Chapter 41
***
[A 2006/2007 Regionalliga Nord match between Union Berlin and VfL Osnabrück.]
The match between Union Berlin and VfL Osnabrück kicked off with the referee's whistle.
VfL Osnabrück, who were currently 4th in the league, desperately needed a win. To be promoted to the 2. Bundesliga next season, they had no choice but to beat Union Berlin and climb to second place in the standings.
Any team in the lower tiers wants promotion.
Fans hope to see the team they support play in the top flight.
Of course, once a club does make it to the top flight, the influx of new fans makes seat reservations fiercely competitive and ticket prices go up.
But wanting the team you love to become better known to the world than it is now was only natural for a fan.
For supporters, the club they cheered for was the past they'd remember with their father and the future they'd one day cheer for with their own son.
"Auf geht's!! (Let's go!)"
Anyway, at this point in Germany, since there were no playoffs, they had no choice but to rack up points in order to get promoted.
That was why clubs in German football fought so desperately in league matches.
[Osnabrück are pressing intensely right from the start.]
VfL Osnabrück, eager to get promoted to the second division, came out aggressively from kickoff. Seeing teams that sat deep against Union Berlin get battered one-sidedly, they chose to fight fire with fire.
[On the other hand, Union Berlin have come out with a counterattacking setup, contrary to expectations.]
But Union Berlin, contrary to VfL Osnabrück's expectations, came out with a defense-first counterattacking tactic.
"What a fucking awful game. Bastards."
The broadcast camera caught the Osnabrück coach swearing, crystal clear.
[Ah. The local broadcast camera is showing the Osnabrück coach.]
└ Hahaha, he's cursing lol
└ ? Do you speak German, bro?
└ Anyone can tell that's a curse lol
***
I sank into thought as I watched VfL Osnabrück's players press high aggressively from the opening whistle.
It was a high-press tactic that looked like they were copying us, but since it hadn't been thoroughly analyzed yet, the execution was a little rough.
Union Berlin's starting midfielder Markus Matschke shrugged off Osnabrück's clumsy press with ease.
At the same time Markus Matschke escaped the press, the space behind Osnabrück opened up wide, and Yannik Voigt darted sharply into the gap behind the broken back line.
Yannik Voigt's shot didn't turn into a goal, but it was enough to send the VfL Osnabrück players into a cold sweat.
'Maybe because the schedule's so light, they really are moving easily.'
I nodded as I watched how light on their feet the players looked.
Unlike VfL Osnabrück, who were also playing in the DFB-Pokal, Union Berlin only had the league to focus on. A match once a week was fairly relaxed and also helped the players manage their condition and fitness.
And that relaxed schedule was showing in Union Berlin's performance.
Well, that didn't mean the players had no physical issues.
Union Berlin's players were generally young, but that didn't mean they had no veterans like Daniel Teixeira.
Because 38-year-old Daniel Teixeira was showing the limits of his stamina, Union Berlin dusted off a 4-4-2 formation for the first time in a while and brought back a counterattacking tactic.
The VfL Osnabrück coach looked blatantly flustered, as if he hadn't expected Union Berlin's tactics.
'Well. It's only natural the opposing coach is flustered.'
We hadn't expected Daniel Teixeira to hit his physical limit just before this match either.
'Looks like we'll need to sign a striker in the winter transfer window.'
But the problem was that the club had no money.
Unfortunately, in the winter transfer window, players become worth their weight in gold. Teams desperate to survive or get promoted overpay just to get out of trouble right away.
Of course, that isn't good for club finances.
And if overpaying still doesn't prevent relegation, the club's future darkens in an instant.
If things go wrong, they could even mortgage the club's future for the sake of the present, but many teams overpay for immediate results all the same.
After all, as long as you survive in the top flight, you can pay it back quickly enough.
As they say, 'Just make it back and pay it off later'—that's a time-honored German tradition.
'Well, honestly, it's pretty similar in other countries' leagues too.'
Especially the Premier League, with its astronomical broadcast revenue, is even worse than the Bundesliga.
Anyway, from Union Berlin's point of view, this was a time when they had to be careful in many ways. Union Berlin had been racing in first place in the third division, and there were plenty of players drawing attention.
In particular, Yannik Voigt was also attracting interest from lower-half top-flight teams, so he needed even more caution.
Yannik Voigt was practically the alpha and omega of Union Berlin's attacking play.
I never dreamed that a player nobody had known just two years ago would become this famous. And my own standing, as the man who discovered Yannik Voigt, was soaring right along with it.
'I'd be grateful if he stayed at Union Berlin, though.'
I didn't think he'd be playing for Union Berlin until the day he retired.
Of course, last season he had shown his loyalty by turning down an offer from a second-division team, but you can't keep relying on a player's goodwill forever.
Loyalty needs a price, and in modern society the way to pay that price is a proper weekly wage.
But Union Berlin didn't have enough money to offer that price.
So, in our hearts, we decided that if Yannik Voigt ever wanted a transfer, we'd let him go.
That was our way of repaying his two years of dedication to Union Berlin.
Of course, we'd still take a huge transfer fee from the club he went to.
Separate from repaying his dedication, the transfer fee was the club's rightful entitlement.
Anyway.
"Damn it, why won't that go in!"
After Yannik Voigt's threatening shot, VfL Osnabrück started getting rough. It was the most effective and easiest response.
For players with weak nerves, rough play could make them flinch.
But Yannik Voigt, who had worked at a car factory, had guts like no one else.
The more the defenders hit him, the more relentlessly Yannik Voigt charged at them.
***
The match between Union Berlin and VfL Osnabrück was practically a one-man show for Yannik Voigt.
That was because the Osnabrück defenders couldn't control Yannik Voigt, who had once again stepped up his game compared to last season.
Because his on-the-ball ability was a little lacking, he was being underrated.
Thanks to the feedback sessions after every match with assistant coach Park Chan-hyeok, though, Yannik Voigt's off-the-ball game had reached a top-class level.
'Walk slowly until you're out of the defender's sight... now!'
Prowling after the prey called a goal, Yannik Voigt seized the moment the defender let his guard down and sprinted to the defender's blind side.
Unlike in the past, when he moved on instinct, every one of his movements was calculated.
- Yannik! Don't run blindly—run while understanding space!
Yannik Voigt had never dreamed football was such a complicated sport until he met Park Chan-hyeok.
'No, seriously, why is some bastard who's only lived in Korea and Germany using Spanish football terminology? I don't get it.'
For someone who hated even opening a book back in school, Yannik Voigt couldn't help but complain.
He did his best to keep up somehow.
On the football field, Park Chan-hyeok was the kind of person you couldn't say, 'Professor, the pace is too fast,' to.
Yannik Voigt's stubborn head hurt so badly from studying every day that it felt like it was splitting open, but even so, it wasn't all that bad.
Because each day felt rewarding, like he was growing.
"Cover him!"
A cry rang out from an Osnabrück defender who realized a beat too late that Yannik Voigt had slipped in.
'Idiot. You're already too late.'
He snorted and stepped into the penalty area.
[Yannik Voigt is breaking into the space behind the defense! Great movement! One-on-one with the goalkeeper!]
Yannik Voigt could see the goalkeeper's grim face.
'Don't take a touch—just hit it right away.'
A one-on-one with the goalkeeper was his favorite situation.
After checking the goalkeeper's position, Yannik Voigt calmly swung his right foot toward the near post.
Swish─!
The ball found the lower right corner of the goal with pinpoint accuracy.
"Jaaaaaaaaa!"
The crowd's roar echoed through the stadium.
[Goooooal─! Yannik Voigt turns into a wolf and bites into Osnabrück! A lethal strike from Yannik Voigt! Ah! This is going to make things tough for Osnabrück!]
After scoring, Yannik Voigt thought of Leon Han, whom he'd exchanged greetings with before the match, and ran toward the boy.
Then he thrust his fist toward the stands where the boy was sitting.
There was no special meaning behind it.
It simply meant: don't give up on your dream for some stupid reason like I once did.
'Well, if Chan-hyeok vouched for that kid's talent, maybe someday we can play together at Union Berlin.'
Since it was Park Chan-hyeok who had discovered a nobody like him, he trusted Park Chan-hyeok's eye for talent completely.
Yannik Voigt smiled and lightly bumped fists with Leon, who cautiously extended a hand toward him.
"Kid, let's lift a championship trophy together at Union Berlin someday."
It was the moment Yannik Voigt, once a worker at an auto factory, became someone's idol.