This year’s U23 national team had only a very small number of overseas players, including me. Just three people in total.
Even among them, if you count only Europeans, I was the only one, the other two were players with nationalities in Japan and the United States.
What about the rest?
Of course, they are all members of the K-League.
I watched the game after the dangerous first half. Just like the first game, the players in the second game were, well, what should I say.
‘If I had to compare it to the league I play in… it would be like watching Osnabrück.’
Osnabrück were the last team to be relegated. Their Hannover colleagues called them the ‘disaster relief team’.
Although they clearly belong to the second division, they are nicknamed because they give 3 points to every team they meet due to their terrible performance.
‘If you’re going to take care of Kleinsgel, why don’t you leave a few more Europeans behind? You’re going to take everyone except me… Ugh.’
I don’t think this performance is due to the poor skills of the K-League players. Even if they only play in the K-League 1st Division, they are the best talents in Korea.
Perhaps, this kind of performance is inevitable because the period of the manager’s appointment was extremely short.
There are countless examples of this in the past national teams. The coaches who took charge of the 14th and 18th World Cups were also short-serving and suffered defeats due to their lack of performance.
‘If I had gone to the Asian Cup in January, Klinsgel might have survived, but Yoo Jin-ho and Choi Yong-seok would have been finished.’
He probably won’t be able to play for the national team again. Yoo Jin-ho will probably return to Suyang High School.
“Woooo-!”
Korean fans who came to the stadium cheered. Korea, who had overcome the crisis in the early part, was frustrated but was continuing to attack.
At the center of it all was striker and former Sangmu player Cho Young-woo. I smiled as I looked at the front line actively developing the attack.
‘I can even designate a running mate for the national team. It’s only for about a month at most, but that’s okay.’
I chose Cho Young-woo as my running mate for the national team. Since I had two instances where I had chosen an attacker and a defender as my running mate, the choice was easier.
‘The striker is definitely better.’
I block and my running mate scores. This formula worked best for me. I was thinking about designating him as a midfielder, but I didn’t want to experiment in a tournament.
This isn’t a place to gain experience.
***
75:25.
Eugene Ho thought while wiping his lips with his tongue.
It’s 75:25.
After we overcome three crises, we get one chance to attack. So it’s 75:25.
‘This performance is fucking terrible. Oh my.’
I don’t know how lucky I am that I’m not the manager. If I had watched this desperate performance from the manager’s perspective, I would have been so sick that I would have collapsed before halftime.
Yoo Jin-ho had only been a high school soccer coach for his entire coaching career, so he had a hard time judging Choi Yong-seok’s tactics, but no matter how he looked at it, he thought that this wasn’t right.
‘No matter how you look at it, Uzbekistan is stronger than us right now. But why are you using this tactic?’
Korea, which had lost many overseas players, was clearly pushed back by Uzbekistan. However, coach Choi Yong-seok was playing the game with a three-top tactic, 3-4-3, which maximizes pressure and mobility.
‘But because you’re from 2002?’
I know Guus Hiddink used this tactic a lot during the World Cup.
I also know that coach Choi Yong-seok had a lot of fun with this tactic during his time at Gangwon.
but······.
‘Looking at the way it’s going back, no matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem right.’
As expected from a tactic that utilizes the flanks, they are facing Uzbekistan with a lot of activity, but since it is a tactic that places too much of a strain on physical strength, there was concern that it would spread later.
Even in the first half, when the team should be at its most combative, signs of creaking and creaking are already appearing.
Besides that, there were many other reasons why this tactic should not be adopted, but Eugene Ho could not dare to be the first to suggest changing the tactic.
In any case, Yoo Jin-ho was not someone Choi Yong-seok wanted to recruit, but rather a parachute given to him by the managing director.
‘Hiya. Is this how Taeho and Hyunwoo felt?’
Suddenly, I think of the coaches from my Suyang High School days. The coaches who would look at me when I got angry and made a face. Now that I am in their shoes, I wish I had treated them better back then.
“oh my.”
And then Uzbekistan’s counterattack begins. My eyebrows naturally furrow. As Korea took advantage of the flanks, Uzbekistan simply broke through to the center and made a frontal breakthrough.
Meanwhile, Lee Jin-seop is getting pierced again. I have a feeling that even if I set up Go Young-jun, he would be better than him. Did he get food poisoning or something?
‘Minwoo. I believe you.’
Eugene Ho swallowed and looked at Minwoo Kim. Alisher, number 22 of Uzbekistan, was running towards Jinseop Lee, wearing him like an accessory.
In what was almost a one-on-one situation, Alisher stepped back with his right foot.
Boohoo-!
I kicked it with all my might.
And Kim Min-woo’s clean save.
Eugene Ho nodded after wiping his nose with his thumb and index finger.
“You little bastard. You ate some German food and now you’ve come back as a monster.”
Did you get any one-on-one teaching from Oliver Kahn? How can you block it so cleanly?
A perfect defense without even a hint of anxiety.
Director Choi Yong-seok also seemed slightly surprised and sighed in relief.
‘Well, how easy would it be to block shots from a kid playing in the Uzbek league after blocking shots from German kids?’
There is nothing to fear as the Bundesliga’s number one goalkeeper will personally be attending the U23 Asian Cup.
Above all, Kim Min-woo, who has experienced many matches of a much higher level than this one, hasn’t conceded a single goal since his professional debut?
It is hard to imagine that such a player would concede his first goal in this remote tournament, to an unknown player from Uzbekistan.
‘Wait a minute. Could it be that Choi Yong-seok is aiming for that?’
Since Kim Min-woo will block everything anyway, I just need to score one goal?
But isn’t that too irresponsible? No matter what, if we just rely on one goalkeeper and abandon the defense, wouldn’t it be a huge burden for Kim Min-woo?
‘If Kim Min-woo’s record of keeping no goals, which is like an achievement, is broken by these tactics…’
Our Minwoo, I think you’ll be really angry?
However, as a mere coach, Eugene Ho was unable to directly participate in the game.
If I were the coach, I would have put some emphasis on defense, but I don’t know. Choi Yong-seok is a dictator, so even if you give him advice, he won’t listen.
“Excuse me, Director.”
“Huh? Why Coach Yoo?”
But we still have a chance to talk to each other.
“How about increasing your defense? Minwoo is blocking well, but if we continue like this, something big will happen.”
Then Choi Yong-seok laughs and shakes his head.
“Okay. We’ll score before they do. Then we can close it. Our goalkeeper is an excellent one, with 16 clean sheets in the Bundesliga, so he’ll hold on.”
“I see. I understand.”
Eugene Ho bowed his head politely and stepped back.
It’s the tragedy of a parachute.
If you express your opinion actively, you might get stamped out by Choi Yong-seok, so it’s right to just state your opinion and then back off.
‘Minwoo. I believe you.’
Minwoo. All I can do for you is literally say, ‘Please do it’. I’m sorry…
Yoo Jin-ho looked at Kim Min-woo with slightly salty eyes. Even though they were far apart, Kim Min-woo’s shoulders looked slumped. Could it be an illusion?
***
Caster Choi Jun-ho and commentator Park Jun-seo were deeply moved watching Kim Min-woo’s first national team debut match by age group.
In particular, commentator Park Jun-seo’s emotional resonance was even greater.
“I once broadcasted a high school competition before Kim Min-woo made his professional debut, and I predicted that he would advance to Europe and become a national team goalkeeper. I never imagined that Kim Min-woo would achieve all of that in less than a year, but he’s really fast.”
“Ah. I remember it clearly. I was there broadcasting at the time.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Even though they were sitting right next to each other and broadcasting together, the two laughed and talked.
In a lull like now, even a little chit-chat is needed to vent your frustrations.
“I expected him to be a great player, but I never thought he would grow this fast. Kim Min-woo is truly amazing. Looking at Hannover’s current performance, they are on the verge of promotion to the first division. If it weren’t for Kim Min-woo’s performance, it would have been absolutely impossible.”
“Ah. It’s exactly like a Jamie Vardy spin-off story. The only difference is that Vardy is about to retire, while Kim Min-woo is just starting his football career.”
“Yes. At the time, Kim Min-woo won all the competitions that Suyang High School participated in, so I have no doubt that Kim Min-woo will win this competition as well.”
“Yes! And here comes Uzbekistan again!”
“We must overcome this crisis! We must save Kim Min-woo’s presence until the very end!”
Uzbekistan goes up after intercepting the ball from South Korea during the build-up. As soon as the commentators saw that, they stopped chatting and focused on the game.
It was a game that had already had numerous crises, and if it had been a goalkeeper other than Kim Min-woo, it wouldn’t have been strange if several goals had already been scored.
“Ah! Yasur’s cutback!”
The opposing midfielder on the flank cuts the ball back to striker Alisher, who is in the penalty box.
Although Lee Jin-seop was blocking his way, Alisher was a player who crumpled Lee Jin-seop’s defense like a piece of paper throughout the game.
And this time, without even trying to block it, he attempted a two-touch curling shot from the spot.
“It’s dangerous-!”
“Ahhhh!”
Kim Min-woo flew away with the screams of the broadcasting crew.
And Kim Min-woo’s save that was a breeze.
“Thank goodness! Kim Min-woo handles it perfectly!”
“Hannover’s Kim Min-woo shows off super saves in his debut match! Alisher raises both arms to his head in disbelief!”
“He’s still in the second division, but he’s a goalkeeper in one of the top five European leagues! He’s Kim Min-woo, who overcame fierce competition to become Hannover’s goalkeeper! He’s not a player that can be taken lightly!”
“Yes, that’s right! There’s a reason why he’s a goalkeeper who’s been highly praised in Europe! Kim Min-woo is a goalkeeper who hasn’t conceded a single goal since his debut!”
“That’s right! He has been that way, he will be that way in this game, and he will be that way in the future!”
The family gathered in front of the TV and watched Kim Min-woo’s defense, applauding and cheering.
Of course I liked Kim Shin-ah, but I laughed at her more than anything else.
“It’s true that my brother is good, but aren’t the commentators going a bit too far? They’re praising him to the point of being uncomfortable.”
“Shina. There is no such thing as too much praise. And when you say something like that, it means that the experts are so good that their eyes pop out.”
Her father said something as if he had just realized something. Shin-ah scratched the bridge of her nose and nodded.
“That’s true······ But originally, excessive sucking tends to create a curse.”
“Huh? Too much? Is that a bad thing? Is that the name of a snack?”
“There is something like that.”
Shin-A quickly looked into the soccer community’s trends. Fortunately, there were no comments saying that the commentators’ commentary was awkward.
All they did was criticize the national team’s performance that was below expectations or praise Kim Min-woo’s overwhelming defensive ability.
“Kim Min-woo is like Park Ji-sung when you watch his recent match. He is consistent even after joining the national team.”
“A kid who becomes better when he wears the Taegeuk mark..”
“Just K-Podolski ㄷㄷ”
“good.”
Public opinion is positive. There’s no need to fight in the comments.
***
The first half ended without much result.
The score is 0:0.
But the atmosphere in the locker room is very gloomy.
The score was tied, but it felt like we were losing 3-0.
‘I can’t say anything because of the atmosphere.’
Originally, I was going to say something to the defenders. But they must have known that their performance was lacking, so they just hung their heads and looked gloomy, so it was hard to say anything to them.
‘Is this it? The first strike method?’
A comedian once appeared on a TV show and introduced such a method.
One way to avoid getting scolded by your parents when you fail a test is to blame yourself before saying anything.
If you blame yourself in front of your parents, they will comfort you when you are heartbroken.
The situation now seemed exactly like that.
“Why is everyone like this? Huh? Is this a funeral home?”
Yoo Jin-ho tries hard to lighten the mood with a bright expression, but, well, it doesn’t seem to work.
In addition, since he is a coach with little authority, he cannot be as assertive as he was at Suyang High School, so his influence is minimal.
“Yeah. Why are you guys so depressed? There’s still half a game left. Everyone, raise your heads.”
And then Choi Yong-seok appeared.
The players forced themselves to raise their heads.
Wipe off the sweat with a towel, drink some water, etc.
“Looking at your expressions, it seems like you all showed a performance that you are not satisfied with. However, there is no need to be discouraged like this. As you know, you guys, the time we have worked together is too short, right? Well? We barely had any training. It’s okay. We are doing well against Uzbekistan.”
The way he spoke was affectionate, but the strong Busan dialect diluted that feeling a lot.
And I looked at Yoo Jin-ho’s expression next to Choi Yong-seok. Looking at Yoo Jin-ho’s expression, I could tell whether Choi Yong-seok was lying or not.
‘Hmm. That’s right.’
Looking at how Yoo Jin-ho’s lips are sticking out, it’s 100% a joke.
When that person doesn’t like something, his lips come out.
Choi Yong-seok must have been frustrated, but since the team atmosphere was at rock bottom, he tried to control the mood by comforting him rather than scolding him.
‘These kids······ were they really after me?’
Of course, I was alone and thinking about something else.
I thought the coach would be extremely angry because the first half was a mess, so he set this kind of atmosphere in advance.
No, right?
Anyway, despite the atmosphere, Choi Yong-seok did what he had to do. He started to fix the many mistakes he had made in the first half.
As soon as the second half started, they took out the ones who were too weak, and they changed the tactics, perhaps because they felt it wasn’t right. They changed the three-top to two-top.
I don’t know if it will make a huge difference, but it’s better than doing nothing.
“And Minwoo?”
“yes.”
Choi Yong-seok looked at me and made a very gentle expression.
“You’re doing very well. Keep doing this for the second half. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Unlike the players who heard many criticisms in a gloomy atmosphere, I received no separate comments.
I nodded silently as if the coaches agreed with me and left the locker room.
Now it’s time to go play the second half.
End
ⓒ Doctor Am
