No Time for Celebration
The first half of the match against Real Madrid had ended. The atmosphere in the Espanyol locker room was somber.
Tsk... We let in that goal right at the very end... Nothing we could do about it.
The first half had been tighter than anyone expected. Surprisingly, Ha Sunmoon had locked down the left flank effectively and pushed forward often enough to unsettle the opposition, making life far from easy for Real Madrid. But it only took one moment of brilliance. Vinícius broke deep down the left and delivered a perfect cutback that found Benzema. In the split second Espanyol’s center back López glanced at Vinícius, Benzema had already shifted into a better position. His shot flew straight into the net.
Everyone did so well…
They had kept a clean sheet for so long and even threatened Real Madrid’s goal. The frustration cut deep for Ha Sunmoon too. As the players sat swallowing their bitterness, manager Pablo Machín walked in.
“You all… played well. Don’t beat yourselves up too much. The opponent is Real Madrid, after all. I know exactly how well you performed. So don’t let your heads drop.”
The words only made their teeth grind harder. Real Madrid. The team anyone would name without hesitation if asked to pick the best in the world. Even during Espanyol’s strong seventh-place campaign, they had still been swept in the double against Madrid.
“You all did your jobs. Right now we have no other choice. We have to run more than their players, pack the defense tighter, and run even harder to make our counters more dangerous.”
He’s right. A weaker team can only beat a stronger one by outworking them. And this… is exactly what you’re good at.
Ha Sunmoon nodded at Harrison’s words.
Clive. H. Callsign: Red. The former British Navy Special Boat Service operator had shared every training method from his own career without holding back. Naturally, he hadn’t tried to bulk up the young footballer with bodybuilding routines. Instead, he focused on stamina work perfectly suited for a soccer player.
Harrison’s training, which began in March 2019, had slowly ramped up in intensity. Before they knew it, nine months had passed. Both the difficulty of the sessions and Ha Sunmoon’s physical condition had risen together, and those results were finally showing now that he had broken into the first team.
Seventieth minute of the second half. Most players were beginning to feel the fatigue. It was Ha Sunmoon’s moment.
During a build-up from the back, Naldo rolled the ball to him.
You tired?
“No. Would I be tired?”
Ha Sunmoon took the ball and drove forward.
— Ha Sunmoon pushing up the outside!
Real Madrid’s right winger Isco closed him down quickly, but Ha Sunmoon dribbled past at speed, hugging the touchline. Real Madrid’s right back Carvajal was forced to track Espanyol’s left winger de Tomás as he cut inside, leaving the inside channel open.
Now! It’s open!
Ha Sunmoon instantly accelerated again, surging deep into the right side of Real Madrid’s territory.
“Stop that kid!”
Carvajal shouted desperately. At once, center back Varane and right winger Isco converged on him.
One player closing from your five o’clock.
Ha Sunmoon checked Varane’s position in front of him and, with a lightning-fast flip-flap, burst through the narrow gap between the two defenders.
They’re starting to look tired, aren’t they? You can take it up a notch now.
— Ha Sunmoon! He breaks through between the two players!
Then Ha Sunmoon spotted the other center back, Ramos, closing in.
Another one coming from your four o’clock!
Carvajal, sensing the danger, had turned and was rushing back to help. Harrison’s voice sharpened.
No passing lane! You have to move!
From above it looked like Ha Sunmoon was completely surrounded. Harrison urged him to escape, and Ha Sunmoon spotted the thinnest sliver of space. He first made a feint as though he would pass to an Espanyol player inside the box or one making a run, then reversed direction with a sharp turn toward the goal line.
— Ha Sunmoon gets away!
He raced along the byline and cut back inside.
Perfect! You see it inside? Two o’clock! Now!
Ha Sunmoon delivered the pass exactly on Harrison’s signal.
— Ha Sunmoon’s cutback! It’s there! Tomás shoooots!
Swish—
— Goooooooal!! de Tomás equalizes!
“¡Vamos!!”
“¡Vamosssss!!!”
The Espanyol fans erupted. It was Ha Sunmoon’s first assist since being promoted to the first team. An assist in La Liga against Real Madrid was priceless.
Ha Sunmoon clenched his fist hard.
Yes!
While he celebrated outside the goal line, de Tomás, the scorer, began his celebration in front of the fans.
Good, I should get over there too~!
As Ha Sunmoon started to run toward the group, Harrison’s voice cut in.
Don’t join the celebration!
Ha Sunmoon shot the air an expression that clearly asked why Harrison was being difficult again, but this time the older man refused to budge.
My help was pretty big on that goal, wasn’t it? Then listen to me. The match isn’t over yet!
It wasn’t a wrong statement. Ha Sunmoon stopped heading toward de Tomás.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
Go get the ball out of the goal! That’s your job right now!
Ha Sunmoon hesitated for a moment. He was used to the Brazilian style. Once a goal went in, you celebrated with everything you had, hyped up your teammates and the crowd, then moved on.
Tsk. I wanted to join the celebration. He won’t even let me do that.
As irritation rose, a memory surfaced.
That’s right. The date.
He remembered his promise with Diola. She had said she would go on a date with him if he played well. He had already provided an assist, but a draw against Real Madrid, while respectable, wouldn’t be enough. To earn the perfect date, they needed the win.
“Ugh… Fine. I’ll do it.”
Besides, Espanyol were sitting in nineteenth place. The team desperately needed the points. Ha Sunmoon followed Harrison’s instruction and retrieved the ball from inside the goal.
Well done! Now run back to the halfway line! Not a single fan will dislike what you just did.
Though reluctant, Ha Sunmoon sprinted toward the halfway line with the ball in his arms.
“Hey! Where’s that kid who gave me the assist?”
de Tomás, celebrating with the other players, looked around for the provider of the pass.
“You mean Sunmoon? Yeah, where is he?”
Then de Tomás spotted him near the goal and shouted.
“Hey! Come over here!”
“Yeah, come on over!”
Both forwards, de Tomás and Jonathan, called out to him. But Ha Sunmoon simply held up the ball and kept running toward the halfway line.
“Huh?”
Espanyol had been in a slump. For strikers who had been suffering through a goal drought, moments like this goal were incredibly important. That was why de Tomás and Jonathan had been celebrating together. But suddenly de Tomás’s mind cleared.
A youth player from the academy had made his debut, provided an assist, and now he was the one carrying the ball back? If the veterans kept celebrating while he did that, they would be absolute bastards. Seeing the academy graduate running with the ball for the sake of victory, de Tomás began shouting at the others and sprinting after him.
“Everyone back! Run to the halfway line! We have to get back quickly!”
The sudden urgency in de Tomás’s voice made midfielders like Sánchez and Roca stare at him in confusion. But they soon had no choice but to follow. They had seen Ha Sunmoon running ahead of them with the ball in his arms.
And Ha Sunmoon’s actions were blowing up across every community and forum.