[Ho-young approaches Gerard Piqué. He controls the ball and slows the tempo.]
The ball stopped at his feet.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy, as if the air itself had thickened.
The lively and fast flow of the game sank into a slower rhythm.
'Positional attack.'
Gerard Piqué, who had faced Ho-young countless times, instantly sensed it.
It was obvious.
He had been beaten by this exact attacking pattern several times before.
By now, he was almost sick of it.
Even without wanting to, he had learned how to respond.
'He'll draw attention and then exploit the space that opens somewhere else.'
The signs were already clear.
Douglas Costa on the left was making threatening movements, while on the opposite side Ronaldo was drifting toward the center.
Everything was unfolding exactly as Piqué had predicted.
That meant blocking the passing lanes would give him a good chance to stop it.
But.
'Don't get greedy.'
Piqué stayed exactly where he was.
Like a statue, he simply stood firm and blocked the path.
That was the best he could do.
After facing Ho-young so many times, Piqué had learned a few lessons.
When defending against Ho-young, he had to accept things halfway and focus on just one thing.
He could not afford to think about anything else.
Even if it looked like a pass was coming, Ho-young could suddenly dribble forward at any moment.
Growth.
Piqué had grown step by step after taking countless beatings from Ho-young.
Now he was no longer just a good defender.
He was stepping into the level beyond.
World class.
Piqué held his ground.
And then.
Tap, tap.
Just as he concentrated entirely on the ball, Ho-young's feet moved again.
'Here it comes!'
Not a pass.
A dribble.
He was trying to break through while Ronaldo drew attention on the right.
And Piqué reacted instantly.
This time he was certain he would stop it.
The moment he thrust his foot forward.
Whoosh!
However, that certainty shattered immediately.
"…?!"
The moment Piqué stuck out his foot, Ho-young pulled the ball away by the smallest margin.
His animal-like reaction speed combined with incredible ball control created a breathtaking movement.
'This is insane.'
He reacted to that tackle after seeing it?
It was unbelievable.
In the meantime, everything happened at once.
Piqué's failed tackle opened space on the opposite side, and Ho-young immediately exploited it with a low pass to the right.
Tap!
Thump!
A clean and crisp sound.
It came from Ronaldo's left-footed shot after receiving the pass.
"Siu!"
"Ho!"
The two men celebrated the goal with an energetic high five.
"Nice one, Young!"
"You're back!"
"Great chemistry!"
"That was brilliant."
Teammates rushed over and piled onto Ho-young and Ronaldo in celebration.
This was Real Madrid.
Raúl and Guti were gone now, but Real Madrid was just as strong as last year.
No, perhaps they had become even stronger.
The opening goal for Real Madrid came in the 10th minute of the first half.
For Ángel Di María, it was the worst possible outcome.
'That goal should have been mine…'
He had wanted to become Barcelona's hero.
But in that moment he realized how reckless that dream had been.
He also realized how terrifying Santiago Bernabéu could be.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
Facing Real Madrid's Ho-young directly doubled the pressure.
'You idiot. Don't be afraid. I'm myself. I just have to play my own game. Ho-young isn't a defender, he's an attacker. I just need to target Marcelo.'
It was only the 10th minute.
It was too early to say the match was over.
Marcelo's defense was weaker compared to his attacking ability.
If he exploited that weakness, he could still perform well.
Even though Mourinho had instructed him to participate actively in defense, he ignored it.
From now on, it was all about attacking.
However, by the 30th minute of the first half, Di María had barely touched the ball.
Real Madrid's defensive discipline made sure of that.
After scoring the opening goal, they adopted a defensive approach centered in midfield and gave Barcelona no space.
[Ho-young drops from the attacking line into midfield and links up with Xabi Alonso and Fernando Gago. They are blocking every passing lane forward.]
[Interesting. It almost feels like Ho-young is reading Xavi's thoughts. As if he knows exactly where the pass will go. Because of that, Xavi Hernández cannot build the play smoothly.]
[Exactly. You can see it in the numbers. Xavi's forward passes are far fewer than usual.]
In fact, Ho-young did know where Xavi would pass.
After all, he had already acquired Xavi's vision talent.
"Alonso, push the line higher and apply more pressure!"
"Got it!"
Ho-young's voice echoed across half the pitch.
He coordinated the midfield, cut off attacking routes, and disrupted the ball distribution of Xavi and Iniesta before Barcelona could even build their attacks.
Except for Douglas, Ronaldo, and Higuaín, the other players moved fluidly to avoid leaving gaps.
Even without direct instructions, his teammates naturally followed the flow of play.
"Gago!"
"Got it!"
"Young! Don't worry about the wings!"
"Alright!"
Fernando Gago.
Xabi Alonso.
And Ho-young.
The three formed a midfield triangle with outstanding chemistry.
Ho-young's explosive condition spread to the other players and positively influenced them.
They were not losing at all against Barcelona's midfield trio of Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets.
[If Piqué pushed forward and joined midfield, things might improve slightly, but he cannot do that because Higuaín is playing as the lone striker.]
[That's right. Barcelona is being pushed back overall. Both offensively and defensively, the team still looks unfinished.]
Barcelona was forced to chase the game.
Their forward line, assembled with nearly 100 million euros in spending, could not do anything because of Real Madrid's midfield control.
[Di María and David Villa look almost like spectators. They are trying hard, but all they can do is wander around the wings.]
[Team chemistry is also an issue, and they still have not adapted to the team's style. For the two of them, this must feel like a nightmare debut.]
[Meanwhile, Real Madrid is showing outstanding play. Their condition is perfect.]
Perfection.
Real Madrid tightened their grip on Barcelona by using a defend first, counterattack strategy.
It almost seemed like they were mocking Barcelona's bold decision to appoint Mourinho.
[Ho-young receives Alonso's pass with his back to goal and lets it run.]
[Alves and Iniesta close in.]
[McGeady spin. Ho-young protects the ball while turning away.]
[What more can we say? It's simply brilliant. Ho-young is controlling the match.]
Scolari's tactics relied on the creativity of the attacking midfielder.
In other words, the style of play changed depending on Ho-young's movements.
There was a clear reason why he was playing defensively right now.
'Di María. He's getting tired.'
[Ángel Di María]
Possessed Talents: Devil's Footwork (U), Fantastic Dribbling (S+), Surprise Space Penetration (A+3), Lamborghini-Level Speed (A+3), Relentless Burst Runs (A+3)
(More...)
(You may steal one talent if the conditions are met.)
(Talents above S grade require hidden conditions.)
Condition 1: Record an attacking point
Condition 2: Play the full 90 minutes
Condition 3: Prevent him from recording an attacking point
Hidden Condition: Unlocks after stealing at least one talent
Special Condition
(If the special condition is achieved, you can additionally steal Ángel Di María's potential.)
'Force him to be substituted…'
What a mischievous condition.
Still, the talent was too tempting to ignore.
Devil's Footwork.
It would serve as a foundation to elevate his existing footwork abilities to a higher level.
And the potential was a bonus.
That was why he had changed the style of the game.
He strengthened the midfield to prevent Di María from touching the ball, completely cutting off Barcelona's attacks through him.
By the 40th minute of the first half.
The forwards, including Di María, were on the verge of exploding with frustration.
Barcelona's midfield was barely holding the situation together.
Without them, Madrid would have launched counterattacks again and again.
And then around the 43rd minute.
[Just before halftime, Mourinho finally abandons his stubbornness. Messi drops deeper to receive the ball and joins the midfield.]
[The tactic Mourinho designed entirely for Messi has collapsed in just one match. You can almost hear President Laporta sighing from here.]
"Haah…"
Laporta, who had personally come to Santiago Bernabéu to watch the match, let out a deep sigh.
A reporter's sudden question from earlier flashed in his mind.
'I can only trust Messi…'
Messi.
As he became more active, Barcelona's performance gradually improved.
It felt like Barcelona could finally breathe again.
But that moment collapsed instantly.
Thud!
"Ugh!"
[Ramos makes a strong tackle.]
[He steals the ball from David Villa. It rolls forward. Counterattack chance for Real Madrid.]
[Xabi Alonso receives it. He immediately looks forward without hesitation. A killer pass into space.]
Chaos erupted in the attacking line.
Ronaldo and Ho-young switched positions, and Douglas joined the rotation as well.
Barcelona's defense fell into complete confusion.
The pursuit tactic that had been shown before.
With that surprise tactic, Puyol and Piqué had no choice but to concede the chance.
The first to reach the opportunity was Ronaldo.
And the moment he saw Valdés rush out, he tapped the ball to the right.
The finish came from Ho-young with an inside shot.
Net!
"Woooo!"
2-0.
At that moment, Mourinho grabbed his head in frustration.
"Ha…"
After the first half.
Inside the manager's office, Mourinho scratched his head.
Now he understood why Guardiola's hair loss had progressed so quickly.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
It was a message from Guardiola.
[Congratulations on entering the tiger's den.]
"Damn it."
He was right.
The Barcelona managerial position was like a poisoned chalice.
His reckless ambition had invited trouble.
Still, it was not over yet.
This was only the first match.
He had not even been in charge for a full month.
Mourinho cleared his thoughts and adjusted his tactics.
The first change was substituting Pedro for Di María.
At that moment, Ho-young obtained "Potential (A+3)."
The second half was not much different after Pedro replaced Di María.
Iniesta and Messi combined to score a consolation goal, but Ronaldo added another goal to seal the match.
3-1.
A perfect victory for Real Madrid.
[If Mourinho used tactics designed for Messi, Real Madrid used tactics centered around Ho-young. That is the difference between the two teams.]
[Yes. Without question, this was a complete defeat for Barcelona.]
Immediately after the match ended, Ho-young received the opportunity to steal "Devil's Footwork (U)."
And just as expected, the talent evolved.
[You steal Devil's Footwork (U).]
[Devil's Footwork (U) and Fantastic Footwork (SU) have successfully combined.]
[You acquire Ultimate Footwork (W+).]
The time required to fully obtain the talent was twenty days.
At that point, a question arose in Ho-young's mind.
'Can a W-grade talent be raised to the TS level?'
Lost in thought, he returned to the locker room.
Then he came out again to head to the press conference.
Right then.
At the far end of the corridor, someone was cautiously approaching.
'Di María?'
It was indeed him.
Ángel Di María, who had been substituted after only 45 minutes.
After confirming no one else was around, he awkwardly extended his hand.
"Um… could I maybe exchange jerseys…"
"I already swapped with Villa earlier…"
"Huh? Why Villa…?"
"Haha. Just kidding. Here."
Ho-young neatly folded his jersey and handed it over.
Then he hugged him and said.
"Welcome to La Liga."
"Th-thank you…"
It was clearly a warm welcome.
Yet for some reason, Di María was sweating nervously.
(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.)