Chapter 36
***
After Thomas Meyer’s shot ripped through the net, the match clearly tilted toward Union Berlin.
[Union Berlin blocks it once again!]
[We could already tell from the match against Oseong Red Wings, but this team is really well-organized! Coach Thomas Tuchel has truly succeeded in building a great team!]
Union Berlin pressed Hertha Berlin relentlessly for the rest of the first half.
[Ah! Yannick Voigt's shot goes wide, and that brings the first half to an end. If Yannick Voigt's shot had gone in, they would have effectively sealed the win! What a shame!]
Yannick Voigt's shot sailed over the crossbar, so it didn't lead to a Union Berlin goal.
But it was enough to send a chill down Hertha Berlin's spine.
'If that had gone in, the game would've been over. Too bad.'
The sight of the Hertha Berlin goalkeeper's ghost-white face caught my eye.
From the atmosphere in the stadium, it was clear the match had tilted decisively toward Union Berlin.
“Wir werden alles zerlegen, bis wir Deutscher Meister sind. (We will smash everything to pieces until we become German champions.)”
Even though it was Hertha Berlin's home ground, Union Berlin's chant rang out louder, and the Union Berlin players came into the locker room with bright smiles, as if satisfied with their performance.
Well. They really had put in a decent performance.
“Hm. Good work, everyone. The first half wasn't bad.”
Even Thomas Tuchel, who was famous for being hard to please, was satisfied with the first-half performance.
With Tuchel's tsundere-style praise, halftime ended.
And then the second half followed.
“[The second half has begun. There has been a substitution for Hertha Berlin. They have taken out Kevin, who was listless in the first half, and brought on Philipp.]”
Surprisingly, Hertha Berlin controlled the flow of the second half.
“[A dangerous shot from Hertha Berlin!]”
“[Union Berlin's goalkeeper is sternly shouting at his defenders.]”
“[Yes, they let him take a long-range shot far too comfortably. In a case like that, the defenders should have stepped up and applied pressure.]”
Did Hertha Berlin's manager deliver some sort of brilliant halftime speech?
The Hertha Berlin players had woken up.
“[Hertha Berlin are showing a different side from the first half.]”
That made him seem like quite a capable guy after all.
In any case, Hertha Berlin, having mentally reset, launched a fierce counterattack.
“[Hertha Berlin are taking the initiative and attacking aggressively!]”
Hertha Berlin desperately threw themselves at getting an equalizer.
Union Berlin did let Hertha Berlin take control of the match at times,
“Thomas, come here for a sec.”
“...If you say something weird again, I'm getting mad.”
“I'm not saying anything weird this time. The players are way too fired up. Go calm them down.”
Thanks to my advice, the players calmed down, and we were able to keep Hertha Berlin from scoring.
Anyway.
The second half between Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin continued.
As time went by, Hertha Berlin's momentum began to fade.
“[Union Berlin's defense is sturdier than expected! It isn't budging even under Hertha Berlin's attacks!]”
As they continued attacking but couldn't open the scoring,
Hertha Berlin's players lost focus.
And a little while later,
Hertha Berlin instead gave up a goal to Union Berlin on the counterattack.
“[In the second half, Hertha Berlin have been aggressively hunting for an equalizer, but they crumble under a single Union Berlin counterattack!]”
After being hit by the counterattack and losing morale, the season opener between Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin ended without any further notable scenes.
***
“[Union Berlin overpower Hertha Berlin 3-0 away from home.]”
“[Yannick Voigt proves himself.]”
“[Park Chanhyuk, chief coach in poor health?]”
└ Did Park Chanhyuk get hurt? What's with the cast on his leg?
└ He got that while celebrating during the match against Oseong Red Wings.
└ LOL, does it make sense for the chief coach to get injured while celebrating?
└ Did that bastard try to get exempted from military service?
└ Legit legal draft dodging, damn.
└ But seriously, why are there so many players in the Korean league trying knee slides lately? Damn, the pitch conditions are so shit it’s a factory for injuries.
└ Special One: But it looks cool, doesn't it?
***
After the season opener against Hertha Berlin, Union Berlin played three more matches.
[Union Berlin charges to four straight wins.]
Union Berlin managed to win all three of those matches.
[Lower-division teams go hunting for the second Thomas Tuchel.]
As Thomas Tuchel's Union Berlin stormed to first place in the third division with overwhelming results, a new wind began to blow through the lower leagues.
[The creativity of young managers is revolutionizing German football.]
[From Jürgen Klopp to Thomas Tuchel, let's look at the rising young coaches.]
Clubs had begun actively giving opportunities to young, talented managers.
[Thomas Kell, once called the second Thomas Tuchel, is ultimately dismissed.]
Most of the managers who were given a chance by clubs faltered over the common rookie mistake of failing to control the squad,
but a few clubs were able to produce results beyond expectations thanks to the fresh ideas unique to young managers.
'Second Tuchel? No, I'd become the one and only me.'
Coaches who had been gaining experience under famous managers seemed to be inspired by Thomas Tuchel as well, and, encouraged by eager offers from lower-division clubs, they began taking on the challenge.
[Tuchel camp, Park Chanhyuk receives an offer to manage a third-division club.]
And in this flow, it was only natural that Park Chanhyuk would also receive a good offer.
***
After Union Berlin was promoted to the third division, my life also gained a bit of breathing room.
Thanks to Union Berlin stabilizing after hiring new staff.
“Son, you're home a lot these days?”
“Oppa, don't tell me you got fired?”
“I didn't get fired.”
Well. With more breathing room in my life, I naturally spent more time with my family.
And thanks to that, I got to hear how they were doing.
“Oppa, what do you think? My sense of design.”
“I've seen this somewhere!”
The messenger service my younger sister and father were building together was steadily gaining users. Thanks to my future knowledge, it was apparently getting high marks for its user interface.
They said they'd port it to mobile once smartphones came out next year, and from the current trend, it seemed likely to do well.
'Well... even if it fails, it doesn't matter.'
Because we still had Bitcoin, a planet-destroying investment opportunity, waiting for us.
Even without Bitcoin, there was no problem.
It had already risen more than threefold even before Apple released its smartphone.
'If that's the case, how much will it rise once the smartphone comes out?'
Anyway.
Just like my assets, which were swelling in real time, Union Berlin's current situation was also good.
After all, since the season started, they had rattled off four straight league wins.
Thanks to that, Thomas Tuchel's recent success had started a trend in the lower leagues of giving young managers a chance.
Naturally, offers to become a manager were pouring in for me as well.
Union Berlin's strong results were thanks not only to Thomas Tuchel's ability, but also to the monster named Park Chanhyuk standing beside him.
I'm sure that if I hadn't been there to bridge the gap between the club and Tuchel, he would have stormed out before showing what he could do.
Thomas Tuchel knew this well too, which is why he had my story sent out to the press.
As chief coach, I had become more famous than expected.
'Well... that also has something to do with my background.'
In a time when even Asian players were rare in the Bundesliga,
I was the only Asian chief coach in the Bundesliga.
Even football fans who had no interest in Union Berlin couldn't help but be drawn in.
'I’m a superstar just for existing.'
Anyway.
To be honest, I did hesitate when the offer came in.
Unlike before, when they had obviously just been trying to feel me out, this time they were seriously trying to hire me as a manager.
But my heart was still with Union Berlin.
It was the club that had called me in during the hardest time of my life.
Naturally, I'd grown attached to it.
And above all, I had my own fears.
As you could tell from the forced idle period I went through before joining Union Berlin,
this filthy continent of racism wasn't ready to accept someone like me.
'Still, I have plenty of time. Maybe I should think it over slowly.'
Well. My priority right now was Union Berlin's return to the second division.
***
Union Berlin had recorded four straight wins after the opener and was sitting in second place.
The team in first place was St. Pauli, based in Hamburg.
It isn't well known to Korean fans, but it's the team where Korean player Lee Gwang once played when they were in the second division.
Union Berlin was about to face league-leading St. Pauli at home.
'St. Pauli... they're stronger than I expected.'
I activated my secret weapon against the unexpectedly strong St. Pauli.
[Park Chanhyuk gives St. Pauli's manager some unsolicited advice. “St. Pauli's manager isn't using his players properly….”]
[Park Chanhyuk tells St. Pauli's players, "If you want to win the title, join Union Berlin now."]
It was a historically proven divide-and-conquer tactic.