Olympic Group Stage (3)
Olympic Group Stage (3)
057
[The Amazing Victory of Team Gong Jeon-seong!]
[A Great Victory in Australia!!]
[The Olympic Team's True Skill Finally Revealed!]
After the victory against Honduras, articles praising us popped up like mushrooms after rain.
They say public opinion is like a reed, but I didn't think it would flip this quickly. Where did all the people who mocked and criticized the national team go? From news articles to soccer forums, everyone was drunk on the big win against Honduras, tooting their own horns.
'Becoming a hero really happens in an instant.'
Doesn't that mean becoming a traitor happens in an instant too? ...I need to do well.
I skimmed through the news headlines half-heartedly and clicked on one.
[A Landslide Victory!! The Taegeuk Warriors Were Strong!!]
—The result of the match between South Korea and Honduras, held at Central Coast Stadium in Australia at 5 PM local time on the 28th, was astonishing.
A 4:0 landslide victory.
Team Gong Jeon-seong dominated the Central American dark horse Honduras throughout the match, securing a 4-0 win and putting an end to the controversy that had surrounded them.
During the preparation period, the Olympic national team faced numerous internal and external difficulties.
The first was the sudden resignation of the former head coach, Kim Gwi-jong (59). Coach Kim Gwi-jong, who had led the U23 national team for about 16 months and was preparing for the Olympic finals, had to step down early this year due to a sudden deterioration in his health.
A sudden crisis occurring half a year before the Olympic finals.
The Football Association moved quickly to consider various leaders, but no coach wanted to take charge of this national team, dubbed the "Valley Generation," just six months before the Olympic finals.
As the coaches called upon by the Association declined one after another, the confusion regarding the Olympic national team's head coach position grew, and the position, which seemed to be heading toward a system led by the head coach who had been assisting Coach Kim Gwi-jong, went to an unexpected figure.
It was the current head coach, Gong Jeon-seong (40).
Coach Gong Jeon-seong was a player who had been active on domestic and international stages during his active career, playing 315 professional matches and also appearing in 31 matches for the national team.
Retiring at the relatively young age of 30 and beginning his path as a leader, Coach Gong obtained his coaching license in Europe and was serving as the head coach for the Malaga C.F. B team in Spain's La Liga when he received an earnest request from the Football Association and took office as the captain of the national team.
Upon taking office, Coach Gong sounded an alarm for the members of the Olympic national team, who had been showing sluggish performance and were called the "Valley Generation."
Instead of the members who had been playing as starters, he called up numerous players during the short remaining time to test them and set out to find new faces.
However, public opinion was cold.
Even with the Olympics just around the corner, public opinion wavered at Coach Gong's experiments, as he had not yet selected his starting members, and a second crisis arrived.
It was the rumor of discord.
Starting with rumors of discord with the existing national team members, rumors of discord with the Football Association also circulated, and public opinion, which had been deteriorating, spiraled to the worst possible state after the final roster announcement.
Various derogatory terms like "nepotism soccer," "Hojin University President," and "test bed" were poured out, and in the midst of endless controversy, Coach Gong held a press conference and signaled a head-on breakthrough, saying, "I will prove it with results," and only then did public opinion barely calm down.
The first preliminary match of Group D was held in a tense atmosphere that could flare up again with just a small spark.
Coach Gong proved it.
Team Gong Jeon-seong succeeded in turning the atmosphere around by completely defeating Honduras, a Central American dark horse that the Korean team traditionally struggles with, 4:0.
However, the next opponent is Spain, known as the Invincible Armada.
Attention is focused on how far the flight of Team Gong Jeon-seong will continue.
Geez.
If you're going to praise us, keep praising us. Why mention the Spain match at the end and ask how far the flight will continue? If we lose to Spain, it's going to be a total mess.
Still, the good thing is that the team atmosphere has become much better after the victory against Honduras.
It wasn't that there was actual discord like the media fussed about, but the team members, being young players under 23, were sensitive to public opinion, and they regained their confidence with this victory.
Perhaps that's why, this morning, the day after the match, everyone is full of smiles even while coming out for recovery training.
"Well, well~ Look who it is. Isn't it Mr. Hong Min-jun, who recorded 1 goal and 1 assist yesterday?"
"Ahem. And isn't that the top scorer, Oh Pyo-sik-hyung?"
Perhaps because he relieved the pressure with his 2 goals yesterday, Oh Pyo-sik-sunbae was the first one out, warming up.
One of the reasons the coach was criticized was that he only used 2 of the 3 Wild Card slots. One of them was Oh Pyo-sik-sunbae, and the other was Seol Yo-han-sunbae, who would hold down the defensive line.
Oh Pyo-sik-sunbae, who plays for Shimazu in the Japanese J-League, is a 28-year-old veteran striker. He was a versatile player who could play on the left and right flanks as well as in the center.
"Phew. I feel a bit better after scoring 2 goals in the first match. I thought I was going to die from the pressure."
"Hyung, I'm looking forward to the Spain match too. You have to go for a hat-trick this time."
"Hey! Don't put pressure on me!"
"Huh? Are you feeling pressured?"
"I am, you brat. Aren't you nervous?"
"Nervous? What's that? I know soy sauce... is it something you eat?"
"Ah, you cheeky bastard."
As I was chatting and laughing with Oh Pyo-sik-sunbae, the team members started appearing one by one.
Since we played a match yesterday, today's schedule is focused on light training. We are scheduled to have recovery training in the morning, eat lunch, and then have power analysis and simple tactical training in the afternoon to prepare for tomorrow's match.
"Ugh. Is there a match again tomorrow? This is killing me."
Yoon-hyeok-sunbae, who was sitting on the ground massaging his legs, grumbled.
We played a match yesterday, and the next match is tomorrow. The match after that is in 2 days.
A truly murderous schedule that continues at 3-day intervals.
It's something that can't be helped due to the nature of the Olympics, but playing matches at 3-day intervals is not easy.
"Yoon-hyeok-sunbae. You were substituted in the second half. And that was after the 75th minute, which is the hardest part."
"Don't talk like it wasn't you? You were substituted with me at the 75th minute too."
"That's why I'm not saying it's hard."
"Hong Min-jun, come here. Let's get into a fight."
"Whoa!! You're going to hit me?? If you hit me, you'll turn all the women in the country into anti-fans!"
"Everyone, catch him."
"Ca, Captain? Ugh, ack, ugh!"
After lunch, we headed to the audiovisual room under the guidance of our head coach, Han Ji-woo. It was time for power analysis to prepare for the next match against Spain.
'That's So-young-noona's dad.'
The coach, who handed out the materials with a haggard face, perhaps because he was busy preparing for the match, opened his mouth.
"As you all know, the next opponent is Spain."
"Wow, damn. I feel like I'm going to piss myself already."
"The lineup is insane."
"Quiet, quiet. Study the materials until the coach arrives."
Spain.
Unlike our national team members who are mocked as the "Valley Generation," the players in this Olympic age group for Spain are famous as the "Golden Generation."
Well, most of the players who are the main players of the "Golden Generation" didn't participate in this Olympics... but still, Spain is Spain. Isn't it a country where there are so many talented prospects that you trip over them?
"Open to page 3. Spain's tactic is possession-based soccer centered on short passes."
'Hmm... these guys' tactics are the same every time.'
About 20 years ago, Tiki-taka opened the golden age of Spanish soccer.
For a while, there was a Tiki-taka craze in Spanish soccer, which dominated the world soccer scene with Barcelona at the forefront. Our country was no exception, and Coach Cho Kwang-rae tried to follow it. Of course, it was a huge failure, mocked as "cartoon soccer."
20 years since the golden age of Barcelona and Spanish soccer.
Now that a long time has passed, Spanish soccer has changed in many ways from the Tiki-taka of that time. Since it was a tactic that once ruled the world, it was known as much as it could be, and it was analyzed as much as it could be, so countless ways to break it have appeared.
Healthy competition makes each other develop.
The current Tiki-taka is different from the past in many ways. However, like the name "Tiki-taka," in the big picture, it is the same in that it is possession-based soccer centered on short passes.
"Spain's tactics haven't changed in the big picture, whether now or 10 years ago. But what is truly scary is that they have maintained their current power with similar tactics for decades."
The coach flipped the materials with a fluttering sound.
"If you look at the next page, there is a roster of the Spanish national team. Simple strengths and weaknesses for each player are written down, so be sure to memorize them."
'Hmm.'
There are a lot of words.
"Next are the play styles and characteristics of each player, their dominant foot, and their frequently used patterns and habits. Memorize this too."
'Ho-ho.'
There are a lot of words packed in there.
"Open to page 13. There will be an analysis of the current Spain coach, Unai Simon. The coach's tendencies, tactical philosophy, and expected changes are written down, so check this in detail as well."
'Oh-ho.'
The preparation is thorough.
"Lastly, there are pattern plays that the opponent enjoys using and how to deal with expected offensive and defensive situations."
'Hmm. Hmm.'
I focused on reading it, and I've already read it all.
'...I don't know anything.'
Damn, how the hell am I supposed to memorize this?
Looking around, everyone is looking at the materials with their eyes popping out. In this atmosphere, as I flipped through the materials half-heartedly and read the text, the white was paper and the black was text.
"You're a bit late. Did you read the materials? Hmm. Let's start the strategy meeting right away. Coach Han. Play the video."
At the coach's instruction, the large TV screen connected to the laptop turned on.
On the screen, match scenes of the Spanish national team were being edited and played.
"Do you see it? This is Spain during their last match against Morocco. Basically, they take a 4-3-3 formation, and it is characteristic that they place many players in a narrow space so as not to be pushed back in the possession battle in the midfield."
Spanish players marked in red and Moroccan players marked in blue were tangled together.
"The current Spanish Olympic team shows a different appearance from the tactics shown by the senior national team. That is the use of an Inverted Fullback that comes inside to add strength to the midfield battle, or the use of a False Nine so that the striker actively drops down to the midfield."
The movements of the Spanish national team could be seen in the playing video.
A defensive line that went up so high it seemed excessive, a relatively narrow width concentrated inside, and a lone striker dropping down to the midfield.
"This is not current Tiki-taka, but similar to the Barcelona tactics of the past, that is, the days when Messi was active. It's the Tiki-taka of the past."
The following video showed the similarity between the tactics of Barcelona in the 10-11 season and the tactics of the current Spanish Olympic team.
Hmm. Hmm.
I don't know.
This feeling that isn't unfamiliar... this feeling is definitely... it was definitely that feeling when I was taking classes at school.
...I'm sleepy.