Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

156 – Bet

156

Manchester City FC.

Although its official name is Manchester City Football Club, it’s more commonly known as Manchester City, a renowned English club. Of course, there might be differing opinions. As we all know, England has many strong clubs.

For instance, there’s Manchester United, a rival from the same neighborhood, or Liverpool, a rival from next door. A bit farther away, there’s Chelsea or Arsenal from London. Or maybe Newcastle, which has been rising after being sold to a wealthy owner. Tottenham? They’re not quite on the same level.

Despite the many prestigious clubs in England, if there’s one club that can dominate them all, it’s Manchester City.

That’s because Manchester City’s glorious career over the past decade has been impressive enough to surpass other rival clubs.

In England alone, they’ve been sharing the championship with Liverpool over the past 10 years. Especially in the 17/18 season, they achieved a record-breaking 100 points in the Premier League, setting the highest single-season win points and most wins, as well as the most goals scored, which is unlikely to be broken for decades to come.

In addition to the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and FA Community Shield, Manchester City achieved the Domestic Quadruple, an unprecedented feat in English football history. They also won the Treble, a testament to their unstoppable rise.

However, this alone was not enough to cement their status as the best team in England.

In this globalized era, a team’s domestic performance was no longer sufficient to be considered the best. What truly mattered was their performance in the Champions League, the pinnacle of European club competitions.

Manchester City’s recent success in the Champions League was a testament to their growth. From the 22/23 season, when they won their first Champions League title, to the 34/35 season, they won four championships in 13 years, solidifying their position as one of the best teams in the world.

However, despite their impressive record, Manchester City still lagged behind in the all-time Champions League winners’ list. Real Madrid, with 16 titles, held the top spot, followed by Bayern Munich with 8 titles, and AC Milan with 7 titles. Manchester City, with 4 titles, failed to crack the top 5.

Fourth and fifth places were also tied, with Liverpool and Barcelona each having 6 titles. Manchester City, despite their impressive recent form, was relegated to 7th place.

But regardless of their historical ranking, Manchester City’s recent performances were undoubtedly exceptional. If we only considered their achievements in the 20-30 years, Manchester City would be unbeatable.

And it was at their home stadium, the Etihad Stadium, that we would witness the Champions League quarterfinals. The state-of-the-art facility, with a seating capacity of 61,000, was the fourth-largest in England and held a UEFA Category 4 certification.

* * *

After arriving in Manchester, Joo Ji-tae checked into his hotel and headed to his meeting with Cho Jae-shin.

“Hey, you’re here,” Cho Jae-shin said, putting down his drink and waving.

“What’s with the attitude? You’re acting like you’re some big shot.”

“I’m just doing well, that’s all.”

“What are you drinking? Coffee?”

“No, just water.”

“What’s with the water? You’re drinking it like it’s coffee.”

“I’m just having water after the game.”

“Wow, you’re really taking care of yourself.”

Cho Jae-shin’s face looked more vibrant than before, and his shoulders seemed more relaxed.

After a slow start to the season, Cho Jae-shin finally scored his first goal in the fourth game, putting an end to his worries.

However, it took him a while to score his second goal, and his first-half performance was lackluster, with only 4 goals and 1 assist.

Despite this, he managed to score 10 goals in the season, proving his worth in the Champions League group stage and cup competitions.

But it was in the second half of the season that Cho Jae-shin’s performances really took off, with him scoring nearly a goal per game in the league, finishing with 13 goals and 4 assists.

This was a welcome development for Cho Jae-shin, Arsenal, and their fans.

“It’s going well, but our ranking is still… let’s see… 4th? We were 2nd last time, and now we’ve fallen this far? What’s going on? Arsenal is really something else.”

“Shut up. We can’t help it, considering we’re up against Manchester City. Plus, it was an away game.”

Cho Jae-shin, an Arsenal player, had just finished playing against Manchester City in the league the day before.

Of course, we lost.

Thanks to the outstanding performance of our ace attacker, Arsenal’s ranking, which had fallen to 7th in the first half, rose to 3rd, but after losing to Manchester City in the previous match, we fell back to 4th.

“What’s with you and your fiancée? Reporters are asking, and I’m like, what do I know? I’m shocked.”

“…I don’t know.”

“Cut the crap. What don’t you know? Don’t be embarrassed now and tell me.”

“…I really don’t know. Our parents have already set a date.”

“……”

Jo Jae-shin, with an absurd expression, asked awkwardly.

“So… do you dislike it?”

“If I disliked it, I would have just ignored it. I would have turned it down. It’s not like I didn’t want to do it anyway; I just got caught off guard.”

“This guy… are you a tsundere?”

“Are you crazy?”

“You’re a total tsundere… Wow, creepy. A guy being a tsundere… isn’t that just crazy?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you’re a tsundere.”

“I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you’re a tsundere.”

“How can you not know at your age?”

“…It’s not like I’m 20 and don’t know, okay?”

Jo Jae-shin, who was taken aback, prepared a counterattack against Joo Ji-tae, who was laughing carelessly.

“Anyway, am I not your hyung now?”

“This is crazy. What’s with the ‘hyung’?”

“That’s right. If I marry your sister, I become your hyung. Isn’t that what ‘hyung’ means?”

“That’s not it. That’s only when you’re younger. We’re the same age, aren’t we?”

“Not really? Should we check online?”

“Haha, that’s childish. You’re just getting destroyed by Manchester City. You got destroyed in the first half and the second half too. Tsk, tsk. Losing twice in a row. If I were you, I’d be so angry I couldn’t sleep.”

Jo Jae-shin, who was also making excuses, continued to ramble on in front of Joo Ji-tae.

“No, seriously. Manchester City is crazy, they’re just too strong. Their squad is like the universe’s defense team; how can we win? It’s like the old Real Force. Seriously, when we were young, it was Real Madrid.”

“Shut up. You’re just feeling the force because you got destroyed.”

“No, I’m serious. It’s really tough.”

The two, who had been arguing for a while, finally calmed down when they realized others were staring at them.

“So, what about them? What’s their weakness?”

“Hah… don’t even ask.”

Jo Jae-shin, who let out a deep sigh, replied firmly.

“Weakness? None.”

“None?”

“Yeah. As far as I’m concerned, there is none.”

His expression was a mix of frustration and despair.

“But it might be different for you. So try to win once. Win and show me I’m wrong.”

Jo Jae-shin, who had met Manchester City three times this season, including the cup competition, had failed to show any impressive performance in all three games and lost.

“Honestly, I thought we could win this time? You know, too. My form has been great in the second half. Even if it’s not a home game, it’s the Champions League, so we can rotate the lineup a bit. At least, I thought we could break through… but it didn’t happen. It was really frustrating.”

“That’s right.”

“Yeah, so let’s win once. Let’s show that I was wrong.”

His gloomy and despairing expression didn’t sit well with me.

“And are you going to tell me your weakness?”

“I know it well.”

“Then, from now on, call me ‘hyung-nim’.”

At that, Jo Jae-shin chuckled.

“What’s with that? So, if I lose, you’ll call me ‘hyung-nim’?”

As he stood up, Joo Ji-tae replied firmly, as if it was only natural.

“Of course. I’ll be the hyung.”