Crushing the Pride of Nakamura (Part 2)
"Those guys."
Nakamura stood in the tunnel, feeling the sharp stares of the Korean players like daggers. Most of them glared at him with open hostility from their pre-match interviews, but two of the good-looking ones simply ignored him with blank, emotionless faces.
'Heh, you little amateurs. Pretending not to care.'
"Ryosuke, Hiroki, let's break South Korea apart with our samurai spirit."
"Of course, Kenji."
"After all, Korea can't touch me. No matter how weird their tactics are."
While the Japanese anthem thundered through the stadium, Nakamura and his teammates strode confidently onto the pitch.
In the stands, the Japanese fans erupted in roaring cheers.
'We are already proven players on the professional stage. Especially me—the best among them. We are nothing compared to amateurs.'
Nakamura glanced at the Korean players. His gaze locked especially hard on the two who had completely ignored him earlier in the tunnel.
'Hmph, even if their faces are good, football isn't played with pretty looks.'
Pulling at his captain's armband, I spoke to my teammates.
"We are the pride of Japan. Let's show them just how strong we are today."
Their eyes burned with the unyielding will of the samurai.
Japan would defend against South Korea's extreme attacking tactics and prepare a counter-attack through tiki-taka.
"As expected, they're using those weird tactics."
Before the match started, the Korean lineup looked exactly like the Spanish formation we had prepared for. It was so predictable it was almost insulting.
'Does that even work against Japan? We've already figured them out.'
But just two minutes into the game, we realized something was wrong.
'What? Why aren't they pressing like in Spain?'
Exactly. South Korea wasn't using the Spanish formation at all. They were playing a completely ordinary 4-3-3. The tactics we had prepared from the beginning had become useless.
I stared at the Japanese bench in shock, and Moriyasu lifted three fingers.
I immediately understood the meaning.
In baseball, coaches use hand signals to call plays. In soccer, teams use the same idea to give quick instructions to players.
Japan was doing the same. The three fingers meant "pull the lines up."
'Pull them up for an aggressive push...?'
I let out a deep breath and exchanged signals with my teammates. The situation was unexpected, but we adapted fast.
As the ball rotated, we pushed our lines higher and began attacking more boldly.
Passing one-touch with my teammates, we broke the half-line. After quickly reading the defenders, I sent a sharp pass to the midfielder behind me.
And then I immediately dived to the wing.
The moment I moved, Tanaka Ryosuke—playing as the second striker—sprinted to the opposite side. Our movements were perfectly mirrored, like they were reflected in a mirror.
Look at that. The Japanese team's lightning-fast adaptation and sharp attacking patterns have the defenders bewildered—
"Eh? What?"
Wait, what?
The South Korean players weren't even trying to stop me; they were just letting me advance.
'Is this offside? No, this is definitely onside.'
Strange feeling, but I just thought 'this is probably how South Korea works' and simply grabbed the ball, running straight toward the goal.
'If I pass it to Ryosuke here—'
"What? Where'd Ryosuke go?"
When I looked back, I saw Ryosuke being blocked by two defenders.
'Good, no need to panic. It's just a 1-on-1 situation. I can definitely get through.'
I regained my confidence and sprinted toward the goal.
Up ahead was a smug, cocky goalkeeper who looked like a parasite, the one European clubs cared about more than me.
'Amateur. This is what a pro shot looks like.'
SWISH!!!
The instant the ball left my foot, victory's thrill wrapped around my body. No one in the J-League could stop a shot like that.
But the next second, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
That smug parasite moved like it had superpowers—lightning fast—and snatched the ball right out of the air.
"NAKAMURA!!!!!!!!"
My voice echoed across the stadium.
'How... how is this possible...'
But the shock didn't stop there. The moment the goalkeeper caught the ball, he booted it with power and distance. Only then did the truth sink in: we had fallen into a trap.
'Damn it, it was planned from the start?'
As the long ball cut through the sky, I faced the cruel reality. Our defense had pushed too far forward.
'No... please...'
When Park Seo-joon of Chelsea received the long ball and charged like lightning toward our goal, my heart stopped.
I came to my senses a second too late and started sprinting backward, but it was already over.
Another parasite goalkeeper had received Park Seo-joon's sharp kill pass, completely bypassed our keeper, and shaken the net.
"It's not possible!!!"
I stood frozen where I was, unable to look away from the goalposts in disbelief.
But the damage was done. In a single perfect counter-attack, Japan had scored against South Korea in just the sixth minute of the first half.
'But how? To execute that, the goalkeeper would've had to be 100% confident he'd save every 1-on-1 shot from the forward.'
'You were so confident you'd save my shot in a 1-on-1? That's ridiculous?'
Nakamura wanted to deny it, but he had no choice but to face the undeniable truth.
Why did the young South Korean players get more attention than him, even though he was better?
He felt it in every fiber of his body.
"This is impossible... The J-League scoring champion can't be worse than some Korean high-school kids? This can't be happening!"
Between his pride and reality, a fierce inner conflict raged in Nakamura's chest.
His face showed rage, despair, and a hint of fear.
In that moment, he wanted to deny everything, but the true gap in skill on the international stage hit him bone-deep.
"KICKSHOW!!!!!!!!"
* * *
"KICKSHOW!!!!!!!!"
I nearly spat at the opponent's shout.
'Heh, if that smug expression had come from in front of me, we would've conceded the goal.'
Nakamura's face had fallen so low that the image of past Kim Chan-ki was no longer recognizable. Confusion and despair mixed in his broken expression.
'Yeah, that's right. You must be flustered. Sorry, but there's no field in sports where talent is more dominant than this.'
I believe there's no field where talent's influence is as huge as in sports.
That's why I think dismissing young players is the height of foolishness.
Just like there were people who overcame the flaws of youth and became the greatest players, as in Kim Chan-ki's message.
'Like how I overcame my appearance flaws and became the greatest player.'
"But now I don't even have the flaw."
'Hm... wait a second.'
"Am I about to be called lacking in humanity?"
[Does Player Jeong Tae-woo have any conscience? (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)]
It was strangely as if the Soccer Goddess's voice was ringing in my ears.
*Ahem... fine.*
Re-starting the match.
We immediately switched back to a normal 4-3-3 instead of wave pressing.
We had just given Japan the choice. Attack like before? But then they could counter again.
But there was obviously no choice for Japan, who had already conceded first.
"This time for sure"
The shot from Nakamura came to me again, but it wasn't nearly as powerful or fast as Gabriel Mendes of Brazil's, nor as sharp as Padri's of Spain.
"PAGAYA! Why aren't you scoring, Kenji!!!!!!"
Even under the Japanese coach's roar, Nakamura simply froze in front of me.
'Well, even if we're Asian, there's no reason to give up and leave Europe.'
"Don't be too discouraged."
At my words, Nakamura looked at me.
"You're the opponent."
Just like before, the pass connected to the midfielder, and Hee-sung unleashed a long shot that bounced off Lee Tae-yang's head and rattled the net.
18th minute of the first half.
Time for the second goal.
* * *
Japan couldn't recover from the shock of conceding two goals so early and their form dropped sharply.
Our team took advantage of the momentum and scored three more goals. This Korea-Japan match ended in South Korea's overwhelming victory.
Hee-sung 6th minute
Tae-yang 18th minute
Seo-joon 29th minute
Hee-sung 67th minute
Hee-sung 88th minute
Hee-sung achieved an amazing hat-trick in his first Olympic year.
After the match, he went for the press conference with the coach, and somehow I ended up following the line.
When we reached the mixed zone, an enormous number of reporters were waiting for us.
"Player Yoo Hee-sung, you won a decisive victory including a hat-trick. How do you feel?"
"It's like a dream. Without my teammates' help, it would've been impossible. Especially without Tae-woo's perfect defense and passing, we wouldn't have had this result."
"Coach Cheon Moo-seok, was this tactical movement prepared from the beginning?"
"Yes. I believed Tae-woo would definitely save it, and I chose that strategic movement."
'Liar. It was just a test to save stamina for the final.'
I held back my laughter in my heart.
Before the match started, Coach Cheon had said, "If you concede, I'll immediately pull the lines up."
Well, sometimes strategic speeches are necessary.
"Then Player Jeong Tae-woo, how do you feel about Nakamura Kenji's pre-match remarks?"
'What? Why am I the only one getting this question? I didn't think much of it...'
Well, I guess I should say something strategic like the coach and boost morale?
"About Nakamura's remarks?"
I smiled with a slight mocking tone and continued.
"He said he couldn't understand why Korean players get attention... um, he even called us amateurs?"
I shrugged and went on.
"Well, I want to say something to those who say that. The high-school striker in our tournament is harder to stop than the J-League scoring champion, right? I'm glad today's result proves it."
I finished with a slightly provocative smile.
The reporters' eyes were wide open. Tomorrow's newspaper headlines would definitely feature this statement.
At that moment, I felt Coach Cheon's sharp gaze, but I pretended to be completely calm.
Sometimes, confident statements like this are necessary.
Especially now, when we have achieved this overwhelming victory—it was the perfect timing.