August 11.
This afternoon, with only one day left until the Olympic closing ceremony, a thrilling showdown was set to take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
Brazil vs Spain.
Olympic football was not a major tournament, but this match drew enormous anticipation and attention as a clash for the pride of South America and Europe.
As expected, fierce cheering had already been going back and forth in the stadium from 2 p.m.
[Whether Brazil can protect South America's pride in Olympic football, or whether Spain, the king of Europe, can conquer the Olympic stage as well, will be decided very shortly.]
[Ah, the starting lineups have just been submitted. Let's take a look together.]
The starting lineups that were soon announced did not go against people's expectations.
Spain had not used much energy in the match against Korea, so they were able to maintain top condition and put together a perfect squad.
Brazil, on the other hand, had been quite drained after facing Great Britain in the semi-final.
[Even so, they have still put together a perfect starting lineup. Though as expected, there should be quite a few players whose stamina has dropped.]
Brazil's squad was so solid it was hard to believe it was only an Olympic national team.
On top of that, Marcelo, Kaká, and Thiago Silva, who had joined as wild cards, were starting and were expected to light up the pitch.
[You feel like this squad could make it to at least the quarter-finals even if they went straight into the World Cup.]
[I agree. In fact, if you take Ho-young out of the equation, this is a much stronger squad than Spain's. It is not wrong at all to say Brazil built this team with the clear intention of winning Olympic gold.]
That was why the expectations of Brazil's football fans were greater than expected.
Their momentum could have dropped because their final opponent was Spain, but they were not intimidated in the slightest and instead overwhelmed Spain's supporters.
It was not baseless confidence.
Rafael of Manchester United, Juan Jesus of Inter, Breno Borges of Bayern Munich, Douglas Costa and Marcelo of Real Madrid, Oscar of Juventus, Alexandre Pato and Kaká of AC Milan, Thiago Silva of Manchester City, and Neymar of Santos.
Brazil, packed with young players who had already nailed down starting spots at elite clubs, had every right to show confidence.
[The atmosphere is incredible. But speaking personally, there is one thing Brazil's fans need to keep in mind. Since last season up to now, Ho-young has not lost a single match he has played in. It's fine to hope for victory, but keeping that fact in mind may lessen the disappointment.]
[So you're certain Spain will win?]
[Speaking personally, not as a commentator, of course I am. In modern football, there is no team that can beat a Ho-young side.]
Regardless, the intensity of the cheering only grew fiercer.
""Neymar!""
""Wooooah!""
""Kaká!""
""Woooooooah!""
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Brazil's supporters were overwhelming Spain's supporters with drums, flags, and all kinds of cheering tools.
That heat flowed all the way into the tunnel and warmed the waiting area.
The tension felt like it could explode at any moment.
The players of both teams stood in a line, visibly tense, their palms damp with sweat.
But among them, one player looked unusually relaxed.
"There's no need to think too deeply. You just need to thread short passes through the midfield. Mata and I will cover the rest."
"Thanks, Young."
Ho-young.
He moved up and down the line, checking on each player one by one.
Spain's players were clearly less experienced than Brazil's, so they could not help but feel nervous, but Ho-young eased some of that tension by encouraging them.
And that was not all.
"As expected, our Young is a celebrity wherever he goes. There isn't anyone who doesn't know him."
Ho-young crossed between both teams and chatted with the Brazilian players too.
"You annoying bastard. Did you really have to go this far?"
"That's right. Bad guy."
"Hehe. Still, it's so good to see you like this."
Douglas Costa, Breno, Oscar, Marcelo.
Ho-young exchanged playful greetings with his old teammates from his days in Brazil, lightening the mood in the tunnel.
That also helped ease the tension of the Spain players standing right beside them.
Then even Kaká joined in.
"Meeting you on a stage like this, it really feels like a dream."
"I feel the same."
"No, I mean I wish it were a dream."
"You've gotten much better at jokes."
"Haha..."
Appointed Brazil's captain, Kaká had amazingly scored four goals in this tournament despite being 30 years old.
It was the same at club level.
He was delivering consistently and continuing to write history with AC Milan.
A few years earlier, not going to Real Madrid had turned out to be a masterstroke.
'I should be able to covet Football Crown Prince (T).'
Along with Kaká's talent, there was also one player he absolutely had to covet.
"Neymar. Take care of me."
"Same here."
Brazil's future.
Currently receiving love calls from countless big clubs, he had been counting down the days to this match more than anyone.
Because he had something to repay Ho-young for.
For a moment, a subtle battle of nerves passed between them.
The two were not the type to lose to anyone when it came to competitive spirit.
It was from that moment on
that the heat inside the tunnel flared up again.
And soon after, the match began.
The kickoff went to Spain.
Standing on the centre circle, Ho-young lifted his head and looked up at the London sky.
The dull clouds parted, and the hot sunlight poured down over the stadium.
'This is the last one.'
Perhaps the greatest achievement he could reach before the World Cup.
Olympic gold.
'Let's enjoy today too.'
Just as he steadied his mind,
Piiik!
the signal announcing the match rang out.
[Brazil have come out in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Neymar and Douglas Costa placed on the flanks. Kaká has been deployed centrally as the attacking midfielder. In midfield, Sandro and Oscar are starting.]
As expected, Spain lined up in their most comfortable 4-3-3 and focused on building possession.
A patient build-up.
It was the complete opposite of Brazil's approach, which valued speed and rhythm.
[The flow of the match is splitting neatly in half. Brazil are trying to accelerate the tempo, while Spain are trying to build step by step. The game remains finely balanced so far.]
Tap!
Brazil brought out their trademark rhythm and pushed the tempo as high as possible.
[Brazil are applying strong high pressing. The battle to win the ball back begins.]
[Oscar! He closes down Isco from behind!]
[Isco hurriedly moves the ball to Jesús Navas!]
The Oscar who had focused only on attack as a child was gone.
After meeting Ho-young, he had learned how to sacrifice himself for the team, and by actively contributing in defense, he had grown into a player capable at both ends of the pitch.
The same was true of Breno, who was anchoring the centre of defense.
[Breno with the tackle! Excellent man-marking!]
Breno completely shut down Jesús Navas's individual dribble.
The time he had spent with Ho-young had greatly helped his growth.
The same went for Marcelo.
[Breno safely moves the ball to Marcelo.]
[Marcelo gets away from Juan Mata and tries to overlap forward. He is showing exactly why he is called the best left-back in the world.]
Marcelo had grown almost by force after spending years alongside Ho-young.
And Kaká too, who had grown while teaching his junior at the same time.
[The pass reaches Kaká in the second line.]
[Kaká looks up. Then immediately sends it quickly out wide. Neymar receives it.]
[That was a very sharp pass.]
Kaká's physical ability had declined greatly compared to before, but he had compensated by changing his playing style.
He fulfilled his role as a playmaker more than sufficiently and injected life into the match.
And then Neymar.
[Neymar nudges it forward and drives in. César Azpilicueta tries to face him up!]
[Ah, he goes right past him! That was a perfect body feint!]
He had long set Ho-young as his target, endured brutal training, and without overestimating his own talent, had trained harder than anyone else to rise as the best young prospect in the world.
[Unexpectedly, Brazil are dominating! If they make the most of this chance, it could lead to a goal!]
[That's right. Brazil are steadily increasing the tempo and pushing their line much higher.]
Like this, Brazil's Olympic team had become extremely strong because of Ho-young.
But there was one fatal weakness in that.
If they had grown, that also meant Ho-young had grown.
No, compared to Ho-young's growth, theirs was not even visible.
[Ho-young drops back!]
As Ho-young, who had been staying high up the pitch, dropped back into Spain's half, the atmosphere on the field suddenly turned cold.
Even the grass seemed to lose its breath.
Ho-young moved around like a general sweeping across a battlefield, showing the essence of defending.
Philipp Lahm's defensive organization, Cannavaro's defensive positioning, Puyol's shot-blocking, Vieira's ball-winning ability.
Using every one of those abilities to the fullest, he drastically strengthened Spain's defense.
And then.
[Ah, at the crucial moment, Ho-young cuts it out!!]
'What was that.'
Neymar, who had hurriedly received the pass, was dispossessed before he could even turn his eyes.
It happened before he could even grasp what had just occurred.
That was when the flow of the match, which had favored Brazil, began to turn.
Tap!
Tak!
[Spain counter-attack! Their tiki-taka comes alive!]
Xavi Hernández's Transcendent Passing (SSS-) and Franz Beckenbauer's Founder's Creativity (L).
Those two talents worked together perfectly and pushed Spain's teamwork to the extreme.
The creative move began from that point, and it took less than five seconds for the ball to be delivered right in front of goal.
Tak!
[The ball goes back to Ho-young!]
Right in front of goal.
The ball came naturally to him, as if by the natural order of things.
And at that moment.
Rustle!
the net shook as though it had been inevitable.
"Hoo!"
The opening goal naturally belonged to Ho-young.
And once the flow of the match had been overturned, it did not budge even slightly until the end.
[Gold medal! Spain proudly claim the gold medal in men's football at the London Olympics!]
A second official tournament title after Euro 2012.
For Ho-young as well, who had won bronze at the Beijing Olympics, it was a deeply emotional moment.
The various talents, including Football Crown Prince (T), were also precious rewards.
"Woooooooah!"
Ho-young roared and lifted the trophy.
Now the whole world would know.
That there was a wall in this world that simply could not be overcome.
And just like that, football at the London Olympics came to a successful close.
In a rather predictable fashion, a huge newspaper photo of Ho-young biting his gold medal was splashed across the front pages the next day.
Then, after the London Olympics closed the following day, the players, including Ho-young, returned to Spain.
A triumphant return.
Returning to Spain with two gold medals around his neck, Ho-young was set to receive the special reward that the king had promised him.
But he felt strangely unsettled.
Neither relieved nor stifled.
As though he were standing at the edge of a staircase, a sense of something being incomplete wrapped around his entire body.
'My growth is almost at its end.'
That was right.
He could feel it clearly.
As a living being, he had come right up to the edge of what he could reach.
So there probably would not be any more major leaps forward.
Still, he could cross that wall.
What he needed was time.
That was the most important thing for Ho-young right now.
And time flowed with frightening speed.
(To be continued.)