The Calm Before the Storm
Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid! ……Meanwhile, in the 68th minute of the second half, Ryu Ha-neul entered as a substitute, and the atmosphere on the ground reversed. ……Thanks to Ryu Ha-neul's league 13th goal and 10th assist, Barcelona secured the victory….
Real Madrid, thanks to Marisol's hat-trick, also secured a 5-1 victory over Girona, closing the gap to Barcelona by just two points… With only three matches left in La Liga, the title is still undecided…
Many experts believe that the winner of La Liga will be decided in this El Clasico…
“……So, Paulina seems like this season will be her last.”
“Oh, this…”
The atmosphere of the Real Madrid players sank as Alèsia's words were spoken. The news that Paulina, the deputy captain and spiritual pillar of Real Madrid, would not only miss the season but also retire from her playing career was shocking enough.
Actually, at 33 years old, with a season-ending issue in her thigh, some players had expected Paulina to retire, but even so, it was impossible not to be shocked that a legend who had played for Real Madrid for 15 years and led the younger players was retiring due to injury.
“Hmm, hmm. Well, until the end of the season, I'll come out and watch you guys train, so don't make those faces.”
In that atmosphere, Paulina, leaning on a crutch, smiled brightly and spoke to the players, but the players could feel the sadness contained in Paulina's bright smile.
'This can't be... Paulina...'
And Marisol, Real Madrid's main striker, was one of those players.
Marisol, who had transferred from Uruguay to Real Madrid last year, had been losing confidence as she came off the bench as a candidate, and Paulina, who had praised her as a genius and boosted her confidence, was also the one who had strongly recommended Marisol to start as the main player this season. So the shock was inevitable.
Marisol had thought Paulina would retire someday, but to retire in this way...
The retirement of a respected senior should have been celebrated by all fans. A lonely retirement pushed by injury was something that should not have happened.
'If it weren't for that guy...'
Marisol bit her lip tightly, and in her mind, the scene of Paulina getting injured replayed. The scene where she toyed with the chasing Paulina, pushed her down, and scored the goal... Even though she thought about it, it was a play that seemed perfect as a striker, and she had replayed the scene of how she made that goal several times, but now it seemed she wouldn't be able to watch that video.
Paulina approached Marisol, who was biting her lip tightly.
Looking up at Paulina, who was approaching with a crutch and limping, Marisol felt like she might cry.
“Paulina...”
Suppressing tears, looking up at Paulina, Paulina's large hand was stroking her head. That hand was the same touch that had comforted her when she had just transferred to Real Madrid and was not adapting yet, and a tear slightly flowed from Marisol's eyes.
“Marisol, don't make that face. Retiring when you get old is a natural thing. Well, it was a bit earlier than expected, but...”
And the tears that had slightly flowed were now a strong current flowing down Marisol's cheek as Paulina spoke calmly.
“What? Marisol, are you crying?”
“Coach, Marisol is crying?”
And the young ace's tears, the other players, pretending not to be contagious, teased Marisol while trying to lift the atmosphere.
“Crying... It's not crying! Just dust got in... ”
Marisol, a girl, shouted that it was not crying because showing tears in front of people was embarrassing, but the way she was pretending to be okay while tears and snot mixed voice came out made the scene even more pitiable.
The sight of a beautiful girl with white skin and dirty blonde hair and cool features crying was a sight that would stimulate paternal love if a man saw it, but unfortunately, all the people here were women.
“If you see it, it looks like Paulina is dead. When is the funeral for Paulina?”
“Paulina, what did you do to make her like this? Did you bully her? Tears of joy?”
The players chose to tease rather than comfort the crying Marisol, and as they teased her by throwing in a word about her tears, Marisol could no longer cry.
“It's not like that! It's not crying...!”
The young ace returned to her usual self with anger, and the atmosphere that had sunk due to the shocking retirement news slightly rose.
“Yeah. It's not too early to cry. Right, Coach?”
“Paulina is right. We can't end the last season with Paulina together by losing to those hypocritical guys. Let's show them clearly who the best team in Spain is.”
With Alèsia's words, the eyes of the Real Madrid players sparkled. The players also didn't want to end their last season with the respected deputy captain by losing to their rivals Barcelona.
“Good. Then I'll explain the tactics to face the Barcelona guys. First, to block that guy, we need to use a defensive midfielder, according to the coaching staff's conclusion.”
“If it's that guy...”
“Of course it's Ryu. They'll come with the 4-3-3 formation as usual. Clemence. You mark that guy closely from the defensive midfielder position. And aim for cooperative defense while waiting for your teammates as much as possible. Don't play carelessly, always remembering that if you do, you'll be pushed down by that guy.”
“Understood. Coach.”
While the Real Madrid players were burning with fighting spirit,
“Narcis! It's not overlapping there, help Tiana! Line up! Only when the front line rises. I've been saying it all along! Maintaining your position is important!”
“Understood!”
Barcelona was also in full preparation to face Real Madrid.
The part that Barcelona players focused on training most before El Clasico was the new tactic Angela had brought.
It was not too far from the original Barcelona tactic, but the detailed parts like attacking positions or pattern plays when the opponent pressed were different, and Angela's tactic seemed to have been somewhat assimilated by the players in a short time.
'It's still lacking, but if it's like this...'
Of course, Angela's eyes saw that the players' appearance was lacking, but fortunately, Angela knew a way to make up for the lack of proficiency. The way was simply the quality of the players.
In this tactic where the central line from central striker to the last defender is important, the key players who can pass to at least 6 players are attacking midfielders and central midfielders who can play in those positions.
And Barcelona had the best players who could play in those positions.
'If it's Haneul and Lucia, it can make up for the lack of proficiency...!'
However, one thing to worry about was Josephin, the main defender of Real Madrid expected to play in this match.
Josephin was a centerback from the Belgian national team, a centerback known for 'dirty play' among fans. And according to Angela, her personality was not that good, as there had been several reports of racism controversies in the media.
Since she was a player with such a notorious reputation, it couldn't be helped that they were worried about Haneul receiving dirty play from Josephin.
“Haneul.”
And that worry led to individual interviews after training.
“Yes, Coach.”
“Josephin will be playing next match. Do you know who Josephin is?”
“Yes. I've watched the video several times. She's the main defender.”
“Yeah, and you know what kind of play she makes?”
“...The play that scares the attackers? Well, weak defenders often do that.”
“It's not a topic to talk about lightly, Haneul. You really have to be careful. The next match is Real Madrid's home, so it could be even rougher.”
But Angela continued with words full of worry, not considering Haneul's attitude to take it lightly, and Haneul answered with a shy smile as usual.
“...Coach. Facing those kinds of players is my specialty.”
...With a confident tone unlike the shy smile.
'Yeah, since young, there have been a few guys who came out rough against Haneul... Anyway, it's not easy to beat the Real Madrid guys at home without Haneul. Here, we have to trust Haneul.'
With that confident tone, Angela hid her anxiety and stroked Haneul's head.
*
Hello! This is the La Liga 35th round scheduled for El Clasico. It will be held at this Bernabéu. Caster... Sir. This match is quite an important game, right?
Yes. In fact, this match is practically deciding the La Liga champion, isn't it? The two teams are only two points apart in points. I look forward to seeing which team will cross the final nine-tenths of the way to La Liga victory.
Then, Sir, what do you think are the key points of this match?
As always, the matchup between the two teams' main strikers, right? Marisol and Ryu Ha-neul. They are the hottest strikers in La Liga right now. Even though they are players who haven't even reached twenty yet, I can boldly say that I get the feeling that the next ten years will be the era of these players? Of course, this is not talking about the potential these two players have, but their current performances.
Yes. Marisol, who played in 28 league matches and recorded 27 goals and 2 assists, and Ryu Ha-neul, who played in 16 league matches and recorded 13 goals and 10 assists. The matchup is not one to expect.
Exactly. Especially Ryu Ha-neul is the youngest player to record 10 goals and 10 assists in La Liga, and it's hard to believe that this player is a man given the performance he's putting up?
Then, let's now call out the lineups for both teams. First, the home team's lineup for Real Madrid. Goalkeeper: Yasmin, backline: ...Josephin..., midfield: Clemence, Iris, Lucia. On the right: Hoberta, center: Marisol, and on the left: Franceska. This lineup is very unusual. Lucia has dropped into the midfield area.
Well, actually, Lucia has been famous as a genius since she was young. I think she's probably going to play as a playmaker from the bottom, trusting Lucia's creativity. In that case, the formation will probably be 4-1-2-3?
Now, Barcelona's lineup. Goalkeeper: Maximin, defense line: Anila, Tiana, Narcis. And midfield line: Valentina, Yelena, Lucia. Attack line: Albaria and Eloya, Arnal and Ryu Ha-neul playing simultaneously. ...This lineup is new? Fullbacks playing as centerbacks?
Or did Valentina come out as a centerback? Hmm, looking at where Valentina is standing, it seems like a midfielder... Currently, looking at the positions of Barcelona's players in the lineup, it's a 3-3-4 formation, but I think you'll have to go to the stadium and see it directly to get a feel for it.
Whoa, both coaches have brought entirely new tactics. Real Madrid usually uses 4-2-3-1 a lot, and Barcelona mainly uses 4-3-3, but it sounds like both coaches are seriously thinking hard already?
Yes.
Which coach will win the tactical battle... This is the last El Clasico of the season. It starts now.