Chapter 70: Korean Derby (3)

The first half ended with no additional goals after Guerrero’s score.

Chelsea, centered around Seo-jun hyung, aimed for our goal several times, but I and the defense blocked them well, so we got through without any major incidents.

“Tae-woo, do you have any other strategies?”

On the way to the locker room, Guerrero approached me, put his arm around my shoulder, and spoke.

“Hey, do you have no conscience?”

“Why?”

“Because of you, I watched volleyball videos… Ugh, let’s not talk about it. Would you even understand if I explained it to you?”

It seems his conscience has been eaten with rice.

Does he think there are that many strategies where you just kick the ball and it goes in…

As we entered the locker room like that, Coach Peter Guardian greeted us with a smile.

“Why didn’t I know about such a fantastic strategy?”

‘Ah, right. I only said let’s try this later and haven’t told the coach yet…’

I’m in big trouble.

Sanchez and Guerrero, the accomplices of the strategy, were sweating and looking at me.

As if I were the main culprit of this incident.

‘Don’t f*cking look at me…’

***

“The opponent is continuously shooting from long range right now, and this is clearly a strategy to lower our defensive line.”

I thought I would be reprimanded, but fortunately, the coach, who passed it over without much comment, began to give tactical instructions.

‘Phew… I’m saved.’

I looked at Sanchez and Guerrero, who had pointed me out as the main culprit with just their gazes earlier, with an angry expression and warned them with my mouth shape.

“See you later.”

“Even if we’re at the top of the Premier League right now, we can’t think that we’ll maintain it until the end of the season.”

I knew what the coach was worried about.

We were currently evolving from a team that worried about losing every season to a team that didn’t know defeat.

But in this process of development, the poison of complacency could instantly destroy everything.

Especially since our team has the youngest starting lineup in the Premier League, the coach’s worries could only deepen.

No one knows when this sweet winning streak will end.

But at the very least, we shouldn’t be the ones to collapse on our own.

“Alright, everyone focus and get ready for the second half. We still have a lot more to show.”

The second half began after the coach’s final words.

The back-and-forth between Manchester City and Chelsea was fierce in the second half as well.

The exchange of attacks and defenses without a moment to breathe heated up the atmosphere of the stadium even more.

[Park Seo-jun intercepts Manchester City’s pass! He passes to the side and runs! Was this player this fast?]

It was Chelsea who started first.

Buoyed by the home fans’ cheers, Seo-jun hyung intercepted our pass with a quick movement and started a momentary counterattack.

[Wow! Fantastic! They completely neutralize City’s defense with a quick 2-on-1 pass!]

Seo-jun hyung had been actively threatening us with long-range shots in this game, so I had forgotten for a moment, but in fact, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Seo-jun hyung is passing.

And momentarily, Seo-jun hyung brought down the hammer on us who had forgotten that.

[Park Seo-jun, is it a shot again? Oh, no! He fakes and passes! It’s Park Seo-jun, as expected! The pass split the ground!]

[Havertz, who received the pass, has only Jeong Tae-woo in front of him! Havertz, can he break through the wall that is Jeong Tae-woo and score a goal?]

[Havertz shoots… no, it was a cross! Park Seo-jun, when did he run all the way here?]

[Park Seo-jun! Into the empty goal, goooooal!!! It’s a goal! Park Seo-jun scores against the iron wall Jeong Tae-woo, tying the game!]

[Who said this player was not qualified to be the captain of Chelsea. In my opinion, he is shining more than anyone in this game, a true captain!]

In the 18th minute of the second half, Havertz, who received a pass from Park Seo-jun, faked a shot and sent up a cross, and Park Seo-jun, who had run all the way to the penalty box, pushed the ball into the empty goal, tying the game.

“Sorry, my mistake. I shouldn’t have missed him.”

City’s captain, Matias, who had momentarily missed Park Seo-jun, raised his hand to his teammates to apologize.

No one on City would curse the captain’s apology, and everyone comforted him with a gesture that it was okay.

“There’s still plenty of time, so stay calm and don’t lose your pace!”

From the bench, Coach Peter Guardian encouraged the players in a loud voice.

It was as the coach said.

Although it was a 1-1 tie, most of the second half still remained.

[The game starts with Manchester City’s kickoff.]

There’s something everyone is forgetting.

It’s Sanchez.

He is a player with many weaknesses.

He is short and not physically strong.

He is a player who lacks the talents that are considered key for a football player.

But he has excellent vision, accurate passing, and the ability to control the team’s tempo even at a young age.

He broke down opposing defenders with intelligent play that compensated for his lack of physicality.

That’s why he is a key player in Manchester City’s current tiki-taka tactics.

He’s not the leading man who gets the spotlight, but he’s like a key gear in a sophisticated machine.

Like Xavi Hernandez, who led Barcelona’s golden age, he wasn’t flashy, but he was a player like a heart that moved the entire team.

[Sanchez has the ball on the left side!]

[Huh? He’s not passing? Sanchez is taking it himself with a dribble.]

[Oho… do you see that? Sanchez’s movement. It seems like he’s completely missing the passing timing, but in fact, he’s intentionally holding onto the ball. It’s a subtle movement as if he’s saying to the Chelsea defense, ‘Are you still not coming?’, ‘Then I’ll advance further’.]

[It’s intelligent play typical of Sanchez. This deceptive movement that lures the opponent while also seeming to make a mistake… will the Chelsea defense fall into this trap?]

Two defenders were forced to come and block Sanchez, and he, as if he had been waiting for this moment, kicked the ball long without a moment’s hesitation.

[Sanchez’s cross! It’s a pass that exquisitely goes over the defenders’ heads! Oh! Guerrero is running in with explosive speed!]

[Shot! Ah… Kepa’s fantastic save! It leads to a Manchester City corner kick!]

[It was a super save by Kepa, as if he was declaring, ‘If Man City has Jeong Tae-woo, then Chelsea has me’! Through today’s game, he is proving that he is also one of the world’s best goalkeepers!]

The perfect parabola drawn by Sanchez’s corner kick.

At that moment, Matias soared into the sky.

As if shaking off all the self-blame from the moment he allowed a goal to Park Seo-jun earlier, his jump was filled with a strong will.

Matias’s forehead hit the ball hard, and the ball, grazing Kepa’s fingertips, shook the net.

Amidst the cheers that filled the stadium, Matias clenched his fists.

[The ball sent up by Sanchez! The man most loved by Manchester City fans, Matias, shows off his explosive jumping power! Ooooh! Matias soars like a rocket! Perfect timing heading… goal!!!!]

[2-1! Matias has done it! He, who had allowed a goal to Park Seo-jun due to his earlier mistake, has become the hero of the winning goal that leads the team to victory!]

[And the starting point of this goal, Sanchez’s corner kick, was also perfect. In an exquisite position that the defenders couldn’t block, at the best height for Matias to head… this is the true strength of Manchester City!]

[This team is no longer a mid-table team. Although it’s only the first half of the season, they are now the champions standing tall at the top of the Premier League!]

***

[Jeong Tae-woo vs. Park Seo-jun, the winner of the Korean Derby is Man City… 90 minutes that wrote a new history]

[Everyone shone… Park Seo-jun’s fantastic goal in defeat, Jeong Tae-woo’s still amazing save show]

– The future of South Korean football is bright!

– Park Seo-jun is in his prime, and Jeong Tae-woo is just getting started. On top of that, Yoo Hee-sung and Lee Tae-yang are said to be heading to Europe soon, so aren’t we going to make a splash in the World Cup?

– I want to say let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but I really can’t help but get my hopes up… Our country’s chronic defensive instability… am I strange for thinking it can be solved with just Jeong Tae-woo?

[Park Seo-jun, Jeong Tae-woo is a player who has set a new paradigm for the goalkeeper position.

“Tae-woo is a player who has set a new paradigm for the goalkeeper position. He has a truly fantastic talent, and he knows how to utilize it well. But he’s crazy somewhere… and it’s truly amazing that that madness translates into his football skills.]

– Park Seo-jun is spitting straight facts.

– Madnes. This is really the most fitting word to describe Jeong Tae-woo.

– The time he broke the TV during a pillow fight with Lee Tae-yang at the Olympics is a legend

– I was seriously shocked when I saw him do a spike during the corner kick situation today ㄹㅇ… but the funny thing is, it succeeded 

– The talent + madness combination is crazy…

[Jeong Tae-woo, madness? Hey, I’m just working hard.
“Madness? I’m just a young player who wants to play football well. I’m really normal! Was the spike pass today planned? {laughs} Of course. I think I watched volleyball highlight videos for a good 100 hours just to do that one thing.”]

– ?? Where is there a football player who watches volleyball videos for 100 hours to do a spike in a game?

– No, if this isn’t madness, what is?

– “I’m normal, but I’m a football player who watches volleyball highlights for 100 hours.”