A Keeper's Taunt – Wave Pressing Shines
Luis de la Fuente's gaze flicked toward the Korean bench.
*What on earth is Cheon Mu-seok thinking...?*
The name had always stirred a strange unease in him. Back when he was coaching in Germany, he'd visited the man himself, drawn by the reputation of a "rare but capable coach."
"I personally don't like your defensive tactics," he'd said then. "They don't align with my philosophy, so there's nothing to learn from them."
Cheon Mu-seok's firm refusal still echoed in his ears. The blunt dismissal had left him seething with disgust at the time.
Now, as head coaches in the Olympics, they faced off once more.
Before the match, in a pre-game interview, de la Fuente spoke about the Korean team in a tone far sharper than usual. While the intention was clearly to fire up the young players, a personal grudge simmered beneath every cutting word.
*Is this the philosophy I rejected back then and spoke with such confidence?*
He was beginning to see it play out on the pitch. Insane, extreme attacking tactics.
A 4-3-3 formation was set up on paper, but it was pure illusion. The players' movements were chaotic, like a wild festival. Defenders surged forward relentlessly. Midfielders hunted every gap in the opposition's lines with ceaseless energy. Even the goalkeeper had stepped out beyond the penalty box.
*Similar to Gegenpressing, yet somehow different.*
De la Fuente began dissecting Cheon Mu-seok's system. Gegenpressing usually started when the player who lost the ball regained it. But Cheon Mu-seok's version went far beyond that.
While applying ferocious pressure in the final third, he blocked every possible passing route and every player who might receive. He even lifted the defensive line to an extreme height, cutting off long-ball options entirely.
*This is an all-out forward and spatial press...*
De la Fuente had no choice but to acknowledge both the tactic's terrifying danger and its effectiveness. Yet he also saw its fatal flaw.
"Yes, any team facing this will suffer enormous pressure. But their players' stamina will drain away in no time."
"Moreover,"
His eyes moved to Spain's ace, Pedri, who had already been starring for Real Madrid.
"If they ever break through, a goal is guaranteed. And we have an ace who can break through this pressure alone. Experimenting this system on us was a brazen choice, Cheon Mu-seok."
As expected, Pedri slipped past the Korean pressure and carved into the opponent's final third just twenty minutes into the first half.
*It's over.*
De la Fuente's gaze shifted to the goalkeeper. He was the player he had been watching most closely. A keeper who possessed sweeping ability, passing vision, and lightning reflexes beyond his position. But now even those reflexes were useless.
*What could a goalkeeper even do in this situation?*
Yet the expression of absolute certainty on de la Fuente's face changed in an instant to one of stunned disbelief.
The goalkeeper had stopped Pedri like a veteran defender.
*He's a monster.*
He had no choice but to call the player Jung Tae-woo a monster.
*
On the other side, Pedri was completely stunned.
"What the hell...?"
The pressure coming from the goalkeeper he had dismissed as nothing more than a keeper was so sharp, so precise, and so relentless it was ridiculous.
"Damn it, how am I supposed to get past a keeper?"
No matter how fast he ran, the keeper stayed glued to his side like a shadow.
"Damn it, maybe a shot from medium range..."
But when he looked up, two defenders had already dropped back to form a wall in front of the goal.
He scanned the area frantically for a teammate to pass to, but then something unexpected happened.
*Damn it, just pass—*
Before the thought even finished, the goalkeeper's sharp tackle arrived, stealing the ball in a blink.
*What... what the...?*
Pedri could only stare blankly as the player wearing the number 1 on his Spain jersey dribbled forward and surged into the attack.
*Is a goalkeeper supposed to steal the ball and charge like that? This isn't football I know.*
* * *
I ran forward at full speed, a smile creeping onto my face as I spotted Pedri staring at me in a daze from behind.
*If I hadn't met Coach Cheon Mu-seok before this, I would've definitely been broken through and conceded a goal.*
When I first met the coach, he had been training me aggressively, trying to turn me into a striker. But he soon changed his mind.
"Offense is perfect. I have nothing more to teach you. You need to learn how to defend."
Fortunately, my instincts helped me enormously even while defending, and under the coach's guidance, I grew at an incredible rate.
"Tae-woo, that's the right way to press. Move faster!"
After practicing defense to Coach Cheon Mu-seok's shouts, I felt my defensive ability had skyrocketed—more than I, even in my Kim Chan-ki days, would have believed. Now I possessed defensive skills no lesser than those of a striker.
*Even I have to admit it's OP. In a game character, they'd patch this in five minutes flat.*
In the Wave Pressing tactic invented by Coach Cheon Mu-seok, for the keeper to surge into the opponent's final third, two conditions had to be met.
First, a counter-attack situation where the opponent had pushed their line high.
Second, when two of our defenders were already positioned near the penalty box.
And right now, both conditions were perfectly satisfied. Spain's attackers had been blocked while our defenders sprinted all the way to the box, and the attacking players who spotted the broken line had already penetrated our final third.
*And it's already too late to reach the box.*
A total of nine players—including me—were now in Spain's final third. Spain had only seven, and the advantage had swung completely our way.
"So this is the kind of insane tactic only possible because I exist in it."
Although this tactic was never meant to be normal...
*Winning is all that mattered.*
But these guys... they still couldn't learn even after getting beaten like this?
No matter what, even as a goalkeeper, if they had done even a little research on me, they wouldn't have come running so recklessly to take the ball.
In a flash, I leaned my body slightly to the right and lured the first defender in.
Just as he committed to a tackle, I executed a quick Marseille turn. Dragging the ball with my left foot, I twisted my body and completely bypassed him.
At the same moment, I looked for a light pass to my teammate Seo-joon between the legs of the second defender charging in. The ball slipped perfectly through the gap and rolled away.
"Direct pass!!"
The instant I made the pass, I sprinted forward. As if telepathic, Seo-joon's return pass landed perfectly right in front of my feet.
I took the world-class assist and charged ahead without hesitation.
The look of shock on the Spanish players' faces was plain to see. They had never expected such movements from a goalkeeper.
*Yeah, if you were going to dismiss me, you should've studied me first.*
While dribbling, I scanned my surroundings. Our players were packed in tightly, but the Spanish players were more concerned with pass routes than stopping me.
*Hah. They think a keeper can't shoot. They don't know I'm not the keeper they know.*
The blood of a striker surged. Instead of passing, I kept running at full speed.
I dribbled past one, lured the next defender's leg, and slipped through. After bursting forward like that, the only player in front was the goalkeeper wearing number 1. His face clearly showed panic.
I marked the incoming goalkeeper. Predicting his movements, I gave the ball a light spin with my feet and struck it to the right.
The ball curved gracefully, brushing past the keeper's fingertips.
**GOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!!!**
The stadium fell into sudden silence, then erupted in explosive cheers.
The Spanish fans' roar died instantly, replaced by the passionate voices of the relatively smaller Korean fans who filled the stadium.
I stood at the spot where the goal was scored for a moment, feeling the reality of it. Then I immediately started running toward the stands.
Fans waving Taegeukgi flags, those cheering with tears streaming down their faces, people hugging each other in joy—all of it was there. From their faces, I saw the passion and pride of our Korea.
*That's why I can't stop playing football. How could I ever stop feeling this thrill?*
At that moment, a memory from my childhood flashed back. When I joined the elementary school soccer club in first grade, what Damin had said.
"Tae-woo, since you're a soccer player now, let's do a celebration!"
"Hey, I'm a goalkeeper. I don't need a celebration."
"Even if you don't know. Let's do it~!"
*I wonder if anyone would recognize it...*
Actually, even in Wave Pressing, there weren't many opportunities for the keeper to score. Maybe not even once in this Olympics.
So this was my only chance. Time for my celebration.
I ran toward the Korean fans who had come to cheer for us, stopped right in front of them, and took a breath while smiling.
Then I slowly spread both arms wide and swung them in a huge circle, as if hugging a giant goalpost.
I squatted down, then leaped high into the air with all my strength. In mid-air, I flashed a bright V-sign with my right index and thumb and smiled.
The silly celebration I and Damin had invented back in childhood—the "Super Goalkeeper Jump"—was now being performed on the Olympic stage.
The crowd looked momentarily confused, but the pure and cheerful energy spread quickly. Warm laughter followed, and even louder cheers filled the stadium.
"You look so handsome."
"oppa, marry me."
"Kyahahaha"