Chapter 101
***
Before kickoff.
The controversy over my Berlin Wall remark looked like it might blow up, but the moment I brought out my trump card, it died down.
Germany had at least been reunified, while Korea was still a divided country.
‘Honestly, we're the ones with more reason to feel wronged than you guys.’
Germany had even started two wars, while we had been divided for no reason.
Though I hadn't intended it, I'd ended up teaching German football fans about Korea's history.
‘At this point, couldn't they just give me the money it would take to make Super Kimchi Man?’
In any case.
The Olympiastadion Berlin, where Union Berlin and Hertha BSC were set to face off.
“Boooooooooooo─!”
The Hertha Berlin fans' boos rang out across the stadium.
“Eisen─!! Union!!”
In response, the Union Berlin fans' cheers immediately swept over the stadium.
‘Is this an away match or a home match?’
The funny thing was that Union Berlin fans had filled nearly half of the Olympiastadion Berlin.
Well. They probably weren't all Union Berlin fans. There must have been some neutral fans living in Berlin, too.
“Dem Morgengrauen entgegen, ziehn wir gegen den Wind.
(We will march toward dawn against the wind.)”
Well. Even so, the presence of nearly twenty thousand Union Berlin fans was incredibly reassuring.
“Wir werden alles zerlegen, bis wir Deutscher Meister sind! (We will smash everything to pieces until we become German champions!)”
The Union Berlin fans' chant rang out majestically through the away stadium.
Just like the lyrics of the chant, Union Berlin were currently smashing everything to pieces in order to become German champions.
And that would include Hertha Berlin, who were facing us today.
Anyway.
The match between Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin began with Hertha Berlin's kickoff and the referee's whistle.
***
[Good day, viewers across the country who love overseas football. I'm caster Oh Hyun-woo, bringing you coverage of Union Berlin versus Hertha Berlin. First, Union Berlin's lineup! It's a 3-5-2 formation again.]
[Yes, that's right. Haven't Union Berlin been getting great results with a back three lately? Perhaps thanks to the performances of Union Berlin and manager Park Chan-hyuk, the back-three system has started drawing attention again.]
[That's right. Manuel Schmidt is in goal. Dante, Thiago Silva, and Cafu make up the back three, while Korea's rising pride, Son Hong-min, starts as the left-sided midfielder and Japan's Yuto Nagatomo starts on the right.]
[Yes. Although both players appear to be side midfielders positionally, there is a decisive difference in their play. Son Hong-min is more of an attacking midfielder, almost a winger, who actively looks to score. Yuto Nagatomo, on the other hand, feels more like a wingback who fills the space left when Cafu overlaps.]
[…And next are the central midfielders. Thomas Maier, Shinji Kagawa, and Luka Modrić have been named.]
[Actually, when Markus Matchke recently suffered an ankle injury, there was a lot of concern about the gap he would leave. Shinji Kagawa has filled that gap perfectly. Ah. Of course, this was only possible because manager Park Chan-hyuk made detailed tactical changes while maintaining the team's overall framework.]
[I see. And up front, Roberto Lewandowski and Yannick Voigt are starting as the front two.]
[Aren't Roberto Lewandowski and Yannick Voigt both known to have been discovered by manager Park Chan-hyuk? There's no doubt that both are indispensable players for Union Berlin. Even so, it seems inevitable that team captain Yannick Voigt receives more love from the fans. If you ask Union Berlin fans what they're proud of, one answer is manager Park Chan-hyuk, another is the pride of having protected the club through blood and sweat, and the third is Yannick Voigt. That's how much support and love he receives from the fans.]
[…You really are quite the talker, aren't you?]
[Haha, it's because I'm a Union Berlin fan.]
└ Fucking motormouth;;
└ Why? I'm enjoying the behind-the-scenes stories about Union Berlin.
***
[Hertha Berlin are coming out attacking from the opening whistle.]
Early in the match.
Amazingly, it was Hertha Berlin who seized control of the match.
But Hertha Berlin couldn't break through the wall Union Berlin was so proud of.
[Yes. But Union Berlin's players are calmly keeping the attack at bay. If this continues, the flow of the match will naturally shift toward Union Berlin.]
[…I'm sorry, Mr. Analyst, but please refrain from being so blatantly biased.]
[Ah, sorry.]
[Yes…. Since our special commentator isn't a professional analyst, we ask our viewers for their understanding.]
[Ah! Just as I was saying, Dante's been beaten! Union Berlin are in danger!]
And even if Hertha Berlin got past the defenders and entered the penalty area.
[He shoots…! Whooooooooo─! Saved! A super save! A fantastic save by Manuel Schmidt!]
The man guarding Union Berlin's goal was Manuel Schmidt, the goalkeeper Park Chan-hyuk had discovered.
With animal-like reflexes, Manuel Schmidt blocked Hertha Berlin's shot.
Even after making a fantastic save, he didn't bask in it or act cocky. He immediately got back to his feet and instinctively looked for the ball.
Hertha Berlin's attack wasn't over yet.
[Cafu has the ball!]
Fortunately, though, the first to reach the ball was the Brazilian legend Cafu.
[Yes, recently, an anecdote involving manager Park Chan-hyuk about Cafu's return has been revealed….]
[Cafu shakes off Hertha Berlin's press and plays it to Thiago Silva!]
[Thiago Silva—this guy cost them a club-record fee to sign…..]
After escaping Hertha Berlin's press, Cafu played the ball to Thiago Silva.
[Thiago Silva sends it forward to Lewandowski!]
[Robert Lewandowski was playing for Poland's Znicz Pruszków, but manager Park Chan-hyuk spotted his potential in his first year as manager and brought him in….]
After receiving the ball, Thiago Silva immediately tried a long pass upfield,
while Robert Lewandowski continued battling Hertha Berlin's defenders and knocked the ball down with a header.
[Lewandowski wins the duel! Lewandowski heads it down for Son Hong-min!]
[Korea's pride and Korea's next-generation ace, Son Hong-min….]
Son Hong-min quickly pounced on the ball Lewandowski had knocked down.
“Shoot─!”
With Yannick Voigt's dummy run creating room for a shot, Son Hong-min immediately let fly.
[G-gooooooooooooooooooal─! It's in! It's in! Son Hong-min! Son Hong-min! Son Hong-min!!!]
[A fantastic goal from Son Hong-min! Son Hong-min is in a corner of our hearts right now!!]
Son Hong-min's shot ripped straight into the back of the net, and this time, the special commentator and the caster were perfectly matched in their excitement.
***
[Title: Union Berlin score the opener LFGGGG .gif]
(Son Hong-min, fantastic curling shot.gif)
└ LFGGGGGGGGGGGG
└ He can't do a thing when they shoot from the Hong-min Zone!
└ Wow, seriously, he struck that shot insanely well.
└ Looks like Yannick Voigt did a great job pinballing the defenders' aggro.
└ Damn lol, look at them moving so systematically, like the cogs of a machine, over a single play.
└ This is why they're top of the league….
└ This is why Bayern Munich got hammered 4-0….
└ This is why Oseong got absolutely obliterated 10-0….
└ I'm telling you, it was 10-1!
└ Come on, let's win the league title like this!
└ Then we'll see them in the Champions League next season, holy crap.
└ But seeing them in the Champions League seems almost guaranteed.
***
Union Berlin kept up the momentum that had swung their way after Son Hong-min's opener and continued to hound Hertha Berlin.
Union Berlin's players battered Hertha Berlin without giving them a moment to breathe,
until the possession split had widened to 76–24.
It was hard to believe this was a derby.
The match continued to be completely one-sided in Union Berlin's favor,
And just before the first half ended.
Luka Modrić's surprise long-range shot struck the crossbar and bounced away.
“Aaaah─!”
Just as Union Berlin's ‘away’ fans were about to cry out in disappointment,
Shinji Kagawa came sprinting into the penalty area.
“─!!”
Shinji Kagawa calmly added his first goal.
Kagawa felt a thrill as the roar of Union Berlin's fans echoed through the Olympiastadion Berlin,
and immediately ran toward the corner flag to celebrate.
And just as Shinji Kagawa was about to celebrate at the corner flag.
‘……Boss?’
A familiar face stood by the corner flag.
Park Chan-hyuk had reached the corner flag faster than anyone else,
“My spot.”
Park Chan-hyuk said with a bright smile to the flustered Japanese midfielder.
Then, right in front of the bewildered Shinji Kagawa, he celebrated toward the spectators.
“Hoooooo─!”