[Real Madrid, hiding their claws, manage a draw at San Siro with over 80,000 fans in attendance!]
[Ho-young's shot speed measured at 154 km/h… faster than Roberto Carlos's legendary UFO shot from June 1997…]
[A disastrous first half, a phenomenal second half. While the result was decent, the real concern is Real Madrid's inconsistent performance. Critics are pointing to a lack of tactical flexibility and poor conditioning.]
Various reports spread rapidly across Spain.
Local fans had mixed reactions.
Some defended the performance, saying it was a hard-fought result, while others criticized Real Madrid's poor first-half display and questioned Schuster's competency.
As expected, LaLigaMania was more heated than ever.
[Today's match was literal hell. Real Madrid's first half was an absolute disaster. Meanwhile, Inter's attack was terrifying. Now I understand why Mourinho is called the Special One.]
└Exactly. Football isn't just played on the pitch.
└Still, lucky we managed a draw.
└Barcelona beat United 4-2, but Madrid fans are satisfied with a draw?
└Typical "Puta Madrid" stuff. It's a miracle we even made the semis. This club's glory days are over~
Bang!
Inside a Madrid pub.
"Bullshit!"
One die-hard Real Madrid fan couldn't hold back his frustration any longer.
"They say we're finished? Those damn Cules just crawling out again. Like the cockroaches they are."
"We need to crush them. Absolutely destroy them in this El Clásico."
The match had long ended, but Real Madrid fans lingered, unable to leave due to their frustration.
The 2-2 draw was acceptable, but the first-half performance left a bitter taste.
"I still don't get why Schuster didn't start Van Nistelrooy."
"Exactly. Did he not realize Inter would focus all their marking on Ho-young? If the center's shut down, open the wings and cross!"
"Or bring in Sneijder to relieve pressure. Even van der Vaart could've eased the load on Ho-young."
"Right? You saw it last time, didn't you? The Dutch connection is still alive and well. This isn't about squad depth, it's Schuster mismanaging the players."
Doubts about Schuster's capability were growing.
"Why is he so fixated on the older players? Have you seen Mourinho relying on guys like Figo or Crespo?"
"True. Cannavaro was clearly not ready today. Still recovering from injury by the looks of it."
"Garay should've played. Schuster blindly believes the veterans will somehow pull through."
"Let's see if he can do a proper rebuild in the summer transfer window. I don't have much faith…"
Distrust.
Many fans began to believe that if someone other than Schuster were in charge, the team could be performing much better.
Meanwhile, Barcelona fans were already in celebration mode after their 4-2 home win over Manchester United.
With just one match to defend the lead, a Champions League final appearance was well within reach.
On top of that, they had already advanced to the Copa del Rey final and were leading the league standings in La Liga.
A treble.
As they edged closer to the historic treble, the excitement among fans was reaching a fever pitch.
But Guardiola saw things very differently.
Ferguson's United was never a team to be taken lightly, and heading to Old Trafford meant nothing was guaranteed.
Moreover, their lead over Real Madrid in La Liga was just one point. There was no room for complacency.
'This El Clásico will decide everything.'
For Guardiola, this El Clásico carried immense pressure.
Back in December, they had even failed to win at home.
Just thinking about that game still made his blood boil.
'If we lose, the standings will flip instantly.'
To make matters worse, the Champions League second leg against United was immediately after.
It was a brutal schedule.
"This is tough."
But El Clásico came first.
United, already leading by two, had the luxury of playing defensively.
But Real Madrid had to be broken down.
At the very least, Barcelona couldn't afford to lose.
'A defensive setup would be best.'
After watching the Inter match multiple times, he came to a decision.
Ho-young had changed.
He was no longer the monster he saw back in December.
He was now pushing the limits of what a human could achieve.
Maybe even beyond that.
That's why Barcelona needed a tailor-made tactic to stop Real Madrid.
From that day on, Guardiola spent sleepless nights analyzing how to stop Ho-young.
On the third day, upon arriving at the training ground, he called over Yaya Touré, Abidal, Piqué, Puyol, and Busquets.
Then he said:
"You're starting tomorrow."
May 2. Match day.
Madrid was packed with tens of thousands of football fans.
El Clásico was always a big deal, but with the league title potentially on the line, the stakes were even higher.
Real Madrid's team bus was greeted by a grand reception as it arrived at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
After Raúl and Zidane stepped off, Ho-young followed, prompting a massive roar of "La Salvador" across the city.
'No way I'm losing today.'
Ho-young, standing in front of the cameras, drew his thumb across his neck.
As that image appeared on the giant outdoor screen, the entire city erupted.
WOOOOAAAAAAHHHH!
The crowd went wild at his every move.
Ho-young felt goosebumps rising along his arms.
Holding onto that feeling, he headed into the stadium to begin his warm-up.
Even when passing by Barcelona players, he didn't glance at them.
Now wasn't the time for pleasantries.
With a title at stake, even close friendships had to be put aside.
Tension peaked one hour before kickoff.
It was triggered by a single sentence from Schuster in the home locker room.
"Valdés, Abidal, Piqué, Puyol, Busquets, Touré, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Henry, Eto'o. That's Barcelona's starting lineup."
"Wait. Dani Alves isn't starting?"
"He's on the bench."
"!"
The players looked stunned.
"Then who's playing right-back? Is he going with a back three of Abidal, Piqué, and Puyol?"
"That would make the midfield unbalanced. The core is Iniesta, Xavi, and the defensive midfielder."
"What, Touré at centre-back?"
"They've gone all out. Putting out that many physical players means they plan to batter us outside the box."
Even without great talent, the squad had enough tactical understanding and awareness to piece things together.
"This is going to be war."
Raúl was right.
Ho-young agreed.
"This war ends here."
The showdown.
It began an hour later.
Tweet—
[We're heading into the final stretch of the 08-09 season. El Clásico is underway, a match that could determine the fate of both clubs.]
[Real Madrid have lined up in their most successful formation, the 4-2-3-1. Barcelona are using their usual 4-3-3, but with a much more defensive setup.]
One of Barcelona's weapons, Dani Alves, was known for his dangerous overlapping runs.
But today, that position was filled by Carles Puyol.
And the centre-back pairing consisted of Yaya Touré and Gerard Piqué.
It was an overwhelmingly physical and defensive backline.
'In other words, they're focused on defense rather than attack.'
Having assessed the situation, Ho-young mentally reviewed the game plan.
Then he quickly listed the talents he could acquire today.
Primarily, SS-grade talents from Messi and Henry.
Assuming he met all the conditions.
'Forget the conditions for now.'
For Ho-young, talent was important, but not as much as his career.
After all, gathering and improving his talents was for the sake of building that career.
The priority now was victory.
Ho-young ran only for the win.
[24 minutes into the first half, and we haven't seen a single shot on target.]
[Raúl, playing on the left wing, and Van Nistelrooy up front are struggling. Ho-young's playmaking is desperately needed.]
Despite the intensity of the atmosphere, the game itself had been sluggish.
But around the 40th minute, just before halftime, a fierce battle for possession broke out.
Yaya Touré, nicknamed the "Tank," worked in tandem with his teammates to gradually shut down Ho-young's movement.
Four yellow cards were issued in the first half alone as a result.
Even so, the battle raged on.
[The midfield battle is so intense, neither side can distribute the ball effectively.]
[Ho-young drops into midfield to receive the ball. He's attempting to break through into space.]
And that's when it happened.
"Not so fast!"
As soon as Ho-young tried to break into space, Touré lunged diagonally with a rough tackle.
His foot came in high, not your standard challenge.
Targeting the back of the shin.
But—
"!"
At the perfect moment, Ho-young pulled his leg away and nudged the ball to the left.
Touré quickly got up to block the path, but Ho-young was already winding up for a shot.
The shooting angle was barely open, almost completely closed off, yet Ho-young struck the ball without hesitation.
All the power focused into his ankle.
BOOM!
A shot easily exceeding 150 km/h.
But it didn't go far.
It was blocked almost instantly.
The distance it traveled? Barely a meter.
Touré, standing right in front, had blocked it.
But the problem was, it wasn't a deliberate block.
"GRAAAAGH!"
Touré, who had taken the full force of the shot to the face, collapsed and raised his hand for help.
[Ah… of all places, it hit him right in the face.]
[Getting hit by a ball is common, but not from that close range. And not with that kind of power.]
[No surprise there. Blood's pouring from Touré's nose. His lips are torn. You have to wonder if his teeth are okay.]
"Ughhh…"
Touré's blurry vision eventually cleared, and the nosebleed stopped with time, but there were other problems.
Beep—
A ringing sound echoed in his ears and wouldn't fade.
Plus, his lips and gums were torn so badly that the pain was unbearable.
Even his teeth felt loose.
What he needed wasn't just first aid, but real treatment and rest.
Still, holding onto a sliver of hope, Guardiola asked:
"Touré, can you keep going?"
"Muh… nah… deefoo…"
"Sigh…"
Guardiola buried his head in his hands.
Despite his normally meticulous player management, this was out of his control.
'It was intentional.'
That's the only conclusion he could reach.
To hit someone in the face from less than a meter away… it had to be on purpose.
'He must've realized Touré was trying to injure him.'
Either way, Touré had to come off.
Guardiola requested a substitution.
[Yaya Touré is coming off, replaced by Dani Alves. Abidal, Piqué, Puyol, and Alves will now form the back four.]
[It's come to this. For Guardiola, who had a surprise plan, this must be heartbreaking.]
Guardiola ordered his players to stay defensively disciplined.
And he repeatedly warned them to watch for counterattacks.
Real Madrid responded by changing their plan as well.
Ho-young, who had dropped into midfield, spoke.
"Boss, I'll push up top."
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
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