With Ho-young's opening goal, Castilla took the lead.
The rest of the match continued in a similar fashion.
Despite conceding first, Barcelona were no pushovers. They collected themselves and launched a determined offensive.
Even though their attacking patterns were predictable, Castilla struggled to contain them.
The constant switching between Bojan and Pedro thoroughly disrupted Castilla's backline.
However, Barcelona's defense was not much better.
Castilla's attacking line was more potent, and as the game progressed, they only got stronger.
It was truly a tough day for the defenders.
The forwards from both teams relentlessly pressed the attack, and by halftime, there had already been over 15 shots taken.
But despite the thrilling gameplay, the score remained 1-0.
That was thanks to both goalkeepers putting on sensational performances.
As the first half ended, Guardiola sprang into action.
He quickly returned to the manager's office to hold an emergency tactical meeting.
Losing the last match was one thing, but this one, a home game, had to be won at all costs.
If they lost again, the backlash would be severe.
In the worst-case scenario, he could be pelted with stones by angry fans on the street.
If he could get through the post-match without being insulted to his face, that would be a win in itself.
One of the coaches spoke up.
"Rather than trying to exploit space, it might be better to focus on ball possession and fulfilling individual roles."
"You mean to concentrate solely on offense for the remaining 45 minutes?"
Their choice was not a surprise attack or a counterattack. It was an all-out offensive.
"Let's do that."
By the time Guardiola returned to the locker room with the revised tactics, the atmosphere was somber.
It was almost as if something tragic had happened.
And it was easy to understand why.
This was Spain, a country where football was life.
And the opponent was none other than their eternal rival, Real Madrid.
Losing at home to them was unimaginable.
It would be a catastrophe.
Fortunately, this was a Segunda División match. Had it been an actual El Clásico...
Guardiola shook off the thought, calling the players together.
He then delivered a passionate speech.
The fiery spirit of Catalonia, which once stood up against Franco.
The courage and loyalty embodied in Barcelona's football, built on the ideals of Cruyffism.
He instilled those noble values into his players once more.
After three minutes, the remaining time was spent explaining the hastily revised tactics with the coaching staff.
They were now cornered.
There was no room to retreat.
All that remained was to attack.
[The second half has begun. Barcelona now attacking from the left, and Real Madrid Castilla from the right. With Castilla leading 1-0, Barcelona are in possession.]
[There's a different vibe this half. The overall shape hasn't changed much, but Barcelona seem to be putting emphasis on different areas. They're looking to go all-in.]
[Ha, well, it's do or die for Barcelona at this point, isn't it?]
Matchday 41.
There was no turning back now.
Barcelona had to give everything they had in the remaining 45 minutes.
For that, Guardiola emphasized three key elements.
Aggressive, attacking play. Ball possession. And positional awareness.
Assulin, Bojan, and Pedro remained high up the pitch, focused solely on attacking without dropping deep.
The rest, including Alcántara and Busquets, had to take care of the midfield.
They had to trust them.
But that trust did not last long.
[Ho-young drops to the second line to help control the midfield. Up front, Callejón is making threatening runs. On the flanks, Marcos Alonso on the left and Miguel Torres on the right are actively creating and exploiting space.]
[It's a very different team from early last season. Their chemistry is on another level now, and the teamwork and unselfish play among teammates really stands out. It's great to see.]
Castilla were showing remarkable cohesion.
As Ho-young dropped into midfield, Busquets followed him. That created gaps on both flanks, which Miguel and Marcos exploited to set up a decisive chance for Callejón.
That chance ultimately came back to Ho-young.
Striker's instinct.
Tap.
Near the 30-meter mark from goal.
Callejón's short pass settled right at Ho-young's feet.
No sooner had it stopped than Busquets was already closing in.
Thump.
Facing Ho-young always brought nerves.
'Focus.'
Busquets tried to steady his breath and narrowed his eyes.
Tracking Ho-young's feet, he defended in a way that blocked any shooting angle.
At the same time, he deliberately left one side slightly open, encouraging Ho-young to pass.
It was a tactic ordered by the technical coach and Guardiola.
Even if they had to allow a pass lane, they had to absolutely block dribbles and mid-range shots.
No one could defend perfectly against Ho-young, so they had to give up on that idea.
Busquets was hoping with all his heart.
'Pass it. Please.'
It was far easier to mark someone else than to go one-on-one with Ho-young.
Even so, he remained vigilant against any sudden skill moves.
Especially nutmegs.
He would rather die than experience that nightmare again. Gritting his teeth, he focused on man-marking.
Lowering his center of gravity, he kept the optimal distance.
This time, he was determined not to be beaten.
Busquets was fired up.
He had trained countless hours for this very moment.
And then it happened.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, Ho-young darted to the right with a sharp dribble.
Simultaneously, he drew back his right leg into a shooting posture.
In that brief instant, it looked like he was ready to fire a mid-range shot.
'He's going to shoot.'
Busquets was certain.
Ho-young's trademark.
Open space with a sudden dribble, then unleash a fast, precise mid-range strike.
So Busquets moved with him.
He spread his legs, blocking the shooting angle.
It was textbook defending.
A perfect response.
'I stopped him.'
Busquets was so sure, he'd made up his mind that if he failed here, he'd bite his tongue in shame.
But things don't always go the way you want.
And then.
'!!'
Success turned to failure in an instant.
It was a fake.
The shooting motion was just a feint.
It wasn't a real shot, but a Cruyff Turn.
Using a sudden twist of the ankle, he sharply reversed direction. It was a high-level skill far beyond ordinary feints.
Yet Ho-young executed it flawlessly, showing how much he had practiced.
It was something Busquets had never faced before.
He had dealt with basic feints, but had never been beaten by a Cruyff Turn in an official match.
He had no answer for it.
Losing focus for a split second, Busquets let Ho-young slip past.
A textbook example of being completely fooled.
'What the...'
The memory of being destroyed by Ho-young last December was still vivid in Busquets' mind.
It had been a nightmare.
To avoid a repeat, he had pushed himself through brutal training.
He had improved his one-on-one defending, often cited as his weakness.
But the result was the same.
While Busquets made great progress, Ho-young had evolved even more.
In just five months.
The Ho-young he had faced last year was now a wall he couldn't even approach.
Once again, Busquets tasted bitter frustration at the threshold that was Ho-young.
And as Ho-young burst forward, even the center-backs were left helpless.
It looked like Ho-young made football look easy.
But that wasn't the case.
He had made it this far thanks to the unseen efforts of his teammates.
Ho-young knew that. Which is why the pressure weighed heavy on his shoulders.
The only way to repay it was with results.
A goal.
And in that very moment, standing in front of the box, Ho-young's eyes narrowed sharply.
Without hesitation.
As soon as he found the shooting window, he struck the ball cleanly with his right foot.
A low-driven shot toward the left corner.
Goalkeeper Pinto, who had already made several miraculous saves, dove with everything he had.
But this time, he couldn't stop it.
Even though he knew, it was unstoppable.
Thud!
The moment Ho-young's shot hit the back of the net, the stadium fell silent.
The roar from the home fans died instantly.
And then.
Groans filled the air from the Cules.
In contrast, the pitch erupted in celebration.
"Whoaaa!"
In the 73rd minute.
Defenders, midfielders, everyone from Castilla rushed in and piled onto Ho-young like a tidal wave.
Every one of them deserved to celebrate this goal.
Because it was created together.
With this goal, Barcelona had fallen into the abyss.
Bojan managed to pull one back just before the final whistle, but that was it.
There was no miracle.
Beep!
The final whistle.
The scoreboard read 3-1.
An even more devastating loss than the previous match, delivering a humiliating nightmare to the home crowd.
At that moment, Ho-young looked at Bojan, who sat on the ground with his head lowered.
If it had been another team, they might have swapped shirts.
But this was Barcelona.
Exchanging shirts in front of the home fans was unthinkable.
Ho-young turned his gaze.
There was Pedro, sitting nearby.
[Select the talent you wish to obtain.]
- Precise First Touch (A+)
- Fantastic Positioning (A+)
- Proficient with Both Feet (A-)
(More)
The talent was obtained from Pedro for achieving two attacking points and winning the match.
And Ho-young's choice was...
'Definitely both feet.'
A rare talent, only found in players truly comfortable with both feet.
And that wasn't all.
'Gai Assulin.'
[Gai Assulin]
[Possessed Talents: Football Prodigy (A-), Fearless Dribble and Dash (A+2), Exceptional Flexibility (A+), Excellent Finishing (B+2)]
(More)
(Condition 1: Record more successful dribbles than Gai Assulin)
(Condition 2: Be selected as MOM in this match)
If he were chosen as Man of the Match tonight, he could obtain Assulin's talent too.
It had been an incredibly fruitful game.
And more importantly, he had now completed the achievement of "Defeating Barcelona twice."
This was undoubtedly the most meaningful moment of the season.
[You have obtained Finishing of the Football Emperor (SU).]
[Time required to fully acquire the talent: 140 days → 70 days. You cannot obtain other talents during this time.]
70 days.
That was all he needed.
May was coming to an end.
The rain cleared, and strong sunlight rose.
Summer heat followed the monsoon season.
But it didn't matter for Castilla.
They wrapped up the final Round 42 match with no issues, defeating bottom-ranked Sevilla Atlético 2-0 to finish 5th in the league.
Final record: 18 wins, 13 draws, 11 losses in 42 matches.
Ho-young played in 34 matches and scored 24 goals, setting a major record.
Though he didn't win the Golden Boot, he was awarded "Top Assist Provider" by the Spanish press outlet Marca Tabloid.
He was also proudly named "Segunda División Foreign Player of the Year" by the same outlet.
With that, the season came to an end.
The 2007/2008 La Liga season also concluded.
Due to only participating in three first-team training sessions, Ho-young couldn't acquire any S-rank talents. But he had laid the groundwork.
From then on, there were no training schedules.
This was the only long-term break footballers got in a year, so most players returned to their hometowns or went on vacation.
Even more so this year, with the UEFA Euro 2008 being held. Only a few players remained in Madrid.
Some did appear at Valdebebas from time to time, but not for training. Usually, it was for personal reasons.
Then, in mid-June.
Real Madrid's President Florentino Pérez held a presentation in the Santiago Bernabéu press room for the Summer World Tour.
The schedule included five friendly matches in three countries: the United States, Japan, and South Korea. But the reporters were curious about something else.
As soon as the Q&A session began, the reporters asked.
"What is the squad list?"
The destinations were always similar, so what they really wanted to know was which players would be on the tour.
Pérez smiled and answered.
"We'll make the official announcement on the website soon. But one thing is certain, it's going to be a very special tour."
At that time.
With school on break, Ho-young remained at Valdebebas, preparing for the next season.
He was dripping with sweat as he trained when someone approached.
"Ho-young."
"Oh, Mr. Lucci."
Lucci had come to the training ground.
He brought unexpected news to Ho-young.
"We need to adjust your schedule."
"When exactly?"
"For the upcoming pre-season. There's a team that needs you."
Ho-young's eyes narrowed.
"No way."
"Yes. The club has officially called you up for the pre-season Summer World Tour."
"Really?"
"Oh, and one more thing. This morning, Director Park Sung-ho from Korea contacted me. He wants to talk with you."
At that moment, Ho-young instinctively knew.
The World Tour and the Beijing Olympics.
A double jackpot.
Or rather, a double blessing.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)