233. The best Korea-Japan match (1)
[The Korea-Japan match is two days away… Belarus and Spain are scheduled to visit each other in order]
[The match between Korea and Japan 3 months after the East Asian Football Championship final. Will Japan’s revenge match be successful?]
[The location of the decisive match is the mecca of Japanese soccer ( [Saitama Stadium]
Saitama Stadium located in Saitama Prefecture.
An international match evaluation match between Korea and Japan was held with great interest.
And indeed, the game heated up before it even started.
There were a series of incidents where Japanese home fans became territorial, throwing water at Korean fans and swearing at them.
It didn’t end there.
Some Japanese people with extreme right-wing tendencies committed unreasonable acts, such as secretly bringing in some cheering items that should not be brought in.
Although most of them were restrained by security guards, there were also people who kept it hidden until the end and only took out the Rising Sun flag when it was time for the athlete to enter.
In fact, it happened frequently on days when there was a Korea-Japan match or a Korea-Japan club match.
Moreover, the Japanese people’s jealousy toward Korean soccer has become so intense these days that it has become even more severe.
It was definitely because of Woo Ho-young.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.”
“Get out now!”
“We, Saitama, deny Woo Ho-young entry!”
“X god Woo Ho-young! “Get out and die!”
Supporters of Urawa Red.
They supported Woo Ho-young’s naturalization in Spain more than anyone else in the world.
However, when Woo Ho-young finally chose the Korean national team, he turned from a fan to a malicious anti-fan.
This is because the possibility of Japan winning the Korea-Japan war over the next 10 years has been greatly reduced.
Still, if there is any chance of victory, it is today.
The game took place at Saitama Stadium.
For Japan, it was a game they had to win regardless of whether it was porridge or rice.
The formation Japan used to win was 3-4-3.
This was Hiddink’s favorite tactic during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, and it was a formation that made it easy to gain numerical superiority in any area.
However, it was an experimental tactic that they did not use often.
Just before the game starts.
Coach Takeshi Okada, who took the field wearing a training suit and jumper, glared fiercely at the ground.
‘If we occupy the entire area and build various attack routes, we will have a good chance of winning.’
He is known as a weirdo in the soccer world.
Although he wanted to play baseball when he was young, he started playing soccer because of the strict culture unique to the Japanese baseball world.
That’s how he entered the soccer world, and with his innate soccer intelligence, he rose to the position of manager.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, he was also a hero for Japan, which became the first country in Japanese soccer history to advance to the World Cup finals.
He was always overflowing with confidence, so much so that he even declared that his goal for this World Cup was, “I have never thought about anything other than the semifinals.”
Not only netizens around the world but also Japanese citizens reacted to this as nonsense and pointed out the director’s recklessness.
Moreover, it was quite strange that they were aiming for the semifinals.
Some Korean netizens were of the opinion that this was aimed at Korea’s myth of reaching the semifinals during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Accordingly, some Japanese players and the media engaged in a tense war of nerves, playing the media game by saying, “Korea did it too, so why can’t we do it?”
And here today.
The climax was reached at Saitama Stadium.
The game was scheduled to begin soon with the enthusiastic cheers of over 60,000 spectators.
The leading axis was South Korea on the right.
[A lot of our people also came from Korea. I hope that our players will live up to those expectations.]
[Yes, that’s right. Actually, as you all know, didn’t the ‘Great Battle of Tokyo’ take place in 1998? This was the game where caster Song Jae-woo said, “Mt. Fuji is falling.” I hope that the glory of that time can be replicated here at Saitama Stadium today.]
[I agree. But I think there is a reason why Japan brought us to Saitama rather than Tokyo. What is the reason?]
[Looking at the recent A-match record, Japan has a very good winning percentage of 10 wins, 7 draws, and 1 loss at Saitama Stadium. For that reason, Saitama Stadium can now be considered the ‘mecca of Japanese soccer.’ That is why we can conclude that our national team players were brought to Saitama.]
There was another reason why the winning rate at Saitama Stadium was high.
This is because this was the home stadium of the ‘Urawa Reds Supporters’, who showed very dangerous and extreme tendencies.
It was so extreme that it was criticized in Japan.
Today’s game was the same.
Most of the spectators were Urawa Reds supporters, trying to suppress the momentum of the Korean national team with drums, flags, and various cheering tools.
Due to the emcee’s sanctions, no more spectators took out the Rising Sun flag, but the wild cheering only intensified.
It could even cause disruption in the progress of the game.
Harsh swear words and six-headed letters were standard, and the trademark red flames of the Urawa Reds supporters poured out from everywhere, burning the audience.
At the same time, tens of thousands of flags were waved while showing a card section titled “Japan, the Strongest in Asia.”
However, Korean fans did not sit still and suffer.
Compared to Japan, the number of people was much smaller, but they fought back passionately with the cheering tools they had packed.
Kwagwagwagwagwang!
““Dae~Korea!””
In the end, the game was slightly delayed as the battle of pride between the two teams reached its peak.
[The game is slightly delayed due to smoke from the fireworks. They are taking careful measures to ensure the safety of the players.]
[Woo Ho-young, standing in the center circle, can be seen stamping his feet. It looks like he can’t wait to start, but it looks like he can’t wait.]
[I’m going to be exhausted before the game even starts. The stadium should have dealt with this in advance. It’s hard to believe that something like this happened not at a local stadium, but at Saitama Stadium, where an international match is taking place.] [
Ah, now referee Stuart Atwell comes back into the stadium. It looks like the game will start soon.]
After receiving the instructions from the organizers, referee Stuart Attwell walked towards the center circle.
Even for someone from England, cases like this were rare.
“after.”
Stuart, who was sweating before the game even started, ran over in a huff and shook hands with Lee Geun-oh and Woo Ho-young.
“I waited a long time.”
“no.”
“Then let’s get started right away. Please get ready.”
“yes.”
It was only then that referee Stewart was able to take a breath.
The crowd was still very loud and their voices were loud enough to cover the stadium, but there were no longer any problems with the game.
From now on, it seemed like we could proceed without a hitch.
It was then that Stewart blew the whistle.
Beep!
As soon as the whistle sounded, the crowd’s voices rose so loudly that they seemed to pierce the sky.
however.
“Uh huh huh…?”
The voice that pierced the sky subsided in an instant, as if cold water had been poured on the entire audience.
It was the moment Hoyoung received the ball.
Percussion.
“…!”
‘What!’
As it was early in the game, Stewart tried to calm his mind by running slowly.
But unfortunately, such leeway was not given.
Isn’t it true that Korea’s attack occurred as soon as the game started?
Woo Ho-young, who received Lee Geun-oh’s pass, advanced forward.
Percussion!
Woo Ho-young blindly hits and runs towards an empty space.
Stuart couldn’t keep up with the pace.
‘That crazy guy!’
I tried to follow him like crazy, but the distance only got wider and wider.
[Woo Ho-young’s surprise breakthrough! We broke through 30 meters and already crossed the second line!]
[Woo Ho-young! It’s an unbelievable sight!]
This wasn’t Hoyoung’s first play.
This happened a few times in youth games when I was young, and the video from that time still became a talking point and was circulating online under the title “Woo Ho-young’s runaway locomotive mode.”
Therefore, people were looking forward to when they would be able to see a play like that again, but no one would have guessed that it would be today.
The ones who were most surprised than anyone else were the Japanese players.
The 3-4-3 formation they had built has long since been turned upside down.
They were already maintaining a wide gap, but Hoyoung took advantage of the gap and burrowed in like a wild beast, creating chaos.
In an instant, he broke through the first line formed by Okubo-Okazaki-Nakamura and passed by the second line of Abe and Hasebe.
“stick!”
“Not the ball, but block Woo Ho-young!”
As soon as the words were out, Endo and Honda, who played in the midfield, rushed at Hoyoung.
Interfering with the path of the dribbler is considered a foul, so this trend had to be broken as soon as possible.
but.
Wow!
Hoyoung, who was holding the ball long, stretched out his feet like an octopus and instantly turned the ball’s path to the left.
It was very delicate control, as if handling the ball with your hands.
As a result, defensive midfielder Endo was given up without being able to do anything.
“Tsk.”
Still, it was okay so far.
Because there was still a Honda left next to it.
Keisuke Honda, who moved to CSKA Moscow after his excellent performance last season, finally met his idol.
Woo Ho-young.
He is already a legend in Asia.
It was an outstanding honor for a soccer player to face him in an international match.
Therefore, I was determined to stop it at all costs.
‘It blocks.’
For a moment, a strong light appeared in Honda’s eyes.
His original position was an attacking midfielder, but his defensive skills were good enough to play as a defensive midfielder, so he was used as a central midfielder in today’s game.
however.
“Ugh.”
Even world-renowned defensive midfielders have a hard time with Hoyoung, so what can Honda do to stop him?
Hoyoung, who had just bent the ball to the left, used the outside of his foot to bend the ball to the right.
It was a type of ‘back flip flap’, which was Ronaldinho’s patented flip flap developed backwards.
and.
‘Damn it.’
The bus had already left.
Percussion!
[Woo Ho-young, who even knocked out Honda! His run continues! How far can it go?]
It’s a miracle.
Who would have thought that we would see such play from a player wearing the red national team uniform.
Moreover, it didn’t end there.
Central defender Yasuyuki Konno immediately went to cover, but his body became stiff as Hoyoung shook his upper body.
“…!!”
‘Don’t be fooled, don’t be fooled!’
Konno tried to console and console himself, but in the end, he was the one who was deceived.
slap!
“ah!”
This time it wasn’t a body fake, it was a real breakthrough.
[Woo Ho-young breaks through Konno! It goes right inside the box! Nakazawa runs in from the side!]
[Ooooooooooo! It’s open, it’s open!]
The last defender, Yuji Nakazawa, tried to cover, but Hoyoung quickly exchanged one-two passes with Lee Geun-oh, who had moved up to the first line, creating the timing of the pass.
Because Lee Geun-oh’s pass was slightly long, there was a risk that goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki would clear the ball, but Hoyoung’s shot was one beat faster than that.
It was a toe kick fired with the tip of the foot while extending the left foot.
Seigo Narazaki just turned his head with a vain look on his face.
Because the net was already collapsing.
Crash!