Chapter 25
***
Oberliga.
As of the 2005/2006 season, Union Berlin was in the fourth division.
One feature of this league was that the season was divided by state and region.
Come to think of it, that was only natural. Long-distance away trips would be a burden for a fourth-division club.
This wasn't a quirk unique to Germany; the lower leagues in England were similar.
The areas where matches were played gradually became more unified and expanded to cover all of Germany.
Anyway.
In 2008, when the 3. Liga—the lowest nationwide league and the bottom professional division—was founded, the Oberliga would be pushed down to the fifth tier, but in 2006 it was still the fourth division.
In the case of the NOFV-Oberliga that Union Berlin belonged to, it covered Berlin and the former East German region, and the season was divided into a northern and southern group.
And only the champion of each group was eligible for promotion to the 3. Liga.
[Head Coach Park Chan-hyuk explains the provocation toward MSV Neuruppin…. “Anyway, someone I won't have to see next season.”]
That was why I had said I'd have no business seeing them next season.
Whether it was Union Berlin or Neuruppin, if one of the two won the title and moved up to the higher league, the Regionalliga, then the two teams would never meet again.
'Oh, right. I'm the older brother. The older brother is never wrong.'
Anyway, in the north group of the NOFV-Oberliga that Union Berlin belonged to, 16 teams played 30 matches.
[NOFV-Oberliga Round 23, Union Berlin vs. SV Babelsberg.]
Before I knew it, the end of the season was just around the corner.
[Will Union Berlin clinch the title early?]
If MSV Neuruppin had been in normal condition, they might have kept the race for the league title and promotion going until the season ended.
[MSV Neuruppin on a losing streak after the match against Union Berlin.]
[After the loss to BFC Dynamo, MSV Neuruppin's promotion hopes are effectively over.]
Unfortunately, right after their match against Union Berlin, MSV Neuruppin fell into a losing streak and effectively failed to earn promotion.
'Was that backward sliding celebration really that shocking?'
Back then, I thought the stadium ban I received was too harsh, but looking only at the result, maybe it was an appropriate punishment after all.
Even for a seasoned coach like Neuruppin's manager, it was hard to restore a team whose momentum had been broken.
Perhaps the most important quality for surviving in the pros was to remember wins for a long time and forget losses quickly.
Fixating on old matches usually leads to a slump.
Anyway.
The day before the match.
Thomas Tuchel gave an interview.
“Coach Tuchel, by any chance, where do you see yourself going next?”
“A team in the second division has shown interest—would you be willing to take the job?”
Even though it was only the fourth division, a fair number of reporters visited the club to interview the rookie manager, who was effectively in his first managerial job and had led the team undefeated.
[Thomas Tuchel on his next destination…. “Right now, I need to focus on the next match.”]
The one and only thing I felt after watching Thomas Tuchel's boring interview was this.
'Ah. That's not how you do interviews.'
It was lunchtime, and I found myself wanting to give Thomas Tuchel some unsolicited advice.
***
Match day for Union Berlin vs. SV Babelsberg.
Union Berlin's home stadium, Stadion An der Alten Försterei, was packed with fans who wanted the title clinched.
The fans' expressions varied, but most of them entered the stadium with bright smiles.
Despite expectations that they would likely be relegated to the fifth division, they were now in a position to return to the 3. Liga after just one season.
When Union Berlin were relegated from the 3. Liga to the fourth division, the despair that had engulfed the club was gone,
and hope that the club could be reborn had taken root in the hearts of the fans and staff.
During the financial crisis, Union Berlin fans pulled together and endured it, and the club's sense of community grew even stronger.
“Wir sind Union! (We are Union!)”
The fans began to believe that if everyone joined forces, they could get through any crisis together.
[Fans who saved the club by donating blood.]
And the club, too, received that love from its fans and managed to get back on its feet.
'This too must be the grace of Ching Chang-seop.'
Hm.
Saying Ching Chang-seop does sound a little racist.
Anyway, as if to announce Union Berlin's revival, especially loud cheers rang out across the stadium.
“FC Union Du sollst leuchten, wie der hellste Heiligenschein. (FC Union, you shall shine like the brightest halo.)”
President Dirk Zingler could be seen in the stands singing the chant together with the fans.
“Und überall wird es schallen, FC Union unser Verein. (And everywhere it will echo, FC Union, our club!)”
Even before the match had started, SV Babelsberg's players had already gone pale under the passionate cheers of the fans.
***
Union Berlin's new fan Jonas Müller looked around the stadium with an amazed expression on his first live visit.
Union Berlin's home ground was in such poor condition that comparing it to the Bundesliga would be an insult.
'Actually, this is kind of nice?'
To Jonas Müller, the scene felt even more special. He had a bit of an “I'm not like everyone else” complex.
From the outset, the reason he came to like Union Berlin wasn't ordinary either.
His first name, Jonas, and his surname, Müller, were both incredibly common in Germany.
His life was as utterly ordinary as his name suggested, but at some point he began to feel the urge to become someone different from everyone else.
Was that why?
He ended up falling for Union Berlin instead of some ordinary club. He also liked the club's spirit of resistance.
There were all kinds of people here—children and the elderly, Easterners and Westerners, workers and capitalists, leftists and rightists.
Jonas Müller felt like a special person whenever he cheered for Union Berlin with them.
And when he donated blood at the stadium entrance before going in, he felt proud that he had devoted himself to protecting the club.
Because it was a weak team that had never even made it to the Bundesliga, it felt all the more special.
“FC Union Du sollst leuchten, wie der hellste Heiligenschein. (FC Union, you shall shine like the brightest halo.)”
Before he knew it, Jonas Müller had started to feel attached to Union Berlin.
***
I checked the players' condition from the bench.
As the season went on and Union Berlin's players began adapting to Thomas Tuchel's tactics, my own place as a player disappeared.
The only time I played was when I came on as a substitute to help manage the players' stamina.
Well, in the last match I did miraculously score the equalizer right before the final whistle, but objectively, until then my performance couldn't really be called good.
No matter how I looked at it, trying to juggle being both a player and a coach seemed rough in the 3. Liga.
Ah, and for the record, it wasn't just a matter of skill.
If Union Berlin got promoted to the 3. Liga, we'd be even busier than we were now.
There are some lower-table teams where the manager also plays.
The fact that those teams are in the lower half of the table shows that having the coach play as well is a really poor choice.
'You're already busy enough just being a manager. When are you supposed to train as a player? And if the manager is also a field player, there's no way he can evaluate the players objectively.'
Well, it was also something that couldn't be helped because of the financial problems unique to the lower leagues.
Anyway, with the referee's whistle, the match began.
The match unfolded one-sidedly in Union Berlin's favor.
Come to think of it, that was only natural.
They had the one-sided support of fans renowned as the most passionate and devoted in all of Germany.
“Today we'll clinch the title here and go back up! Union!”
“Jaaaaaaa!”
Union Berlin's players wanted to seal the title in this match and celebrate with the fans at their home ground,
and from the opening whistle, they pressed aggressively.
Boom─!
“Ah, shit!”
But because the players were too tense,
“You're way too tense! Calm down!”
the golden chances didn't turn into goals.
While neither side could find the back of the net, time passed quickly.
Just before halftime.
A headed clearance fell to Markus Matschke.
The moment he tried to pass, his balance was thrown off by a physical challenge from the defender, making the pass a little inaccurate, but Daniel Teixeira stayed focused to the very end and managed to touch the ball with the tip of his boot.
Clang.
But Daniel Teixeira's shot struck the goalpost.
As SV Babelsberg's goalkeeper let out a relieved sigh, Yannik Voigt, who had been waiting for the rebound, appeared.
Yannik Voigt calmly managed to poke the ball into the goal.
Cheers rang out across the stadium, and the players on the bench ran toward the corner flag.
I, too, was about to run toward the players when
I was grabbed by the hand of a muscular giant who worked at his parents' butcher shop.
Yank—
I turned my head to look, and when our eyes met, the giant gave an awkward smile and answered.
“Haha, the coach told me to stop you in case the overexcited head coach tried to run onto the pitch.”