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‘Not good.’

Mourinho, with a serious expression, stared at the field from the touchline.

[We’re catching a glimpse of the tormented Mourinho.]

Despite the cool expression shown on screen, Mourinho’s inner thoughts were burning inside.

As soon as the second half began, Dortmund showcased their identity of gegenpressing and applied intense pressure.

[Son Jinho blocks the pass going to Mesut Özil, and Dortmund is launching a counterattack.]

[Wow… When did Son Jinho come all the way down here? He’s showing such lively activity.]

Among the active Dortmund players, the most impressive was Son Jinho.

Playing as an attacking midfielder, Son Jinho was running desperately to gain control of the match.

“Push out!”

Mourinho encouraged the players from the touchline, but the flow of the game gradually started favoring Dortmund.

A frustrating flow of the match.

“Mesut!!”

But what troubled Mourinho’s mind more than the frustrating flow of the game was the Real Madrid player, Mesut Özil.

“Defend, will you?!”

Perhaps because of the influence from his time with Coach Thomas Schaaf at Werder Bremen, known for the tactic ‘Elang Vital – Shut Up! Charge Forward’?

Mesut Özil pursued an extremely attack-oriented style of football and despite having decent stamina, he only showed proactive behavior in offensive plays.

“Mesut, I told you before! You’re not Zidane!”

Eventually, unable to hold it in any longer, Mourinho exploded in anger from the touchline.

“Please, go tell Özil to do some defending.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Mourinho took the opportunity provided by Pepe’s foul to ask Son Jinho, who had come over to drink water, to relay his message to Mesut Özil about playing defense.

“Seriously, I’m begging you. I might go crazy from frustration.”

After hearing Mourinho’s earnest request, Son Jinho replied that he understood and immediately went to relay the message to Mesut Özil.

Upon hearing Son Jinho’s words, Özil’s movements changed, leading to a pleased expression on Mourinho’s face.

However, his happiness didn’t last long. Soon after, Özil exhibited the same movements as before.

‘…Did I fail to convey the message properly?’

Such thoughts naturally arose in Mourinho’s mind. After all, Son Jinho, the opposing team, had no reason to benefit Real Madrid.

‘No, I definitely delivered the message.’

Mourinho shook his head.

He saw Son Jinho approaching Özil to talk as soon as he was asked, and he also saw Özil sprinting around, seemingly to defend for a moment.

While Mourinho was lost in thought, Özil’s eyes met with Mourinho’s, and only then did Özil seem to remember to move for defense.

‘…He just played like he usually does.’

Mourinho burst into a chuckle, watching Mesut Özil awkwardly defend like a child forced into clothes that don’t fit.

‘If he just fixed those shortcomings a bit, he could be a truly top player.’

And he lamented how Özil’s talent was overshadowed by his tendencies.

***

While Mourinho felt regret over Özil’s playing style, the match continued.

28 minutes into the second half.

An unexpected twist occurred in the flow of the game as Dortmund pressed hard.

“Mesut!”

Sami Khedira blocked Gündoğan’s dribble and immediately sought out Mesut Özil, delivering a pass.

In a chaotic counterattack situation, Özil was the one who moved best.

[Khedira to Özil!]

And Sami Khedira’s choice was indeed correct.

As if he had saved his energy just for this moment, Mesut Özil displayed a fantastic performance.

[The pass seems a bit high!]

Magic happened at the tips of Mesut Özil’s feet.

[Mesut Özil showcases his tofu trapping skills!]

Though Khedira’s pass came slightly high, Özil brought the ball down with a soft first touch.

Following this, Özil scanned the field, locating Ronaldo’s position, and timed his pass perfectly.

Özil’s pass accurately headed into the space where Ronaldo was infiltrating.

[Mesut Özil’s fantastic through pass connects with Ronaldo! That truly is a ground-shattering pass!]

[Not only was the vision excellent, but the timing and intensity of the pass were spot on! A phenomenal technician!]

Matthias Ginter stretched out his leg, trying to intercept Özil’s pass, but it sailed past him as if it had predicted all this, giving Ronaldo a solitary chance in a flash.

[Ronaldo! He’s charging forward! Ronaldo! Ronaldo!]

Seemingly pleased with Özil’s pass, Cristiano Ronaldo wore a smile on his face.

Ronaldo, who quickly entered the penalty box, checked the positioning of Roman Weidenfeller and calmly pulled the trigger with his right foot, successfully shaking the net.

[Goaaaaaal!!! It went in! Ronaldo! Cristiano Ronaldo’s multi-goal! Real Madrid begins to take the lead again!!]

Immediately after scoring, Ronaldo sprinted towards the corner flag.

‘Hooowww─!’

His mind flashed back to Son Jinho, who scored the equalizer with a free kick, along with the celebrating Dortmund away fans.

Ronaldo thought that if he performed that celebration, it would be much grander and cooler, and began to spin his right hand.

However, the Madridista fans, unfamiliar with the ‘hoo’ celebration, couldn’t figure out what Ronaldo wanted, leaving him to shout ‘hoo’ alone while spinning his right hand.

“…Siuuuuu─!”

It was a lonely moment.

***

As Cristiano Ronaldo scored his multiple goals, a substitution for Mesut Özil took place.

It seemed Mourinho’s patience had reached its limit.

Well, seeing them talk and smile, their relationship didn’t seem bad.

After all, if their relationship was truly broken, Mourinho wouldn’t have deployed him as a starter.

Hmm. So is it a love-hate relationship?

Anyway, as Özil was called off the pitch, Luka Modrić, the Maestro of the Balkans, was brought into the game.

The attacking power of Real Madrid seemed diminished compared to when Özil was on the pitch, but the overall energy level, including defense, had increased.

“Don’t be scared! Push forward!”

Dortmund strongly pressed Real Madrid to score the equalizer.

In fact, even if the match ended like this, it wouldn’t be too bad for Dortmund.

The second leg was scheduled to take place at Signal Iduna Park.

Regardless, Real Madrid was in a defensive line while Dortmund bore down fiercely.

Mourinho’s two lines of bus defense held back Dortmund’s onslaught.

Due to the closely-knit defensive line of Real Madrid, spaces were hard to find. Dortmund, attempting to attack recklessly, nearly allowed Ronaldo a hat trick with a quick counter at one point, but the match entered a lull.

Then at the 45th minute of the second half, with little time left in the game.

Receiving the ball on the right flank, I attempted a cross-field pass towards Marco Reus on the left.

Anxious to grab the ball, Marco Reus executed a stable trap.

As Michael Essien, playing as the right-back, rushed in to mark Reus, he slipped on the grass.

At that moment, the seemingly furious dash of Marco Reus, who struggled due to being caught by the ‘Bogeyman’ Pepe, began.

Like his nickname ‘Rolls-Royce’, Marco Reus quickly entered the penalty box.

In a tight space, Marco Reus eluded Pepe and took his shot.

Bang─!

Marco Reus’s shot hit the post and bounced back.

“Scheiße!(Damn!)”

Marco Reus raised his jersey over his face in disappointment.

“Oh! My assist!”

I cradled my head in dismay, realizing I had missed that precious assist.

As I lamented my loss of additional attacking points, Robert Lewandowski successfully slotted in the rebounding ball, and the first leg of the Champions League semi-final match between Real Madrid and Dortmund ended in a draw.

***

[Dortmund records a 2-2 draw away at Santiago Bernabéu.]

[Real Madrid’s German jinx. Can Real Madrid really achieve a victory in Germany?]

[The man of the Champions League, Ronaldo, gathers a multi-goal performance.]

[Son Jinho moves further away from the Champions League scoring title.]

[Today’s highlights: Mourinho talking seriously while holding Son Jinho.]

└ ???: Want to join our team?

└ Haha, is our bro heading to Real?

[Son Jinho reveals his conversation with Mourinho during an interview, saying, “I’ve never seen a coach like him. Mourinho seems crazy.”]

└ Whether it’s the one who passed the message or the one who received it, ahahaha.

└ For real, can’t believe it, double eye-doubting.

└ Wait a second, were Mourinho’s serious talks with Özil actually just telling him to pitch in on defense?

└ Yep, right?

└ Crazy, ahahaha!

└ Thought he was trying to recruit him for Real.

└ Weren’t we almost confirmed that he would go to Man U after this season?

└ Ah, until it’s officially announced, anything can happen.

[Mourinho laughs in response to Son Jinho’s crazy remarks, saying, ‘I am the Special One. Ordinary people cannot understand me.’]

└ Oh. I guess I’m just an ordinary person.

└ A world where only Mourinho can understand him.

[Jurgen Klopp playfully expresses jealousy. “Jinho, don’t look too friendly with the opposing coach.”]

└ You should come to Man U too.

└ What about Ferguson?

└ The old man is getting on in years, you know.

└ Honestly, getting the old man to work more is a bit of elder abuse, don’t you think?

[Dortmund enraged over Mario Götze transfer rumors.]

└ The transfer rumors have been a hot topic lately, RE: Mario Götze. Is our bro alright?

└ In the past, some people criticized him for leaving for a big club after he was nurtured, but now, with the Götze transfer speculation, that aggro has all been directed towards Götze, ahahaha.

└ I think Götze really deserves to be criticized…

└ Damn, compared to that guy, our bro is an angel, isn’t he?

└ For real, he didn’t even have to sign a pro contract, but he did, allowing Dortmund to make some money.

└ Plus, he even gave an interview saying he would dedicate himself to Dortmund until the end of this season, whoa!

[Uli Hoeneß, turned public enemy with tax evasion claims and Götze transfer rumors: “Please don’t take away my position as president of Bayern Munich.”]

 

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