"Damn it!"
Marcelo, who had just been beaten by Ho-young on a wide run, wore a stunned expression.
To make matters worse, Ho-young's wing attack quickly transitioned into a central breakthrough.
Ho-young.
Fast and powerful.
His speed, which came from his nimble build, was impressive, but what was even more remarkable was the power packed inside.
Like a solid stone, heavy despite its small size.
He had strength hidden beneath the surface.
Smirk.
A faint smile formed at the corner of Ho-young's lips as he carried the ball forward.
'Kaká told me this.'
That players like Marcelo, who appear to dominate with skill and flair, often lacked physical strength.
Kaká had advised him to aim for aggressive pressing.
It had worked perfectly.
And then,
'Up front!'
Without breaking tempo, he fired off a fast ground pass.
To the left.
Toward Oscar, who was slipping into the box like a stray cat.
Thud!
Perhaps thanks to his versatility as a midfield commander, the pass was more than decent.
Compared to before, his vision had noticeably expanded.
Instead of forcing through defenders, he was showing variety in his play.
A more stable and energy-efficient way to play.
Then,
"Here!"
After sending the pass, Ho-young darted into the open space on the right flank with explosive pace.
The return pass came almost immediately.
Thud!
'Nice.'
The one-two they had practiced repeatedly in training was as sharp as a blade.
Everything clicked like gears in a machine, and the final pass rolled into the space in front of goal.
All that remained was Ho-young's finish.
'Left side!'
With the goalkeeper in front of him, Ho-young took a short plant step and extended his leg straight forward.
A half-beat faster shot.
His signature toe kick.
Tap.
A short motion and a crisp sound.
Ho-young stayed focused until the very moment the ball left his foot.
As a result, the net rippled.
Splash!
São Paulo FC's opening goal, a product of flawless strategy.
Tweet—
The first half ended 1-0, and a heavy atmosphere spread through the visiting team's locker room.
"You bastard!"
Bang, bang!
Marcelo, unable to contain his anger, kicked a helpless chair.
He was 15 years old and the current team captain.
That made the frustration worse.
'If we win today, the road to the final will be easy.'
Today's match could very well be called a pre-final.
Both teams were among Brazil's most historic powerhouses, so this match carried immense weight.
Tch.
His mouth felt bitter.
It wasn't just conceding a goal that was the problem.
It was the fact that he had been thoroughly outplayed by a younger player named Ho-young.
He had underestimated him, but that wasn't just a mistake.
'I couldn't even stop that punk?'
Marcelo.
Barely within the U-15 age limit, he was considered the best full-back in the league.
There were criticisms of his defensive ability, but within the U-15s, he wasn't lacking.
His defensive skills lagged behind his attacking play, but in terms of raw ability, he was upper-mid tier.
'I won't lose like this.'
His cute face turned deadly serious.
His passion was second to none. He couldn't let it end like this.
Tweet!
The second half began with the visiting team taking the kickoff. A fierce midfield battle unfolded.
After several tackles, Fluminense FC received two yellow cards within 20 minutes.
It was São Paulo FC's tactic, using their home advantage.
They provoked the opposition into engaging in rough challenges through psychological warfare.
It resembled the "swamp football" that Grêmio had once displayed.
Because of that, Fluminense's aggressive play began to shrink.
Coach Carlos seized the moment and ordered a substitution.
Around the 60th minute.
Douglas Costa entered the match.
It was a move aimed at scoring as many goals as possible in preparation for the away leg.
Deployed as an attacking midfielder, his role was to act like a sponge to absorb pressure from the first line of defense.
And at that very moment—
"Spread out more!"
Ho-young shouted.
The players started repositioning quickly.
'Marcelo's moving too freely. It's disrupting our ball distribution.'
He looked completely different from the first half.
If they got hit on the counter like this, it could be dangerous.
Even if they were going to concede, they needed to widen the lead first.
Ho-young visualized the pitch in his mind and tracked the flow of the match.
He sharpened his focus.
'The second and third lines are too disconnected. That's where the flow keeps breaking.'
Ho-young shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Dougie! Drop back and take the ball! Keep it short and fast!"
"Okay!"
Douglas then began covering the field with energy, drawing away Fluminense's pressure.
Exactly ten minutes later, the flow shifted dramatically.
Thud!
With a series of short passes through the midfield, Douglas advanced to the front line.
When the opposing defender closed in, he cut inside with a deft touch.
Then he scanned forward.
He spotted Ho-young slicing between the Fluminense FC back four with impeccable timing.
An unexpected run that no one anticipated.
He fired a fast, low pass into the path.
Tap!
And right inside the penalty box, Ho-young received it.
"Hah..."
Fluminense's defenders couldn't hide their frustration.
It was a piercing run that completely dismantled the solid defensive structure formed by their back four and double pivots.
Boom!
Just like that, Ho-young scored his second goal.
"Wooh!"
All Marcelo could do was watch Ho-young's celebration from behind.
From that point on, the match was one-sided.
Fluminense FC's defensive line began to crumble under Ho-young's relentless attacks.
A devastated Marcelo kept cursing under his breath.
Nothing was going his way.
Even basic defensive duties were falling apart, and with no time or space, he couldn't even attempt his signature overlapping runs.
Eventually, Fluminense dropped into a five-back formation to bolster their defense.
From then on, São Paulo FC maintained a half-court offense.
There was one moment of danger when Marcelo made a solo counterattack using his exceptional dribbling skills, but it didn't lead to a goal.
The final result was a clean 2-0 win for São Paulo FC.
Ho-young, who played the full 80 minutes and scored both goals, walked off the pitch to a flood of praise from Coach Carlos.
"Good job."
"Thank you."
Ho-young's eyes curved softly.
Seeing his training pay off like this brought immense satisfaction.
No matter how tough preparation was before each match, that sense of accomplishment made it all worth it.
'One more goal in the away leg, and we're good.'
Three goals against Fluminense FC.
Once they reached the quarterfinals, the condition to acquire Kaká's talent would be met.
It felt doable.
But right now, there was something even more urgent to deal with.
[Select the talent you wish to obtain.]
Football Genius (A)
Active Overlapping (A-)
Excellent Ball Control (B+2)
Smooth Dribbling (B)
Sharp Crossing (B)
(Show More)
Overlapping was out of the question.
He wasn't going to play as a full-back or wing-back anyway.
'That leaves Football Genius, Ball Control, or Dribbling.'
He pondered for a moment, but the answer was clear.
It had to be Football Genius.
He was scheduled to face Marcelo at least three more times this season, so he could collect the other talents gradually.
[Football Genius (A+)↑]
[Time to fully acquire the talent: 30 days → 15 days. During this period, no other talents can be acquired.]
'Nice.'
Two birds with one stone.
The talent was important, but the victory itself felt even sweeter.
With the current bracket, a spot in the quarterfinals meant a clear path to the final.
There was still the second leg of the Round of 16, but he was confident.
'Getting started is half the battle.'
Thump!
His heart swelled with excitement.
This was exactly what Ho-young had been dreaming of.
It wasn't a massive crowd of tens of thousands, but having supporters cheer him on was a feeling he couldn't put into words.
Especially the fact that these Brazilian fans, who had no personal connection to him, were cheering for an Asian boy.
Just thinking about it made his heart race.
Ho-young celebrated the win with his teammates and returned the cheers with a celebratory gesture for the home fans.
And in a corner of the pitch, Marcelo looked on blankly, catching his breath and firming his resolve.
Next time, there would be no mercy.
That was written all over his face.
That afternoon.
At a café in downtown São Paulo.
A man sat in a corner, tapping away at his laptop while sipping a strong coffee.
He had been there for two hours, working on a report.
It wasn't just any report.
It was a compilation of photos, documents, and data from the past 90 days, all packed into one scouting report.
"When am I gonna finish all this? So many prospects this year, the volume is insane."
Youth scouting reports.
That was his job.
In addition to that, he also handled prospect discovery and transfer negotiations.
In the scouting world, watching six to seven matches per week was considered active.
He had watched ten this week alone.
It couldn't be helped, since the Super Championship was going on.
"Better start with the important ones first."
The first report he completed was about Neymar.
Now with Santos FC in the top division, he was performing as well as expected.
The next report he began was about the Asian boy.
'Damn. I didn't think I'd be writing a report on an Asian player here.'
Ho-young (Woo Ho-young).
He was showcasing his talent freely in the world of Brazilian football.
Today's match proved that.
Not only did he display excellent physicality, but also intelligent play throughout the game.
'It's been a while since Marcelo had that much trouble.'
He had been observing Marcelo for two years, so he knew.
How hard it was to shine against a player like Marcelo.
'If I had to describe it, he's similar to Kaká.'
On top of that, he showed natural goal-scoring instincts.
Especially his movement into space.
While an average player would only run into visible space, Ho-young had the vision and timing to penetrate invisible space at a high level.
That's what the scout thought.
Maybe he wasn't quite like Filippo Inzaghi in terms of off-the-ball movement, but he had an uncanny knack for finding the exact space to run into.
It wasn't a performance typical of someone his age.
'At least A- level...'
Even deducting points for being Asian, he could confidently grade him A-.
He had no doubt.
This boy named Ho-young had the potential to become a world-class player.
His scouting eye was nearly flawless, recognized across Europe.
His name was Antonio Soriano.
He was preparing his Q2 scouting report to send to Madrid, Spain.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)