Chapter 103
“Phew….”
Jürgen Klopp sighed after repeatedly watching Union Berlin's matches.
Union Berlin's momentum had been extraordinary at the start of the season.
In fact, Jürgen Klopp had been worried during the summer transfer window when Park Chan-hyuk signed players lacking big-league experience left and right.
It had been obvious that the team lacked players who could anchor it.
It might seem trivial, but big-league experience could make an undeniable difference in actual matches.
But by signing Cafu, Park had even managed to make up for his players' lack of experience.
He was now proving it by leading the league.
[Even Disney would surely toss Union Berlin's story aside as too exaggerated.]
Recently, the media had often used the word ‘fairy tale’ to describe Union Berlin.
‘That shouldn't be belittled simply by calling it a fairy tale.’
But to Jürgen Klopp, it wasn't simply a fairy tale.
Calling it merely a fairy tale felt insulting to all the effort Union Berlin had poured into it.
In his view, Union Berlin's success this season was practically inevitable.
Park had spent the highest transfer fee in Union Berlin's history this season to bring in players.
If Union Berlin had failed this season and been relegated, it might have gone bankrupt again because of its financial problems.
But the club had placed virtually its entire fortune on the line, trusting Park Chan-hyuk completely.
And the result was Union Berlin's current position in the league.
‘Park Chan-hyuk is impressive, but so are Union Berlin's staff.’
It was the result of the manager and staff becoming one.
Meanwhile.
‘……The problem is us.’
Unlike Union Berlin, which had bolstered its squad overnight through the summer transfer window, Dortmund was still rebuilding.
Unexpected expenses had arisen because of the chaos Union Berlin had caused during the pre-season transfer negotiations.
As a result, the rebuilding process had suffered setbacks.
‘……Now that I think about it, this is all because of that guy Chan-hyuk, isn't it?’
Jürgen Klopp let out a hollow laugh.
Even Dortmund's tangled rebuilding process was because of Park Chan-hyuk.
It was the kind of thing that might have rubbed him the wrong way.
But Jürgen Klopp wasn't offended by Park's actions.
If anything, it meant that Park Chan-hyuk saw him as a rival.
Besides, he understood why Park had tried to sign Subotić. Even Jürgen Klopp thought Subotić was a good defender.
Jürgen Klopp's feelings toward Park Chan-hyuk were complicated.
To him, Park was both a close friend and an opponent he wanted to beat no matter what.
‘……So this is what a rivalry is.’
Well.
His record against Park Chan-hyuk had been poor so far, but Jürgen Klopp didn't care much.
After all, in football, the one who doesn't give up until the end is the one who wins.
He believed that his day of victory would come someday.
‘Two years… That should be doable.’
Jürgen Klopp envisioned when Dortmund's rebuilding would be complete.
And he was surprisingly accurate.
Two years later in the original history, Dortmund declared its revival by clinching the league title.
***
In the run-up to the match against Dortmund, I was lost in thought.
‘Jürgen Klopp.’
He was a genius at rebuilding who had even rebuilt himself.
He was a man who had realized that the ultimate rebuilding involved rebuilding even himself.
[Park Chan-hyuk is interested in signing Neven Subotić….]
To interfere with Dortmund's rebuilding, I had mucked things up a bit by trying to sign Subotić.
But that alone couldn't stop a rebuilding genius like Jürgen Klopp.
Jürgen Klopp's Dortmund was currently rebuilding successfully.
Well. Dortmund's current results weren't as good as expected.
Rebuilding teams generally didn't achieve good results in the same season.
After all, players needed time to build chemistry.
Union Berlin, which had been running wild from the start of the season, was the strange one.
‘It was all thanks to me knowing the players' playing styles and devising tactics to suit them.’
For reference, I had put my knowledge from the future to good use.
I knew the players' strengths, weaknesses, and playing styles, and had devised tactics based on them.
And in the process, the players discovered additional talents even they hadn't known they possessed.
This had helped increase their support for me.
To give you an idea of how much support the players had for me now, I felt they'd trust me and follow my instructions for about three days even if I demoted them to the reserves and made them do nothing but overhead kicks.
‘……Should I give it a try?’
And for a split second.
I became curious whether the players would really obey without complaining.
But I decided to restrain my curiosity.
There was no need to sour my relationship with the players.
Anyway.
While checking the players' condition and tactics in preparation for the match against Dortmund.
Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, our away match against Dortmund had arrived.
***
Bundesliga Round 8.
Dortmund and Union Berlin were scheduled to face off at Signal Iduna Park.
“This is Union Berlin's squad. As always, they're deploying their best eleven in a 3-5-2 formation.”
Korean football fans gathered in front of their TVs to watch the Bundesliga match.
“Recently, thanks to Manager Park Chan-hyuk's tactics, a back-three craze has even broken out in the K League, you know? It seems Manager Park Chan-hyuk's influence is tremendous.”
“That's right. And not only in the K League—back-three tactics have also been appearing from time to time in Germany's lower leagues and even in the Bundesliga.”
Some people had also recently begun watching the match through an app.
└ The father of the back three ㄷㄷ
└ Dante–Thiago Silva–Cafu are just fucking broken ㄷㄷ
└ Ah, two Japanese players are starting again today. Another Korea-Japan match loss, gg.
└ Yeah, Son Hong-min >> Shinji Kagawa, gg.
They actively posted in the chat and began interacting with others.
And shortly afterward.
When a card display unfolded in the Südtribüne (South Stand).
Korean football fans could only stare blankly at the sight.
└ Wow… Are all of those people?
└ The atmosphere is insane.
└ Is Dortmund a powerhouse?
└ Nope. I remember them as a fallen giant.
***
It was Germany's largest football stadium and, like Union Berlin, Dortmund was a club being revived by the passionate support of its fans.
Even before kickoff, Dortmund's fans displayed overwhelming fervor.
Since this was a match between the first-place team and the seventh-place team, most people expected Union Berlin to win, but Dortmund's fans believed their team would prevail.
Because this was the Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park), the graveyard of visiting teams.
“You'll never walk alone! (You will never walk alone!)”
As the players entered the field, the fans' cheers echoed through the stadium.
Union Berlin manager Park Chan-hyuk and Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp chatted with smiles.
“Jürgen, let's take it easy today.”
“You should do the same.”
Dortmund's fans didn't shower the two with boos or anything.
Because German football fans also knew that the two were close friends.
And they believed that once the match began, the two would do their utmost for victory as if none of that had happened.
And shortly afterward.
Once the match actually began, the two started raising their voices from the touchline more fiercely than anyone else in pursuit of victory.
***
The match between Union Berlin and Dortmund unfolded fiercely.
Dortmund had the upper hand early in the match.
That momentum was entirely created by the fervor of Dortmund's fans.
The support of the fans Dortmund was so proud of was incredible in the stadium at that moment.
The Japanese players felt pressured by Dortmund's atmosphere and made mistakes.
As the mistakes piled up, they began shrinking back without realizing it.
I raised my voice from the touchline, telling them it was okay, but my words didn't carry well over the roar of Dortmund's fans.
And shortly afterward, Dortmund succeeded in scoring the opening goal.
A passing mistake occurred as Union Berlin's players tried to evade Dortmund's pressure.
Jakub Błaszczykowski quickly pounced on the ball, and his shot rippled the net of Union Berlin's goal.
It had happened in such a fleeting instant that Union Berlin's players couldn't react to Dortmund's counterattack.
Just as Union Berlin's players were letting out hollow laughs at the unexpected mishap.
“Jaaaaaaa!”
Jürgen Klopp ran toward me as soon as he scored the opening goal.
“Jaaaa─aaagh!”
And shortly afterward.
Jürgen Klopp, who had been hopping around and roaring in excitement over the opening goal, collapsed clutching his hamstring.
“Scheiße (Fuck.) Chan-hyuk, I'm really sorry, but could you help me up?”
At that moment, I think what I felt was that I didn't want to lose.
‘Wow…… He tore his hamstring celebrating? Then I'll tear my cruciate ligament…. Ah, come to think of it, I already did.’