong aspirations, saying, “It is very unfortunate that we did not make it to the finals, but we fought well.” He added, “I gained a lot through this competition, and now I will fully demonstrate my skills on a higher stage.”
With this, Hoyoung Woo succeeded in breaking the record of ‘youngest person exempted from military service’ previously held by Dongseong Kim (28, coach of the U.S. Skate Club).]
Although there was a lot of disappointment, what he gained was an even greater competition.
In addition, Korea had an outstanding performance of 11 gold medals at this Olympics, creating a truly festive atmosphere.
Moreover, there were baseball and taekwondo games left today.
That was why Hoyoung, who was allowed free time after the 3rd and 4th place match, visited the Taekwondo stadium today.
To cheer on Kim Seong-min, a gold medal candidate in the Taekwondo under-58kg class.
‘Please follow me!’
If he won a medal, he could pursue a talent.
Because there were these conditions.
(Condition 1: Winning a medal at the Olympics)
(Condition 2: As fellow citizens, cheer for the match in which Kim Sung-min wins a medal)
(Condition 3: Do 5,000 minutes of leg strength training)
Since Hoyoung had already won a bronze medal, Kim Sung-min won a medal in today’s match. If I won this medal and continued to exercise my legs, I could meet all the conditions.
It looks like I need some time.
‘As expected, nothing is easy.’
Fortunately, though, there were no impossible conditions like ‘winning a Taekwondo competition’.
It was right then.
[Kim Seong-min gold medal! Gold medal confirmed!]
“That’s right!”
Hoyoung’s eyes were busy rolling.
The most coveted ‘Awl-Sharp Kick (S)’ could not be coveted due to a hidden condition, so I planned to bring ‘Monstrous Leg Strength (A+3)’.
‘A grade even though it’s 58kg? If I were a heavyweight, it would have been at least S.’
This was a talent that Roberto Carlos also possessed, and if he exploited it, it seemed like it would greatly help his kicking power.
‘good. ‘This is the end.’
In fact, other than Taekwondo players, there were many coveted talents throughout the athletes’ village.
In particular, athletes such as Usain Bolt, the biggest star of this year’s Olympics, possessed talent that must be coveted at all costs.
However, I was satisfied with this Olympics because I had no time or opportunity to meet because I was only focusing on the competition.
Just 16 years old.
Because there were still many opportunities left.
The long, long summer in Beijing was slowly coming to an end.
August 24th.
The Beijing Olympics ended successfully.
There were many opinions that it was a failure due to the province’s excessive control and human rights issues, but there were evaluations that it was a great success in terms of facilities and players’ performance.
Anyway, the soccer game was successful.
Numerous star prospects were born, which played a role in making the summer transfer market more active.
In particular, this preseason was a great success for President Perez.
In June, when Spain won Euro 2008, its players rose to stardom, and this month, the players sent to the Olympics performed well and made a golden comeback.
In particular, Woo Ho-young became the top scorer with 7 goals, and Robinho proved his worth by scoring 5 goals.
Of course, the game was ruined in the 3rd and 4th place match.
Anyway, it was a perfect situation for Perez.
Late August.
That was why Perez sat alone with Robinho.
“I still have amazing skills, so is there any reason to whine like this? “As long as you are in a different position from Woo Ho-young, your position will not change much.”
“But the color of tactics will change. “Someday, the main character of the team will also change.”
“I think you will lose the competition for leadership. “I’m afraid of Woo Ho-young.”
“It can’t be! That bastard just doesn’t match my style! So take your pick. “Either keep me in Madrid or send him out.”
It was Robinho’s ultimatum.
Of course, he had already received transfer offers from Manchester City and Chelsea, so he was ready to leave at any time.
But Perez did not let Robinho go easily.
“I can’t let you go easily. “Because I cared about you more than anyone else.”
“So does that mean you will accept my opinion?”
“no. There is no change in my will. “You are the one who has to show change.”
Negotiations broke down.
Robinho eventually revealed his true feelings.
“I’m leaving. Please send me to Chelsea.”
“I’m sorry, but I made myself clear. “I have no intention of letting you go.”
But Perez’s true feelings were completely opposite.
From that day on, he continued to postpone Robinho’s transfer and at the same time demanded more ransom from Manchester City.
It was City who were anxious and Real were eventually able to get the amount they wanted.
This is a huge amount of money, equivalent to 43 million euros (about 70 billion won), the highest transfer fee in the EPL.
With this, Real Madrid was able to breathe easier and strengthened its squad by recruiting Garay, who made a big impression at the Olympics, and Van der Vaart, who played well at the Euros.
At the same time, a total of 7 additional players, including Balboa Baptista Soldado and Granero Cassano, were sold and a large-scale wage restructuring began.
At the same time, he proposed contract renewal negotiations to Woo Ho-young.
“yes?”
Hoyoung, who returned to the club as soon as the Olympics ended, received unexpected news from Lucci.
“The weekly wage will be increased to 7,200 euros (approximately 11.7 million Korean won)?”
“Once I officially debut in the first division, I will renew my contract with better conditions this winter or next summer.”
Besides that, Lucci poured out an envelope full of documents.
It was about bonus payments from Adidas for participating in the Olympics.
“Oh… so this is all my money?”
“Then whose money is it? ha ha ha.”
Even excluding bonuses, the annual salary he will receive in the future is approximately 600 million won.
After taxes, it was about 300 million won, but it was much more than before.
Seeing the amount that had grown this much, Hoyoung began to realize how famous he had become.
As well as.
“And as you can see here, income from image rights was also guaranteed. “We plan to gradually increase the settlement ratio in line with weekly wages.”
“So are you selling my uniform now?”
“Yes.”
“Then that means…”
“I did it!”
Lucci continued speaking with a smile on his face.
“Woo Ho-young’s name was finally included in the final 25-man roster for the first division. “The uniform number was assigned to the number you wanted.”
“Finally….”
“Once approved by the secretariat, you will be promoted immediately.”
While I was in Beijing, everything was going smoothly.
“Thank you. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“ha ha ha. you’re welcome.”
Hoyoung was truly grateful to Lucci, who believed in his potential and accompanied him this far.
Luci continued.
“Oh. “You asked me to take you to the airport for lunch today, right?”
Madrid International Airport that morning.
At the departure gate, a pretty girl looked around while dragging a load of luggage.
Monica Stokey.
She spotted someone and raised her hand and shouted.
“Hoyoung!”
“Monica!”
Hoyoung was hiding his face with a fedora and sunglasses, but Monica recognized him right away.
I was so happy that I ran towards him as soon as I saw him.
The two hugged lightly without saying who was the first.
“We finally met.”
Ah, this enchanting scent.
Brilliant hair.
Soft skin.
Hoyoung, whose energy was surging like a lie, kissed Monica on the cheek and asked her how she was doing.
That’s how the reunion between the boy and the girl began.