After the Olympics (1)
After the Olympics (1)
071
The semi-final of the Olympics had produced an explosive reaction.
Because the score gap was so wide, breaking news hit before the game even ended, and even non-sports channels were scrolling tickers about the national soccer team's victory.
The moment the 5:0 win was finally confirmed, South Korea was buzzing.
The semi-final was held on a Saturday afternoon.
The team was already on a roll, and the fact that they had a young ace showing overwhelming performance drew attention, but the opponent for the semi-final was the arch-rival, Japan?
It was no exaggeration to say that the entire nation watched the game, and with such a record-breaking landslide victory, TV was full of nothing but talk about it.
"Breaking news. The 2032 Australia Olympics men's soccer team has defeated Japan and advanced to the finals for the first time in history. We have a reporter on the scene—"
"A moment of emotion!! A miracle, our players have created a miracle!! Ah, really... really, it's tear-jerking. You've done well. You've done well, our players. The South Korean national team advances to the final stage!!"
"Yes. 24-hour live news. Just in, fresh news. The men's soccer semi-final held today at Sydney Football Stadium, Korea vs. Japan, ended in a 5:0 landslide victory for South Korea. The Korean national team will step onto the final stage for the first time in history."
Every channel you turned to was talking about soccer.
"Our national team has secured at least a silver medal by advancing to the Olympic finals. Now the stage is the final! The goal is the gold medal!"
"With our players, a gold medal is definitely possible! The final opponent is the invincible Armada Spain, but our players have the good memory of crushing them 3:0 in the group stage, don't they? If they don't lose confidence, a gold medal is possible!"
There was even premature celebration about the gold medal already.
Before the news of the rout against Japan and the advancement to the finals could settle, the broadcasting industry accelerated the heated momentum.
"—This is the best performance by an Asian country in history, surpassing Japan's bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and our country's bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics."
"Our national team has secured at least a silver medal by advancing to the finals. It is the best performance by an Asian country in Olympic soccer history."
It was about Olympic records.
It was pure national pride.
In particular, they focused on the record of a single player rather than the team's record.
"Hong Min-jun has recorded 8 goals through this hat-trick against Japan, rising to 1st place in the scoring rankings. This is double the previous Korean record, a staggering figure, and Hong Min-jun has been firing shots since his first goal in the first group stage match against Honduras—"
"From the 1948 London Olympics to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the previous record for most goals by a Korean player was 4, set by Hwang Ui-jo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Following him, Lee Chun-soo (2000/2004), Park Chu-young (2008/2012), Ryu Seung-woo, Kwon Chang-hoon, and Suk Hyun-jun (all 2016) were tied for 2nd with 3 goals each. With Hong Min-jun's record-breaking performance, they have all moved down one step."
Naturally, it was about Hong Min-jun.
His style was already flashy and drew attention, but with looks better than famous handsome actors, a charming husky voice, and outstanding performance that made him the team's ace despite being the youngest.
He even recorded a hat-trick in this match against Japan, and his domestic popularity skyrocketed to the point where a joke circulated that you might not know the President's name, but you know Hong Min-jun.
"The joy doesn't end here. France's Gabriel Mendy, who was leading the scoring rankings, only scored one goal in the semi-final and was overtaken by our Hong Min-jun. Hong Min-jun, who rose to 1st place, has 8 goals, 2 ahead of 2nd place Gabriel Mendy's 6 goals. With one game left for each... will Hong Min-jun be able to defend his 1st place! And will he be able to break the record for most goals by scoring in the final?"
"If Hong Min-jun sweeps the top scorer title, he will become the 2nd Asian top scorer in history, following the legend of Japanese soccer, Kamamoto Kunishige, who won the top scorer award at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Cheering for Hong Min-jun's top scorer award, this was KBS reporter Kim Ki-dong."
Hong Min-jun, the person bearing the unprecedented expectation of becoming the top scorer, was actually paying more attention to Japan's reaction than the domestic one.
"Senior, Senior. Did you see this?"
"Are you bragging again?"
"No, not bragging this time, the Japanese reaction is funny."
On the Japanese broadcast that Korean netizens had subtitled, analysis of the semi-final was in full swing.
"Uh, well... The Korean team was strong. Especially Hong Min-jun was amazing."
"He can truly be called the hero of Asia. Hong Min-jun, showing the spirit of Asians!"
"As fellow Asians, we hope they carry on Japan's will and perform well in the final!!"
They seemed to be throwing a fit over the record-breaking crushing defeat, but that only lasted a moment.
They changed their attitude in an instant, talking about how they're fellow Asians, and how they're an Asian country, and started hyping him up.
In particular, interview requests were pouring in for Hong Min-jun, most of them fluff pieces like 'You beat the Japanese national team, but it was a tough match.'
"What's up with these guys? They're hyping you up as a hero?"
"Right? It's fucking weird."
"They got crushed so hard they must've lost their minds."
The national team members were lounging around the accommodation, giggling.
From players lying on the sofa to players watching YouTube, to a player fiddling with his toes...
"Sss-ha. There's something addictive about the smell. Want a sniff?"
Everyone was horrified by the actions of Seol Yo-han-sunbae, who was picking gunk out of his toenails.
"Ah, hyung. It's gross, stop it. Please!"
"Maknae. You try it."
"Ugh... absolutely not."
"Hyung, if you keep doing that to Min-jun, you'll become a Nation's Traitor."
"...Sorry, Min-jun."
The tension that felt like walking on a knife's edge until just before the semi-final had long since disappeared. The national team players, who had secured at least a silver medal and confirmed their Military Service Exemption, were already in "enjoying" mode.
"But is it okay for us to be like this?"
"What?"
Seol Yo-han-sunbae asked back nonchalantly to the question from Yoon-hyeok-sunbae, who was lying on the sofa munching on snacks.
"The next game is the final. If we win, it's a gold medal. But aren't we too relaxed without training?"
"We passed the bronze medal goal and reached the final, we've done enough. Saw on TV earlier, we're the first Asian country to reach the final."
"Still, since we're in the final, it'd be good to win."
As I added to Yoon-hyeok-sunbae's words, Seol Yo-han-sunbae smirked.
"Honestly, as long as we don't lose like total idiots in the final. As long as we don't take off our pants and shit on the field, it's fine. Even if we just play moderately, it'll be packaged as 'a good fight'."
"...Are you serious, Senior?"
"Of course I'm serious. It's human nature. We fought tooth and nail for the medal... for the Military Service Exemption. Now that we've achieved the goal, it's natural to lose tension."
At Seol Yo-han-sunbae's words, the players sitting around nodded.
"That doesn't mean we're going to lose or play half-heartedly in the final. We've come this far, if you don't expect a gold medal, are you even human?"
"Then we should at least do some training, or opponent analysis."
"Now is perfect. I've experienced a lot in my career. The anticipation for the final... this kind of good tension is best. Plus, we need rest. We've been overworking, right? Resting and recovering stamina will help performance more than training, right?"
"Oh... that makes sense."
"Hey, hey. 'Makes sense'? I'm right, aren't I? That's why the coaching staff is leaving us alone. It's time to rest, not train."
"Ohhh...!"
As expected of the captain.
Seol Yo-han-sunbae showed the class of a 30-year-old veteran, as if to prove why he was chosen as a Wild Card...
"And honestly, I'm too lazy to move."
...He did show it, right?
The sight of Seol Yo-han-sunbae lying on the sofa, scratching his belly and eating snacks, was indeed veteran-like. ...In a good way, or a bad way.
Still, since it was the final, we were given 4 days of rest after the semi-final.
It was such a short period, and since the tournament was played with a squad of only 18 players, 4 days of rest was a short period to wash away the fatigue, but one day, while we were enjoying the sweet rest.
Media Day was held one day before the final.
From our team, Coach, captain Seol Yo-han-sunbae, and I attended Media Day, and the opponent was Spain.
Tough bastards.
They say the team that's meant to go up goes up and the team that's meant to fall falls, and they ended up making it to the final. They're so persistent.
"Nice to meet you."
"Glad to see you again."
Coach shook hands with the opposing team's coach whom we met at Media Day.
The attendees from Spain were the coach, the captain, and Jorge Garcia.
"Un placer verte otra vez, guapo chico."
"Huh? Me? What's he saying?"
The interpreter replied with a sour expression.
"...He says it's nice to meet you?"
"Oh~ Thank you, thank you. Hey, you're so handsome too."
Jorge's expression became subtle.