Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

158 – Injury

158

Every big club has its own image.

For example, Real Madrid has the Galactico image, Liverpool is the Red Empire, and Arsenal has the 4-4-2 formation or Wenger. Manchester City? The image of being the strongest, Mansour, or Pep Guardiola comes to mind.

If a team doesn’t have a distinct image that matches its league, it’s not a world-class big club. A club without its own image is not a big club, and that means its brand value is lacking. If a team can’t appeal to the masses, it’s because it doesn’t have a unique image.

There are many clubs that have their own unique image, even if they’re not a big club. For example, ‘La Tene’ Leeds United, ‘Giant’ Porto, Ajax, Benfica, ‘Pure Blood’ Bilbao, and ‘Survival King’ Wigan.

Even without a unique image, a team can still create a romanticized image if they have good results. But if a team doesn’t have a distinct image, it means their results are just ordinary.

In that sense, Barcelona can be considered a true big club. They have a distinct image that surpasses any other team.

It’s the legendary Lionel Messi and the fantastical pass show known as “Tiki-Taka”. Why did Barcelona’s legend, Xavi, leave behind an immortal phrase that represents the team’s spirit?

It’s the famous phrase, “One shot, we won the possession rate, didn’t we?” which emphasizes the importance of content over results.

That’s truly a legendary phrase that represents Barcelona’s spirit. It really shows the team’s mentality.

Of course, the actual quote wasn’t like that. After losing 7-0 to Bayern Munich in the 2012-2013 Champions League semifinals, Xavi said, “Munich didn’t control the game, and Barcelona dominated the possession rate, but the result doesn’t tell the whole story.”

It’s really ridiculous. These days, people only care about concise summaries that can be understood at a glance.

To summarize, “We lost the game, but we dominated the possession rate!” is what it boils down to.

What’s funny is that in the first leg of the match at Allianz Arena, Munich, the possession rate was 55:45 in favor of Barcelona, and in the second leg at Camp Nou, it was 53:47. It was just a ridiculous game.

But Xavi, the legend among legends, wouldn’t just make a foolish comment to boost morale.

It was a statement that showed how much Barcelona values “beautiful football”.

People who don’t understand the deeper meaning behind it create all sorts of memes, mocking Xavi’s phrase, but that’s just disrespect towards a legend.

So—

“What the hell? Why are they doing possession football?”

That’s not what Barcelona, the team famous for “Tiki-Taka”, should be doing.

…Of course, after Pep Guardiola, practical coaches like Enrique emerged, and they prioritized winning over possession rate, but that’s not the true spirit of Barcelona. Anyway, it’s not.

* * *

Barcelona is a team that values possession rate, as famous for “Tiki-Taka”. But it’s not that they prioritize possession rate itself; rather, it’s a natural result of their football philosophy.

If you think about it, possession rate is not the fundamental aspect, but it’s a metric that fans can easily see. The fundamental aspect is invisible, after all.

Sometimes, a coach who doesn’t prioritize possession rate takes over, and Barcelona’s concept changes, but the current coach is a La Masia graduate and a true Barcelona man. Coach Jose, known as the embodiment of Barcelona’s philosophy, is someone who advocates for a return to the past, when Barcelona was famous for “Tiki-Taka”.

So, under Coach Jose, Barcelona has mostly shown a dominating possession rate, and even when they lose to a tough opponent, they don’t get crushed in terms of possession rate.

But today was different.

“William Mopey passes to Oliver Negrado. Mark Guigua runs, but Oliver Negrado passes to Luis Garcia. Arnaud Pradas easily evades the pressure. Manchester City’s players are moving lightly today.”

“Luis Garcia’s good pass! Nourdin Gueye shoots!! The ball grazes the goalpost! Manchester City’s good attack development!”

“Barcelona players, you’re giving away the midfield too easily today. It’s not like the pressure is low… everyone’s working hard, but somehow, you’re giving away chances easily.”

Manchester City, known for their solid defense, has a strong center-back duo in Rudy Downing and Brad Duff, as well as a defensive midfielder like Oliver Negrado, who is considered one of the best in his position.

Given Manchester City’s objective advantage and home-field advantage, it was expected to be a tough game, but the actual game was more one-sided in favor of Manchester City than expected.

Although Barcelona had some good attacks,—

“Hector Porta passes to Ju-Ji-Tae. Madu Murcia, Diego Almeida, and again Ju-Ji-Tae. Barcelona is slowly building up.”

“This is it! Barcelona’s strength is their solid defense, isn’t it? Manchester City’s core is great, but Barcelona isn’t falling behind! As I say that, Ju-Ji-Tae!! He sends the ball to the final third in an instant! Jose Marsa gets the ball with his back to the goal.”

“Jose Marsa passes to Pablo Lopez and turns around to penetrate! 2:1 pass! Ah, Pablo Lopez’s pass was a bit long.”

At the last moment, their breaths didn’t match, and they missed the opportunity.

“Barcelona, today is just not working out. Something feels off.”

Another good attack chance was wasted.

Manchester City’s pass, aimed at the backspace, was cut off by Joo Ji-tae, and a counterattack began. Barcelona’s swift counterattack, which had been unfolding, was disrupted when Mark Guigu, who received Pablo Lopez’s pass, stumbled.

While running, Mark Guigu trapped the ball with his heel, but it bounced back in the opposite direction.

By the time Mark Guigu regained possession and turned forward, only 2-3 seconds had passed, but for a team like Manchester City, that was enough.

Mark Guigu, who had ultimately missed the attack opportunity with a mid-range shot, raised his hands in apology.

“Ah~ it’s a shame. Manchester City dominated the midfield and kept passing, so our team was heavily tilted towards defense. Barcelona had many players in position, but Joo Ji-tae cut off the dangerous pass and created a counterattack opportunity… and then Mark Guigu’s trapping mistake happened.”

As the caster summarized the situation, the commentator replayed the scene, muttering to himself.

“This pass was really disappointing.”

“What do you mean?”

“It looks like Mark Guigu’s trapping mistake, but… this pass by Pablo Lopez was too weak. Mark Guigu was running into open space, so the pass should have been directed towards him, not at his feet. The power behind the pass was lacking.”

“Ah~ so Mark Guigu expected the pass to come to him, but Pablo Lopez passed it to his feet instead. Their timing was off.”

“No, this isn’t a timing issue; it’s clearly Pablo Lopez’s mistake. In a counterattack situation, when the side is open, you should predict the sprint of the side attacker and pass to the space.”

Commentators often use indirect language.

Especially when criticizing a specific player, they tend to use indirect language, saying something like “it’s a shame” or “they need to focus more,” rather than directly pointing out the mistake.

However, not all commentators use indirect language.

“Looking at it now, Pablo Lopez’s play has been really disappointing today. It seems like whenever Barcelona struggles, it’s often related to Pablo Lopez.”

“Ah, you mean his condition is bad?”

“Of course, that’s part of it, but… what can I say?”

The commentator trailed off, and the game stopped.

“What’s going on? The game has stopped… Ah! Pablo Lopez is sitting on the ground!”

“It looks like he was pushed by Na Tan Allan during the competition… Ah, his foot was stepped on. It doesn’t seem like a serious injury, though.”

“The situation is getting prolonged. Pablo Lopez can’t get up.”

“I think he’s stalling for time. Experienced players like Pablo Lopez sometimes create space for their teammates by doing this when their team is struggling. Even on the replay screen, it doesn’t seem like a serious injury—”

Just then, the medical team on the ground, who were examining Pablo Lopez, drew a large X towards the bench.

“The signal has been given that he can’t continue playing!!”

“It’s the 26th minute of the first half! Barcelona’s captain, Pablo Lopez, is leaving the game due to injury!! This is a crisis for Barcelona!!”