<Genius and Glory of the Winning Cup (4)>

A position change is a good strategy.

That was the reason that the price of all-rounder players, who can play in different positions, was high. Like the merit that ambipedal players had.

For example, there is a famous player called John O’Shea in Manchester United who could play as a goalkeeper to a defender, as well as a midfielder. The fans called him a man who filled for the other players, and his many different abilities helped his team out when they needed him.

The opponent would be surprised without a doubt if they saw someone they thought was playing in defence suddenly play as a midfielder.

But, for Ho Yung who is strong in offence, to play as a CDM (Center defensive midfielder) was unexpected.

“…. Oh, dear.”

SC Corinthians’ director, Paulino, expressed his dislike. He had thought that Ho Yung would be playing as a striker, and therefore set up a response strategy and trained his defence to match Ho Yung.

“Really.”

Since Ho Yung’s defensive technicalities were advanced, it wasn’t entirely unpredictable for Ho Yung to be used as a defensive midfielder.

It wasn’t too rare to see the three forward attackers going back into the defensive lines.

Germany’s Michael Ballack, who could score goals as well as a striker, would play as a defender depending on the director’s strategies, and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney had played as a defensive midfielder before to act as an airborne link as well.

Even with that, Paulino felt like he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

‘…. they’re going to poke at us like this? That’s cheap.’

In a situation like this, they had to hand Sao Paulo FC the initiative.

Beep!

Corinthians, who had the ball as the match began, passed the ball backwards.

Playing a 4-3-2-1 composition, the two offensive midfielders got into position as they brought up the line. Since this strategy didn’t have wingers, it was on the simple side, but if the players had good teamwork and their force was quick, they had the potential to dominate the match.

This was the driving force that could push SC Corinthians to the League’s number 1 spot from the start of the League.

But Sao Paulo was a formidable force.

Ho Yung and the other midfielders engaged in battle.

If the opposition’s playmaker got the ball, two players would run in and apply pressure.

The key was to force the opposition to use a small part of the field, and if they could interrupt the distribution of the ball to Patu, then the odds would be in their favour.

Thock.

‘It’s rough.’

The midfielder for the Corinthians, Didi, looked back at the defence.

There was no space for the ball, because of the pressure of the attack.

‘If that’s the case.’

Boom!

Didi sent the ball to a defender in the backline.

The defender sent the ball high into the air after receiving it.

Their thought was to solve the problem in the air because the ground was dangerous.

The players on Corinthians were tall, so they would have no trouble with air superiority.

Bap!

The ball stopped at Didi’s feet after passing the halfway line.

Sao Paulo FC’s players applied pressure instantly.

“Ugh!”

There was a rough collision, but Didi was the victor in the battle for the ball. Didi looked outwards to the pitch after escaping the pressure with the ball.

He saw Patu, standing right in front of him.

“Come down and get it!”

Thock.

As he performed a short pass while saying those words, Patu came down and received the ball.

It was the moment right after.

“…!”

As Patu turned slightly to the left, he kicked the ball far, through a small gap, and ran.

Incredible speed.

The space that had been blocked like a highway during a holiday was now completely empty.

Patu’s body had popped out in an instant like a rocket.

It was a situation where you couldn’t stop him even if you knew he was coming.

“Get on him!”

Casemiro ran after him, after reacting late, but all he got was a taste of humiliation. A wide-open pitch was laid out in front of Patu after he got past Casemiro.

All that was left in defence was the goalkeeper who was rushing out.

If it was a beginner they would most likely panic, but for Patu, it was a common situation.

Performing a kick and run, and then scoring a goal in a 1v1 chance.

It was Patu’s trademark.

Slip.

Patu, who had been running with the ball like a leopard, began scanning sharply with his eyes.

He spotted the goalkeeper’s legs, which were spread in an A shape.

‘The middle!’

He put out the inside of his foot concisely.

Swish!

“That’s it!”

“Nice Patu!”

SC Corinthians took the first point.

“…”

There was silence.

The leading goal scored by Patu, which had come within 5 minutes of the start of the match, made the mood of Sao Paulo FC’s side look like a funeral.

Normally, they wouldn’t have been this devastated.

Sao Paulo FC’s kids always focused on combining their spirit and focusing on the match, even when they had conceded the first goal of the match.

But this goal’s meaning was different.

Even though it was an attack plan they had blatantly known about and had practised endlessly to stop this one pattern, they still fell victim to it.

It was enough to drain their energy.

Especially for Ho Yung, who was assigned the role of the backbone of the team, couldn’t help but feel a massive despondence.

‘Can we really stop this?’

He had his doubts.

He was doubtful about his own skill, and if the special training that they had poured blood and sweat into would prevail.

“….Whoo.”

‘It’s alright. We just need to score, and not let them score from now on.’

He barely calmed his mind.

His heart was urgent with knowing the truth of being behind in goals and the pressure of having to win, but he had to endure it.

Thanks to the harsh training they had gone through, their ball distribution in the midfield came together perfectly, so they could have their share of the ball.

If not for the training, they would’ve been thwarted in the 2-3 line and allowed an additional goal to the opponents.

30 minutes into the first half.

“Haa….!”

A sigh came from Ho Yung’s mouth.

He had never been more frustrated in all of his games.

‘I just can’t see any space.’

Their offence was excellent, but Corinthians’ defence was also near perfection.

They made Douglas’s fast legs obsolete by using smart ball stopping and fast pressure, and the fullbacks, who had superior defensive skills, held the space on the sides.

DId this mean that Carlos’s strategy had failed?

That wasn’t it.

‘Our team’s defence is too weak for me to go as a striker.’

He wasn’t bad mouthing his teammates, but it was the truth.

Even if you looked on the positive side, Casemiro wasn’t at the level needed to stop Patu.

If Ho Yung did go as a striker, there would be physical chaos.

A battle between spear and spear.

But the more sharp and sturdy spear was SC Corinthians.

‘The only way is for me to cover as much as I can and try to smooth out this match.’

The key was to look for opportunities with smooth ball distribution.

Ho Yung shouted.

“Casemiro! It’s coming! Pay attention!”

Statistically, there are almost no comebacks in youth matches.

That was because if a goal is scored, the players undergo psychological atrophy, so their mentality is easily shattered.

But thanks to Ho Yung’s leadership carrying the team, the competitive force of the team became slightly better.

There were some dangerous situations, but none of them led to another goal.

Even that was a relief.

Beep~

The first half of the match ended like that, 1-0.

Sao Paulo FC’s players, who had ran 35 minutes with a fiery spirit, came back into the locker room with heavy footsteps.

There was tension written on their faces.

It was because they thought of Carlos’s face, which was usually tranquill, but was known to become quite strict once he got angry.

It was obvious they would be scolded in the locker room.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes….”

“Ok. Everyone is doing great.”

But Carlos showed an unexpected reaction.

“Looking at your reactions, it looks like everyone is disappointed at their own performance. Is that it, Casemiro?”

“Yes….”

“Then it would be wise to remember your match with the Corinthians in July earlier this year.”

They had lost to SC Corinthians 5-0 once in the middle of the season.

It wasn’t a memory that he wanted to remember, as they had been constantly robbed of goals by Patu, who scored a hat trick.

“But how did we go today? Ball possession and pass accuracy in the midfield was higher on our side. That means although the attack strategy isn’t working as intended, we still have the initiative.”

It was also evidence that Ho Yung was doing his job, as he was assigned as the ball distributor.

Carlos was complimenting that point.

The point was that they hadn’t given up their initiative in the fights.

If they had used Ho Yung to attack, they would probably have conceded 3 more goals.

That was a definite accomplishment.

“….. But, we couldn’t stop Patu as we trained. Even when we trained that hard.”

That was the lament of Casemiro, who had allowed Patu’s final charge.

Then, Carlos asked him in return.

“Casemiro. Do you really think that only we underwent harsh training? The opponent also probably trained until their souls escaped. For this match, to raise the victory trophy. Why, as a certain someone had said, ‘Only the prepared can lift the victory trophy.’ No, that’s not true. Anyone can prepare. But victory is only prominent in yourself if you show everything that you’ve practised.”

Carlos’s voice was ironclad.

“The only thing we don’t have is a goal. It’s a shame to just dwell on a losing point, after everything you guys have prepared. So, enjoy yourselves. Then, you can show everything you’ve got.”

A voice full of certainty.

As Carlos threw out his impassioned speech, he suddenly frowned.

Ho Yung’s mouth was dancing as if something good had happened.

“Ho Yung Wu, are my words funny to you?”

“No?”

“Then why are you laughing?”

“I’m going to try to enjoy. Enjoy soccer.”

Ho Yung thought openly.

There was still the overwhelming need to win, but it was slowly shrinking.

Same as the desperation.

‘I can do it.’

That’s right.

He just needed to show everything he had prepared.

Beep~

The encouragement and the break were over.

It was time to show their potential.

The players spread onto the pitch with their lightened bodies.

“Casemiro.”

“Huh?”

Ho Yung spoke to him as the opponent played with the ball.

“Try your best.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’ll try to back you up as much as I can.”

Casemiro could find a bit of comfort in those words.

2 minutes into the second half.

Didi, who had gained possession of the ball after a fight, looked to Patu, who was in the attacking half.

The look to signal a short pass.

But it was at that moment.

Thock!

“….!”

Somebody had ran towards him at the speed of light and intercepted Didi’s pass.

As if it had been predicted, it was a knife-like, sharp block.

Patu, who had made a mistake while coming back for the ball, looked around.

Ho Yung Wu’s eyes were speaking to him.

He wouldn’t be fooled twice.

Ho Yung got a feeling.

‘We can win this.’