March 2007 brought many surprises to the world of football.
In the English Premier League (EPL), as Arsenal's star striker Thierry Henry struggled with form, Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo battled it out for the Golden Boot.
Particularly, global attention was on Portugal's rising star Cristiano Ronaldo, whose devilish talent sparked mixed reviews from managers due to his excessive desire for the spotlight.
Meanwhile, a strong wind swept through Spain's La Liga.
Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o, expected to retain his Golden Boot title from the previous season, fell into a slump and dropped out of the top scorers' race.
Instead, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had moved from Manchester United, was neck and neck with Ronaldinho in the scoring charts.
Below them, Villarreal's Diego Forlán, Valencia's David Villa, and Atlético Madrid's Fernando Torres were showcasing their skills, igniting one of the most competitive goal-scoring races in recent memory.
What drew further attention was that Barcelona's young talent, Lionel Messi, had already scored 10 goals.
Likewise, Ho-young, hailed as the future of Real Madrid, continued to shine and captivated football fans with his performances.
[Maestro's Build-up (SU)]
That one talent alone had brought about a tremendous change.
Of course, he couldn't fully utilize Zidane's abilities from the start, but even with just a portion, Ho-young could clearly feel his skills improving.
His confidence, bubbling up like a hot spring, came as a bonus.
Fueled by that, he continued on a winning streak.
In Round 29 against Getafe in mid-March, Ho-young started as an attacking midfielder and recorded a hat-trick along with one assist, rising to the top of both the scoring and assist leaderboards.
With that result, Real Madrid extended their lead over Valencia to 9 points, further solidifying their position at the top of the table.
They were now within reach of the league title.
In the Juvenil Copa del Rey tournament, they had already advanced to the final, where they would face Villarreal.
With these achievements, Marca continued to publish online articles focused on Ho-young.
[ Marca
By: La Saeta Rubia
Is Real Madrid's star-studded policy finally embracing youth prospects?
> "Approximately 520 youth players are currently developing their dreams at Real Madrid. Youth systems like these are known for their high efficiency, as they do not require costly transfer fees.
> However, Real Madrid has long been known as a graveyard for youth players.
> The reason lies in the club's superstar recruitment policy.
> This summer alone, they spent €140 million to bring in World Cup stars.
> The biggest victims of this have undoubtedly been the youth players.
> For instance, Esteban Granero, who signed a pro contract with Real three years ago, has not played a single match this season.
> Juan Mata, who was promoted to the B team last year, faces a similar situation.
> Real Madrid is a place where homegrown players simply don't get a chance.
> So what about Ho-young, who received high praise from Zidane himself?
> From a skill standpoint, there's little to criticize.
> His star potential is undeniable as well.
> He became a public figure after the 2005 U17 World Cup and Zidane's interview during the 2006 World Cup.
> Still, I believe it won't be easy for him.
> The final decision rests with President Pérez and the manager, but maybe… just maybe, every time 100,000 jerseys are sold, he'll get one game."]
Just as the article pointed out, there were indeed many issues with Real Madrid's youth system.
Rather, it wasn't so much a flaw as it was the club's policy.
Cases of youth players from Real Madrid's academy breaking into the first team were rare.
With the first-team squad stacked with elite players, youth prospects were typically sold off to other clubs after signing their first pro contracts.
That's why players from Real Madrid's academy were scattered across teams throughout Spain.
In fact, Barcelona's star striker Samuel Eto'o was once part of Real Madrid's youth system.
To put it simply, Real Madrid's academy was a great place for development, but not for breaking through as a professional.
Yet Ho-young seemed to be the exception.
He had already gained public recognition through the U17 World Cup and Zidane's mentorship, and his appearance alone was enough to attract female fans.
Above all, President Pérez wanted him to make his professional debut.
With that in mind, Ho-young might just follow in the footsteps of Guti, Raúl, and Casillas as a successful Blanco.
And he could even become the first foreigner to do so.
April was pleasantly cool.
The temperature hovered around 15°C, neither too hot nor too cold.
The only problem was that it rained every three or four days, which meant players were constantly soaked during matches.
Still, Ho-young stayed positive.
At least it wasn't as bad as England, infamous for its erratic weather.
After all, playing in the rain was part of a footballer's life.
Building a roof over the pitch was nearly impossible.
Unless the roof allowed plenty of sunlight, it would be difficult to properly maintain the grass.
Stadium roofs were for the comfort of the fans, not for the protection of players.
Besides, there was a certain charm to rainy-day football.
That's why matches aren't canceled just because of rain.
But no amount of wind and rain could block Real Madrid's path.
Just as they had all season, they pushed ahead toward the final stretch.
Time passed steadily.
As May approached, all sorts of festivals popped up in Madrid.
True to Spain's festive nature, open-air concerts and dance parties were becoming more frequent.
But none of that mattered to Ho-young.
This was perhaps the most important time of his season, and he paid no attention to anything unrelated to football.
He resisted all temptations, telling himself he could enjoy those things later.
He especially wanted to watch a bullfight at least once, but he decided to wait until the end of the season.
Just one more month, and he'd have more freedom.
Thankfully, there were no serious difficulties in his daily life.
Whenever he lacked something, his agent or the club would quickly provide support. If any problem arose, they handled it immediately.
School life was perfect as well.
At first, some kids had called him "Chino" and made racist remarks, but that disappeared within a few days.
A third-year student—who may as well have been a gangster—wore Zidane's jersey to school every day and voluntarily took it upon himself to protect Ho-young.
None of the racists wanted to be dragged to the rooftop after school, so they stopped bothering him.
Meanwhile, since last year, he had received occasional call-ups to join the Korean U17 national team.
There were many matches, including the Australian Youth Olympics and the Asian Championships, but Ho-young had never returned to Korea.
Perhaps during preseason, but not during the competitive season.
Getting called up for the youth national team during the season meant missing opportunities at his club.
Since he desperately wanted to debut for Real Madrid, he didn't want to delay that dream.
Even playing in the upcoming 2007 U17 World Cup in Korea was uncertain.
If possible, he preferred to spend that time continuing his tutoring, which he believed would help his long-term career.
Lucci shared that view and once told him:
"You'll never get another chance to experience Zinedine Zidane. Ninety minutes with Zidane is more valuable than ninety minutes with the U17 national team."
He also said he was in talks with the club about who would tutor Ho-young next and asked which player he'd like to learn from.
Ho-young answered, "Ronaldo, Beckham, or Roberto Carlos. Who knows when they'll leave Real."
In response, Lucci began looking for tickets to the 2007 F/W Custu fashion show in Barcelona.
May looked like it would be more relaxed than the previous month, but the reality was the opposite.
Having dominated the league all season, Real Madrid were now entering a critical period and had intensified their training.
It was all leading to Round 36.
Their opponent was Villarreal, a historic club in Spain.
If Real earned even 1 point in this match, they would clinch the title regardless of the remaining results.
It was a title-deciding super match.
For Madrid, a draw would suffice.
No one was more excited about the match than Korean fans on the other side of the world.
[Real Madrid Juvenil B, led by Ho-young, on the verge of league title...]
Real Madrid have charged to nine straight wins in the División de Honor Juvenil, standing on the brink of glory.
If they can earn a point in tomorrow's match against Villarreal, Ho-young will lift his fifth career trophy in just four years of football."
This sparked a flurry of responses:
> "Now I get why Zidane is Zidane. He turned a 15-year-old into this in just a few months. Being a great player doesn't mean you're a great teacher, but he clearly is. He should become a coach after retirement."
└ "So Ho-young's Zidane's successor?"
└ "He said it himself during the World Cup interview. You can tell how close they are. I feel proud for no reason."
└ "Man, I'm jealous... being friends with Zidane..."
└ "They say friends resemble each other. It's so true here."
└ "Just don't inherit his hairline!"
└ "The moment he starts balding, he'll probably get released."
└ "Don't look down on bald players... Cha Du-ri, Ronaldo, Robben, Di Stéfano, Jaap Stam, Bobby Charlton. Most great players are bald."
└ "Anyway, I really hope Ho-young wins. Feels like just yesterday people mocked him for joining Real Madrid. Can't believe it's already his second year. Ho-young, fighting!"
The next day.
Real Madrid traveled to Villarreal in the Valencia region, a four-hour journey.
Known as El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine), Villarreal were based along Spain's eastern coast and were barely clinging to 4th place behind Barcelona.
For them, even 1 point was critical. So, even against Real Madrid, they couldn't afford to back down.
Real Madrid felt the same.
Securing the league title early would allow them to fully focus on the Juvenil Copa del Rey final two weeks later.
A fierce battle with no room for compromise was expected.
For Real Madrid, the key concern was that it was an away match.
Exiting the away locker room and stepping onto the pitch, Ho-young looked up at the stands.
Among the mostly empty seats, he spotted a few men sitting together, including President Pérez.
They had come straight from watching the first team's away match against Valencia earlier that morning.
Next to Pérez sat Ho-young's agent, Lucci.
On the opposite side, what looked like Villarreal club officials were huddled together.
In that moment, Ho-young closed his eyes and gathered his winning mentality.
Hoo...
The title was within reach.
This was also the match tied to unlocking Zidane's talent, [Artistic Ball Control (SS+)].
He couldn't afford to miss a single thing.
Fortunately, the weather was clear.
The cloudless sky seemed to be celebrating their upcoming victory.
A cool breeze, carrying the scent of the sea, swept across the field.
Piiik.
As the whistle blew, the ball rolled out.
The wind died down, and Ho-young opened his eyes.
Let's win.
His confidence pierced the sky.
(To be continued.)