[
[There is growing interest in whether Yoon Jung-ho (19, Wolfsburg), who has emerged as the hidden card of the South Korea Olympic football team, will play in the semi-final. That is because a showdown with his elementary school classmate Ho-young could take place. In a recent interview, Yoon Jung-ho shocked everyone by recalling their school days and saying, "Ho-young learned football from me." At the same time, he showed strong confidence, saying that if he plays in this match, he will do his utmost to achieve the national team's goal of exemption from military service.]
Yoon Jung-ho.
He was currently one of South Korea's promising football prospects, playing for Wolfsburg's reserve team, one of Germany's rising powers.
Ever since he was young, he had been called a player with tremendous talent, and whenever he saw articles about Ho-young, he had always felt an inferiority complex.
That little kid who had been far worse than him at football had appeared on TV, then before long gone to Brazil and then to Real Madrid, and he could not stand it.
So Yoon Jung-ho made up his mind.
He would become the same.
He would stand in a higher place than Ho-young.
That was why he had begged his parents to let him go abroad to study football.
That was how he ended up in a German youth academy, and thanks to his wealthy family, he was able to live comfortably there.
Then, three years ago, he joined Wolfsburg and began seriously building his dream as a footballer.
After that, he grew close while receiving guidance from Koo Ji-cheol, who was playing for the first team, and naturally came to the attention of Heo Sung-soo.
That was the background behind his selection for the Olympic squad.
Of course, many criticized the process as football built on connections, but it was not entirely that.
'He's good, Jung-ho.'
Wembley Stadium in London.
With five hours left before the match against Spain, coach Heo Sung-soo fell into thought as he looked at the starting lineup.
The time to submit the lineup was drawing closer, but he still had not finalized it.
The reason was whether or not to start Yoon Jung-ho.
'He is good, but...'
Yoon Jung-ho's talent was among the very best in Korea.
People even said that if he kept developing like this without suffering a major injury, he could reach the level of Park Ju-hyung.
Despite his young age, had he not already risen as South Korea's dark horse and future by performing beyond expectations in this Olympics?
In a match this important, it was only natural to play him.
But Heo Sung-soo was worried about something else.
'There's a high chance he'll get caught up by Ho-young.'
Yoon Jung-ho had spent his whole life feeling inferior to Ho-young.
If he met Ho-young on the pitch, there was no telling what would happen.
'He'll push himself without realizing it. His mentality is weak.'
From that point of view, it would be better not to play him and let him rest.
If he went out there and got injured for no reason, that would truly be the worst-case scenario.
At the moment, Korea had two options.
First, go all out against Spain.
Or, hold back and save energy, then go all out in the third-place match.
Heo Sung-soo and his coaching staff leaned closer to the latter.
As long as Ho-young was there, they did not think they could beat Spain, so they believed it would be better not to overextend themselves and instead put everything into the third-place match.
Their objective was not the color of the medal, but whether they could secure exemption from military service.
But even that was not certain.
In the third-place match, Great Britain, who had lost to Brazil, would be waiting.
'I'm trapped either way.'
A difficult situation.
Pressure from above also played a part.
That was because the Korea Football Association had asked them not to suffer a crushing defeat against Spain under any circumstances.
And for good reason. Given the current mood in Korea, if they conceded heavily to Ho-young, the country would be turned upside down.
There might not only be a parliamentary audit, but the entire leadership of the Korea Football Association could be replaced.
It was an extremely sensitive matter.
There was no way Heo Sung-soo would not be troubled by it.
But no matter what, a decision had to be made.
'Still, it's better to face Great Britain than Ho-young.'
So he intended to rest the main first-team players and go all out in the third-place match.
Just as he finalized the starting lineup and was about to refine the tactics,
"Coach!"
Someone came into the manager's office without warning.
It was none other than the youngest player on the team, Yoon Jung-ho.
"What is it all of a sudden?"
"I really want to play in the match!"
"What?"
Heo Sung-soo was displeased by the rude behavior, but Yoon Jung-ho had such a strong ego that he decided to hear him out first.
"Is it because of Ho-young?"
"No. I just heard from one of the coaches that we are not going all out in this match. I can't understand that. Do we have no pride?!"
"Hah. Crazy bastard."
There was no other way to describe him.
Despite the 24-year age gap, who else would dare come directly to the coach and clearly state his own opinion?
And to someone as charismatic as Heo Sung-soo, no less.
'His spirit really is something else.'
Of course, Yoon Jung-ho's voice was trembling.
He was speaking while bracing himself to be scolded, suppressing his fear.
At that confidence, Heo Sung-soo lifted one corner of his mouth.
'I used to be like that too.'
Then he tightened his brow and said,
"Are you serious?"
"Is there any law saying we can't beat Spain?! Do we have no pride?!"
"Why, is it because of Ho-young?"
"That has been my dream for the past ten years. I have to show him. I made it this far too. I can't lose to a guy like that, a guy who betrayed the country that raised him!"
"I understand what you're saying."
Heo Sung-soo nodded and gestured with his hand.
"But if you're an adult now, you should know the difference between stubbornness and fighting spirit. Go back to the locker room and warm up for now."
"!"
"Like you said, we do have a chance."
Three hours before kickoff.
At the press conference room beneath Wembley Stadium, the managers of both teams held their press conferences.
Spain's Luis Milla, convinced of victory, gave his interview in a very relaxed posture, while Heo Sung-soo showed a grim determination.
"Korean football is in a transitional period right now. As everyone knows, there has been an unfortunate incident recently. But that will not break our pride. The door is open. When one star falls, a new star is bound to rise."
Ho-young was the falling star.
Yoon Jung-ho was the rising star, and Heo Sung-soo was using that comparison to raise the team's morale.
That was all he could do as the man in charge of the squad.
[
└LOL, the match of the century? All I can do is laugh
└Doesn't that reporter feel embarrassed?
└If you combine 100 Yoon Jung-hos, they'd be equal to Ho-young's right leg
└Looks like Jung-ho still doesn't understand the situation. Is it because he's young?
└Jung-ho... you fought hard, and let's never see you again....
└They should just forfeit this match and go all-in on the third-place game.
└Damn... this is the most nervous I've been since the World Cup semi-final. I'm not worried about who wins, I'm worried about how many goals we'll lose by.
└Today is the day Korean football dies
The match began amid great anticipation and worry.
Once again, Ho-young started as the central striker in a 4-3-3 and offered Yoon Jung-ho a handshake.
"It's been a while."
It had been a long time since he had seen that face, but that old spiteful look was still vivid in his mind.
Wasn't he the first person whose talent Ho-young had ever coveted?
He was someone Ho-young could never forget, even if he wanted to.
But then.
Yoon Jung-ho immediately ignored Ho-young's greeting and covered his mouth as he whispered softly,
"Traitor."
A provocation born from jealousy that had grown far too large.
Yoon Jung-ho's mentality was so childish that it made one question how he had become a footballer at all.
That was his first mistake.
Those words had touched Ho-young's temper.
Piiik!
The result showed itself the moment the match began.
[Spain kick off, Ho-young receives it.]
[Ahhh, Ho-young!!]
He ran.
There was no better way to describe it than that he was running.
But he was not simply running.
Thomas Müller's creative understanding of space.
Xavi Hernández's unmatched vision.
Lionel Messi's dribbling that no one could imitate.
Arjen Robben and Gareth Bale's explosive burst and drive.
Ronaldinho's otherworldly ball awareness.
The experience and instincts of countless players were maximizing Ho-young's surging run.
South Korea's midfield had long since become scarecrows.
They were so outmatched it almost felt unreal.
Yoon Jung-ho could only stare blankly from a distance.
Ho-young's charge, which had begun at the halfway line, had already gone well beyond the midfield line.
And that was not the end of it.
'Sprint.'
A title he had taken from Usain Bolt not long ago.
The experience and instincts of a man who had run the 100 metres tens of thousands of times in his life were more astonishing than anyone could have imagined.
In a word, it was the method of squeezing the body to its limit to produce maximum speed.
On top of that, the monstrous physical gifts he had gained from countless athletes, along with Nadal's body rotation and control, maximized it even further.
[Ho-young keeps going! No one can stop him!!]
Even world-class defenders knew what was coming and still could not stop Ho-young's burst and drive, so now that he also carried Usain Bolt's instincts, it was like reaching for the stars for South Korea's back line to stop him.
And Ho-young never slowed down.
Displaying play at the very edge of what he could do, he blew past the entire defense with overwhelming speed.
There was still the important final to come, but that was fine.
Today, more than anything, he wanted to burn everything.
And then.
[He, he's through!!]
He went in, literally.
Into the goal.
Rustle!
[Gooooooooooooal!]
[It's in! Ho-young! He has driven the ball right into the goal!]
There was nothing the goalkeeper could do.
What could he possibly do when a wild beast was charging at him at terrifying speed?
And just like that, the much-anticipated clash between the two former classmates ended in anticlimactic fashion.
By the time the match ended, the score was 8-0.
Today would be remembered as the most humiliating day in the history of Korean football.
After the match, the press conference room had become a place to celebrate Spain's advance to the final.
Amid that, one reporter asked an uncomfortable question.
"Ho-young, today's match must carry special meaning for you. You personally tore down South Korea, the country where you were born and raised."
"Yes, to be honest, it feels strange to me as well. If that incident had never happened, this might have been a celebration of the South Korea national team's place in the final instead. It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but I think Korean football has now reached the point where it must change."
It was a meaningful remark aimed at the Korea Football Association.
No one could know exactly how that would change Korean football, but at the very least, the fact that change was possible was significant in itself.
With that, Korean football had no choice but to stake everything on the third-place match.
But after suffering a crushing defeat to Spain, they had lost all motivation and then lost to Great Britain as well, finishing the tournament in fourth place.
Meanwhile, Spain's opponent in the final was Brazil.
Breno, Douglas Costa, Alexandre Pato, Oscar, Marcelo, Kaká, Thiago Silva, and Ho-young's old friends were waiting for him.
(To be continued.)