Chapter 27: That’s Some Intense Patriotism!

The victory in the Olympic semifinals once again sent South Korea into a frenzy.

Many people felt a sense of catharsis from the 5-0 landslide victory despite the recent 0-3 losing streak against Japan, and from the interview that turned Nakamura Kenji’s provocative words back on him after the win.

Think about it.

Their own country, which had recently only been eliminated in the preliminaries, advanced to the main tournament with tremendous performances, played a Korea-Japan match in the semifinals, won there, and advanced to the final.

It was a story fit for a movie.

It was no exaggeration to say that the entire nation watched the Japan match with keen interest, and after the match ended, TV was filled with nothing but stories about it.

[“Breaking news. The 2036 Madrid Olympics men’s football team has defeated Japan and advanced to the final. Reporter Yoo Ah-rin on site-“]

[“It’s a moment of overwhelming emotion! Our national team has created a miracle with their incredible skill. How much effort must they have put in? How difficult must it have been? Just thinking about it makes my heart ache.”]

[“Our South Korea has defeated Japan and secured at least a silver medal. However, our South Korean players must not be satisfied here. With our current strength, we can sufficiently defeat France and win the gold medal.”]

That’s right.

The opponent in the final was France, who had advanced by defeating Germany 2-0.

[“In my opinion, we can definitely beat France and win the gold medal. Firstly, compared to their victory against Germany which went to a penalty shootout, we won with overwhelming performance. Our current strength is sufficiently…”]

In fact, it was only their recent Olympic record that was poor; just 10 years ago, South Korea occasionally advanced to the main tournament.

However, at some point, South Korea’s international match record plummeted, and people no longer expected anything from the national team.

How could one not be ecstatic?

Not only is the team’s performance excellent, but our players’ individual records are also shining brighter than ever.

Yoo Hee-sung was running second in the scoring charts with 6 goals.

France’s Luca Dubois was ahead with 7 goals, but it was a situation that could be overturned in the final.

Lee Tae-yang also proved his worth by scoring 3 goals.

And Jeong Tae-woo, despite being a goalkeeper, not only recorded a goal and an assist but also managed a clean sheet in every match he played.

The public’s perception, initially filled with worry due to their young age, had completely changed.

Now, everyone’s heart was pounding, imagining what miracles these young heroes would create if they grew further and stood on the World Cup stage.

Perhaps because of that, articles were already coming out as if they had already beaten France and won the gold medal.

[“The Miracle of Madrid: South Korea, Finally Reaches the Olympic Summit… Or Will They?”]

[“They Did It! Victory in Sight with Yoo Hee-sung’s Hat-trick”]

And the young heroes who were currently making South Korea ecstatic were all gathered together, playing a football game.

“Buuuug cuuuut!”

“Hey Jeong Tae-woo, just one more time!”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“No, just once. Games are best of three.”

The TV screen showed a result of 7-0.

“Hey Tae-yang, do you think anything will change if you play one more time here?”

“No, I was just going easy on you. I’m going to play seriously now.”

“Hey Tae-yang, if you lost, just accept it and come out. We need to play too, you know.”

The reason the players were currently playing games like this was because of the 2-day break given before the final.

They were all gathered together, enjoying games for the purpose of team bonding.

“Yes…”

“Right, you should have come out like that sooner.”

Lee Tae-yang, whose controller was snatched by Jae-hoon hyung and Seo-joon hyung, pouted and returned to the bed behind me with me.

“This is my room though…”

Lee Tae-yang muttered in a dissatisfied voice.

‘No, he’s going to lose again even if he plays more anyway.’

Judging by Lee Tae-yang’s reaction, it seemed like a close loss, but as shown on the screen earlier, a score of 7-0 was not a point difference that could occur unless there was an enormous skill gap.

“Hey, with your skills, you can’t beat me even if you play again.”

“Wow, you’re really dissing me. Hey, back when I used to play games a lot—”

“Hey, Tae-woo.”

“What?”

At that moment, Yoo Hee-sung, who was already lying on the bed, held out his phone towards me.

“You’re getting a really good reaction in Japan.”

‘A good reaction?’

After winning the Korea-Japan match and aggressively addressing Nakamura’s interview point by point, I thought I’d be getting a ton of hate by now…

“Hey, I’m talking here!”

Ignoring Lee Tae-yang’s words, I looked at Yoo Hee-sung’s phone, and it was indeed full of positive reactions about me.

– Why are all Korean football players so handsome? It’s so unfair~]

– Player Jeong Tae-woo is so cool! I wish Japan had a player like him.]

-I was a fan of Nakamura Kenji, but I think Jeong Tae-woo is slightly better looking.]

-Slightly?]

– Oh my, why is he so handsome too? Player Jeong Tae-woo’s play is amazing, but his looks are also top-tier. I’m envious~]

– Yoo Hee-sung next to him is also visually stunning.]

– My heart is pounding.]

‘Huh, so this kind of thing happens when you’re handsome.’

This was something even I, who thought I had gotten used to being handsome, hadn’t expected.

It was an interview that basically disparaged not just the Japanese national team but the entire J-League as a low-level league, yet to get such positive reactions based on looks.

Is the world really kind to everyone if they’re handsome…

At that moment, Lee Tae-yang, who was watching beside me, threw in a comment.

“What, should I try a fiery interview like that next time too?”

I glanced at him and retorted.

“Hey, are you the same as me?”

Lee Tae-yang immediately got worked up and countered.

“Hey, what’s wrong with me? I’m definitely not ugly enough to be called that anywhere!”

That answer didn’t need to come from me.

Jae-hoon hyung and Seo-joon hyung, who were playing the game, answered for him.

“Hey, actually, Tae-yang, you’re not ugly. But the guys you hang out with are Hee-sung and Tae-woo.”

“Right, Tae-woo and Hee-sung should be compared to celebrities right now. If an ordinary person is there, how can they not look like a squid?”

“No, still, compared to Hee-sung…”

Lee Tae-yang looked at Yoo Hee-sung.

“Hmm, me?”

“……..”

“Being handsome doesn’t mean you’re good at football.”

“But Hee-sung and Tae-woo are better at football than you too.”

“……..”

A momentary silence fell in the room, and I found the situation both amusing and somewhat pitiful.

‘Endure it! Tae-yang. It can’t be helped.’

It was true that our team’s visual line was exceptional, and among them, Yoo Hee-sung and I particularly stood out.

However, Lee Tae-yang was also definitely on the handsome side.

It just seemed that way because there were overly outstanding guys next to him.

“Hey, Tae-yang.”

I spoke to him.

“You’re plenty handsome too. It’s just that we’re a bit excessively handsome.”

At these words, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

“Do you think that’s a word of comfort!!!!!!!”

“Alright, alright. You’re as handsome as us. Happy now?”

Lee Tae-yang shook his head with a resigned expression, but a small smile hung on his lips.

‘Simple fellow.’

Teasing Lee Tae-yang is something no one could ever stop.

Tremendous tanking ability and quick self-healing.

‘Even if it wasn’t football, he would have hit it big if he went into internet broadcasting.’

Until the Japan match, a heavy tension always lingered rather than this kind of harmonious atmosphere.

But now that they had secured a medal and confirmed their military service exemption, everyone was thoroughly enjoying the situation.

***

France’s coach, Pierre Moreau, was meticulously analyzing the South Korean team’s tactics with his coaching staff.

His sharp eyes stared intently at the footage of the Korean team’s matches, occasionally nodding and jotting down important points.

“Certainly an interesting tactic,”

Coach Moreau muttered.

“By having an extremely large number of attacking personnel…”

Coach Moreau’s assistant, Antoine Leclerc, nodded and added.

“That’s right. Their Wave Pressing tactic has weaknesses that are obvious to anyone, but it’s a tightrope-walking tactic that somehow manages to block with just one goalkeeper. In my opinion, it would be best to play defensively and aim for counter-attacks.”

The name Wave Pressing was what Coach Cheon Mu-seok had named his tactic during his victory interview, so everyone knew it by now.

Coach Moreau paused in thought for a moment and then said.

“Yes, that’s certainly one way. However, South Korea’s goalkeeper boasts an incredible win rate in 1-on-1 situations.”

“Then what should we do?”

“We just need to create a situation where the goalkeeper absolutely cannot block.”

Leclerc’s eyes widened as he listened intently to the coach’s words.

Coach Moreau continued to explain.

“Leclerc, do you happen to know why Coach Cheon Mu-seok insists on a 4-3-3 formation when using Wave Pressing?”

“It seems to be because having three attackers upfront allows for offensive development, and there are various plans such as fast crosses or dribbles through the flanks…”

“Yes, that’s part of it. But what’s important here are the defenders. The midfielders and attackers show various movements as if they have free roles when attacking anyway, but these defenders’ movements are fixed. Look at this scene here.”

Following Coach Moreau’s gesture, the movements of the defenders in the footage began to play out slowly.

“Whether it was the Brazil match or the Denmark match, a 1-on-1 situation always occurred. The reason is that South Korea’s defenders try to defend against the maximum number of players who can go on the attack.”

Leclerc’s eyes lit up.

“Then, don’t tell me… The four defenders somehow block the maximum number of players who don’t possess the ball, and the goalkeeper blocks about one person… Is that the mindset?”

Coach Moreau nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Exactly. This is possible because there are few players going on the attack with a counter-attacking tactic. However, if we counter with an all-out attacking tactic, we can create not just 1-on-1 situations for the goalkeeper, but also 2-on-1, and even 3-on-1 situations frequently.”

Coach Moreau’s eyes sharpened.

“This final match will be a slugfest.”