This Is Your New Position
This is your new position. Staying at a hotel… But that’s pretty impressive.
Ha Sunmoon settled into the hotel arranged for him. When Felipe first suggested staying in a hotel rather than signing a separate house lease, the idea had struck him as unusual. Soon enough, however, he understood that this was the ideal environment for a professional footballer’s life.
The first floor with a lobby is definitely nice. For a star player living alone, this kind of setup isn’t bad at all. No worries about thieves.
“Any more luggage, sir?”
“No, that’s all.”
Ha Sunmoon truly had very little. He had sold or discarded everything from his childhood home in Korea before moving to Espanyol, and even during his time there he had bought nothing beyond clothes. His suitcase, therefore, had been packed only with garments when he arrived.
“Then I’ll show you to your room, Mr. Ha. I’ll explain the hotel’s facilities along the way.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Ha Sunmoon listened attentively as the staff member described the amenities.
“Each floor offers a swimming pool, restaurant, cinema, and other conveniences. Please feel free to use any facility you wish at any time.”
Whoa… This is fantastic.
“Here we are. This is the room you’ll be staying in, Mr. Ha Sunmoon.”
They stepped inside. His suitcases, sent ahead, were already there, yet the room was so vast that the luggage piled in the corner barely registered.
“Wow, it’s enormous. There are multiple bedrooms.”
“This is the standard room provided to most Manchester City players. Regarding room service: whenever the hotel chef is on duty you may order anything and have it delivered. For laundry, simply request it or hang this tag on your door before leaving. Our staff will clean the room while you’re out.”
Wow… Not a single chore. I can focus entirely on football.
Back at Espanyol there had always been small tasks he needed to handle himself. The complete absence of those duties made Harrison nod with satisfaction.
“But why is there a bed in the other room?”
“Ah, that’s for when you have guests or family visiting.”
“I see!”
I probably won’t use it often, but it would be wonderful if my family came. Wow… They really thought of everything. So thoughtful.
Both Ha Sunmoon and Harrison were impressed that the suite included not only a master bedroom but a separate guest room as well.
“All the facilities are excellent.”
“Thank you. Is there anything else you’d like explained?”
“Actually, I don’t have a driver’s license and I’m not planning to drive. Is there a convenient way to get to the training ground?”
“The hotel will provide a car and driver. If the driver is unavailable, simply let us know your departure time and we’ll arrange a luxury taxi.”
“Ah, perfect. Thank you.”
Once every question had been answered, the staff member bowed and left. Ha Sunmoon promptly threw himself onto the luxuriously soft bed.
“Whoa… Is this the power of a top club?”
Li… Liverpool could probably offer this much too…
Seeing Ha Sunmoon’s delighted expression at the overwhelming welfare of a capital-rich club, Harrison spoke as if slightly stung.
“A club that can’t even make an offer because they have no money…”
Gwaaaaaaaaah.
Ha Sunmoon made his way to Fernandinho’s house after receiving an invitation. The thought of finally meeting Jesus and Ederson—players he had only seen on television—filled him with excitement, yet he also felt a touch of nervousness at encountering them for the first time. Watching someone as a fan and standing beside them as a teammate required a completely different attitude, and he wasn’t sure how to carry himself.
“Uh… hello.”
“Hey, your name’s Ha, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Come on in. You’re the first to arrive.”
Fernandinho’s wife greeted him warmly at the door. Ha Sunmoon stepped inside with an awkward smile, exchanged greetings with Fernandinho, and waited at the dining table for the others.
“Oh, right. There’s one more person coming besides Jesus and Ederson. He’s the same age as you and has joined the academy.”
Since Ha Sunmoon had only been told about his own contract, the news caught him by surprise. Then he met a long-lost friend.
“You’re here.”
“Hey! Kaiki!”
“Ha!”
The player Ha Sunmoon greeted so enthusiastically was Kaiki, a fellow 2003-born talent who had played alongside him at Fluminense in Brazil. In their youth teams, Lucas had played left wing while Kaiki took the right.
“Wow!”
You two know each other?
As Ha Sunmoon and Kaiki bounced around in delight, Fernandinho and his wife smiled gently.
“Wow… Ha. You’ve grown so much. I’ve grown quite a bit myself, but…”
“It just kind of happened.”
Kaiki stood nearly 170 cm—already tall—but Ha Sunmoon had now reached a solid 178 cm. More than that, while Kaiki maintained the lean, quick build typical of a winger, Ha Sunmoon’s strength training had given him a noticeably more muscular frame. Still, the two chatted happily. It had been a while since Ha Sunmoon last spoke Portuguese, so his words stumbled at times, yet Kaiki’s arrival made him visibly brighten.
“I’m jealous. Straight into the first team.”
“But… well… I might not be able to play fullback. The manager said that if I want to stay with the first team, I need to be able to play other positions too.”
Fernandinho nodded as though it were nothing new, but Kaiki looked puzzled.
“Moving to wing? So that’s why they told me there was no spot for a winger and that I should play in the academy for a while…”
“Wing? No, it’s not that. If it were wing, I’d actually feel more comfortable.”
Though Kaiki sounded a little disappointed, Ha Sunmoon quickly corrected him.
“Not wing? Then what position?”
At Kaiki’s question, Ha Sunmoon’s expression turned slightly bitter.
“The position is…”
The long-awaited first day of training had finally arrived. Ha Sunmoon rode in the car provided by the hotel and headed toward the magnificent Manchester City training complex. With the first team, women’s team, and numerous academy squads all sharing the same vast site, simply locating the senior team’s area was a challenge in itself.
“Phew… Good thing I’ve been here before. Look how enormous this place is.”
Fortunately he had arrived early. Rather than joining full team training immediately, he first underwent a series of tests under Pep’s direction to evaluate his basic abilities.
“We’ll check three fundamental areas: stamina, ball control, and passing. Nothing difficult, so tackle them with confidence.”
“Yes, sir.”
One of the Manchester City coaches stayed with him, guiding him through each test.
This is fascinating…
Harrison found himself dizzy just watching the session. As expected from a manager at the cutting edge of modern football tactics, most of the drills were completely new to him, so he paid little attention to Ha Sunmoon’s comparatively ordinary tests.
“Pep. Ha Sunmoon’s stamina is quite good. We’d know more precisely after a match, but for a young player it’s excellent. He has more than enough fitness to make the matchday squad.”
“What about his ball skills?”
“He’s every inch a player who came through Brazil. You mentioned he wasn’t as sharp as before, but at this level he’s just below Mahrez and Foden.”
Thanks to the time spent absorbing techniques from the Brazilian players during the vacation period, Ha Sunmoon’s individual skill had recovered considerably and earned solid praise.
“His passing?”
“That’s the weakest area. As expected from a Brazilian background, the finer details are still a little rough. Overall, however, he’s definitely good enough to be included in the first-team squad. On the very edge of it, but still.”
“Hmm… Not bad at all.”
After hearing the coach’s objective assessment, Pep’s expression cleared. He had thought the player looked promising himself, but confirmation from another coach was exactly what he wanted.
“Put him through the rest of the drills as well.”
“Yes, understood.”
Soon Ha Sunmoon was integrated into both attacking and defensive exercises and produced similarly encouraging results.
“In attack, his link-up with Jesus looks promising. I think your ideas will work well with him, boss.”
“Defensively he’s stronger than Zinchenko or Mendy. Similar level to Cancelo, though not quite Walker. He’s a proper fullback.”
With the stream of positive reports, Pep decided to throw him into a small-sided game with the first-team players.
“Right, time to put him into proper training. Ha! Come over here.”
After finishing the tests and taking a short rest, Ha Sunmoon walked over to Guardiola.
“See that area over there? Where the players are playing a practice match.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll be playing in the position I mentioned. Your job is to become the focal point of the attack. Escape the center backs’ pressure and help the ball flow to the other players. If there’s space to break through the center backs, you can dribble, but the most important thing is to link play naturally with the players around you.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Following Pep’s instructions, Ha Sunmoon stepped into the mini-game with the Manchester City first-team squad.
“Manager, are you really putting him straight into that position?”
“None of them want to play as the number nine, so we have no choice. We’re giving it a try. He looks talented enough that he might be able to handle it.”
I’m not sure if this is the right fit. Still, I’ll do my best to support him for now.
Harrison spoke with a stiff expression.
The position Ha Sunmoon had been assigned was number nine. The “False Nine” role—considered the pinnacle of Pep Guardiola’s tactical system—had been given to him.
Having always begun matches from the defensive flank, Ha Sunmoon now started the game pinned in by opposition players.
Peeep!