Held every two years, the Four Continents Youth Tournament in Germany features a total of five teams.
The participating teams include defending champions Borussia Dortmund and four challengers.
From Europe, FC Bayern Munich U13.
From the Americas, Orlando City SC U13.
From Oceania, Sydney United U13.
And representing Asia, the Dream Youth Squad.
The tournament's primary purpose is the development of German youth players.
As such, all participating teams are selected solely by the German Football Association.
This year, the Dream Squad was able to participate thanks to an invitation from Beckenbauer, the Vice President of the German Football Association and Honorary President of FC Bayern Munich.
By coincidence, the tournament draw had matched the Dream Squad against none other than FC Bayern Munich.
Upon hearing the news, Ho-young clenched his teeth.
'This is my last chance.'
If he scored four more goals in the next match, he could acquire Ballack's talent.
The next morning at 6:30 AM.
The Dream Youth Squad began special training from early dawn.
The goal was to optimize their physical rhythm for the match.
Set 1 was for basic skills.
Set 2 focused on set-piece training like free kicks, corner kicks, and penalty shootouts.
"He really stands out. His fundamentals are solid."
That was the coach's assessment of Ho-young, who was shining during training.
On top of that, his passion was on another level, making him all the more admirable.
Cha Bum-kun agreed.
However...
"He's still pretty stiff."
Ho-young was frustrated with his poor performances and angry at himself.
That was how he appeared in Cha Bum-kun's eyes.
"Ho-young."
"Yes, coach!"
As Ho-young came running, slightly out of breath, Cha smiled kindly and asked.
"What's wrong? Football not going your way?"
"Uh… yeah. It's like... my head feels too crowded."
His body should move instinctively when he plays, but now it was the opposite.
Like a broken machine grinding uncomfortably.
Cha let out a chuckle.
"Your legs must be all tangled up, right? Nothing's going your way?"
"Yes, exactly!"
"Do you know why that is?"
"I'm so frustrated because I don't!"
"Ha. Kid, you're too mature for your own good."
"Huh?"
An unexpected response.
Ho-young didn't understand the meaning of those words until the following day, after watching the match between FC Bayern Munich and Hamburg SV.
As scheduled, the Dream Squad went to watch Bayern's home game in person.
Beep—
With the first half ending 2-0 in Bayern's favor, Cha asked Ho-young.
"What did you think?"
"Bayern is clearly very strong."
It was an overwhelming performance from FC Bayern Munich.
Stacked with superstars like Ballack, Oliver Kahn, Santa Cruz, Schweinsteiger, Hargreaves, Zé Roberto, and Sagnol, they completely dominated Hamburg.
On top of that, the roaring home crowd added fuel to their momentum.
It would've been stranger if Hamburg had won.
"What about Hamburg?"
"Hmm… They seemed to be dragged around the whole time. Like they couldn't play the way they had prepared."
"That's how you look to me."
"…Ah."
"Now you get it? When you play football, you have to empty your mind. Anxiety stiffens the body."
So that's what Cha meant by being too mature.
Ho-young finally understood.
Cha continued.
"You should be playing football, not just competing."
"...!"
That hit deep.
A certain level of competition is necessary, but it should never take precedence over the game itself. A footballer must play football.
It was something he resonated with completely.
'Yeah. I was too conscious of Müller. I kept thinking I had to outscore him.'
On top of that, the pressure of needing to score five goals made things even worse.
The burden and anxiety had completely tied him down.
"So what should I do then?"
"What else? When you're anxious, play football."
"You mean, the only way to overcome anxiety is through football?"
"Football is a battle against anxiety. So naturally, the only thing that can overcome it is football itself."
Practice and improvement.
That was the only answer.
Cha gave him one last word of advice.
"But don't mistake emptying your mind for being complacent. Keep your heart pure, your mind sharp, and your body intense. And also..."
"Keep the fire in my heart. Right?"
"Ha ha."
To give your all as if it's life or death.
Football is war.
When you're on the pitch, you have to focus solely on football.
Everything depended on that.
"Thank you, coach."
It was a truly meaningful moment for Ho-young.
A week passed, and as snow began to fall lightly, the new year arrived.
One week later.
Tuesday, January 9th, 2004.
Now twelve years old, Ho-young had German brunch instead of rice cake soup and headed to Grünwalder Stadion.
With a capacity of 32,000, it was a substantial venue for a youth match.
The opening match and the decisive showdown were to take place in this stadium located in Munich.
Their opponent was FC Bayern Munich U13.
"Phew."
Before the match began, Ho-young closed his eyes and calmed his mind.
"Hoooh—"
In simple terms, it was meditation.
The professional term: Winning Mentality Control.
Maintaining a stable winning mentality greatly helps in delivering peak performance.
Also known as sports confidence.
Ho-young had learned this from Cha Bum-kun.
Of course, it wasn't something you mastered overnight, but it was already proving effective to some extent.
He had let go of the pressure and filled the void with determination.
"Let's do this!"
"Whoa..."
Next to him stood Thomas Müller.
"Ha ha. Look at him."
"He's the one who scored that goal last time, right? Oh~ Looks like he's fired up."
"Heh. What a cute kid."
Whether Bayern's players were watching him like he was some amusing little thing or not, Ho-young just looked straight ahead and walked onto the pitch.
And soon after.
Beep!
Tap.
The Dream Youth Squad won the kickoff and passed the ball backward to start the game.
At that moment.
Thump!
A defender launched the ball deep into the opponent's half.
At the same time, Ho-young, who was positioned as the main striker, sprinted forward at full speed.
"What the? Just a long ball?"
"Daniel! Get on him! Stay alert!"
"Got it!"
The defender marking Ho-young, Daniel, rushed in.
The physical battle quickly turned into an aerial duel.
But Ho-young wasn't intimidated.
'I might be a little shorter, but my heading's solid now.'
He had gained talent in heading as well.
Focus, and more focus.
He didn't let his concentration slip for even a second as the ball descended.
He cleared his mind of all distractions.
'Heading is all about timing and direction. As long as I win the position, I'm good.'
His Iron Body (B+) talent gave him the confidence.
And—
"Ugh...!"
It helped him win the positional battle.
Daniel stumbled, slightly thrown off balance.
In that moment, as the ball dropped, Ho-young leapt high into the air.
He straightened his upper body and twisted his neck at an angle.
Thud!
His header landed perfectly at Suk Hyun-jun's feet.
Suk Hyun-jun immediately sent a deep lofted through ball forward.
A pre-planned build-up.
A surprise attack.
And—
"Go!!"
Ho-young dashed forward at full speed toward the target zone.
"W-wait!"
"...!!"
The Bayern defenders, caught off guard, chased after him in a panic, but none could match his speed.
The goalkeeper rushed out too late. The ball was already at Ho-young's feet.
Tap.
With a soft touch, the net rippled slightly.
A goal just 24 seconds after kickoff.
"Yeahhh!"
A roar released all the pressure bottled up inside.
It finally felt like he was playing his football again.
"Nice pass!"
Instead of celebrating, Ho-young gave Suk Hyun-jun a thumbs-up.
Then immediately.
"Back to the center!"
He grabbed the ball and jogged to the halfway line.
It was too early to celebrate.
Beep—
30 minutes into the first half.
They conceded one goal to Müller but managed to prevent any more.
The first half ended 1-1, and the second half turned into a fierce back-and-forth.
It was a slugfest.
A brutal battle of pace.
Especially for Ho-young.
Not only had his confidence grown.
With his Iron Body as the base, his pace during "run and push" dribbles had improved significantly.
It was enough to make Bayern's physically superior defenders look like training cones.
'Why is he so sturdy?'
Despite his smaller frame, he didn't get pushed around.
Ho-young's body was like a tree rooted deep in the ground.
Even trying to overpower him didn't work, thanks to his strength.
Daniel, who was responsible for marking him, was in disbelief.
'He wasn't like this last week...'
No wonder.
Back then, Ho-young hadn't fully absorbed Cha Du-ri's talent.
'A goal-scorer and a playmaker? No way. How could an Asian kid be like this? He's like Götze...'
Even while playing alongside him, it was hard to believe.
Like a bomb.
Whenever Ho-young touched the ball, it felt like something was about to explode.
'I need to press him hard and stop his playmaking.'
Even if it meant overcommitting, he had to stop him.
They believed stopping Ho-young was the key to winning.
But it wasn't a job for one person.
Bayern switched from zonal defense to cooperative marking, putting two or even three players on him.
"Stay tighter!"
"Someone else will cover. Just block him up front!"
It became routine for two or three defenders to shadow him.
But excessive pressing always has its downside.
Beep!
A whistle echoed across the pitch.
A foul was called about 24 meters from the goal.
Ho-young had been tripped during an aggressive standing tackle.
A classic leg hook.
"Tch."
It was a dangerous play, but he wasn't injured.
His left thigh tingled slightly, but it quickly faded.
And they had earned a free kick.
The distance: 24 meters.
As Ho-young stepped up, a teammate approached.
"Ho-young. You're not taking it yourself?"
"I'll take it."
"You'll shoot directly? Isn't the distance too far?"
From that range, most teams would opt for a set play.
For youth players, 24 meters is a long way to shoot.
But Ho-young thought differently.
"We lose too many aerial duels in crowded zones. It's better if I shoot. Just create some distraction with a fake run from the side."
He checked the shooting angle.
'The keeper's watching the far post. Just like last time.'
In that 5-1 loss, Ho-young had noticed.
The Bayern goalkeeper was particularly strong against mid-range shots.
'Actually, that's good. I can use it against him.'
One step.
Two steps.
Just three steps.
He deliberately kept his run-up short to play mind games with the keeper.
He faked as if he was going to go for a curling shot or instep kick.
But what he was really aiming for was the dead center of the ball.
He was going to strike it with a toe kick.
A toe kick was a quick-release shot that could catch the keeper off guard.
And—
'I've got this.'
This angle was within the Ho-young zone.
(To be continued.)