Nicolás Pareja was a centre-back who had made a name for himself as a rotational player in Belgium's first division.
He wasn't particularly big, but he possessed uncharacteristic strength for an Argentine player, which had earned him a spot in the Olympic squad. He had shown strong performances throughout the tournament, particularly against African nations.
And now, in today's match.
His role was to organize the defense near the penalty area and serve as a towering pillar of resistance until the end.
Right now was the moment for him to step up.
I have to hold out no matter what.
A very dangerous situation.
Mascherano, who they had trusted, had allowed Ho-young to break through.
Garay had successfully delayed him, but it was far from over.
Ho-young's decision-making was sharp and his shooting deadly.
Even if he were to be beaten, he absolutely could not allow him a clear shooting angle.
He just needed to stall until help arrived.
That was the instruction the coach had given Pareja.
And it looked like he was executing it well.
However—
"Ugh!"
Ho-young's speed of execution was absurd.
Tap. Smack.
Smaaack!
Even though Pareja focused all his attention on Ho-young, he lost the timing in an instant.
[Ho-young! A long touch to the left! Nicolás Pareja tries to stay with him, but he can't keep up!]
There was a sharp glint in Ho-young's eyes.
A perfectly opened shooting angle filled his vision.
If he didn't shoot now, he would be disqualified as a striker.
That was how perfect the timing and angle were.
No need to hesitate.
Top left corner.
As soon as he picked his target, Ho-young swung his leg.
Precise, fast, and powerful, he struck with his right foot.
But at that exact moment.
Smack!
"...Ah!!"
A surprise back tackle came in from behind.
Mascherano!
This was defensive ability on another level compared to the second division.
While Garay and Pareja had been buying time, Mascherano had caught up and calmly extended his right foot, dispossessing Ho-young cleanly.
It was a perfect tackle, cutting only the ball.
[Ah... right before Ho-young could take the shot, a perfect tackle was made. You can't even complain about that. It was flawless.]
[Unfortunate, but it's fine. It wasn't that Ho-young did poorly, it's that Mascherano did well. Just before the shot, there was a brief static moment in his motion. Mascherano is not the kind of player to overlook that.]
[Still, a great attempt from Ho-young! Even though he didn't get the shot off, he practically rendered Argentina's defense useless. And to fool Mascherano, a Liverpool starter, is quite an impressive achievement.]
[Absolutely. That chest trap followed by the knee touch was excellent. Perhaps his ball retention still has room for improvement, but this could be a turning point for Korea's attack.]
Argentina.
The wall of the world was indeed high.
Ho-young was feeling that reality with every fiber of his being.
He fully understood what it meant when they said this squad was assembled solely to win the gold medal.
For a tournament with a strong amateur atmosphere, this was a near ecosystem-destroying squad.
He suddenly recalled last year's Adidas ad with Lionel Messi and David Beckham: "Impossible is nothing."
What nonsense.
There were plenty of impossibilities.
This was, quite literally, the first time he had hit a wall.
The level was completely different from the players he had faced in the second division.
And this was his first time facing core members from elite clubs.
There was so much to take in.
It just means I haven't yet fully unlocked my talents.
Still, Ho-young stood back up.
Mascherano might not have reached his peak either, but the same applied to Ho-young.
He looked far into the distance.
And started running again.
[Ho-young, there's still plenty of time left. This attempt won't be in vain.]
[Exactly. In fact, Argentina's midfield looks clearly shaken. That Mascherano-Gago line, which had only conceded one goal all tournament, just got breached by Ho-young alone. They must be rattled.]
They were definitely shaken.
But only briefly. The first half continued in much the same way.
The soul-bound double pivot of Gago and Mascherano completely dominated the midfield, delivering stable distribution to Riquelme.
Argentina's attacks began from there.
Riquelme's playmaking activated Messi and Di María up front, while Agüero, playing as the lone striker, fulfilled the role of finisher.
A perfect squad.
Even if they were playing in the World Cup, they'd still be competitive.
Naturally, Korea wasn't on the same level to withstand their pressure, and they had to endure a one-sided game throughout the first half.
In the 26th minute.
A single key pass from Riquelme tore through the defensive line, and Di María capitalized, scoring the opening goal.
Peeeep—
1-0.
Argentina took the lead.
After that goal, a gloomy atmosphere hung over the Korean bench.
It wasn't just the goal. The gameplay itself had been overwhelmingly lopsided, which killed what little momentum they had left.
Still, there was a glimmer of hope.
Ho-young.
Just before the end of the first half, he unleashed a threatening mid-range shot that lifted Korea's spirits.
Though it was stopped by a spectacular save from Argentina's goalkeeper, Sergio Romero.
Damn it.
Ho-young swallowed his frustration.
There were simply too many walls.
Even after fighting hard to steal the ball from Riquelme, Mascherano would be waiting next.
And beyond him stood high-level defenders and the guardian Romero.
Still, he didn't collapse.
Each time he was knocked down, he got back up.
The only answer was to keep charging until something gave.
That was the only royal road.
Fighting spirit.
Relying on that, he continued to threaten Argentina with sharp, persistent play.
He was the epitome of a boy shouldering a family's burden.
[Ho-young, excellent work. He's really heating up now. It feels like he's going to make something happen soon.]
[That's true, but it must be exhausting when nothing goes your way. Truly admirable.]
Commentator Woo Sang-chul choked up.
He wanted to say, "What a hard time he's having on such a weak team," but couldn't bring himself to say it in front of the nation.
Even so, there was hope.
With continued counterattacks, Korea was gradually regaining its momentum.
There was a chance to fight back in the second half.
However, in the second minute of added time, Ki Sung-yueng's tackle on Messi caused trouble.
Peeeeep—
[Ah… the referee pulls out a yellow card for Ki Sung-yueng. He awards a free kick to Argentina. It's 23 meters out. Definitely within shooting range.]
[And of course, Juan Román Riquelme steps up to take it.]
Riquelme.
A dead-ball specialist with world-class free-kick skills, he had an incredible delivery.
To make matters worse, the angle and distance were perfect.
And he converted it without fail.
Thud!
2-0.
That was the score at the end of the first half.
After the whistle, Argentina's locker room was calm.
2-0.
Most saw it as a natural result, though a few players had different thoughts.
Mascherano and Garay, who had nearly conceded a goal to Ho-young, were among them.
"Man, how can that little guy be so fast? Thank god we didn't let our guard down. If we had underestimated him, we'd have been in trouble."
"Let's stay sharp in the second half too. He's improving as the game goes on. That mid-range shot near the end was really dangerous."
Mascherano.
He wasn't the smartest guy in the world, but he wasn't slow either.
Among footballers, he was relatively sharp.
Still, the fact that Ho-young had gotten the better of him could only be explained by the fact that Ho-young's football IQ was exceptional.
"Honestly, it's better to just turn my brain off when facing that guy. Sometimes your real ability comes out when you rely on instinct instead of overthinking."
"Some players are like that. Guys who don't follow any logical patterns."
The two agreed completely.
As they chatted, someone else quietly chuckled nearby.
"Haha."
It was captain Riquelme.
Players without genius or creativity can't understand it. Why would he do that in that moment, they wonder.
It was something even world-class players struggled to grasp.
Because it had nothing to do with football ability or intelligence.
Even the great Maldini looked foolish in front of Maradona.
The truth is, it's not easy to think like you're playing chess while on a constantly shifting pitch.
Spectators might see the whole picture, but players on the field often can't.
The body reacts faster than the brain.
Even players known for their football intelligence can fall to basic tactics for this reason.
Unpredictable, unconventional tactics.
That's how weaker teams can sometimes beat stronger ones.
Because reading an opponent's change in one glance on the field is incredibly difficult.
But Riquelme had been reading Ho-young's every move throughout the first half.
He had used that understanding to consistently shut him down.
That was why a weak team like Korea could never defeat a strong team like Argentina.
A player who hasn't even played in the first division? Containing him is nothing.
A 2-0 scoreline.
It had gone perfectly so far.
That made Riquelme even more curious about the second half.
He was looking forward to seeing how that kid would try to turn things around.
Peeeeep!
As the second half began, Riquelme dropped deeper and persistently harassed Ho-young.
He pressed tightly in midfield, giving him no space.
At the same time, he shut down passing lanes to his feet.
It wasn't personal.
Ho-young was Korea's ace, and this was the right thing to do.
Eventually.
After going nearly 15 minutes without a proper touch, Ho-young discussed with Head Coach Park Sung-ho and changed positions.
"Let's create at least one chance."
"Understood."
Returning to the pitch, Ho-young recalled something Riquelme once said to him.
He said we'd meet again someday.
That day was today.
Riquelme was now showing his full ability as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Messi wasn't the scary one. Riquelme was.
Only by stepping over him could there be even a 1% chance of winning.
He had to escape his shadow quickly.
A head-on clash is still too early.
Ho-young's eyes turned to him.
[Juan Román Riquelme]
[Possessed Talents: The Rebel of Modern Football (T), Playmaking of the Rebel (U), Extraordinary Ball Keeping (S+2), Unparalleled Creativity (S+), Dominant Free Kick (S), (More...)]
(You can obtain one talent by meeting the required conditions.)
(When selecting a Title (T) talent, you can absorb a portion of its instinctive perception. However, you must be over 18 to select it.)
(S-grade or higher talents require hidden conditions to unlock.)
(Condition 1: Win the match)
(Condition 2: Intercept Riquelme's pass twice)
(Hidden Condition: Successfully complete four dribbles while maintaining safe ball retention)
His ball retention and free kick dropped by a level since last time.
Still, Unparalleled Creativity (S+) remained.
It seemed that as he aged, his technical stats were declining rapidly.
No problem.
This was still plenty.
As long as he cleared the hidden condition, he could get at least one S-grade talent.
I'll get free kick talents from Roberto Carlos soon anyway, so ball retention is the better choice.
Ball retention.
Essential for playmaking and extremely helpful in modern football, where escaping pressure is key.
In other words, this match was both a crisis and an opportunity.
Blessing in disguise.
He couldn't let it end like this.
Though his body and mind were on the verge of collapse from the relentless schedule, he gritted his teeth and endured.
Of course, that didn't change reality.
There were still 22 players on the pitch, and the opponent was just as strong as ever.
But Ho-young's movements grew more composed with time.
Like a rich bone broth.
As he adapted to the pace of the match, his play became more substantial.
As night fell deeper, Ho-young was coming alive.
His eyes said it all.
It's not over until it's over.
There was still a chance left.
Now it was time to act on it.
70th minute of the second half.
The match, which had been dragging like a turtle, was starting to pick up speed.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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