Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae - Chapter 206



206 – Anti-Football

206

When the match against South Korea was confirmed, French national team coach Jean Blanc had secretly decided on his strategy against South Korea.

He would opt for a pragmatic, results-oriented approach.

The French national team had a representative nickname, “Les Bleus,” which meant blue.

However, this was more of a term of endearment, and when it came to the image of a national team, there was a certain art to it, like Germany’s tank corps or Brazil’s samba football, Italy’s catenaccio.

But art football was only a nickname that applied in Korea or the United States. In Europe, they used the expression “Europe’s Brazil.”

Although the specific name was different, both art football and Europe’s Brazil referred to a team that played beautiful, technical football.

It was no wonder, given that the French national team’s performance, from Michel Platini in 1984 to Zinedine Zidane in 1998, had broken the conventional formula of “individual skills in South America, teamwork in Europe.”

With their beautiful, technical play and high-level passing, they had dominated international competitions, naturally earning the image of a team that played artful, Brazilian-style football.

And once an image was established, it was hard to erase.

Even now, in the late 2030s, France still left people with the impression of “art football” or “Europe’s Brazil” – a team that played beautiful, elegant football.

However, the fact was that the French national team had long deviated from this style.

Who was the ace who had led the French national team for nearly 10 years? It was none other than Kylian Mbappé, the successor to the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry, who had taken the football world by storm with his overwhelming speed.

French football had also become more direct, adapting to Mbappé’s style.

That was 10 years ago.

Of course, they still played technical, elegant football, but that was only natural in modern football. The issue was that their tactical style had become more direct.

The current French national team focused on using physicality to create space, rather than trying to break through narrow spaces with intricate passes. With Mbappé leading the charge, they had a plethora of physically gifted African players, as well as a few technically skilled French players, making it possible for them to achieve a balance that made them a strong team.

As a strong team, France’s basic stance was attacking.

It was obvious that being direct didn’t mean being defensive. A strong team had to be able to break through their opponents’ defenses, so they had to be attacking. Wasn’t Italy’s catenaccio all about defense?

Would the French national team, which was fundamentally attacking, adopt a defensive stance? The coach might call it a pragmatic decision, but from the players’ perspective, it wasn’t exactly music to their ears. Still, it was tolerable.

But would they go so far as to adopt an all-out, ultra-defensive anti-football strategy?

No coach could order that kind of tactic to players from a strong team like France. If this were the American Major League, the players would have already revolted.

It was natural that the French national team coach wouldn’t be that kind of simpleton. France didn’t appoint simpletons as coaches. They needed someone with a bit of flair, like a master tactician.

Unfortunately, Jean Blanc was not a master tactician like Raymond Domenech.

He created a situation where the players had no choice but to follow his instructions, like a wise man.

“You guys must have seen the news, or at least checked SNS, right?”

He utilized the massive national pride trend in France, where the atmosphere was all about breaking Just Fontaine’s record.

“We’re not just fighting for victory, but also to protect the proud record of France, our national team.”

There was nothing to fear for Jean Blanc, who had public opinion on his side.

It’s not about resisting the national pride trend, but riding it. Originally, it’s about embracing the grand national pride.

He pretended to be disappointed and ordered the players to practice “anti-football,” and the players responded with enthusiasm, quickly exchanging glances.

It’s been five years since Joo Ji-tae and Cho Jae-shin entered the European stage.

As strong players representing France, they had met the French national team players many times in European competitions, and those players were terrified of Joo Ji-tae and Cho Jae-shin, regardless of national pride.

* * *

Joo Ji-tae couldn’t help but marvel at the French national team standing in front of him.

“Wow, that’s the French national team! Not the Ugandan national team!”

He thought it was strange that there were more dark-skinned faces than white faces on the Western European team, with an overwhelming ratio of African descent. It was as if they were the French African national team.

Joo Ji-tae wasn’t a racist. In fact, he liked black people. He even had a nickname “Black Tiger” due to his admiration.

When he first joined the team and took a shower, his teammates would say—

“Wow, this guy’s not just got a face, you know?”

“You’re a bad guy, you had to take everything!”

“Damn, those are some strong arms! He’s a total Black Tiger!”

—And that’s how he got his proud nickname “Black Tiger.”

Cho Jae-shin was also incredibly skilled, making it hard to compare the two. When they were young, they would argue over who was better, but the winner was unclear. It was like trying to compare apples and oranges, and it was pointless to try.

The French national team, with only two white faces among the starting lineup of 11, and one of them being Algerian, was like a European team without Europeans. As the game began—

“What the…?”

The French team’s defense was like a turtle, and the Korean national team players looked at each other in disbelief. Joo Ji-tae burst out laughing.

“What’s going on? Those guys are scared! Just go! Push forward!”

Joo Ji-tae was the core of the Korean team.

It was a well-known fact that no team could ignore him. Therefore, teams that had faced Korea so far had been wondering how to stop Joo Ji-tae.

Should they put strong pressure on him to block his build-up, or control his surroundings to slow down his pace? Or should they focus on other players to block his entry into dangerous areas?

After Joo Ji-tae emerged as the core of the Korean national team, numerous attempts were made to stop him, and numerous failures led to the accumulation of information.

One thing was certain: trying to control Joo Ji-tae himself was pointless.

Trying to pressure the master of breaking pressure, Joo Ji-tae, would only play into his hands, leading to failure.

The next strategy was to control the passing routes around him, but that was destroyed by Joo Ji-tae’s long passes and quick breaks.

Or should they just let Joo Ji-tae roam free and focus on blocking other players? That also failed.

Despite numerous failures, people always find a way.

From noble mtl dot come

French coach Jean Blanc, unlike astrologer Raymond Domenech, was a data-driven believer in reason and logic. He analyzed the numerous failures of teams that had faced Joo Ji-tae and found the answer.

“The best way to stop that guy is this!”

The conclusion he reached was unfortunate: anti-football.

Of course, it wasn’t just about rough, all-out defense. Jean Blanc wasn’t that foolish.

“The key to blocking Joo Ji-tae is space and forward pressure. We need to thoroughly block his space to create opportunities and threaten his rear to prevent him from moving forward.”

It’s a condition that’s hard to fulfill, even if you know it.

It’s easy to say, but it’s difficult to put into practice.

Modern soccer is ultimately about controlling space and pressure, and controlling space means having a perfect tactic.

Naturally, it’s impossible.

It’s unrealistic. That’s why Jean Blanc gave up on attacking boldly. If you can’t control the entire ground, you should at least control half of it thoroughly.

Next, you need to prevent the opponent’s striker from getting past you.

If all else fails, you can directly go up and create space that doesn’t exist with your unique dribbling skills, which is the best way to counterattack.

This is also realistically difficult.

It’s hard for a defensive team to pose a threat from the back, especially when facing a player like Joo Ji-tae, who is known for his extraordinary physical abilities and future-seeing judgment.

But France could do it.

Their attackers, who excel in direct attacks with overwhelming speed and competitiveness, could do it.

It was a historic moment when France, along with one exception, brought down the entire team in the World Cup semifinals, a moment that will be remembered as “anti-football”.