Ho-young's second tactic.
Kick and Rush.
Originating from England, it's a strategy where a long ball is sent directly to the front line in one swift motion.
Some critics have dismissed it as "hoofball," "Boringland," or "lottery football," but it was still a system that couldn't function without full support from the team.
You needed midfielders capable of accurate long passes, and a target striker up front with the strength and height to receive them.
Several top clubs had adopted this approach post-2014 because it proved to be an effective counter against tiki-taka.
That's why this became the second strategy they had prepared.
But even this tactic only worked best under the right timing.
Late in the second half.
'It's almost time.'
Ho-young widened his vision and assessed the field.
Barcelona's fullbacks, Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal, were showing drastically reduced activity due to fatigue.
Even more, centre-backs Carles Puyol and Rafael Márquez had spread themselves thin to cover the gaps left behind by the fullbacks.
As a result, Busquets, stationed as the defensive midfielder, was being overburdened, and the number of passes from Xavi and Iniesta had started to drop.
That was Barcelona's weakness at the moment.
Real Madrid needed to capitalize on it.
[Real Madrid finally regains possession.]
[Robben pushes up past the halfway line to receive a forward pass from Zidane. He returns it right back to him.]
[The players are running a bit more now, slowly freeing themselves from Barcelona's pressing.]
When tactically on the back foot, Carlos and Robben would fall into a five-man defense to implement ultra-defensive tactics.
Carlos was tiring, and Robben lacked defensive qualities, but they overcame danger by carefully deploying the offside trap.
Ho-young's defensive contribution also played a big role.
His tackling and interception weren't top-class, but he possessed a unique ability learned from Cannavaro.
Defensive positioning.
Ho-young would hold a key position and latch onto Henry each time he made a diagonal run, slowing him down.
[Ho-young physically blocks Henry's run. Cannavaro comes in and cleanly intercepts the ball.]
[He's showing defensive awareness too. He knows exactly where to stand to make defending easier. Truly a mysterious player.]
[Exactly. Whether or not Real Madrid can stop Barcelona's 12-game winning streak remains to be seen, but they've certainly proven this won't be an easy win for the Catalans. With this kind of play, it's impossible to predict the outcome.]
Then, in the 74th minute of the second half.
Schuster unveiled the second weapon.
[OUT 3. Roberto Carlos]
[IN 12. Marcelo]
A substitution.
Carlos came off, and Marcelo took his place.
But it didn't end there.
[Schuster makes a double change. Alongside Carlos, Raúl also comes off. Gago enters the pitch.]
[It seems he's reinforcing the defense even more, despite already being in an ultra-defensive setup.]
[He's clearly trying to prevent any further goals and hold out for an equalizer. Schuster is determined to leave here today with at least one point.]
Removing Raúl and bringing on Gago was a clear signal to reinforce the defense.
But then.
[Huh?]
[Real Madrid's shape… it's changing. And drastically.]
A sudden, unexpected shift in formation.
Like a snake shedding its skin, the previously hidden second strategy was being revealed.
The commentators and the crowd alike couldn't hide their surprise.
An eerie energy crept back over the stadium.
[Robben, who had been playing on the right wing, now moves to the left. Zidane slots into the right wing. In central midfield, Gago and Diarra form a double pivot.]
Now, a flat midfield line of Robben, Diarra, Gago, and Zidane was in place.
[Diarra will act as the destroyer, Gago as the distributor. It's a very textbook setup. But it's surprising that Schuster would abandon the extreme defensive stance for a 4-4-2, especially against Barcelona's 3-4-3.]
Watching from the sidelines, Guardiola furrowed his brow.
He was a man who thought of nothing but football, yet even he couldn't instantly decipher Schuster's intentions.
'Looks like they're setting up for a crossing game.'
The commentary echoed his thoughts.
[Robben's shift to the left seems to be a sign of an upcoming crossing attack. His strong foot is his left, after all.]
[And moving Zidane to the right fits that same logic, doesn't it?]
[Yes. They appear to be aiming to utilize van Nistelrooy's aerial threat. Ho-young moving up to the front line also supports that strategy.]
Ho-young moved to the forward line to partner with van Nistelrooy, completing Real Madrid's flat 4-4-2 shape.
[If I had to guess, they're trying to exploit Carles Puyol's weakness in aerial duels. Rafael Márquez, too, is relatively short for a centre-back. It looks like Madrid is attempting to exploit Barcelona's aerial vulnerability.]
Barcelona had conceded just 7 goals in the league this season, and 3 of them came from headers.
Athletic Bilbao's target man Fernando Llorente had scored two, and Atlético Madrid's Raúl García added another.
'That must be what Madrid is targeting.'
But Guardiola wasn't someone who would just sit still and watch.
He immediately called for a substitution without hesitation.
[OUT 4. Rafael Márquez]
[IN 3. Gerard Piqué]
Barcelona's pride.
Gerard Piqué.
The 21-year-old centre-back was finally stepping onto the El Clásico stage for the first time in his career.
'So this is the moment I've been waiting for.'
Piqué was overwhelmed with emotion as he stepped onto the pitch.
He had endured so much to get here.
Years ago, his maternal grandfather, a former vice president of Barcelona, had been caught up in a political scandal, forcing Piqué to leave for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson's invitation.
The cakes and fish in Manchester were terrible, but his time there helped him grow.
And this year, he had returned to Barcelona and performed outstandingly, finally achieving his dream of appearing in El Clásico.
'Crosses from both wings to play through aerial battles. That's definitely what they're planning.'
Piqué had learned plenty under Ferguson.
Standing at 194 cm, he had one of the best aerial abilities in the team.
His opportunity to shine came not long after.
Thud!
[Zidane lofts the ball into the box!]
[Van Nistelrooy challenges Piqué in the air! He barely wins the header, but it sails over the goal.]
[As expected, Madrid is now focused on crosses. But Piqué's resistance is proving formidable.]
That pattern continued.
Whenever Zidane or Robben had the chance, they sent crosses into the box, and Puyol and Piqué fought back relentlessly.
[Real Madrid has unveiled a new weapon, but it's not doing much damage.]
[Schuster might have underestimated Guardiola. Pep is a perfectionist who prepares for every possible scenario.]
Indeed, it looked like the strategy had failed.
But the man at the center of it thought differently.
'Perfect. This is going exactly as planned.'
Ho-young, lingering at the top of the box, had a sharpened look in his eyes.
His body loosened, and his gaze sharpened.
"Whew."
He let out a heavy breath, fully prepared to move.
The mood on the pitch suddenly shifted. A strange tension flowed through the eyes of the players.
Zidane, from afar, sent him a piercing glance.
— I'm sending it. Go.
A clear signal.
And soon after, Real Madrid revealed their true weapon.
[Zidane and Gago build up from the midfield.]
[Since the wide crossing plays kept failing, they seem to be pulling back and regrouping.]
[Just as you say that, Zidane sends a long ball forward. It clears the defenders' heads! A surprise attempt behind the line! The first to take off is Ho-young!]
The stadium exploded with excitement.
The commentators shouted with passion at Ho-young's sprint.
Boos rained down from the stands, but Ho-young wasn't fazed. In fact, it only fueled him to run faster.
This was the real weapon Real Madrid had prepared.
All the crosses so far were a smokescreen. The actual core was something else entirely.
The essence of Kick and Rush wasn't the "kick." It was the "rush."
The heart of the strategy wasn't crossing into the box, but the sudden long ball into the space behind the defense.
[A long ball into the space behind the line! Ho-young races to get on the end of it!]
Breaking through the defensive line, Ho-young had already secured his position.
Piqué started chasing just after, and the aerial duel began.
"Hup."
Piqué focused all his attention on his head.
There had been a specific drill he and Guardiola worked on endlessly.
Pep had anticipated Ho-young being used as a striker and had said:
— If the gap between the centre-backs widens, the opponent is likely to go for crosses. They have the players for that. What matters most is whether you can win the aerial duel. If you think you can't, then jump lower and use your body to disrupt. If you can win it, challenge aggressively.
Piqué was 11 cm taller than Ho-young.
On top of that, his leaping ability was excellent. He was confident he could win in the air.
With that confidence, he leapt with all his strength.
And as expected, Piqué rose higher.
But not everything went as planned.
"...!"
Surprisingly, Ho-young didn't jump at full power.
Instead, he used his solid frame to initiate contact.
It was easy to throw off the balance of someone who had fully committed to their jump.
"Ugh!"
Piqué lost his balance before he could even attempt a header and fell to the ground.
He wore a look of disbelief, but the game didn't stop.
Anyone could see it was a clean challenge.
'Damn it.'
Too late for regrets.
Piqué may have jumped higher, but the winner of the aerial duel was Ho-young.
The untouched ball dropped right to his feet.
And at that very moment.
Boom!
Just outside the penalty area.
Ho-young sharply turned and unleashed a turning shot without the slightest delay.
The timing was so quick that Valdés didn't even get a hand up.
Ripples.
[GOOOOOOAL! Ho-young scores his second of the match!]
[A stunning turning shot to bring Madrid level!]
[That was a genius-level decision. Piqué got completely outplayed in the mental battle.]
3-3. Back to square one.
The match was heading for a dramatic conclusion.
(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.)