Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

172 – Murisic

172

Fernando Alvarez, whose face had turned bright red, seemed about to curse, but instead, he smiled wryly and returned to his own camp.

“…What’s up.”

Joo Ji-tae felt an unknown sense of discomfort as he gazed at Fernando Alvarez’s back.

The Fernando Alvarez Joo Ji-tae knew was not this kind of person. He was arrogant to the point of being self-righteous, with an extremely strong sense of self-pride. Therefore, if he was surpassed in terms of skills, couldn’t get his way, and suffered a crushing defeat, he would never back down.

He was similar to Cristiano Ronaldo in that sense.

Although Joo Ji-tae was far better than him in terms of playing style and personality, they shared a similar stubbornness.

“There’s no reaction, so it’s not fun.”

Of course, to Joo Ji-tae, Fernando Alvarez was just a player who reacted interestingly.

As Joo Ji-tae gazed at Fernando Alvarez and the Real Madrid team with a narrow gaze, he eventually nodded his head.

There was something.

The reaction was unusual, and Real Madrid’s movements were also suspicious. It was clear that they were aiming for something. If not, Fernando Alvarez wouldn’t be showing such a lukewarm reaction.

Although Joo Ji-tae felt like he was being treated like a gag character whenever he met Fernando Alvarez, the latter was an incredible, truly incredible player.

As the sixth player in history to score over 60 goals in a season, based on the European top 5 leagues, including Messi and Ronaldo, and even Gerdt Muller and Dixie Dean from the distant past.

In fact, he could be considered the third player after Messi and Ronaldo.

Gerdt Muller, a player from the 1970s, was a different story, but Dixie Dean and Isidro Langara, players from the 1920s and 1930s, were too far in the past.

Compared to modern football in the 2030s, even Gerdt Muller’s achievements from the 1970s were under different circumstances. Moreover, records from 100 years ago in the football world were beyond comparison.

Fernando Alvarez’s record was truly astonishing.

Scoring over 60 goals in a single season was unprecedented. Even if we counted attack points, not just goals, the players who had achieved over 60 attack points in a single season in the 21st century were only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland.

Among them, Lionel Messi had uniquely surpassed 100 attack points with 73 goals and 29 assists in the 11/12 season.

Incredible.

In any case, achieving over 60 attack points in a single season was a monumental record that only seven players in the 21st century could boast. Moreover, Fernando Alvarez had scored over 60 goals alone. If we included assists, his attack points would exceed 70 and approach 80.

Despite being overshadowed by Joo Ji-tae, Fernando Alvarez was still only 22 years old, just two years older than Joo Ji-tae, and still a young player. He wasn’t called the best player after Messi for nothing.

Fernando Alvarez, who hadn’t lost his spirit despite two consecutive defeats, would definitely be aiming for victory this time. He wasn’t a player who would back down easily.

“Focus! Focus! Don’t rush when you have the ball, and keep thinking while you play, because the opponent’s counterattack is quite sharp!”

As Joo Ji-tae shouted to his teammates, a sense of unease lingered in the corner of his mind.

What was he aiming for? What was his goal? It wasn’t nothing. Joo Ji-tae had known Fernando Alvarez for years, and he was well aware of the player’s character.

“I’m sure. He’s got something planned.”

As Joo Ji-tae watched Barcelona’s attack, which was being blocked by Real Madrid’s defense, his gaze narrowed.

But it wasn’t just a counterattack… It was quite threatening, but the phrase “just a counterattack” didn’t quite fit.

Was this all that Real Madrid, with Fernando Alvarez, was aiming for?

As the first half came to a close, the 40th minute was approaching.

Real Madrid’s players, who had been slowly gaining possession from the back, began to move up. Fernando Alvarez, who had received the ball, was about to pass it again. Joo Ji-tae, who was following his movement, kept a safe distance.

“I knew it. Watch the left side!”

Carlos Sanchez, who had received the ball from Fernando Alvarez, passed it again with a single touch. Fernando Alvarez, who had immediately turned his body to chase after the ball, was blocked by Joo Ji-tae.

Joo Ji-tae’s attempt to strongly contest the ball and take it away—

Fizzled out.

Fernando Alvarez, who had been knocked to the ground, was staring at Joo Ji-tae with a smirk on his face, his arms spread wide towards the referee.

“What’s this? Was this it?”

Is that all there is to it?

* * *

Fernando Alvarez’s wonderful free kick had beautifully surpassed the defensive wall and headed towards the goal, but Barcelona’s vice-captain and reliable defender, Exter Port, blocked it well and created a corner kick.

The corner kick situation continued.

Real Madrid, who had a height advantage over Barcelona, successfully headed the high ball and aimed for the goal again, but this time, fullback Pau Bergues jumped in to block it, and the second ball was cleared by Madu Murcia, averting the crisis.

It was a thrilling moment, but Joo Ji-tae couldn’t help but smile.

What in the world.

Real Madrid was resorting to scoring through a dead ball situation, exploiting Fernando Alvarez’s weakness.

This was equivalent to acknowledging that they couldn’t penetrate Barcelona’s defense through normal gameplay.

It was a drastic change from the 1st round, where Fernando Alvarez had dominated the game without a rival.

“Football is fun.”

Joo Ji-tae felt a newfound joy in his ‘new life’ and took a step forward.

The game was far from over.

The 0:0 score remained unchanged throughout the first half.

The Real Madrid players, who had let two good opportunities slip away, were waiting for the second half with a not-so-bad atmosphere.

“Good, good. You’re doing well.”

Raul Harquez clapped his hands and encouraged the players.

“Focus. The game is not over yet. I’ll emphasize this one last time. We must thoroughly block the center and concede the sides, but prevent them from entering the danger zone. If it gets tough, we can even use crosses… but it looks like we can even block those.”

“Of course, boss. Those guys are already struggling enough.”

Real Madrid’s two fullbacks smiled and guaranteed,

“The center is no problem! To be honest, if that guy doesn’t come up, we wouldn’t need to gather like this.”

The midfielders also raised their voices cheerfully.

However, Raul Harquez didn’t let his guard down.

“Fernando, Michal. I know, but your roles are crucial. We need to prevent Joo Ji-tae from coming up and only pass the ball to the sides. Fernando, you need to constantly threaten the backspace and bind Joo Ji-tae, and Michal, you need to keep following and induce them to pass to the sides.”

In essence, this was a tactic to prevent conceding rather than scoring.

However, football is a sport that ultimately requires scoring goals. Especially in tournaments, there’s no such thing as a draw.

Raul Harquez and the Real Madrid players knew this well.

“We’ll aim for dead ball situations in the second half as well, but we don’t need to force it. Our trump card is the extended game.”

But it’s not necessary for the game to be decided within regular time.

Raul Harquez was aiming for after Barcelona’s energy had been drained in the second half. The extended game.

The extended game was a stage where Real Madrid could maximize their strength, which Barcelona couldn’t follow.

“After 20 minutes into the second half, start to loosen up.”

The bench members, who received Raul Harquez’s gaze, sent a smile.

The thin squad of Barcelona couldn’t keep up with Real Madrid’s strong point, which was their abundant replacement resources with little difference in skills from the starters.

41 minutes into the second half.

The second half was slowly coming to an end, and the score was still 0:0 with no signs of movement. By this point, the players’ minds would naturally start to think about the extended game.

Naturally, the game tempo began to slow down, and the players’ movements also became sluggish.

No matter how good a player’s physical condition was, it was impossible to maintain their energy throughout the 90 minutes of the first and second halves. Moreover, this was the last game of the season, and the players’ physical strength was at its limit.

At that moment, the ball was being passed around adequately.

In an instant, Barcelona’s pass towards the penalty box was cut off, and Real Madrid’s center-back, Bernt Schuster, caught the ball and kicked it far away as if he was going to clear it.

The high-flying ball soared through the air, crossing the halfway line, and coincidentally, Barcelona’s fullback, Pau Bergues, was caught off guard and fell to the ground.

Esteban Valde and Madu Murcia, who had been watching, took advantage of the situation and started sprinting.

Compared to Esteban Valde, who was quite agile, Madu Murcia was slower, but since they were already at a considerable distance, it was a comfortable situation. Joo Ji-tae watched the scene unfold, thinking about what would happen next.

“That guy will be substituted in the second half. He’s already tired, so it’s likely he’ll be replaced during the extra time.”

But then, the question was, who would replace Esteban Valde?… Real Madrid’s defense was too solid, so it didn’t matter who came in.

Joo Ji-tae was thinking calmly when—

“Kkk…!”

Madu Murcia, who had been running, suddenly clutched his thigh and fell to the ground.

“What…?”

Joo Ji-tae’s eyes widened in surprise as he watched Madu Murcia collapse.

Esteban Valde, who had passed Madu Murcia, caught the ball and started dribbling.

“Ahh, Murcia! You’re 36 years old, and you’re still running like that… Why did you have to get injured at this critical moment?!”

Behind him was Fernando Alvarez, and in front of him was Esteban Valde. But Joo Ji-tae was the only one who could stop them.

Joo Ji-tae gritted his teeth.