A Mountain of Things to Learn
After the practice match ended, Ha Sunmoon lay sprawled across the training ground. ‘Huff… huff…’
[You okay?]
Clive Harrison asked, but Ha Sunmoon couldn’t even speak. He was gasping for air, his uniform completely soaked in sweat and clinging limply to his body—the only evidence of how fiercely the match had pushed him.
[Tough one… Those opponents were really good…]
It had been an overwhelming defeat. Despite all the effort, Ha Sunmoon had accomplished almost nothing throughout the game. Or more precisely, he had done things—just none of them had actually helped the team. All he could think was that he’d burned through his stamina for nothing during the practice match.
“Where’s the water bottle?”
[Right next to your left hand?]
Still lying down, Ha Sunmoon groped around with his left hand, grabbed the bottle, and drank while flat on his back. Gulp, gulp.
“Haa…”
“You alright?”
As Ha Sunmoon tried to recover, Ruben Dias reached out a hand to him.
“Not really, no.”
“Ha! Everyone has days like this. You worked pretty hard out there today.”
Is this what they call “beating”? The words almost slipped out of Ha Sunmoon’s mouth, but he couldn’t think of the right English expression and barely managed to hold them back.
“Come on, get up. It’s time to eat.”
Ha Sunmoon took the offered hand and pulled himself to his feet.
“Let’s go. If we’re too slow, we’ll have to wait ages.”
Even though he was up, Ha Sunmoon was still exhausted and wanted to move slowly.
“We can just eat last…”
“No way. You worked hard, so you need to eat well and recover properly. Come on.”
But when Dias wrapped him in a headlock and started dragging him along, Ha Sunmoon had no choice but to head toward the club’s training facility cafeteria.
“Have you tried anything here yet? We should go for the best thing, right?”
“Uh… I’ve had the Riyad Pasta.”
“Let’s get that then. It’s the best option. Two Riyad Pastas, please.”
Hmm… I kind of wanted to try something else…
“You were just thinking you wanted to try something else, weren’t you?”
“No! How did you—”
“I had the same thought when I first got here. But you can’t think like that. You came from Spain, right?”
Ha Sunmoon nodded.
“Then it’ll take some time to get used to the food here. The Riyad Pasta is something you can actually eat. Everything else is… below that. So lower your expectations slowly.”
[Whoa… that’s a bit harsh? Is he dissing British food?]
“Are you just blindly criticizing British food…”
“I’m not criticizing British food. It’s more like… calling it ‘food’ at all feels like an insult to the word ‘food.’”
[KAAAAAACK.]
“Is it that bad?”
“Well, the club’s healthy meals feel too much like eating raw ingredients, so it takes getting used to. As for actual British food… yeah, it’s really not easy. Just stick to Riyad Pasta for a week, then slowly try other things. I made the mistake of trying everything at once in the beginning and regretted it. If you’re not moving much, light salads are fine, but you worked hard today. You need proper nutritional balance.”
“Food’s ready!”
As Ha Sunmoon sat down at the table with Dias and their Riyad Pasta, Fernandinho walked over.
“Oh, I was wondering where you went. You were with Dias. Guess I don’t need to babysit you then?”
Fernandinho, who had come with Jesus, was carrying a light salad and tomato pasta.
“He was lying there like he’d never get up, so I dragged him along.”
“As expected.”
Though Ruben Dias belonged to the younger ’97-born group, he was a player with strong leadership qualities.
“By the way, if I have questions after training, how do I ask?”
“Questions? Just go ask. If he’s not busy, the manager loves explaining things.”
Fernandinho answered Ha Sunmoon’s question lightly.
“Ah, I see.”
“The problem is… once our manager starts talking about something like that, he can go on for ages, you know?” Dias added.
“Ahhh~ Got it.”
Ha Sunmoon had felt frustrated during training today and was eager to find some solutions.
“Oh, looks like you’re heading straight there?”
“You’re not actually going, are you?” Fernandinho asked, sounding slightly worried.
“Is it weird to go ask?”
“Not at all.”
“Then I’ll go.”
After training, before the coaches’ next session began, Ha Sunmoon didn’t head home. Instead, he went looking for Pep Guardiola’s office.
“What is it?”
“I wanted to ask about what happened during training today. They said the fastest way to get a detailed explanation was to ask you directly, so here I am.”
Since Pep Guardiola loved talking about tactics, he didn’t mind the visit at all.
“You did struggle a bit today. So that’s why you’re here.”
“Yes.”
[Damn, it really was hopeless, wasn’t it.]
Ha Sunmoon had hit a wall today. It wasn’t just a wall of skill—he had literally felt trapped between walls. The Premier League centre-backs were all tall and physically imposing. Both John Stones and Ruben Dias were close to 190cm and incredibly strong. On top of that, those giant centre-backs had excellent ball control and quick feet, leaving Ha Sunmoon with almost nothing he could do.
“The False Nine is the most central role in the tactics I’m using right now. It’s a position that demands a huge amount. It’s true that it’s not a role you can handle immediately. But you’re following along well enough, so don’t worry too much. Today you faced the highest-level opponents you’ve met so far.”
Then Pep Guardiola showed Ha Sunmoon one of his tactical diagrams.
“Here. This is your situation.”
The diagram showed a single point surrounded by three others.
“We call this a pocket. You can get surrounded by three like this, or even four. The key is how well you escape from it. Since you’re a fullback, you’ve never experienced this situation before, which makes it especially difficult.”
“But why did you put me in as a False Nine…”
“Because I see talent. You have the physicality to hold up against centre-backs who try to win duels with power. At the same time, you have the footwork to beat players when necessary. I believe players like you can cause chaos.”
[Hmm… He really has high expectations for you, huh?]
“There are two ways for you to escape from this pocket. First. When you’re trapped inside, imagine a line through the centre dividing it into upper and lower sections. Move to the lower section to receive the ball. In that case, you need to turn quickly, receive it, and burst forward. The position where you receive the ball must be far enough that the defenders below can’t reach you while you’re turning, and the ones above must be just far enough behind that they can’t catch up immediately.”
[Ah… So that’s why.]
Having realized something, Clive Harrison nodded.
“In your case, because you tried it from the upper section, Dias and Stones were able to predict and defend successfully. You never broke through even once, right?”
“Yes…”
“Then the second option—when you receive the ball from the upper section—is this. You receive it with your back to the defenders above you. At that moment, instead of trying to do something yourself, you need to look around. Pass the ball with one touch to a teammate nearby.”
“Because the moment you take even a little extra time on the ball—like with two touches—they’ll snatch it immediately, right?”
“Exactly.”
Ha Sunmoon recalled what had happened in today’s practice match as he spoke, and Pep confirmed that his understanding was correct.
“It’s important not just to know this in your head, but to do it naturally. Seeing how quickly you’re picking this up, I think you’ll become a useful player during the season.”
“But I still have more questions. This is about my original position as a fullback…”
Pep Guardiola had an attitude that invited any and all questions. Ha Sunmoon asked about the inverted fullback role he had heard about from “Diola” before. When Pep Guardiola saw that he already had some understanding and even mentioned one of his preferred roles, the manager’s face lit up with satisfaction and he began explaining at length.
. . .
“Do you understand now?”
[This is profound. So profound… There’s a mountain of things to learn.]
The densely packed text and explanations on the tactical sheet nearly made both Ha Sunmoon and Clive Harrison’s heads explode. But the detailed breakdown of each position’s role was so rich and alive that Harrison couldn’t help but admire it.
[It really is like a single living organism. To understand even one inverted fullback role, you need such a high level of understanding of every other position… I wonder how many players can actually digest this properly.]
“Yes. I understand a little better now… I always felt like something was missing before.”
“Good. By the way, it’ll be happening soon.”
“What will?”
[Voting?]
“The captaincy vote. Ha. Since you were the last first-team signing, we’ll be doing it soon.”
“You decide the captain by vote?”
“That’s how we do it here. Shouldn’t the person who has the players’ support be the one wearing the armband?”
[Hmm. We didn’t do that in my day… Usually it was just the player who’d been at the club longest or the manager who decided…]
“Even if you’ve only been here a short time, it’s good to start thinking about which player would make a good captain.”
“I already have someone in mind!”
“Who?”
“That’s a secret. You don’t raise your hand in public during the vote, do you?”
“That’s true.”
The sudden childlike enthusiasm from Ha Sunmoon made Pep Guardiola smile softly.
He really is still a young player. It’s obvious he’s going to vote for Fernandinho.