In modern football, the most important keyword is pressing.
That is why resistance to pressing is regarded as one of the most necessary abilities for a player, and in the case of top teams, the average level of press resistance is outstanding.
Because of that, ordinary pressing cannot produce satisfying results against strong teams.
That was why three-sided pressing appeared.
It refers to a tactic in which three players form a triangle, trap the opponent from the outside inward, and win the ball.
But even that was not enough to dominate modern football.
As tactics improved, players' technique naturally developed as well.
As those kinds of tactics appeared, more and more was demanded of footballers.
Resistance to pressing became even more important, and players who could endure that kind of pressure began to emerge.
Representative examples were Iniesta and David Silva.
Spanish players, who generally possessed excellent close control, tended to be strong at resisting pressure, and so even three-sided pressing ultimately failed to have much effect.
That led to the emergence of four-sided pressing.
It refers to a tactic in which, when the opposing player has the ball, he is surrounded from all sides and stripped of it.
At that point, even a player with great resistance to pressure will end up losing the ball.
And even if he does not, he cannot escape having to recycle possession backward instead of playing the football he wants.
But because four-sided pressing consumes far too much physical energy, it would be fair to say that up to now there had been no team that used it regularly.
If it was used, it was when the opposing team had players especially strong under pressure.
That was why the tactic was often used against top teams.
There was no better strategy for tying down the feet of an elite crack.
Yet even that did not work against one particular monster.
[When it comes to pressure, Ho-young is the kind of player who chews it up whole, isn't he?]
[Without a doubt. I would even say that the reason Barcelona prepared this kind of tactic is precisely because of that. You can really see their determination to stop Ho-young, no matter what.]
Six-sided pressing.
The reason Barcelona had brought out such an extreme tactic was to stop Ho-young.
[Modern football comes down to which team presses better, and which team escapes pressure better. From that point of view, Barcelona's weapon looks good for now. Those rumors were not floating around for no reason.]
[I agree. They look thoroughly prepared.]
Once before, Manchester United manager Ferguson had tried using six players to take the ball from Ho-young, but it was the first time such a tactic had been organized this systematically.
It was only possible because tacticians, managers, and coaches who had a competitive obsession with Ho-young had spent days upon days putting their heads together to complete it.
"If we just do what we trained, we can stop him."
Tito Vilanova quietly judged that it was possible.
If they could just stop Ho-young, the rest of the players would be manageable.
"They are impressive, that is true, but they are still not ready to face us."
Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, David Silva, Fellaini, Kompany, they were still prospects who had not yet fully reached their complete level.
If Barcelona targeted their lack of experience, they could do more than win.
That did not mean Vilanova was entirely at ease.
As Barcelona manager, borrowing outside help was practically the same as throwing away all pride.
So Vilanova looked away from that thought.
He did not care much about his personal honor as a manager.
What mattered to him now was the team.
If they succeeded, they would get the trophy.
They would be able to lift a glory no one else could achieve.
But the truth was that worry outweighed expectation.
After all, the opponent was Ho-young.
A player who could figure out how to respond to a new tactic in no time once enough time had passed.
And besides, Ho-young was not the only opponent.
The tactical genius Guardiola was always by his side.
[I think the most important thing is time. Ho-young is a genius of the century. No matter what tactic you bring, he has the ability to smash it apart through sheer skill.]
[That's right. It is said that Ho-young usually takes anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to fully understand a tactic. From Barcelona's point of view, they have to decide the match within that window.]
And indeed, Ho-young was already analyzing Barcelona's tactic.
"Four-sided pressing. The tactical base of gegenpressing."
Gegenpressing.
It was supposed to be the innovative tactic that Jürgen Klopp would introduce in the near future.
But the future had changed.
Not only had four-sided pressing been surpassed by the systematic development of six-sided pressing, it had even appeared on a stage as big as the Champions League final.
The development of tactics was being accelerated because of Ho-young's existence.
Ho-young had faced anywhere from two or three players to as many as five or six before, but an experience like this was rare.
"It is definitely more organized than United's press."
If Ferguson's pressing plan back then had been improvised, this was a more polished and refined tactic.
High-quality pressure.
The fact that every player applying it was world-class made it even more difficult for Ho-young.
Since each player had to perform the work of at least two men, it was only possible with players who had a deep understanding of positioning.
[Look at Barcelona's third line. Xavi, Fàbregas, Busquets, Piqué, Mascherano, and Puyol are moving like one body. You do not even need to see it to know how much they trained for this match.]
Each of them possessed excellent tactical understanding, and they laid the foundation for efficient six-sided pressing by occupying as many key points as possible.
[The ball moves into midfield. Ah! Fellaini cuts it out. The ball goes straight to Iniesta.]
[Iniesta looks immediately for Ho-young. Ho-young is dropping into space!]
Manchester City played the way they usually did.
It was the tactic in which Ho-young, who had been wandering in the front line, suddenly dropped into the second line, received the ball himself, and started the attack.
It was also a tactic that could not be stopped even when anticipated because of Ho-young's explosiveness and command of the field.
But then.
[...Oooooh!]
[Ho-young! He has to be careful here!!]
For a moment, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
The instant the ball left Iniesta's foot, the six players who had been waiting nearby all charged at a single point at once.
That point was exactly where Ho-young was headed.
Thump!
[Busquets gets his shoulder in first!]
[Puyol is there too!]
Before Ho-young could even receive the ball, Busquets initiated contact first.
Puyol, starting at right-back, also came in from the opposite side and joined the physical battle.
The purpose was to buy time before Ho-young could begin playing with the ball.
This was the tactic Barcelona had prepared.
The six players moved as a unit, occupied as many zones as possible, waited in the key areas, and killed the space before the pass could even reach Ho-young.
Busquets was bounced away in the physical duel with Ho-young, but Javier Mascherano followed immediately and bought more time.
[So that is why Mascherano, who started alongside Piqué at centre-back, has been moving constantly between lines!]
Javier Mascherano, the man known as "the eraser."
Despite his short stature, he was excellent in physical battles, but in just one second he was erased by Ho-young instead.
But in that brief moment, Piqué got his arm in and bought even more time.
In the meantime, Xavi got to the ball.
Ho-young arrived a moment later and put his foot in, but to no avail.
No matter how world-class his tackling was, Xavi's resistance to pressure was also elite, so he could not win the ball easily.
Immediately after, Xavi exchanged passes with Fàbregas next to him and kept the ball safe.
It was the result of completely memorizing Manchester City's usual attacking patterns and going through brutal response drills.
"It works!"
"Yes, this is it!"
"Good, I can see a chance."
A thrilling shiver ran through Barcelona's camp.
No one knew how long they had trained for the Champions League title since the league title had all but been secured.
There had not even been any guarantee they would face Manchester City, and yet they had trained brutally for the past two months to bring this tactic to life today.
Because they had confidence that if they had a tactic capable of beating Manchester City, then they could beat anyone.
It was the moment those hard days turned into rewarding ones.
[Manchester City are starting to look frustrated. It is still early in the match, but Barcelona clearly look better for now.]
[I don't know about that. Can Barcelona really keep Ho-young tied down like this? Ho-young is not the kind of player who keeps falling for the same strategy.]
That was the commentator's expectation.
Because Ho-young was an exceptional player when it came to adapting.
Then, in the 9th minute of the first half.
Barcelona had failed in attack and were about to hand possession back to Manchester City.
[The ball rolls to Iniesta, he lays it off immediately to David Silva.]
[Alexis Sánchez and David Villa press forward. David Silva plays it back. Fellaini receives it safely.]
[It looks like they have changed the way they build the attack because they were concerned about the pass being cut out like before.]
[Exactly. Since the opponent is occupying the space, it is probably better to circulate the ball safely through build-up from the back instead of forcing it directly into the Ho-young zone.]
It was Guardiola's instruction.
It was only a temporary measure, but far better than doing nothing.
[Fellaini looks upfield now. He gives it short to Iniesta.]
In that instant, Iniesta's head turned forward.
At the same time, his eyes flashed sharply, and his ankle snapped through the ball in one movement.
A killer pass stabbed in not to the second line, but straight into the space behind the front line.
It was an attacking pattern aimed at the gap left by Piqué and Mascherano pushing their line up.
[Ho-young is running into the space behind!]
[Oh, ohhh! The very moment you mentioned!!]
Thwack!
Xavi Hernández.
The ball stopped at his feet.
[Xavi Hernández with a sliding tackle! He just manages to cut out Iniesta's pass!]
[Wow, he cuts it out there. What vision. Xavi Hernández is reading Iniesta's passing lane completely.]
[That makes sense. How many years have the two of them played together? There is even a saying about it, isn't there? That Xavi is the only one who calls Iniesta by a nickname.]
When it came to vision, Xavi Hernández was one step above Iniesta.
Once Iniesta's play, the "midfield spine" of Manchester City, was read, the flow of the game tilted toward Barcelona.
Immediately afterward, Xavi exchanged passes with the nearby Fàbregas and launched an attack.
A counterattack that developed in one move.
[Barcelona attack as a unit. They are keeping a six-man structure and helping the ball carrier resist pressure.]
Barcelona's hexagonal unit was not used only for pressing.
When they attacked, the surrounding players joined in sequence to help with resistance to pressure.
Up front, the hexagonal unit made up of Messi, Villa, Sánchez, Fàbregas, Xavi, and Busquets went to work and broke free from the three-sided pressing Manchester City pursued.
It was an extremely refined and highly advanced strategy.
Messi's shot narrowly missed the post, but the effect was clear.
[I cannot say they are overwhelmingly on top, but Barcelona are still carrying the better flow for now. It will be interesting to see what sort of response Manchester City show.]
Manchester City's bench.
As expected, Guardiola called over Ho-young, who was wearing the captain's armband.
He needed to inform the players of a new countermeasure.
"From now until the end of the first half, we change the plan."
"Understood."
Ho-young understood immediately what he meant, nodded, and turned back.
Guardiola touched Ho-young's shoulder and spoke.
"Do not overdo it. Do not think you are alone."
A faint grin.
Ho-young walked back onto the pitch with the hint of a smile.
As he did, he closed his eyes.
"From here on, I am alone."
Eleven years into his football career.
The remarkable one-man shows that had saved his team every time they were in danger.
He was about to show that again.
But such a thing always came with side effects.
The biggest issue, as always, was his knee.
No matter how strong it was, performing extraordinary football inevitably placed a huge shock on it.
"Still, it is fine."
No one knew his body better than he did.
Besides, was that not exactly why he had preserved that precious knee all this time?
And his body, too, had already gone beyond human limits, so there was no need to worry too much.
"Just 20 minutes at full power."
Ho-young dropped into midfield.
He intended to turn the match upside down by force.
(To be continued.)