Chapter 33
***
[The exhibition match between Union Berlin and Osung Redwings has ended.]
The exhibition match between Union Berlin and Osung Redwings had come to an end.
[Osung Redwings grind out a 2-1 win at home.]
[David's rebellion? Union Berlin nearly topple Goliath (Osung Redwings).]
Domestic football fans were left shocked as soon as the exhibition match ended. Even with their best eleven on the pitch, Osung Redwings had only managed a hard-fought win over Union Berlin.
Union Berlin's unexpected showing led to posts popping up across football communities, and debate broke out.
[Title: Is Union Berlin that good? Or is this a problem with the level of Korean football?]
(Union Berlin vs Osung Redwings match result.jpg)
A 2-1 win against a third-division team—does that even count as a hard-fought victory?
(Thomas Meyer failing to score in front of the goal.gif)
If the turf had been normal, that would've gone in.
Then it would've been a 2-2 draw.
└ Korean football is at a level where it’s neck-and-neck with a German third-division team lol
└ There's no such thing as “if” in football. If you put it that way, Osung actually had more chances they narrowly missed.
└ Wow, I actually watched the match, and I can't even mock them. I'm seriously worried about the future of Korean football.
└ Wait, are these Union Berlin bastards really at third-division level? They're insanely good.
└ Yeah, they were in the fourth division last season lol
└ But isn't this more about the difference in coaches than the level of football?
└ Yeah. In squad strength, Osung just crushed them.
└ In the second half, they just broke through on individual skill alone.
└ I thought they were hyping him up just because he was a local coach, but this is on another level.
└ Can’t we bring Tuchel in as the national team coach?
└ Yeah, why would a coach getting attention in Germany come to Korea lol
└ Who scored Union Berlin’s first goal? He was ridiculously good.
└ His name’s Yannick Voigt. He’s a player Park Chan-hyeok picked.
└ For real?
└ Union Berlin’s coach even said Park Chan-hyeok had a good eye for players.
└ But what’s Park Chan-hyeok doing? I didn’t see him even though today was Union Berlin’s return date.
└ Getting treatment.
└ ?
└ What kind of treatment?
└ He got hurt while doing a knee-slide celebration at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
└ Damn… what, he did a knee slide on that turf? My knees hurt just hearing that.
***
Thomas Tuchel and the squad headed back to Germany first.
Normally, as the assistant coach, I should have gone to Germany with the squad, but….
[Assistant coach Park Chan-hyeok to remain in Korea for injury treatment….]
Unfortunately, I had been injured during the celebration, and I had to stay in Korea for treatment.
My parents were startled by the news that I’d been hospitalized and wanted to rush over from Germany, so I told them I was fine.
- Are you really okay?
“Yes, so please don’t worry too much.”
- Whew, you have no idea how shocked I was when I heard you’d suddenly been hospitalized… So, how did you get hurt?
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I got injured while doing a celebration, so I let out an awkward laugh and changed the subject.
“Haha… I was just unlucky.”
Anyway, after the call with my parents ended, I checked news articles on my laptop. Lately, probably because of the variety show that had aired, there were a lot of articles related to Union Berlin.
[Union Berlin featured on a variety show…. Viewers praise it.]
[SBK’s new challenge? It captivates viewers.]
There had been all sorts of talk, but Union Berlin had gained a lot from this trip to Korea.
'If this were in the future, it probably would've sparked controversy over cruelty… but now everyone's loving it.'
Not only had their recognition among Korean football fans risen,
but the players had also improved through the match against Osung Redwings.
[Name: Yannick Voigt.]
Current ability: ★★★
Potential: ★★★★★
Short evaluation: A flower blooming late.
Among them, Yannick Voigt’s growth was so steep it made me doubt my eyes. He must have gained some kind of insight from the match against Osung Redwings.
'For sure, the fastest way for players to grow is against strong teams in real matches.'
Anyway.
The dull days of doing nothing in the hospital kept dragging on.
Doing nothing and resting is fine for a day or two, but after that….
'I'm even sick of games now.'
After five days, I started to get restless.
In the end, unable to endure the boredom, I thoroughly analyzed the match between Osung Redwings and Union Berlin.
In other words, I’d voluntarily started doing the assistant coach’s job.
'…Am I becoming a workaholic?'
It was all because of Thomas Tuchel. I’d gotten close to Tuchel, and it seemed I’d picked up his habits.
'Still, since I've started, I might as well finish analyzing it.'
In any case, after examining the squad's overall ability and how well the players understood Thomas Tuchel's tactics,
'They look like a side that could compete in the second division.'
At this level, a back-to-back promotion seemed within reach.
***
While I was hospitalized.
[Chairman Dirk Zingler proposes an elite player overseas study program to the football association…. “If you send them to Union Berlin, I’ll help them grow well. Wouldn’t it be better to trust them to a place with a Korean assistant coach than anywhere else?”]
Chairman Dirk Zingler began negotiations with the football association over the elite player overseas study program.
[Football Association on Union Berlin’s proposal… “We’ll think about it positively.”]
Since both the club and the association clearly knew what they wanted, the negotiations moved quickly.
Union Berlin wanted to secure decent players at a low price, while the association was happy to save on on-site staff headaches and accommodation costs.
On top of that, they figured that if there were a Korean coach on the same team, the prospects would get a little more attention. If the team's assistant coach were Korean, parents could feel comfortable entrusting their children to the team as well.
The only stumbling block in the negotiations was that Union Berlin was a third-division team.
Perhaps because their strong showing against Osung Redwings was viewed positively within the association, the deal was quickly finalized.
Negotiations with the working-level staff had ended, and only the contract remained.
“So why are you taking me along?”
“The chairman said he wanted to see you.”
I couldn’t hide my confusion at the football association chairman’s sudden summons.
'Why does the chairman want me?'
Unlike the future association chairman, who is seen as incompetent,
the current chairman, Jung Joon, successfully secured the co-hosting rights for the Korea-Japan World Cup and is a capable chairman who even spent his own money improving Korean football infrastructure.
'Didn't they also bring in Coach Hiddink with their own money?'
Although he caught a lot of flak later on, he was an indispensable legend in Korean football history.
'So why would someone like that want me?'
While I was lost in curiosity,
“Oh, you’re Assistant Coach Park Chan-hyeok, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Jung Joon, chairman of the Korean Football Association.”
The football association chairman came in, smiling warmly as he greeted me.
'Whoa. He’s loaded.'
Even though it was just a casual greeting, my back bent on its own.
'Is this what conglomerate power feels like?'
Honestly, I nearly wet myself.
It felt like a halo was shining behind his face.
“Assistant Coach Park Chan-hyeok, didn’t you go to Germany at a young age and earn your coaching licenses there? How would you compare European football and Korean football?”
I couldn’t answer the chairman’s question.
'Was he asking me to sing his praises?'
In other words, I couldn’t figure out what he meant.
“I’m not asking to hear praises. Please speak honestly for the development of Korean football.”
As if he had read my thoughts, Chairman Jung Joon smiled and added,
I answered the chairman’s sincere questions about the development of Korean football honestly, while thinking of the future chairman.
'But why is the future football association chairman such a mess…'
***
After taking a photo with the chairman, the contract between Union Berlin and the football association was finalized.
'If that's the case, can I prevent the bad incident that's coming soon?'
In fact, the problem that had repeatedly come up whenever the association sent promising players abroad to study football was always the same.
It was the care of the young players.
Up to now, no major problem had occurred, but soon the staff member who accompanied them to look after the youths would be arrested on theft charges.
This was devastating for the youth players. Not only were the youngsters, who should have been under a guardian’s care, left more or less to fend for themselves,
but each club’s opinion of Koreans plummeted, and the clubs said the students had been bullied.
'Come to think of it, if an association representing a whole country sent someone in charge, that at least means they cared enough to do it properly. If that person then committed theft, there really is nothing to say.'
And with that batch, the overseas football study project vanished into history. There were many reasons the project disappeared, but the arrest for the staff member’s theft would have been one of them.
'Finding a football coach with good character in Korea is harder than I thought.'
Anyway.
The schedule for this year’s elite player overseas study program had already been set.
Union Berlin decided to take in Korean players starting next season.
Just as I was thinking about which player would come to study abroad next year,
'Huh…? Wait a second.'
Suddenly, realization dawned on me.
'Wouldn't next year be when Son Hong-min came to Germany for football study abroad?'
History had been twisted quite a bit, so I didn’t know whether Son Hong-min would still go to Hamburg as he had in the original timeline.
'For now, we'll take him.'
If possible, I hoped he’d come to Union Berlin.
'I’ll take good care of you. Come to us.'