U-17 Brazil World Cup: I'm Doomed...
Ha Sunmoon lay sprawled across his bed, the picture of dejection. "I'm doomed..." he muttered under his breath.
For days he had drilled crosses with ferocious concentration, yet the results refused to come. Every attempt looked hopeless, showing no hint of improvement. The realization that a professional player could harbor such a flaw—and that the flaw was far more crippling than he had imagined—already stung. But knowing the weakness existed, pouring in days of practice, and seeing zero progress? That was enough to crush him completely.
'For now, Rancho, who can actually deliver crosses, is the better choice. I'll keep him in the starting lineup until you can cross properly.' The manager had spoken to him with blunt honesty. Sunmoon had nodded calmly on the outside, saying he understood, but inside he was a storm of rage, sorrow, and torment.
"If you're wearing the number ten, shouldn't you get it right at least once? How is it possible to need over a hundred attempts before one decent cross finally goes in?"
Espanyol built their tactics around fullbacks whipping in crosses. That was exactly why Sunmoon could not claim the starting spot on the B team. The player closer to the first team was Rancho, who could at least produce an acceptable ball into the box.
"Hey, kid? You okay?"
"No, I'm not okay. Do I look okay to you, Listen?"
"Well... if you keep copying good players, you might eventually figure out how to deliver a proper cross..."
"Hmm..."
When Sunmoon offered no reply, Harrison quickly rattled off a list of names.
"For example, Liverpool's Robertson or Arnold. What if you watched videos and tried to imitate their technique?"
That only poured fuel on the fire. Sunmoon's face soured even further.
"Listen, the team I hate most is Liverpool. Especially Robertson and Arnold—I can't stand those two. Don't even mention their names."
The stress of the crossing problem had sharpened his nerves to a razor's edge.
"Still... you have to be able to cross. You can't just avoid it."
"Listen, do you know which team I like the most?"
Harrison shook his head, completely lost.
"Manchester City! I'm going to become like Kyle Walker there. World-class without needing crosses at all."
Harrison finally concluded that the boy had lost his mind. In moments like this, nothing worked better than a cold, fact-based reality check.
"To do that, you'd need to be taller. Kyle Walker is a big, muscular fullback with excellent physical presence."
"Listen... stop tormenting me and get out!"
Sunmoon finally exploded, voice rising into a shout.
"No, I only meant you should train to build that kind of powerful physique—"
"Just get out!!"
Watching the boy wail like a siren, Harrison quietly slipped out of the room. Once he was far enough away, Sunmoon's curses rang through the house.
"Argh! Fucking hell. This goddamn cross! Even Real Madrid would hate it!"
The childish screams of a frustrated young player echoed through every corner of the house.
"So what should I do now, Uncle Felipe?"
After agonizing over the problem all day without finding any solution, Sunmoon turned to Felipe the moment the man returned home.
"I can't deliver crosses, so I can't get the B-team starting spot. That's what's bothering me..."
Even for Felipe, this was not a problem he could easily fix.
"There's no shortcut, Sunmoon. But remember a few things. You're still a very young player with plenty of time and opportunities. All you can do is keep training and gradually close the gap."
It was the most textbook answer possible.
"Not that. I want to break into the senior first team as fast as I can."
Felipe tried to calm him with a colder dose of reality.
"Even if you perform well, I doubt you'll move up quickly."
"Even if I do everything else well?"
"Mm... yes. It could be difficult this year. Next year too. Maybe even the year after that."
The possibility of waiting three full years before getting a first-team chance made Sunmoon's eyes widen.
"Why? Why can't I go up?"
"It's because of the left-backs already playing in Espanyol's first team."
Espanyol had two left-backs.
"Pedrosa and Vila. Do you know what they have in common?"
Sunmoon thought for a moment but came up empty.
"Pedrosa and Vila? I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that they're both Spanish."
"Both of them came through Espanyol's youth academy. They're more than homegrown—they're pure team-grown products. Of course, if you stay here long enough you might eventually count as one too, but you can't compare to players who have already been part of the club for years."
Sunmoon nodded, absorbing Felipe's words.
"Fans might not want to see either of them leave. Of course, if their level drops sharply, fans will criticize them, but usually they cherish players who have stayed with the club a long time. So you have to be patient."
"Ah..."
Felipe continued speaking slowly while reading the newspaper, his tone gentle and reassuring.
"Pedrosa was born in 1998. He's entering his prime. You could say he's the established starting left-back for Espanyol right now."
"Yes, and?"
"Vila was born in 1989, so he's already quite old. You were essentially signed as his long-term replacement."
Vila. Sunmoon burned the name into his memory.
"I understand what you're saying."
"Good. When that player starts to decline, your promotion to the first team is the future Espanyol wants. Does it feel like it will take too long?"
When Sunmoon showed a trace of worry, Felipe asked gently.
"Yes."
"You need to understand your position. You may not realize it yourself, but you are a top-tier prospect. If you had stayed at Fluminense instead of returning to Korea, Espanyol would have had to pay them at least a million euros to sign you."
Sunmoon's eyes grew round again.
"The fact that they managed to bring you in midway without spending that kind of money already makes Espanyol very lucky. So, would they use you or not?"
"They'd use me, right?"
"Exactly. So there's no need to rush. Take your time. That player will eventually move on, and your moment is approaching fast. In two years? Three at most, you'll definitely be part of the first-team squad."
"I understand."
"Oh, right. What about the national team?"
Sunmoon had already mentioned the Korean U-17 team's contact. Normally Felipe would have simply told him to decide for himself, but this time even he had to react. After all, the tournament was being hosted in Brazil.
"Hmm... I'm going to accept. I have to keep my promise to Lucas."
"All right. Let's do that."
Sunmoon thought about it for a long time, but in the end he chose to go. He had made a promise with Lucas—Felipe's son and his one and only best friend. They had sworn to meet as opponents at the U-17 World Cup.
Official permission arrived for Ha Sunmoon to travel to Brazil.
The 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil was a youth tournament that ran from October 27, 2019, through mid-November. Teams qualified by finishing in the top places at continental championships rather than through separate regional qualifiers.
The Korean youth team had earned their spot by reaching the semifinals of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship.
The competition featured six groups in the first stage. South Korea, with Sunmoon in the squad, had been drawn into Group C alongside France, Chile, and Haiti. Although France were strong favorites, the general consensus was that Chile and Haiti were manageable opponents, so Korea should have little trouble advancing from the group.
By mid-October the national team had assembled, and Sunmoon flew back to Brazil with Felipe.
"Hoo..."
"Nervous?"
"Yes. If the matches were in Rio de Janeiro, I think my heart might have exploded. Luckily they're in Vitoria and Brasilia, so that's a relief."
Sunmoon had not spent all his time in Rio. He had traveled across Brazil for matches against other academies, and every stadium hosting U-17 games was one he had already visited. The Korean U-17 staff knew this, which was why they had called him up.
"Then let's go."
Sunmoon headed to the team's hotel and soon joined the rest of the national squad.
"Oh, so this is the friend—Ha Sunmoon?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Jung-ho, head coach of the U-17 team."
"Hello. I'm Ha Sunmoon from Espanyol."
Coach Kang Jung-ho, who had arrived earlier, greeted him warmly. Perhaps because the troublesome left-back situation had finally been resolved, the coach looked at Sunmoon with clear satisfaction.
"Glad you're here. We've only just arrived ourselves, so we won't be doing much today or tomorrow."
"Understood."
"That doesn't mean you can wander around for two days. Stay inside the hotel as much as possible. The security situation here isn't great, so it could be dangerous. Even with a guardian, you must be careful."
"Hmm..."
When Sunmoon stared at him blankly, Coach Kang tilted his head.
"Coach, did you not see my profile?"
"Sorry?"
"Ah, of course you'd know better. You've spent a long time in Brazil, haven't you?"
"Yes. This is Suwon—no, the hotel you've chosen is in a pretty safe area, so it should be fine to go out."
Coach Kang Jung-ho already felt a headache coming on.