Preseason (4)

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Union Berlin launched a fierce assault on Bayern Munich from the opening whistle.

The Bayern Munich players couldn’t hide their bewilderment.

They hadn’t expected a second-division team to come at them so aggressively.

To begin with, the Bayern Munich players didn’t understand why they were even playing a friendly against a team that had just been promoted to the second division.

They had assumed it was a match arranged through Tuchel’s connection, since Thomas Tuchel had once managed that team.

They were surprised to hear that Korea and Japan wanted the broadcast rights for this match, but they were even more shocked that Union Berlin was more popular in Asia than they’d expected.

'So Union Berlin and Asia are about the same level when it comes to football.'

The players didn’t have much else to think.

The club director and board members may have thought differently, but for the players, the Asian market was just a place for exhibition matches while their bodies were worn down from long-haul flights...