2024. 4. 8
—Manager Pep Guardiola publicly furious… “I wish we had been eliminated in the FA Cup semifinals. We have to leave for Bournemouth in three days. This schedule devours the players’ lives. I respect the players.”
24. 4. 11
—[PL 32R] Ijian, with De Bruyne rested, Manchester City draws 1-1 away against Bournemouth… 5-point gap with Arsenal, who have played one game fewer
24. 4. 12
—‘Title race not over yet’ Arsenal defeats West Ham 2-0 and successfully secures 3 points… chasing 1st-place Manchester City down to 2 points
24. 4. 15
—‘Mbappé Bags Multiple Goals’ Paris Saint-Germain defeats Barcelona and advances to Champions League semifinals… PSG 3 : 1 Barcelona (agg. 5-3)
—Real Madrid subdues Arsenal and advances to semifinals… Jude Bellingham 1 goal 1 assist, Man of the Match
—As the season reaches its climax, what are the current Ballon d’Or betting odds rankings? ‘1st place Jude Bellingham, 2nd place Kylian Mbappé, 3rd place Ijian and 4th place Harry Kane’… 1st and 2nd places surge dramatically thanks to the effect of Champions League semifinal qualification, Kane drops a step due to elimination crisis
—Bayern Munich, defeated 1-3 in the first leg, can they stage a comeback at Man City’s home? Tomorrow, the quarterfinal second leg at Etihad Stadium
24. 4. 16
—[Official] Manchester City releases quarterfinal second leg starting lineup… Ijian, De Bruyne, Rodri start
—[Official] Bayern Munich quarterfinal second leg starting lineup… Dier included in starting lineup
∙ ∙ ∙
April 16, 2024.
8 PM, as early darkness falls and a light drizzle begins to trickle down.
It is usually time to cap off a tiring day with rest, but for someone living on a slightly different time zone, it is also when the day begins.
City—! Manchester City—!
We are the lads who are playing to win—!
City—! the Boys in Blue will never give in—!
Blue and white we play together—!
We will carry on forever more—!
Standing in the middle of the stadium, feeling the heat of the crowd's chants, last week suddenly comes to mind.
Standing in the middle of the Allianz Arena wearing the away team's uniform had been an incredibly frightening experience.
There are times when it is scary just to walk past a group of three or four people gathered on the street.
Being surrounded by tens of thousands hostile to us, it was only natural to feel fear.
Thinking back, maintaining our composure without wavering after conceding the equalizer felt miraculous.
Tens of thousands roared that we were finished now—how could we have held our ground and not collapsed?
A renewed sense of awe for my teammates welled up, while on the other hand, the thought that this time it was the opponents standing before us who had their turn filled me with a rather childish feeling.
We endured.
Now it is the opponents' turn to endure, but can they really do it?
Well, it won't be easy.
Because I believe in the fans every bit as much as I respect my teammates.
I have no doubt that the fans here will repay them several times over for what we experienced away.
Beeeeep—!
With the whistle, the match begins, and the ball glides between the players.
We head into the opponent's half immediately from the start, while they huddle in front of their goal and settle in.
We are the ones leading by two goals.
The sight of the trailing opponent showing such an attitude is quite a confidence boost.
And since the opponent's name is Bayern Munich, I can't help but feel like I've become someone of importance.
Thud—!
Thud—!
Regardless, we circulate the ball like we are playing a league match against some mid-to-lower table team, targeting the opponent's gaps.
If there was one thing the manager said most often as the season reached its climax, it was to stop worrying about other things and focus on ourselves.
Whether Liverpool won or drew, regardless of how many points Arsenal were catching up by.
No matter who reached the Champions League semifinals first or what was happening in the league.
He told us not to pay attention to external matters that were none of our business, but to focus only on what was ours.
The manager seemed to want to make this place, the Etihad Stadium and Etihad Campus, into a remote island.
To build high walls so that no one could peek in, sit inside them, and focus only on sharpening our swords to be the sharpest in the world.
It was a statement filled with tremendous confidence, and one that inspired confidence.
Because it was a story that implied the football we play is the best in the world.
No matter what kind of football anyone else plays over there.
I could feel from his words the confidence that if we just execute our own style at 100 percent, we can beat anyone.
It was a confidence only those who have already stood at the summit could possess.
No matter how much confidence you have in yourself, if you haven't shown results, you cannot earn others' trust.
In such a situation, even if you build walls, they would only be the walls of a well, and people would simply call us frogs in a well trapped inside.
But if those who have stood at the summit build walls and confine themselves, no one will call them frogs in a well.
The walls they build become fortress walls, and the doors they firmly lock become the doors to a treasure vault everyone wants to open.
Wherever you go and whomever you meet, there is definitely something to learn.
But there are also definitely things you can only learn from certain people.
The champion's mindset can only be learned from a champion.
In that sense, what I have learned since coming here is not just Manchester City's style of football, but also what kind of mentality champions have and what they think.
And perhaps that is even more valuable to me.
Because those things are the exact opposite of what I have held my entire life.
We are the best.
The only thing to fear is oneself.
We do not pay attention to external things.
We walk our own path.
Even if no one went out of their way to say these things in words, they seeped out through attitudes and actions.
And those things that seeped out likely slipped into me bit by bit, without my knowing.
I think I am in the process of neutralization.
If you drop a droplet of white paint into a container full of black paint, it will not turn gray immediately.
Likewise, just because I am spending time with champions does not mean I will immediately possess their mindset.
But I think if I mix drop by drop, before I know it, I might become gray as well.
And gray would be a color that suits me quite well.
When I was entirely black, I wanted to become white, but now that I have acknowledged that black is also my color.
I have no desire to become pure white, yet neither do I want to live only in black.
I feel like that middle ground, gray, might be the most appropriate state for me.
Always doubting, anxious, yet striving.
Acknowledging myself as I am, having strived like that.
Perhaps that is the state of gray.
Anyway.
Black is a color that suits the training ground; now, on the pitch, it is time to become white.
Manchester City's football is the best in the world.
I think I need to fill my head with only that thought right now.
Only then will it show in every single touch of the ball, and be conveyed to the fans cheering for us.
From the fans' perspective, unless a player wearing the Manchester City jersey shows that level of confidence, would they even feel like cheering?
Because the owners of this team are those people, and we are the faces representing them.
As such, we always need to be confident, and only then will the fans torment the opponents even more.
Thud—!
Thud—!
Exchanging passes just as we trained, we assert midfield possession against the opponent.
Tat—!
Our assertion is not difficult to accept.
After just a few passes, the opponent falls back even further, and I feel the space widening thanks to that.
Of course, as a result, the space in front of the goal narrows further.
But there is no need to panic or worry.
Because we have all finished preparing for this at the training ground.
If we can reproduce exactly what we did at the training ground right here on this pitch.
It does not matter who the opponent is.
Because no one will be able to stop it anyway.
Thud—!
I give the ball to Walker, who has pushed high up the right side, and as Foden, who had been occupying the half-space between the opponent's center-back and full-back, moves to the center of the box, I run into that space.
Naturally, De Bruyne drops in behind me to cover.
Soon, a triangular shape of me, Walker, and De Bruyne is formed, and the pattern from training begins to take shape in the opponent's right defensive area.
Thud—!
Thud—!
While Walker and De Bruyne exchange passes to draw out the opponent's left defense.
Tat-tat—!
I dash in behind that defense.
I checked the offside line in advance, but truthfully, there was no real need.
Because De Bruyne's passing timing is always precise.
Thud—!
De Bruyne's pass pierces through the defense.
The ball coming from behind overtakes me as I infiltrate, yet like a lie, it loses speed and stops a few steps ahead.
I learned since childhood that the best pass is one where the first touch becomes the next pass, or a shot.
In other words, it is a pass so accurate that there is no need to trap the ball for the next play.
Most of De Bruyne's passes are like that.
Tat—
Thwack—!
I drive a low cross with my right foot.
Between the opponent's defenders and the goalkeeper.
I strike it almost like a shot, hitting it hard.
Because I have faith that with Haaland's instinctive sense, no matter how hard I hit it, he will be able to connect with it.
Whoosh—!
Since I twisted my body to deliver the cross while sprinting, I lose my balance and fall, looking toward the goal.
And soon, I spring up, cheering.
Thwack—!
Slam—!
Haaland, penetrating like lightning, throws in a sliding foot to meet the cross, ramming the ball into the net.
“YEAH—!!!”
Roaring terrifyingly as always, Haaland comes charging this way, and I run toward De Bruyne and Walker as if fleeing.
And we embrace each other, exchanging praise.
“COME ON—! COME ON, BLUES—!”
Then we send our cheers to the fans.
This time it is Haaland's turn, as the one who scored.
Haaland approaches the stands, spinning his hand round and round and waving his arms to urge the crowd to cheer.
YEEEEEEA—!
At this, the already massive roar transforms into one that seems to tear the ears and crush the body.
At times like this, I even wish I had earplugs for celebrations.
“Keep going, guys!”
“Stay calm!”
After that noisy aftermath, we return to our half again as if nothing had happened.
The match is not over yet, and there is still plenty of time, so enjoying the joy briefly is enough.
But while my other teammates might be able to do that, I still cannot quite manage.
Is this the difference in capacity?
When my teammates talk about what to do next as they return to our half, I pretend otherwise and study the opponents' faces.
“···”
And I think to myself.
We endured this atmosphere; I wonder if you can endure it too.
If you can endure it, well, it would be no small feat.
They will probably think, 'As expected of Bayern Munich.'
But it won't be easy.
“···”“···”
I could already see it in the opponents' expressions.
They already wore faces like beavers looking at the wreckage after their homes had been swept away.
*
Match End
90:00 (Full-time)
Manchester City 3 : 1 Bayern Munich
-12' Erling Haaland
-15' Phil Foden
-61' Bernardo Silva
-81' Harry Kane (PK)
.
.
.
Man of the Match
: No. 7 Ijian
- Played 81 minutes
- 3 Assists
- Accurate passes (60/64)
- Long pass success rate 100% (2/2)
- Dribble success rate 75% (3/4)
- Big chances created 4
- Final third passes 7
- Fouls suffered 4
- Overall rating 9.0
*
◆Champions League Semifinal Fixtures
- Paris Saint-Germain FC v Manchester City FC
- Real Madrid C.F v Borussia Dortmund