The Golden Age of Korean Football
“Everyone satisfied? Yeah, you can be satisfied. After all, the media and the public have always said our goal is to reach the round of 16. Germany, the defending champions from the previous tournament, Mexico who always made it to the round of 16, and Sweden who beat Italy and made it. Passing the group stage among these teams? Everyone will clap for you.”
Given Korea's culture, an adult would answer if asked, but no one responded to the coach's words. And the coach didn't care that the players didn't answer and continued speaking.
“But look around.”
Looking around at the coach's words, the other teammates were also listening to the coach's words, and our eyes met as we looked around.
“Right now in this locker room, and around you, there are the best teammates ever evaluated in Korean football history. With such teammates, wouldn't it be a pity to be satisfied with just the round of 16? Even if you come to the next World Cup, can you meet these teammates?”
According to the coach, it wasn't easy to meet these teammates. First, the team's captain, Senior Seo-hee, this World Cup would definitely be her last World Cup. The players also knew this fact, so they all looked at Senior Seo-hee.
“Yoon Seo-hee!”
“Yes, Coach.”
And the coach aimed the arrow at Senior Seo-hee.
“Compared to 2002?”
“...Personally, now is better than before.”
“Then 2006? The 2010 when we made it to the round of 16? Or 2014?”
At the coach's words, Senior Seo-hee glanced at me. At that moment, many things flashed in Senior Seo-hee's eyes. And among those emotions, the one that caught my eye the most was the emotion of regret. Probably the desire to share her prime with me, who is not 16 years old.
I also felt a bit sorry about that point. I thought it would have been better if I had shared Senior Seo-hee's prime together.
“Well, now is...”
“The past years were the golden era of Korean football. They even reached the semifinals at home and the first-ever round of 16 at away. But even I who experienced those years and Seo-hee who led that golden era are saying that now is the best. Are you going to be satisfied with just the round of 16?”
“No!”
“Then don't be satisfied and climb as high as possible. Let's write a new history in the Korean football world. Let's go! ...Finally, after the second half ends, the guy who walks into the locker room, I won't leave him alone. For 45 minutes, pour everything out on the ground and come back.”
“Uaaaa!”
“Let's go!!”
“Fighting!”
With the coach's words, the players shouted, each burning their fighting spirit in their own way. Rather than the atmosphere after the first half where the world seemed to have ended, it was nice to see them burning their fighting spirit like this.
After all, sports sometimes cause upsets by reversing objective strength with mental power. Moreover, this opponent wasn't a team with a huge difference in strength from us. The media's evaluation was half and half, and some media even saw us as favorites.
But the reason we were being pushed back was only one.
It was because those guys were using the **Double Volante** tactic and perfectly blocking our attacks.
Switzerland came out with a 4-2-3-1 tactic using Andrea as an attacking midfielder as expected, but the difference was that the two in the middle were not central midfielders but defensive midfielders.
In particular, because those two defensive midfielders were organically blocking our forward movement, our attacks weren't as sharp as usual, and Switzerland's defense, like a team that made it to the round of 16, boasted a solid wall.
In particular, after conceding the first goal, they were perfectly defending to the point that it could be called a ten-back defense, and it was a defense that allowed us to understand why Switzerland had taken first place in the group after drawing with Brazil.
Honestly, except for Andrea's first goal made solely by his individual ability, Switzerland's attack was almost non-existent, so the first goal was more painful.
“...As expected, the answer is a medium-range shot, right?”
The best way to break through a team like Switzerland with a ten-back defense is to shoot a medium-range shot like Andrea.
If it were the previous life, I would have tried such medium-range shots and somehow broken through, but every time I felt the male body was regrettable.
I had been steadily doing lower body exercises to strengthen my ankle strength, but it still couldn't compare to women's shooting, and at over 20m, it was like giving the ball to the opponent, so it was truly regrettable that I couldn't use that simple method to break through the ten-back.
But since I couldn't do it, it didn't mean the other teammates couldn't either. Especially now, unlike the first half where we were playing hastily after conceding the first goal, with fighting spirit and taking a break at halftime, it would be even more so.
And in the current national team, if I create the situation well, there were players who could take meaningful medium-range shots.
Senior Seo-hee, who had slowed down but had confidence in her kicking power enough to monopolize shots alone in the last World Cup, or Kim Seul-gi, a starting striker for a mid-tier EPL team, with basic kicking power guaranteed. In addition, Han Ye-jin, a midfielder with basic long-kick sense because of her specialty in switching left and right.
Jo Seo-won, who was running on the right, was a bit of a pity because she was more delicate style than kicking power, but having three or so choices wasn't bad.
“Kicking power is better with Joo-hyun, but we need players who can create plays like Jo Seo-won.”
After organizing those thoughts, I stepped onto the field.
Whistle - ding!
And the second half started with the whistle. Switzerland took as much time as possible and developed the ball, and we, as the coach said, after the second half, we could snatch Switzerland's ball somehow through tight pressure as if we wouldn't stand after the second half ended.
Of course, I was also conserving my stamina in such pressure situations.
“Ha-neul!”
And Park Hye-ri, who snatched the ball from me who was conserving stamina, passed it in one go. It meant to do counterattack or direct free kick on your own.
“As expected, counterattack is impossible...”
I thought about whether to pass it directly to Kim Seul-gi, but I soon abandoned that thought. Because if I got the ball here, I couldn't guarantee when I could get it back, looking at Switzerland's attack development.
If Switzerland's defensive line was broken, it would have been possible to pass to Kim Seul-gi and attempt a counterattack, but since Switzerland was building up slowly, the defensive line was also maintaining its state.
So my choice was direct free kick.
But unlike usual when passing the ball, I was dribbling the ball forward. The Swiss players retreated with backward steps as I advanced. Since I knew I didn't have medium-range shots, rather than pressuring and being stripped by pressing too hard, it was obvious they wanted to block me at the penalty box area as the margin.
And thanks to those Swiss players, I could dribble the ball to the 25m point without much effort.
“Block!”
Multiple languages, including German, were heard as I dribbled the ball into the area Switzerland had marked as the margin. There were languages I could understand and ones I couldn't, but the meaning was only one.
Don't give me any more space.
Two players approached to block my advance. If it were my usual self, I would have safely passed here, but the play I wanted to do now was to create space for teammates to shoot medium-range shots in a free situation.
To do that, I needed to pull the defenders a bit more by dragging the ball.
Well, in the process, I was a bit aiming to enter the penalty box and shoot, but with defenders densely packed like this, even I couldn't do it easily, so I thought about that case and dribbled the ball further forward.
I stepped with a heel that had paint added and went deeper. As I felt from the first half, two players in front of me had thoroughly prepared for me, so they weren't extending their legs hastily.
“...Three!”
And at the moment I entered deeper, one more player approaching me was caught in my sight. That face was definitely the player who was marking Han Ye-jin!
I looked at Kim Seul-gi and swung my leg as if I was going to pass in a densely defended space, and Kim Seul-gi also ran forward thinking I was passing to her. But my choice was Han Ye-jin.
A perfect no-look pass sent with a step landed on Han Ye-jin.
Thud!
And Han Ye-jin, as an EPL starting midfielder (though for a lower team.), unleashed a confident medium-range shot.
Whistle - ding!
But the result was off the goal line.
“Sorry, sorry. I was a bit slow to react too. Still, Ha-neul, the pass was good.”
“It's okay. Let's keep going like this. Senior, keep shooting confidently.”
It was a pity that the shot missed, but now was the time to boost confidence. It was better to shoot even if it was not an effective shot than to hesitate and pass, and since there was still over 30 minutes left, expressing regret here was a foolish thing.
After that, we again took time and blocked Switzerland's attack that didn't mix with sincerity, and the ball came back to our side again.
After receiving the ball, I repeated the same work as before and tried to pull the defenders as much as possible to create space, and our shooting count gradually began to increase. But, in proportion to that, time continued to flow, and the clock was now telling us that 25 minutes had passed since the second half started.
And that amount of time was enough time for the Swiss players to notice what I was aiming for.
Soon, the Swiss players were focusing more on blocking the pass paths to their teammates rather than stopping my forward advance. Thanks to that, the density in the penalty box had thinned....
“Swoosh, let's break through once?”
At this point, it seemed worth trying.
In front of me, as always, two defenders were blocking me. And I ran with the ball between those players.
Unlike the slow push just before, at top speed.
Even in the midst of that, the ball was stuck to my foot as if only 30cm away, and the guys who felt it wasn't possible stuck to me. But I could instinctively feel. That they were preparing for me to pass.
Tap, tap.
A two-footed dribble that received perfect praise exploded in the middle of those guys. And those defenders who were thinking about passing couldn't block this skill I thought had the highest completion.
“Block!”
Two in an instant. Now the distance to the goal is 20m. With the center back coming, I touched the ball with the heel of my foot and changed direction. And from that state, I turned again at a right angle, now the distance to the goal is about 18m.
“Just a little more! Just a little more!”
17m. 16m, 15m, 14m.
But the distance allowed to me was up to here. If I went in further, the angle would narrow and there was a possibility of other defenders attaching. No, the sound of rubbing against the ground and body from behind was already heard. If I delayed more, the tackle coming from behind would probably block the space.
Thud!
I quickly made a judgment and, as it was, kicked the ball in the middle with the top of my foot.
...At the moment before the tackle reached, in that split second, with the strongest power I could exert.