Chapter 30
***
Union Berlin finished its training camp and began preparing for the preseason match against Oseong Red Wings.
It was true that I had satisfied my personal grudge during the training camp, but that didn’t mean the camp’s results were bad. After the camp, Union Berlin’s players had become a single, perfectly unified team.
Well... that didn’t mean we could beat Oseong Red Wings, though.
'Still, they’re a pro team.'
Even if they were dismissed as some peripheral pro football league that nobody in Europe cared about, the gap between professional and amateur was obvious.
And at this point, Oseong Red Wings were backed by the chairman’s investment, so they were showing overwhelming strength.
[Oseong Red Wings sign 'Sirius Guan Yu.']
When they posted disappointing results in the first half of the league season, they even brought in a slew of national-team-level players.
[Tigers coach Park Chanhyuk gives Oseong Red Wings a 'death sentence': 'Go down there and get along with Giant.']
That meant they were on a completely different level from the team that got relegated to the second division and never came back up.
'The current Oseong Red Wings and the future Oseong Red Wings are different to the point that they’re as far apart as Manchester United and Mangoo.'
But that didn’t mean Union Berlin had no chance of winning.
At this point I was still in the army, so I didn’t know Korean pro football in detail.
But I did clearly remember that Oseong Red Wings failed to win the championship this season.
'Come to think of it, didn’t this team’s first-half record totally tank?'
It was blurred by the massive World Cup news, so I wasn’t certain, but as far as I knew, that was the case.
Anyway.
The opposing coach was highly likely to be overconfident before the match against Union Berlin.
Well, even if he wasn’t overconfident, he wouldn’t be able to field all of his starters.
Unlike Union Berlin, who had finished their season and were playing preseason matches, Oseong Red Wings would be starting the second half of the Korean league season soon.
'And there’s also the matter of the starters’ pride.'
To suddenly tell a professional football player to go play against semi-pro third-division players...
Honestly, if it were me, I’d be irritated too.
That was an area even a legendary coach couldn’t meddle in carelessly.
'Rather than needlessly upsetting the players by forcing them into a friendly, they’d probably give chances to prospects or reserve players.'
Of course, if they used only reserve players, it could create public opinion that they were being rude to their invited guests, so the most likely outcome was a 1.5-string lineup with a fair mix of first-team players.
'A mere sports club couldn’t possibly bring shame on its parent company.'
For reference, our Union Berlin had come at the invitation of Oseong, the sponsor of the Korean pro league. Because of that, Oseong Red Wings absolutely could not treat Union Berlin poorly.
That was why the match between Union Berlin and Oseong Red Wings was being held at Suwon World Cup Stadium, Oseong’s home ground, wasn’t it?
'Hm. The stadium’s too big. Filling it might be tough...'
Honestly, it seemed difficult to fill the seats.
It was around the time interest in overseas football was slowly rising after Park Ji-sung, called last year’s 'Haebuji,' transferred to Manchester United.
The third-division Union Berlin wasn’t really enough to satisfy fans of overseas football.
'If we can fill even half the stands, it’ll be a miracle.'
In fact, for Union Berlin, quietly playing the match and then going home would not have been a bad outcome. Even with a 1.5-string lineup, they were still pros.
'But why should I be satisfied with just that?'
But I didn’t like that.
'If we’re not going all out, then what counts as a win?'
This was a situation where we had flown all the way from Germany to Korea just for a single preseason match.
On top of that, we’d also used the training camp to build team unity, but it was true that there were a lot of ways this trip to Korea felt lacking.
As Union Berlin’s 'chief' coach, I had to do my best to make sure the players got as much out of this as possible.
'It is I, Park Chanhyuk.'
Right now, what mattered to us wasn’t winning or losing, but building Union Berlin into a football powerhouse.
Of course, that was Union Berlin’s business. Oseong Red Wings had no reason to accommodate us.
Then.
'Let’s flip the board.'
For reference, to flip the board, you just have to overturn the old one.
And in this field, I was the Special One.
Of course...
“What do you think?”
Before I caused any trouble, I made sure to tell Thomas Tuchel and Dirk Zingler.
“I’m for it. If we go at them with full strength, it’ll help the team grow as well.”
Tuchel indirectly expressed his agreement with my opinion.
“I’m against it. For now, I’ll oppose anything you propose. It’s definitely some strange training-camp nonsense.”
“Okay, that’s two in favor and one against. Passed.”
Dirk Zingler did have reasonable grounds for opposing it, but under democratic principles, it was approved.
“By the way, Chanhyuk, do you have a way to overturn the board?”
“Of course. Easy.”
I ignored the flailing Dirk Zingler and smiled at Thomas Tuchel.
“Overturning the board is my specialty.”
It’s simple logic.
All you have to do is create a situation where the opponent has no choice but to go all out.
'And while we’re at it, let’s fill the stands too. A stadium looks bad when it’s empty.'
It was a move that could gain two benefits with a single stroke.
[Chief coach Park Chanhyuk toward Oseong Red Wings... 'If you let your guard down, you’ll taste something bitter.']
[Park Chanhyuk on the provocation controversy... “It was pure concern. As a Korean, I didn’t want Oseong Red Wings, who represent the Korean league, to suffer the disaster of losing to a German third-division team.”]
If Union Berlin were to suffer a crushing defeat against Oseong Red Wings, I’d end up looking ridiculous.
But that was fine. That’s how life works: high risk, high return.
'We just have to win. As long as we win.'
If we could just beat Oseong, it would be a great opportunity to bring in fans of Korean football.
And I also had a card up my sleeve.
'Tuchel...'
In football, a coach’s influence matters even more than in baseball.
I believed in Thomas Tuchel, that tactically obsessed, individualistic psychopath with personality issues.
'Tuchel-emon, help me.'
Tuchel would surely make sure my reputation wouldn’t suffer.
***
Rewinding the clock a little, back when the friendly against Union Berlin had first been arranged.
The Oseong Red Wings players were dumbfounded.
'No, no matter that it's Europe, is it really right to play against a third-division team?'
Being told to face a semi-pro team hurt their pride.
But because the decision had come from someone above them, they had absolutely no intention of objecting.
To make a living as a football player in Korea, not only skill but also the networks and evaluations of the club’s top executives, including the coach, mattered.
“If you have any complaints about playing against a team called Union Berlin, speak up.”
And above all, Oseong Red Wings’ coach was also a legend of Korean football.
Of course, the coach himself wasn’t exactly fond of the friendly opponent either.
'I’ll just field a decent 1.5-string lineup at first, then switch to giving the prospects a chance around the second half.'
He planned to handle the team invited by the parent company in a way that wouldn’t cross the line.
Yeah.
At first, that was the plan.
[Chief coach Park Chanhyuk toward Oseong Red Wings... 'If you let your guard down, you’ll taste something bitter.']
Until that crazy bastard, the chief coach of Union Berlin, started provoking them on a massive scale.
[A match that reveals the level of the Korean league? Union Berlin and Oseong Red Wings.]
One interview turned it into a match where they had to win by a huge margin no matter what.
***
'Haha. I’m fucked.'
I realized at lightning speed that I had messed up.
Trying to lightly needle the opposing team, I ended up failing to rein in my momentary excitement and became an eight-ton truck with broken brakes, barreling straight into them.
'Ahhh, I missed this. This sweltering heat.'
Maybe because it felt like I’d come home after so long.
It was because I’d gotten too excited.
Naturally, the anger of Oseong Red Wings fans, who had been provoked, came pouring down on me.
I headed to the interview area to apologize for going too far.
But strangely, I ended up laughing in the interview area.
'Oh. What is this? This reaction is even more raw than in the future.'
At the unexpectedly intense reaction, my heart pounded, and before I knew it, a smile spread across my face.
Unlike the future, where schemes ran rampant and people pulled all kinds of stupid stunts just to get attention, this was a time that wasn't nearly as provocative.
Unlike the future, when the equivalent of 'just ignore them' was used to brush things off, Oseong fans gave pure, honest reactions to every word I said and made me happy.
And this sight was relayed exactly to the Korean football fans at home.
[Was Park Chanhyuk’s apology sincere? Controversy over laughing in the interview...]
└ Is this guy crazy?
└ He kind of seems like a psychopath from a drama.
└ Don’t geniuses usually lack social skills?
└ Who says?
└ I heard that in dramas and on TV.
The little child inside me, addicted to dopamine, remained unsatisfied and kept provoking them.
[Chief coach Park Chanhyuk, responding to recent laughing controversy with a non sequitur. 'The one who laughs through hard times is first-rate. I’m first-rate.']
[Chief coach Park Chanhyuk, while exiting the interview, checked the real-time search rankings and shouted at the reporters, "I’m Special One!"]
I succeeded in etching my name at the very top of the real-time search rankings on a portal site that symbolizes the Republic of Korea.
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"Hey. The chief coach seems even crazier than usual after coming back from the training camp."
"Maybe he got hit too much back then."
The Union Berlin players who had been watching Park Chanhyuk’s interview began to worry in earnest.