339. Naturalization (3)
[〈Breaking News〉 Woo Ho-young finally selected for the Spanish national team]
└Wow….
└It’s official, right…?
└It makes no sense….
└I went to the website of the Royal Spanish Football Association and it was real….
└What should we really do now?
└Why? Due to regulations, I can’t come back now. Korean soccer is now ruined.
Shocking news.
The reactions were largely divided into three categories.
Those who can’t believe it and those who accept reality and criticize the Korea Football Association.
And although there were a small number of people, there were people who criticized Woo Ho-young by citing patriotism.
This was not only an issue in Korea.
All soccer fans around the world were stunned.
[Then is it now Spain’s turn to dominate?]
└The 2012 Euros will be worth watching. It will be a huge hit.
└The 2014 World Cup will be amazing. Isn’t Spain confirmed to win? The defense and midfield will be solid as well. If we just put Woo Ho-young in the striker position, we’ll win it all.
└It’s really the best. I never thought a national team would surpass Pele’s Brazil.
└Germany is the golden generation at the next World Cup, so I feel sorry for them. Woo Ho-young will never dream of winning the World Cup until he retires from the national team
. Congratulations to Spain on winning the 2012 Euro, 2014 World Cup, 2016 Euro, 2018 World Cup, 2020 Euro and 2022 World Cup.
Although people in other countries responded positively, there was one country that reacted particularly harshly.
It was Spain.
[Scream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
└¡VAMOS!
└WOO!!
└¡VAMOS!!
└WOO!!!!
└A national sports hero who will surpass Nadal will soon be born.
└Anyway, what did Woo Ho-young receive in exchange for naturalization?
└They say they will provide you with a luxurious mansion?
└Barely?
└You can give anything, just give us Woo Ho-young!
Public opinion in Spain was at a level beyond imagination.
There was speculation that being Asian would lead to racism, but that was never important.
Because Woo Ho-young has long transcended race as a sports athlete.
He didn’t have much to worry about anymore.
The road ahead was a smooth one.
There was no blockage in the movement that continued from December to March.
Although they drew 3-3 with Chelsea in the game played on Boxing Day in December, it was followed by another win.
The year 2012, when there was a lot of talk about the destruction of the Earth, went by as usual.
No, the world of soccer went in a rather special way.
[Manchester City won 4-0 against Sunderland]
[After the game against Sunderland, they defeated Bolton Wanderers 5-1]
[Man City won 4-0 against Tottenham]
[Man City Sunderland defeated Liverpool Tottenham and then Everton in order]
Although all wins Although the championship was lost, the dream of winning without losing was still in progress.
Moreover, they continued their winning streak by achieving good results day after day not only in the EPL but also in the League Cup and FA Cup.
Meanwhile, the winter transfer window held in January went by uneventfully.
Many teams in the EPL strengthened their strength by recruiting players, but Man City spent the transfer window without spending anything.
Since most of the team members were very physically strong, there was no major problem in allocating physical strength.
And February.
Manchester City also achieved satisfactory results in the European Champions League.
In the round of 16, they faced Basel, a prestigious Swiss club, and scored a whopping 6 goals in the first game, almost confirming their advancement to the quarterfinals.
On this day, Hoyoung recorded a phenomenal performance, providing 1 assist in the first half and scoring 5 goals in the second half, recording all attack points.
The second game was the same.
Basel was a strong team in Switzerland, but it was definitely a weak team based on the European Champions League.
There was no way Man City would lose, and as everyone expected, they won the second game and confirmed their advancement to the quarterfinals.
Hoyoung’s individual performance also continued.
By March, he had scored 43 goals in the EPL alone, taking one step closer to the record of 50 goals in the league.
In addition, he dominated the top scoring rankings in the Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup.
In this process, an unprecedented situation occurred in which Manchester City monopolized both the player and manager awards until March.
Winner of all titles, undefeated, and top scorer of all competitions.
Those ridiculous records were gradually becoming reality.
Talent work continued steadily.
Starting with Henry and Gerrard, he coveted the titles of several players against Manchester United and Chelsea, and sublimated them into his own through training.
Not only the title, but also the transcendence of talent was carried out without any problems.
The most important physical work among them would soon begin.
Actually, that was the part I was most looking forward to.
This is because transcending beyond the human body meant improving all overall abilities.
Soccer is fundamentally a physical sport.
It was clear that everything from kicking ability to activity level and running speed would improve.
It was not just a nickname, but it seemed like he could soon reach the level of a true god.
And on March 21st.
Ahead of the international international match, Hoyoung was asked to call up the national team.
Manchester City was scheduled to play an EPL match against Swansea City just five days later, but Guardiola readily allowed Woo Ho-young to be called up.
That’s because, considering the league table, it was okay to miss at least one game.
〈1〉Manchester City 27 wins, 2 draws, 83 wins, 110 points, 16 conceded
〈2〉Manchester United 20 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses, 65 wins, 60 scores, 24 conceded
There are 9 games left until the end of the season.
However, the difference in points was as much as 18 points, and Man City was almost confirmed to win the EPL.
Therefore, Guardiola had no reason to block Woo Ho-young’s first call-up.
Moreover, since Spain was currently preparing for Euro 2012, Coach Del Bosque made a special request to Guardiola.
The reason was that Woo Ho-young’s adaptation to the Spanish national team was essential in order to achieve the desired results at the Euros.
In this way, Hoyoung was called up to the national team for the first time.
[Woo Ho-young confirmed to be selected for national team training… Highly likely to play in the upcoming match
against the Netherlands] [The key to being the first Asian to be selected for the Spanish national team is team organization and adaptability]
[Experts are raising concerns about whether Woo Ho-young, who is of a different race, will be able to fit in well with the Spanish national team. ]
[Coach Del Bosque: “We will not change Spain’s basic framework for fear of the team shaking. Woo Ho-young agreed to adapt to the team colors.”]
[Sergio Ramos “The best gift of my life. My prayer that I could be with Woo Ho-young worked. We will be one again. The idea that there may be problems with organization is just ridiculous nonsense.”]
[Iker Casillas “I think my work will be significantly reduced. I should just sit in front of the goal and watch Woo Ho-young score a goal.”]
[Raul González announces his intention to return to the national team]
[Interest and anticipation is focused on what jersey number Woo Ho-young will wear]
└The number 10 player for the Spanish national team right now is Cesc Fabregas
└ Is it really going to be taken away?
└At this point, he’s almost a robber who specializes in uniform numbers.
└Ah, really, this is his first call-up and they’re already giving him number 10? It’s not like we’re going to the Euro right away.
That’s right. That’s too premature. It’s not a club, it’s a national team. It’s a bit strange for an Asian to have their Ace number taken away as soon as they become naturalized.
A heated debate broke out on the topic of Woo Ho-young’s uniform number.
There was a lot of speculation as to whether Cesc Fabregas, currently wearing number 10, would give up his seat.
He was, by all accounts, one of Spain’s key members.
As Iniesta and Xavi got older, they were the aces who had to take responsibility for Spain’s future.
However, some people were of the opinion that Fabregas would not be called up to the national team.
Because it was in the middle of the season, most of the key players refused to be called up by the club using various tricks.
Woo Ho-young was also scheduled to join the training that would be held the day before the game for the EPL schedule.
But there was a twist here.
[The Spanish national team announced the March A-match roster through its official website. In addition to Woo Ho-young, Cesc Fabregas was also included in the list.
The Royal Spanish Football Association has called up several first-team players to prepare for Euro 2012 against the Netherlands. However, many clubs refused to call up the player due to injuries and other reasons.
But Cesc Fabregas was different. Even though his team, Barcelona, survived all competitions, Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova readily approved Fabregas’ call-up. In addition, Xavi Hernández, Pique, Puyol, Ramos Casillas, etc….]
There were two main reasons.
Firstly, Barcelona had already won the league competition against Real Madrid by a large margin of points.
And the second reason, which is the biggest reason of all….
[Cesc Fabregas himself wanted to be called up… Willingness to keep number 10]
[Cesc Fabregas “In terms of pure skill, he may be inferior to Woo Ho-young, but he is a member of the national team. Considering my identity, I fit in much better. “Because I am a native Spaniard born in Arenis de Mar.”]
Fabregas had a lot of negative feelings towards Hoyoung, as he had suffered a lot from him.
He moved to Barcelona this season and had to taste the bitter taste of defeat as he was humiliated by Woo Ho-young while at Arsenal.
There was even talk that he ran away to Barcelona to avoid Woo Ho-young.
Moreover, I thought I missed out on winning the World Cup because of that.
That was why he readily accepted the national team call-up despite the busy season.
On March 21, the national team training center located in Las Rosas, outside Madrid, Spain.
“Sigh.”
Fabregas, who was sharp today, entered the training ground spitting.
He had already expressed his stubborn stance to coach Del Bosque about his uniform number.
[I can never give away my uniform number. If you want to give Woo Ho-young the ace number, look for another player. I will never give it away.]
‘As soon as you arrive, give me my uniform number? Do you know if I’ll give it up that easily?’
It wasn’t narrow-minded.
It was pride as one of the world’s best central midfielders and as an existing national team ace.
And one more thing.
‘Tch. ‘They’re not even from our country.’
It was a feeling of rejection towards Woo Ho-young.
Regardless of racism, playing in the same uniform as an Asian player was not an issue that could be easily accepted.
But I had no intention of interfering with my training.
Because he was a man with a strong sense of professionalism.
And that was right then.
A tall and handsome Asian man came into the training ground.
“Woo Ho-young.”
“nice to meet.”
An awkward atmosphere flowed between the two.
There was nothing they could do because the media had already portrayed their relationship as a rivalry.
Of course, Hoyoung was also greedy and wanted the number 10 jersey.
But I had no intention of taking it away from Fabregas if he didn’t want it.
‘You can take anything. ‘What’s important is skill.’
Moreover, Hoyoung was not the type of person to attach much significance to his uniform number.
And Fabregas was not his concern in the first place.
Of course, if we objectively evaluate Fabregas’ skills, it is clear that he is at the top.
However, compared to Woo Ho-young, the difference was like heaven and earth.
In other words, Fabregas was the only one who felt a sense of rivalry.
Hoyoung’s interests actually lay elsewhere.
His eyes turned to the vast field.
I could see the players warming up at a glance.
‘There are so many.’
Casillas Ramos, Pique, Xavi Mata, Busquets Villa, etc.
What this means is that there is an enormous amount of talent to be coveted.
In particular, it was a golden opportunity to explore Xavi’s pass master (T) talent.
‘Okay, I’m sweeping it all away.’
Talent and evolution.
That was Hoyoung’s first goal.