Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

43 – Though I don’t know where I stand, I know where I belong

043

With the referee’s whistle, joy and sorrow intersect.

“South Korea defeats the powerhouse Italy and advances to the finals!”

“Absolutely remarkable! Truly commendable, our players!”

South Korea cheered for their advancement to the Youth World Cup finals.

Even though it was a tournament without the obligation to summon the best squads due to age-specific competitions, the World Cup is still the World Cup.

With this victory, South Korea becomes the fourth Asian nation to reach the finals after Qatar in 1981, Japan in 1999, and 2019, solidifying its unique position as the only Asian nation to reach the finals twice.

However, it wasn’t all favorable.

The issues with South Korea were exposed in this game.

— The Chukbungi’s statement expected Italy’s superb defense to be a hurdle;

ㄴㄹㅇ Me too;;

ㄴHonestly, looking at the previous matches, Italy’s overwhelming defense seems formidable.

Excluding the name value and considering only objective indicators, Korea was undoubtedly the top contender for victory.

Looking at the records until the Italy match in the semi-finals, with 14 goals and 2 goals conceded, Korea was both the highest-scoring and least conceding team.

Regardless of the statistics, Korea excelled in terms of gameplay.

The only slightly subpar matches were the second match against Ghana and the third match against Germany in the group stage, but even those can be justified.

The Ghana match appeared lackluster only because the previous game against Argentina was such a spectacular victory. There was no real danger as Ghana was sitting back defensively, and it ended 1-0. As for the Germany match, Korea had already secured a spot in the Round of 16 with two wins and chose to rotate the squad.

In both attacking and defensive aspects, Korea showcased near-perfect gameplay compared to Italy.

Italy’s performance until the quarter-finals suggested a team desperately fighting for victory.

Just like Korea, they had a solid defense with only 2 goals conceded until the quarter-finals, but Italy had the weakest attack among the quarter-finalists. Moreover, relying on consecutive penalty shootouts after two consecutive defensive matches seemed more like an anti-football strategy to football fans, even if the Italians themselves considered it the essence of Catenaccio.

As the situation unfolded, when the semi-final draw was confirmed, most experts predicted an easy victory for Korea.

However, how was the actual game?

The attacking line led by Jo Jaeshin and Yoo Gitaek demonstrated excellent performance against Italy, a team considered the strongest in defense. But other aspects were far from satisfactory.

The midfielders struggled to build up against Italy, and even the defense, supposed to be the least worrisome part, showed signs of anxiety.

Fans who cheered when Jo Jaeshin scored the opening goal against the solid Catenaccio of Italy, which had not conceded a goal to Germany, couldn’t help but realize the vulnerability of the Korean defense when they soon conceded a goal to Italy’s seemingly weak attacking line.

— Still, he’s amazing.

— Without Joo Jitae, they’re a mess lol.

— The superstar who drives both Kawas and Ppas crazy… just JOAT…

— We miss you, God Jitae!

— Ah… now that you’re gone, I realize your value…

That’s the presence of Joo Jitae.

Even though I don’t understand all the positions, when Ju Ji-tae was substituted, the defensive play shown by the backline immediately led people to a unanimous conclusion.

— I thought the defense was stable after changing to a 3-5-2, but turns out it was just this guy;

ㄴCome to think of it, he was a fullback in the Asian Cup, but the stability was impressive.

ㄴTrue, when did we start expecting Simmons-level defense from us?ㅋㅋㅋ

— In the end, the true essence of the defense was messed up Ji-taeㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴOh, is he your friend, God Ji-tae?

— Without him, there’s no control over the ballㅋㅋ Even the opening goal was just Jo Jae-shin playing by himself.

ㄴSeriously, thinking about it, Ji-tae was responsible for the backline build-up.

— WTF, playing such a possessive style of football;; How did we endure this crap, seriously?

— In other words, everything works well only when Ji-tae is there.

And this attention brought back to light an incident that almost went unnoticed,

— So, in the end, was J Jo Jae-shin?

ㄴHe says it’s not him.

— What’s this? Jo Jae-shin said in an interview that he’s not J? Then who the hell is it?

The potential conclusion that J, who was thought to be Jo Jae-shin, turned out not to be him, was revealed in the interview.

This coincided with the release of ‘Football Life – Ju Ji-tae, Jo Jae-shin’ episode, creating a new topic.

— What is this? J is not Jo Jae-shin? (Link – Post-match interview scene with Jo Jae-shin)

ㄴThen who is it?

ㄴI don’t know either.

— WTF, isn’t J a woman? (Link: Football Life – Ju Ji-tae, Jo Jae-shin episode)

ㄴSeriously, is J a girl? Did he do all that to impress a girl?

ㄴOh, this is insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ Damn Ji-tae was a playboy, damn it.

Reaching the World Cup final, the increasing influence of the ace, and the fact that the same girl who garnered attention received the first yellow card of the tournament and skipped the ceremony.

Even one of these would have been enough as a hot topic, but combined, the firepower was tremendous.

And the power of netizen investigators was even more tremendous.

[Let’s find out the truth about Ju Ji-tae’s ceremony revealed so far. #araboja]

Do you know the master of the exclusive defense, the amazing Ju Ji-tae, who single-handedly faces even the formidable Italian attackers?

Everyone probably knows, but let’s review it once.

The moments of the amazing Ju Ji-tae, who emerged like a comet in the Asian Cup.

(GIF) (GIF) (GIF) (GIF)

See this brilliant play?

Even in defense, he’s aggressive to the point where you’d think he’s not just a center back but a crazy attacker. Especially in the Vietnam match, his dribbling skills are outstanding.

(GIF)

Watch him single-handedly take on the entire team; is this really the dribbling skill of a 17-year-old? It’s truly awe-inspiring.

And against opponents like Japan?

(GIF) (GIF)

From Noble mtl dot com

Look at God Ji-tae’s brilliant plays, showcasing the unrivaled genius Hottaru, who boasts about his unbeatable skills.

What? Is it just for Asia?

Shall we watch the highlights of this World Cup?

(GIF) (GIF) (GIF) (GIF)

See the glorious plays of God Ji-tae.

Surprisingly, these plays are against Argentina, Ghana, England, and Italy. It’s not some third-rate view. Argentina has been a bit messed up lately, Ghana is mediocre, and Italy has been struggling in this generation. Still, against Europe, South America, and Africa, he’s dominating.

Seriously, this guy would be rated as an SSS-class promising talent even if he were exposed to the world. It’s not for nothing that the Germans are praising him as the next Franz Beckenbauer.

(Local German article translation)

They’re already going crazy, calling him the next Franz Beckenbauer.

It’s a true, heartwarming story.

Even when this guy is in top condition, he’s untouchable.

(GIF) (GIF)

Considering the opponent is Chinese, damn, can a player like this really come from Korea? I was genuinely surprised when I saw Lee Kang-in play, thinking, “Wow, such plays are possible among Korean players.” But after watching Joo Ji-tae, I realize anything is possible.

If you know football well, you’ll see the resemblance to Ronaldo.

(Ronaldo GIF)

(Joo Ji-tae GIF)

If you compare, they’re undeniably similar. Maybe because Joo Ji-tae is taller, he looks even more dynamic, but you can definitely see the striking resemblance.

If someone with a discerning eye sees this level of performance, they’ll understand why he’s considered a god.

The savior of the seemingly hopeless Korean defense, the alpha and omega of the backline build-up.

They are the scamming duo who brilliantly package Korea as the ultimate in hopelessness along with Jo Jaeshin.

By the way, these two are childhood friends.

So, when Ju Jitae was about to perform the stripping ceremony, it was a reasonable prediction that J would undoubtedly be Jo Jaeshin.

(Animated gif of the stripping ceremony)

But after the Italy game, in a mom interview, Jo Jaeshin firmly asserted that it wasn’t him.

(Animated gif of Jo Jaeshin’s interview scene)

Feel the absolute certainty?

At this point, the author sensed sincerity and decided to trace who J really was.

In fact, I didn’t find it myself but compiled the help of numerous wise individuals.

Surprisingly, clues were relatively easy to find.

(Football In Life — Ju Jitae, Jo Jaeshin edition animated gif)

Here, there’s a part where he mentions having a “some” relationship with a girl.

At this point, the author could only sigh at the absurdity.

Why? Because who would do such a ceremony without having a special someone? Moreover, this kid is only 17 years old.

What’s 17?

The prime age to be crazy about girls, right?

Therefore, we can reasonably assume that this J is likely that girl.

Now, the challenge is how to find this J with just that clue. In fact, the original reason for writing this was precisely this, haha. Once it’s laid out until here, people will be curious and try to find out on their own, right? That’s the power of collective intellect, haha.

But damn, there was no need to go as far as collective intellect.

It just came out naturally.

So, who is this J?

In my opinion,

(Pictures of Jo Yeosin) (Pictures of Jo Yeosin) (Pictures of Jo Yeosin)

Looks like her.

She’s Jo Yeosin, Jo Jaeshin’s sister.

Isn’t the resemblance striking?

Being childhood friends’ siblings, they must be close, right? But damn, she’s gorgeous. And she’s Jo’s sister.

So, who is J?

She’s Jo Jaeshin’s sister. That’s what this means.

3-line summary:

1. J, a mysterious figure, is the crush of Gat Ji-tae.

2. The crush is revealed to be the younger sister of Jo Jae-shin.

3. However, Ji-tae is amazed by the beauty of the younger sister.

—Wow, there’s a reason Gat Ji-tae is hyped. Is this really a 17-year-old? He’s damn good at this, haha.

—No kidding, it’s a fan group dominated by Ji-tae.

—Damn, what an incredible name for a girl, haha.

—Ugh… Ji-tae!! Let’s find our original intentions!! Are we going to lose the fundamentals like this!!

ㄴWell, as long as it’s not the busty blonde sister, it’s okay.

ㄴSeriously, with that face, it doesn’t matter if we lose our fundamentals, haha.

—Wait, is he really the legendary King’s Cup friend?

ㄴHey, King’s Cup friends are the real deal.

—Peroperopero.

—Hey, bro, is it normal for my crotch to hurt when I see pictures of girls below?

ㄴBro, that’s nuts, haha. You’re tough even if you get hit.

—Alright, everyone, hands off the keyboard!! He’s still in middle school, be careful with the keyboard.

—But damn, it’s supposed to be a 3-line summary, why is it 5 lines, damn it.

Drrrr—

Having read the trending community post, Jang Ki-seok recalled the freshly received official letter.

‘Some girl. A good age. Ji-tae seems a bit burdened lately; meeting a girlfriend might help.’

It was an invitation from the football association for the families of players to celebrate reaching the finals.