Chapter 105
The moment Dortmund fell behind Union Berlin.
Jürgen Klopp, who had been sitting quietly on the bench, clutched his head.
“Come here!”
He relayed tactical instructions to the coach, who immediately ran to the touchline and conveyed Klopp’s orders to the players.
Because of his hamstring injury, he couldn’t shout at the players from the touchline.
But there was bound to be a difference between the manager himself giving instructions and the coach issuing them.
Unlike the manager, who could give instructions immediately, the coach’s orders were subject to a delay.
Eventually, Jürgen Klopp rose from his seat with the players supporting him.
Then he limped over to the touchline.
“Chan-hyuk’s legs are worth a million dollars.”
What greeted Klopp was Park Chan-hyuk, who pointed at his hamstring and jumped in place.
Their duel wasn’t over yet.
***
[The first half has ended with the referee’s whistle!]
The first half between Union Berlin and Dortmund ended with the score at 2–1. Dortmund had a decisive chance just before halftime, but failed to turn it into a goal.
[Union Berlin were in danger just before halftime, but Thiago Silva manages to stop them by the skin of his teeth.]
Thiago Silva blocked Sebastian Kehl’s shot with a clean tackle.
[Dortmund and Union Berlin, Union Berlin and Dortmund, have been locked in an incredibly fierce battle. Dortmund scored the opening goal, but only for a moment—the match ends with Union Berlin holding a 2–1 lead.]
Dortmund had taken the lead with the opening goal, but began to falter after Roberto Lewandowski equalized, then fell behind after conceding another goal to Yannick Voigt.
[Yes. That’s right. This match has given us a glimpse of the strength possessed by the Bundesliga leaders.]
And as the first half ended, the comment section of Naver’s football articles began to catch fire.
[(First Half Ends) Union Berlin Takes a 2–1 Lead Away at Dortmund.]
└ Yessssssss, now that’s the Iron Union.
└ Park Chan-hyuk <- this bastard is the Iron Alchemist who turns iron into gold ㄷㄷ
└ What does the comment above mean?
└ It’s a nickname he got for turning factory worker Yannick Voigt into a Bundesliga player—a lump of gold.
└ I searched for Fullmetal Alchemist and a Japanese anime came up. What is this? It reeks of otaku.
└ Are you saying the once-in-a-universe masterpiece Fullmetal Alchemist is—
└ I knew Union Berlin were strong, but Dortmund are pretty strong too, huh?
└ Dortmund is a historic club, even if they’ve fallen on hard times now.
└ Wow. What is this? Bundesliga matches are more entertaining than I expected.
└ Yeah. Union Berlin, Bayern Munich, Dortmund, Schalke, Leverkusen, and so on. There are more strong teams than I expected.
└ Um... there’s a weird team mixed in there.
└ Schalke?
└ No, Union Berlin. Does it really belong in that list?
└ Are you looking down on the current Bundesliga leaders?
└ It’s still early in the season. What are you going to do if they fail to win the title?
└ The guys saying Union Berlin are in first place now will probably be cursing Park Chan-hyuk as a fraud by then.
└ This bastard knows the level of Naver football fans way too well lol
***
The first half ended, and halftime followed.
“Stay focused until the referee blows the final whistle! Don’t let your guard down!”
Park Chan-hyuk demanded that the players stay focused until the final whistle.
“I’m saying don’t get complacent just because they’re a mid-table team! Dortmund is a stronger opponent than Munich at this point!”
Separate from his friendship with Jürgen Klopp, his first and foremost feeling was that he didn’t want to lose.
‘I can’t give up either the celebration or the victory!’
Park Chan-hyuk was currently winning the match, but he had clearly lost the celebration battle.
He hadn’t managed to surpass the impact of Jürgen Klopp, who had wrecked his hamstring while celebrating.
‘Tsk... I don’t want to get hurt, but should I run backward or something?’
The second half began with Park Chan-hyuk determined to draw more attention to himself.
The match between Union Berlin and Dortmund unfolded far more fiercely than the first half.
└ Is this match level for real?
└ Wow. Is this the Champions League final or what?
└ Everyone’s really running like their lives depend on it.
Dortmund’s players charged in madly, unable to accept a lifeless home defeat.
Union Berlin began throwing their entire bodies in front of Dortmund’s attacks to protect their three points.
As Union Berlin continued to hold out without conceding amid Dortmund’s relentless attacks, the flow of the match gradually shifted toward Union Berlin.
As fatigue and anxiety took their toll, Dortmund began making more mistakes, and their defense started to waver.
In the end, Jürgen Klopp was the first to make a change.
He brought on a substitute and altered the formation.
Klopp’s substitution stabilized Dortmund’s wavering defense, and once the defense regained its composure, Dortmund’s attackers began to press forward again.
But unfortunately, the one who made the difference on the field was the Brazilian legend Cafu.
***
Having received a pass from Luka Modrić, Cafu, in a split second,
realized that no one was marking him.
‘Huh. What, are they ignoring me as some old geezer?’
Since it was the second half, they had assumed that an older Cafu wouldn’t try to dribble.
Jürgen Klopp had thought the same thing.
Cafu began dribbling to teach a lesson to the youngsters who had ignored him.
His explosiveness from his younger days was gone, but experience had taken its place.
Following Park Chan-hyuk’s tactics, Yuto Nagatomo moved up and filled the space Cafu had vacated.
With the burden of defending temporarily off his mind, Cafu began focusing on his dribbling.
Once he crossed the halfway line, Dortmund’s players began to press him.
But Cafu beat them and surged forward along the touchline.
Then, near the corner of the penalty box, Cafu swung his right foot.
Cafu’s cross traced a beautiful arc and landed perfectly on the forehead of Lewandowski, who was penetrating the penalty box.
Lewandowski’s header, which precisely changed the ball’s trajectory,
Ripple─!
“Yeaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!”
tore into the back of Dortmund’s net.
“Cafu!! Fußballgott!!!”
“Levy!! Fußballgott!!!”
The names of Cafu and Lewandowski rang out from the away section.
Cafu quietly answered by kissing the Union Berlin crest on his jersey.
***
[Union Berlin Wins 3–1 Away at Dortmund.]
[Roberto Lewandowski puts on a stellar display with two goals and an assist.]
[Polish President: Roberto Lewandowski Will Become a Player Poland Can Be Proud Of.]
[‘Hamstring Injury’ Jürgen Klopp Offers an Apology. “At that moment, I couldn’t contain my joy. I apologize to the fans disappointed by the defeat, and to Chan-hyuk, the victim of my provocation.”]
[‘Big-Hearted’ Park Chan-hyuk: “I’ve blown out my cruciate ligament too, so I know how it feels. I can understand completely.”]
└ Fuck lol, is that something to brag about?
└ This interview is fucking hilarious lol
└ Did he really say that in an actual interview?
└ Yes.
└ What a genuinely crazy bastard lolololol
[‘Cafu’s Fountain of Youth.’ Assists the clinching goal with a cross after a 60-meter dribble in the 80th minute.]
[Fans of former club AC Milan pay tribute to the performance of their legend Cafu.]
***
The match between Union Berlin and Dortmund came to an end.
[M.O.M Roberto Lewandowski puts on a stellar display with two goals and an assist. “I was able to become who I am now because of Boss’s guidance.”]
Naturally, the player who put on the most outstanding performance in the match between the two teams was Roberto Lewandowski.
Cafu’s rejuvenated dribble in the 41st minute of the second half had certainly attracted plenty of attention.
But it couldn’t surpass Lewandowski’s performance, which had produced two goals and an assist.
But more impressive than Lewandowski’s performance was the speed of his growth.
Under Park Chan-hyuk’s tutelage, Roberto Lewandowski had transformed into a complete forward who excelled at everything from making runs and passing to off-the-ball movement, finishing, and heading.
[Union Berlin the Most Popular Club Among Germany’s Teenage Prospects? ‘I Want to Learn Football Under Manager Park Chan-hyuk....’]
It was only natural for prospects to want to go where there was a manager who could help them grow.
Even if they were earning low wages now, improving their skills would allow them to earn much more in the future.
With that in mind, agents representing quite a few promising prospects began knocking on Union Berlin’s door.
Their intention was to temporarily sign their players to the club and inflate their value by promoting them as players chosen by Park Chan-hyuk.
But naturally, Park Chan-hyuk didn’t accept just anyone.
This was entirely a choice made to maintain the club’s brand image.
Accepting anyone and everyone would be like selling a luxury brand’s image for pocket change.
“You’re whose agent?”
“Um... You probably don’t know him, but it’s Casemiro, who plays for São Paulo’s youth team.”
But sometimes, there were temptations too irresistible to reject.
'Then if I just bring in Kroos, can I recreate the legendary Kroos-Casemiro-Modrić trio?'