Johan Cruyff Arena.
The feverish atmosphere cooled in an instant.
2-0.
It had happened in just 2 minutes.
Not only the crowd, but also the commentators, managers, staff, and players, everyone was unable to hide their shock.
'This is insane...'
Dennis Bergkamp was suddenly overcome by a strange sense of guilt.
What he had done before the match started came back to mind.
'Could it be because of my provocation that this happened? That he even started?'
This was a disaster.
It was still only the 2nd minute of the first half, yet the match was already tilting out of Ajax's reach.
5-1 on aggregate.
If Ajax wanted to turn this around now, they needed to score at least 5 more goals.
It was absurd.
Unless 3 or 4 Manchester City players were sent off, it was absolutely impossible unless some miracle happened.
And there was something even more important than that.
The match was still only in the 2nd minute of the first half.
The initiative had already changed hands.
Ho-young was still going completely wild.
"Hooo!"
Clenching his fist tightly, Ho-young hurried back to the halfway line and finished getting ready for the restart.
"Crazy bastard..."
It was the kind of sight that made curses spill out on their own.
Somehow, it felt like this nightmare was not going to end here.
And then, it actually happened.
Just 2 minutes later.
[Vieira threads it deep.]
[Ho-young receives it in the second line. Ah, he shoots immediately!]
The time from first touch to shot was only 1 second.
The moment the angle on the right side opened slightly, he struck a bold long-range shot with his right foot, and it split through the gap between the defenders.
It was an attempt aimed at goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg's recent weakness against long-range shots.
Naturally, the net was shaken violently again.
Thud!
[Goooal! Another one! 4th minute of the first half, and once again it is Ho-young!]
[He is completely out of control today!]
3-0.
It was Ho-young's hat-trick, shattering Ajax's dream to pieces.
"Hooo!"
A third consecutive celebration.
This time he dropped into a knee slide to celebrate the goal.
Manchester City had become a complete festival.
But once again, Ho-young quickly returned to the halfway line.
The match was already as good as won, but Ho-young still had work left to do.
There were 2 goals left to get.
Peeeeep!
Ho-young ran again.
[4th minute of the first half, Ajax take the kick-off for the third time. Mounir El Hamdaoui rolls it back.]
[Ajax's players need to stay calm at times like this. The bigger the score gap gets, the more the instinct kicks in to force the ball forward in a hurry. They really have to keep their heads and be careful about that.]
Sure enough, no sooner had that been said than possession went back to Manchester City.
As if it had been written in the script, the players gave the ball away very naturally.
Their mentality looked completely gone, as if they were all hallucinating together.
Manchester City got another chance at around the 7th minute and 40 seconds of the first half.
[Adam Johnson breaks down the flank and looks toward the far side of the box.]
[He sends it in!!]
The cross was slightly short, but Ho-young had already taken up a fantastic position and was in the air.
Scissors kick.
He leapt lightly like a butterfly and struck the ball sharply.
Thud!
The goal shook again.
[Goal! The fourth goal!! Once again it is Ho-young!!]
[This is unbelievable, I honestly cannot believe what I am seeing. 4 shots, 4 goals, and this has happened in just 8 minutes. Can you believe this?!]
It had not even been that dangerous a situation.
But Ho-young had scored with absurd ease.
At the sight of it, Ajax manager Frank de Boer clutched at his hair.
'This makes no sense.'
A scene he simply could not understand was unfolding in front of him.
Ajax's defense had certainly collapsed mentally, but even so, Ho-young's level today was beyond imagination.
He was football itself.
His form was completely through the roof.
And what made him feel like throwing up more than anything was that Ho-young was once again carrying the ball back to the halfway line.
'Has he gone mad? Why is he doing this? Why is he doing this to us?'
It felt unfair.
It felt maddening.
And it felt terrifying.
What had they done wrong to be torn apart this ruthlessly?
He even began to wonder whether Ho-young was trying some kind of experiment against Ajax, absurd as that sounded.
As a manager, he was supposed to hold on to himself until the end, but even for him, it was impossible now.
By the time he came back to his senses, it already looked like the number on the scoreboard might rise again.
[Vurnon Anita closes him down.]
[Ho-young cuts inside past him! He cuts again! And then one more cut!]
[He shoots!!]
After beating 3 defenders in succession, Ho-young got off a controlled shot even in a tight space.
This time it was with his left foot.
Thud!
[Gooooooooal! This is madness! Pure madness!!]
5 goals in a whirlwind within 9 minutes of the first half.
Whether they were Manchester City fans or Ajax fans, everyone was captivated by Ho-young's play and applauded.
Then Ho-young raised his hand above his head and waved it forcefully.
It was not a gesture to answer the crowd.
"Manager!"
It was a signal to manager Mancini.
And then.
[OUT 10. Ho-young]
[IN 19. Joleon Lescott]
After blasting in 5 goals like a storm, Ho-young finally seemed satisfied and went to the bench, where he rested comfortably for the remaining 80 minutes or so.
Right after the match ended, he was able to covet Dennis Bergkamp's First Touch of the Non-Flying Dutchman (L) in advance.
At a glance, it looked like a very easy football life.
Even though the match itself was one-sided, it created countless ripples.
[Ho-young explodes for 5 goals in 9 minutes, then heads to the bench... rises to outright first in the Europa League scoring race with his 13th goal]
└ Hyung is tired, so he only plays 10 minutes and goes in.
└ Just ten minutes, hahaha.
└ This is what class looks like, hahaha.
└ Shouldn't he just switch to striker already? If you funnel the goals to him, he scores a lot and it works perfectly.
└ If they improve the build-up from the back and dominate the second line a bit more, he could score even more.
└ They need to make the squad deeper in the summer transfer window.
└ I think they will bring in a different manager instead of Mancini.
└ Who?
└ Mourinho seems the most likely, does he not?
└ Probably. He is the kind of manager you trust and use. If I were the owner, I would definitely go for a manager strong in the Champions League.
└ But if Manchester City complete the mini treble this season, would they not extend Mancini?
└ Hard to say. There is just too much noise around Mancini. And even when he was at Inter, he was so bad whenever it came to the Champions League that he got sacked despite winning 3 straight league titles.
└ Crazy, hahaha. Stop getting ahead of yourselves. The most important thing is whether Ho-young returns to Real or stays at Manchester City.
As Manchester City kept charging forward day by day, their future was becoming a major topic of interest.
Depending on whether Ho-young returned, or which manager arrived, the balance of next season's Champions League could change completely.
As the season raced toward its end, countless football fans not only in Korea but around the world were debating Ho-young's future.
[If it is Ho-young, he will definitely go straight back to Real. His loyalty runs too deep. Seeing how he did not move straight to the EPL even after turning 16, he is absolutely not the type to chase money.]
[That is just romantic nonsense. He was used by president Calderón, and going back like that would be the truly stupid thing, would it not?]
[None of you know anything. What Ho-young wants is simply an environment where he can play football. Plenty of players have already testified to that. Ho-young is just crazy about football.]
[You are all talking rubbish.]
Different opinions were spreading like an epidemic.
Then, in the middle of all that, one unexpected football story caught the attention of netizens.
[Europa League semi-final second leg, "FC Porto vs Juventus" goes to penalties, Juventus win... Buffon produces a crazy performance]
└ Wow! A giant club really is a giant club.
└ Something about this feels weird. It is funny that Juventus reaching the Europa League final is surprising, hahaha.
└ It is because they are "Prospectus" this season. How does 8th place in Serie A even make sense, hahaha.
└ True. Juventus really were a mess this season.
└ Even so, they still reached the final in the end. Is this what being a big club means?
└ Manchester City will crush them easily. Juventus can never match them in work rate. Their squad is just too old. Trezeguet almost looks like an old man at this point.
└ Do you think football is all about work rate? Juventus have that one big punch. And they are strong in big matches. That is what a big club is.
└ Yeah, a match-fixing club.
└ Anyway, Manchester City really might do the treble this season.
└ The FA Cup is as good as won. The opponent is Liverpool, hahaha.
└ Even so, they are still a traditional powerhouse. You cannot ignore them. There is such a thing as experience.
That was true.
Experience on the big stage.
For Manchester City, who comparatively had not stood in many big matches, it was clearly a disadvantage.
To overcome that, brutal training was in full swing at Etihad Campus.
The opponent was Liverpool.
They had already faced each other twice in league matches last August and December, and the results had ended evenly, 1 win and 1 loss each.
They were not an opponent to be taken lightly.
Manager Mancini spoke.
"Liverpool are a team that have won the FA Cup 7 times."
It had looked as if they might collapse after selling Torres, but they had revived themselves by using that money to sign Luis Suárez.
"They have already ruined their league season, so they will put everything into the FA Cup final. That means we also need to stay extremely sharp."
"Yes."
"Understood."
For Ho-young as well, Liverpool were an opponent he definitely wanted to face again.
Talent.
He had faced them before in the Champions League when he was at Real Madrid, but at the time, there had been talents he could not obtain because of the conditions.
'Gerrard.'
He had not been able to covet it because of troublesome conditions, but now that he was on a different club, the conditions would surely be different too.
And on top of that, this time Luis Suárez was there as well.
There was just 1 thing he had to be careful about.
'Teeth.'
Luis Suárez, who would later come to be known by the nickname "Nuclear Teeth."
There was no telling what that legendary lunatic might do.
May 14, 3 p.m., Wembley Stadium in London.
With around 90,000 spectators packing the stadium, giant banners bearing the emblems of both clubs fluttered in the air.
It looked as though the eagle symbolizing Manchester City and the liver bird symbolizing Liverpool were flapping their wings from either side.
[Yes, thank you for your patience. The 2010-2011 FA Cup final will begin shortly.]
The starting lineups were as follows.
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart
Defenders: Kolarov, Vincent Kompany, Jérôme Boateng, Pablo Zabaleta
Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Yaya Touré, James Milner, Ho-young, David Silva
Forward: Carlos Tevez
Goalkeeper: Reina
Defenders: Aurelio, Škrtel, Carragher, Johnson
Midfielders: Lucas, Meireles, Gerrard, Kuyt
Forwards: Suárez, Carroll
[Let us look at Manchester City's starting lineup. First of all, Jérôme Boateng starting stands out.]
[It seems to be a measure to deal with Andy Carroll's outstanding aerial ability and Luis Suárez's sharp runs in behind.]
[Yes, just as you say that! At last, the players of both teams are walking out side by side!]
As the players entered the stadium, brilliant fireworks burst up at the mouth of the tunnel.
A large military band of the British Guards performed, and a famous British singer welcomed the players by passionately singing the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen."
Then, once both teams stepped onto the pitch, the players stood shoulder to shoulder and glared at one another.
And just like that, the historic match to decide the owner of the FA Cup trophy began.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)