Chapter 15: Step Up, Brazil (3)

Estadio Metropolitano, famous as the home ground of Atlético Madrid.

Befitting the global festival of the Olympics, the massive stadium, capable of seating 68,456 people, was packed with spectators.

Among them, besides the people who came to cheer for their own countries, there were many reporters and scouts from overseas teams.

Manchester City’s chief scout, James Brown, was one of them.

‘Ha~ If Marc Schneider hadn’t transferred, I wouldn’t have to be in such a hurry.’

Marc Schneider, currently Man City’s main striker, was being linked with a move to Real Madrid, so it was necessary to analyze potential replacements more diligently than anyone else in preparation for the next season.

‘If only I could bring in Gabriel Mendes.’

Gabriel Mendes, currently the top scorer in Ligue 1 at the age of 20, was not a player Manchester City could realistically target.

“Please, let there be players among these young Koreans who can revive our Manchester City.”

James Brown’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he looked at the 17-year-old young players on South Korea’s roster on the field, hoping that a future star who could revive Man City might emerge.

And that hope became a reality 10 minutes after the game started.

“That fantastic player is only 17?”

***

“Wow, that guy is 20 years old.”

I was looking at Gabriel Mendes, whom Coach Joo Eun-gyeom had mentioned before the game, and half of his face was covered in a beard.

‘His face looks like he’s 40, not 20. Did he lie about his age?’

As if sensing my gaze, Gabriel Mendes looked at me and sneered.

“Moleque.”

Twitch!

‘Brat? That little punk.’

Perhaps because there were Brazilian players on the team when I played for Man City.

‘I know a little bit of Brazilian profanity too.’

He looked Gabriel Mendes straight in the eye and said.

“Cala a boca.”

The guy who heard my words seemed agitated, but when his teammate stopped him, he huffed and returned to his formation.

“Hey Tae-woo, what did you say to make his face turn so red?”

At Lee Tae-yang’s question, Park Seo-joon and Yoo Hee-sung, who were next to him, also pricked up their ears, seemingly curious.

“No, he called me a brat in Brazilian. So I told him to shut up.”

“As expected of Jeong Tae-woo, a true friend of this Lee Tae-yang. If someone starts a fight, you can’t back down. But is that guy really 20 years old? Hehehe.”

Park Seo-joon and Yoo Hee-sung seemed surprised that I could understand and speak Brazilian.

“Tae-woo, you knew Brazilian too?”

“Ah, I can just use a few common swear words they use a lot in Brazil.”

“Then do you know swear words from other countries too?”

“About German or English.”

Actually, I don’t know about that. Is it that swear words from other countries are just easy to memorize?

“Hey, that’s basic.”

“Haha, as expected, Tae-woo, you really are Tae-yang’s friend.”

‘??? I think I just heard something quite rude…… but since he’s the captain, I can’t say anything.’

“Grosseiro.”

If I can’t say it in Korean, I’ll say it in Brazilian. It seemed like Park Seo-joon sunbae didn’t know Brazilian either.

“Hmm? What does that mean?”

“Ah, it just means ‘do well’.”

“Hmm, really? Like Tae-woo said, let’s do well this game. Get me that military exemption, guys.”

As Park Seo-joon, South Korea’s world-class player and captain of the national team, took the lead and made a joke, the tense young players also relaxed and were able to laugh together.

“Don’t worry, Sunbae. I’ll block everything.”

“Sob sob, Hyung will only believe in you guys.”

Yoo Hee-sung also came over and added a word.

“Don’t worry, the fastest way for me to transfer to Man Utd is to win the Olympics.”

‘Hee-sung, I’m sorry, but you’ll transfer to Man Utd even if you get eliminated in the preliminaries.’

“Hahaha, 17-year-olds these days are peculiar. Still, since you’re good, I believe in you guys.”

After the chit-chat ended, everyone returned to their positions.

“As a goalkeeper, this will be an interesting first game to announce myself to the world.”

Wheeeet!

The game began with South Korea’s kick-off, accompanied by the whistle.

Following Coach Cheon Mu-seok’s tactics, we moved our formation up and exchanged passes around the half-line.

And when the desired formation was set, Park Seo-joon passed to Kang Dong-hyun beside him and immediately ran forward.

“Return.”

Tap. Tap.

Is it because it’s the beginning?

Or are they being too wary of me?

An empty space on Yoo Hee-sung’s side caught my eye.

‘Good spot, Hee-sung.’

As if showing his world-class aspect, Park Seo-joon evaded the Brazilian players with a fantastic pass, and the ball headed towards Yoo Hee-sung.

Watching this from the goalkeeper’s position, I was filled with anticipation.

Yoo Hee-sung is the protagonist of this novel.

Always the one who shines brightest in difficult games.

This game will be no different.

Of course, even though he was such a shining presence, he was still eliminated in the preliminaries…

‘But I’m here this time, right? Yoo Hee-sung, you score the goals with difficulty. I’ll just stand here and block them.’

***

As expected of Park Seo-joon sunbae.

He passed to me as soon as I found space.

‘Focus.’

The ball was coming towards me, but at the same time, a Brazilian defender was also rushing towards me.

In an instant, various options flashed through my mind.

‘Should I cut with the first touch and run? Or pass it back?’

Time seemed to slow down. There was less than a second before the ball landed at my feet, but even in that short moment, I could think of countless things.

The Brazilian defender’s movement, the goalkeeper’s position, even my teammates’ positions.

I tried to grasp everything at once.

And then, I could see Jeong Tae-woo’s face behind me.

‘Yeah, if I just score one goal, Tae-woo will block well.’

Taking a deep breath, I made my decision.

As soon as the ball touched my foot, the opposing defender lunged at me.

Instinctively, as I received the ball, I lightly pushed it with my right foot.

My upper body leaned to the left, but the ball moved to the right.

This simple feint made the defender lean to his left, and I quickly slipped into the space on the right.

Had he trusted his defender too much, or had he been underestimating me?

Once I got past one, there was no one to stop me.

In situations like this, a direct run is more effective than any individual skill.

I broke through the opponent’s formation with my fast speed and was able to get closer to the goal.

I scanned my surroundings.

Lee Tae-yang was marking another player on the right, and as per the coach’s tactics, Park Seo-joon sunbae was rushing in from the left.

‘According to the tactics, I should pass to Park Seo-joon sunbae here and then cut into the center, but…’

But at that moment, one path opened up in my eyes.

A path to create a goal.

‘Yeah, let’s just shoot.’

Without delay, I planted my standing foot and kicked the ball using the outside of my foot.

Thwack!!!

The ball flew, creating a natural curve.

The Brazilian goalkeeper desperately threw himself.

But it wouldn’t be easy to stop a ball that was swerving towards the far left corner, kicked instantaneously.

‘That goalkeeper isn’t Tae-woo.’

The Brazilian goalkeeper also jumped quickly, but the ball barely grazed the tip of his glove, and its trajectory didn’t change.

Swish!

The sound of the ball hitting the Brazilian net, and the stadium erupted.

“Woaaaaah!”

Hearing the roar of the crowd, I ran towards the camera without thinking and jumped.

Gathering energy with my arms together.

“Man!”

And as I landed, I thrust both hands downwards and shouted.

“U!!”

***

Brazil versus South Korea.

Anyone could tell who was the underdog just by looking at the names, and Korean football fans were predicting South Korea’s defeat.

[“The match will begin with South Korea’s kick-off.”]

[“Ah, as soon as it started, they’re exchanging passes in the center and pushing their line upwards.”]

[“Oh, Park Seo-joon passes to Kang Dong-hyun and runs forward. Ah, a quick return. But three Brazilian players are approaching Park Seo-joon.”]

[“Wow, that’s Park Seo-joon for you! He proves once again why he’s world-class. How did he see Yoo Hee-sung’s position from there? Moreover, the pass went exactly to Yoo Hee-sung!”]

-Wow. As expected, Park Seo-joon doesn’t disappoint.

-No, how can he see someone on the opposite side from there and make a pass? But that pass splits the field and goes accurately.

-Ha, please, if he’s going to do something like that, he really has to.

-Nope, he’s about to lose it in 10 seconds.

-Yoo Hee-sung, 17 years old, 10 seconds before getting flamed.

[“Yoo Hee-sung receives the ball with a clean first touch. But right in front of him is Carvalho Santos. This player is also quite good, as he plays as a starter for Ajax. Let’s watch what kind of play our Yoo Hee-sung will make-“]

-??????????????

-?????????????

-That’s crazy, isn’t it?

[“Yoo, Yoo Hee-sung fakes out Carvalho Santos with an upper body feint and runs quickly! There are no more players to stop Yoo Hee-sung!”]

-Wow, he’s super fast.

-This is a 17-year-old?????

[Player Yoo Hee-sung charges towards the penalty box with lightning speed! Lee Tae-yang and Yoon Jae-hoon draw out the defenders, and Park Seo-joon sprints towards the empty space… This is the moment Coach Cheon Mu-seok’s perfect tactics unfold!]

-Is it happening, is it happening, is it happening, is it happening????

[Pass… No, what?! Yoo Hee-sung has taken a shot! The ball curves and flies towards the goal! The Brazilian goalkeeper desperately throws himself, but…]

[GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An incredible goal has been scored!!! Unbelievable! 17-year-old Yoo Hee-sung scores a precious opening goal against Brazil just 10 minutes into the first half! This is the charm of football, the emotion of sports! South Korea 1-0 Brazil!]

-Why is a Brazilian player in Korea?

-Mom, when I grow up, I want to be Yoo Hee-sung.

-I’m sorry for cursing.

-At this rate, I’m looking forward to Lee Tae-yang and Jeong Tae-woo too, right?

-In the first place, Lee Tae-yang’s movement was super good just now.

[Player Yoo Hee-sung spreads his arms and runs towards the camera. The hero of the first Olympic goal is Yoo Hee-sung. What kind of celebration will he do, I wonder?]

“Man”

“U!”

[Uh, yes. He’s powerfully shouting Man Utd.]

[Yoo Hee-sung’s love for Man Utd is famous. Even when he received the MVP award at a high school tournament, he mentioned Man Utd and made it known that he was a Man Utd fan. With his debut goal in his debut match, he once again reveals that he is a Man Utd fan.]

– Crazy bastard.

Looking at the airport interview video, Lee Tae-yang wasn’t in his right mind either. Is this the spiciness of 17-year-olds?

-Small peppers are spicy.

-Man U

-Man U!!!!!!!!!!!

-Run away, the Man Utd gallery has locked onto you.