A Stadium Built with Blood and Sweat (4)

***

Znicz Pruszków.

It's a small club based in Pruszków, a small city in Poland.

Last season, they succeeded in getting promoted from the third division to the second.

The cityscape had the warm, familiar feel of a small town, and the stadium, far from flashy, was similar to Union Berlin's.

Because of that, it blended even more naturally with the town's atmosphere and had a modest, natural feel.

As I looked around the area near the stadium, I suddenly remembered something.

'Come to think of it, Union Berlin's graffiti-covered stand might become a unique trademark for us.'

The graffiti-covered stand at Union Berlin is a symbol of the fans' devotion.

Maybe it could even help with tourism.

Setting aside the fact that he's a Union Berlin fan, wouldn't he want to stop by the stadium at least once just to see whether the phrase he wrote had been properly preserved?

'And he might even come to watch a Union Berlin match and end up becoming a fan.'

While I quietly looked around the stadium and took in the sights.

[Name: Robert Lewandowski.]

Current ability: ★★☆

Potential: ★★★★★★★

A Polish man appeared.

'There he is. My treasure chest.'

A face that would be very familiar to Koreans in the future.

Robert Lewandowski.

He was a legendary striker who defined an era.

In any case, Lewandowski, still looking a little young, asked me with a flustered expression.

“Uh…. So, you're Manager Park Chan-hyeok, right?”

***

Robert Lewandowski was flustered.

He had been told that the manager of a club called Union Berlin was coming to meet him, but the manager was younger than he'd expected.

'Is he really the manager? He looks even younger than me.'

The fact that he was Asian, something rare in Europe, didn't even register. Park Chan-hyeok's age was that shocking to Lewandowski.

In fact, Park Chan-hyeok was only one year younger than Lewandowski. Considering that Asians generally look younger than Westerners, Lewandowski actually looked older.

[Union Berlin appoints the youngest manager. An 18-year-old head coach becomes the youngest manager at 20!]

Lewandowski had looked up the club online after hearing that Union Berlin was coming to sign him, but unfortunately the internet was full of things that were hard to believe.

'What do you mean an 18-year-old is the head coach? And how can a 20-year-old be a manager?'

By his standards, that was obviously fiction.

So when he heard the name Coach Park Chan-hyeok, he imagined an older, dignified Asian man.

“It's an honor to meet a manager who's been making a name for himself in European football lately.”

“Oh, I haven't actually done anything yet.”

“Aren't you the protégé of Thomas Tuchel, who took over as Bayern Munich manager?”

But when he saw his agent beside him smiling as he greeted the manager, he realized.

'...So all of it really was true.'

Lewandowski focused on talking with Park Chan-hyeok.

He thought a good opportunity had come his way.

Germany's second division and Poland's second division couldn't be compared on the same level. Lech Poznań, a first-division Polish club, was showing interest in him, but even that wasn't as proactive as this manager personally coming to see him.

He didn't know what this young manager had seen in him, but the fact that he had come in person to sign a rookie who had just made his pro debut and played in the third division already made his heart race.

'But is it really okay to leave the team like this?'

Znicz Pruszków was a club that had signed him despite a serious knee injury and after he had been released, so he was grateful to them.

“Levi, do well even after you go to Union Berlin. I'll be cheering for you.”

But when Znicz Pruszków's chairman smiled brightly and said goodbye,

Lewandowski's sense of guilt vanished in an instant.

Union Berlin was valuing him more generously than he'd expected.

***

Union Berlin decided to make Znicz Pruszków a partner club. It was a mutually beneficial proposal for both Union Berlin and Znicz Pruszków.

'I didn't originally plan to propose a partner-club arrangement...'

While I was looking around the stadium, I thought Znicz Pruszków would be a good place to send Union Berlin's youth players on loan.

Znicz Pruszków was a club in Poland's second division, after all.

'A Polish second-division club would be about right.'

In many ways, the surroundings weren't bad. It was a small city on the outskirts of Warsaw, so transportation wasn't bad, and it wasn't overly crowded either.

'The players will be able to focus on training.'

Pruszków maintained a naturally quiet and peaceful small-town atmosphere.

And what I liked most was that the fans themselves weren't rough. Considering that some Polish clubs were troubled by hooligan issues, Znicz Pruszków was a decent environment for Union Berlin's youth players to come on loan and play.

Going there to sign a player and ending up proposing a partner club was a bit beyond my authority, though.

But it was possible because I wasn't just Union Berlin's manager; I was also someone who had invested in Union Berlin and held shares.

'I'm glad Chairman Dirk Zingler agreed without saying much.'

I told Lewandowski when he had to join the club, then returned to Germany.

“…What is this.”

What greeted me at Union Berlin's clubhouse was an enormous pile of documents.

“That's the work you made on your trip to Poland. Pick which youth players to loan out.”

“Damn it.”

***

Daniel Teixeira, who had retired in his final home game, returned to Union Berlin as a coach.

What I needed was a pair of hands, so I brought him in as a coach and started putting him to work. For the record, a knack for the job develops on its own if you keep grinding to survive.

'Still, it's not enough yet.'

But I couldn't ask Kim Seonmyeong, who was busy with the club's digital transformation, to help.

'No, how long are we going to keep processing documents by hand?'

I was so frustrated I could hardly stand it.

Kim Seonmyeong was currently dragging in juniors from Berlin Technical University, who were on break and lounging at home, and putting them to work.

Anyway.

With the help of Daniel Teixeira and the youth coaches, I selected the youth players who would go on loan to Znicz Pruszków.

A few Union Berlin youth players with middling ability agreed to the Pruszków loan. They weren't good enough for the first team, but they also had nothing more to learn in the youth squad.

Still, since they had decent potential, if Pruszków's manager used them well, they might even be able to aim for promotion to the first division.

I handed Znicz Pruszków the documents evaluating the players who were going out on loan. I wrote down their preferred styles of play and such.

That should help Pruszków's manager make good use of them.

I looked at the empty desk and thought.

'Maybe I can finally relax a little.'

But that was a mistake.

From the next day on, I had to call in the players who requested transfers, counsel them, sell the ones I couldn't persuade, and fill the vacancies with new signings, living so frantically that a day felt too short.

Right then, a call came from GL Group.

To put it simply, they wanted to piggyback on the romantic image Union Berlin was building.

The line I had once used on Chairman Dirk Zingler came out of my mouth again.

“Chairman, how much were you hoping to pay?”

That day, the chairman's mouth spat out the highest praise: “you fucking bastard.”

***

At that point, Union Berlin wasn't in immediate need of money.

- Water Boy: Bro, I heard you don't have any money to build the stadium.

- Me: How did you know that?

- Water Boy: It was on NEVER's front page. Anyway, tell me the amount you need.

Thanks to my younger sibling, who voluntarily coughed up cash after hearing the news about Union Berlin, things were fine.

But the more money, the better.

Then we could add one more piece of safety equipment for the fans sweating away at the construction site.

[Global company GL donates to Union Berlin's romantic spirit.]

While GL Group was busy with publicity campaigns in Korea and Germany to manage its image.

Players who had gone on vacation began returning to Union Berlin's training ground one by one.

With Yannick Voigt, who had been appointed Union Berlin captain, actively leading the effort so the new arrivals and the existing players could blend naturally, the players started greeting one another awkwardly.

'Even if it's awkward now, we'll get close quickly once preseason ends.'

I began my speech while looking at the squad, who had put on some weight during the break.

Since there was already a line that fit Union Berlin perfectly right now, I didn't really need a speech script.

“Donate blood, go to the construction site, and shut up!”

First day of preseason.

I had the players donate blood and do hard labor.

Come to think of it, one good thing about becoming a manager was that no one could stop me.