All Football Talents Are Mine Chapter 70

Elias Aguerre Stadium in Chiclayo, 3 days after

my first World Cup (3) .

Group C 2nd match.

The match between Italy and the United States, played at 15:30 local time, ended without incident.

It was a 3-0 victory for Italy.

The match between Korea and Cote d’Ivoire that followed was a game where no one could foresee the future.

It was truly a melee.

Korea, which came out with a 4-3-3 formation, succeeded in overpowering Côte d’Ivoire’s 4-4-2, and on the contrary, Côte d’Ivoire overwhelmed Korea with tremendous physicality.

A tight game continued without a single concession, and ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw.

As a result, South Korea rose to first place in the group with 1 win and 1 draw.

However, there was no time to take a breath because we had to consider the possibility of losing the remaining games.

Three days later, on September 23rd.

It was the day of the third match of the group stage, and Korea and Italy were scheduled to play the final match at the Manciche Stadium in Trujillo, about 200km away from Chiclayo.

Sigh!

As it was the last group match where advancement to the quarterfinals depended, there was a press conference before the match started.

The first to be interviewed was Italian director Demis.

A reporter who appeared to be Hispanic asked an ordinary question.

“If we lose this game against Korea, we will have to weigh the odds. What do you think of this game?”

“I never thought about losing. “Unless there’s a problem with the referee.”

“Uh…”

The reporter was speechless at the completely unexpected answer.

Another reporter raised his hand.

“By any chance… are you talking about the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup round of 16?”

“After going through the reporter’s thoughts, I can see how it is interpreted that way. Well, whatever you think is fine. but.”

Demis continued speaking, twitching his white mustache.

“I was the coach of the Italian national team during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. “There’s a lot I want to say, but this isn’t a local pub, so I’ll leave it here.”

In fact, that alone was an unconventional statement.

Because it was a stage where the world was watching, he did not show his emotions openly, but it was an interview in which he implicitly expressed that he had very malicious feelings toward Korea.

“Then let me ask you one last question. What do you think of Korea’s Woo Ho-young? The Italian national team is currently being criticized for having a very weak defense compared to its strong offensive line. How do you plan to stop Woo Ho-young?”

“We play our game no matter what others say. If a friend named Woo Ho-young scores two goals, we can score three goals and that’s it. “Because we have Giovinco.”

“Are you saying that Woo Ho-young is no better than Giovinco?”

“It’s embarrassing to compare. Giovinco was born in 1987 and Woo Ho-young was born in 1993. Is it worth comparing based on common sense?”

“So what do the other players think?’

“I am not leisurely enough to even memorize the names of Korean players. “Isn’t it enough to just know the characteristics?”

“haha. “You have tremendous confidence.”

Laughter spread throughout the audience.

But then a reporter asked with an expression of not understanding.

The language was English.

“Korea is a team that won the Montague Championship in France this year, but you strangely tend to underestimate them. Moreover, it is evaluated as the dark horse of the competition. “Are you sincere or are you just bragging?”

“Bluff? You are a Korean journalist. Yes?”

“My name is Hwang Tae-seok, a reporter for Korea Daily Sports.”

Demis spoke with a bit of an edge at the reporter’s confident attitude.

“You will know when you watch the game.”

Demis had more to say, but stood up to avoid controversy.

It was about 30 minutes later that the national anthem rang out on the field.

[The day of the decisive battle has arrived. The third match of the group stage between Korea and Italy will begin shortly. Commentator Park Moon-seok, what do you think of this game?]

[Yes. In the case of both teams, doesn’t the performance depend on the performance of the ace? In that sense, I think how each team uses Woo Ho-young and Giovinco will be the key to victory or defeat.]

[I heard you carefully. As you all know, as you mentioned, there is a key player in Italy named Sebastian Giovinco. Could you please explain?]

Sebastian Giovinco.

Born in 1987, he was a player who stood out for his maturity in technical aspects.

However, the problem was that the shortcomings were greatly highlighted.

‘It looks smaller in person.’

Mansice Stadium.

Hoyoung, who shook hands with Giovinco, had to look down.

This was because of Giovinco’s height, which was much shorter than him.

[Sebastian Giovinco]

-Soccer genius (A+2)

-Phenomenal pass (S-)

-Fast legs as fast as a Lamborghini (A+2) -Exquisite

and fast kick (A-)

-Excellent dribbling (B+2)

-( See more)

(The Phenomenal Pass (S-) can be coveted only

when the hidden condition is met.) (One talent can be coveted when the condition is met.)

(Condition 1: Play soccer together for 90 minutes)

(Condition 2: Selected as MOM)

(Condition 3: Score more goals than Sebastian Giovinco)

(Hidden condition: Open when one or more talents are desired)

In particular, a player that fans of Italy’s prestigious Juventus must know.

‘He was a player who was evaluated as the future of Juventus.’

Indeed, despite his sharp appearance, he was an attacking midfielder who used technical-oriented play.

However, he was very short for a soccer player at 160 cm tall, so he had a major physical disadvantage.

Does that mean you have a good physique?

That wasn’t it either.

My physique is short, so my body balance is messed up.

In addition, he was mentally weak, so he had the worst disadvantage of not being able to show off his skills if he couldn’t break through the defender three or four times.

Nevertheless, the reason he was said to be a top prospect was because he was full of talent.

‘As far as talent, he’s almost on par with last year’s Kaka.’

Of course, Kaka, who has just entered his prime, may have grown incomparably compared to before, but Giovinco was definitely worthy of being called a super prospect.

In that sense, today was a very important day.

A day of competition where valuable talent can be discovered.

And the day when whether or not to advance to the quarterfinals will be decided!

Excited.

It was a sound made by Hoyoung’s heart.

Beep.

Then the referee blew the whistle.

The final gateway to the final tournament.

The atmosphere gradually escalated and reached its peak as the ball started rolling.

Hoyoung ran.

As the first half began, Italy took advantage of the 4-2-3-1 formation to greatly utilize side attacks and placed Giovinco in the center of the second line to maximize playmaking.

Playing as an attacking midfielder, he distributed sharp passes to both sides and forward and attempted to break through when the Korean defense lowered their line.

No matter how he dealt with it, he was a threatening player.

‘First, we need to improve our defense.’

A good offense comes from a stable defense, so maintaining momentum and organizing the team was the key to victory.

Hoyoung, who thought so, went down to the midfield as instructed by the coach and participated in both offense and defense.

I drew the field in my head and read the flow.

An attacking midfielder for each team.

The game was going to be decided there.

5 minutes in the first half.

Italian coach Demis’ butt was shaking.

“Urajil!”

It’s only been five minutes since it started, but Demis is already getting nervous.

Isn’t Giovinco not using his strength at all?

The cause was Woo Ho-young, who was applying pressure from the back.

‘Why is that idiot down there?’

There was one thing that Demis overlooked.

Woo Ho-young’s solid physique.

It was erasing the existence of Giovinco.

Age, of course, is important.

But just as important is the physique.

Giovinco’s specialty was using his speed to overcome defenders with good physique, but Hoyoung’s speed and physique made that specialty useless.

‘Damn it. In the previous game, the physical fight wasn’t that good?’

Demis has been watching all of Woo Ho-young’s games over the past few days.

But Hoyoung back then wasn’t as extreme as he is today.

If he used 80% of his strength in the previous games against the United States or Ivory Coast, he showed 100% of his strength today.

‘You were storing up stamina?’

Whatever it was, it was as if Giovinco had met his natural enemy.

The person experiencing the situation felt like he was about to burst into flames.

Giovinco got angry.

“If you’re an attacker, get out of here and don’t muddy the waters. Even if you try so hard, you are the one who loses. “Soccer is a battle of stamina anyway.”

“what? “If you have anything to say, say it in English.”

“Pay attention. “Your stamina.”

“I am a former marathon runner.”

“What a crazy guy!”

Hoyoung didn’t care.

The more it happened, the more it was Giovinco who stopped him.

Because Giovinco was perfectly aware of situations that would irritate him.

‘This guy has a soft tofu mentality. ‘Once you crush it, it’s hard to eat it.’

I felt like I knew after dealing with him in person.

The fact is that Giovinco is a very emotional person and has a mental breakdown due to impatience.

‘He’s mentally twice as weak as Oscar.’

Hoyoung actively took advantage of Giovinco’s strengths.

When Giovinco tried to break through to the center, he was caught up and prevented from playing properly.

With that alone, Giovinco started to stop and made mistakes all the time.

My mouth was open, but my throat was blocked.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t escape the pressure.

Hoyoung stepped behind Giovinco like a shadow, with venom in his eyes, as if he were living only for today.

I wondered if this is what it would feel like to have a stalker.

‘Where in the world are all these crazy kids?’

“Hey, Kid. “You are left behind.”

“If I’m a kid, are you a baby?”

Hoyoung, who is over 172 centimeters tall, looked down at Giovinco and said.

“Ah-oh!”

Giovinco’s mentality was torn like a rag, and his body and mind became stiff.

It was the process of becoming a scarecrow.

As a result, Korea’s defense became stable, and their offense also survived.

This is a situation where the saying that space exists and then does not exist is exactly true.

When the teeth that had been hidden were revealed, the previously invisible holes in Italy’s defense were revealed one after another.

Afterwards, coach Park Kyung-woon assigned Woo Ho-young the role of left winger.

Crack’s role was to directly contribute to scoring by launching strong attacks based on solid defense and midfield.

In other words, bomber!

“Spread it out a little more!”

As Koo Ja-young, who caught the ball in midfield, shouted, the forward attackers spread their attack routes in three directions.

Seok Hyeong-jun ran to the center, Lee Cheong-ryong to the right, and Hoyoung to the left.

It is the role of the attacker, not the linker, to open the way for the pass.

Hoyoung was doing it well.

Percussion!

The ball went quickly to the left and stopped at Hoyoung’s feet.

With his brilliant footwork, he cut to the side along the touchline.

“Whoa.”

I took a deep breath and looked ahead.

I saw Seok Hyeong-jun digging into the box while raising his hand.

‘Raise it!’

Seok Hyeongjun’s face said that.

He was showing off his confidence and making hot and aggressive moves.

However, the defender confronting him right in front narrowed the angle of the cross.

They were dealing with Hoyoung by building a double wall.

‘A head-to-head match is at a disadvantage.’

The height of the opponent’s defender is over 180.

The age difference is 5 years.

A head-on assault was impossible.

Therefore, it folded 90 degrees and dug into the center.

Using his flexible agility and instantaneous speed, he picked off defenders like a shepherd dog.

Just one second was enough.

And then.

“gat!”

As soon as I saw a gap outside the box, I pushed a ground ball into it.

The target was not Seok Hyung-jun.

It was Koo Ja-young running a long way behind.

“…hey!!”

As the pass unfolded in an unexpected route, the Italian defenders were busy panicking.

“Stop it!”

The defenders around him hurriedly clung to Koo Ja-young.

But it was all just bait.

Koo Ja-young, who looked like she was going to hit a mid-range shot, gave Hoyoung a return pass.

“Crazy!Stick!!”

The defenders responded rashly, but in the world of competition, it is said that 0.1 seconds determines the outcome.

It was indeed true.

Because the ball has already left Hoyoung’s feet.

Pfft!

A refreshing shooting sound that makes your heart explode!

It was right.

The Italian goalkeeper’s face was colored with shock at the cannonball-like mid-distance shot.

puck!

“Ugh!”

The goalkeeper, who jumped into the air, let out a momentary sigh of relief.

This is because the sensation was transmitted to the fingertips extended to the right.

It was a good save.

‘yes!’

The ball barely resting on the tip of the middle finger was deflected and bent to the side.

And it was sucked into the goal.

Slosh!

“What a piece of shit!”

The shooting power was too strong to be blocked with just one middle finger.

The goalkeeper was devastated and looked blankly at the Korean players who were celebrating.

I couldn’t believe that we gave up the first goal to Korea.

But the despair was only just beginning.

As the full 45 minutes of the first half passed, Italy’s net was shaken once more.

And near the end of the second half, Italian coach Dennis’ face was distorted like an ugly dumpling.