Chapter 28: Olympic Finals (1)

On the day of the Olympic final, South Korea vs. France.

The stadium was already sold out.

It was filled not only with Koreans and French people but also with spectators from all over the world.

“Who will win, I wonder?”

Underdog versus traditional powerhouse.

Many people predicted France’s victory, but South Korea was a dark horse that had already defeated traditional powerhouses one after another.

“South Korea, win!”

“South Korea! Show Asia’s true power!”

“Player Jeong Tae-woo, fighting!!”

The cheers from Asians were also fervent.

Even the Japanese, who had lost to Korea in the semifinals, and the Chinese, who were eliminated in the preliminaries, were wishing for the victory of their fellow Asian country, Korea, this time.

The South Korean and French players lined up in the tunnel before entering the ground.

A quiet but tense atmosphere hung between them.

A strong desire for victory could be felt in every player’s eyes.

France’s ace and current top scorer, Luca Dubois, quietly looked at Jeong Tae-woo.

‘So that’s Jeong Tae-woo.’

The young South Korean player Coach Pierre Moreau had warned him about so emphatically.

“If you have a teammate next to you in a 1-on-1 situation, unconditionally pass to score a 100% goal.”

The coach’s words echoed in Dubois’s ears.

“This will be interesting.”

As a player who truly loved football, Dubois enjoyed the performances of such young prospects and dark horse fairytale stories of weaker teams.

A smile spread across his lips.

“Of course, we have no intention of being the sacrifice in this fairytale.”

A short while later, after the Olympic final festival performance ended, both teams entered the ground with grim determination.

[“Hello, I am caster Lee Sung-joon.”]

[“Yes, this is commentator Yoo Jung-hwan.”]

[“South Korea versus France, France versus South Korea. The long-awaited final match will begin shortly.”]

[“Who would have thought South Korea would make it to the final? This is the rebellion of the underdog!”]

[“Who will win, I wonder? It seems like it will be a truly exciting match.”]

The match began with South Korea’s kick-off.

As Lee Tae-yang passed backwards, the tactic everyone was now paying attention to, Wave Pressing, unfolded.

The South Korean players exchanged precise passes, gradually pushing their line up.

[“Oh, South Korea’s specialty, Wave Pressing, is starting already. In the Japan match, they initially lowered their line and only pushed it up during counter-attacks, but this time, they’re pushing it up right away. We’ll have to pay attention to how France responds.”]

[“That’s right. France must have thoroughly studied this tactic as well. I wonder what countermeasures they’ve prepared?”]

The South Korean players’ movements were as fluid as waves.

Centered around the player with the ball, other players quickly took their positions.

[“Wow, that’s truly beautiful passing movement. It’s like they’re moving as one body.”]

[“Indeed. The core of this Wave Pressing is precisely this organic movement utilizing the number of attackers. I’m curious to see how the French defense will respond.”]

And the French players, watching South Korea’s tactics, recalled what their coach had emphatically told them before the match.

“In this match, we will not be afraid of conceding goals. Rather, if the opponent scores, we will score twice as many.”

And that movement appeared immediately.

[“Huh? The French players’ movements are different from other teams?”]

The French players began to adopt an unexpected formation against South Korea’s Wave Pressing.

Usually, the tactic opponents use against South Korea’s Wave Pressing is a defensive one aiming for counter-attacks.

But France’s current movement was like…

[“This… looks like an all-out counter-offensive! It seems France is trying to meet Korea’s pressure with pressure. It’s like pouring oil on fire!”]

[“Wow! This final match is going to be an incredible slugfest. Spectators better buckle up. This game is going to be more thrilling than a rollercoaster!”]

[“Indeed it is. Those with weak hearts should be cautious with this match. It feels like our hearts won’t get a break for 90 minutes!”]

At that moment, France’s defender, Marcel Dupont, taunted a nearby Korean player to try and steal the ball more easily.

“Hey, little kid! Stop dancing and hand over the ball to me, why don’t you?”

At Dupont’s provocative words, the Korean player looked at Dupont, but,

“What’s this bearded old man saying?”

The opponent Dupont taunted was Lee Tae-yang, and he didn’t speak English.

And just as the ball came to him, Lee Tae-yang looked around.

‘There’s no need to attack recklessly. Jae-hoon hyung is a little behind, and Hee-sung is…’

Yoo Hee-sung was watching Lee Tae-yang intently, ready to break through France’s defensive line and rush into the penalty area at any moment.

Lee Tae-yang’s eyes sparkled.

‘Yoo Hee-sung, I’ll sacrifice myself for you to become the top scorer. You have to treat me to chicken later!’

At that moment, the ball flew in.

With a split-second decision, Lee Tae-yang tilted his head slightly.

The ball hit his head, changed direction, and flew towards Yoo Hee-sung.

[“Oh! An exquisite heading pass from Lee Tae-yang! The ball is flying towards Yoo Hee-sung!”]

[“Wow! That’s a truly fantastic pass. The chemistry between these two, it’s like they have telepathy!”]

[“Yoo Hee-sung takes a shot! Shooooot!!!! Ah~ But France’s goalkeeper, Luca Hernandez, makes a magnificent save!”]

[“Goalkeeper Hernandez, without wasting any time, kicks the ball long immediately after the save. France’s counter-attack begins!”]

***

‘Even I would have a hard time blocking this.’

What came into my sight was Luca Dubois dribbling the ball at full speed.

But another French attacker was running alongside him.

‘I can’t believe they came out with an all-out counter-offensive tactic.’

The tactic France brought to this final was a 4-2-3-1.

Four defenders, two defensive midfielders, three attacking midfielders, and one out-and-out striker.

But now, their movement was completely different.

There was an extreme lack of a midfield zone.

In a word, the defense was only defending, and the offense was only attacking.

Our pride, Wave Pressing.

Usually, we’d push the defensive line up to aim for offsides,

Or the South Korean defenders would somehow disrupt their advance to create a 1-on-1 situation.

But now…

Luca Dubois had another French attacker running alongside him.

‘If I try to narrow the angle, he’ll pass to the open space… Going out myself isn’t an option either.’

Our defenders were desperately chasing, but the French players were skillfully obstructing their pursuit.

“This is why we somehow need to create a 1-on-1 situation.”

In that instant, a thought flashed through my mind.

‘Wait, will he really pass?’

Luca Dubois, competing with Yoo Hee-sung for the top scorer title.

He was currently ahead with 7 goals, just one more than Yoo Hee-sung’s 6.

With both teams attacking so aggressively, the scoring ranking could be overturned at any moment.

‘In this situation, will Dubois be greedy, or will he pass for a sure goal?’

If it were me, I’d try to finish it myself.

In a 1-on-1 situation, the attacker has the advantage.

But here, there was one thing I didn’t know.

Luca Dubois was a player with a pure passion for victory.

To him, individual glory meant nothing in the face of team victory.

Top scorer?

That was merely a secondary thing.

He was a player who valued raising the French flag higher than making his own name shine on the field.

A player who could give up his own records for the team.

His true desire was only victory, victory itself.

Unaware of this fact, I made a huge error in predicting his next move.

“You son of a b*tch!”

As I moved out to narrow Luca Dubois’s shooting angle, he passed to the player running beside him without a second’s hesitation.

And that player, like a true Frenchman, shot accurately towards the empty goal.
Swish!

The sound of the ball hitting the net echoed through the stadium, and I could only stand there, frozen to the spot.

‘I thought it was impossible not to concede a goal eventually…’

I knew that no matter how well I blocked, I could concede a goal someday.

But like this… I never thought I’d concede a goal in this way.

‘This was beyond my prediction.’

Until now, everything had gone according to my thoughts.

So, this time too, I had unconsciously been certain that my prediction would be correct.

However, Luca Dubois’s unexpected pass shattered all my calculations.

Then, Seo-joon hyung approached.

And he looked me straight in the eye and said.
“Tae-woo, it was an unavoidable situation.”

In Seo-joon hyung’s eyes, I could see his intention to console me for conceding my first goal.

“Yes, Hyung. I’ll focus again.”

Actually, I wasn’t that frustrated or sad.

Making it to the Olympic final having conceded only one goal was already a great achievement.

‘Well, honestly, I was a little surprised, but rather, it’s become really interesting.’

I felt the corners of my lips twitch upwards slightly.

It felt like the games had been too easy until now.

Only now did I feel a tension worthy of real football.

‘Yes, this is what football is all about.’