South Korea’s first Olympic group stage match went a bit sluggish after the opening goal.
From the goalkeeper’s perspective, it also felt like the game was at a standstill.
“One goal and ten back···.”
Coach Choi’s tactics run counter to the trend of the times. One goal is not a safe score, but Coach Choi thinks one goal is enough.
We played tight defense throughout the second half to solidify this game, and to be honest, it was effective.
“I’ll handle it!”
I safely disposed of the deflected shot as if I was disposing of an explosive.
The American players were in a hurry.
I was suffocating in the face of Korea’s defensive wall that was so tight that it was becoming too narrow.
But if I pull up the line too much, I can’t do that because I can quickly and accurately kick the ball forward and initiate a counterattack.
The US has already done this several times and almost conceded an additional goal, but they have learned from that and are not going all-out on the offensive now.
The game continued like that.
By now, the audience was starting to get bored, so the referee looked at his watch and put the whistle to his lips. And then…
Beep- beep- beep-!
Game over.
Korea officially won the first match.
Most of my teammates, exhausted from running around for 90 minutes, fell to the ground with the whistle, and I too sighed and swallowed.
‘It’s not easy.’
It was a tough match as expected, but we managed to get 3 points. The first step towards Korea’s advancement to the tournament is, for now, a green light!
“Kim. Let’s exchange uniforms.”
And then it was Taylor Nielsen who approached me.
I asked in bewilderment.
“Me? We’re on the same team, right?”
“If not now, then when else would you receive a teammate’s uniform? And a national team uniform at that.”
“Well, if that’s what you say···.”
I took off my gloves and my uniform and handed it to him. Taylor Nielsen followed suit and took off his uniform and handed it to him.
For a moment, I was about to say, “I don’t need Nielsen!” in a playful mood, but I stopped myself because I was afraid I’d get seriously hurt.
Even if it was just Toyhert, I would have joked around with it right away, Kabi.
“As expected, our Minwoo. Keu.”
As we walked towards the bench, Yoo Jin-ho smiled and raised his fists as if he had been waiting for us. I smiled and replied, reminded of the last Asian Cup.
“Banana milk!”
“Hehe. Can you find banana milk in France too?”
“If you don’t mind, could you buy me some cream buns too?”
“Oh, what’s the matter? If I could, I’d give you a ride on my horse too!”
“oh?”
When Lee Chae was about to appear, Yoo Jin-ho quickly waved his hand.
“I have bad joints. No.”
“Then what about the fisherman?”
“I can do that much, but…”
“Okay. Can I have some water?”
Eugene Ho laughed and handed me a water jug. It was cool cold water. As I drank it, I felt my fatigue go away a little.
‘By the way, the next match is against France, right? Damn it.’
I have a feeling it’s going to happen.
A match that will be the biggest trial of my football life.
‘If I go up against Taylor Nielsen and then Mbappe, I’m sure I’ll get this.’
Well, I guess I’ll try my best.
The Mbappe I’m dealing with now is not the Mbappe of the national team with all three gods, but the Mbappe of the national team by age group.
I have to be alert because my teammates around me won’t be able to keep up with Mbappe’s level, and if our defense does a little better, I’m sure we’ll be able to beat him.
‘I kept a clean sheet against Dortmund too. Don’t be too discouraged. You can do it.’
And then I went into the locker room.
The atmosphere inside the national team locker room was festive.
“Keep your momentum going, Minwoo! Let’s stop Mbappe too!”
The captain shouted. I nodded and answered.
“It’s possible if you guys help me.”
“Ohhh!”
“Okay! That’s it!”
There’s no need to be pessimistic. You just don’t know until you experience it.
*
After the game victory, we met with Korean and foreign reporters in the mixed zone and conducted brief interviews.
Of course, most of the mics were mine, shamefully.
“You won the first match against the United States 1-0. Kim Min-woo’s performance was outstanding. The next match is against the host country France. Do you think you can keep a clean sheet in the next match as well?”
I’ve been asked these questions countless times before, but I answered them as if it were my first time. Skillfully.
“The team atmosphere is good, our organization is improving a lot, and if we play against France in our current situation, I think we can get better results than expected.”
“Then no runs···”
“Yes, I think I can do it.”
I corrected my words.
“I will definitely do it.”
“France’s wildcards are Mbappe, Griezmann, and Coman. It will be Kim Min-woo’s first time playing against such world-class players. How do you feel?”
“Uh …
And this time it was the foreign press. To be exact, the French press. They asked me questions in French with confident expressions.
Then, when he saw that I didn’t seem to understand, he made a slightly puzzled expression and asked me in English.
The gist of the question was, would you dare to stop the French national team? He didn’t say it out loud, but the gist of the question was clear.
‘These annoying little bastards.’
I guess I’ll have to answer annoying questions in an annoying way.
He thought about it for a moment and then opened his mouth in a calm tone.
“Mbappe is a striker representing Ligue 1, and I am a goalkeeper playing in the Bundesliga, so we will know for sure in the next game. Which league is better? … Thank you.”
He finished the interview hastily and ran away.
And then the thought occurred to me that I should just put a stop to these damn Europeans.
Well, it’s true that they are a strong contender and we would be at a huge disadvantage if we were placed next to France, but they are rude.
‘The fighting power has definitely increased.’
Should I say that defense power increases in this case?
Anyway, I need to teach France some manners.
*
And we entered special training ahead of the second match against France.
“The coach always says that. He is a realist. You guys are really good, but France is way beyond the sky. So the tactics we will use against France are actually set…”
To summarize Coach Choi’s long story, he meant to lock up the second game.
As shown in the second half of the US game, they only play defense aiming for a draw, but then counterattack when the opportunity arises.
If you score a goal, it’s even better, so you keep it locked up tight, and even if you don’t, it’s still good because you’re scoring a goal against France.
‘When I just heard the explanation, it was just Mourinho’s Chelsea ten-back?’
It doesn’t seem similar, it just seems to have been borrowed.
“You may not like this extreme defensive tactic! But what I’m saying is that we have nothing better to do against France!”
I crossed my arms and listened quietly.
Listening to Coach Choi’s words, the thought that came to mind was that the current French national team has the attacking power to score even if it means breaking the window of a stopped bus.
It was possible because all three wildcards were on the attack side.
But anyway, Coach Choi made his decision, and we started practicing extreme defensive tactics in preparation for the match against France.
It was a flat version based on Coach Choi’s Plan A tactics.
‘The defensive wall is definitely formidable. Even Mbappe would be suffocated by this.’
But if there’s one thing to worry about, it’s the chaotic goal in a premarital situation.
It would be a disaster if a teammate got in my way and I scored a goal. Hmm…
While we were busy with tactical training to prepare for France, I picked up my phone during dinner and checked the news related to Hanover.
It was a German article. Now that my German reading and speaking skills have improved to a fairly decent level, I read the Hanover news carefully.
“Hannover’s pre-season performance is unusual?”
《Hannover, who miraculously won the second division and advanced to the first division, has been moving wildly in the recent transfer market. There are currently six players who are linked to Hannover. The most common position is midfielder, followed by defender, and lastly, second striker Wright Walker, who had a great time last season, is also said to be moving to Hannover······.》
“Good news.”
It seems like the owner of Hannover is spending some money now that they’ve been promoted to the first division. Of course, there are countless teams that return to the second division right after being promoted to the first division, so he probably wants to stay in the first division like a kingpin.
If you stay in the first division, the money you receive will be different from the second division.
‘By the way, there are six?’
I don’t think he’ll undergo that much major surgery. I’d guess he’ll only see three or four of them.
After checking the news further, I found an article related to Ron Robert Ziller.
The news was that Chiller would eventually leave the team. His new destination was Augsburg.
The club name is reminiscent of a general from ancient Rome, but it was actually a club in the Bundesliga 1st division.
‘Wait a minute. Are you serious about wanting to fight me?’
If you read the original article, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be a sub. In order to put a goalkeeper like Chiller in as a sub goalkeeper, you have to be at least as good as Liverpool, which was previously linked.
However, Augsburg is a team that was expected to be in the lower-middle tier last season, the season before that, and this season as well.
‘That team was the team that Jin Dong-won and Gu Ji-cheol belonged to, right?’
A club that always maintains a ranking near the relegation zone but never gets relegated.
Chiller’s choice was a transfer to the Bundesliga 1st division.
It wasn’t just Corsic that I changed.
It seems that Chiller also received a lot of stimulation during the twilight of his career.
‘It’ll be fun to go back to the league.’
There were so many teams and players that came to mind right away. Harry Kane. Kim Min-je. The rematch with Dortmund. And the match against Chiller.
“It’s fun···.”
“what?”
It was Lee Kang-im. Lee Kang-im was passing by and looking at me.
“Oh, I just thought the next game would be fun.”
“Oh. What’s that German article? It’s elite!”
Lee Kang-im teased me without paying any attention.
I had just finished eating, so I quickly got up from my seat.
*
During my break time, I absentmindedly looked at the situation of other groups on my cell phone.
The situation in other groups was generally going as planned.
Group B was won by Spain.
Group C was won by Brazil.
Group D was won by Argentina.
What’s a bit surprising is that Japan is also off to a good start, having won one game. Well, it’s because their opponent is New Zealand…
‘By the way, if I advance to the tournament, I might be able to compete with Messi. Wow.’
Lionel Messi left Europe and settled in the United States.
But still, the form was world-class.
Even now, if you go to places like the EPL or La Liga, you’ll probably get chewed out.
But even such players are now showing that they are truly enjoying soccer, following the flow of the times. Messi has achieved everything he could.
Having won all the international competitions and only one competition left, the World Cup, Messi has now become nothing more than a soccer legend.
‘If I get a chance to fight with Messi…’
That would be truly an honor.
Messi is approaching retirement age, so if they do face each other this will probably be their first and last match.
“If that happens, I have to take the uniform no matter what.”
***
And the French national team, just a few hours before their match against Korea.
National team coach Thierry Henry and captain Kylian Mbappe were interviewed before the match.
Some of the reporters present at the press conference were French reporters who had previously interviewed Kim Min-woo, and they were quite indignant at Kim Min-woo’s interview attitude.
“I have a question for Mbappe! The Korean goalkeeper Kim has not conceded a single goal since his debut and is currently receiving a lot of attention in Europe. Do you think the French national team will score and win against Korea?”
“I know that player well.”
Mbappe opened his mouth like that. And.
“It hasn’t even been a year since his debut, he’s a goalkeeper playing in the German 2nd division, and I’ve heard he’s kept a clean sheet in every game. I can’t predict the outcome of the game, but the reason a Korean goalkeeper has kept a clean sheet since his debut is because he hasn’t faced me yet.”
Mbappe spoke with a grin.
Then the reporters burst into laughter.
Thierry Henry, who was standing next to him, added with a satisfied smile.
“He is a great goalkeeper, but when he meets our team, Kim will learn the ‘bittersweetness’ of life. I hope he takes it sweetly, as it will be a good experience for a young goalkeeper. Haha.”
Only then did the reporters nod with satisfied expressions. This was exactly what they had hoped for.
“So Mbappe and the French national team will teach Kim some life lessons?”
“I will tell you enough so that you won’t be left wanting.”
Another burst of laughter.
This time, a foreign correspondent from a third party position raises his hand.
He didn’t laugh, because he was a German journalist who had been observing Kim from close range for a long time.
End
ⓒ Doctor Am
