The Trap Is Set
Clive chuckled. “Heh heh heh.” What, you like that? That much?
Harrison asked as soon as he saw Ha Sunmoon grinning from ear to ear.
“Of course! I just showed everyone what I can really do on the pitch again.”
No more regrets about all the hard times you went through?
“Of course not! Though I do wonder sometimes why I struggled so much with dribbling when it was this easy to break through…”
This is English football!
“Isn’t English football just about booting it long from the back and letting the forwards run around?”
Hmm… hmm… No! You’re a winger too. Whether it’s left wing or left-back, the way you play isn’t all that different, is it? Back in my day, if a defender played like you, he would’ve been cursed out nonstop. It’s only possible now. No clear distinction anymore.
Ha Sunmoon nodded at Harrison’s words.
“But there’s still something that worries me.”
What is it?
“I still want to play with that technical flair like a Brazilian player… What if I keep being unable to do it?”
Ah! That should come naturally once you stop growing taller. The real issue is that you used to drop your center of gravity and crouch really well, but now you might need to change your style a bit. Since you’ve grown so much, it might be good to think up an entirely new kind of dribbling.
“Hmm…”
Enough! No more worrying! Just rest well, train properly, and focus on the next match! Right now, most players can’t even stop you when you’re just running in a straight line. By now, the other Segunda teams and even Barcelona must be sweating bullets trying to figure out how to contain you.
“Then shouldn’t I be preparing something too?”
Why would you prepare anything? That’s for the manager and coaches to rack their brains over. What more could you possibly do from here?
At Harrison’s words, Ha Sunmoon scratched his head.
“I guess you’re right.”
Exactly. Rest well. Eat well. Training and maintaining your body is the best thing you can do right now. You worked hard today.
With that, Ha Sunmoon drifted off to sleep.
Before the Copa del Rey final, the Espanyol players were called in for a team meeting. Since winning the cup was crucial, the players gathered with burning ambition and began listening to the conclusion that manager Abelardo and first-team coach David had reached after putting their heads together.
“Switching to a 4-4-2 formation might have been for exactly this moment. Barcelona is still a powerful side, but they’ve struggled to show their best against a two-line 4-4-2 defense. A tight, Atletico Madrid-style zonal defense is that solid.”
Manager Abelardo projected the 4-4-2 formation onto the tactics board.
“The key is defense! We attack only without conceding. We’ll rely almost entirely on counterattacks after an extremely defensive setup. The attack will be handled by just these four: Puado, Tomás, Vargas, and H. Even if those four push forward, the rest shouldn’t follow them up. Instead, close the space behind them and prepare for the turnover when Barcelona regains possession and attacks.”
It was an extreme tactic, but the players who felt this was the answer nodded in agreement.
“And here are the players I plan to start!”
Manager Abelardo showed the provisional starting lineup.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Huh? Why is the lineup like this?
A few players looked just as stunned as Harrison when they saw the starting lineup.
“I know it might be a little hard to accept. But this is my best eleven. We’ve been preparing it for a while, but we couldn’t use it right away. The reason I’m using these players today is simple. To break down the opponent’s meticulous preparation. Aside from the four I mentioned earlier, everyone else has defensive roles anyway, so just focus on that. Understood?”
“Yes, understood.”
The players were a bit flustered, but they nodded at the manager’s words. A few who had been suddenly dropped from the starting lineup looked unhappy, but the senior players, led by Tomás, quickly began comforting them.
“What about us?”
What do you mean, what about you… You need to figure out what kind of play suits you best. You have both feet, but the style of each foot is different.
“The Copa del Rey final is finally upon us.”
“At last! It’s the final!”
The host of the Spanish football program began talking about the Copa del Rey match that would take place in a few hours. One of the panelists, journalist Jimenez, wore an expression that said this was going to be fun, while the other panelist, Valdés, looked like the moment he had been dreading had finally arrived.
“Hahaha. You can all see how priceless Valdés’s face is right now, can’t you?”
“I have no choice but to choose my words carefully, hahaha.”
The Copa del Rey final featured Barcelona and Espanyol. As a Barcelona native, Valdés couldn’t help but be nervous. If the opponent had been an ordinary second-division team, he would have said it was an easy win. But the opponent was Espanyol—the team that had beaten Barcelona at home last season. On top of that, it was a local derby, so the outcome was anyone’s guess.
“This time! Do you think Barcelona can beat Espanyol, Valdés?”
“Ah… There are quite a few things to consider.”
Before the host could even ask, journalist Jimenez spoke to Valdés in a slightly teasing tone, and Valdés kept his reply short.
“I think Barcelona will win, but it looks like you don’t have much confidence in that prediction?”
“Jimenez, you really have a wicked tongue. I can’t just say whatever I want.”
“There’s plenty of possibility, isn’t there? Espanyol lost their key player Lopez while in the second division. Plus, their recent form in La Liga 2 hasn’t been great…”
Jimenez listed off Espanyol’s negative points to Valdés, but Valdés waited more calmly.
“You’re trying to make me get cursed out from both sides, but I won’t fall for it.”
With a look that said he wouldn’t be swayed, Valdés stared at Jimenez and began explaining his real reasons.
“There are several factors we have to consider in this match. For three reasons, I can’t be optimistic about Barcelona.”
“Three whole reasons?”
“First, tactics. Right now in La Liga, Atletico Madrid’s 4-4-2 is unrivaled. Even the top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona are barely managing to break it down. And Espanyol has changed from a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 to a 4-4-2. They’re using exactly that Atletico tactic.”
“So it’s tactically hard to break down?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Second is the fact that it’s a local derby. Both sets of players are bound to get rough, and unfortunately that kind of physical game tends to work against Barcelona. Their fluid tactics based on short passes eventually struggle against strong tackles. Just like how Espanyol won the last match with rough play.”
“Our La Liga referees do tend to be a bit lenient with rough challenges in derby games.”
“And the third and most important reason is H. The young Korean player. By now, anyone who watches La Liga knows who he is. Even though Espanyol let go of Lopez, their long-time player and captain, they absolutely refused to let this kid go. There’s a reason for that.”
“That’s true. He went through a bit of a slump, but he showed signs of revival in the previous Copa del Rey semi-final.”
“Because he’s still growing, it looked like his balance had collapsed as he shot up in height. It’s something that happens frequently with youth players. But who could have imagined he would overcome those weaknesses in just a month and come back with an entirely new look?”
“I completely agree with that point. He used to focus heavily on Brazilian-style dribbling and individual skill, but suddenly he’s playing this straight-line style based on incredible speed. I never saw that coming.”
Jimenez jumped in while listening to Valdés’s explanation.
“That’s talent for you. There are so many players who fall apart after a slump, but to overcome it in a completely different style in just a month… It’s truly astonishing. If he had kept showing that loss of balance like in the previous league games, I would have naturally said Barcelona would win. But that young player has come back. We have to think about how to stop him.”
“Do you think Barcelona can stop him?”
“Hmm… Barcelona’s right-backs are Roberto and Dest right now, but honestly I’m not sure we can trust either of them. Dembele on the right wing isn’t exactly the type to help out defensively… They’ll have to coordinate well with the center-backs. Still, since it’s a derby, I’m sure Barcelona will come thoroughly prepared.”
“What do you think about this match, Jimenez? Do you still see it as Barcelona’s advantage?”
“Yes. But I think it’s going to be an incredible slugfest, so it should be very entertaining.”
Then a new piece of information came in, and the host checked it.
“Ah! The lineups have just been released. And apparently there’s something quite unusual?”
The screen showed the lineups for Espanyol and Barcelona. The three of them stared intently at the list and suddenly froze.
“Pedrosa, Villa, and Ha Sunmoon are all starting together…”
“Gomez! Gomez isn’t in the lineup.”
“So Pedrosa at left wing. Villa at left-back… and H at right-back. Espanyol really used their heads on this one.”
“Then the one who has to stop H isn’t the right-back, but the left-back? Barcelona’s left-back is…”
“Alba. It’s Alba…”
When Valdés realized that Ha Sunmoon was starting at right-back and that the man tasked with stopping him was Alba, his face hardened.
“Can Alba stop H?”
“You’re asking a full-back in his thirties to stop a teenage full-back whose greatest weapon is his explosive pace? Impossible… It’s impossible.”