Chapter 108
“Nice!!”
As Son Heung-min’s shot ripped through Wolfsburg’s net, I raised one leg and pointed at the camera with a finger in celebration.
Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath seemed to take my action as provocation, judging by how red his face turned.
Well… It wasn’t particularly important.
‘It’s a shame. If it had been Klopp, he would’ve done a “Nice!!” with me.’
Anyway, Son Heung-min’s goal was worth more than just one goal.
Since it was the opening goal conceded before even a minute had passed in the first half, it must have dealt a huge psychological blow to Wolfsburg’s players.
“What is this? Is it okay to take the kickoff like that?”
“Referee, isn’t that a foul?”
In fact, the Wolfsburg players were visibly flustered.
They were so upset that they even ran over to protest to the referee.
‘If you’re going to protest, you should’ve done it when the ball was sent out over the touchline. Complaining now makes you look a little petty.’
Well. I could understand them to some extent.
They never imagined they would actually concede a goal.
It was only natural that they couldn’t imagine a tactic until they had experienced it firsthand.
“Wow. This really works?”
“I know. I thought we were just handing them possession.”
Even a few of Union Berlin’s players looked visibly flustered.
“This is driving me crazy.”
For the record, the players weren’t the only ones caught off guard by Union Berlin’s new tactics.
Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath was also letting out a hollow laugh.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I last saw him.’
He was the man who had gone to Bayern Munich when I was an exchange student in Stuttgart.
Naturally, I wasn’t as close to him as I was to Thomas Tuchel. We had merely exchanged a few casual greetings and words before the match began.
‘Come to think of it, I really did rise to the Bundesliga managerial ranks quickly.’
The craze for young managers in the lower leagues was gradually dying down.
There were plenty of managers being called the next Park Chan-hyuk, but none of them had achieved results like mine.
Well, if it had been that easy, there would have been plenty of managers in their twenties from the beginning.
“Eisen Union!!”
Amid the fans’ roar, the match resumed with Wolfsburg’s kickoff.
The reason I had unexpectedly brought out Enrique’s tactics today was to keep Wolfsburg thoroughly in check.
After rehearsing them against Oseong during the preseason, I corrected the shortcomings from that match and prepared the players with several days of intensive training for today.
During the intensive training, the players didn’t seem to understand why we were using these tactics against Wolfsburg.
Well. That was only natural.
Wolfsburg were currently in the middle of the league table.
An ordinary manager wouldn’t have felt any particular need to keep them in check.
But I was different because I knew the future.
Wolfsburg would create a storm in the second half of the season and go on to win the league title.
They would go on an incredible eleven-match winning streak in the second half alone.
For Union Berlin to win the league, it was important to steadily build up a points cushion.
Union Berlin’s players launched an aggressive attack against the mentally shaken Wolfsburg side.
“Luka!!”
Roberto Lewandowski dropped slightly deeper and drew a Wolfsburg defender toward him.
Son Heung-min sprinted into the space Lewandowski had created.
Luka Modrić’s through ball headed toward Son Heung-min.
After receiving the ball in the penalty box, Son Heung-min chose to pass rather than shoot.
Son Heung-min’s shot went between the goalkeeper and the defender.
And at the end of Son Heung-min’s cross was—
Union Berlin’s captain.
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Yannick Voigt.
“Yannick!!!! Football God────!!”
***
Wolfsburg tried to score a consolation goal, but Union Berlin’s defenders stood in their way.
‘……This is a promoted team?’
Wolfsburg manager Felix Magath let out another hollow laugh.
Union Berlin were putting on such an overwhelming performance that it was hard to believe they were a promoted team.
‘More than anything, their teamwork is absurd.’
Felix Magath remembered that Union Berlin had made a massive number of signings this season. It was a common mistake made by promoted teams.
They felt they needed good players to avoid relegation, so they spent a fortune on new signings.
And, naturally, making a large number of signings meant destroying the team’s cohesion.
But the teamwork among Union Berlin’s players on the pitch was excellent as well.
Even their center-backs were all Brazilian, so communication among them wasn’t a problem.
There were some communication issues with the goalkeeper, but thanks to the German teacher assigned to them, they could at least manage simple communication.
‘To think a manager like that was once beneath me, even if he was only a youth player.’
Felix Magath deeply regretted failing to discover Park Chan-hyuk.
He believed that if he had taken Park Chan-hyuk with him as a coach, he could have achieved even greater accomplishments than he had now.
‘Well… from that kid’s perspective, things might actually have worked out better this way.’
Felix Magath actively shouted instructions from the touchline to keep his players from giving up on the match.
But it was Union Berlin who found the back of the net again.
Just before the final whistle, Son Heung-min scored the clinching goal.
The match between Wolfsburg and Union Berlin came to an end.
***
[Union Berlin Defeat Wolfsburg 3–0.]
[‘The Beginning of a Legend!’ Son Heung-min Wins His First MOM Award with 2 Goals and 1 Assist!]
[‘Financially Bankrupt’ Union Berlin—How Did They Become a Strong Team? Union Berlin’s Romantic Story.]
[The Delightful Revolt of the Promoted Teams? Hoffenheim and Union Berlin Sitting Near the Top of the League.]
[Bayern Munich Indirectly Criticizes Union Berlin and Hoffenheim. “You Can’t Buy a Championship with Money.”]
[Park Chan-hyuk Takes a Swipe at Bayern Munich… “Is It Romance When I Do It, but Adultery When Someone Else Does It?”]
[Park Chan-hyuk Makes a Pointed Statement Toward Bayern Munich? “Bayern Munich’s Real Problem Isn’t Jürgen Klinsmann. It’s You.”]
[Park Chan-hyuk Explains Why He Was Angry… “Saying We Bought the Championship with Money Is an Insult to the Fans Donating Blood to Save the Club and Sweating to Build the Stadium.”]
***
I nodded with satisfaction as I watched the articles from Bayern Munich fall silent.
The moment I invoked football fans, my argument with Bayern Munich was practically the same as winning.
In the Bundesliga, ‘football fans’ were sacred.
Of course, as the saying went, without fans, football was just a pointless game with a ball.
Other leagues respected their fans as well, of course.
But because of the 50+1 rule and other factors, the Bundesliga seemed to have an even stronger bond with its fans.
‘And if you want to criticize someone, just diss Hoffenheim. We’re only investing this year what we didn’t spend on signings last season.’
Anyway.
My family gathered for a meal as a family for the first time in a while.
The previous season, when I had gone from assistant manager to manager, had been so busy that I could barely find time to breathe.
Last season, I had done everything I could to fill the void left by Thomas Tuchel. This season, I was preparing to win the first-division title, going so far as to lay out bedding in the manager’s office and eat, sleep, and live there.
“Chan-hyuk, your health is the most important thing.”
“I was starting to think I’d forget what my own son looked like.”
My father and mother began worrying about my health as they looked at the son they hadn’t seen in so long.
“Yes. I’ll take better care of my health from now on. And things are somewhat organized now, so I’m going to start sleeping at home.”
I replied politely to my father’s words.
“Yes, Chan-hyuk. It’s not like you don’t have a home, so what are you doing sleeping in the manager’s office?”
At my mother’s following words, all I could do was laugh awkwardly.
Well. I was still so busy that I barely had time to rest.
Still, compared to last season, I had gained a little breathing room.
‘Come to think of it, I should probably start taking better care of my health.’
In my previous life.
I remembered how the combination of overwork and various stresses had put a strain on my heart.
‘I’ve made plenty of money, so it would be a waste to die without even being able to spend it freely. I should cut back on my workload a little.’
For reference, the medical center also had a personal physician for me, its manager.
After hearing that I had regressed because of a heart problem, my younger sister had even brought a cardiologist into the medical center.
Well. Football was a more violent sport than people thought, and cardiac arrests occasionally occurred, so it wasn’t particularly bad for the club.
And although it hadn’t been intentional, the players felt that the club cared about their health, which even increased their loyalty.
***
After defeating Wolfsburg, Union Berlin continued going unbeaten against the Bundesliga’s prestigious teams.
[Union Berlin Draw Away to Werder Bremen.]
[Park Chan-hyuk Lavishes Praise on Mesut Özil. “Özil Is a Good Player.”]
[Interest in Mesut Özil Rises After a Single Comment from Park Chan-hyuk.]
[Union Berlin Unleash Their Fury at Energie Cottbus over Their Previous Draw. A 5–0 Rout!]
And Union Berlin’s next opponent was—
[‘Second Place in the League’ Hoffenheim Determined to Win and Seize the League Lead.]
Hoffenheim, who were creating a storm in the Bundesliga alongside Union Berlin.