The Ferrari commercial with Schumacher and Ho-young caused a huge stir around the world.
[Manchester City's Ho-young has signed a 3-year contract with Ferrari. According to the contract details released so far, Ho-young is said to have surpassed Beckham and risen to first place in earnings among footballers through this deal. His estimated income for this year is currently around 31.58 million euros, an amount that ranks him eighth among athletes in annual earnings, behind golf star Phil Mickelson. In particular, this commercial was filmed together with Schumacher...]
└ As expected, people really do move in circles that match their level. After Nadal, now Schumacher. This is a treat for the eyes.
└ Honestly, Ho-young is on a higher level than Schumacher.
└ Hmm. If you take away the national bias, that still seems like too much for now.
└ Wow. At this rate, is he going to swallow up the entire advertising market? He will easily make 1 trillion before he retires.
└ Won't he make even more? His value is only going to keep rising.
└ He is already making 31.58 million euros at 19, hahaha.
└ Ha... I feel miserable...
└ But Ho-young is even good at driving... He cannot have had his license for that long, right?
└ That is because he is an alien. After hanging around Ronaldinho, he really became one.
This collaboration ad drew exactly the explosive response people had expected.
In return, Ferrari gifted Ho-young two supercars as a sign of gratitude.
The feeling of driving one of them to the training ground was impossible to put into words.
Now he no longer needed anyone to drive him.
It felt as though the shackles binding his hands and feet had been removed.
He had even started looking forward to waking up every morning.
Each time he looked at the sleek curves and voluminous body lines, his chest swelled, and the roar of the engine behind him sent a thrill through his entire body.
It felt like he had found a new source of energy in his repetitive daily life.
At times, the attention from other people felt burdensome, but once he got used to it, he actually began to enjoy it.
'This is nice.'
The road to the training ground was enjoyable today as well.
He wanted to go farther like this, and keep running until the very end without stopping.
He did not know how long it would take.
But one thing was certain, he could finally see the terminal now.
And the road he had to travel to reach that destination was wide open before him.
April 28.
Dutch powerhouse Ajax arrived in Manchester for the Europa League semi-final.
They were considered the best in the Netherlands, but compared to Manchester City they were the weaker side, so everyone expected City to win.
That was also why Ho-young was left out of the match.
With the EPL fixture against Chelsea scheduled 3 days later, the manager intended to make sure he got plenty of rest beforehand.
Ajax were rougher and sharper than expected, but thanks to strong performances from David Silva and Adebayor, City were able to secure a 3-1 win.
[Manchester City are now just one step away from the final. If they avoid any major mistakes in next week's away leg at Ajax, they should have every chance of advancing.]
[Meanwhile, in yesterday's match, FC Porto beat Juventus 1-0. Unless something unusual happens, it looks like the final will be Manchester City versus Porto.]
[As the professional bookmakers predicted, Manchester City now seem likely to win the title.]
All that remained now was the EPL.
Even with only 5 matches left until the end of the season, the fierce three-way title race was still ongoing.
Ferguson's Manchester United, Ancelotti's Chelsea, and Manchester City.
Recently, Manchester United had drawn against Liverpool, which reduced the gap between them and Chelsea to 3 points, and narrowed the gap with Manchester City to 4 points.
It was impossible to predict easily who would win the title.
Moreover, all 3 teams still had a brutal schedule ahead of them, so it would not have been strange if any one of them collapsed.
All 3 sides were also competing in European competition, so they were dealing with physical fatigue.
In other words, for Manchester City, it was both a crisis and a golden opportunity.
They had to beat Chelsea in the next match no matter what if they wanted to win the title.
And so, to make sure they did not waste that chance, Manchester City put more effort into managing Ho-young's condition.
April 30, Etihad Campus.
Ho-young, who had arrived early in the morning and was loosening up, headed to the mini futsal court for the first time in a while.
Ronaldinho was standing on the opposite side.
"So, are you confident?"
"Today, I will definitely win."
The bet they had been doing since January.
Today was already the fifth challenge.
He had lost by the narrowest of margins every time, but this time, the feeling was different.
It was confidence backed by reason.
And indeed, as soon as the bet began, Ho-young amazed the onlookers by showing movements far better than before.
"Wow..."
"His movement is cleaner than before."
No matter how hard Ronaldinho tried to take the ball, Ho-young protected it to the very end.
His unnecessary movements had decreased dramatically compared to before.
Every action was controlled, concise, and clean.
Strict Body Control, the talent he had recently coveted from Michael Schumacher.
Having physically absorbed it, Ho-young moved like an emotionless machine and completely deceived Ronaldinho.
And the result was.
[Potential (SS+)]
It ended with Ho-young's victory.
He planned to keep the coveted Potential for future talent integration.
'Done.'
Joy boiled up inside him.
After leaving Real Madrid, he had worried a lot about whether things might go wrong, but with good news arriving day after day, his sense of accomplishment was soaring.
Ronaldinho, on the other hand, wore a complicated expression.
'So I really lost.'
He had known that a day like this would come eventually, but because this was the area he had been most confident in, the shock of defeat hit hard.
But even more surprising than that was Ho-young's growth.
To keep growing endlessly into new territory in such a short time.
Where exactly was his limit?
Around the time that question filled Ronaldinho's mind, the players who had been watching nearby were showing similar reactions.
"He kept challenging him, and in the end he really won."
"He surpassed the alien."
"Then what is he now?"
"A crazy alien."
"No, at this point he is a god."
A divine realm acknowledged even by professional players.
Ho-young was clearly walking toward that path.
As the fierce month of April came to an end, an even fiercer May began.
[Upcoming EPL Round 34, "Chelsea vs Manchester City" and "Manchester United vs Tottenham"... blockbuster matches that will decide the fate of the three contenders]
[Ho-young reaches 20 goals in just 12 league matches... only 2 goals behind Manchester United's Berbatov, while Carlos Tevez and Didier Drogba, who has scored in 9 straight recent matches, are in third]
[The EPL remains impossible to predict, and since Ho-young's transfer, overseas viewership has increased... believed to have drawn in fans from La Liga]
[The keyword for
[Mancini: "We will show explosive attacking football. The Ro-Ho-Ro line is ready to go. Chelsea's midfield is no longer something to fear."]
[Ancelotti: "Chelsea are not only strong in midfield, but in every area of the pitch. That is the difference between them and Manchester City."]
[Chelsea captain John Terry: "We will not concede. We will show the strength of the EPL side with the fewest goals conceded."]
[Goalkeeper Petr Čech also expressed confidence, saying, "If they get through, I will stop everything."]
[Chelsea vice-captain Frank Lampard: "Our mentality truly shines in big matches."]
[Michael Essien: "I will get revenge on Ho-young for the defeat at the last World Cup with this chance."]
As the psychological battle between both sides continued, match day quickly arrived.
EPL Round 34.
The clash between Manchester City and Chelsea, which would decide the fate of second and third place, was about to begin.
The venue was Etihad Stadium, Manchester City's home ground.
Both dressing rooms were heavy with tension.
The away dressing room in particular was filled with such a bleak and nervous atmosphere that it felt suffocating.
Chelsea FC.
This year, they were dreaming of the double.
They were second in the league and had also reached the Champions League semi-finals, so it was by no means an empty dream.
On top of that, they had strengthened the squad by signing Fernando Torres and David Luiz in the winter transfer window.
Everything looked good.
Of course, they had suffered because of Torres's poor form, but Didier Drogba had stepped up in the latter part of the season and led the team.
Now all that remained was to rise to first place in the league.
If they could just overcome the mountain in front of them now.
'Ho-young.'
Manager Ancelotti swallowed bitterly.
What a regrettable reality it was.
'Was it 2004?'
Ancelotti still remembered it.
The day he had gone to Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, to watch Kaká, and first met Ho-young in the VIP lounge.
Seven years ago, he had been a very bold and tiny boy.
And manager Carlos had said this.
"You will see him again before long. On television, that is."
At the time, Ancelotti had never dreamed those words would become reality.
He should have brought Ho-young to AC Milan right then and there, but because he had not, regret and disappointment had stayed with him for years.
That was why he had kept making all kinds of efforts to sign Ho-young ever since.
At AC Milan, and at Chelsea as well.
Because he had wanted to stand on the same pitch as him no matter what.
But to meet him like this as an enemy, what a lamentable reality this was.
Rather than excitement or anticipation, fear came first.
He knew very well how ridiculous it was for a veteran of the football world to be afraid of a 17-year-old boy.
But it could not be helped.
The opponent was Ho-young.
As a manager, there was not much he could say.
"Go out there and enjoy it."
They simply had to pour out everything they had prepared.
There was no other way.
Doing their best was the only solution.
And the players answered.
"Understood."
They had crushed Manchester City 4-1 away last December, but not a single one of them let their guard down today.
Because they all knew how strong Manchester City had become now.
They had prepared for the match that thoroughly, and they were approaching it with an attitude as solemn and serious as if it were a Champions League final.
Captain John Terry gathered the players together and shouted in a booming voice.
"Come on! Come on!"
"Come on you Blues!"
"Blues!"
"Blues!!"
1 hour and 15 minutes before kick-off.
With loud roars ringing out, all the players poured onto the pitch and began warming up.
The stands were already more than half full.
It was another moment that made the importance of the match sink in.
Ancelotti also went out onto the pitch, shook hands with manager Mancini, and looked over the players who were warming up hard on the field.
It was around then.
"Hello, manager. It has been a long time."
It was Ho-young, meeting him again after 7 years.
"You have grown so much I barely recognize you."
The little boy he had once had to look down at was nowhere to be seen.
His face had changed a lot too.
His nose was high and sharp, and his face was slender.
But his clear, bright eyes were still the same.
They seemed to contain his resolve to give everything he had.
'Today's match really will not be easy.'
But Chelsea would not simply let themselves be beaten either.
He intended to fight to the very end, staking his own name and Chelsea's pride on it.
Ancelotti smiled kindly and held out his hand.
"Good luck."
"Thank you. I will show you a good match."
And the match began at around 4:10 p.m.
(To be continued.)
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◇ 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.)