204. Madrid in a cataclysmic situation (2)
Valdebebas in August had changed beyond recognition.
The players’ joking voices, which always resonated, could not be heard as much as before, and the friendly atmosphere that came from them could no longer be found.
Many players came in and just as many players left.
In the process, Calderon was so cruel that there was no blood or tears.
After all, modern soccer is a sport that relies on capital.
Not only players who had already fallen out of favor, but even players who showed loyalty to the team by saying they would stay until the end were put on the release list.
Even Mitchell Salgado, who played for Real Madrid for over 10 years, was no exception.
There was no reason to pay 100 million won every week to keep a 33-year-old rotation defender.
President Calderon’s will to eliminate the remnants of Perez and make Real Madrid his own team clearly stood out.
The media described this as a ‘purge’.
[
[
[〈Marca〉Calderon Cristiano Ronaldo
and
In fact, he has never made a satisfactory transfer since he served as chairman.
June of this year.
His first transfer target was coach Capello, who could correct the team’s discipline and discipline.
However, he, who was leading the England national team, had no intention of returning to Real Madrid a year before the World Cup.
Here, the first recruitment attempt failed.
And the second failure was the attempt to recruit Cesc Fabregas.
While Barcelona president Laporta hesitated to recruit Fabregas, Calderon looked into the possibility of a transfer by offering 80 billion won to Arsenal, but it failed spectacularly.
Although we had a large budget, there were not many players we could afford.
Love calls were sent to many players, including AC Milan’s Zambrotta, Chelsea’s Carvalho, Inter’s Chivu, Juventus’ Chiellini, Manchester United’s Vidic, and Manchester United’s Andersson, but all fell through.
Calderon, who wanted to break away from the Galactico policy and recruit pragmatic players, eventually had to turn his attention to A-list players or top prospects.
However, each of them showed a dismal response, saying, “I don’t think I will get a chance to play if I go to Real Madrid.”
It was the same as asking for a higher weekly wage.
Calderon eventually began overspending.
As a result, the rebuilding was completed by investing approximately 220 billion won by the end of August and recruiting a total of 8 additional players.
The recruitment details for the summer transfer market were as follows.
-Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United
,
KRW 188 billion
)
–
-Joao Gourcuff (AC Milan, KRW 36 billion)
– Douglas Costa (FC Sao Paulo, KRW 18 billion)
– Pair Mertesacker (Bremen, KRW 11 billion)
– Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool, KRW 10.5 billion)
– Mamadou Sakho (PSG, KRW 8.5 billion)
– A total of 474 billion
won. Calderon showed off his recruiting ability by spending 280 million euros worth of transfer fees as if he was shopping.
As a result, the once abundant treasury was empty and Real Madrid was saddled with a large amount of debt.
This was a very big obstacle in running the club.
This was because 30% of the debt had to be reduced by the end of this year to lead the budget deliberation in the desired direction.
However, I was not particularly worried because a sponsorship project with Arab countries was currently in progress.
Also, since they succeeded in earning 85 billion won by disposing of existing players, they thought they still had room to spare.
A total of 11 first-team players were released.
-Zinedine Zidane (retired)
-Jerzy Dudek (retired)
-Roberto Carlos (free, SC Corinthians)
-Fabio Cannavaro (free,Juventus)
-Mitchell Salgado (free,Liverpool)
-Florent Malouda (25 billion won, Manchester City)
– Wesley Sneijder (25 billion won, Inter)
– Rafael van der Vaart (17 billion won, Hamburg SV)
– Jose Callejon (8 billion won, Espanyol)
– Javier Saviola (7 billion won, SL Benfica)
– Miguel Torres (3 billion won, Valencia) CF)
In addition, several players from Castile were released and weekly wages were reduced.
Here Calderon took out a knife.
The weekly wage system was completely overturned by replacing ‘star quality and recognition’ with ‘skill’ as a factor in determining players’ weekly wages.
There were dissatisfied voices from several players, but the problem was left entirely to Scolari.
And a week before the opening.
Full-scale training was underway to prepare for the opening match, with Douglas Costa, who came in last, joining the training.
However, even after a few days, the chemistry between the team members showed no signs of improving.
Above all, the biggest problem was that factions were forming among the players, knowingly or unknowingly.
A pro-Spanish faction consisting of existing members such as Raul, Guti Casillas, Ramos Marcelo, etc.
French faction led by Karim Benzema.
They got along well when Scolari was around, but when the coach disappeared, they split sides as if it had never happened before.
There was a good reason why this happened.
The team’s discord began when Benzema, who did not get many opportunities in the friendly games held during the pre-season, openly expressed his dissatisfaction.
At the center of the cause was Woo Ho-young.
“Hey Sacco. “I heard you got robbed by that guy several times?”
Benzema asked, glaring at Woo Ho-young, who was training hard.
Then Sacco next to him scratched his head.
“Well… he’s that good.”
“Are you out of your mind? Hey hey. “It’s embarrassing.”
Benzema developed a bad feeling toward Hoyoung after the preseason.
There was no direct problem at all.
but.
‘Unlucky guy.’
Benzema, who scored two goals in just one friendly match, deserved the attention of the media.
However, because Woo Ho-young scored a hat trick in the first half that day, Benzema did not even get a main interview, let alone the attention of the media.
Everyone just praised Woo Ho-young.
Benzema got grumpy in the process.
It was difficult to keep Ronaldo in check, but with Woo Ho-young there, the stress was no less.
If things continued like this, I felt like I would become an ordinary expendable part of the team.
So, a few days ago, he openly expressed his dissatisfaction in an interview with the media.
He wants them to appoint him as the top two.
“But is that okay? “I heard Scolari is very strict.”
“I don’t know. If you express your dissatisfaction in this way, you will eventually have no choice but to raise your hand. How much money did you spend on me? “Are you going to throw me on a bench?”
Benzema was confident.
This is because the method worked for his previous team, Olympique Lyonnais.
‘In Lyon, if I said one word, everyone would die.’
I figured it would end up being the same here.
Opening match on August 29th.
Real Madrid invited Deportivo home.
Since the opponent was a weak team, there was a relatively relaxed atmosphere in the home team locker room.
But it didn’t last long.
“Get ready for Casillas, Marcelo, Pepe, Mertesacker, Ramos, Mahamadou, Diarra, Xabi Alonso, Ronaldo, Woo Ho-young, and Robben Raul.”
When Scolari entered the locker room and announced the starting list, some people’s eyes widened.
This is because there was no name for Benzema who had expressed such dissatisfaction.
What was most surprised was Benzema himself.
‘crazy. Are you insisting on 4-2-3-1 until the end? So what is my place? If it’s going to be like this, why did you recruit me?’
As long as Scolari insisted on being the top player, Benzema could not be guaranteed a starting position.
If things continued like this, I wondered if I could play 30 games in one season.
Benzema’s gaze turned to one side.
The team’s ace number 10.
He gritted his teeth while glaring harshly at Hoyoung, who was strengthening his winning mentality.
‘This is all because of that kid.’
Not using two top players means that Woo Ho-young will be used as an attacking midfielder.
Benzema’s eyes rolled over.
I just desperately hoped that Woo Ho-young would make a mistake in the game.
And when the game started, I sat down on the bench and prayed with my hands together.
However, contrary to his wishes, Real Madrid continued to dominate the game.
In the middle of it all was Woo Ho-young.
[Real Madrid, using a 4-2-3-1, spreads out the formation.]
[Woo Ho-young, standing tall in the center, looks to the left and right.]
[A key pass to Ronaldo!]
Ronaldo, who received the penetration pass, beats the defender. It was folded and dug into the center.
I tried shooting from the area I was most confident in, but it didn’t result in a score.
But that was just the beginning.
After that, shooting opportunities arose in various places, and each time, Woo Ho-young’s playmaking stood out.
Alonso Ronaldo Robben Raul.
Those four were great, but the commentators were busy praising Woo Ho-young, who was performing even better than them.
[I can’t feel Zidane’s absence. No, I think I’m watching a new soccer game.]
[I agree. Woo Ho-young continues to make diverse plays. I don’t know if something will happen this season if things continue like this.]
Woo Ho-young was not limited to his position and showed off his unique charm to the fullest.
Pass breakthrough, ball keeping.
He used all his talents to create a unique game.
It was like a time bomb with no idea where it would explode.
And in the 24th minute of the first half.
Percussion.
It was the moment when Hoyoung received Alonso’s pass.
Whoop!
“…!!”
[Woo Ho-young throws the ball back!]
As soon as Ho-young received the pass, he lifted the ball up with his toe and passed it back.
It didn’t end there.
He momentarily changed direction backwards and took the pressure off defensive midfielder Juan Rodriguez, who had his back to him.
“Hold space!”
“Breakthrough! “Focus on Woo Ho-young!”
Deportivo players, who were well aware of Hoyoung’s fear, shouted loudly.
As trained, they moved in perfect order and formed an organized defensive formation.
but.
Thump percussion!
A zigzag breakthrough through two consecutive direction changes broke their defensive formation.
[Woo Ho-young’s exclusive patent! We beat Juca, who was blocking the second line, and rush straight ahead!]
[Woo Ho-young runs like that! The front is wide open! Are you going to hit me like that?]
In the first place, Hoyoung had so many things.
Preventing all of that was not something that could be accomplished through training.
Deportivo’s defensive formation, which had been completed at best, collapsed there.
As a result, the range of play that Hoyoung can perform has greatly expanded.
Pass, mid-range shot, break through and then shoot.
Whatever he chose, Hoyoung was free.
It was around this time that wild cheers erupted from the audience.
[Woo Ho-young attempts to break through to the front gate!]
[Alberto Lopo catches up!]
[Woo Ho-young’s surprise mid-range shot!]
“… Ik!”
Alberto Lopo reacted to Hoyoung’s shooting motion and tried to launch his body, but the shot did not fly as if to show off.
[It came again! Woo Ho-young’s shot feint!]
A proprietary patent that can be exploited even if you know it.
Shoot painting.
Hoyoung folded once more and kicked the ball to the left.
Then, as if he had been waiting, Cristiano Ronaldo attempted to infiltrate at an astonishing speed.
Cough!
Ronaldo, who received the roving pass, immediately curled the shot without wasting a moment.
The timing of the pass was so perfect that there was no need for trapping.
The result was, of course, a goal.
Crash!
[Gooooooooooo!]
[Ronaldo’s La Liga debut goal is scored here! It was a fantastic link-up play. Woo Ho-young’s assist was also great.]
[That’s right. Could the word ‘playmaker’ fit better than this? [You are creating a work of art.]
Ronaldo, who scored his debut goal, refused to celebrate and approached Woo Ho-young and held out both hands.
I received assists like this, but I couldn’t in good conscience do the ceremony alone.
match!
The two celebrated their score with a high five.
Although they were still competitors, they now seemed to trust each other to some extent.
And Benzema, who was sitting on the bench watching the scene, groaned.
“Ugh.”
Ronaldo and Woo Ho-young.
Watching the two play in real life, I felt overwhelmed.
There seemed to be no room for me between the two.
‘Damn it. Then why did they pay so much money to recruit me?’
Benzema even felt like he had suddenly become a uniform salesman.
But that was then.
“Karim Benzema.”
Scolari’s voice comes from over there.
“Get ready. “I’ll put you in at the end of the first half.”
“You mean me?”
“okay. Go out and join forces with Woo Ho-young. “It will feel very different from when you were training.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“If you leave yourself to the flow of the game he creates, you will understand why. “Why do I want to use him as a playmaker?”
“So… now you’re telling me to follow that young guy’s commands, right?”
“No, it will have to be that way. Because that is the correct answer.”
“yes?”
“You’ll understand if you try. “Why did I say this?”
Benzema, who would later be called ‘the worst personality’, woke up very grumpy.
‘Oh really. Anyone who sees it will think Woo Ho-young is Zidane or something.’
Benzema, who has consistently admired Zidane, has long been bothered by Woo Ho-young’s nickname ‘Zidane’s successor’.
And now.
‘Let me feel it once again. How great your skills are.’
Benzema stood up and warmed up.
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://cpunovel.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/arcane-sniper.jpg "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
