Chasing Two Rabbits
“Too easy, isn’t it?”
“Why are you nervous?”
“I’m not. Not even a little. Maybe it’s because we’re suddenly in the second division…”
“Look at them. They’re frozen solid.”
Raúl de Tomás glanced at the B-team players who had been called up and shook his head.
“Hmm…”
They were at Carlos Belmonte Stadium, the home ground of Albacete in Spain’s Segunda División—Espanyol’s first away match in the league.
“Still, jumping straight from the fourth division to the second would make anyone anxious,” Ha Sunmoon said. He knew the feeling well. The players who had been called up before weren’t quite as rigid, but the ones making their first appearance looked positively pale.
“Aigoo… poor kids. At least they’re only watching today, so they should be fine.”
Thankfully, none of the promoted players were starting. Most of the substitutes were first-team regulars too. The only B-team player on the matchday squad was the goalkeeper, Prieto.
“But what if the backup keeper freezes like that?”
“Olazabal hardly ever gets sent off, so it’s rare for the backup to even come on. And he’s a pro—he’ll manage.”
“Hmm… maybe we should help them loosen up a bit…”
Ha Sunmoon had to admit Harrison’s logic was sound. Soon the players finished their preparations and waited in the locker room. David walked in.
“I assume you’ve all heard the news?”
“Yes, we have, Coach.”
David, who had been the longtime B-team coach, had recently been promoted to first-team assistant. It was partly because so many B-team players had been called up, but it was also a contingency. If Abelardo failed to deliver results in the second division, the club could install David as the new manager without much disruption.
The mass promotion from B-team to first team had triggered a chain reaction—many U19 players moved up to the B side, and the U19 coach had shifted to the B-team as well. Internal shuffling had been constant.
“Right, then. I’ll keep the briefing short. This isn’t so much about tactics as it is about the right mindset.”
David held up the starting lineup Abelardo had chosen.
“Here’s today’s starting XI. Most of the regulars are playing, and the substitutes are nearly all first-team players as well.”
“The reason we’re approaching it this way is that Albacete have been a solid mid-table side in the second division for years. This match is about measuring our level. So don’t take it lightly.”
“Understood.”
Soon after, Manager Abelardo entered the locker room and went over the tactical instructions. The setup wasn’t dramatically different from what they had been working on.
The match had begun, and the ball had come to Ha Sunmoon several times already. Strangely, Harrison offered no instructions and gave no warnings about incoming markers. It only took three minutes for the gulf in quality between the two sides to become obvious.
Albacete weren’t a high-pressing team, so the build-up from the back and the transition into attack flowed smoothly.
The ball reached Cabrera. Ha played a quick one-two with Vargas and drove deep into the box. A few simple passes in the build-up and they were suddenly in the opposition half.
Ha whipped in a cross immediately. Tomás rose to meet it—only for the ball to crash back off the crossbar.
Ha Sunmoon’s whip-like crosses were already difficult for second-division centre-backs to read, and the ball kept finding Tomás. Each delivery carried vicious pace and dipped at the last moment.
Why hasn’t Listen been saying anything?
Ha Sunmoon felt slightly thrown by Harrison’s silence.
Is he telling me to figure it out myself? That they’re not that dangerous? Then what should I do?
In the brief moment after his overlapping run, Ha Sunmoon’s mind raced. He remembered Pep Guardiola’s words.
Keep your head up and constantly scan your surroundings.
He lifted his head and swept his gaze across the pitch. It wasn’t as fast as Harrison’s assessment, but seeing it with his own eyes let him adjust. Vargas, who had pushed inside from the left wing, was completely unmarked. The Albacete defenders, still wary of Ha’s earlier crosses, had overloaded the side where Tomás was.
In that case… let’s change it up from before.
Ha drove forward again, deeper this time. He spotted one clear lane and took it.
He cut the ball back.
The pass flew straight to Vargas. The Albacete centre-back who had been watching the space sprinted over, but he was too late.
Vargas met the cut-back a half-step quicker and steered it into the near post. The net bulged.
“Vargas! He scores against Albacete!”
“Setting that aside, if you’re not going to talk to me during the match, at least give me a heads-up beforehand,” Ha Sunmoon grumbled. He was still a little annoyed that Harrison had stayed silent throughout the game.
“Still, you should tell me in advance. I got confused for a second out there.”
Harrison didn’t seem inclined to apologize.
“That’s not the point! Before, we always agreed on what to do from the same position. Today you just left me to it without any guidance…”
I have to prepare him for the possibility that I might disappear one day.
But Harrison knew saying that outright might depress the boy, especially with the family issues still unresolved. So he deflected.
“No, it’s not. This is about trust.”
“Whatever. You still treat me like a kid.”
Ha Sunmoon, who had been sulking, had to agree. Facing a mid-table Segunda team hadn’t felt particularly challenging.
“Ambitious?”
“True, but…”
Ha Sunmoon couldn’t quite follow where Harrison was going. When he looked at his mentor with a slightly confused expression, Harrison grinned.
“You want a second-division team to target the cup?”
“Hmm…”
Think big. Harrison’s whisper lingered in his ear. Yet Ha Sunmoon gave a surprisingly mature reply.
“That sounds like something the manager should decide. I’m just going to focus on the next match.”
“I’m planning to play in nearly every match this season anyway. If I perform well in all of them, couldn’t we achieve both?”
“If we can do this to Albacete, we should think bigger.”
Manager Abelardo sat in his office, satisfied with the result, already sketching out the rest of the season. He divided upcoming opponents by their previous season’s records and planned to face each with slightly superior firepower—provided there were no major injuries.
“But… football is unpredictable. Shouldn’t we take it one step at a time?” Assistant coach David interjected cautiously.
“No, David! Our best eleven is incredibly strong right now. There’s no team in the second division that can match us. The only sides that might beat us are first-division teams.”
“So what you’re saying is…”
“We go for the cup. Unlike in the top flight, we can send our strongest side into the domestic cups.”
“Promotion has to be the priority.”
“This is how we catch two rabbits at once—promotion and a Europa League spot. That’s the only way this club survives.”
Two rabbits? David thought. What if we end up catching neither…
Despite the convincing opening win, the assistant coach was beginning to worry about the team’s direction.