When facing a team whose strength lies in defense, if there is one thing you must never allow, it is conceding the first goal.
Of course, conceding a goal is something you should never do in any situation.
But especially when facing a defense-oriented team, conceding the first goal inevitably stings so much more.
Because the moment you concede, time becomes the opponent's ally.
Giving a strong defensive team a situation where they can win simply by defending means you will have to play the toughest match in the world for the remainder of the game.
“What the······”
“Come on···”
Sighs that sounded as if everyone had been caught off guard poured out from all around.
As if no one had expected it at all, the delayed outburst of sighs made the air grow even colder.
“Uh···”
“···”
Jiu was the same, and so was I.
We were dumbfounded by the completely unexpected situation.
The time on the scoreboard read the 8th minute.
In less than ten minutes, we had conceded the opening goal.
The scorer… was Antoine Griezmann.
Hadn’t they said he was a player symbolizing the opposition, Atletico Madrid?
“···”
Because it was such an unimaginable moment, I focused my gaze on the replay flowing across the scoreboard.
It had been a situation where we were attacking.
Then we lost the ball on the right side, and that ball went once… twice… thrice… four times.
So it was four.
With just four passes, the ball had been delivered so naturally into our danger zone.
And then a cutback from the left, Griezmann's one-touch finish, goal.
…It was a counterattack with nothing to criticize.
From the start of the counter to the finish, without a single stutter, it flowed like water.
The replay from just now could probably be printed in a textbook as-is.
“Tch, I heard that guy was good. We should’ve been more careful…”
I nodded at Jiu’s whining.
She was talking about Griezmann.
The goal was a goal, but what was even more impressive than that… was the play he had shown during the counterattack.
After the opponent stole our ball, the first pass had gone to his feet.
He laid that ball off to the back—that is, to a teammate whose body was facing forward—then turned and ran.
In that situation where he was running facing forward, he received the ball again and threaded a penetrating through pass into the left space, keeping the flow alive.
Without stopping there, he diligently penetrated all the way into the box, pushed in the cutback, and made sure of the finish.
In fact, from start to finish, the entire counterattack had been completed through his feet.
“···”
I wasn’t sure if it was right to be having such thoughts right now, right after our team had conceded the first goal.
But seeing his play, I couldn’t help but think it.
I want to play football like that.
“Boooo-!”
I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he responded to the pouring boos with a smile instead, blowing a kiss.
*
Even when looking at the same situation, the same scene.
Between watching on the broadcast screen and watching from the stands, and between watching from the bench and watching from inside the ground, there is a world of difference.
Of course, you can see far more when watching on the broadcast or from the stands.
Because you can look from above with a third party’s gaze.
Which side space is opening up, which side is empty, who you should pass to.
When you watch from one step back, everything is bound to be clearly visible.
It is something you couldn’t even dream of when standing on the pitch.
For one thing, your viewpoint is low, you have to keep running, and when you receive the ball you have to focus on controlling it.
With your line of sight being low and there being far more than one or two things to worry about,
it is impossible to observe everything as leisurely as you would from the stands.
The reason you look around as if being chased by something is exactly that.
Because if you don’t keep turning your head to check your surroundings, you can’t know who is beside you or behind you.
Moreover, the situation changes every single second, so you can never rest.
“It feels like I’m watching you.”
In the middle of concentrating on the match, I turned my head at Jiu’s words.
Then Jiu pointed at the pitch with her finger and continued.
“He’s so busy. He can’t keep his head still for even a moment. Just like you.”
“···All players are like that.”
“Are they? No, they’re not. Not all of them. Look, only that player is like that. He really is similar to you. He’s cute, too.”
“…What are you talking about.”
What Jiu was pointing at was Griezmann.
I ended up talking about nothing but Griezmann; it couldn’t be helped.
Because on the opposing team, he was the only one who stood out.
He kept catching the eye.
Of course, observing and learning is one thing, but what I should be doing today is figuring out how to attack the opponent’s defense.
Yet every time I tried to come to my senses, I found my gaze fixed on Griezmann before I knew it.
He simply played good football.
That was the feeling.
Sure, his feet were fast, he controlled the ball well, his passing was outstanding, and he scored well.
I could explain it in more detail, but setting all that aside.
It felt like he simply played the sport of football well.
Like he was looking down from above.
Where everyone was, where he had to move, what he had to do.
A feeling of playing while knowing everything.
Thanks to that, there was nothing extraneous.
Because he knew everything in advance, there were no unnecessary movements, and his play was concise and fast.
As Jiu had said, it seemed due to the habit of constantly checking his surroundings and thinking.
“···”
He truly didn’t rest for even a moment.
You can’t do this on the broadcast screen, but when sitting in the stands, you can keep watching just one player.
So when I looked only at Griezmann, there wasn’t a single second when he stood still.
Even when the ball went out or the match briefly stopped due to a foul, he checked the situation endlessly.
Therefore, he couldn’t help but know everything happening on the pitch.
In a way, it is a basic.
Passing, shooting, ball touch—basics like that.
Because keeping your head up and checking your surroundings is something you learn in elementary school, just like those.
But when you play football, you feel it.
That the basics are the hardest.
And as the level goes higher and higher.
Matches are decided by the slightest difference in those basics.
Both as a child and now.
What I’m most confident in is, at least, my awareness.
I wasn’t the fastest runner in class, I was on the shorter side, and I wasn’t born with a natural feel for the ball.
At least, if having a habit of constantly reading the situation was my weapon, then that was my weapon.
Thanks to that, I received attention, naturally.
I think I focused even more on sharpening that awareness with the thought that without it, I was nothing.
But I felt how far I still had to go last year, when I saw Messi.
And I felt it again when I played on the same team as the Man City players.
And now, I feel it once more.
Among the players I’ve seen in real life, he seems to be the best.
Excluding Messi and our team’s players, that is.
But the problem… is that I’ll have to face that.
“Ugh, it’s frustrating. There are too many defenders…”
Jiu groaned.
The time on the scoreboard was already heading toward the end of the first half, and the score was still 0-1.
We’d been talking about other things, but the opponent’s defense was exactly as advertised.
We’re experts at facing a two-line defense ourselves, but even though it was the same two-line defense, you could definitely see it was different.
My teammates trying to penetrate between the defenders looked suffocating.
Even watching from above, there was almost no space.
Because the defense moved as one body.
It was almost as if they were tied together by invisible strings and running.
Seeing that even De Bruyne, who had returned while I was away at the Asian Cup, couldn’t find a way, well, that said it all.
“Hoo, this won’t do. Our Jian will have to step up.”
“···”
“Show me in the next match. How to break through that. Got it? I feel like I’m going crazy with frustration.”
Jiu pounded her chest as if frustrated, but well.
My teammates were struggling too; I doubted I’d be any different.
Moreover, though it wouldn’t likely happen, if today’s match ended like this, this scoreline would carry over completely to the second leg.
Because the Champions League knockout stage is decided by the aggregate score of the first and second legs.
If we couldn’t even manage a draw in today’s match, what awaited us would be ninety minutes of hell in the away leg.
…What’s more.
“No, that guy is so annoying…”
What made that defense even more frightening was Griezmann.
No matter how good the defense is, if they’re only good at defending, there is nothing to be too afraid of.
Because no matter how solid a shield is, a shield is just a shield.
But if a sharp sword is hidden behind that shield, the shield’s solidity inevitably feels frightening.
“···”
Watching the match, I think I understand.
How a team called Atletico Madrid had reached the Champions League final with defensive football.
Having come to the Premier League, being on a team where only geniuses among geniuses gathered, and realizing every week how difficult this place is.
I must have forgotten for a moment.
Just how wide the world is.
If there is a kingdom here, there is bound to be another kingdom and another king over there.
In the next match, if I get to play, I’ll do my best.
But honestly, after seeing today, I am a bit worried.
The worry that when I stand side by side with a player standing at the pinnacle of the strengths I possess, I might not compare.
“Tell me it’s true.”
“···What?”
“That it’ll be different if you go in. That if you’re there, you can wipe the smile off that annoying guy’s face. Hmm? Noona’s going crazy inside.”
“···”
Whether she knew how I felt inside or not.
At Jiu’s whining, constantly telling me to show her, before I knew it, my head was nodding.
“…Just trust oppa.”
“Okay, oppa~.”
“···”
…If you’re gonna mess around, expect to get teased back.
…
Late February 2024.
Press conference room.
While many reporters waited for someone, shortly after, today’s main character opened the door and entered with a bright expression.
“Hello.”
It was Manager Pep Guardiola.
Today was the day of the pre-match interview before leaving Manchester for the away match.
As soon as Manager Guardiola sat in front of the microphone and took a sip of water, the press conference began.
“We can see the end of February, Manager.”
“Time flies.”
In response to the first reporter’s brief greeting, Manager Guardiola answered with a smile.
What could be inferred from that smile was Manchester City’s results throughout February.
“You’ve had a pleasant February. Five matches in the league, four wins and one draw, an undefeated record. And you won in the FA Cup fifth round to advance to the quarterfinals.”
“Good summary.”
“Especially pleasant is the fact that De Bruyne, who returned last month, is playing without issue, and that Jian Lee is showing the same form as the first half immediately since his return.”
“I came without eating, but hearing that makes me feel full.”
Throughout February, Manchester City had achieved good results of 4 wins and 1 draw in the league.
They acquired a total of 13 points, successfully maintaining a 3-point gap with second-place Arsenal.
They also rose to the quarterfinals in the FA Cup, sailing smoothly toward back-to-back championships.
Moreover, with various injury issues and international call-up issues coming to an end, the fact that a near-full squad was being utilized must have been the most pleasant thing for Manchester City.
That sturdiness revealed itself in Manager Guardiola’s smile.
Then, for a moment, Guardiola’s smile changed playfully.
“Seeing how you only speak of good things, I suppose you’re going to bring up the painful spot.”
“That wasn’t my intention, but since you mention it, I can’t avoid it. City had only one loss in February, and that one loss was the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. It was a regrettable match. Actually, it was a difficult result to predict.”
The second leg would be held in three days.
Today’s press conference was the pre-match interview for that match.
Naturally, they couldn’t avoid talking about the first leg.
The result of the first leg, played at Manchester City’s home, was an outcome no one had expected.
0-1, City’s defeat.
Atletico Madrid had succeeded in protecting Griezmann’s deciding goal, taking the victory at Etihad Stadium.
Before anyone knew it, Manager Guardiola shrugged his shoulders.
“Anything can happen. That’s what football is. It doesn’t always go according to predictions.”
“That’s correct. However, we can’t help but make predictions, and a difficult second leg is expected. It’s the opponent’s home, and Atletico’s home win rate is quite high. Moreover, we have to start the match carrying a one-goal deficit. Starting with a disadvantageous one-goal gap against a team like Atletico is nothing short of a nightmare.”
Manager Guardiola listened to the reporter’s long question silently, nodding his head.
And he gazed at the reporter as if urging him to continue.
With that, the reporter wrapped up his question.
“We’re curious how you plan to overcome this crisis in the second leg. Do you have the confidence to turn it around?”
The confidence to turn it around.
Manager Guardiola let out a “phew” and shrugged.
Then he put the smile from earlier back on his face and answered.
“The first leg is already becoming a thing of a month ago. Thanks to that, I suppose my memories are fading.”
Manager Guardiola continued with a face full of conviction.
“He wasn’t there back then. At the Metropolitano in three days, he’ll be there. That is the solution, and that is our confidence.”
At that answer, the reporter nodded.
It was an attitude that needed no further elaboration.