Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 297



Only Noblemtl

Episode 297: Narratives

The round of 16 match against Italy was a match without any major controversies over refereeing outside of Italy.

A clean victory without any biased judgment or controversy.

After defeating Italy, one of the favorites to win the championship, within 90 minutes of regulation time, the idea that South Korea was a favorite to win the championship, which was previously only a minority opinion, has now gained attention and support from more and more people.

Was this the game where the so-called minority opinion was transformed into the mainstream opinion?

The World Cup was now in the quarterfinals, and there were only eight countries left, including Korea.

Among these eight countries, there was no reason why Korea could not win.

All the countries that advanced to the quarterfinals had interesting aspects to them.

First, South Korea. Then Spain, England, France, Brazil. It’s been arranged up to here.

What happened next was surprising.

Japan succeeded in advancing to the quarterfinals.

Japan, which had always been stuck in the round of 16, succeeded in advancing to the quarterfinals, a long-awaited dream.

There are two Asian countries in the quarterfinals.

It is unclear whether Japan will end their journey by making it to the quarterfinals or whether they will make it to the semifinals.

Japan, which has always shown its strength against strong teams, may cause another upset.

And the remaining two countries were Germany and Argentina. After two group stage defeats, Germany finally made it to the tournament, and even the quarterfinals. I thought it was because they avoided Korea and Japan.

China, which was in the same group, was like a point vending machine.

Argentina also showed great stamina. They overcame the curse of being the defending champion and, like France in the last World Cup, they made it to the quarterfinals with determination.

Lionel Messi had confirmed that the Qatar World Cup would be his last and that he would not participate in this World Cup, but just before the World Cup, he changed his words and declared that he would participate.

This World Cup is truly the last dance.

‘It’s really fortunate that it’s on the opposite side of the port.’

Lionel Messi was definitely scary. At the last Olympics, he was lucky to have a goal ruled out because he was offside, but I definitely got beat by him.

It’s a feeling that I knew but couldn’t stop it.

Well, I don’t think I’d get through it again if I ran into it again now that I’ve grown so much since then.

Messi is older than he was then, and I am more grown up than he was then.

But since I was a player who had been through something like that once, I felt psychologically intimidated.

Fortunately, Argentina and South Korea were matched up in the finals, and Argentina’s quarterfinal opponent was Japan.

There is no telling who will win.

Will Japan, who also defeated Portugal, show their strength once again and defeat Argentina, or will Messi’s last dance shine and defeat Japan? We will have to wait until the match starts to find out.

‘By the way, it’s a shame I didn’t get to meet Ronaldo.’

I met Messi once, but I couldn’t meet Ronaldo. If we had won the same pot in this World Cup, wouldn’t we have been able to meet?

Even though he is over 40, Ronaldo managed to make it to the last line of the World Cup roster.

He was a great gentleman.

If my son had been just a little bit older, I wonder if there would have been a spectacle of father and son participating in the World Cup together.

‘If Argentina beats Japan and advances to the semifinals…’

Actually, that was the funniest point.

If Argentina had advanced to the semifinals, they could have had a rematch with France for the first time in four years.

On the other side, Britain and France faced each other again, just as they had four years ago.

I don’t know what will happen this time.

Will Britain overcome France, or will France overcome Britain again?

But the world (and I too) expected France and Argentina to rematch after four years. It’s an interesting narrative.

The two countries that played in one of the most memorable finals in World Cup history are meeting again on a tightrope in the next World Cup.

My heart races just thinking about it.

And the fun matches weren’t the only ones. There was also the 2002 rematch between Korea and Spain, and most importantly, on the other side of us.

‘Wow. Germany and Brazil. That would be really fun too.’

After 12 years, the two countries met again.

Germany and Brazil. The tragedy of Mineira is so famous.

A match where Germany beat Brazil 7-1 at home. A match where Germany completely swept Brazil.

The two countries met once again.

And this time, Brazil’s power was evaluated as stronger.

Germany was bouncing back after an eight-year slump, but certainly not at 2014 levels, and Brazil, while not quite where they used to be, was certainly stronger than Germany.

It’s not for nothing that they’re called eternal champions. The public opinion was that Brazil would beat Germany and get revenge for the first time in 12 years.

As the World Cup progressed, there were many more diverse and interesting narratives.

Who among these will advance to the finals… … We’ll have to see the match to find out.

Once you reach the finals, this is the kind of world where new narratives emerge.

* * *

Coach Leon Harpers prepared for the next match with a serious look in his eyes.

“After Italy comes Spain.”

There were mountains beyond mountains.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. How on earth did Guus Hiddink lead the South Korean national team, which was much weaker than it is now, to the semifinals?

It wasn’t just because they were both Dutch, but Leon developed a serious respect for Hiddink.

Even Leon felt nauseous preparing for the next game, despite having a goalkeeper who had not conceded a single goal since his debut.

‘I told the players that they didn’t need to feel pressured, but…’

It was too bad to be satisfied with just the quarterfinals with these players. And there was also that greed. The desire for honor to be the first Asian team to lift the World Cup and write their name in the history books.

To do that, we must first capture Spain.

As I was pondering this alone, head coach Nicolas van de Burgh came in and tapped the table.

“The match against Spain won’t be easy.”

“…I know.”

Who doesn’t know that the World Cup quarterfinals weren’t made by winning poker.

Leon gave the head coach a vague look.

It was a look that told me to get out if I was going to say something obvious. Nicholas cleared his throat, perhaps feeling embarrassed, and spoke again.

“I analyzed Spain’s last World Cup. How Morocco beat Spain. Four years later, things are very different, but Spain’s tactical style hasn’t changed much since then.”

“Extreme defensive tactics?”

“Yes. Morocco blocked Spain’s attacks at the last World Cup with a suffocatingly dense defense. And then they dragged the game into extra time and sent Spain home on penalties. That means a lot. And isn’t our team a perfect fit for that strategy?”

“… … Yeah. That’s right.”

Kim has played in the underdog position countless times in Hannover, and has brought many strong teams to their knees. The goalkeeper knows how to fight in a disadvantageous position better than anyone else in the world.

“I know that game well. Spain lost that game after passing over a thousand times. It was the end of tiki-taka. In the end, football is all about scoring goals.”

“That’s right. That’s why we have to follow Morocco’s strategy. We have to drag out the game and take it to a penalty shootout. Look at this round of 16 match. Italy knew they would definitely lose if they went to a penalty shootout with us, so they sacrificed some of their strengths and attacked aggressively.”

“Spain also watched the match, so they would know.”

“It’s a problem that we know about but can’t solve. Many experts from the Bundesliga and the Premier League have tried to analyze Kim and break through, but so far, it hasn’t worked. It can’t be helped because it’s Spain.”

Leon crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Then he sighed.

“That’s not the type of play our team is known for, Nicholas. We’re a team that’s looking to score.”

“Sometimes you have to show a different side depending on the opponent. Spain is a very organized team.”

Leon’s picture was also roughly drawn.

The match against Spain will be different from the match against Italy. With Spain’s unique organized football, possession football, there is a high possibility that Korea will not be able to get a hold of the ball even once.

The same was true of other countries that faced Spain in this World Cup. Spain always maintained overwhelming possession, had more attacking opportunities than their opponents, and scored based on those opportunities.

Even when the countries playing against Spain use extreme defense like Morocco did in the last World Cup, Spain manages to score by breaking through their defensive tactics.

But we are different.

“Yes. Possession isn’t everything. In the last World Cup, Japan had a very low possession rate against Spain, but they ended up winning the game.”

“I remember Spain not actively trying to avoid meeting Brazil.”

“… Still, isn’t it important that Japan captured Spain?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Leon closed his eyes again.

This was after countless analyses and meetings with the coaching staff in preparation for the match against Spain.

Now it was time to make a decision.

Above all, the starting players who played full-time in the round of 32 and round of 16 are starting to lose their stamina again, so we need to take that into account when planning our tactics.

“Spain is not Norway.”

“Coach, I’m telling you this in advance. If you rest all the starting players for the next game, it will be a disaster. That’s the wrong choice.”

“I know.”

In the end, it all comes down to where you look.

Where is our goal?

Before the World Cup, I thought that reaching the semifinals was enough, but now I was getting greedy. I wanted to look beyond that.

“Let me just give you half a break.”

The head coach is silent for a moment, then answers.

“So you’re suggesting sending 1.5 troops against the Invincible Fleet?”

“They probably won’t attack anyway. To prevent Spain from openly attacking, let’s place some players who are good at counterattacking in the back space, and put half of the starting players on the bench.”

“Soccer is not chess….”

“Kim has drawn with the Bundesliga powerhouses at Hannover. Morata? Williams? Yamal? Mikel? He’s a goalkeeper who has stopped all the great attackers with a weaker squad than those players. Have faith.”

“If you are sure, I will put together a diverse squad.”

Head coach Nicolas van de Burgh then stepped back.

In this way, the Korean national team’s grand strategy for the quarterfinals was established.

After giving up on attacking and trusting in goalkeeper Kim Min-woo, they focused on defense, dragging the game into overtime and sinking the Invincible Fleet in a penalty shootout.

Players who are currently under a lot of physical strain are placed on the bench in preparation for the next match, and depending on the game’s outcome, they are either put back in the game or given a complete rest.

‘Of course, Son is an exception.’

He is the oldest and should be given a rest, but there has never been a striker who was as threatening to the opponents as he is. Even at the age of 34, he is showing world-class skills. He is also very effective in penetrating the back space.

Leon, who decided on his squad, bluffed in his pre-match interview.

“I have no intention of going into overtime. Regardless of the outcome, the game will be over in 90 minutes. And we will defeat the invincible fleet and advance to the semifinals. Just like Hiddink did 24 years ago, our national team will make history again.”

Spain, with their dazzling squad, also responded to Leon’s interview.

“We know how to play against superstars. Korea has declared that they will finish the quarterfinals in 90 minutes, and that is what we want to do.”

So far, Kim has not conceded a single goal, but when asked by a reporter if Spain has the answer to get through Kim, the Spanish coach smiled and said, “It’s top secret, so I can’t tell you.”

“Top secret is bullshit.”

Leon laughed when he saw the interview.

Top secret? You’re probably racking your brain because you don’t have an answer. The world’s top experts have also raised both hands and feet because they have no answer, so what are you going to do?