Olympic Group Stage (5)
Olympic Group Stage (5)
059
McDonald Jones Stadium, the home ground of Newcastle United Jets FC, based in the coastal city of Newcastle, north of Sydney in New South Wales, is a stadium that can accommodate 33,000 people.
Though it falls short compared to the massive stadiums of the world, it boasts a capacity that is by no means small, and today it was bustling with various people for the match between South Korea and Spain.
Mikel Merino of the Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo was one of them.
'So many people came. That accent is from Madrid. Is that one from Andalusia? To see so many people gather for a match against mere Korea, the expectations for the Golden Generation must be huge.'
El Mundo Deportivo.
Commonly called Mundo Deportivo, this sports newspaper is considered one of the oldest media outlets in Spain and a representative pro-Barcelona press.
Mikel Merino rummaged through his bag and took out his camera, notebook, and writing utensils.
They say these days people write articles in real-time on laptops while watching matches, but for Mikel, who is in his 60s, the traditional method of a notebook and writing utensils was still more familiar.
'Let's see. The roster is... Right. Jorge is starting.'
Jorge Garcia.
A genius who stands out the most among the young Spanish players called the Golden Generation. However, unfortunately, Jorge rejected Barcelona's call and headed to the cursed Real Madrid.
Mikel clicked his tongue, "Tsk," and scanned the roster.
A number of familiar names were on the starting list.
'Hm? The composition has changed a lot from the last match against Morocco.'
Like a true soccer reporter, Mikel quickly grasped the manager's thoughts.
Consecutive matches played at 3-day intervals. Plus, the opponent is Korea, which is expected not to be difficult, so he must be thinking of actively utilizing rotation.
'Thanks to that, I'll be able to see Fernando today.'
Mikel smiled with satisfaction.
The reason he came to this stadium was, officially, for a column on the match against Korea, but privately, it was to see Fernando. Because Mikel was a passionate Barcelona supporter.
Fernando Dominguez.
A member of the Golden Generation who took a spot in the Best 11 when Spain won the U-17 Euro and U-19 Euro consecutively and even conquered the U-20 Youth World Cup. And above all, a pure-blooded Barcelona youth product.
A young 22-year-old player who is a valuable ambidextrous defender capable of handling both left and right flank defense.
However, right now, he was having trouble getting playing opportunities, squeezed out by the outstanding first-team defenders of Barcelona.
'There is no player as eager as one who craves playing time. I'll be able to see Fernando's performance today.'
Watching Fernando waiting for the match to start, Mikel held up his notebook.
No matter how much he is a pure-blooded Barcelona youth product he has watched since childhood, his evaluation must be cold and objective.
Ppiik, ppiiiik!
Only 7 minutes after the match started.
Mikel, who had been blankly watching the stadium, dropped his pen with a thud.
"My god...."
July 30, 2032, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, McDonald Jones Stadium.
South Korea 0 : 0 Spain
GK Song Chan-sik / GK Alvaro Fernandez
RB Oh Ji-woo / RB Fernando
CB Ahn Byeong-gi / CB Vallejo
CB Kim Yu-hyeon / CB Oscar Gil
LB Seol Yo-han(c) / LB Mingueza
DM Kim Dae-seong / DM Jose Merino
DM Yoon-hyeok / CM Martin Zubimendi(c)
RW Chae Gyu-seok / CM Ceballos
AM Oh Pyo-sik / RW Jorge Garcia
LW Hong Min-jun / LW Rafa Mir
CF Yoo Ji-ho / CF Javi Puado
Our team came out with the same composition as the last match against Honduras.
On the other hand, Spain's Best 11 had more than half the composition changed from the match against Morocco.
"Those bastards rotated their squad."
"They dared to rotate against us? Sunbae-nim, let's crush them."
I made a firm promise with Yoon-hyeok sunbae and took my place on the field.
Spain is the Golden Generation that won the UEFA U-17 and U-19 Football Championships, which are called the Euro Youth World Cup, consecutively, and even won the FIFA U-20 Youth World Cup.
Not to mention Jorge Garcia, players like Rafa Mir, who is playing as a starter for Valencia, or Ceballos from Malaga are also talents that cannot be ignored.
'And that bearded guy is also from Barcelona, they say.'
The right-side defender I'm bound to clash with often due to our positions. Was his name Fernando?
As I was scanning through the analysis data, the guy seemed to feel my gaze and grinned at me.
'...Crazy.'
How is that 22?
I could believe it if his face value was 32. I shook my head at the creepy smile of the bushy-bearded guy.
Too bad. A very unfortunate face.
The match started with Spain's kickoff.
As expected, the Spanish players immediately began exchanging short passes, raising their possession. We held our ground firmly and waited for the Spanish players to cross into our territory.
Tuk, tuk.
They exchanged passes around the half-line as if tempting us to rush in, but our team players focused on blocking the space as practiced, applying pressure only when the ball came near.
The Spanish players, who had been passing the ball around looking for an opening for a while, seemed to feel that our team's defense was solid and gradually widened the range of their passes to the left and right.
And when 6 minutes of the first half had passed.
The Spanish players, who had been exchanging the ball leisurely at a slow tempo, suddenly raised the tempo.
'Overlapping!'
Fernando, who had been waiting, dug into our team's territory. Thanks to watching him, I was able to stick to him immediately.
'He's definitely fast.'
I heard during the preliminary power analysis that I should be wary because his instantaneous acceleration is excellent, but his explosive power is no joke.
'But he's no match for me!'
Fernando started first, but since there was some distance, I was able to catch up quickly before he could get past me. A pass accurately connected to the empty space in front of him, as if trusting in Fernando's explosive power.
It was a pretty decent pass. If it weren't for me.
I secured possession of the ball before Fernando and passed it to Seol Yo-han sunbae.
Immediately after, as I stopped abruptly and turned my body quickly, the ball came back to me.
The bearded guy also seemed to have decent balance, as he followed without falling behind and extended his foot.
He's trying to steal the ball from me?
As I focused, my vision slowed down for a moment, and I saw the studs approaching from the side. I dragged the ball back slightly with the foot touching the ball, performed a drag-back, and then spun my body around, using his body as a pivot.
Fernando's foot passed in front of me in vain.
Leaving behind Fernando, who had lost his balance while scanning the empty space, I pushed forward.
Was he trusting in the guy?
Once I got past Fernando, a wide-open field unfolded.
'There's no one sticking to me. It's a chance.'
In times like this, it's definitely a speed dribble.
I kicked the ball long and ran at full speed.
The Spanish players were following in a hurry.
Their reaction speed was faster than I thought, and I almost had the ball I kicked forward stolen in vain, but I ran at full speed and barely managed to keep it.
'Should I push further? Or go to the center?'
A moment of hesitation.
If I push further here, it's too much of a corner. If I get trapped on the left flank, my options become too narrow and... I should cut inside to the center.
"Here!!"
Just then, Seol Yo-han sunbae, who had been running from behind, passed by me and headed further into the corner of the flank. At his movement to dig into the space, the Spanish players' gazes turned to the sunbae for a moment. And Fernando, who had been following in a hurry, couldn't leave Seol Yo-han sunbae, who was digging into the flank in a no-mark state, alone, so he gritted his teeth and followed.
The freedom given in an instant.
In a state without any check or pressure, I quickly scanned the surroundings.
I could see our team's players pouring into the Spanish territory like a tidal wave.
It wasn't a pre-planned play, but according to the movement promised during the attack, all players except the two center-backs and Yoon-hyeok sunbae crossed the half-line and dug into the Spanish territory.
I could see the Spanish players flustered by the unexpected aggressive movement.
Still, as expected of players overflowing with talent, they were reacting quickly, but...
'You guys made a mistake. You're going to stop me with just one person?'
While keeping other players in check, only one person came to mark me.
Martin Zubimendi. The captain of the Spanish national team and a player selected as a wild card. He is a player who originally plays as a left midfielder or winger, but since they were rotating, he started as a central midfielder today.
He's not even a professional defender, so there's no way a player in an attacking position can stop me.
After shaking his balance with a few upper-body feints, I pushed into the center. He was a guy who followed well, but as soon as I spun my body the other way, he lost his balance and knelt on the floor.
I passed him as he reached out his hand as if to grab my uniform, and before I knew it, the penalty line was right in front of me.
'Going in further is... dangerous.'
I'm confident, but it's a big deal if I make a mistake.
Since we left our territory empty and everyone went up to attack, the back was empty.
'Let's shoot.'
It was right after getting past Martin Zubimendi, so there was no player who could interfere.
I planted my standing foot firmly, watched the ball until the end, and took an accurate impact.
Ppeong!!