The 7-on-7 mini-game that had started to build chemistry and loosen the players up was dominated by Team A.
There was only one reason.
"Phew..."
"Is this really their first time playing together?"
"No way... Haven't they secretly had a kickabout somewhere before?"
The understanding Iniesta and Ho-young were producing, despite meeting for the first time today, was unbelievably good.
They clicked so naturally that, just by watching each other's movement, they were in perfect sync as if they had played together for years.
Faced with Team A, Team B quickly lost its will.
David Silva, who had been leading Team B's play, could feel it clearly.
'Damn it.'
Over the past six months, playing alongside Ho-young, he had thought his own level had improved quite a lot, but now that he looked back on it, maybe that was not really the case.
'It was Ho-young's ability that made everything fall into place on its own.'
When you played with Ho-young, the chemistry was forced into place.
That was Ho-young's value.
Now that David Silva was playing on the opposite side of him, he felt like he finally understood.
And then, in that very moment, the net rippled once again.
It was a joint creation from Iniesta, Ho-young, and Ronaldinho.
Tiki-taka.
A scene that had only been seen at Barcelona two years earlier was now slowly being recreated here.
'The manager's style is showing more and more.'
Manchester City was gradually being dyed in Guardiola's style.
And Andrés Iniesta, who had been at the heart of tiki-taka, felt that more clearly than anyone.
'This is truly incredible.'
He had never imagined this.
He had never dreamed he would see that system again here, the very one he had thought would disappear and be buried forever.
And as he linked up with Ho-young, something unbelievable began to happen.
'This is like...'
It felt as though he had stepped into another world.
That was not an exaggeration.
And even right now, that kind of moment was unfolding again.
"!"
Ho-young charged forward aggressively, finding a gap up front.
The instant Iniesta got the ball, Ho-young moved in complete coordination and slipped into the most ideal position to receive a killer pass.
Eye contact?
No, Ho-young created perfect movement just by reading his teammates' footwork.
'Even if I did not want to, I would have no choice but to play the killer pass.'
At this point, it felt like Ho-young should be called a killer-pass machine.
Everything that came from him was executed with the precision of a ruler.
It felt as if he were playing football with something other than a human being.
The disconnect was unsettling.
That was what it meant to have him as a teammate.
Even more so.
'What exactly have I been doing all this time?'
Iniesta even found himself thinking that.
The football he had poured blood, sweat, and tears into until now could not even compare in front of Ho-young.
'How fascinating.'
Whenever he tried to play the way he envisioned, Ho-young had already set everything up and prepared the ideal conditions for the best possible play.
For Iniesta, all he had to do was stay focused on his role and concentrate on the buildup from deep.
Even for Guardiola, watching it unfold was a very strange experience.
'It is becoming complete.'
There was almost nothing to criticize in any of the individual players.
Iniesta, of course, was a player who connected with him on a mental level, and Ho-young felt more extraordinary the more he watched him.
'He is far better than I am.'
Tell him to do one thing, and he uses it to produce even more than that.
In a field that changes from moment to moment, he always chooses the best play.
'There is hardly anything for me to touch.'
Guardiola could now clearly feel why a manager was not an essential element for Ho-young.
Still.
"Young, when I give the signal, make a reverse run and drop slightly deeper. From that moment on, Iniesta will play the through ball to you from the back, no matter what."
Even if there was not much work to do, he still did his best as a manager.
No matter how wide a person's vision might be, when you are actually out on the pitch, there are always things you miss.
A manager has to make sure the player feels that directly and comes to understand it on his own.
That was the manager's role, and players grew through that process.
"You mean to skip the next stage of the buildup and create a chance immediately, after drawing the opposition line forward."
"That's right. That is the role you need to play as a false 9. Once you adjust to it, it will create tremendous scoring power. Unless the opposition sets their defenders in two tight lines, it will create a shape they will not be able to stop even if they see it coming. That space over there is the key area, so remember it with your body. From now on, that place will be called Ho-young's zone."
"Understood."
The moment he grasped that explanation, Ho-young began showing even broader movement.
Before long, the goal came immediately.
Without any middle phase, it was a direct scoring move from Iniesta to Ho-young.
"That's it."
And it did not stop there.
Even while following Guardiola's instructions, Ho-young constantly created inventive movement and avoided letting the pattern become too simple.
He was evolving from a mere conductor directing the game into a composer creating the piece called flow.
Everyone watching the training was left in awe.
That included Ho-young himself.
There had never been a moment in his life as moving as this one.
He had always wanted to play with Iniesta at least once.
Now he had finally achieved it, and thanks to that, he could now covet Iniesta's talents freely and without restraint.
There were three major talents he could gain from him in the future.
Flawless Midfielder (T)
Ball Keeping at the Highest Realm (SSS-)
Unrivaled Football Intelligence (SS+3)
The conditions were just as demanding as he had expected.
First of all, to acquire Flawless Midfielder (T), he had to fulfill the condition, 'Score a hat-trick by receiving 3 assists in Iniesta's official debut match.'
'If it is his debut match, the upcoming Community Shield is probably the most likely chance.'
In other words, it was an extremely difficult condition to complete.
The opponent was none other than Manchester United.
It would already be difficult enough to score a normal hat-trick against them, but to do it only from Iniesta's assists made it far harder.
And beyond that, there were mountains of teammates' talents he still had to claim.
T-grade talents that allowed him to gain part of a player's experience and instincts.
Even right now, Ronaldinho's Ball Perception (W+2) was still left.
The condition was to lift 4 trophies within a year.
If they won the Community Shield this time, that condition could be fulfilled.
Which meant.
'I could gain something incredible all at once in the match against United.'
A one-off showdown with Manchester United.
The 2011 FA Community Shield.
With so much on the line, he needed to prepare thoroughly.
[In the upcoming Community Shield, who will come out on top? Iniesta's performance may be the key.]
[Pep Guardiola finally faces his first real test. Will his football philosophy work in the Premier League as well... The possibility of him going with the existing 4-2-3-1 formation appears high.]
[Manager Alex Ferguson says, "I do not really have anything to say to a young manager who retired in Spain and came over here."]
[Pep Guardiola remains silent.]
Ferguson tried to start a war of words, but Guardiola deliberately avoided it.
From the start, he had thought there was no way he could beat Ferguson in that area.
And so the FA Community Shield was about to begin.
The mind games were already starting before kickoff.
Then, on August 4.
Manchester City manager Guardiola only finished shaping his tactical plan today, with the match now 3 days away.
What he chose was the 4-2-3-1, the team's most balanced and safest system.
'If we go with 4-3-3, the midfield is too weak. We will not be able to withstand the pressure there.'
That was the conclusion he came to.
But then, by chance, Guardiola picked up a hint.
It came from a conversation with Ho-young.
"So you are going with 4-2-3-1 in the end?"
Whenever there was something he wanted to discuss, he would call Ho-young over privately like this, and today was no different.
Guardiola replied with an awkward expression.
"If it were up to me, I would like to push you higher up and go with the 4-3-3 we have been training, but the midfield is unstable for that. And Yaya Touré and Gareth Barry alone cannot control the midfield. It will reduce our threat, but for now we have no choice."
He was right.
If Ho-young started as an attacking midfielder, controlling the midfield became easier, but their threat level dropped. On the other hand, if he played as a forward, the defensive side weakened.
They were stuck.
The biggest issue was that they had no player who could withstand pressure in midfield.
That was Guardiola's concern.
But then.
"We have a very good player in David Silva, don't we?"
"!"
A breakthrough came from a completely unexpected place.
No, at first, it did not even seem like a breakthrough.
He had never once considered using David Silva, a second-line attacking player, in central midfield.
'His press resistance is excellent, so that solves one problem, and if he plays alongside Iniesta, his fellow Spain international, the burden of orchestrating the game would be lighter as well. The balance might actually work...'
Of course, he still could not say for certain that it was truly the answer.
But Ho-young was completely convinced.
Because he knew the future.
He knew that, later on, Guardiola would convert David Silva into a central midfielder and bring out his talent as a maestro.
In other words, Ho-young had taken an idea that the future Guardiola would eventually have and brought it forward.
Whether the current David Silva could handle that role was the key question, but Ho-young dared to be certain.
With Mancini's Excellent Eye for Players (A+3), which he had taken, he could be sure.
Guardiola agreed.
After all, the idea had effectively come from his own future self, so it resonated with him.
'I have been away too long and lost too much of my edge. I cannot believe I failed to think of this until now.'
Even now, he was grateful to have realized it.
If that worked, they might be able to reach the level of completeness he had been hoping for.
Guardiola spoke quickly.
"Let's get out to the training ground."
Match day came rushing toward them.
The venue was Wembley Stadium in London.
[Yes, the stadium is absolutely boiling with energy. The starting lineups for both teams will be announced shortly.]
As the roughly 90,000 fans filling the stadium roared, the starting lineups for both teams were announced.
United had come with the squad everyone expected.
And Manchester City appeared to have done the same.
[As expected, Ho-young is captaining the side again today.]
[He is a proven guarantee of victory. With United's attack so strong, Ho-young will probably be used as an attacking midfielder to handle the balance between attack and defense.]
At least, that was how it looked until then.
But once all of City's selections were revealed, questions began to rise everywhere.
Manchester City's starting lineup was as follows.
[Manchester City Starting Lineup]
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Defenders: Kolarov, Jérôme Boateng, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta
Midfielders: Andrés Iniesta, Yaya Touré, David Silva
Forwards: Ronaldinho, Ho-young, Adebayor
[If that is the case... this could be a 4-3-3 rather than a 4-2-3-1! We will have to see, but Ho-young could move up front, and David Silva could drift out to the left wing.]
[That would be unusual. Then who takes charge of the midfield? Ronaldinho and Iniesta? David Silva is not going to drop into central midfield, is he?]
[Hmm... I'm not sure. Looking at it this way, it does seem more likely to be a 4-2-3-1 after all. Either way, though, it is clear they have given Ferguson something to think about. They have played a psychological game.]
The beginning of Ho-young City.
Perhaps it was the moment a system that might go down as the greatest in history was revealed to the world.
(To be continued.)