All Football Talents Are Mine Chapter 346

346. Death of Santiago Bernabeu (3)

The area around the Santiago Bernabeu stadium was filled with tremendous heat even before the start of the game.

Although the majority of fans supported Real Madrid, some of them were pouring out their fiery anger towards President Calderon by holding up threatening pickets.

“If you lose this time, be prepared!”

“I will never see Woo Ho-young active here!”

They were not anti-fans who hated Woo Ho-young.

As a true Real Madrid fan, this was something I couldn’t bear to see.

There was unprecedented attention focused on the game.

Of course, open tickets were sold out on the first day, and the stands were filled three hours before the game started.

Outside the stadium, ticket sales were still going on.

At the time of general sale, the ticket price was 420 euros (about 630,000 won in Korean currency), but now it was being sold for 7,000 euros (about 10.5 million won in Korean currency) per ticket.

That’s the price of a category 1 ticket that doesn’t allow you to see the entire ground.

Even the ticket price for VIP seats was around 25 million won.

Considering that the VIP ticket for the World Cup finals was around 60 million won, it was not a very high amount, but it was a figure that could never be considered a Champions League semifinal.

This was only possible until the finals.

That’s how much everyone around the world was looking forward to the game.

A match between Woo Ho-young, who left Madrid, and Real Madrid.

There were an overwhelming number of people who expected Woo Ho-young’s revenge, but on the contrary, there were very few people who hoped for Woo Ho-young’s defeat.

However, the excitement in the stadium was biased to one side.

“¡Vamos!”

“Ronaldo!”

“¡Vamos!”

“Benzema!”

“¡Vamos!”

“Higuaín!”

“¡Vamos!”

“Madrid!”

Cheering for Real Madrid filled the entire stadium.

The voices of Man City fans who flew in from England were barely heard.

This is because there were only 476 tickets allocated to the away team.

[This is the home team’s advantage. First of all, Real Madrid takes the lead.]

[Yes, it is a sight that shows how thoroughly Real Madrid has prepared. Now we just have to properly prepare for the game.]

Meanwhile, the locker rooms of both teams were busy.

Away team locker room 1 hour and 30 minutes before game start.

Guardiola and the players gathered in one place and had serious faces.

Usually, his rule is not to enter the locker room before the game starts, but this time he had no choice.

“We are slightly modifying our tactics.”

“!”

“Suddenly?”

Emergencies.

It was strange that Guardiola entered the locker room, and the players were surprised to hear that he suddenly adjusted tactics.

But Guardiola had a good reason.

“The length of the stadium grass is much longer than I expected.”

“How much?”

“I thought it was 40mm.”

“Holy shit. “They are determined to hinder us.”

Eden Hazard punched the air.

This is because he, who uses quick dribbling as his main weapon, has never faced such negative news.

however.

“calm down. That would actually be to our advantage.”

“yes?”

It was something I couldn’t understand.

That’s because the length of the grass is fatal to Manchester City’s 4-3-3 tactic.

However, Hoyoung’s next words answered everyone’s curiosity.

“You mean preparing a counter strategy.”

“answer. Young is right.”

Counter strategy.

This meant that the strategy prepared by Real Madrid would be used in reverse.

In other words, Calderon’s operation unintentionally leaked Madrid’s strategy.

“The fact that they have increased the length of the grass to this level means that they will focus on individual skills. “We will probably spend a lot of time on the ball at the back.”

“hmm. So what the coach is saying is that the opponent will play a ball possession game, so he will shake the opponent with strong forward pressure. But if it’s 40mm, wouldn’t it be better to let the referee know?”

David Silva’s opinion also made sense.

Objections from the visiting team regarding the length of the grass are generally ignored, but if they are too severe, they can be adjusted by the referee.

But Guardiola thought differently.

“Even if we cut it to 30mm, it would still be at a disadvantage to us. Plus, the grass is in really bad condition. It was already crumbly, as if I hadn’t even watered it properly. So, I think it’s better to pretend to match their rhythm and then catch them off guard.”

The odds are high.

Guardiola intended to take advantage of Real Madrid’s shallow numbers.

In other words, an ambush of ambushes.

“I hope you follow along as you have done so far. Even if tactics change, there is only one thing we have to worry about. Being faithful to each person’s role. Then we win.”

““Okay!””

30 minutes remaining.

Guardiola spent time tweaking his tactics.

And an hour before the game starts.

The moment the starting lineups for both teams were announced, Guardiola frowned.

“Casillas, Marcelo Ramos, Albiol, Arbeloa, Pepe, Khedira, Alonso, Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuain…. What on earth….” A

completely different line-up than I expected.

It was a player structure that was difficult to understand.

Iniesta had the same thoughts.

“I think it’s clear that Ramos will play as a central defender, but I’m not sure about anything else. Or are we trying to build it as a five-back?”

“Hmm… I think a little differently.”

Hoyoung, who was deep in thought, revealed his thoughts.

“I think Pepe will play as a defensive midfielder along with Khedira.”

“Pepe?”

“yes. He is fully qualified to do so. “I was used as a defensive midfielder at the World Cup in South Africa, and I also had that experience when I was at Real Madrid.”

“okay. “That makes sense.”

Of course, all of that was just speculation.

It was unclear whether Pepe would play as a defensive midfielder or a five-back.

Even before the game started, there was a huge psychological battle going on between the two teams.

One thing we can be sure of.

‘It’s going to be an interesting match.’

It seemed like it would be a meaningful game for Hoyoung as well.

Real Madrid abandoned him.

Dealing with them was also a burden.

A club to which we have devoted ourselves with affection and loyalty for a long time.

What’s more, wasn’t it a gracious club that recognized his future potential and brought him in and nurtured him?

It was heartbreaking to face such a former team.

but.

‘It’s just one club.’

Hoyoung thought like that and concentrated his mind.

Ultimately, what matters is the game.

All he had to do was strengthen his professionalism and bring joy to the Manchester City fans who supported him.

I decided to put my personal feelings aside for a moment.

And that was when we passed through the tunnel and entered the stadium.

“¡Hala Madrid~”

“Y nada más!”

“¡Hala Madrid~!”

The sound of singing fills the stadium.

This is the sweetest sound I’ve heard in a long time.

and.

“Let’s try our best.”

Marcelo and Ramos shake hands and show strong emotions.

Even Cristiano Ronaldo shook hands with determination.

After saying hello to them, the game started right away.

[Karim Benzema’s kickoff game has begun.]

The formation that Real Madrid has prepared is 4-3-1-2.

Marcelo, Ramos, Albiol, and Arbeloa formed a back line, and Alonso, Pepe, and Khedira were placed side by side in midfield above them.

Benzema and Higuain were placed at the forefront, and Ronaldo, who was given a free role, was placed in the second line below them to lead the game.

[In contrast, Manchester City came out with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Woo Ho-young was appointed as an attacking midfielder. It is understood that the intention is to bring about the flow by putting strong pressure on Pepe, the key player of Real Madrid.]

Woo Ho-young, playing as an attacking midfielder for the first time in a while.

However, Real Madrid’s response was unusual.

[The intention is to create a first blocking line with Pepe’s tough defense and block it with quick backups from Ramos and Albiol.]

[Yes, he is showing a very appropriate response. [It seems as if they knew in advance that Woo Ho-young would play as an attacking midfielder.]

Real Madrid slowly turned the ball around from the back and opened up ground.

In response, Iniesta Fellaini, Hazard Bale, and Woo Ho-young applied forward pressure and tried to break the opponent’s flow.

Even Adebayor, who played as a lone striker, joined in.

Manchester City also seemed to be perfectly targeting the attack that Madrid had prepared.

But that situation didn’t last long.

[Marcelo and Arbeloa secure space by spreading wide to the left and right. At the same time, Pepe comes down, opening up a passing path.]

Real Madrid escaped Man City’s pressure by controlling the defensive spacing and tempo.

At the same time, he launched a sharp attack.

[Alonso’s long pass heading forward. It connects in one go!]

Real Madrid moved the ball forward as soon as they were free from pressure.

Xabi Alonso’s signature long pass.

The aerial ball, which seemed to be measured with a ruler, fell at Benzema’s feet.

Meanwhile, Higuain on the right attempted to penetrate the line.

Thiago Silva didn’t miss until the end, but he couldn’t catch Ronaldo who came through.

[Benzema throws it to the center!]

[Alas, Fellaini tries to follow, but…!]

The subsequent switching between Higuain and Ronaldo resulted in the movement of Fellaini and Yaya Toure getting messed up.

and.

widely!

[Cristiano Ronaldo catches it with his left foot. Just like that!]

Crash!

First goal.

Ronaldo penetrated the goal and calmly hit the goal into the corner.

“Siuuuuuuu!”

“Waaaaaaaa!”

“Ronaldo!”

“Cristiano Ronaldo!!”

It was the moment when Santiago Bernabeu turned into a festival scene.

[It is a victory of tactics. If we played rock-paper-scissors 10 times in the last 10 minutes, Real Madrid won them all. It’s as if they already know what the opponent is going to do!]

Real Madrid took control as Man City’s rapidly revised tactics before the game started were completely exploited.

It was something that Man City couldn’t understand.

Woo Ho-young also felt an ominous omen.

‘How did know?’

At this point, the entire conversation in the locker room was leaked.

‘Strange. It’s not like Kitman came into the locker room.’

From there, I began to have doubts.

reasonable doubt.

In fact, there have been several cases like this before.

“no way.”

My anxiety began to creep in.

But there was no time to worry about that right now.