Copa Del Rey Quarterfinals: Second Leg

After the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals against Espanyol ended, the league round 20 against Real Betis four days later unfortunately meant I had to watch the game from the bench.

Before my mother joined Barcelona, the team that began building her La Liga career was none other than this Real Betis. I had thought about greeting her at the place where she played, but that opportunity never came for me.

It was a pity, but since the cup match was tied 1-1, it was inevitable to ensure a spot in the semifinals. Fortunately, thanks to the preventive vaccination I received for the Copa del Rey, the game ended 4-0 thanks to Albaria's hat-trick, and four days later, the day of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals second leg dawned.

Coach Diena, knowing that falling to Espanyol in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals—especially against a regional rival—would be a disaster, formed the squad by starting as many of the regulars as possible, with me at the top.

The squad was as follows:

GK: Maximilena
‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠DF: Anila, Tiana, Tena, Narcis
MF: Hamara, Camila, Yelena
FW: Abudasha, Eloya, Ryu Ha-neul

Especially the defense was composed of the best available backline, but Diena's intention to never concede a goal, given that we were already tied 1-1 away, was too obvious.

The midfielders, except for Camila, were players with decent defensive capabilities.

'But Tiana is always coming out on the field no matter how much she's a centerback.'

The only slightly uneasy point was that Tiana, the core of the team's defense, was playing almost every game without rest? Before entering the field, tying her shoelaces, I saw Tiana's expression, which seemed to be in fatigue.

Instead of Tiana's defensive ability, Amira, who was out due to injury, needed to recover, but since she hadn't even started rehab training, it was a bit regrettable.

There was an expectation that she would return before the Champions League round of 16, but honestly, she needed to do rehab upon return, so it seemed she would return around late March, making Tiana's stamina management essential.

Of course, centerbacks weren't a position with heavy physical burden, so playing after three days off wasn't strange. Especially as centerbacks didn't sprint much against strong teams.

'Today, I need to play in a way that doesn't let the ball go deep as much as possible.'

Even if Tiana got injured, it would be a heavy blow, so I decided to play in a way that felt like half-court today and headed to the pitch.

'4-1-2-3? Since I started, I put Adriana from the beginning.'

Before kickoff, confirming the opponent's players standing, I guessed the formation.

When the opponent's starting lineup was announced, I was a bit confused whether it was a double volante (defensive midfielder) or a single volante, but seeing Adriana standing alone between the backline and midfield from the first leg, it was clear she was using a single volante tactic.

'Did she think that because she didn't concede a goal last time? She has good physique but seems a bit slow-witted.'

Honestly, the Adriana I faced in the previous match had good physique but slightly lacked football intelligence. The physical one that followed me was acceptable, but easily breaking through with personal skills and not seeing pass lanes well meant she couldn't be said to have good football intelligence.

And no matter how good the physique, such a style wasn't that difficult. Because football isn't done alone.

While thinking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of several ways to cook that guy, I raised my concentration.

Then, with the whistle, the game started.

Initially, it was a light pass to Abudasha. Abudasha then sent the ball back to Yelena as our and Espanyol players found their positions. Yelena, avoiding the pressure on her, passed to Hamara, and Hamara sent the ball to the centerback, pulling in the Espanyol players deep.

And in the meantime, I felt the presence right next to me. Naturally, it was Adriana.

"Will you be following me all day today?"

"......"

Seeing Adriana's taciturn face without saying much, I moved my position a few times to check how far she would follow.

'She's definitely marking me.'

I could clearly tell what mission Diena's coach had instructed Adriana to do.

While I was checking Adriana's defensive range, our players, having pulled in Espanyol's players, were advancing forward, and the ball went to Eloya.

I moved my body to the right to help Eloya, and felt Adriana chasing from behind.

Then, receiving the pass to Eloya, I immediately one-touched to the right fullback Anila, switched position with the winger Eloya, and ran forward along the right touchline.

'Good, she's following.'

Glancing back, I saw Adriana following me, and Anila, perfectly understanding my intention, poked the ball in front of me. Since she couldn't control the power, the ball went a bit further, but I extended my leg first to claim it and pulled it to my body.

"Ugh!"

At that moment, the guy who lost the ball contest pushed my body with his shoulder and I had no choice but to fall to the ground.

Then, the assistant referee's flag and the whistle sounded.

"Is this a foul?"

'Kid, this is Camp Nou.'

Even I thought it was ambiguous whether it was a foul or not, but this is Camp Nou. I had a hard time with biased judgments when I came to Camp Nou as a visitor in my previous life, and the same atmosphere remained in this life.

"Ryu completely got possession."

"...Last match, it wouldn't have been called like this..."

"Complaining?"

"...Not that. Tsk."

Adriana's expression, which had been taciturn, was full of injustice and dissatisfaction. But since protesting further would likely get a card, Adriana turned inward to defend the free kick. And players began to gather around me to kick.

"Ryu, will you take it? Because of the angle, direct shooting seems difficult."

"I like it."

Current position was about 30m from the goal, between penalty box and touchline, but according to Eloya, the angle wasn't great for direct shooting. Moreover, this position was better than a corner kick, so the set piece had a high probability of becoming a goal.

Then, it was better for me, who could pass the ball most accurately, to be the kicker. After all, when I take set pieces, I don't help much anyway.

"Good. Ryu. Shoot it beautifully."

"Yes."

After that, Eloya and Yelena, who occasionally took free kicks without the Lucerne, entered the box. Now, I was the only one standing in the free kick position.

'...Huh?'

At that moment, the goalkeeper's position being spread out from the goal was noticeable. The current position of the goalkeeper was not conscious of the shot at all, but rather to punch crosses coming into the box.

Well, it wasn't incomprehensible. When I took the free kick, there was no shot, all were free kicks into the box.

But, leaving the goal so empty felt vexing.

'She's ignoring me too much.'

I raised my hand signaling to lift the ball towards the far post. On my signal, our players moved slightly, and the opponent's goalkeeper adjusted his position slightly towards the far post.

The target was the empty near post. The ways to target the near post here were a left-foot swerve or a right-foot out-front kick. Since left-foot would be too obvious, I decided to kick with right foot and adjust the angle to make it an out-front kick.

Fortunately, since the opponent knew I could use both feet, even though the angle looked like a shot, no one suspected I would shoot.

'Wow, Ryu Ha-neul really got a lot of respect. No matter how bad the angle, at this distance, ignoring me like this.'

Suppressing the anger of being ignored, I ran towards the ball and powerfully kicked it with my right foot, aiming for the near post.

And the ball that initially flew straight gradually curved towards the goal.

"No!!"

The goalkeeper and defenders, who realized the ball I kicked was a shot not a cross, ran to block the empty space, but no matter how weak my shot was, it wasn't slower than people, and the ball went straight into the corner of the near post.

'I need to ignore people appropriately. Even so, leaving it like that empty...'

Then, the celebration: -Waaaaaaaah!!!! -Ryu! Ryu! Ryu! Ryu! Ryu! Ryu!

Since it was near the touchline, I didn't need to run far, turned around, swung both arms in response to the cheering crowd.

"Ha-neul!"

And the first one to run to my back was Camila, who climbed on.

The guy who was a bit cautious when approaching from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠front, but on my back, seemed comfortable, and I thought maybe I should tell him that it feels a bit blurry when lifted on the back, but to avoid awkwardness, Camila supported me with one hand and raised the other hand towards the cheering crowd.