You're an Englishman Now
You’re an Englishman now. A small change had come to Manchester City’s squad. Benjamin Mendy’s departure. It was a fairly major incident, one that major outlets beyond the local press—BBC included—were treating with real weight. Should I take this as a good thing…?
Mendy’s exit meant the left-back competition was over. There are four players who can play left-back. Two of them are proper left-backs, and one’s gone? That means you’ll at least get minutes as a rotation option. You need to be ready.
Harrison read the situation at once. “That’s how it’ll play out. Zinchenko was originally an attacking midfielder who switched positions, and Cancelo was a right-back to begin with.”
Exactly. Your circumstances are about to change.
In Pep Guardiola’s squad, Ha Sunmoon was not yet considered a superior option to Zinchenko or Mendy. He had yet to fully absorb the tactical demands of Guardiola’s system. Individual quality was one thing; the real question was whether he could keep Manchester City’s distinctive style ticking. On that front, Ha Sunmoon was still lacking.
“Hmm… I was hoping to give Ha Sunmoon a bit of time before deploying him at left-back, but the plan’s changed.”
Manager Pep Guardiola spoke to his coach. “Does that mean you’re classifying him strictly as left-back cover?”
“Yes. Start proper left-back training for him.”
“Then he won’t have much time. He’s already training hard as it is.”
“Can’t be helped. If we want him on the pitch quickly, he needs to be able to execute our tactical work. Cut back on individual sessions and focus on tactical and positional drills.”
“Understood.”
The conversation reached Ha Sunmoon soon after.
“You know what’s been happening recently?”
“Yes, I do.”
“It’s a little sudden, but the manager wants you to focus on full-back training as well. We’ll be working on both left-back and right-back, so prepare yourself.”
Just as expected. Looks like they’re serious about using you.
“That means my individual training time will be reduced?”
“Yes. Can’t be avoided. To get you ready for immediate deployment, you need to be able to handle the tactics. Honestly, I wasn’t planning to expect much from you in your first season… but they want to use you. You know several youth players have been promoted? They’re choosing to give the chance to you instead.”
“Understood.”
While taking part in the increased training load, Ha Sunmoon received word to attend the next match briefing and made his way to the briefing room inside the training ground.
“Ha. Let’s go together.”
Fernandinho appeared, and Ha Sunmoon headed to the briefing room alongside him and the other Brazilian players.
Once inside, Harrison glanced around and spoke in a low voice. This feels a bit like that, doesn’t it?
Ha Sunmoon looked at him, puzzled by the sudden remark. Harrison wore a slightly cautious expression. Like there are factions inside the team?
Factions? Ha Sunmoon hadn’t sensed anything of the sort, but Harrison had picked it up quickly. It’s probably the language. See over there? The England group.
Harrison pointed toward the cluster of English players. Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Kyle Walker. Hmm…
When Ha Sunmoon gave him a look asking where the other factions were, Harrison pointed at the spot where they stood. The other one’s obviously right here. The Brazil faction… No, it’d be more accurate to call it the Portuguese-speaking faction.
Ah! Three Portuguese players added to the Brazilians? But Ha Sunmoon couldn’t agree. From what he had seen, Bernardo Silva was constantly on the receiving end of what looked like playful bullying from various teammates, Dias chatted freely with players of every nationality, and Cancelo… was simply quiet.
Is that right? The Brazilian players do seem closer to one another, but the other Portuguese players don’t seem to be… Ha Sunmoon shot Harrison a doubtful glance.
There’s no such thing as a team without factions. Every squad has them. Back in my day, we even split over which neighborhood we came from. Sometimes it was just age.
Wanting a clearer picture, Ha Sunmoon quietly asked Fernandinho, “Is there anything like factions here?”
“Factions?” No way! Asking that so directly.
“Not anymore. Before the manager arrived it was pretty bad, but now it’s almost nonexistent.”
“It still feels like people who speak the same language stick together.”
“Ah! That part’s true. With so many City players getting called up to their national teams lately, they end up spending more time together on international duty. Especially the English lads. That’s something worth keeping an eye on. But it hasn’t reached a problematic level yet.”
“I see.”
“Well, it’s natural for players to group up while warming up before training. Still, you should be careful.”
“About what?”
“The manager and coaches watch how well you get along with the rest of the squad. Right now, since you’ve only just arrived, staying close to us looks like a sign of good team chemistry—a plus. But if you keep only hanging around with us as time goes on, they might not view it so favorably.”
“Understood…”
Fernandinho had quickly put Ha Sunmoon’s curiosity to rest.
“The briefing is about to start.”
“Let’s focus.”
Ha Sunmoon nodded and turned his attention forward.
“Manchester United is a side we need to treat with real caution. The counter-attacking threat they showed under Solskjaer has caused us plenty of trouble before. More than ever, we’ll need strong performances from the center-backs and full-backs.”
Hmm… This team has shown some vulnerability in that area.
“On the attacking side, their defensive midfielders and center-backs are weak, so focusing play through the middle rather than the flanks should be effective.”
“Ugh… I’m sick of this. What am I supposed to do?”
Ha Sunmoon sat in the hotel restaurant, face twisted in displeasure. “This is hotel food… I can’t eat it.”
Can’t be helped. They’re doing this so you stay healthy.
“There’s so much training… I need to eat properly… but it tastes awful.”
The same routine repeated every day: wake up, light breakfast, training, meal, training, meal, return, sleep. Of all the adjustments, the food situation was the first to wear Ha Sunmoon down. After eating at Raul’s excellent restaurant for so long, surviving on nothing but healthy meals felt impossible.
Then it’s time to try something else.
“Is there any decent food here? In England?”
Well… there is!
“Then tell me. Something simple for breakfast.”
This is bad! This kid’s standards are way too high after eating in Rio and Barcelona.
But… you can’t compare it to the seafood-heavy dishes from those coastal cities.
“Listen, hyung. England’s an island surrounded by sea. Why are we even talking about seafood?”
Hey! The catch is completely different!
When backed into a corner, Harrison’s explanations grew increasingly stretched. This won’t do…
No, wait. I’ve got an idea. Let’s order every light breakfast item the hotel can send up. Then we’ll find something that actually suits your taste.
“Is it all right to order that much?”
You’re a Manchester City player. They’ll accommodate any request. Even the excessive ones. You’re paying good money—the hotel should do whatever you ask.
“That’s true.”
Exactly. Since you’re paying, they follow orders. Still, just to be safe, let them know you’ve lost your appetite and are looking for breakfast options. Ask them to send a bit of everything. Got it?
Ha Sunmoon hesitated, then nodded and called room service, requesting a variety of light breakfast dishes.
“A light salad and yogurt.”
Hmm! A light salad and yogurt!
Ha Sunmoon took a bite of the salad and Greek yogurt. “Hmm… Hmm…”
Why? Not good?
“No. The salad tastes just like the boring healthy food I’ve been eating, and the yogurt… it’s like hospital food.”
That’s Greek yogurt…
“Next! Bacon!”
Bacon? That one should be good.
Ha Sunmoon immediately started chewing. “Ack! How does England even manage to make bacon taste weird? Is it that hard?”
No! You don’t like it?
“No. How can they ruin bacon like this…”
He moved on to the next dish. “Bread and beans?”
A bit worrying. Baked beans are…
Red sauce and yellow beans sat atop the bread. “Hmm…”
How is it?
“How can they make beans taste this bad? Does this country not know what good food is?”
Kwaaaak….
At the string of harsh reviews, Harrison’s expression grew pained.
“Ah! Actually, the beans aren’t bad. But if they’re serving bread, they might as well put a fried egg on it or something… it’s just off.”
Phew… At least that wasn’t a complete disaster.
Then a fried dish arrived. Fish and chips?
Ha Sunmoon picked up a piece, dipped it deep into the white sauce, and took a bite. “Mmm!! This is good.”
Really?
Harrison’s face brightened at the positive reaction.
“Wait. There’s another sauce next to it…”
He dipped the next piece into the yellow sauce and tasted it. “Ah! I’ll eat this from now on.”
But fried food was hardly ideal for an athlete. Harrison knew he should have stopped him—yet this time, he didn’t.
You’re an Englishman from now on.