Breaking Down the Lower Ranks
Hey kid, focus up! Clive Harrison shouted loudly at Ha Sunmoon.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
Ha Sunmoon caught his breath and slowly returned to his position.
Damn… This… This is going to be a bit of a problem.
Clive frowned as he watched the pitch.
I really don’t like this. Those… goddamn bastards. How many are they wasting?
Clive cursed under his breath and glanced at Ha Sunmoon with a hint of worry. Throughout the first half, Ha Sunmoon had repeatedly broken down the left flank and delivered crosses. But because most of Espanyol’s attackers had blasted them wide, they hadn’t managed a single goal. Was Ha Sunmoon’s crossing poor? Absolutely not. A good cross carries enough power and arc that opposing center-backs have to think twice about the landing spot. Ha Sunmoon’s crosses had beautiful, dipping trajectories.
This won’t do. Take a deep breath and recover your stamina.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
Clive had started worrying about Ha Sunmoon’s fitness because the boy kept making overlapping runs, followed by full sprints back to help on defense. Of course… thanks to all that stamina training he can keep this up for ninety minutes, but… it’s not just about physical exhaustion for a footballer… Running at full throttle for too long inevitably leads to injury. Clive was especially concerned that Ha Sunmoon had sprinted far too often.
“Ha! Over here!”
When Ha Sunmoon received the ball, Vargas called out to him.
This time, pass it and don’t go forward. The clock’s almost run out anyway. Better to rest a little than push too hard.
Listening to Clive’s advice, Ha Sunmoon passed the ball to Vargas and stayed back instead of surging forward. Vargas, now in possession, tried to probe the defense with a few dribbles, but when the opposing left-back and right-back held firm, he turned and played a safe back-pass to Ha Sunmoon. Ha Sunmoon immediately fed central midfielder Roca, who then passed to the overlapping right-winger Ure.
Ure takes the ball! And he shoooots!
Ting!
Ure struck the shot immediately, but it rattled the post and went out for a goal kick.
You idiot! If he’d given it to Tomás the angle would’ve been much better.
“Could that have gone in just now?” Ha Sunmoon asked Clive, since he hadn’t seen the play clearly.
Yeah. Too greedy. Tomás was clearly in a better position. Tsk, I thought we’d get at least one goal in the first half. Is this really how it’s going to be?
Peeep—Peeep—Peeeeep!
With that, Espanyol’s final attack of the half ended and the whistle blew for half-time. Ha Sunmoon and the rest of the Espanyol players headed toward the tunnel in the center of the stadium.
Hey kid, look at their faces.
Ha Sunmoon glanced around at Clive’s words. The Eibar players were filing into the tunnel.
Take a good look at their expressions. You’ll understand exactly what kind of match this has been.
Ha Sunmoon could read a range of emotions on the Eibar players’ faces. Relief at not having conceded, exhaustion from running so much, and a few who looked like their souls had left their bodies. The soulless expressions felt strangely familiar. They had been clashing with him all game long.
“Wow, that right-back friend of yours doesn’t look too happy.”
Exactly. He knows how well you played. Most of the opposition are thinking this match has completely torn them apart. The problem is…
“We still haven’t scored.”
Right. That’s the problem. We need to do better in the second half. How can they waste so many good balls?
Clive, who was usually calm, ground his teeth as he spoke. Ha Sunmoon walked through the tunnel into the locker room. Once inside, interim manager David stood with a distinctly displeased expression.
“Sunmoon’s here too. Everyone’s here, so sit down quickly.”
The man who had always spoken gently to the first-team players now wore a face full of dissatisfaction.
“I’m not in a good mood right now, lads. What the hell is this?”
Anger began to seep into David’s voice.
“You played well. Yes, we completely dominated the performance. Possession, number of shots—there wasn’t a single category where we were behind. So why haven’t we scored?”
A heavy silence fell over the locker room in an instant.
“Everyone, look at Sunmoon over there.”
Ha Sunmoon was slightly startled when the attention suddenly turned to him.
“He’s today’s MVP. He absolutely destroyed their right side. He’s always been that kind of player, but today he completely overcame his old weakness in crossing. Do you know how many crosses he put in from the left? Fourteen. Fourteen! And out of those, how many were good enough to lead to a goal? At least ten.”
David spoke through gritted teeth, practically fuming.
“They arrived perfectly. Five to Tomás’s head, three to Ure, two to Dalder. Is he playing football by himself? You had all those chances—how many did you waste? You should be ashamed. The reason we didn’t score is purely down to the attackers’ lack of finishing. Understood?”
David scolded the forward line.
“Get your heads straight. There will be no tactical changes for the second half. They’re the ones who have to adjust, not us. Now stand up and get ready for the second half.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
The players slowly rose from their seats at David’s command and headed back toward the pitch.
While Ha Sunmoon was warming up again on the field, several teammates approached him.
“Ha!”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry. You played really well today, but I couldn’t put the ball away. I still haven’t gotten used to the crosses you deliver, so please don’t take it the wrong way.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not. You must be furious inside. I’ll work harder so I can finish your next cross.”
After Raúl de Tomás came midfielder Dalder.
“Ha! You’re really putting in some great crosses now. Toying with their right-back was impressive too.”
“It just sort of happened. Must be all that football I learned in Brazil.”
“And this is the same opinion as Tomás—we’re still not used to your crossing tempo, so it’s causing bigger problems. Bear with us. Neither Pedrosa nor Villa ever crossed at that pace, so we’re bound to be a bit lost. This is basically the first time we’ve had to adjust to your crosses.”
Hmm… That’s a fair point. Playing with the youth team all this time has created this issue.
Their words were reasonable, so Clive’s anger eased a little.
But what can we do? Our kid can’t slow his crosses down.
Hmm…
Ha Sunmoon agreed with Clive’s thought. If he slowed the tempo even a little, his crosses would turn into garbage. There was no helping it.
Just keep crossing at your own tempo. Their level is what’s lacking. Your crosses are arriving at the exact timing that unsettles the defense, so it’s fine. That’s how you score goals.
Ha Sunmoon nodded.
Peeeeep!
The second half began. When defensive midfielder Sánchez won the ball, Ha Sunmoon quickly moved beside him before shifting along the touchline. The moment Ha Sunmoon took up a position on the outside, the opposing right-back Tejero and right-winger León immediately pressed him.
As expected, they changed the pattern. They decided one man wasn’t enough, so they’re doubling up. In that case, dropping it back now would be…
His heart thumped. Dropping slightly deeper and passing to left-winger Vargas or the midfielders Roca and Dalder wouldn’t have been a bad choice, but Ha Sunmoon didn’t pick that option.
“It was getting boring. This is much more fun.”
What did you say?
Instead of passing backward, Ha Sunmoon began dribbling slowly, driving the ball into Eibar’s half.
Two players are on Ha, but he pays them no attention!
Whoosh!
Ha Sunmoon nudged the ball toward the touchline and instantly exploded into a sprint. Right-back Tejero and right-winger León had each tried to block the space where he would dribble, but they lost him in that split second.
Thud!
Tejero desperately lunged with a sliding tackle, but Ha Sunmoon was half a beat quicker as he whipped in the cross, and the block failed.
What kind of cross is that? The trajectory is insane?
Clive thought it was incredible that Ha Sunmoon had shaken off two markers. But even more impressive was the bizarre arc of the cross he delivered.
Incredible! Even with Tejero and León doubling up on him, he beats them and delivers the cross!
The ball Ha Sunmoon sent in flew straight to Raúl de Tomás again. This cross had an even wilder trajectory, but Tomás read the flight perfectly while Eibar’s center-back Vigas failed to judge it.
Thump!
Tomás’s header flew toward the upper corner of the goal. Eibar’s goalkeeper dove, but the ball sailed past him and into the net.
Gooooooal! After a magical cross, Tomás heads it home!
A beautiful, arcing cross and a fantastic header—Espanyol take the lead!
“Hoo~~!”
After scoring, Tomás celebrated wildly and called out to Ha Sunmoon. Having been pushed all the way to the goal line while delivering the cross, Ha Sunmoon quickly joined Tomás this time.
“Vamos! Well done! I told you I’d score in the second half!”
Ha Sunmoon put an arm around Tomás’s shoulder as they performed the celebration for the fans.
“Ha!! You’re the best!! You have to stay here!!”
“That’s right! Push Villa and Pedrosa aside and take the starting spot! I’ve liked you since the Real Madrid match!! Keep shining for us here!”
The crowd shouted at Ha Sunmoon. He waved back at them with a smile.
“Yes, yes! I will!”
As if that’s going to happen!!