Breath of The Interferer - Chapter 157



Only Noblemtl

#157 – Breath of the Interferer_Key – 1714727

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Betago?

After scoring a goal, Kishin sent Hyun Ki-chul out and took Park Jung-hyun out. Park Jung-hyun was the bait to make this strategy successful. Kishin did not expect Park Jung-hyun to take control of the air between the Italian defenders.

“You worked hard. Get some rest and score a goal in the next game.”

The expression on the face of the replaced Park Jung-hyun was not bad. She gave a passionate hug to Ki-shin and greeted the Korean audience.

“Coach Ki surprised us again. He scored a goal in the first half and immediately replaced the striker. What do you think, commentator Choi?”

“In fact, I was skeptical about starting Park Jung-hyun. Italian defenders are tall and physically strong. Park Jung-hyun is good at heading, but her dribbling and shooting are average. Park Jung-hyun also actively participated in defense.”

“If you look at the substitution now, Park Jung-hyun knew in advance that she would be substituted. Even if the attack she just attempted had failed, Park Jung-hyun would have been substituted. Now that Hyun Ki-chul has taken over as the attacker, Coach Ki-shin’s tactics are finally starting to come into play.”

“It sounds plausible, but it’s hard to accept. Does it make sense to use a player as bait in the first match of the World Cup finals and then replace him in the first half?”

“There is no better interpretation. I’m not sure, but the substitutions were probably decided in advance based on the game situation. And this strategy was initiated by Cha Beom-soo. It was a strategy that could only be used once, and Cha Beom-soo had the button. It seems that Cha Beom-soo pressed the button at the perfect time.”

It’s a cartoonish story. The starting striker in the preliminary round was used as bait for nearly 30 minutes. For a single attack tactic. And as soon as the attack was successful, he was replaced and the attack tactic was changed. Cha Beom-soo observed the opponent’s movements closely and gave instructions on the strategy when he judged that it would be likely to succeed.

“It seems like a strategy that Director Ki and the coaching staff have prepared hard for. And I have a feeling that they have also planned out the strategy for the next match against Portugal in advance.”

Hyun Ki-chul, who officially transferred to Atletico, is not a regular player, but he is a key rotation player. Including substitute appearances, he plays in about 40 games a year. It is not a lot in terms of time, but he has gained experience by playing with various teams.

And the basic quality of Atletico’s attackers is pressing. Cha Bum-soo also raised the defensive line instead of lowering it. The first and second line attackers, midfielders, and fullbacks were compressed near the center line, cutting off Italy’s attack flow.

Gong Min-hoon, Kim Si-woong, and Gil Seo-jun are fast. In addition, thanks to Cha Beom-soo’s appropriate positioning, the Korean team’s defense did not easily show a breakdown. If the penetration pass was too deep, Hwang Dong-geun kicked it out. Cha Beom-soo only occasionally adjusted Park Dong-chun’s defensive position and did not interfere much with the defense of other players.

After the first half, the Italian players felt that something was not going as they had hoped. On the other hand, the Korean team’s game went as planned. The atmosphere between the two teams was like heaven and earth, heaven and hell.

“The first half went as we had expected. Applause to actress Park Jung-hyun for her hard work.”

The players clapped their hands vigorously. They had not played a single friendly match in Canada, only physical training and tactical training. They had only touched the ball a week ago. They were all lacking confidence, but after playing a dominant game against Italy, who was in the last World Cup semifinals, they relaxed.

“Let our vice-captain Gil Seo-jun explain the second half strategy.”

“The two wingbacks move centrally and the two fullbacks move up to become wingbacks. When the ball goes to either side, we exploit the gaps between the Italian defenders with quick crosses. When we go centrally, we attack with passing and penetrative passes, but always keep the defense in mind.”

“There’s one thing I forgot. When the second half starts and the first attack happens, we adjust the formation as the vice-captain said and then make a quick attack. Hwang Hee and Hyun Ki-cheol will infiltrate, and Cha Beom-soo or Yoo Jae-beom will pass. Gong Min-hoon and Han Yoon will provide some cover on both sides.”

Yoo Jae-beom is very conflicted. If he scores one more goal in the second half, Yoo Jae-beom will be substituted. However, he has to make the infiltration pass that will substitute him. Although it is a tactic he has learned in advance and is mentally prepared, conflict is unavoidable.

The second half began with Italy’s first-choice attack. The Korean team focused on defense, maintaining the same formation as the first half. Hwang Dong-geun, who grabbed Italy’s corner kick with both hands, did not rush to launch an attack. The players quickly moved to their positions and changed their formation.

Kim Si-woong moved back to the right central defender position of the three-back. Gong Min-hoon and Han Yoon moved up to wingbacks. Hwang Hee and Choi Gil-soo moved to the center to become midfielders.

Hwang Dong-geun threw the ball to Kim Si-woong. He overcame his weakness in one-on-one situations with experience, but he still has not overcome the problem of poor kick accuracy. Short passes are accurate and fine, but the farther you go, the more his accuracy drops.

Kim Si-woong passed the ball to Gong Min-hoon. Gong Min-hoon passed the ball back to Kim Si-woong, who then passed it to Cha Beom-soo. Cha Beom-soo passed the ball to Han Yoon. By passing the ball back and forth like this, Jin-yeong was slowly raised.

Hwang Hee initially played lower than Yoo Jae-beom. The two slowly switched positions while passing. In the first half, Italy focused more on defending the sides than the center, as they mainly attacked through Gong Min-hoon and Han Yoon.

After the sound of the bell on both sides drew attention, the ball went to Cha Beom-soo’s feet. Cha Beom-soo passed the ball to Yoo Jae-beom, who was in a better position. The moment Yoo Jae-beom caught the ball, Hwang Hee and Hyun Ki-cheol attempted to penetrate.

The experienced Italian defenders immediately noticed the Korean trick and blocked the passing route. The defenders on both sides also prepared for the penetration of Han Yoon and Gong Min-hoon. Cha Beom-soo and Choi Gil-soo also had one defender each.

“Just shoot.”

At Cha Beom-soo’s words, Yoo Jae-beom shot purely with his leg strength without even running up. If Yoo Jae-beom’s pass was stolen in a situation where the attacking stance was already in place, he could have been subject to a counterattack by Italy.

Soccer is divided into four parts: offensive and defensive positions, transition from offense to defense, and transition from defense to offense. Since the roles in offense and defense are different, you must quickly get into your role. You must quickly change your position, and you must make the opponent’s position change slow.

The Italian goalkeeper, who had been running forward a little to prepare for the penetrating pass, retreated quickly. Yoo Jae-beom’s shot, although not fast, threatened the goal in the form of a chip shot with a great arc. The goalkeeper, who had been stepping back, jumped with all his might.

The goalkeeper succeeded in touching the ball with his unyielding will, but the power did not reach his fingertips, and he conceded a goal less than 3 minutes into the second half. Yoo Jae-beom’s expression after scoring the goal was subtle. He was happy about scoring the goal, but he couldn’t fully enjoy it. There were many comments on the Internet saying that he was probably thirsty.

Ki-shin immediately replaced Yoo Jae-beom. Chae-woon was put in as a defensive midfielder. The purpose is to bring in Chae-woon, who lacks passing but runs without rest and plays strong defense, to thicken the center. Hwang Hee and Choi Gil-soo should help the two wingbacks a lot in defense.

Italy tried to raise their defensive line and strengthen their offense, but it didn’t work out as planned. They are a team that aims to score a goal while defending. They are not the type that breaks down the opponent’s defense with constant attacks, but rather the type that carefully attacks one by one.

In order to break down the defense of the Korean team, which moves in unison under the command of Cha Beom-soo, you must attack continuously. You must attack so hard that they cannot even think about cooperative defense. This is the most effective way to tear down the defense of the Korean team, which is relatively lacking in individual skills.

Thanks to the excellent defensive cooperation between Cha Beom-soo and Kim Si-woong, the four defenders defended well. In terms of simple defensive ability, the remaining three, except for Gil Seo-jun, were lacking. With the defensive participation of Hwang Hee and Choi Gil-soo, the effective defensive support of Kim Si-woong, and the impeccable command of Cha Beom-soo, they withstood Italy’s heavy offensive.

In the 75th minute of the second half, Hwang Hee was taken down and Bae Seong-gook was brought in. Bae Seong-gook, who is better at defense than Hwang Hee, was brought in to strengthen the defense. Instead of rushing the counterattack, the line was slowly raised to pursue stability.

With three teams in each group, goal scoring is also important. With little time left in the game, Italy began to focus more on defense.

“In the second half, the Korean team took a defensive stance. However, they played an excellent game that was worthy of the European powerhouses. They spent most of their time on defense, so I have no worries at all.”

“In the preliminaries, the Korean team seemed to be replacing defense with offense. They were like, ‘If you score one, I’ll score three.’ So, to be honest, I was really worried. The main tournament is a different level from the preliminaries. However, the Korean team is showing us a stable performance that can show us that they are a world-class team.”

“It seems like Coach Ki and the coaching staff have put a lot of thought into it. And it seems like the players also knew about their substitutions in advance. In other words, this match is proceeding according to the Korean team’s scenario.”

“But isn’t the Korean team’s attack too monotonous?”

“Is it really necessary to show all the attacking means now? We should use them in the next match against Portugal in five days. It feels like Coach Ki has already written a scenario for the seven matches leading up to the final. He’s really reliable.”

“Just like AlphaGo, which calculates all cases in a game of Go, it seems like it has calculated all possibilities in this game and prepared responses. If I had to give it a name, it would be BetaGo?”

“I predicted this match as a draw. In fact, that was a generous assessment for the Korean team. I thought the best-case scenario would be to beat Portugal in the next match and finish second in the group. But the Korean team completely shattered my prediction.”

“There are many netizens who want commentator Choi to change his name from octopus to squid.”

“When did Kim Seung-ri become a netizen?”

The two commentators exchanged light jokes as the outcome was virtually certain.

“Actually, when Coach Ki often talked about winning, I thought it was a strategy aimed at a psychological effect. But my thoughts changed after watching the first game.”

“Please explain in more detail.”

“This World Cup, depending on the draw, we could easily make it to the quarterfinals. I thought we had been given a vaccination in advance in preparation for that situation. There is a clear difference in how we accept it when we go to the quarterfinals without any mental preparation and when we go to the quarterfinals with the intention of winning. But after watching today’s game, I think Coach Ki is sincere.”

Many people thought that Kishin frequently mentioned winning so that the players would not feel psychological pressure. Since Kishin drew all the aggro, if the national team did not perform well, all the firepower would be focused on Kishin. The players could play with peace of mind.

Kishin always told the press and players that his goal was to win. Half of what people expected was right. Kishin often mentioned that he was worried that the players might not be mentally prepared for the finals. The other half was wrong, and that Kishin really wanted to win.

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