Chapter 54
***
After his transfer to Union Berlin was confirmed, Lewandowski finished preparing to move to Germany.
‘So this is Berlin. It’s quieter than I expected.’
Robert Lewandowski moved to Berlin’s Köpenick district a little earlier than the time Park Chanhyeok had told him and began settling into the neighborhood.
Köpenick’s first impression on Lewandowski was better than he’d expected. It felt similar to the home base of Znicz Pruszków, the club he had played for.
Then, a few days later.
The day Park Chanhyeok had mentioned for the summons was approaching.
Robert Lewandowski headed to the training ground in high spirits.
“The new guy who transferred in this time?”
“I’m Robert Lewandowski.”
Lewandowski exchanged greetings with Union Berlin’s existing players.
“Uh… I’m Yannick Voigt, and I’ll be Union Berlin’s captain starting this season. If you have any questions, come find me anytime. I’ll answer as kindly as I can, to the best of my knowledge.”
Thanks to the captain actively serving as the link between the players, the newcomers were able to blend into the team naturally.
‘...He said that guy was a striker too.’
Lewandowski kindled a competitive fire toward Yannick Voigt. Since he had won the scoring title right after debuting, he was fairly confident in his own ability.
Aside from Lewandowski’s competitive feelings toward Yannick Voigt.
‘By the way, there doesn’t seem to be any factional split here...’
The atmosphere at Union Berlin was better than he’d expected.
The existing players actively chatted with the new arrivals.
They were teasing one another, giving the impression that everyone was getting along well without any particular faction.
‘Phew. That’s a relief.’
Lewandowski would become a world-class striker in the future, but for now he was still a 19-year-old teenager.
He had been unconsciously tense because of the new environment after transferring to a new team, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
And just as Lewandowski was about to relax.
“The coach is coming! Gather up!”
The existing players naturally broke into two neat lines.
Lewandowski was flustered by the sudden change in the training ground’s atmosphere.
‘...What is this?’
Then, a moment later.
Lewandowski’s confusion deepened even more.
“Shed blood, go to the construction site, and shut up!”
Because the coach had climbed onto the platform and blurted out something bizarre without warning.
‘...What the hell is he doing?’
What was truly astonishing was that none of Union Berlin’s existing players were all that surprised.
“Haa, the coach’s sickness is acting up again.”
“Still, at least it’s not the army.”
“Why? I liked the army experience.”
“It’s not that the army was good, it’s that Korea was good.”
As the existing players moved toward the construction site with complete familiarity, the newcomers approached them and asked,
“Um, excuse me.”
“Yeah?”
“Does something like this happen often?”
“Hmm. Sometimes? But they don’t make us do anything that’ll get us injured, so don’t worry too much.”
“And is the coach strict? Earlier it looked like everyone was really disciplined.”
“That was just a prank to fool you guys once.”
The transfers and the existing players began to get acquainted in a strange atmosphere.
***
I nodded as I watched the players chatting about this and that.
To be honest, I had considered going back to Korea again during the preseason.
That was because the army experience and campfire we held last preseason had been more effective than expected.
But the timing wasn’t right for Korea in many ways.
‘The presidential election isn’t far off.’
If I went in now, it might stir up all sorts of unnecessary talk, so it was best not to go in at all.
Anyway, I led the players to the construction site where Union Berlin’s home ground was being built. Thanks to the bribe money Park Jeong-a had coughed up and the diamond-spoon contribution from GL Group, the construction was moving along quite quickly.
On one side of the stand, the phrases written by the supporters who bought bricks were engraved in a variety of languages, giving it a charm of its own.
And on the opposite side, a display manufactured by GL Electronics was slated to be installed.
I had even tried to sell the stadium naming rights to GL this time, but Union Berlin fans resisted far more strongly than expected.
‘...No, it’s not like the stadium name has any special meaning. Why are they being like this?’
In response to the fans’ backlash, GL drew a line and said they had never intended to buy the naming rights in the first place.
[GL, responding to Union Berlin fans’ backlash, explains: “We had no intention of purchasing the naming rights.”]
Then the fans’ curses turned toward Chairman Dirk Zingler.
Chairman Dirk Zingler protested that it wasn’t his doing, but
Well. What could I do?
He was the club’s final authority, after all.
Anyway.
The fans were visibly delighted to see Union Berlin’s squad.
In my opinion, having the squad take part in manual labor was a pretty solid idea.
I thought it would improve their sense of community and raise their loyalty to the team.
That came from my past experience in the army.
‘Ever heard of civil support?’
The difference, though, was that soldiers were unpaid slaves, while Union Berlin’s players had very high price tags.
***
Union Berlin’s squad began working in earnest.
Sure enough, because he’d worked at an automobile factory before becoming a footballer, Yannick Voigt was quite impressive.
Even his bearing was pure foreman energy.
As for the existing Union Berlin players who had risen from the fourth division together, they were making memories with physical labor after a long time.
The players who joined last season and this season were awkward.
Unlike the fourth-division players who had worked two jobs, they had taken the elite football path.
‘Honestly, these bourgeois brats.’
Anyway.
Having the players do manual labor was more effective than I’d expected.
It was well received by both fans and players. The response was even bigger than I had expected.
Though it was only for a short time, the fans made memories working alongside the players.
The players felt the fans’ love firsthand, with their whole bodies.
No one was injured. That was because they were assigned to the safest spots possible and carefully managed to prevent injuries.
But above all, it was thanks to the fans’ consideration in sparing the players from rough work.
The squad didn’t help the construction much, but smiles bloomed on the fans’ faces.
That was because the club and the squad had recognized their work as devotion to the club.
Even the players who had complained about going to the construction site started working quietly now.
That was because I even dragged Chairman Dirk Zingler, who had been doing paperwork, out there and made him work with us.
“…Coach Park, is this really okay?”
“Ahem, didn’t I say Union Berlin is a single community made up of the squad, the board, and the fans!”
Anyway, the players and board felt the fans’ love for the club in every fiber of their bodies, and the fans got to build memories of working together with the players.
It was clear that the fans’ loyalty to the club had blown past the max setting.
‘Isn’t having built a stadium together with the players a legendary bragging right?’
It was practically like gaining a lifelong story to tell over drinks.
And the next day.
Because word had spread that the squad had shown up and done manual labor the day before, even more people came on the second day.
We judged that safety would be at risk because of the crowd, so we had to end the event of having the squad work at the construction site after that day.
Personally, I thought it was a fairly successful event.
[Union Berlin makes its players build a stadium because it’s broke.]
The pro-Dynamo press mixed in a little mockery, but
overall, we were praised as a club full of romance.
[Union Berlin Touches Fans’ Hearts.]
[Chairman Dirk Zingler, at the construction site.... “We remember the fans’ dedication.”]
[Manager Park Chanhyeok, on why he planned the event.... “A club is a community made up of the squad, the fans, and the board. A home stadium is the village where that community lives. It is only natural to lend our strength to building the village we will live in.”]
And from that day on,
Union Berlin began its full preseason training in earnest.
***
There was another reason besides the presidential election for spending this preseason in Germany.
If I went to Korea and came back, there was a high chance it would mess with my conditioning.
Even if we didn’t get promoted this season, we couldn’t afford to be relegated, at the very least.
To have a stable season, preparing for preseason in Germany was the best option.
‘...Am I being left out?’
But even though preseason had started, Union Berlin still hadn’t finished finalizing its match schedule.
It was the karma from the havoc I’d caused back when we were in the third and fourth divisions.
The managers who had gotten a taste of my media antics didn’t want to play against me. I even proposed a practice match to St. Pauli, who had been promoted with us from the third division, but their manager rejected it with a shudder.
‘...I guess I really went too far.’
But this situation actually turned out to be a good opportunity for Union Berlin.
- Tuchel: Say, would you like to play a practice match against us?
Thomas Tuchel, who had joined Bayern Munich, had arranged a preseason practice match against Bayern Munich.
‘...Fuck! Hail King-God Tuchel.’
That day, before I put on the wig, I hung a photo of Thomas Tuchel on the wall of the manager’s office, and
bowed twice before it.