The Second El Clasico
Dear viewers, hello. This is the 8th round of the Spanish Primera League, the hottest rivalry on the planet — Barcelona and Real Madrid. The second El Clasico of the season between Real Madrid and Barcelona is taking place right here at Camp Nou.
Only two months into the season, and we're already having the second match-up? The first encounter at the Spanish Super Cup was a thrilling battle decided by penalties, with Barcelona emerging victorious. Today's match is going to be something special.
That's right. Actually, Real Madrid's recent results haven't been great, have they?
Well, it's not like they've had a bad record — they've gone 5 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss to sit in third place. It's not that bad, but with Barcelona on a hot streak of 7 straight wins, they look relatively worse.
The reason for that record is Marisol's poor performance, right?
That's correct. She's played 6 games and scored 2 goals. Considering Marisol is a player who has won the scoring title in almost every major competition she's participated in last season, it's a bit disappointing.
And Barcelona's good performance is thanks to this player, the pride of South Korea! Ryu Ha-neul.
That's right. Currently, Ryu Ha-neul has played 6 league games with 7 goals and 6 assists, leading the league in both scoring and assists, and in the Champions League, he's scored 2 goals in 1 game.
Also, the two players are similar in age, and they're the hottest prospects in the football world right now. And if you were to ask who will carry the next generation of football, it's these two players. Among Korean football fans, the Ryu-Ma rivalry has become a hot topic, with the two players' rivalry being highlighted. What do you think, Chairman?
Actually, these two players are rivals even in their own country, right? After all, they're on teams Barcelona and Real Madrid, and they're similar in age.
The current head-to-head record between the two is that Ryu Ha-neul leads with 1 win and 1 draw. As they're from the world's top teams, they'll likely meet in various cup competitions, so watching the two players' future matches will be really fun. Now, let's explain the lineups for both teams. First, the home team Barcelona's...
Hmm... he looks in good condition?
The first thing I checked upon stepping onto the pitch was Marisol's condition. Marisol was a player who had won the scoring title in La Liga, the Champions League, and the World Cup last season in all the major competitions, so it was only natural that I would be cautious.
Players of this level could tell their condition just by warming up and touching the ball. The Marisol I saw looked in good condition.
And the condition I checked on video also didn't look bad overall.
Of course, I had expected this. Marisol's slump wasn't due to her condition.
Marisol's slump was a problem with her playing style.
From what I felt after the World Cup, Marisol's playing style had changed a lot from last year. As you can see from the records, Marisol's number of shots had almost halved compared to last season. And her pass count had increased quite significantly.
Originally, Marisol wasn't a style that scored goals through precise shots or perfect positioning. It was a style where she hit shots with her natural speed and strong shooting power. So, with fewer shots, fewer goals was only natural.
She was probably trying to play as a false nine from the traditional No. 9 role. When I watched Uruguay's match at the World Cup, I got the feeling that she was frustrated because the ball wasn't coming to her. It seemed like that had a big influence.
Well, it was just a phase that young players often go through, so it wasn't particularly surprising. Usually, either they discover some hidden talent they didn't know they had and fully bloom, or they become mediocre players, or they struggle for a while and then give up and hone their talent to the extreme.
After all, Real Madrid had good seniors and coaches, so I didn't think that phase would last long. But in this situation, Marisol going through that phase was pretty good news for us.
We might give high marks to a young player in the football world who knows their shortcomings and tries to grow, but this is the world of professionals.
I was ready to grind him down.
"If Marisol is in a slump, there's no need to rush, right?"
"I think the same as you, Ha-neul. After all, when these guys face us, we have to be careful about counters and long-range shots. As long as Marisol shows the same face as in the previous games, we have no reason to rush. Maximiliana, are you confident?"
"Believe me, Coach!"
After the warm-up and the short strategy meeting, the game was about to start.
Whistle!
With the referee's whistle, the El Clasico began.
Tap.
After Arnal passed the ball to Lucia and took her position, she checked Real Madrid's formation. In the last El Clasico I played, it was Clemence used as a defensive midfielder after lowering Lucia to the midfield, a 4-1-2-3 formation.
We'd have to see how to attack, but as usual, it would probably be 4-2-3-1.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah, today won't be easy."
And my marker was, of course, Clemence, who was used as a defensive midfielder. Just like how Clemence led France to the World Cup win, Clemence was also showing good form this season. Since Marisol had been struggling for about two months, Clemence's Ballon d'Or chances had risen to second place.
Other players seemed to be aware of that, so in the early stages of the game, they didn't pass to me easily, and when I received a pass, I would return it to check Clemence's condition.
"Hmm. If his reaction speed is this good, it's better not to overdo it today."
And naturally, as Clemence's position opened up, the midfield was dominated by our team with twice as many players. After about 10 minutes, Clemence's expression started to harden.
"Try breaking through once like last time, how about it?"
"No way."
Even a provocation that even kids wouldn't fall for.
During those 10 minutes, Real Madrid's attack was only once. In a counter-attack chance, Marisol made a pass that wasn't worth it and missed, so the precious attacking opportunity slipped away, making Clemence look quite desperate.
Moreover, it was a situation where they'd recorded 1 win and 1 draw in 7 games against relatively weak teams like Atletico Madrid, Valencia, and Sevilla. So, the desperation was showing from the start. If it was another player, it would be a subtle difference that couldn't be noticed, but I couldn't be fooled that easily.
"Perfect. This is enough to start slowly?"
Usually, the difference at this level is decided by the mindset. If you get desperate, your play tends to become desperate too. And as time passed, Clemence's body movements started to become more rushed.
"Tap!"
On Yelena's pass, Clemence, who had been waiting without extending his foot until now, stretched it out. Since the attack wasn't flowing at all, he probably thought he had to snatch the ball here.
But the ball had already left my foot, and the pass I sent was accurately connected to Eloya, who was lurking on the right side. Since I had confirmed that he was in a hurry with my body, it was my time now.
I gestured to Eloya and ran towards that side. Of course, I couldn't catch up to Clemence's speed, so I was immediately caught, but Eloya passed the ball in front of me as I signaled.
"This is enough...!"
If I could catch the ball, Clemence could immediately snatch it.
But Clemence, whose mind was in a hurry and whose vision was narrowed, had overlooked one thing.
That my position was right between the right winger Eloya and the right midfielder Lauren.
I naturally spread my legs to escape with the ball, and trusting Lauren behind me, I immediately changed direction and ran forward.
Thud!
And the heavy sound of the pass echoed. After the sound, Lauren's pass fell right in front of me. After taking one touch and glancing back, Clemence was now attached to my back, and he was reaching out to grab my jersey desperately.
At that moment, I switched direction sharply with my heel, evading his hand, and the player who missed swung wildly, his balance slightly off as his step faltered.
"No...!"
Now in front of me were two center-backs and Arnal.
And in the moment when the center-backs and Arnal running to block me crossed, I poked the ball and it fell beautifully with a curve right at Arnal's feet who had been left free.
Tap.
A light inside touch. The last pass Arnal sent was accurately aimed at the goal as intended, and although Yasmin, Real Madrid's goalkeeper, threw herself late, she couldn't stop the net from shaking.
Wow!!!
"Haa! Nice pass!"
"Arnal, good run!"
"You draw the attention that much, so I have to do this much."
After a light high-five with Arnal, I checked the clock. It had only been 17 minutes since the game started.
"Again, the attackers aren't reliable, so the defense is getting desperate. Today's match might be easier than expected?"
Marisol, the Uruguay national team's main striker, might need a style change, but what the main striker of Real Madrid needed wasn't that.
What the main striker of Real Madrid needed now was to receive passes from the luxurious second line of Francesca-Lucy-Hoberta and occasionally blast long-range shots when the attack didn't flow.
If you play ambiguously in a position where you have to make play that doesn't work and eat up the attacking tempo and shoot, not only will the attackers not coordinate, but you'll also plant desperation in the backline players to create more attacking chances.
And since such games have continued from the start of the season, in such big games, no matter how good Clemence was, he couldn't help but get desperate from the start.
I don't know when Marisol will realize that fact, but for now, I had a gut feeling that we'd easily get the 3 points today.