Sunday, August 26th.
The day after the La Liga season opener.
At El Sardinero Stadium, located in the port city of Santander, a barrage of curses rang out.
They came from Barcelona fans, also known as 'Culés.'
"Damn it. You think I came all the way here to watch this crap?"
Furious, Barcelona supporters stormed out of the stadium.
They had traveled nearly 500 kilometers to watch their team's season debut, only to see them draw against Racing Santander, a mid-table team.
What was even more infuriating was that Barcelona failed to score a single goal, even after a Racing player was sent off.
"Reijkaard's a lunatic. You brought Henry here for a fortune just to play like this?"
"Drawing with a squad like this? I could manage better than that clown."
Barcelona's manager Frank Rijkaard had been active in the summer transfer window.
He brought in defensive reinforcements like Yaya Touré, Gabriel Heinze, and Abidal, and even signed Arsenal's king, Thierry Henry, exciting fans with a dream lineup.
Aliens, prodigies, black panthers, and kings.
So-called 'Fantastic Four'—Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto'o, and Henry. With them, Barcelona had vowed to return to glory.
But once the season began, the reality was dismal.
Team chemistry was nonexistent, and their overall performance was far below expectations.
Yet it wasn't just the result that enraged the fans.
What truly boiled their blood was the thrilling comeback victory by Real Madrid against Atlético Madrid the day before.
Already annoyed by that, the fact that Barcelona failed to win only made things worse.
"Damn those bald freaks. Forget Dutch collection, it's a bald collection."
Seeing Zidane, Carlos, and Robben dominate at Real Madrid was enough to make them seethe.
And that wasn't even the end of it.
What infuriated them even more were the headlines plastered across the media since last night.
[Barcelona's Laporta Lets Ho-young Slip, Real Madrid Castilla Gives Him Wings]
[Alavés, with an average age of 28.1, fall to a 14-year-old]
[In 14 years, the Alavés players achieved 500,000 juggling reps, 100,000 shots, 14,000 training hours... yet lost.]
[Ho-young scores a brace... an unprecedented feat in Segunda División history. Castilla win 3-0. Perfection.]
[Perez's youth policy shakes Spain. Barcelona B should be on high alert.]
Youngest appearance. Youngest goal.
And Perez's success.
That was what truly drove the Culés mad.
They had always criticized Real Madrid's youth policy. Now, even that line of attack was being stripped away.
"Damn that old man Perez. Hit the jackpot in his twilight years."
"Tch."
More painful than losing Ho-young was the fact that Real Madrid had acquired him.
They had certainly wanted him, but not to the extent of blaming Laporta.
They had their own prodigy, Messi.
And with Bojan, a player said to have even more potential than Messi, they didn't feel they absolutely needed Ho-young.
Still.
"This is ridiculous. What kind of media floods their headlines over something like this? How much did Perez pay them off? They should all be jailed for media manipulation."
"Sure, it's impressive. An achievement we might never see again. But it's just Segunda División."
"Exactly. Messi didn't shine in Segunda, but now he's tearing up La Liga. Segunda and Primera are totally different beasts."
"In my opinion, Ho-young's below Bojan. Bojan scored 900 goals in the youth academy since joining Barça. Ho-young's not even close. A flashy debut means nothing."
Across countless pubs in Barcelona, the main topic of conversation was Ho-young.
At that point, their only comfort was to criticize him.
Mental gymnastics, essentially.
The youngest-ever pro debut.
Scoring on debut.
It was a historic moment, and it shook the football world.
Not to be outdone, big news also came out of Serie A in Italy.
[Ronaldo, Is This the Beginning of His Resurrection?]
[The once-great Ronaldo scores in his debut for AC Milan, signaling a dramatic comeback.]
Ronaldo had stunned football fans worldwide when he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism by AC Milan's top medical staff on the 15th.
The doctors determined it was the cause of his weight gain, and the Milan director vowed to assemble a team of specialists to support his recovery.
And amid all that, Ronaldo scored the opening goal in his debut match, showing signs of revival.
In a post-match interview, he said...
The day before, AC Milan had traveled to face Genoa in the Serie A season opener.
Thanks to Ronaldo's early goal, they won by a landslide.
But what caused even more stir than the goal was the interview that followed.
Wearing the AC Milan jersey, Ronaldo said:
"My head wanted football, day and night. But my body wouldn't allow it. That dragged me to hell, tormenting me both on and off the pitch."
His voice trembled slightly, and his eyes reddened.
Recalling those nightmare years brought a wave of regret.
When he injured his knee, it felt like the sky collapsed. When paparazzi captured him snacking, he even received death threats.
But now, it was a fresh start.
Ronaldo stood up during the press conference.
That trademark playful smile was nowhere to be seen.
It was the most serious moment of his footballing life.
The lips of the fallen emperor parted once more.
"But I no longer run away. I've realized the only place for me is the pitch. I will run again. I will rise again."
Ronaldo.
He was changing.
Not just fixing his wings. He had attached new ones altogether.
The human body doesn't change easily, no matter how hard one tries.
So he made a bold decision to abandon his old style and start anew.
An enormous resolution.
Then came the next question from a reporter.
"What are your thoughts on Ho-young of Castilla, recently nominated for the Golden Boy Award? Spanish media are publishing stories about your tutoring sessions with him."
"That's right. I taught that boy football. And I saw it. His youthful passion."
These days, Ronaldo often thought about the days he spent kicking a ball on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.
It was the happiest time in his football life.
And now, he felt like he was reliving that joy.
This could be the turning point of his life.
From that day, related articles spread like wildfire.
[After Zidane, Now Ronaldo? Who Is the Boy They Tutored?]
[Ho-young Scores Twice in His Segunda División Debut...]
The ripple effect refused to fade.
Ho-young's name dominated sports media around the world.
And no country responded more explosively than Korea.
With the Korean U17 national team eliminated in the group stage of the 2007 U17 World Cup, public opinion had soured.
But the news about Ho-young flipped the mood completely.
It was absolute madness.
Broadcasting rights requests for the Segunda División flooded in, and MBS ESPN quickly acquired the rights to Castilla matches.
Unlike in England, Spanish clubs can sell their broadcasting rights individually, meaning a separate deal with Castilla allowed coverage of their home games.
Korean fans could now watch Ho-young's matches from home.
[The Nation's Son Ho-young FoReVeR]
└ "I was pissed we didn't make the World Cup, but now I get it. You were debuting in Spain. Fine, I forgive you. Who cares about some youth tournament? Plant your roots in Spain and debut in La Liga!!!"
└ "Any chance he gets called up for the 2010 World Cup?"
└ "He'll be 18 in Korean age but 16 internationally. If he debuts in the top division before then, maybe?"
└ "Waaah so cool lol."
└ "I'm happy, but kinda worried. Spain might try to make him naturalize. That's their specialty, right?"
└ "Come on, no way he'd switch nationalities, right?"
└ "Still, don't forget. Korean players usually shine for a bit overseas and then disappear. If he flops next game, it'll be a tragedy."
But one week later.
In the away match against Albacete in Round 2, Ho-young once again started and silenced his doubters with a stellar performance.
Despite Albacete's intense physical play turning the match into a scrappy battle, Ho-young led a stable build-up, standing out once more.
In the first half alone, he recorded 1 goal and 1 assist, proving that his debut heroics were no fluke.
Even when Albacete launched a late offensive in the second half, Ho-young maintained the lead and steered the team to victory.
Once again, he was selected as the official Man of the Match and received high praise from Spanish media.
His momentum didn't stop there.
Just four days later, in Round 3 against Cádiz, he once again played consistently and scored the opening goal.
Three matches in a row with goals.
Although the team only managed a draw, avoiding defeat was still a relief.
To remain in the top 6 of the table by January, every point mattered.
However, he began to feel the toll physically.
In the Juvenil B league, he had played around 30 matches in a season, but the professional league was a different beast.
Even with the same workload, the energy drain was incomparable. With his high work rate, he was exhausted after each match.
Fortunately, the preseason training he had completed was paying off.
Moreover, the coaching and medical staff were managing his condition thoroughly.
With support from behind, Ho-young had no fear.
He just had to keep moving forward.
Like a bulldozer, he bulldozed through all obstacles and continued his winning streak.
But no path is smooth forever.
As the sweltering heat faded and energy levels dropped, his first real challenge approached.
The upcoming away match against Real Sociedad on September 16.
A clash with a traditional powerhouse.
At Real Sociedad's training ground, in their audiovisual room.
Analysis was underway in preparation for the upcoming Round 4 match against Real Madrid Castilla.
Manager Christopher Coleman repeatedly emphasized the threat posed by Ho-young, currently the league's top scorer.
Even though he was young, they were taking it very seriously.
In football, what mattered wasn't age, but skill.
They didn't want to be embarrassed like the teams that had already fallen to him.
So the players remained glued to the analysis videos.
But not all of them.
A few players sitting in the back were snickering instead of focusing.
"Korea? Isn't that the country of the Korean Beckham?"
"Ha, Korean Beckham. Just saying it cracks me up."
"Korean Beckham~"
"Heh heh."
Real Sociedad.
A royal football club from the Basque region, granted the title 'Real' by King Alfonso XIII.
It was the team where Lee Chun-soo had once played, before failing to adapt due to subtle racial discrimination by Spanish players.
And one still known for having some rather nasty characters on its roster.
(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.)