Signature Strike
It's starting to get desperate.
With the away goal included, it's a two-point deficit. To overturn this, Napoli needed three points. Well, if they scored three, the away goal would lose its meaning anyway.
Anyway, since Napoli needed three points, their attack from the build-up was feeling rushed. Originally, Napoli was famous for building up without passing through midfielders, but now they were launching long balls from the defense to the attack.
But at our backline, Valentina was waiting.
“Nice clearance!”
Valentina clears the long ball while competing with Irina. The cleared ball lands where Yelena was waiting.
And Yelena immediately makes a one-touch pass to me the moment the ball drops in front of her. It was perfect timing because pressure could come if we waited a bit more, and from the opponent's view, it might feel one tempo faster, so Tembe hadn't prepared yet.
Thud.
I feel the ball properly catch my heel. Again, the target is between Tembe's legs.
“Damn it...”
This is the second time today, and Tembe's mouth lets out a curse. And just as he's about to leap over my body again, I feel a strong pressure from behind his uniform.
Of course, since I deliberately left a gap, I wasn't startled at all.
Whack!
At the same time as the big fall, the referee blows the whistle.
And in this position, a yellow card is the natural outcome!
“Oh, I didn't do it on purpose. The ball stuck to my hand because of him!”
Although she's from Marisol, Tembe uses a flashy gesture as a player playing in Italy and pretends to be aggrieved to the referee. I couldn't understand Tembe's reaction. As soon as the hand touched, he didn't resist at all, and I fell.
“Ugh...”
But that groan from my mouth couldn't be overcome. In this world, a man's small groan is stronger than a woman's big voice, that's just the truth.
Well, to avoid the referee scrutinizing my actions too closely, I rolled around a bit more on the ground.
While rolling around, I meet Valentina's eyes watching me worriedly from afar. If I hadn't played as center back today, she would have immediately run over, but since my falling position and the center back's position are quite far, Valentina stays in position.
It seems like she's clearly distinguishing between the ball and me.
Though there's no way, but if Camila had seen the center back, she would have immediately run to me, but as always, Valentina's professionalism is evident.
But since she was looking too worried, I winked at Valentina briefly, then rolled on the ground until my teammates came near.
“Hey, Ha-neul, are you okay?”
My action was a bit too big, so Albari doesn't call me like usual and calls my name. Albari, the farthest among the forwards, came to my location, so it's time to get up.
“Yeah, I'm a bit out of breath, but this kind of thing isn't the first time.”
I grab Albari's hand and stand up, signaling not to worry.
“Anyway, using hands because you couldn't stop a guy.”
“...Albari, you haven't blocked me once during training either, have you?”
“I'm a forward, Ryu Sir.”
Upon my answer, Albari, who realized I was okay, calls me playfully like usual. I shake my head at Albari as if I can't say no to her, then check the opponent's condition. And I see Tembe, who received a yellow card in the first half, with a face as if the world has collapsed.
'If this is the case, is the match over today?'
I was already tense from the beginning, and with a yellow card, it's impossible for Tembe to show a good performance.
It was 1:0, but it felt like the outcome of today's match was becoming clear.
And after that, the match flowed as I expected.
The free kick ended without any gain, but Tembe seemed to be getting more rigid, and holes started to appear, and I toyed with Tembe and led the match.
But the forwards' condition today wasn't great, and at the end of the first half, the score difference was still 1:0.
“Good, well done. Just like this. And Ha-neul.”
“Yes, coach.”
“Knowing that Napoli's guys are getting desperate, you don't need to rush, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“But if there's an opening, there's no need to play slowly. Because their defense is weak. I'll leave the attacking tempo to you.”
“Understood.”
And in the locker room, Angela gives an instruction that would be quite difficult to follow for other players, or at least contradictory. But leading the match according to my tempo is something I'm familiar with, so it wouldn't be difficult for me.
Then the second half begins.
'Good, Tembe is still on the ground.'
Napoli keeps Tembe, who received the yellow card, on the ground.
Well, thinking of Napoli's starters, it's a Champions League team, but their depth isn't that strong, so was it an unavoidable choice?
But since it's already proven in many matches what happens when a yellow-carded player blocks my way, Napoli's choice can't be called good.
I was also comfortable with this.
Although I already knew the characteristics of Napoli players through scouting, it was much better to face a passive player who received the yellow card than to learn how a new player would act on the field.
And according to my thoughts, Tembe starts to passively pressure me to avoid getting sent off.
Well, I wouldn't be able to deal with a player in that state.
Thud.
With my back to Tembe, I lift the pass from Joaquin with my toe and jump over Tembe's head who's standing behind. It was my signature move that had become mine, but since Tembe was in a passive state, he couldn't stop me from flowing over his body.
And when I slipped past the opponent player, the opponent's hand that should have been felt wasn't felt.
So perfectly free, I passed to Arnal, who had stepped back to receive the ball, then ran along the opponent's backline.
And Arnal, who had been playing well with connected plays since my debut season after injury, returned the perfect pass as expected.
Now, only the goalkeeper remained in front of me.
Although there was a center back behind me, since I was already inside the penalty box, there was no need to worry, so I calmly looked at the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper's eyes roll around. Unless it's Marisol who boasts absurd scoring ability, there is no one in Europe who surpasses my scoring ability, so the goalkeeper feels more nervous.
But even in that situation, I calmly extend my leg.
And at that moment, the goalkeeper flinches towards my foot direction.
But the first movement is a fake.
After one feint, I evade the defenders and lightly shoot to the opposite side of the goalkeeper who was caught off guard.
- Waaaaaaaah!!!!
The home fans at Camp Nou, believing in victory, send out enthusiastic cheers.
And I, responding to the cheers, run to the stands and jump high.
“Riiiiiiiuuuu!!!!”
- Waaaaaaaah!!!!
The home fans cheer loudly again with my signature ceremony.
It was only 10 minutes after the second half started.
“Hey, Ha-neul! I'll substitute soon, so play slowly now!”
And a joyful voice from Angela on the bench. Now the match score is 2:0, total score 4:1. Napoli needed to score three more points to beat us, so our victory was certain, and Angela took out the substitution card for my stamina management.
My substitute is Camila. Camila starts warming up.
I wait for Camila's body to loosen up and slowly loosen the match. After about 7-8 minutes, she signals from the bench, and when it's a throw-in, the referee's number plate rises.
“Camilla, I made it all ready, right? Don't rush.”
“Okay. Trust only me. Ha-neul.”
From the moment I said that a girl who plays soccer well is my ideal type, Camila, who ran with fire in her eyes every time I trained (though she only participated in recovery training because she played the full last match), claps her chest full of confidence.
And seeing Camila clapping her chest, I remember touching Camila's soft chest a few days ago, and a feeling like blood gathering on my face and below.
'...Was it about C cup since I went a bit over? It seemed bigger than that...'
The feeling of that touch still on my hand... But if I keep savoring this feeling, a dark history might be recorded here with cameras everywhere and spread worldwide, so I quickly walked to the bench.
'Phew, close call.'
Fortunately, by quickly sitting on the bench, I prevented a disaster, and sitting on the bench watching the match, the blood gathering below slowly settles.
And the match ends 2:0 without any issues, allowing us to confirm our advancement to the quarterfinals.
'Which teams advanced? It would be good if it's not only Munich or Real Madrid...'
Now, what's left is the quarterfinals, just praying for a favorable draw.
Well, no matter which team advances, I didn't feel like losing much, but since I was going to finish the round of 16, while praying for a tough opponent like Munich and Real Madrid to face each other, I wrapped up the match.
Real Madrid vs Olympique Lyon
Barcelona vs Atalanta BC
RB Leipzig vs Atletico Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich
Meanwhile, the quarterfinals will pit the winner of Real Madrid vs Olympique Lyon and the winner of Barcelona vs Atalanta BC against the winner of RB Leipzig vs Atletico Madrid and the winner of Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayern Munich, and if Real Madrid and Barcelona win in the 8th round, an El Clasico is expected to be held in the Champions League for the first time in 10 years, drawing much attention from football fans.