That Day (1)
In the traditional games of Spain, there is 'bullfighting' — a traditional game where a red cloth is used to excite the bull, and then it is stabbed to death with a lance. In my past life, I had gone to watch it a few times.
But in Catalonia, where Barcelona is located, they don't like bullfighting much, so in this life I haven't been to one.
Anyway, the core of bullfighting is waving the red cloth to lure the bull, and seeing the Real Madrid players charging towards the ball like the bull seeing the red cloth made me recall the memory of watching bullfighting and smile a little.
Is it ironic that Barcelona, which dislikes bullfighting, is like the bullfighter, and Madrid, which likes bullfighting, is like the bull?
'Well, there aren't many from Madrid except Lucy.'
The Real Madrid players who conceded the first goal charged towards the ball with fire in their eyes, trying to snatch it. We just passed the ball, like teasing those Real Madrid players.
And at the center of it all was, of course, me.
What we had to be most careful about was a counterattack. Their attacking line consisted of players who could shake the goal net with just one chance. That is, if we lost the ball even once, it would be dangerous, so we passed the ball as safely as possible, and if there was no clear chance, we didn't shoot and kept looking for opportunities.
We only shot when we were in a perfect position to finish the attack, and we completed the attack. Real Madrid tried to break our defense line with long balls, but breaking through with long balls was still difficult.
When the first half ended, the number of shots was 4:3, even, but we were leading by one point when the first half ended.
"Good, very well done! Keep it up like this. Can you feel it? They're getting desperate."
"Yes!"
"Yeah. No need to rush. If we play slowly, they'll self-destruct on their own. The second half will be like the first half."
Like Angela said, due to the away goals rule, Real Madrid, trying to score at least one goal, maintained high intensity from the first half, pressuring all over the field, and the conclusion of such football was always the same.
Moreover, considering that the Real Madrid players had played a pretty tight schedule, probably they could maintain that pace for only about 20 minutes in the second half.
Since people can't be faster than the ball, if we maintain the pace and just pass the ball, victory would come on its own.
Whistle - ding!
And the second half started with the referee's whistle.
We started passing the ball slowly like in the first half, and Real Madrid started pressuring us like in the first half.
So, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes. And around the 25 minute mark...
'Now!'
The left back of Real Madrid, Priscilla, finally couldn't return and gave space to Eloya. I didn't miss that gap and passed to Eloya. When Josephin gave space to Eloya to block her, I dove into the penalty box.
And then Eloya's return pass. I turned the ball to a good spot for a shot with one touch, and shot towards the near post half a step faster.
No matter how you look at it, the motion of shooting towards the far post and the half-step fast shot combined, even Yasmin would have trouble reacting, and the ball that just skimmed by the goalpost shook the net.
-Waaaaaaaah!!!!!
Now the score is 2:0.
Even if it was one point, Real Madrid who were in a hurry became two points behind and got even more desperate. There was no reason for us to be pushed back by Real Madrid who were trying to press hard in a state of fatigue. Rather, the gap opened up and it became easier to create chances?
By stabbing the Real Madrid's neck a few more times while they were excited, when the match ended, the score was 4:1.
"Hahaha, well done. While they can't get out of this shock, let's destroy them on their home ground."
Contrary to what we expected, we were able to advance to the final by completely destroying Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, and we started preparing for the Madrid away trip with light hearts.
'Oh, damn. Uncomfortable.'
Before the match against Barcelona started, Marisol felt a bit uneasy because of the discomfort she felt from below. It was because that day once a month had come.
But she was happy about it too. Today was the day of the match against Barcelona.
When the menstruation starts, physical ability increases, that's common sense in this world. Excluding the impulse to smash everything, her condition was much better than usual.
"Marisol, your condition is good, right?"
"I'm at my best today."
"Yeah, we gave up the cup, but let's take the league."
Other teammates also looked at Marisol with trusting eyes since they knew her state.
Currently, in La Liga, Barcelona is 1st and Real Madrid is 2nd, tied on points, and according to the winner-takes-all rule, they are divided.
If Real Madrid wins this match, they can immediately take 1st place, and in such a situation, Marisol's menstruation coming to the main player Real Madrid is like good luck.
"Let's go out and destroy them."
The Real Madrid coach also knew the situation of the team, so before the match started, he didn't say long words. During this period, Marisol was just a monster that scores goals when given the ball.
However, in the first half, since she didn't shoot, it didn't show much effect, but if Marisol is slowly recovering the form of last season's play, the story would be different.
Whistle - ding!
The whistle signaling the start of the match, and the match starts with the home team Real Madrid's kick-off. Lucy, the captain of Real Madrid who was passing the ball slowly, found Marisol at a distance of about 40m from the goal and connected the ball to Marisol.
Actually, there was no particular reason why Lucy passed to Marisol. It was just that the game had just started, and Barcelona's midfielders weren't pressuring Marisol who was far away, so they lightly passed the ball.
Thinking that Marisol would return the pass to herself.
But at that moment, Marisol rolled the ball in front of her with a light touch and swung her leg.
Boom!
And the sound like a cannon firing.
'…Huh?'
Lucy was surprised by the unrealistic sound, but couldn't take his eyes off the ball. Because the ball was flying towards the goal at a speed faster than any shot he had seen so far, with a perfect trajectory.
And it wasn't just Lucy who couldn't take his eyes off the ball. The 21 players running on the field, and over 80,000 fans who came to the Bernabeu, all held their breath in silence, watching that shot.
Boom!
Marisol's shot hit the post and bounced out. The sound of the shot hitting the post made a loud noise in the silence. And the goalpost shook as if an earthquake had hit.
-Waaaaaaaah!!!!!
Only then did the spectators realize that this moment was reality and started cheering wildly for Marisol.
It was a shot that could have immediately reserved 'Goal of the Year' if it hadn't hit the post.
'What, what did I just see? Shooting from over 40m without any help?'
Lucy knew Marisol was a good player, and he believed she would become the world's best player someday, but the shot he showed now was something Lucy couldn't help but be surprised at.
Lucy, praised by the world media as the best genius in Spain after Lucia, had never imagined such a shot.
"Lucy."
"Huh? Uh..."
"Keep passing the ball to me. My condition is good today."
"Ah, okay."
It could have been Ryu Ha-neul, who was staring at Marisol with a dumbfounded expression, who was pure football skill. But football isn't just about shooting.
Ha-neul's play, with his flashy individual skills, dribbling, playmaking ability to distribute the ball appropriately, and passing ability to always break through the defense, makes football look beautiful, but to win the match, you have to score goals.
And pros are not a job that shows tricks, but a job that wins in the match.
'After all, this guy is the best in the world.'
While Lucy was thinking that Marisol was the best in the world, Ryu Ha-neul was also thinking while looking at Marisol.
Oh, damn, female scam map.... Is this the day? No, the shot is ridiculous, damn. ...I'm going to get hit by the bull?
Feeling that today's match would be difficult.