84 – Hope
084
When Ju Ji-tae’s toe wrapped around the ball, Jo Jae-shin instinctively moved.
While everyone was watching Ju Ji-tae, who was showcasing a stylish release of pressure following a dazzling turn, pressure headed towards the weakened area, and, naturally, Ju Ji-tae’s pass reached its destination, as if it were a matter of course.
Lifechiz players surrounding him.
But it was too late. The first touch seamlessly continued into a pass, and following Ju Ji-tae, who penetrated the Lifechiz territory with tremendous speed, the pass found Ju Ji-tae catching the ball in the final third.
The Lifechiz players, astonished at Ju Ji-tae catching the ball in the danger zone, didn’t bother with their assigned defensive zones and reflexively rushed towards him.
In an instant, Jo Jae-shin’s gaze, rushing towards the collapsing Lifechiz territory, turned towards Ju Ji-tae surrounded by Lifechiz players.
An encounter in the air.
Just as it approached the penalty box line, the ball arrived beneath his feet.
Without needing to trap it, Jo Jae-shin felt freedom as he kicked the ball, a perfectly decelerated, accurately spinning pass landing right under his right foot.
‘Easy.’
Easy.
Too easy.
How many times had football followed results just by moving instinctively, moving as the body knew, without complex thoughts about tactics or movements?
After debuting as a pro, he thought it should be different from his amateur days.
He had to move more tactically, more collectively, and understand the opposing players more.
Certainly, there were achievements, and he successfully established himself on the pro stage, but… it was uncomfortable.
Yes, uncomfortable.
Football became uncomfortable at some point. It wasn’t as enjoyable or free as before.
But now, Jo Jae-shin felt freedom after a long time.
Football was enjoyable.
Like before.
“Uaaah!”
The goal net shook, and Jo Jae-shin shouted.
It was a scream filled with relief, not the discomfort and lack of fun in football that he felt for a long time.
As his eyes fixated on Cho Jaeshin, who dashed backward across the field with a triumphant roar, Ju Ji-tae clicked his tongue in amazement.
“Is it really that satisfying?”
Well, looking at it, one could understand.
After all, isn’t he the lad who knew nothing of failure from his youthful days?
Just before his debut, he clinched the Youth World Cup title and even became the top scorer, and his professional debut was in the prestigious Bundesliga.
Upon debuting, he displayed sensational performances, effortlessly establishing himself in the professional arena.
Even if he himself might not acknowledge it, this lad had sprinted through success both before and after his debut, seemingly oblivious to failure.
So, for a player who had never experienced failure from his debut until now, the Leipzig game marked his worst performance after debuting. Imagine how joyful it must be to meet again and score.
Ju Ji-tae decided to share in his friend’s joy, or rather, his comrade’s joy.
Rushing towards the player moving in reverse, he joined the cluster of teammates surrounding Jaeshin and rained down hearty pats on his head and back, albeit a step too late.
Looking down at his friend writhing on the ground amidst a cacophony of cheers, a sense of pride washed over him.
“Well, I must be quite the good guy.”
Despite having played numerous games together upon their return, synchronizing as they were doing now was a rare moment.
As he had immediately transitioned to the center-back position upon their return, syncing their movements was not as effortless as it had been during his days as a midfielder.
No matter how aggressively he surged forward, a center-back was a center-back, stationed farthest from the goalkeeper among field players, making direct synchronization challenging, even when playing for the same team in the same game.
However, with Jaeshin shifting to the flank and Ju Ji-tae himself advancing more aggressively than usual, it presented an opportunity to properly sync their movements after a long time.
For Jaeshin, it was a synchronization after two years; for Ju Ji-tae, it was almost five.
It had been nearly five years since he last synced his movements in a game, right back to the national team retirement ceremony during his first stint.
Incredibly long, yet it felt entirely familiar, seamlessly falling into place almost instinctively—the duo’s coordination dismantled Leipzig’s flanks.
“What is this…”
And that was what made Leipzig’s coach, Christoph Loewe, clutch his head.
His fingers whitened from the tight grip, strands of hair slipping through, but he couldn’t care less.
“No, why… How on earth…”
An unimaginable and shocking scenario was unfolding.
Just until they scored the opening goal, victory seemed certain.
The strength of 1860 Munich lay in center-back Ju Ji-tae’s unbelievable ability to create and push forward, but at the same time, this was also their weakness.
When Ju Ji-tae focused on the attack, their defense became remarkably vulnerable.
Therefore, the moment the preemptive goal was scored, Munich was convinced that they could win by dragging the match into a melee, as they could neither bring down the defensive line nor turn defensive against Ju Ji-tae…
“Why on earth is Jo Jaeshin going wild!!”
A player who had confidently judged that he could control Leipzig through the first-half game returned as the vanguard who demolished Leipzig.
“Stransina! Forward! Advance now! Especially at times like this, we need to attack aggressively and lower their defensive line!!”
Frustrated by Jo Jaeshin, who not only should have brought down the defensive line, but also disrupted Strahinja Pavlović, who should have provided a pass, the proper attack did not follow through.
As the ball failed to come out properly, Leipzig’s attacking lineup, proud of itself, became disoriented in defensive involvement. When the attacking lineup dropped, Munich’s defensive line became even higher, and the vicious cycle of the intensified assault repeated.
And finally—
“Oh, no!”
Munich’s comeback goal exploded.
Once again, it was Ju Ji-tae and Jo Jaeshin.
The two, boasting a seamless coordination from the side, with Christoph Leupold’s thinning hair made even thinner, collaborated once again to bring down Leipzig.
1860 Munich 2:1 Leipzig
21′ Jo Jaeshin 7′ Brian Baidu
46′ Jo Jaeshin
It was the moment of Jo Jaeshin’s multi-goal and the collapse of Leipzig.
* * *
“Returning even stronger! Munich’s scoring show at the Red Bull Arena!”
“1860 Munich crushes Leipzig!”
“A transformed Jo Jaeshin! Recording his first hat-trick against the first-half’s worst opponent.”
“(photo) Roaring Jo Jaeshin and congratulations from Ju Ji-tae”
Against the opponent Leipzig, who handed them the only defeat in the first half, Munich showed a significantly improved performance.
The result was a 4:1 victory.
Defeating Bayern Munich through the Leipzig match, 1860 Munich, regaining the top spot in the league, began to bubble with expectations for the championship.
“Wow… We didn’t expect to be in first place in the second half…”
“To have Bayern Munich below us. Are we really going to win?”
Until the first half, there was a skeptical atmosphere.
Even if they raced to first place and talked about the possibility of winning with good performance, most people secretly thought, ‘Are we really going to win…?’ But now, the skepticism has turned into a slight hope.
Now, the players harbor thoughts not of ‘Are we really going to win…?’ but rather ‘Maybe we can win…?’
And this change in thinking has also transformed the atmosphere within the team.
In a way, it’s a small change from ‘Are we really’ to ‘Maybe.’
However, this small difference brought about a tremendous change.
No matter how much noise there is about the possibility of winning from the outside, the atmosphere of believing in the possibility of victory, internalizing it, and being optimistic about it among the players themselves is a different matter.
It’s what is commonly known as the passion for victory, enthusiasm, determination, or what can also be expressed as winning mentality… the so-called winning DNA.
“Unstoppable Rush! Munich unleashes a spectacular shooting show against Werder Bremen!”
“Munich 1860, victorious with a perfect performance in Round 24!”
“Only 9 league games left! Munich 1860 widens the points gap to 5 points against 2nd-placed Bayern Munich!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“What is the possibility of Munich 1860 winning?”
“Aspiring for a direct victory after promotion! Munich 1860 aiming for the Meister Schale, an unstoppable storm.”
From Round 23 to Round 28, Munich 1860 recorded consecutive victories, and the formidable momentum shook not only Germany but all of Europe.
No, not just Germany, but the whole of Europe was paying attention to this storm.
“Bayern Munich defeated at Stamford Bridge! Signal for quarterfinals!”
“Shock! Defeated by Chelsea at the Allianz Arena!”
“Bayern Munich eliminated in the quarterfinals, losing both legs against Chelsea.”
“The downfall of the Bundesliga giant? Bayern Munich, eliminated in the Champions League and knocked out in the DFB-Pokal! Bayern Munich even in danger in the league!”
The giant of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, was falling.
