237. 2010 South Africa World Cup Opening (1)
FIFA World Cup.
This tournament, which returns once every four years, is the world’s best soccer tournament in name and reality.
In addition, it has an overwhelmingly high status in all sports.
You can tell just by looking at the number of viewers.
The European Championship soccer finals are about 300 million won, the European Champions finals are about 200 million won, and the Olympic 100m men’s finals are about 150 million won.
And then there are the Cricket World Cup, Super Bowl, F1 Brazil Grand Final, and Tennis Wimbledon Final, but they are nothing compared to the FIFA World Cup final, which is watched by about 800 million people.
Sometimes, soccer fans compare the European Champions League and the World Cup.
It is difficult to compare since the nature of the competition is different in the first place, but in fact, there is a difference in the number of viewers.
Moreover, isn’t it possible that the status of a competition held every four years and a competition held every year can be the same?
That is why many soccer players around the world speak in unison.
-The World Cup is the best stage you can experience as a soccer player.
It is a dream that cannot be achieved through skill alone.
You also have to have a lot of luck.
No matter how good an individual is, there are many cases where he or she cannot compete due to the condition of the national team he or she belongs to.
African legend George Weah did not participate in the World Cup because his team was too weak, and Ryan Giggs of Wales never participated in the World Cup because he failed to overcome the European qualification barrier.
There is also Alfredo Di Stefano, who was unable to play due to nationality issues, and Eric Cantona, who was unable to play despite being the captain of France.
No matter how well players perform at their clubs, there are limits when they reach the national team.
Therefore, the World Cup is also a competition where a player’s ‘pure ability’ and ‘adaptability’ are revealed.
In the meantime.
There were five players receiving the most attention in this tournament.
Messi of Argentina, David Villa of Spain, Ronaldo of Portugal, Rooney of England and Woo Ho-young of South Korea.
They were all players with enough ability to win the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, but when considering the team, David Villa was actually the most likely candidate.
However, as the national team evaluation match took place, other opinions began to creep in.
[The gusts of wind in Korea are unusual. They had the experience of reaching the semifinals of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup together with great general Hiddink. However, after that, it seemed like the revival would continue with the emergence of several European players, but the momentum eventually subsided.
But this time, the level of momentum is different. You can tell just by looking at the recent games between Korea and Spain.
It all starts with Woo Ho-young. It remains to be seen what kind of miracle this player, who is the youngest player to play in this World Cup, will create.]
Korea’s first opponent was Nigeria, and the match was scheduled to take place the very next day, on June 12th.
Today, the day before that.
The Korean national team set up a base camp at Hunter’s Rest Hotel, 1,233 meters above sea level, and accelerated their adaptation to the local environment.
Because the altitude of the South African stadium is so high, we had to prepare thoroughly.
Today was already the 6th day since I started training.
The other players seemed to be adapting well thanks to the high-altitude adaptation training they had been doing at Paju NFC.
However, it was an unfamiliar experience for Hoyoung.
Five years ago, the U-17 World Cup was held in Peru, but the stadiums there were not at high altitude.
‘It’s definitely too much.’
Even if I moved just a little, I felt out of breath and my body became tired.
This was because the amount of oxygen coming in each time I breathed in was small, so my breathing became difficult and my heart beat faster.
So the national team ran and ran at high altitudes.
“Do you really have to do this?”
“Work hard, work hard. “Is that what you’re going to do when you become an older brother?”
They say so, but in reality, it was An Jeong-han who was working harder than anyone else and Yun-jae Lee who was craving him.
“Oh my. My brother is the keeper, so he doesn’t have to run. “He was very wealthy on his own.”
“Such a young labor bastard.”
“Oh, it’s the old man’s.”
“Huh, have you seen this crazy guy?”
“love you.”
The chemistry created by Lee Yun-jae’s boldness and An Jeong-han’s harsh manners always created a good atmosphere at the training ground.
Although they had little chance of starting as starters due to their age, they played a great role in guiding their juniors as mental pillars.
In particular, An Jeong-han was very interested in Ho-young.
He was the only one who showed special affection for Hoyoung by calling him Bbangho.
“Isn’t that right? “Is there a reason why we have to train at high altitudes?”
“According to a prominent study, for every 1,000 meters above sea level, teams that are strong at high altitudes score about 0.5 more goals than teams that are not strong at high altitudes. In particular, Argentina and Mexico and Uruguay, who we may face in the round of 16, are basically strong teams at high altitudes, so we need to prepare thoroughly.”
“Wow~ Yoonjae hyung. Look at this guy. Are we really going to make it to the round of 16 if we keep doing this?”
“Hehehe! “Your brother will protect you from behind, so just score from the front.”
“What are you doing with your disgusting brother? If they are 20 years older than each other, what type of older brother are they? And my brother is on the bench. What are you trying to block? “Keep your belly fat at bay.”
“Such a spoiled bastard.”
“Kukkukkuk.”
The team burst into laughter again at the joke that came out when they forgot.
Meanwhile, An Jeong-han gently placed his hand on Ho-young’s shoulder and said.
“men and horses. Anyway, thank you. “For being with us.”
“you’re welcome.”
Although he spoke indifferently, his true feelings were sincere.
There was no way Hoyoung didn’t know that either.
Just the fact that I was at the World Cup with my childhood idol helped me a lot mentally.
As the team’s atmosphere grew stronger, the first game was just around the corner.
The first match of the group stage between South Korea and Nigeria was held at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth City at 1:30 pm the next day.
The area was filled with barren sand, but the stadium was crowded with about 40,000 local spectators.
The remaining 3,000 were fans from Korea and Nigeria who came from far away to support both teams.
[Something unbelievable happened. It’s full! It’s full! It feels like watching the opening match between South Africa and England yesterday. This is quite a surprising reaction.]
[Hehe. It seems like a lot of people came to see Woo Ho-young. They say it was already sold out even before the World Cup started. If you’re a soccer fan, you can’t miss the sight of the youngest player in World Cup history.]
In reality, the success of a World Cup match depends on the reputation of the team or its players.
The fact that so many people flocked to the virtually insignificant match between Korea and Nigeria was proof of the intense interest in Woo Ho-young.
[And above all, didn’t the interview with the Nigerian Uche player yesterday become a hot topic?]
There was an interview with the Nigerian player last night.
It was an attacking midfielder named Kalu Uche, who played for La Liga team Almeria, and he always had a bad feeling about Woo Ho-young.
That’s because if they only faced Real Madrid in the league, they would have been humiliated by a large score difference.
One time, there was a 4-0 loss to Real Madrid, and Hoyoung scored 2 goals and 2 assists, and Uche was humiliated by all kinds of comparisons from the fans.
Perhaps that’s why he openly revealed in the interview the things he had always kept in mind.
-Woo Ho-young is the most amazing attacking midfielder I have ever seen. However, he always had world-class players by his side, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso Raul. However, they have already dispersed to various countries. Woo Ho-young no longer has any great players left. He is no longer Real Madrid. He is just a player for the Republic of Korea who has to wear a red uniform. Therefore, I think we can easily win. I plan to burn my body and soul.
Kalu Uche showed his determination by making an impact between sentences, almost as if he was rapping, about how much he had stored up.
It was nothing short of a challenge to Woo Ho-young.
[I am also very excited to see who will be the winner of the fight between Kalu Uche and Woo Ho-young. What do commentator Cha Beom-gon think?]
[There is no comparison.]
[Oh, that means Woo Ho-young is that good, right?]
[There is no comparison.]
[Ah… I see.]
Commentary with caster Bae Seong-ji Cha Beom-gon, who was in charge, was resolute.
He has infinite affection for Hoyoung and was giving biased commentary even before the game started.
[If our players give Woo Ho-young space and the ball, we will definitely get good results.]
[The keyword is Woo Ho-young.]
[Yes.]
And then the announcer’s voice rang out.
It was a comment announcing the positions of players from both teams.
Then, with the ear-piercing sound of the Vuvuzela trumpet, players from both teams entered side by side.
Woooooo!
Puuuuuuu!
[It’s so loud here that it’s deafening. It is said to be an instrument used for war purposes, but it really feels reminiscent of war.]
[Players must concentrate.]
“Huh.”
Hoyoung left the tunnel with a trembling heart and felt an exhilaration.
Isn’t this the first stage of the World Cup?
It was strange not to feel nervous.
‘Let’s just do what we always do. We will definitely win.’
As always, they strengthened their winning mentality and sang the national anthem loudly.
[This must be a historic moment. With this, Hoyoung Woo breaks Norman Whiteside’s record as the youngest player to play in the World Cup finals. At the age of 16 years and 331 days, he beat the previous record by 75 days.]
[This is amazing. I hope Brazil’s Pele breaks the record for youngest scorer today.]
[Ah, the players are entering the field. On the left is Nigeria and on the right is Korea. The priority was given to Nigeria. The referee was Michael Hester from New Zealand.]
And finally, the game began.
The formation for both sides was 4-2-3-1.
[Nigeria used 4-2-3-1. However, Kalu Uche played left winger rather than attacking midfielder.]
[Coach Lajeberg played a psychological game. [The goal is to use quick mobility to win the game.]
As Cha Bum-gon said, Nigeria made a twist in their tactics.
However, South Korea placed Hoyoung in the center and played center-oriented.
It all started from there.
[In the first 25 minutes, Korea’s possession rate exceeds 60%. So far, our country’s players are clearly overwhelming.]
[Woo Ho-young’s build-up is making Nigeria’s defense unable to move. Very lively.]
Because Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was not on a very high ground, there were no major difficulties in playing the game.
Moreover, it is winter in South Africa in June.
The temperature was around 15 degrees, which was perfect for a game.
And it was around 30 minutes in the first half.
[Woo Ho-young cuts off Kalu Uche’s pass! Let’s just hit it!]
[Good. We need to take advantage of the opportunity to counterattack.]
Woo Ho-young’s breakthrough began from the halfway line.
However, the Nigerian players did not sit idly by and suffer.
Danny Situ Lukeman Haruna Dixon Etuhu.
In today’s game, the three players who were in charge of Hoyoung’s marks maintained a subtle distance and showed excellent defensive organization.
The situation has become tense.
Nigerian players blocking Hoyoung’s path.
The three of them had been training for two months to stop Woo Ho-young from hitting and running.
but.
[First, I try to block Danny Situ, but… Woo Ho-young’s breakthrough is given away!]
[Oh, good!]
[It goes all the way to Lukman!]
[Good!]
[But Dixon Etuhu is standing in front. At the same time, Danny Situ comes to cover again!]
Poof.
“this!”
Danny Situ charged from diagonally behind, but Hoyoung escaped the pressure like he had eyes on the back of his head.
On the contrary, he rotated his body, making Dixon Etohu’s tackle useless.
It’s like watching a battle between a professional and an amateur.
The audience just watched Hoyoung’s play in fascination, as if they were spellbound.
In fact, all of this was a surprising change that came about after discovering Xavi’s talent for vision.
It was a talent that brought about great synergy in many areas, including not only passing, but also build-up, pressure relief, dribbling, pass blocking, and shooting.
‘It’s done.’
Hoyoung had already roughly grasped the situation on the field using his wide field of view.
Colleagues were stationed inside the box while I was getting attention.
It was a moment when a perfect chance could have been created just by sending a pass.
For a moment, Hoyoung’s eyes shone fiercely.
And it was the moment when I was about to throw a pass.
Beep!
[iced coffee! what is this! Woo Ho-young falls down!]
[It’s a back tackle. At least it’s a yellow card.]
It was Kalu Uche who came running like crazy from behind and tackled Hoyoung.
But Hoyoung stood up unharmed.
This was because he caught Kalu Uche’s movements for a brief moment and momentarily pulled his body back.
He lost his balance and fell backwards, but there were no injuries at all.
[The tackle was not successful, but it is a clear foul. Oh, referee Michael takes out a yellow card to Kalu Uche.]
[Korea gets a direct free kick. The distance is 36 meters.]
Kalu Uche clenched his fists and swallowed a bitter laugh.
Although we received a yellow card, it was actually an advantage as we escaped the risk of conceding a goal.
’36 meters is no problem.’
Uche received praise from his teammates and was ready to launch a counterattack.
Moreover, the official ball used in this World Cup is rumored to be difficult to handle.
However, Hoyoung came forward with a confident look on his face.
“I want to kick it myself.”