<023. Genius and Glory of the Winning Cup (2)>
August was good.
The temperatures averaged around 20 degrees Celsius with almost no rain and breezy weather.
Sao Paulo FC's cruise also continued along with the great weather.
With their 4 win streak and 3rd place in the League, the chances of them getting the tickets to the playoffs rose.
It was the result of the debut of the dark horse known as Ho Yung.
Ho Yung, who had scored 1 goal and 1 assist in the match against CA Paulista went on to score 5 goals in succession in the next 3 matches, solidifying his place as a key player. There was even talk of Ho Yung being kept in the training grounds for too long, but Carlos affirmed that this was an optimal time for him.
It was because the team's players, who had digested every match in the league since February, needed a powerhouse figure.
Ho Yung had become that figure.
Despite his young age, he was like an older brother in pulling his team along and breathing life into his teammates whether it be in the actual match, or just in training.
Sao Paulo FC U13's win streak kept going even in September.
Ho Yung scored 5 goals after playing in 3 matches in a row and recorded multiple goals in the last 30 rounds. In summary, he had scored 13 goals and 3 assists in 8 matches.
He was the hero that had towed his team into 2nd place in his league.
There were no dissenting opinions.
He didn't just score goals, he was incredible in the knowledge of the contents of the game as well. Thanks to that, his team rose to 2nd place and was set to play in the playoff division.
They were to play against the winner in the battle between the 3rd place and 4th place in the playoffs.
If they won here, they would rise to the Campeonato Paulista Championships.
And in the championship match, the team that had placed first in the League, SC Corinthians were waiting.
So, they only had two steps to go until they lifted the League's victory cup.
It was near the end of September.
To prepare for the special training for the playoffs, the players were given four days of break time.
Ho Yung spent every second of his first ever break in full measure.
First, he got up early in the morning and took possession of the couch in the living room.
The next thing he did was watch the Premier League from 03 - 04, and enjoy Arsenal achieving a clean sheet victory.
"Wow. The king really is on a different level."
Arsenal.
Even if they called them names, they were the kings that dominated the EPL in this era.
Despite the fact that it was early in the season, Henry had already recorded 8 goals.
'That's right. This is Arsenal!'
He had been a fan of Arsenal and their director, Arsene Wenger, whom he idolised. But King remained Ho Yung's true idol.
Thierry Henry.
He wanted to be like him, at least in his skill at soccer.
He wanted to meet him as soon as possible.
To do that…
Ho Yung suddenly bolted upright from the couch.
"You scared me! Where are you going?"
Monica, who had been watching soccer with Ho Yung, asked.
Ho Yung replied as if it was something that didn't matter.
"Where do you think?"
Ho Yung arrived at the Barrafunda training grounds after finishing his four day holiday in half the time.
As if he would forget the soccer sense that he had raised, it felt like there were spikes on his bottom if he rested.
Ho Yung's state of mind was just like that.
Even before going back into the past, Ho Yung would always go outside and kick a ball around on his days off work. Formal holidays didn't sit well with Ho Yung. But, it was a relief that he could use the U13 training grounds whenever he wanted.
"Aren't you straining yourself?"
"I'm still lively. I gotta try hard when I can!"
"What a distinctive kid."
Emily spoke to him after meeting him in the lobby.
Her words weren't wrong, as he was one of the only kids in the U13 that systematically trained like it was a habit.
"Ah, and have some of this."
"What is this?"
The thing that Ho Yung handed over was roasted chestnuts that were packaged in foil, and it was a part of his lunch that he had bought with dried seaweed.
It was cheap, and it was a food he enjoyed eating, so he had a habit of just normally carrying it around.
"Ho Yung has a nice personality, too."
"Haha. I'll be on my way now!"
"Alright. Try your best."
As Ho Yung left, Emily returned to her desk while peeling the roasted chestnut.
It was at that moment.
"Chief?"
"Ah, Emily."
The person she had met in the corridor was Sao Paulo FC's manager, whose curly hair left a deep impression.
For the security of the Barrafunda training grounds, the place where the top players trained was separated from the main building, so this branch wasn't regularly used.
Moreover, the office was independent of the outside of the building, so there was no reason for the manager to drop by here.
"But for what reason are you here?"
"I just visited the main building and I'm currently cutting across to the office... what's this? Roasted chestnuts?"
"Ho Yung from U13 gave it to me."
"You really are popular~ then I'll have one."
The man with a good impression continued after popping one of Emily's roasted chestnuts in his mouth.
"But isn't the U13 in their warming up stage?"
"That's right. It's just that this kid is different."
"Wait. His name is Ho Yung? I think I saw him in the player power reports."
"You would have. I hear that he can play very well."
"Really? I'll have to see him if he goes up to the championships. Then, try your hardest."
The man, who kind of looked like a playboy, exited the building and headed for the dressing room.
Ho Yung, who had arrived at the U13 training grounds began to warm up as usual.
"One two three four!"
It had already been two months since he debuted in the League.
Since the basics had been equipped to an extent, it felt like his skills were improving fast.
He also got a lot of help from future stars he had met in the last 8 matches to develop his skills.
He got the skill of 'quite a sharp 2 to 1 pass (C-)', and developed the rhythmical and flexible footwork that Brazilians, especially, had.
Many changes had occurred to Ho Yung's skills following that.
[Ho Yung Wu]
Skills Possessed
Soccer Prodigy (B+2)
The Chaminator's kick and run (U)
Legs faster than a Lamborghini ()
Lightning fast ball cutting (B+)
A wide open slate for development (B+)
Quite fancy footwork (C+2)
Rhythmical flexibility (C+2)
Quite a heavy long shot (C+)
Strong muscles of a healthy man (C+)
Impressive curving free kick (C+)
Satisfactory ball stopping (C+)
Blade-like ball distribution (C)
Quite a sharp 2 to 1 pass (C-)
And there was one thing that he had realised from this.
For example, (C+) + (C+) = (C+2) was true,
But (C+2) + (C+) = (C+3) was not.
To develop a skill from 2 to 3, one was not enough.
'I can only find out if I take one more.'
But there were other urgent matters.
'At least 30 midway shot goals.'
To take Cha Bum Gons L class skill, he needed to shoot many mid-way shots from at least 30m away.
It was 30 meters in words, but to a middle schooler, it was the distance comparable to thousands of kilometres.
"Well, I have to do it if you tell me to."
The only thing he could do was put effort into it!
In the past few months, the time that was left over from basic training was focused on free kick training, as well as midway shooting training.
Today was no different.
Boom!
One hour passed.
Boom!
Two hours passed.
Boom!
His leg muscles were slowly getting tired.
[Quite a heavy long shot (C+2) ^]
"Ohh!"
It finally went up.
He didn't know that he could raise skill power by just training and without taking skills, but he succeeded.
'Focused training really does have a big effect!'
If he used the pre-season which was set after October well, it looked like it was possible to raise his obtained skills to the top level.
But before that, focusing on the playoffs was the priority.
27th of September.
The playoff began between the League's 3rd team, CA Paulistano and the League's 4th team, SE Palmeiras.
There was no other match like shield versus spear.
CA Paulistano succeeded in fending off SE Palmeiras's attacks with Fabinho's lead, and after a close fight, took the victory with a 1-0 lead.
But that shield faced the risk of being shattered in the match against Sao Paulo FC a week later.
4th of October's playoffs.
After the referee blew the whistle, Sao Paulo FC showed a powerful attack which was fueled by Ho Yung's force.
"Block them! Bring the line down!"
"Defend in the rear!"
Paluistano's players shouted until their throats were raw as they tried to order the defence.
They used their 5 midfielders to apply pressure on the opposition.
It was used to prevent the ball from being delivered to Ho Yung.
In the occasion that the pressure in the midfield was destroyed, they came up with the answer of the defensive line dropping back and performing a co-operative defence strategy.
They knew of Ho Yung's terrifying breakthrough force, so they had gone all-out on defence.
The defensive formation that had become more organised was the evidence of this.
But their opposition had also developed.
Sao Paulo FC.
The teamwork between Ho Yung and Douglas in the attacking line had been raised one step further and showed signs of perfection.
"Ah!"
As Ho Yung attempted to make a breakthrough with his fancy footwork after receiving a short pass, the opposition's defence let out a yelp.
It was too late for regrets.
Ho Yung used his beastly kick and run to dive deep into the backlines and forcefully make space.
"Cover!"
"Hey! Get on him!"
But Paulistano wasn't about to be harassed like before.
Because they had spent countless training sessions preparing for this situation.
As if predicting this event, the two backmost defenders rushed towards Ho Yung.
There was a lot of space between them and Ho Yung, so all they needed to do was block off his path.
That was the task given to the two.
But there was one thing that they had overlooked.
The difference in skill.
How are the best defenders unable to stop Ronaldo's charges even when they see it coming?
How are they broken by Kaka's lightning fast runs when looking directly at them?
It was simple.
Because even if they can see the attack, the attack is too fast for their bodies to react.
The U13's Ho Yung was at that standard.
Tack.
Ho Yung put distance between him and the ball in an instant.
And ran.
As he did that, space was created, and as he ran mindlessly, he ended up right in front of the goals.
The defenders that were once in front of him were behind him.
It was a mad charge that was saved until the most important moment to not put stress on his knees.
The goal didn't connect, as the well-trained goalkeeper was already rushing out to Ho Yung.
However, his charge flipped the game on its head.
Nobody showed it in their expression, but the momentum of Paulistano's defence was utterly shaken, and they had to play the game while being dragged along from that point onwards.
The defenders, including Fabinho, were all of a like mind.
It was to the point of anger, questioning how they could catch that maniac that flew around the pitch like that.
They couldn't drop the line to stop his charges since that was within the range of his midway shots.
There was no confidence to stop him.
Beep!
The match resulted in Sao Paulo FC's victory due to Ho Yung's multi-goals in the second half.
Sao Paulo FC, which had been carried by Ho Yung, was to rise to the Campeonato Paulista Championships.
But despite the happiness, there was a worried look on director Carlos's face.
They had surpassed the 9-step mountain ridge, but the notice was too high.
The last step needed for victory felt very far away.
Their opponents for the finals, SC Corinthians were that strong.
More than anything, it was because they had a special future star that would control the match left and right.
'I'll need to look at documents related to Alexandre when I return home.'
The star player of Brazil who would be called the second Pele.
Alexandre Pato.
They needed to defeat that boy, who possessed ingenious skill.