Chapter 59
***
The moment Son Hongmin's shot tore through Bayern Munich's net.
‘Huh?’
Thomas Tuchel, feeling uneasy, turned his head and looked at Park Chanhyeok.
When his eyes met Park Chanhyeok's, Tuchel widened his own in warning. It was his way of saying that if he provoked him, he wouldn't let it slide.
But Park Chanhyeok ignored Tuchel's warning and came closer, shouting in Korean.
“Grow, hair, grow!”
Thomas Tuchel didn't know exactly what it meant, but he was certain it wasn't something nice.
The moment he saw Park Chanhyeok grinning at him, he had a feeling.
‘That’s mockery.’
His long years of familiarity with Park Chanhyeok told him so.
Thomas Tuchel immediately marched over and grabbed Park Chanhyeok by the neck.
If Park Chanhyeok didn't protest here, then it really would be mockery.
‘Even if it’s not, it doesn’t matter.’
Even if he was wrong, it didn't matter.
After all, going over to the opposing bench after scoring was basically the same as provoking them.
Unfortunately, Thomas Tuchel's hunch was correct.
Park Chanhyeok, with his neck in Tuchel's grip, didn't look wronged at all.
Thomas Tuchel's hand started to tighten as he realized that “Grow, hair, grow!” was an insult.
“Ghk... I... surrender...”
Park Chanhyeok's unconditional surrender declaration never reached Thomas Tuchel's ears.
***
Meanwhile, at the same time.
[G-g-goal─! It's in! Son! Hong! Min! Son Hongmin has scored the opening goal against Bayern Munich!!]
Korean football fans watching the Bayern Munich-Union Berlin match were confused.
- What is this? Why is Son Hongmin cheering?
Because Son Hongmin had suddenly run to the corner flag and was celebrating.
- He scored a goal.
- ???When did he score?
- Before Park Chanhyeok provoked Tuchel?
- Ah. So that's why he provoked him lol. I thought he just suddenly started provoking him.
Park Chanhyeok's provocation, followed by Thomas Tuchel's response, had erased Son Hongmin's goal from people's memories.
- Park Chanhyeok <<< This bastard stole all the spotlight lol
- Seriously, yelling “Grow, hair, grow!” right in front of Thomas Tuchel lol
- Park Chanhyeok's voice projection is ridiculously loud lol
Meanwhile, perhaps because they had anticipated that kind of reaction from viewers?
The broadcast replayed Son Hongmin's goal.
Only then did viewers start talking about Son Hongmin's goal.
- Wow lol, scoring against ‘Munich’ at 15—yessss
- Hongmin, you're Korea's future.
- If he took over as the national team manager, would a World Cup win basically be a done deal?
- At the very least, an Olympic gold medal should be possible, right?
- Your dreams are a little too big, haha.
That day, football fans felt like the golden age of Korean football was about to begin.
***
The Union Berlin players on the pitch began to gain confidence.
They had scored against Bayern Munich and, however briefly, were leading ‘that’ Munich in the match,
‘At this rate, maybe...’
‘Are we actually going to win?’
Some of the players began imagining a victory over Bayern Munich.
The flow of the game was that favorable to Union Berlin.
[Union Berlin's fierce press! They succeed in taking the ball away from Toni Kroos!]
Their swelling confidence brought energy to the pitch.
[Son Hongmin has the ball again! He'd been largely shut down by Philipp Lahm this match and hadn't shown much! Ah! He gets through! So fast! Son Hongmin!]
Having been kept in check by Philipp Lahm, Son Hongmin tried to break through aggressively on the wing.
[He crosses it right away! A low, fast ground cross!]
Most of their attacks came to nothing, but they did succeed in creating a few dangerous chances.
[Robert Lewandowski!!]
Son Hongmin's ground cross reached Lewandowski.
Lewandowski cushioned Son Hongmin's cross and, in the same motion, spun half a turn to attempt a turning shot.
Clang─!
[Ah─! Off the crossbar!]
Lewandowski's shot struck cleanly, but unfortunately it smashed into the crossbar.
Robert Lewandowski instinctively clutched his head in disappointment.
After hitting the crossbar, the ball dropped into the penalty box, where Mats Hummels cleared it away.
The Bayern Munich players began to feel their pride take a hit as they struggled against a second-division team.
The match between the two teams naturally turned rough.
Lucio committed a rough foul on Yannick Voigt, who was making a run into the space behind.
The referee immediately blew the whistle and called the foul.
He also sternly warned Lucio and showed him a yellow card.
Since red cards rarely came out in friendlies, that tackle was effectively no different from a direct red.
“Hey! This is a friendly match!”
The Union Berlin players strode up to Lucio with hard expressions and immediately protested.
It was a rough tackle that clearly didn't belong in a friendly.
It was a hair-trigger situation that could have exploded into a bench-clearing brawl.
Fortunately, Lucio also admitted he'd gone too far, raising his hand to apologize.
Yannick Voigt, who had been fouled, also calmed down his agitated teammates.
And a little later.
With Yannick Voigt's free kick being stopped by Oliver Kahn, the first half came to an end.
***
Half-time.
The mood in Union Berlin's locker room was good.
Because they were leading ‘that’ Bayern Munich.
Maybe if they sat back and parked the bus with two lines in the second half, they could beat Munich.
But judging by the players' expressions, they didn't seem to want to win like that.
Well... even if they got thrashed, it didn't matter.
The defenders' morale would take a slight hit, but that was a relatively cheap price to pay.
‘Let's go on like this in the second half too.’
And then came the second half.
Unlike the somewhat disorganized first half, Bayern Munich in the second half felt much more organized. Thomas Tuchel's touch during halftime was clearly evident.
Frank Ribery, with the ball, ruthlessly carved open Union Berlin's right flank and drove into the box before trying a shot.
For a split second, perhaps sensing a goal, a smile flickered across Ribery's fierce expression.
But Ribery's shot did not lead to a goal.
Thud─.
The 18-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Schmidt, who started this match, blocked the shot with animal-like reflexes.
There were definitely some rough edges because he still lacked experience, but he kept up the save show with his reflexes.
Through this friendly, Manuel Schmidt met a good opponent in Bayern Munich and quickly began racking up experience.
***
The player drawing the most attention in this match was not Son Hongmin, who had scored, or Manuel Schmidt, who was making super saves, but Thomas Meyer.
With his tremendous work rate in midfield, he disrupted Bayern Munich's buildup. Even after 20 minutes had passed in the second half, Thomas Meyer was still pressing Bayern actively and disrupting their buildup. It was truly an astonishing work rate.
‘Not bad.’
Thomas Tuchel also looked at Thomas Meyer with an impressed expression. If the team he managed hadn't been Bayern Munich, he probably would have tried to sign him.
‘He’s hard to recruit. His work rate is overwhelming, but unfortunately he’s lacking in many other areas.’
Unfortunately, there was no room for Thomas Meyer to wedge his way into Bayern Munich's current squad.
If they weren't at Bayern Munich, even Toni Kroos and Mats Hummels would have had to go out on loan to start matches and gain experience.
Park Chanhyeok could be seen staring intently at Toni Kroos.
At that moment, Thomas Tuchel began thinking about sending him on loan to Union Berlin...
‘Should I consider sending him on loan to Union Berlin too?’
Thinking of Park Chanhyeok, who had been developing prospects at a rapid pace, Union Berlin wasn't a bad loan destination.
***
As soon as the second half began, the flow of the match completely shifted to Bayern Munich.
Union Berlin's defense threw their bodies around without hesitation to block Bayern Munich's attacks.
But under Bayern Munich's relentless attacks, holes were inevitably punched into the defensive wall.
Bayern Munich's shot tore through the net of the Union Berlin goal guarded by Manuel Schmidt.
The equalizer came courtesy of Frank Ribery, the 'Robbed Ballon d'Or.'
After that, Bayern Munich succeeded in adding two more goals against Union Berlin. Union Berlin tried to launch counterattacks with a few chances, but they were stopped by Oliver Kahn's saves.
‘Is that guy really 38? Why on earth is he trying to retire?’
Well, still, this was a pretty decent showing against Bayern Munich.
The moment the match ended, Thomas Tuchel walked toward Union Berlin's bench, and
Seeing Thomas Tuchel approach, I smiled and struck first.
“Ugh. It's so bright I can't open my eyes!”
“…Do you really want to die?”
Ah. He'd come to shake hands after all. I thought he was coming to provoke me again.