Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

31 – Confidence

031

The headquarters of the 2031 FIFA U-20 World Cup, being held in China, was located not in the capital Beijing but in Guangzhou, the enraged and largest trading city in Guangdong Province.

If Beijing is the political center and Shanghai is the economic center, Guangzhou is China’s second city.

However, for domestic football fans, Guangzhou was famous as the home city of Guangzhou Hengda, a prestigious football team that shone with two AFC Champions League victories.

Incidentally, the once prestigious Guangzhou Hengda disappeared into history with the collapse of the parent company and the downfall of the Chinese league.

The place where Jang Ki-seok stayed was a luxurious hotel overlooking the central area of Guangzhou.

“This damn country always has a gloomy sky. I thought it was just densely populated, but the air pollution is even worse.”

Whether it’s fine dust or yellow dust blowing, he had to stay here for another week.

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Guangzhou was considered the central city for the tournament, with all matches from the group stage to the round of 16 scheduled to be held in southern China, specifically in Guangzhou, Fujian Province, and Jiangxi Province.

Afterward, gradually moving north, the quarterfinals would take place in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province and Shanghai of Jiangsu Province, and the highly anticipated final would be held at the ‘Beijing Workers Stadium’ in China’s capital, Beijing… But would there be no fine dust there?

Ironically, as you moved north, the fine dust would likely become more rampant.

“I don’t know if it’s okay to play in this weather. I wonder how the kids playing in China endure this.”

Despite being daytime, Jang Ki-seok looked back at the city, filled with hazy dust like fog, shaking his head, and shifted his gaze back to the TV screen.

“Ecuador scores another goal!! Ener Caicedo records a multi-goal today!”

“They’ve been dominating, and they finally score one more goal. It looks like Ecuador’s victory is likely. If this continues, Ecuador will secure the top spot in their group, right?”

Group A, which Korea belonged to, had finished all its schedules as of yesterday, but other groups had not.

Even groups that had started their schedules first had finished the group stage, but there were still groups with the last matches scheduled.

For example, the C group that Jang Ki-seok is watching right now, with Ecuador and England.

“England, who boasted a victory today… In the 35th minute of the second half, they’re trailing 1:3, two goals behind.”

“Another good attack by Ecuador! The victory seems certain. If they lose today’s game, England will drop to second place in the group, and they will meet Korea in the round of 16.”

There were still 10 minutes, no, considering extra time, 15 minutes left, but it doesn’t seem like England will turn the game around.

Not only is it a two-goal difference, but overall, England’s performance has been too low.

“Is this how it ends? England… sigh. It feels somewhat disappointing.”

Looking at the upcoming match, the opponent seems quite manageable, but the concept of name value is something that cannot be ignored.

If only the coach’s wish was to face an easier opponent, having secured first place in the group, they could have met a weaker team that made it through the playoffs as the third-place team. There was a regret for that.

However, time cannot be reversed, and even if it could, rest was essential for key players like Ju Ji-tae, Cho Jae-shin, and Yoo Ki-tae.

If the goal is not just to stop at the Round of 16 but to aim for the championship, then it’s a team with aspirations.

* * *

The initial training for the England match was conducted by positions.

“How’s the attacking line? Keeping up well?”

“Yes. The players have been in sync since the Asian Cup; it’s a perfect fit.”

“Choi Ko, what about the midfielders?”

“They’re in good shape too. Now, we can focus on pattern plays, moving to the flanks in coordination with the attacking line.”

“Good. That’s a relief.”

The game is only four days away, taking place just four days after the Germany match.

After playing a full-time match, at least two days must be dedicated to recovery.

Of course, considering individual differences in basic fitness and recovery resilience, FIFA strictly prohibits playing another match within two days after a game, taking into account the basic physical limits of humans.

So, generally, if the match schedule has a four-day gap, the remaining time is only three days, excluding the match day. Two of these days are for recovery training, meaning there is effectively only one day available for proper training.

However, the Korean national team has been in intense training for the England match for two days already.

Thanks to giving rest to the main players after the Germany match, there were no physical problems during training.

“The time we gained, like a golden opportunity made from the sacrifice of the Germany match loss. We can’t afford to take it lightly.”

Therefore, Jang Ki-seok used those three days wisely, admiring himself once again for making the most of the time.

‘Jang Ki-seok, you remarkable guy. You have foresight. Rotating the squad was a good decision. Now, let’s work even harder.’

The players were dying from the coach’s burning passion, but that was a trivial matter that didn’t need attention.

The players tried to forget their fatigue by chatting and sharing stories today.

“Ah, today’s training was tough. Our Round of 16 opponent is England, right?”

“Damn England.”

“Whether it’s England or the UK.”

“They’re different.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Character count, idiot. It’s twice as much.”

“Oh. Genius.”

Certainly, though it was of no use.

Ju Ji-tae was lost in contemplation, letting the senior players’ empty chatter wash over him.

“England is weak on the flanks despite a strong core. They’ve been giving way on the sides even to Ecuador, and their once sturdy center now trembles and crumbles. That’s why we’re loading strength on our flanks. We’ve focused on attacking through the center so far, but this time, the flanks are the key.”

The coach revealed his strategy for the England match before the training session.

Apart from the coaching staff’s prepared video analysis, Ju Ji-tae, who had separately looked into England’s games, agreed with the coach’s opinion. Indeed, England was lacking on the flanks.

“England, the ‘land of wingers,’ how did it come to this? Nevertheless, this generation of England, not only their flank attackers but above all, their flank defenders are at the level of automatic doors…”

Watching the horror show against Ecuador brought back memories of Tottenham in 2023.

Of course, it would be disrespectful to equate the current England Under-20 team, weak only in flank defense, to the strong England national team of 2023 that rivaled even Tottenham Hotspur, which had an entire defense, including the goalkeeper, that was a horror show when it came to coffee, be it the local coffee or T.O.P.

After all, be it the neighborhood coffee or the T.O.P, coffee is coffee, and in the end, once the horror show starts, the collapse is just the same.

In the first game where the weakness wasn’t exposed, they flaunted the strength of the core line and claimed victory, but in the last match where the weakness was laid bare, they were exposed on the flanks and suffered defeat against Ecuador.

In a longer match term, one can address weaknesses, but in such a tightly scheduled tournament, it’s not easy to rectify tactically.

That is, once a weakness is exposed, there’s a high chance it’ll remain a weakness throughout the tournament.

Hence, agreeing with the coach’s plan to target the weaknesses, the issue is—

“Blocking England’s strong core line while simultaneously providing the flanks for distribution…”

The central role of this plan is by no means an easy task.

Korea, adopting the extremely offensive 3-4-3 formation, is essentially assigning defensive duties to just three center-backs.

Moreover, among the ‘4’ in the center, there are only two players positioned centrally.

And these aren’t defensive midfielders but central midfielders pushed higher up.

What about the other two? They would act as side-backs who mistakenly think they’re wingers, the so-called (non-returning) wing-backs.

Of course, positions can change during the game, but the starting positions generally determine a player’s mindset. Thus, the two midfielders for Korea are more dedicated to attack than defense.

So, how do they defend?

Simple.

Just “trust Ju Ji-tae.”

A tactical strategy heavily reliant on defense, a kind of ‘who scores more’ bravado.

As aggressive and high-risk as a coach who said, “Concede three goals, score four,” it was a perfect high return strategy so far.

But using this against England, known for their strong core line?

Moreover, aggressively targeting their flanks?

“Throwing three attackers as bait to tie down England’s strong center-back and pivot line, and using four midfielders like wingers to attack the flanks…”

As Ju Ji-tae envisioned it in his mind, he quickly realized its absurdity.

It was a flaw that anyone, not just Ju Ji-tae, could easily notice.

“Then what about the center? The empty center?”

While it sounded like a flanking strategy, if the already insufficient two players in the center were also sent to the sides, who would guard the center? So, who would protect it?

The answer was quite simple.

The player positioned in the center of the center-back, who frequently surged forward, guarding that central spot.

“… Me.”

It was Ju Ji-tae.

“In essence, you’re telling me to stick to the defensive position and also play the role of a regista.”

This was a 3-5-2 formation.

Not just defending but also building up, all assigned to one player.

The form was different, but there had been such attempts in the national team’s past.

A time when they entrusted both defensive and build-up roles to the player, Won Bora-lan-chi, attempting attacking football.

“Alright, break’s over! Get up, shuffling feet! And Ji-tae, come here. Did you understand the tactics?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“How is it? Can you do it? You know as well as I do, Ki Sung-yueng tried this before and gave up, leaving us hanging.”

To simplify it drastically, football tactics were ultimately a numbers game.

Placing one of the two defensive midfielders in a two Bora-lan-chi setup into an attacking role naturally increased attacking power.

Then, what about the position left vacant by one player?

If one added strength by adding one more player, it was only logical that removing one weakened it.

Just as the power of a punch in boxing is more critical in the lower body than the upper body, football also requires a stable defense for a strong attack.

If defense falters, what good is the attack? What use is having numbers when the passes don’t come?

Therefore, the Won Bora-lan-chi tactic required the player responsible for ‘Won Bora-lan-chi’ to single-handedly handle the defensive and build-up roles of two players for it to be properly implemented.

“… You must be clear about this. If you make a mistake, everything will collapse like a waterfall. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Confident?”

In that sense, Ju Ji-tae was confident.

Taking on the roles of two players in the Won Bora-lan-chi tactic alone?

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Well, that was certainly no easy task.

Ju Ji-tae calmly responded to the anxious coach as he always did.

“Of course… I’m confident. Trust me.”

Originally, this tactic was devised with the assumption of my active participation, so why are you asking me about it now?