[Breaking News: Ho-young finally chooses the Spain national team]
└No way...
└This is official... right?
└This can't be real...
└I checked the Royal Spanish Football Federation website, and it's real...
└What do we do now?
└What do you mean, what do we do? By the rules, he can't come back now. Korean football is finished.
Shocking news.
The reaction was largely divided into three groups.
Those who simply could not believe it, those who accepted reality and blamed the Korea Football Association, and a small number of people who brought up patriotism and criticized Ho-young.
And it was not only becoming an issue in Korea.
Football fans all around the world were utterly stunned.
[So now it's Spain's turn to dominate everything.]
└Euro 2012 is going to be worth watching. It'll be massive.
└The 2014 World Cup is going to be insane too. Isn't Spain basically guaranteed to win? Their defense and midfield are already solid, and if they just stick Ho-young up front, they'll beat everyone.
└This is unbelievable. To think a national team would be born that surpasses Pelé's Brazil.
└Germany's golden generation for the next World Cup is unlucky. Until Ho-young retires from international football, they probably won't even be able to dream of winning the World Cup.
└Congratulations to Spain on winning Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup, Euro 2016, the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020, and the 2022 World Cup.
People from other countries reacted relatively mildly, but there was one country whose reaction was especially intense.
It was Spain.
[Scream your lungs out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
└¡VAMOS!
└WOO!!
└¡VAMOS!!
└WOO!!!!
└Looks like a national sports hero who will surpass Nadal is about to be born.
└By the way, what do you think Ho-young got in exchange for naturalizing?
└I heard they were giving him an ultra-luxury mansion.
└Just that?
└Give him whatever he wants, just give us Ho-young!
Public opinion in Spain was beyond imagination.
There had been speculation that the fact he was Asian would trigger racism, but that was never what mattered.
Ho-young had long since transcended race as a sportsman.
For him, there was not much left to worry about anymore.
The road ahead was wide open.
And from December through March, there was no obstacle in his path.
During the Boxing Day period in December, Manchester City drew 3-3 with Chelsea, but after that it was a nonstop run of victories again.
The year 2012, which people had made such a fuss about as the year the world would end, passed as normally as ever.
No, the football world moved a little differently.
[Manchester City crush Sunderland 4-0]
[After Sunderland, they dismantle Bolton Wanderers 5-1]
[Man City beat Tottenham 4-0]
[Man City beat Sunderland, Liverpool, Tottenham, and now Everton in succession]
Although the dream of a perfect winning season had been broken, the dream of an unbeaten title was still alive.
Moreover, they kept rolling forward not only in the Premier League, but also in the League Cup and the FA Cup with strong results every few days.
Meanwhile, the January winter transfer window passed without incident.
Several Premier League teams strengthened their squads with new signings, but Manchester City went through the window without spending anything.
Most of the squad were players with such great stamina that squad rotation was not a major problem.
And then came February.
Manchester City also produced satisfying results in the UEFA Champions League.
They faced Swiss giants Basel in the Round of 16, and in the first leg they scored no fewer than six goals, all but sealing their place in the quarter-finals.
That day, Ho-young produced an astonishing performance, recording every single attacking contribution with one assist in the first half and five goals in the second.
The second leg was no different.
Basel were a strong side in Switzerland, but by Champions League standards they were clearly a weaker team.
There was no way Manchester City were going to lose, and as everyone expected, they won the second leg as well to confirm their place in the quarter-finals.
Ho-young's individual form also continued.
By March, he had already scored 43 goals in the Premier League alone, taking a huge step toward the incredible milestone of 50 league goals.
Not only that, he also held top spot in the scoring charts of the Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup.
In the process, an unprecedented situation occurred, with Manchester City sweeping both the Player of the Month and Manager of the Month awards all the way through March.
A clean sweep of trophies, an unbeaten title, top scorer in every competition.
Those ridiculous records were gradually becoming reality.
The talent work continued steadily as well.
Starting with Henry and Gerrard, he coveted the Titles of various players against Manchester United, Chelsea, and others, and through training made them his own.
Not just Titles, but the transcendence of his talents was also progressing without issue.
Among them, the most important physical work would begin before long.
That was actually the part he looked forward to the most.
Because to transcend the human body meant that all of his overall abilities would improve.
Football was, at its core, a physical sport.
From kicking ability to work rate to running speed, every area was bound to improve.
It was no longer just a nickname. Before long, he felt he might truly reach the realm of a god.
And then, on March 21.
Ahead of the international friendly, Ho-young received his national team call-up.
Manchester City had a Premier League match against Swansea City scheduled just five days later, but Guardiola gladly allowed Ho-young to join up.
And for good reason, considering the league table, missing one match would not be a problem.
<1> Manchester City, 27 wins, 2 draws, 83 points, 110 goals scored, 16 conceded
<2> Manchester United, 20 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses, 65 points, 60 goals scored, 24 conceded
There were still nine matches left in the season.
But with a gap of 18 points, Manchester City had all but secured the Premier League title.
So from Guardiola's point of view, there was no reason to block Ho-young's first call-up.
Besides, with Spain preparing for Euro 2012, Del Bosque had personally made a request to Guardiola.
To get the result they wanted at the Euros, Ho-young's adaptation to the Spain national team was essential.
And so, Ho-young's first national team call-up was made official.
[Ho-young officially called up for national team training, highly likely to feature in the upcoming match against the Netherlands]
[First Asian player ever selected for the Spain national team, key issue will be team chemistry and adaptation]
[Experts express concern over whether Ho-young, being of a different race, will be able to fit in well with the Spain national team]
[Del Bosque: "Out of concern that the team may be disrupted, we will not change Spain's basic framework. It has been agreed that Ho-young will adapt to the team's style."]
[Sergio Ramos: "The greatest gift of my life. My prayer to be able to play with Ho-young has come true. We will become one again. The idea that team chemistry could be a problem is nothing but laughable nonsense."]
[Iker Casillas: "I think my workload is going to decrease a lot. I'll probably just sit in front of the goal and enjoy watching Ho-young score."]
[Raúl González expresses desire to return to the national team]
[Interest and anticipation grow over what squad number Ho-young will wear]
└Spain's number 10 right now is Cesc Fàbregas, isn't it?
└Surely he's not going to lose it?
└At this point Ho-young is practically a professional shirt-number robber.
└Come on, no way. It's his first call-up. They wouldn't hand him the number 10 already, not for the national team. It's not like he's going straight to the Euros tomorrow.
└Right. That's way too soon. This isn't a club, it's the national team. It would look strange for an Asian player to naturalize and immediately take the ace number.
Debate raged over Ho-young's squad number.
All kinds of speculation flew around over whether Cesc Fàbregas, who currently wore the number 10 shirt, would really give it up.
He was one of the unquestioned core members of Spain.
With Iniesta and Xavi getting older, he was supposed to be the ace who would carry Spain into the future.
But some believed Fàbregas would not even be called up for the national team.
Since it was mid-season, clubs often used all kinds of excuses to refuse releasing key players.
Ho-young as well was scheduled to join training on the day before the match because of the Premier League schedule.
But there was one twist to all this.
[The Spain national team announced its March international squad through its official website. Not only Ho-young but also Cesc Fàbregas was included in the squad.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation called up several first-team players in order to fully prepare for Euro 2012 against the Netherlands. However, many clubs refused to release their players, citing injuries and other reasons.
But Cesc Fàbregas was different. Even though Barcelona were still alive in every competition, Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova readily agreed to release Fàbregas. In addition, Xavi Hernández, Piqué, Puyol, Ramos, Casillas, and...]
There were two main reasons for that.
The first was that Barcelona were already holding a large points lead over Real Madrid in the title race.
And more than anything, the biggest reason, the second one, was...
[Cesc Fàbregas wanted the call-up himself... determined to keep hold of the number 10 shirt]
[Cesc Fàbregas: "In pure ability, I may be inferior to Ho-young, but considering the identity of the national team, I fit it far better. I am a native Spaniard born in Arenys de Mar."]
Fàbregas had built up quite a bit of resentment after suffering so much at Ho-young's hands.
Having moved to Barcelona this season, he had tasted repeated humiliation and bitter defeat against Ho-young back when he was at Arsenal.
There were even rumors saying he had run off to Barcelona to escape Ho-young.
On top of that, he believed Ho-young was the reason he had missed out on winning the World Cup.
That was why, despite the busy season, he had readily accepted the national team call-up.
March 21, at the national team training ground in Las Rozas, on the outskirts of Madrid.
"Tch."
Fàbregas, sharper than usual today, spat on the ground as he walked into the training ground.
He had already made his position on the shirt number clear to Del Bosque in no uncertain terms.
[I absolutely cannot give up my number. If you want to give Ho-young the ace number that badly, find another player. I will never give it up.]
'He thinks he can take my number the moment he arrives? Does he think I'll hand it over that easily?'
It was not pettiness.
It was the pride of one of the best central midfielders in the world, and of the national team's existing ace.
And there was one more thing.
'Tch. He's not even one of our people.'
It was his sense of rejection toward Ho-young.
Putting racism aside, wearing the same shirt as an Asian player was not something he could easily accept.
Even so, he had no intention whatsoever of disrupting training.
Because he was a man with strong professionalism.
And right at that moment.
A tall, handsome Asian man walked into the training ground.
"Ho-young."
"Good to see you."
An awkward atmosphere flowed between the two.
It was inevitable, since the media had already painted their relationship as a rivalry.
Of course, Ho-young did want the number 10 as well.
But if Fàbregas did not want to give it up, Ho-young had no intention of taking it.
'Any number will do. What matters is ability.'
Besides, Ho-young was not the type to attach much meaning to a shirt number in the first place.
And from the beginning, Fàbregas was not what interested him.
Of course, if one evaluated Fàbregas objectively, he was undoubtedly among the very best.
But compared to Ho-young, the difference was like heaven and earth.
In other words, Fàbregas was the only one feeling the rivalry.
Ho-young's attention was actually elsewhere.
His eyes turned toward the wide training field.
The players warming up all came into view at once.
'There are an awful lot of them.'
Casillas, Ramos, Piqué, Xavi, Mata, Busquets, Villa, and more.
Which meant there were an enormous number of talents he could covet.
Especially, it was the perfect chance to covet Xavi's Pass Master (T) talent.
'Good. I'll sweep them all up.'
Talent and evolution.
That was Ho-young's first goal.
(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.)