Olympic Group Stage (7)
Olympic Group Stage (7)
061
The atmosphere in the press conference room immediately after the match was divided into two extremes.
The press conference for the winners, South Korea, was harmonious from start to finish.
"First of all, congratulations on the victory, Coach-nim."
"Thank you."
"You achieved an unbelievable victory today. Did you expect today's win, Coach-nim?"
"Of course. I believed in our team's players."
"Coach Gong-nim! There was no difference in the starting lineup compared to the last match; do you intend to field the same starting members for the next match as well?"
"This is Sports Magazine! Coach-nim, you showcased a more aggressive tactic than usual today; what was the reason for choosing an aggressive tactic against the strong team, Spain—"
The sight of the reporters waving their hands like a swarm of bees and firing off questions frantically was a bit scary, like a pack of hungry ghosts, but Coach-nim was unfazed... no, he was actually grinning from ear to ear as if he couldn't be happier, busy answering them one after another.
I had been selected as the Man of the Match and was attending the press conference with Coach-nim.
Well, I suppose. Who else would be the Man of the Match if not me, the one who scored a hat-trick against Spain, of all teams?
As I sat there with a serious expression, thinking about what to say, the reporters' hyena-like gazes focused on me this time.
"Player Hong Min-jun!"
"Player Min-jun!"
"Today's hat-trick was..."
"Now, now, everyone calm down. I'll take questions one by one. You there, the reporter with the glasses."
"This is Kim Young-jin from Sky Sports. Congratulations on today's hat-trick, Player Hong Min-jun."
"Yes, thank you."
"Unlike the last match, you showcased aggressive dribbling breakthroughs in today's match. You showed a completely different style of play compared to the Honduras match. Did you hide your dribbling skills in preparation for today?"
"That was, in every respect, Coach-nim's instructions—"
While answering the barrage of questions for over 10 minutes, the question I had been waiting for finally came.
"Hello, Player Hong. I'm Gong Ja-young from KBS. By any chance, have you heard the content of Player Fernando's pre-match interview yesterday?"
It's here!
This is what I was waiting for!
However, I shook my head with a composed expression.
"No. I haven't heard it."
"In yesterday's pre-match interview, Player Fernando stated that he would 'erase' Player Hong Min-jun from the pitch. I would like to hear your thoughts on this."
"Hmm."
I barely managed to suppress the corners of my mouth from twitching upward and stroked my smooth chin.
The seniors told me to just brush it off, but... I was so annoyed when I heard that, I couldn't just let it slide. I pondered on what to say to make him go absolutely crazy with rage.
"I'll say just one word to Player Fernando, fitting for the dignity of a winner. 'The one who got erased is you, brat.'"
"...Ah. Right."
"Was that a good answer?"
"......."
Kya~ That was perfect.
On the other hand, the Spanish press conference was held in a gruesome atmosphere that resembled a hearing.
"This is Olsen Woodman from FourFourTwo. Coach Unai-nim. You were so confident before the match, but the result ended in a crushing defeat. Do you have anything to say about the result?"
Unai Simon, who looked like he had aged drastically in just one day, stroked his rough chin and licked his dry lips.
"No words can cover up this defeat. We lost."
"I see. Then—"
"However, today's defeat is entirely my defeat, Unai Simon's."
The reporter furrowed their brow slightly at the coach who had cut them off and asked.
"What exactly do you mean by 'your defeat'? How is that different from the team's defeat?"
"It's different. Very different. This defeat stems entirely from my shortcomings; our players are still the best. Naturally, they are superior to the Korean team."
"Doesn't all sport speak through results? Your argument doesn't seem to align with the spirit of sportsmanship."
"No. I humbly accept the defeat. My defeat. However, one cannot evaluate everything based on a single match. Our players are superior to the Korean players. In technique, judgment, positioning, everything."
As soon as Unai finished speaking, reporters raised their hands here and there.
"Coach-nim! That sounds like you're not accepting the defeat; does that mean you cannot accept the result?"
"This is Montoya from Marca! There is talk that the officiating today was unfavorable to Spain. There is an opinion that the referee for today's match was Japanese and handed out favorable calls to Korea, another Asian country! I would like a word on this!"
At one reporter's question, several reporters clicked their tongues.
"Isn't Marca a prominent Spanish daily newspaper? Tsk, a person who calls themselves a journalist has no conscience."
"As expected of Real Madrid's hound. If they had eyes, they wouldn't be able to ignore that today's officiating wasn't bad."
"The attitude of not being able to accept defeat is the same for both the coach and the reporter. Anyway, those Spaniards."
Watching the Spanish press conference from the side, I also felt annoyed by the reporter's rude question. There weren't even any controversial calls, yet they're blaming the referee for the defeat?
"No. The officiating in today's match was fair."
However, unexpectedly, the Spanish coach coolly denied the officiating dispute.
"Then are you admitting defeat?"
"No. I will state it clearly here. Today, we were not at our best. But that was entirely my problem as the coach, not our players' problem. So, I will show you. When we meet Korea on the main stage. We will overwhelm them."
"Coach-nim!"
"Coach-nim! Just one more word—"
"Wait, there are still questions—"
At the same time, he's shameless to the end.
Seeing the back of the coach leaving the press conference room as if he didn't want to take any more questions after that, I can understand it to some extent.
Because today's match was what is called a 'hard-to-accept defeat.'
The result was a 3:0 landslide victory, but looking at the content of the match, it can't be called that much of a landslide. After the 20th minute of the second half, when the Spanish players' mental state broke, our performance was also overwhelming, but before that, in terms of detailed statistics, it was equal, or rather, Spain was even superior.
In soccer, it's not strange for anything to happen. No, all sports are like that.
A player called the best in the world can underperform, a top scorer can miss the ball, and a veteran defender can make a mistake.
That was Spain today.
Jorge, who is evaluated as the best among young players, repeated plays that seemed somewhat unhinged, and Fernando, a promising defender from Barcelona, was thoroughly shredded by one player early on, causing his mentality to ascend to heaven and leading him to commit a barrage of errors.
That's not all.
The reliable captain Martin Zubimendi, selected as a wild card, unlike usual, didn't even lead the young players and instead showed himself struggling just to manage his own play, and another wild card and pillar of the defensive line, goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez, failed to show any performance worthy of his nickname, 'Spider Hands.'
Furthermore, to make matters worse, luck wasn't on their side either.
Because there were heart-stopping moments where Jorge's shots, which threatened the Korean defense throughout as if to say that no matter how much he was underperforming, his class hadn't gone anywhere, hit the goalpost three times.
It cannot be denied that 'luck' played a significant role in Korea being able to finish the match without conceding... no, in being able to win.
If even one of Jorge's shots that hit the goalpost three times had gone in. Especially if he had scored before the Spanish players' mental state broke, the result might have been different.
There was a reason why Spain's excuses didn't feel like just excuses.
And in addition,
'Well, I suppose. Spain wasn't at full strength today.'
The Spanish national team participating in this Olympics is, at best, a 1.5-tier team.
If you exclude a few key players, such as big prospects like Jorge, it wouldn't be strange to call them a 2nd-tier team in reality. Besides, didn't they leave out a large number of starting members to rotate the squad in the match against us?
Spain wasn't at full strength, to the extent that Martin Zubimendi, the Spanish national team captain and wild card, played as a central midfielder instead of his original position in the attacking second line.
Nevertheless, the scary thing about Spain is that their individual abilities are superior to each of our starting players.
"Player Jorge! You were underperforming in today's match! Could we know the reason?"
"Was your condition bad today?"
Jorge, who had performed poorly, not living up to his reputation, was leaving the field with a gloomy expression, when,
"Wait! Player Jorge! Player Jorge, I have a question! What do you think about Player Hong Min-jun, who you faced head-to-head in today's match!!"
He suddenly stopped walking and turned around at the words of the reporter who was shouting while hurriedly following him.
The name tag on the reporter's chest that said KBS.
As expected of the state-run broadcaster! They don't miss an opportunity for nationalistic hype!
"Hong Min-jun?"
As Jorge, who had been silent, opened his mouth for the first time, the reporter, seeing a glimmer of possibility, rushed in like crazy.
"Yes! Back number 7! The player who recorded a hat-trick today!!"
"I know. Number 7, Hong Min-jun."
Jorge, who had pronounced my name with unexpectedly accurate pronunciation, said.
"He was amazing. Very cool. It was fantastic."
"I-is that so!? The prodigy of Korea, whom even the world's best young player, Jorge, praises highly!! Are you admitting that Player Hong Min-jun's skills are superior to yours!?"
The people around them all furrowed their brows in unison.
Despite that, Jorge smiled softly at the reporter who was clinging to him without a care.
"The best player? Oh, if you're talking about me, that's correct. I am the best. But for today, Mr. Hong was the best. He... he was truly beautiful. He is a player like a painting. That elegant trapping, split-second feinting, excellent technique, soft-looking skin and moist eyes, plump lips... even his sweat smells sweet."
"......."
The reporter, who was grinning from ear to ear at first, stepped back as soon as he finished speaking.