Manchester City's rise showed no signs of stopping.
After the first leg of the quarter-final against Dynamo Kyiv, they also claimed a 4-1 win in the second leg in Kyiv, Ukraine, advancing comfortably to the semi-finals.
Their next opponent was Dutch powerhouse Ajax, who had come through after beating Benfica.
The semi-final bracket was as follows.
[2010-2011 Europa League Bracket]
Everyone had expected Manchester City and FC Porto to make it through, but the rest had not gone as expected.
Juventus in particular should have been knocked out long ago.
Their title as a big club had become meaningless, because they were having their worst season yet.
Not only in Serie A, but even in the Europa League group stage, they had looked poor.
It was because of the aging squad.
And yet, surprisingly, once they reached the knockout rounds, they managed to scrape through and make it all the way to the semi-finals.
Still, their squad was too weak to be considered a major threat.
At the moment, the only team they really had to be careful of was FC Porto.
'Ajax aren't much either.'
Everything was going perfectly.
Everything was on the right track.
It felt like there would not be any obstacles at all.
At least, up until then.
But a few days later, an obstacle appeared in front of the surging Ho-young.
Stoke City.
That obstacle was the FA Cup semi-final against Stoke City, the pride of the EPL.
They were a mid-table side currently hovering around 10th in the league, but they were called the strongest team in the EPL.
That was the problem.
Etihad Campus.
Manchester City's players were extremely tense ahead of the match against Stoke.
Even during training, they could not stop worrying.
There were even players who felt burdened by the idea of playing in the match.
It was not because they were afraid of losing.
It was just that.
"They are definitely a strong team. There is probably no team in the world stronger than them."
EPL senior Vincent Kompany said to Ho-young.
Ho-young nodded in agreement.
"Of course. A real men's team."
It was not fear of defeat, but fear of getting injured in the match.
That was right.
They were the strongest team in a different sense.
The so-called men's team.
They were a terrifying side that played football not with the ball, but with their bodies.
The club's mascot was a hippopotamus, and their style of play was not much different.
They simply bulldozed their way through.
It was so bad that they were even nicknamed "Bodytoke City."
Some even said the reason Lionel Messi would never come to the EPL was because of them.
No matter who the opponent was, there had been countless players who suffered long-term injuries after facing Stoke City.
That was why Ho-young was secretly worried about this match.
If this had just been an ordinary EPL fixture, it would not have mattered much.
But an FA Cup semi-final was a different story.
"They will definitely come out with intent. Murder tackles will probably be their tactic."
"Right. If it is them, they might injure over half the squad and win by forfeit."
That was not even an exaggeration.
This season, Stoke City's desire to win the FA Cup was stronger than ever.
The reason was simple.
They were the third-oldest professional football club in England, and this year marked their 148th anniversary, yet they had only ever lifted a single trophy.
So for them, it was obvious they would do anything to seize this rare opportunity.
No one knew what they might resort to in order to reach the final.
The players even joked about it.
"I heard they keep tools in the dressing room. If they are losing in the first half, they will definitely come out in the second half carrying one each."
They were not joking around.
Their passion for winning was so intense that one Stoke City defender had posted this on social media as soon as they reached the semi-finals.
-Ryan Shawcross: Watch carefully. I will show you what real men's football is.
It was both a threat and psychological warfare.
The intention was to put pressure on Manchester City so their key players would not take the field.
Manchester City could not help but agonize over the starting lineup.
If key players got injured ahead of the remaining matches against Chelsea and Manchester United, it would be a complete disaster.
'Their target will obviously be me.'
In this situation, Ho-young was receiving advice from the people around him.
Ronaldinho told him, "Use your balance to avoid the tackles."
But in truth, there was a limit to that.
It was not as if he had a 360-degree view mounted over his head, and no matter how wide Ho-young's vision was, he could not avoid every tackle.
Especially when the opponent was fully intent on forcing a physical battle, the chances of getting hit were high.
Moreover, Ryan Shawcross was strong and clever in physical duels, and he was especially skilled at fouling without the referee noticing.
Ho-young's concern was not baseless.
But Carlos Tevez, who had only recently returned from injury, did not seem worried at all.
"What are you so scared of?"
"Mr. Carlos, you should know better. You have played against Stoke City several times."
"That is why I am not afraid. I am confident. Honestly, those guys are nothing special. I am going to ask to start no matter what tomorrow."
Even though he had only just returned from injury, he did not seem afraid in the slightest.
Instead, he gave Ho-young a simple answer.
"It is nothing, just smash into them."
Carlos Tevez.
He was a player who did not fear any physical battle.
That was because he was that good in duels, and it all came from a special talent he possessed.
[Carlos Tevez]
[Possessed Talents: El Apache (T), El Apache's Center of Gravity (U), Astonishing Physical Battle (S+2), Space Penetration That Catches Opponents Off Guard (A+3), Precise Ball Keeping (A+3), Burning Competitive Spirit (A+2), (More...)]
(You may covet one talent if the conditions are met.)
(If you covet a T-grade Title, you may acquire part of its sense. However, you may only covet it after turning 18.)
(For S-grade or higher, you must fulfill the hidden conditions before coveting it.)
(Condition 1: Stay within the top 4 of the EPL until March)
(Condition 2: Reach the FA Cup semi-finals)
(Condition 3: Reach the Europa League semi-finals)
(Condition 4: Receive know-how from Carlos Tevez)
(Hidden Condition: Opens when you covet at least one talent)
El Apache.
It was Tevez's nickname, taken from Apache, the crime-ridden district of Argentina where he grew up, and in Spanish it carried the meaning of "gangster."
His style of play suited it perfectly, as shown by another one of his nicknames, master of physical battles.
Despite being only 173 centimeters tall, he possessed tremendous skill in physical duels.
It was all because of his center of gravity.
With that alone, he could endure even the roughest challenges without budging.
Even for Ho-young, who possessed world-class physical ability and the talent Astonishing Physical Battle (S-), it was a talent worth coveting.
But now, it was no longer just a pie in the sky.
Since they had reached the FA Cup and Europa League semi-finals, he only needed to satisfy one more condition to covet it.
And thankfully, Tevez gave him advice of his own accord.
"You already have a body far better than mine. But if you make this trick part of your own body too, then no one will be able to touch you."
"What is it?"
"You just have to not fall."
It sounded obvious, but Tevez was serious.
"Being good in a physical battle ultimately means not falling over. And there are basically two ways to do that. One is balancing your whole body, and the other is lowering your center of gravity into your lower body and holding firm. The way I do it is..."
"The latter, right?"
"Exactly."
"So?"
"So, lower your center of gravity into your lower body. And hold your ground. Then the other guy will be the one who gets knocked away, no matter how aggressive he is."
Tevez gave him a few more pieces of advice after that.
He explained the methods he used to control his center of gravity and shared know-how on how to handle physical duels depending on the opponent.
"But you probably will not understand it just from hearing about it."
That was true.
In fact, it was know-how he had already tried to teach to his other teammates several times, but no one had ever fully absorbed it and made it their own weapon.
Because it was talent in the truest sense.
No matter how much he explained it, it meant nothing if the other person could not take it in.
But Ho-young was gradually absorbing it.
[You have coveted El Apache's Center of Gravity (U).]
That alone was enough to serve as a weapon for the coming match against Stoke City.
Only time would tell how well he could tame it, but Ho-young was already overflowing with confidence.
April 16.
In the meantime, match day had arrived.
A huge crowd gathered at Wembley Stadium, the sacred ground of football.
Located in London, it was the home stadium of the England national team, and as a venue that represented the country, it boasted the largest scale.
Its capacity alone exceeded 90,000.
The stadium was already packed before kick-off.
They were spectators who had come to watch the FA Cup semi-final that was about to begin.
On one side, the red flags used by Stoke City were flying, and on the other side, the sky-blue flags symbolizing Manchester City waved in the air.
The match began in a tremendous atmosphere.
[Stoke City have set up in a 5-4-1 formation. With Abdoulaye Faye, Ryan Shawcross, and Robert Huth positioned as centre-backs, they are taking a very defensive approach.]
[Manchester City, on the other hand, have once again come out in an attacking 4-2-3-1. Tevez is up front, with James Milner, Ronaldinho, and David Silva behind him. As many expected, Ho-young starts on the bench.]
[That means they do not intend to use him in the first half, when the players are at their most active. It looks like a decision made with the risk of injury in mind.]
Not only that, but in order to prevent injury to Robinho, who loved to dribble, James Milner had been named in the starting lineup instead.
Yet ironically, it was Manchester City who scored first.
[Goooooooooal!]
[David Silva gives Manchester City the opener after just 8 minutes of the first half!]
In truth, even without their absolute strongest lineup, they still had more than enough quality to handle a team like Stoke City with ease.
It seemed like Ho-young might not even need to play.
But around the 15th minute of the first half.
The match suddenly started to take a strange turn.
Stoke City won a throw-in, then out of nowhere managed to score the equalizer.
[Goooooooooal! A headed goal explodes into the net!]
[Rory Delap's throw-in was a work of art. He really is a human catapult!]
The human catapult who had dominated the EPL with throw-ins alone.
It was an assist from Rory Delap's throw-in.
A former javelin thrower, he was capable of launching throw-ins from over 40 meters away, and this season alone he had created 8 goals through throw-ins.
He had even beaten Arsenal with throw-ins before.
That was Stoke City's tactic.
Manchester City had prepared for it well enough, but even knowing it was coming, they still could not stop it.
Stoke City poured everything into winning throw-ins, and before long they had created a second goal as well.
To make matters worse, the ordeal did not end there.
Peeeeep!
An incident occurred right as the second half began.
A collision between Tevez and Abdoulaye Faye.
[Abdoulaye Faye receives a yellow card and backs away.]
[The problem is Tevez.]
Tevez, who had boasted so confidently that he was not worried, ended up getting injured after letting his guard down.
1st minute of the second half.
It was the moment Ho-young rose from the bench.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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