Dear Comrade

Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 202

“Ah, Young-jo Hong just received a long contact (long pass) from midfielder (midfielder) Kim Myung-won and is driving him to the doorstep! The opposing team’s defenders (defenders) evade checks and kick in… … Goal! Goal in! The National Team of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) defeated the Cameroon National Team, which placed 1st in Group H, 2:1, and advanced to the top spot in Group H!”

And two days later, at the Rason International Sports People’s Stadium (which was changed suddenly due to an unexpected fire), the North Korean national team defeated the Cameroon national team.

As expected by Junghwan, the Cameroon national team couldn’t stop before the game in the coldest (?) weather ever recorded with a video of 16 degrees.

From the moment they entered the stadium, the Cameroonians rubbed their arms and legs as if they were cold. Wherever their ability to defeat Italy went, they gave the North Korean players the lead in the game.

However, the nickname “Black Gust” was not wasted, and he succeeded in counterattacking once in the middle to make up for the opening goal and make it a 1:1 situation. It was bent and shriveled up.

“You bastards are doing well. If this were possible, we would quickly build a stadium in a place like Cheorwon, Gangwon-do, somewhere in our livestock cooperatives… … .”

“Hey, wake up dream, wake up dream, and they’re useless anyway, the next opponents are the German tank corps! Germany! And no matter how you win, do you know where your next opponent will be?”

“Where are you from?”

“Italy! Italian team! They must be sharpening their knives because they were severely beaten by North Korea in 1966, but will they be beaten in vain like the Cameroonians? Let’s take care of our game. How did the US win, so all that’s left is Portugal… … Damn, by the way, if North and South Korea meet in the round of 16, isn’t it really going to explode once more?”

The result of the war between North Korea and Cameroon was, of course, a lot of outrageous rumors, including the outraged Cameroonians and even South Korea, but in the end, it was largely settled.

First of all, whether it’s a referee buyout or a deliberate miscarriage, the climate difference is an area of home advantage, so it can’t be evidence of negation in itself.

And crucially because no one thought that North Korea would win the match against Germany in the near future.

In fact, North Korea suffered a devastating 3-1 defeat in the second match against Germany in Pyongyang three days later.

“After all, no matter how much home advantage you have, it is difficult to overcome the fundamental difference in skill.”

“But looking at what we’ve done so far, it’s an unexpected achievement. If luck is on your side, it might not be unreasonable to advance to the round of 16 at the same time… … .”

“But we need at least two wins to safely advance to the round of 16. Besides, the Italian team now is full of poison to win in addition to the bad ties with the Republic of the past… … They would attack like a mana or an anglerfish.”

“I am only concerned that the players will get hurt.”

“… … That’s a bit surprising. Chairman Chung’s comrade. I thought that if it was Comrade Chung Sung-jeong, he would always hold onto his opponent’s legs and say that even if he sags, he must win.”

Three days after the match against Cameroon, Jung Hwan said so while looking around the stadium himself before the match between North Korea and Italy to be held in Rason again.

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Next to him, Chung Moon-yeong, chairman of the North Korean Football Committee and honorary chairman of the modern group, was walking along the lawn of the playground with Jeong-hwan, leading No-gu.

He was an old man who lived longer than his lifespan in history, perhaps thanks to the impression that the two Koreas held the World Cup together when he returned to his homeland. The ailment seemed clear.

Rather than any particular illness, anyone could see that the person who was doing his best now was holding on to his lifeline to see his last wish come true right in front of his eyes.

“haha… … Lee Jung Moon-young may also have a bad personality due to his age, but as the head of the republic’s professional football committee, I think that both South and North Korea did better than expected in this World Cup. Yesterday, it was said that they defeated Portugal in the South, and with this, Korea was confirmed to advance to the round of 16. Isn’t our nation really great?”

“I heard the news too. Seoul already has a festive atmosphere.”

“Of course, it is hard to deny that there are still many shortcomings. In particular, professional football in this republic, no, the overall history of professional sports is very short. It is shorter than South Korea and Korea. That is why I hope that the Republic of Korea players will not get hurt while overdoing this World Cup. Most of them are still players with a bright future ahead, and not only as a national team, but also as a pillar of a domestic club in this republic that has now become a market economy system, and later as a coach and manager, I need to support the juniors who will advance to the next World Cup… … .”

Junghwan stopped walking and looked at Jung Moonyoung next to him.

It was because he realized that he wasn’t talking only about sports.

“It’s a great propaganda for countries with a much longer history and career in football than we do. This is especially true because the skills and capabilities of such countries were never achieved at one stone and one stone at a time. Isn’t that the same as economics or sports? It is the result of long-term investment and interest, and these people on the Korean Peninsula, both South and North Korea, are catching up in a very short period of time.”

“When it comes to sports, I invested quite a bit before my time. In fact, socialist countries, including Russia, have never, never been, heavily invested in sports. It is a useful tool for system propaganda.”

“However, each individual’s desire to do better, the will to win, and furthermore, the will to enter overseas clubs and play on the global stage, rather than being confined in a narrow country, plays a major role. No matter how much support the party and committees give, they are the ones they want to win the most, and as I did, wealth and honor must have played a bigger role than the People’s Sports Hero Medal. Especially in today’s republic.”

“… … .”

“I don’t know what will happen in the next 10 years, but… … Even if we do not perform well in this World Cup, the seniors who participated in this World Cup will pass on their experiences to the next generation that will follow, and there will come a day when the degree to which both South and North Korea advance to the final is not the final goal. From generation to generation… … That seems to be the history and development of the country. Isn’t it the duty of the previous generations to serve as an example and foundation for future generations? haha… … Cool look cool… … .”

Jeonghwan looked at the old man for a moment with Jung Moon-young coughing as if he had run out of energy after talking for a long time in a long time.

Soon, he gently placed his hand on the old man’s shoulder and spoke quietly.

“right. No matter how hard you move and move, in the end the only thing you will depend on in the end is your true skill. Now, I have no choice but to believe in the capabilities and aspirations of our Republic players.”

Jeonghwan had no choice but to admit that fact.

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Neither trick nor expedient can turn the game around and win it.

Moreover, if we always rely solely on home advantage like this, in the future, the sports world of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will have a hard time getting out of the position of home and home champions and propaganda trumpeters of the country and the party.

And it was the same with football and business.

Jung Moon-young said that it is now necessary to loosen some control of the party in the economic field by means of soccer.

In the end, he euphemized the advice that the people’s free will and desire for wealth were the most important.

‘If businessmen come to the president and complain about the regulations being lifted, if you do it until you are that age, you will reach the state of art. Anyway, old ginger is spicy, and even at that age, I can’t ignore it. After all, I personally liked sports a lot, so the last time before Cameroon I wouldn’t have felt comfortable.’

Still, he has no savvy enough to express his dissatisfaction with Supreme Leader Jeong-hwan openly saying, ‘Isn’t this cheating?’

Of course, Jung-hwan did not take the same measures as in Cameroon for the upcoming Italian missionary work, but it was difficult for Jung-hwan to predict the outcome this time as such measures are a kind of double-edged sword.

If he made a mistake, he could fall off the threshold of the round of 16 and disappoint the excited people, but this time Jung-hwan accepted Jung Moon-young’s advice and decided not to work as a duke, but to believe in the skills of the North Korean national football team and above all else, the fighting spirit to win.

“I have listened to Chairman Chung’s advice. Keep it on your chest.”

“I am so grateful that you listened to the passing of this dying old man.”

In response to Junghwan’s affirmation, Jung Moon-young bowed her gray-haired head deeply.

And on that very day, when Pyongyang TV and Chosun Central Broadcasting were analyzing the angles of the shooting legs of the players in the tense tension about the upcoming decisive battle with Italy, bad news was delivered to the North Korean national football team.

It was said that the Italian national football team drew 2-2 after a smash match against Germany, which defeated North Korea, resulting in 1 loss and 1 draw.

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Now, with salvation (舊怨) added to the qualification for the round of 16, neither Italy nor North Korea can back down, and a bloody bout is approaching.

And finally, four days later, at the Rason soccer stadium filled with enthusiastic spectators from all over the world, a bloody battle began between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Italian national team.

* * *

“You bastard Ganna who will shred that hairy branch! Back tackle! Referee! I didn’t just tackle it from behind! What are you doing without giving me a warning sign (yellow card)!”

As a cultural language, tackle is an expression of ‘slip and steal’, but over the past 10 years, foreign words derived from English have gradually begun to take hold, and above all, ‘slip and blah blah’ in the mouths of North Korean players who are now rushing to the referee and protesting violently. The shorter word “tackle” was more tightly wrapped around it.

Moreover, the North Korean spectators and instructors (coaches) who would have been listening to it had no time to worry about such trifles now.

“Warning! No, red card Zurau! Comrade Jung is not lying in bed and moaning! Those bastards who are going to kill you!”

The match against Italy in Rason fit the phrase “a melee game.”

Both sides almost abandoned the defense and went all-in on the attack, and in the case of Italy in particular, they did not hesitate to play aggressively, where body and body collided from the beginning, as if they were determined not to relive the nightmare of the 1966 England World Cup.

Although not as good as Cameroon, Italy is also a country with a warm climate, so Rason’s cold wind was a penalty for the Italian players, but Italy’s literally land-based play shined, and the two teams continued a tight situation at 1:1 in the 10th minute of the second half.

The North Korean player was sitting on the floor and moaning as Italian centre-back Paolo Maldini’s back tackle exploded on the North Korean striker who was running to the goal of Italy just before.

“This is a back tackle, what is a back tackle? Give me a red card right now!”

“Vai a cagare!! Vaffanculo (fuck you)!”

The referee finally made a decision while the North Korean players, who were overlaid with the excitement of the game and the tension that they were approaching the round of 16 for the first time in history, and Italian players who protested that North Koreans were doing Hollywood action, were in a tense confrontation with the referee in the middle.

It was a fact that the shouting players on the lawn did not know, but the referee was a referee who was removed from another match originally scheduled by the North Korean authorities through a ‘coordination process’ with FIFA.

I can’t hope for the same situation twice, but just in case, it was a duke that Jeonghwan prepared, and the referee’s name was Byron Moreno.

And the eyes of all the 32,000 spectators gathered at Rason Stadium, not just the players, were focused on the card that came out of referee Moreno’s front pocket.

“Red card! Paolo Maldini sent off!”