The U-17 FIFA World Cup.
A World Cup tournament for players under the age of 17, and the youngest competition officially hosted by FIFA.
Although it tends to be undervalued due to the participants being youth players, a World Cup is still a World Cup.
Its status is so high that more than 90,000 fans attend the final match.
The reason is simple: it serves as a major gateway for future football stars.
'Plenty of U-17 World Cup alumni went on to become global stars.'
Even those Ho-young could remember off the top of his head were over ten.
Spain's Casillas, Fàbregas, Iniesta, Torres, Xavi, and Silva.
Italy's Buffon, Del Piero, Totti.
Germany's Toni Kroos.
Brazil's Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
Notably, Maradona had once led Argentina to a championship by single-handedly dominating the youth tournament.
You could say that nearly every world-class player had passed through this stage.
Even Son Heung-min of Korea was one of them.
But now...
'If I were to play on that stage...'
It was an official FIFA tournament.
If he could reach the semifinals, it would open a path to gaining Cha Bum-kun's talent.
Korea's best result in the U-17 World Cup was reaching the quarterfinals in 1987, led by Shin Tae-yong and Seo Jung-won.
So, just like the senior World Cup, the possibility wasn't completely out of reach.
'The problem is the age.'
The average age of a U-17 team is around 16 to 17.
At the youngest, players might be 15. Occasionally, a 14-year-old might appear, but it's extremely rare.
But Ho-young was only 12.
If he played, he would break the record set by a 13-year-old African player by several months.
Thump.
His heart warmed.
'Can I really do it?'
Honestly, he wasn't sure.
Having an elementary school kid compete against high schoolers was an enormous challenge.
He had heard of a player named Ji So-yun being selected for the Korean U-19 team at the age of 14 and playing in the youth championship, but...
What mattered was whether he could hold his own among middle and high schoolers.
It wasn't that he lacked the physical size.
Ho-young had a large frame and fairly developed muscles.
Of course, that was in comparison to others his age.
But in terms of actual strength, he still fell short.
The age gap could be up to five years.
'That's a huge difference.'
He'd played in a few practice matches with São Paulo FC's U-17s, and each time, he'd felt it clearly.
He could manage against 16-year-olds with effort, but 17-year-olds? That was nearly impossible, no matter how hard he tried.
Even if he hung in there persistently, once a player over 80 kg went all-in on a physical challenge, there was nothing he could do.
'Sure, Ronaldo went up against adults at 14...'
But that was Ronaldo.
And Ho-young was not Ronaldo.
He had only just acquired a portion of Neymar's talent, and there were still plenty of South American talents left to obtain.
Still...
'Coach Cha must see something if he wants to meet me.'
He couldn't afford to lose confidence now.
A few days later.
Just before returning home, Ho-young received great news.
The results of the CELPE-Bras, Brazil's international Portuguese proficiency exam, were announced—and he had passed with a high-level certification.
No one was more delighted than Ho-young. Early that morning, he gave Monica a big hug and burst out laughing.
"Congratulations!"
"Thanks, Monica."
His gratitude came from the heart.
Helping someone study consistently was no easy task.
But Monica just smiled shyly and waved it off.
"It was nothing~"
"Haha. I really mean it, thank you."
Naturally, he had no intention of ending it with just a thank-you.
'I'll definitely repay her.'
That aside, before anything else...
[Your talent vessel is full. Football Prodigy (S-) will be available in 27 days.]
[Please select the talent you wish to obtain in advance.]
- Gymnastics Prodigy (B+2)
- Balanced Body Coordination (B+2)
- Natural Language Sense (B)
- Excellent Hip Flexibility (B-)
- Decent Jumping Power (C+2)
- Fancy Dance Step Combinations (C+2)
- Rhythmic Club Windmill Twirl (C+2)
By selecting Natural Language Sense, the difficulty of the remaining conditions had also been lowered.
'Next up is body balance.'
As Ho-young grinned widely, Monica smiled along with him.
Early March.
As the season wrapped up, Ho-young appeared at Incheon International Airport, greeted by more than a dozen people.
Last year, it had just been his parents and reporter Hwang Tae-seok. But now, the crowd was over twice that size.
"Son!"
The first ones to greet him were Woo Hwang-sun and Kim Hee-sun.
Last year, they had cried. This time, they were shocked.
"Oh my, look at our son. He's grown so handsome."
Seeing how much Ho-young's appearance had changed, the couple couldn't stop gushing.
"Excuse me, could you look this way for a moment?"
Click-click-click.
What ended their emotional reunion was the sound of camera shutters.
Hwang Tae-seok and several other sports journalists were on-site for coverage.
After a quick photo session, the interview began.
Ho-young confidently answered each question.
The reporters, eager for details, fired off one question after another.
"Do you have any close friends you'd like to mention?"
"Breno, Oscar, Casemiro, Douglas, Marcelo. There are so many."
"Are they all your Brazilian friends? Ah, right. Haha. I guess none of them are names we'd recognize."
The reporter gave a sheepish laugh and moved on, thinking he had asked something pointless.
But Ho-young's next answer caught them off guard.
"Kaká and Ballack."
"Huh?"
"K-Kaká?"
The crowd stirred.
Kaká, who had transferred to AC Milan last year and was making headlines with his stellar performances.
"Wait, you mean Ricardo Kaká?"
"Yes."
"And Ballack... that's Michael Ballack?"
"Yes. We occasionally exchange emails. They give me advice."
All the reporters had the same look on their faces.
A look of disbelief.
Even if it wasn't fully confirmed, it was enough to shock them.
They began furiously jotting down every word.
The next day.
Ho-young and Woo Hwang-sun headed to Suwon to meet Coach Cha Bum-kun.
Despite the busy start of the K League season, Cha warmly welcomed them.
"Kid's lost some baby fat, huh? Your face looks sharper. Your nose is more defined too. You've gotten a lot taller."
"Haha. Coach, you look even younger."
"Hahaha."
After some lighthearted conversation, the topic quickly shifted.
It was Park Kyung-woon, the U-17 national team manager sitting across from them, who got the ball rolling.
"Don't be nervous, kid. I'm not gonna eat you."
Seeing that Ho-young looked a bit tense, Park let out a hearty laugh.
Truth be told, Ho-young was nervous.
Not just because Park's face looked naturally stern, but more importantly, because he was the national team coach.
His lips were dry.
Being selected for the U-17 team was directly tied to joining the national team.
If he performed well here, he could even become the youngest-ever senior national team call-up.
In that case, he might surpass Lucas Necht's record of making an A-match debut at 14.
Of course, having the youngest-ever record wasn't what mattered most.
The important thing was the opportunity.
A chance to gain new talents.
'I can do this.'
No coach would want to see immaturity in a player.
So, Ho-young straightened his posture and exuded confidence.
Then Park asked with a light shrug.
"Ho-young, do you even know what the U-17 team is?"
"Yes. Last year at the Asian Championship, the Korean youth team, led by Suk Hyun-jun's winning goal, beat Qatar to take third place. That earned us a ticket to the Peru U-17 World Cup."
"Ha, you're well-informed."
As expected from a major international competition, the conversation quickly turned serious.
The main topic was Ho-young's potential call-up to the team.
"So your club doesn't have any matches until April?"
"Yes. Why?"
"There's a U-16 tournament in France this month called the Mondial Football Montaigu."
"Ahh..."
"Okay, so the schedule won't be an issue."
Park didn't mention anything about the U-17 World Cup in September.
There was still plenty of time until the final squad submission.
First, he wanted to see how Ho-young performed with the U-16s. If he could hold his own against older players, then they could think about including him in the World Cup team.
'No need to get ahead of ourselves.'
Having never seen Ho-young play in person, Park remained cautious.
Coach Cha had recommended him repeatedly, so he'd give the kid a shot, but he still doubted whether the boy could overcome the age gap.
'Tch. It's not like he's Maradona or something...'
After all, producing a football hero in Korea was like reaching for the stars.
"Anyway, the father approves, right?"
"Yes. Of course."
There was no reason to refuse when your son was being selected for the U-16 national team.
If anything, Woo Hwang-sun looked more excited than Ho-young himself.
"Please take good care of my boy."
"No worries. If Coach Cha recommends him, I'll take good care of him."
"Haha."
"Hahaha!"
The three of them—Cha Bum-kun, Park Kyung-woon, and Woo Hwang-sun—shared a hearty laugh.
But for Ho-young, the one most affected, it wasn't anxiety he felt.
It was overwhelming excitement and anticipation.
The Mondial Football Montaigu Tournament would begin in mid-March.
The next day, São Paulo FC gave permission for him to participate.
With the season already over, there was no reason to oppose his national team call-up.
Three days later, Ho-young officially joined the national team camp.
That same day, his face appeared in a small corner of a sports newspaper.
['Ho-young' rewriting Korea's football history. Youth national team call-up imminent?
Still young, but no small figure. The 13-year-old Ho-young (São Paulo FC) is once again making headlines.
With the U-17 World Cup ahead, national team manager Park Kyung-woon (45) acknowledged the possibility of a call-up while stating, "Ho-young is only 13. It's still too early to talk about the final squad selection."]
Articles like these sparked excitement among Korean football fans.
The internet, too, saw a steady stream of articles about Ho-young.
['Ho-young conquers football powerhouse Brazil!
With lightning speed and storm-like dribbling, the 13-year-old super prospect Ho-young returns from Brazil in a whirlwind.
One Brazilian football analyst ranked him among the world's top 5 football prodigies (under 14) and predicted that in a few years, he'd stand shoulder to shoulder with Alexandre Pato, Carlos Vela, Bojan Krkić, and Mario Götze.]
Articles filled with what Koreans affectionately called "national pride intoxication" only fueled the public's expectations.
There were even fake reports claiming Ronaldinho himself was planning to personally coach Ho-young in Brazil.
The most outrageous of them all was this:
[Ho-young's shooting form matches Maradona's exactly. Shocking resemblance...
South Korea is now a football powerhouse. Winning the World Cup is no longer a dream.]
'...Please, let's stop here.'
Saturday morning, March 5th. A cold snap lingered in the air.
On the way to the Paju NFC training center in Woo Hwang-sun's car, Ho-young quietly folded the newspaper.
'That's just too much.'
It was the classic case of media inflating a hero's image.
...Still, he was thankful for the interest.
Rubbing the goosebumps on his arm, Ho-young asked Woo Hwang-sun, who was driving.
"Dad. What if I said I wanted to move to a European club?"
"What do you mean, what if?"
"It's fine now, but if I want to make my pro debut, I can't do it alone. The truth is, I want to go pro in Europe."
"Then either Mom or I will have to move to Europe with you."
"Oh, you already knew?"
"This isn't someone else's kid we're talking about. Of course I looked into it."
Woo Hwang-sun had already met with several Korean football agents last year to figure things out.
So he actually knew more about it than Ho-young did.
"It's rare for things to get blocked, but if you're planning to debut in Europe, it's better to be cautious now to avoid issues later."
"Yes. I heard that too."
Ho-young's voice sounded a little worried.
He didn't want to be the reason his family was split apart.
Noticing his son's expression, Woo Hwang-sun spoke.
"Son."
"Yes?"
"You just focus on your football. Don't worry about anything else."
Maybe he was worrying for nothing.
With a strong support like this, what more could he ask for?
'And besides, I haven't even received an official offer yet.'
With his mind eased, Ho-young responded brightly.
"I'll do my best!"
Paju NFC Natural Grass Training Ground.
On top of red jerseys, boys wore fluorescent training bibs and began warming up.
They were South Korea's proud U-17 national team.
Alongside Ho-young, there were a few other new players joining for the first time.
'As expected... no prodigies.'
Coming from Brazil, Ho-young couldn't help but feel a bit off.
The gap in football quality between Brazil and Korea was bigger than he remembered.
'I must've gotten too used to the high level. This is actually really impressive in its own right.'
Youth national team.
The fact that he was now part of this squad filled Ho-young with emotion.
Finally, he had a stage to showcase the skills he'd honed abroad.
He couldn't wait to get on the pitch.
There were even a few familiar faces among the squad.
Although the atmosphere was a bit stiff, likely due to the national team's rigid hierarchy...
'I'm sure I'll get close once we start playing.'
Thankfully, one of the familiar faces greeted him.
"Have you been well, man?"
"I've been alright... But I think you might've grown taller than me?"
Suk Hyun-jun, reuniting with Ho-young after nearly a year, tilted his head.
Compared to last year, the height difference between them had narrowed considerably.
"How tall are you now?"
"171 cm."
"Be honest. Did they give you growth hormone shots in Brazil?"
"Haha."
They were happy to see each other again and chatted in low voices for a bit.
But that became the problem.
"Who's chatting during training? Keep it down."
Kim Shin-woo, born in '88, the oldest player and team captain, snapped.
As the defensive pillar of the squad, his word held weight.
Suk Hyun-jun had no choice but to bow his head.
Ho-young also lowered his head, acknowledging his mistake.
'The discipline is no joke.'
It was the complete opposite of Brazil.
In Brazil, he'd been treated like an equal even among 16 or 17-year-olds. But here, the atmosphere was rigid.
"Don't expect leniency just because it's your first day. Got it?"
"Yes."
Kim Shin-woo seemed like he'd order them to gather under him at any moment.
The air was heavy. The tension was real.
But Ho-young didn't let it bother him too much.
As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
So he focused on training.
But then...
"Hey, hold up."
Kim Shin-woo called again.
"Yes?"
"I heard you trained in Brazil."
"Yes. Why?"
"Just so you know, here in Korea, we learn football the hard way. That's how we get better. So let's keep things smooth, yeah?"
Maybe he'd gotten scolded earlier that morning, but Kim Shin-woo was clearly on edge.
Piiik!
The tense atmosphere was broken by the sound of a whistle from Coach Park Kyung-woon, signaling the players to gather.
Once everyone was assembled, he pointed to the tactical board and spoke.
"Kim Seong-su, Oh Yeon-ho, Park Chang-su, Kim Jae-min, Lee Chang-ho, Nam Woo-jung, Koo Ja-young, Suk Hyun-jun, Ho-young. The players I just named will put on blue bibs."
A scrimmage was about to begin, now that the new players had joined.
The Blue Team consisted of the newcomers and second-string players.
The White Team, led by captain and defensive anchor Kim Shin-woo, was the first team.
(To be continued.)