That evening.
Ho-young, who had been officially selected as Man of the Match by the league office, received his reward.
[Select the talent you wish to obtain.]
- Burning Competitive Spirit (A+3)
- Reliable Finishing (A+2)
- Penetrating Off-the-Ball Runs (A+2)
- Reckless Boldness (A-)
(More...)
Competitive spirit?
It was definitely an attractive talent, but having too much of it was not necessarily a good thing.
There were those kinds of people. Those who lived, consumed by the desire to win.
So obsessed with what was right in front of them that they failed to see the bigger picture.
Just like Diego Costa in today's match.
An excessive competitive streak turns into stubbornness. Overconfidence becomes arrogance. And recklessness leads to costly mistakes.
That is why a player's mental strength plays such a decisive role in football.
Too little is a problem, and too much is just as dangerous.
Fortunately, Ho-young had just the right amount of competitiveness—not too little, but not overbearing either.
Therefore, the most desirable option was Penetrating Off-the-Ball Runs (A+2).
[Perfect Off-the-Ball Movement (S-) ↑]
[Perfect Off-the-Ball Movement (S-) can be transferred to another talent. Proceed?]
"Of course."
Without hesitation, he chose to upgrade.
Off-the-ball movement was an essential talent.
'I'll raise only what's necessary to S rank, and concentrate the rest into focused areas.'
Finishing, dribbling, individual skill, ball control, first touch, trapping, long-range shooting, free kicks, heading...
His plan was to prioritize development of these essential attacking abilities.
Among them, the most crucial were finishing and first touch, the lifeblood of a striker.
'I can probably get finishing from Ronaldo soon... but for first touch, I need to meet Bergkamp, who just retired.'
Word was that he had taken up a coaching role at Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie, but unless they faced each other in the Champions League, there was no other opportunity to meet.
'For now, I should at least get Zidane's ball trapping.'
That was enough of a plan for now.
In short, he would focus on attack reinforcement.
This was a time that called for selection and concentration.
Modern football was no longer what it used to be.
Training methods had become specialized, tactics had evolved, and boots and balls were now far superior to what they were in the past.
This was the age of sports science.
A player had to shape their playstyle in line with the times and, on top of that, possess something uniquely their own.
A flawless attacking asset.
That was the ultimate goal.
And a few days later.
The Segunda División office released an official statement regarding Costa's suspension.
The news was featured in the morning edition of Marca.
[Diego Costa Pays the Price for Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
Costa was sent off in the Round 33 match against Castilla on the 12th after punching Ho-young. However, the bigger issue was his continued unsportsmanlike behavior, including aggressively protesting the referee's decision.
On the 15th, the SSD (Segunda División) imposed additional sanctions on Diego Costa.
In addition to the existing two-match suspension, he received an additional one-match ban and a €3,000 fine. The league also announced that his future behavior would be closely monitored.
The SSD official stated, "Character matters more than ability," strongly criticizing Costa's actions.
Meanwhile, regarding Costa's claim that Ho-young kicked him in the groin, video review confirmed that such an incident never occurred, putting an end to the controversy.]
Initially handed a two-match suspension from the red card, Costa's additional punishment meant he would now miss a total of three matches, putting him even further behind in the race for the Golden Boot.
On top of that, a slight hamstring injury meant his participation in the Copa del Rey was also in doubt.
A string of misfortunes.
Still, Costa remained defiant.
"This kind of spotlight is good for me. More clubs are showing interest already," he said.
Brazen to the end, but if nothing else, he had a solid character identity.
Meanwhile, back in Korea, the media was in a frenzy.
[Ho-young Records First Hat Trick in Spain's Second Division: "I'm Overwhelmed. I Want to Achieve Even More. I Feel Like This Is Just the Beginning."]
As this article made the front page on every major portal site, thousands of comments followed.
Reactions varied, but the overwhelming majority praised Ho-young.
Some also began discussing the Olympics.
[Is there a chance Ho-young will make the squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics?]
└ Of course! Look at what he's achieved already!
└ But isn't he way too young? Is there any country sending a middle schooler to the Olympics? He just turned 15...
└ Is there a rule saying he can't? The youngest ever Olympian was 16.
└ Call him up now! Who cares about age or school? Pick players based on skill if you want a medal!
└ It'd be nonsense not to pick him. He helped Korea place 3rd in the U17 World Cup and is scoring 20 goals in a pro league against players in their 20s and 30s. There's no age rule for Olympic football anyway lol
In sports like gymnastics, marathon, or javelin, age restrictions exist due to the physical demands.
But in football, as long as the player is under 23, even a kindergartener could technically play.
So Ho-young absolutely had a chance.
It wasn't a matter of lacking skill.
Many of the players participating in the Olympics were not even on the level of Segunda División players.
For example, teams like Australia, China, and Honduras, considered some of the weakest, were significantly below Korea in strength.
At that time, the Korean U23 team was under the leadership of Coach Park Seong-ho, who had taken over after Pim Verbeek's mid-season resignation.
Having served as both youth coach and national team manager over the past seven years, Park was in the process of finalizing his Olympic squad through various experiments.
And Ho-young's name was among the candidates.
A wave of new Olympic records was stirring.
But the excitement wasn't limited to Korea.
In Las Rozas de Madrid, in the Community of Madrid.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) hoped Ho-young would become the first Asian to represent Spain.
At first, they had been cautious due to preconceptions about Asian players, but after seeing his potential, they were now going all-in on the naturalization process.
This had been ongoing since October of the previous year, but given Ho-young's South Korean nationality, there were many legal obstacles.
That afternoon, an RFEF official had come to meet Ho-young and Lucci to discuss the matter.
Initially, Lucci was going to meet them alone, but at the federation's request, Ho-young joined the meeting as well.
The three of them sat in a quiet office at Valdebebas.
Ho-young wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.
'I knew a day like this would come...'
But now that it was here, he couldn't help but be nervous.
He had met officials from the Segunda office before, but this was his first encounter with the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Strangely, he was meeting them before he'd even met the Korean Football Association.
The man who introduced himself as an RFEF director praised Ho-young's recent performances as he began the conversation.
The core topic, of course, was naturalization.
He promised that the federation would fully support Ho-young if he chose to represent Spain.
But there were many problems.
Citizens from countries with special agreements with Spain could naturalize more easily, but Korea was not one of them.
That meant Ho-young would have to reside in Spain for ten years to qualify for naturalization.
The director explained the legal requirements.
"We can't break the law. But it's not entirely impossible either."
"What do you mean?"
"If you have a strong desire to naturalize, and if you continue showing performances like now after being promoted to the first team, the chances aren't zero. Technically, eight more years of residence are required under current law, but it may not take that long in practice."
"How long, roughly?"
"I can't say for sure... but if our federation makes a strong push, there could be good results. For instance, naturalization could be granted by royal decree."
"Hmm..."
Ho-young's expression darkened.
Despite the reassuring tone, no one could say whether it would take three years or eight.
Even if naturalization was granted, more issues remained.
Even after obtaining Spanish nationality, he could only register with the Spanish national team if he had never played in an A-match for Korea.
And because Ho-young wasn't a dual national from birth, he would need to live in Spain for five more years after turning 18 to be eligible to represent Spain.
In short, even if naturalization were completed next year, he wouldn't be able to play in any international matches until he was 23.
'If I naturalize to Spain, I'll have to give up the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.'
That was a massive risk.
Choosing Spanish nationality meant he couldn't go to the World Cup until he was 26.
Ho-young didn't need to think hard to reach a conclusion.
"I don't think it's a decision I should make right now."
Naturalizing to Spain would bring many benefits as a footballer, but there were just as many things he would have to give up.
Unless FIFA's rules changed, that is.
Of course, the rules might evolve in the future, but...
Right now, it was impossible, even if the sky fell.
The best route was to participate in the 2008 Olympics, absorb other players' talents, get promoted to the first division, and build his skills before competing in the 2010 World Cup.
That meant this moment was the most important.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics.
'I'm going no matter what.'
To the world's grandest stage for athletes.
May 2008.
The 07-08 season was slowly drawing to a close.
Castilla had surpassed Celta Vigo and were cruising in 5th place in the league, with Ho-young as the leading contributor, having scored in four consecutive games and rising to second in the scoring chart.
The key match remaining was an away game against Barcelona B on May 25.
If he could obtain talents from prospects like Alcántara, Pedro, or Gai Assulin, this season's objectives would be complete.
The season was nearly over.
Meanwhile, with the first team having already secured the league title, Real Madrid was taking a relaxed approach, giving young Spanish players more opportunities.
That was why the first team coaching staff had gathered at Valdebebas today.
Youth development head Michel spoke first.
"During the remaining period, I'd like to have some of the top prospects train with the first team."
"Limit it to three. We already have Callejón, Miguel, and a few others from Castilla in the training squad, so spots are limited."
"That's more than enough."
"But who? Among the under-18s, I don't see anyone worth debuting in the remaining league matches."
"That's not the goal."
"Then what is it?"
"We want to assess their potential to be used as first-team squad members next season by bringing them into training."
Michel said, waving Ho-young's stat report in his hand.
(To be continued.)