The Ground Ball That Sealed It
The Copa del Rey final was held at Sevilla’s home ground, the stadium of Europe’s top team. Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla was packed with fans from both Barcelona and Espanyol. The previous clashes had been fierce, so the supporters were still fired up; police and stewards formed lines to keep the two groups apart.
“Atmosphere is lively,” Raúl de Tomás said as he approached Ha Sunmoon before kickoff. “Sunmoon, you agree with David’s analysis too?”
“Well, Sociedad and Barcelona are different. Trying something like this once doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
“Then let’s do it properly. I’ll make sure to run hard as well.”
Ha Sunmoon nodded. Once both sides took their positions, the match began.
Piiiiiiiiiiip!
The players started moving the moment the whistle blew.
[They’ve got something up their sleeve, Abelardo and David. You can feel it—the opponents look unsettled.]
Harrison watched the Barcelona players and felt quite satisfied with the current situation. In particular, left-back Jordi Alba appeared tense; the role that had previously been shared with the right-back had suddenly been handed entirely to him.
[The opponent is the same as before. 4-1-4-1. Let’s smash them like last time!]
Ha Sunmoon nodded at Harrison’s words and began to move.
“Espanyol have used their heads. They used to shake things up on the left with Vargas and Ha, but now they’ve shifted both to the right. The question is whether the pair can cause the same problems from this side.”
“We were surprised when we saw the team sheet too. What kind of effect are they hoping for?”
“By placing Pedrosa as left winger and Villa as left-back, they’ve prioritized defensive solidity over attacking intent. It looks like they’re building a more compact defensive setup based on the 4-4-2 to counter Barcelona’s attack.”
“Given the quality of Barcelona’s attacking options—Messi, Griezmann, Dembélé—and the midfield trio of Pedri, Busquets, and de Jong, a defensive approach was probably necessary.”
The Korean commentary reminded viewers of Barcelona’s overwhelming squad depth.
“The players are certainly dominant. So what advantages does Espanyol, with Ha Sunmoon in their ranks, actually have?”
“The biggest advantage is that Barcelona are an excellent but extremely busy team. They played a league match just three days ago, another league match a week before that, and a Champions League game three days ago. They’ve got another match in three days as well.”
“So there’s bound to be a physical toll.”
“Exactly. The key will be how well Alba can hold up.”
“If fatigue is an issue, couldn’t they just use another left-back?”
“They brought in Firpo from Betis as backup, but Alba is superior in both attack and defense. If they want to stop Ha Sunmoon technically, they probably have no choice but to rely on him.”
“Ha! He surges forward aggressively! Alba immediately cuts off the lane, and Vargas is marked by Pedri.”
[Good! Let’s shake up their left-back!]
As Ha Sunmoon prepared to dribble, Alba positioned himself to block the path.
‘He’s underestimating me.’
Tatatak—
Ha! He sprints straight at him! Alba closes in immediately.
[He’s stuck to you! Hold your ground!]
Alba grabbed Ha first, but Ha kept running. The two players jostled and shoved each other along the touchline.
[If it’s a battle of strength, we’ve got the edge! Push!]
In the decisive moment, Ha Sunmoon succeeded in shoving Alba aside with raw power. Then he crossed.
Thwack!
“Ha’s cross! But Piqué clears it! Piqué immediately passes to Busquets!”
[His right-footed crosses aren’t sharp enough to get through… Get back! If the opponent exploits the space you left behind, we’re in trouble!]
Ha Sunmoon immediately sprinted back into position.
Busquets quickly finds Griezmann on the right wing. Griezmann shoots toward goal at once. It whistles just wide!
Judging that they needed to strike before Espanyol could settle into their compact shape, Busquets picked out the best passing option, but Griezmann’s curling effort skimmed the top of the crossbar.
[Hmm? Has their style changed?]
Watching from above, Harrison sensed something different about Barcelona’s usual approach.
“Ha! He’s going forward again! Ha clashes with Alba once more!”
Tatatatatak! Chichichichik!
“Ugh!”
Piiiiip!
Ha Sunmoon went down after Alba’s tackle.
“Huff… huff…”
Unlike Barcelona’s varied attacking patterns, Espanyol’s attacks were concentrated almost entirely on the right. As a result, Espanyol’s overall stamina began to drop, but it was Alba and Pedri who looked particularly exhausted. The two grew visibly tired as the half wore on.
[Sunmoon! We’ve got them!]
Harrison approached Ha Sunmoon while the latter checked his feet.
[We’ll tear them apart in the second half. Let’s change the plan!]
‘Huh?’
Ha Sunmoon didn’t quite follow.
[The opponents are already low on energy. Especially that left-back marking you—he’s trying too hard to win every duel. Don’t fight him head-on. Just keep engaging him physically. He’ll collapse. Let’s drain their stamina for the rest of the first half and finish them off after the break.]
Ha Sunmoon gave a small nod of agreement.
Piiiiip!
After a quick free kick, Ha Sunmoon prepared to attack again.
[Let’s just chip away at their stamina.]
Ha Sunmoon sprinted once more. Alba matched him stride for stride and stuck close.
“Ha! He tries the right side again, but it doesn’t come off. He lays it off to Vargas and drops back!”
Seemingly pointless attacks and retreats repeated until the first half ended.
“The first half of the Copa del Rey final between Espanyol and Barcelona has just ended. We’re seeing developments no one expected.”
“Indeed. Surprisingly, possession stands at 45-55. Espanyol don’t look like they’re being dominated by Barcelona at all. However, neither side has been able to create clear-cut chances, so the game remains tense and frustrating.”
“For Espanyol, Ha Sunmoon hasn’t been able to get past Alba easily. I suppose that’s to be expected from a veteran full-back.”
“That seems to be the case. Especially from the twentieth minute onward, Ha has often turned back after duels, almost as if his patterns were being read. I hope he can find a way through.”
. . .
[The chance has come!]
75th minute of the second half. After the prolonged stalemate, most Barcelona players were visibly fatigued. A compact defensive block also drains stamina, but breaking it down requires even more. As the clock ticked toward the 80th minute, the starting players were running on empty, yet neither manager dared make changes while the score remained level.
“We’re approaching the 80th minute and neither side has scored yet! Both teams are showing extreme concentration, but at this stage of the game the side that makes a mistake will lose.”
[Their left-back is already wobbling. It’s over once we knock him down. Just hang in there a little longer.]
Ha Sunmoon had already completed twenty-five sprints and covered twelve kilometers. His own legs were heavy, but the player tasked with stopping him—Alba—was on the verge of collapse. Koeman, sensing it was time to substitute, tried to bring on Firpo, but the decision came a moment too late.
“Ha! He knocks on the right side once more. Alba steps up to defend again!”
Tap!
Tatatatatak!
“Krrrrgh!”
After countless attempts, the path finally opened. Alba could no longer contain Ha Sunmoon, and the young full-back burst clear down the right.
“Ha! Ha has finally beaten Alba! He keeps driving forward!”
[Don’t just cross! Pick the best option! Puado is marked—Tomás is making the run! Their defense is stretched!]
Ha Sunmoon recalled the most effective delivery he had produced from the right: a low, driven cross that almost resembled a shot. He spotted the gap between Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen and center-back Piqué.
Thump!
Whoosh—!
[Yes! That’s it! Perfect!]
The ball skidded across the turf at high speed. Ter Stegen stretched out a hand and Piqué lunged with a foot, but it was Raúl de Tomás who got the decisive touch after sliding in.
Thud!
Swish~!
[Beautiful!]
“Yes!”
“Tomás!!! Ha Sunmoon’s cross is turned in by Tomás! Espanyol are almost at the summit! They’ve delivered a crushing blow to Koeman’s Barcelona!”