Chapter 65
***
For football teams, winning is what matters.
But not every club can win.
Naturally, every club has its own objective.
Some want to stay up, some want promotion, and some want the title.
The reason those objectives vary is that fans' expectations differ. And the teams' capabilities differ as well.
A club's capabilities aren't judged by the manager's skill alone.
They can depend on the quality of the squad or the ability of the staff.
Or the size of the fanbase.
Anyway, Union Berlin's goal this season was survival.
I hadn't announced it publicly to the players or the fans, but after speaking with Chairman Dirk Zingler and considering the situation, that was the conclusion I reached.
Right now, Union Berlin was carrying a lot of problems internally and structurally.
First of all, the squad still carried Thomas Tuchel's strong imprint.
In a way, that was only natural.
Most of the players who had been under Tuchel remained, after all. The only new additions to Union Berlin this season were Son Hong-min and Lewandowski.
Even though I had served as his assistant coach under Tuchel, he and I were a little different from the start in terms of temperament.
Unlike Tuchel's shut-up-and-do-as-I-say style, I preferred a more democratic approach.
“Yes, I've heard what Mr. Kim Seon-myeong is saying. That the IT department needs more staff.”
“Then will you provide the extra staff?”
“No. I just said I heard you.”
“This damn….”
“You can do it.”
Unlike Tuchel, the biggest difference was that I listened to what other people had to say.
“There are quite a few employees now whose names I don't know.”
And over the past two years, Union Berlin had grown too fast.
Union Berlin had fallen to the fourth division and was on the verge of financial collapse, but it had gone beyond the survival goal it set back then and returned to the second division, the club's former glory.
Once the club reached the second division, it became clear that staff in every department were starting to show their limits.
Union Berlin had no choice but to hire more employees.
The club had naturally grown in size.
When growth comes that suddenly, problems are bound to follow.
Union Berlin, too, started running into all kinds of problems, including internal factions and territorialism.
And the fans were no different.
Perhaps because the fanbase had suddenly grown, all kinds of friction was breaking out between new members and existing ones.
Most people reacted positively to the standing seats engraved with phrases from the fans' hearts, but some fans frowned and voiced opposition.
Their main reasons were that it damaged the club's tradition and the stadium's aesthetics.
Of course, it would be nice if we could satisfy everyone, but there is no way to please everyone in this world.
All we can do is wrap things up carefully so they don't end up dissatisfied.
Anyway.
The stadium was being remodeled, there were squad issues, fan conflicts, staff problems, and so on.
In many ways, Union Berlin needed time to sort out its internal affairs.
‘Well. That doesn't mean I don't want to win.’
Our top priority might be survival, but we were still going to aim for promotion.
‘All or nothing.’
Unfortunately, in professional sports, if it's not victory, it's nothing.
Just then, Union Berlin's corner kick ended in a chaotic scramble that finally ripped through Cologne's net.
‘Who scored it?’
For the record, I postponed the celebration.
We'd just equalized, so it didn't feel right to celebrate yet.
***
Meanwhile, at that same time.
The atmosphere in SBK's sports department was fairly good.
The 2. Bundesliga ratings SBK had picked up were doing quite well.
They'd lost the Premier League broadcast rights to another network and hastily signed the 2. Bundesliga rights, but that turned out to be an even bigger stroke of luck for SBK's sports department. Considering the rights fees for the Premier League and 2. Bundesliga, it was basically a windfall.
Of course, it wasn't as much as when Park Ji-sang was in the starting lineup, but there was still a decent number of regular viewers.
They were Koreans who had naturally become fans after watching Union Berlin rise from the fourth division to the second division.
And most overseas football fans would watch Union Berlin's matches until Park Ji-sang was named on the substitutes' bench.
Some football fans even kept watching after Park Ji-sang came on as a substitute, without changing the channel.
Maybe they'd fallen asleep with the game on, or maybe they'd become fans of Union Berlin.
It was true that I couldn't help but smile.
At this point, it was practically a huge success.
“Huh? Ah?! It went in!!”
“Wow... They actually managed to shove that in.”
The main producer and assistant director watching the broadcast jumped to their feet and cheered.
Watching the match and hoping Union Berlin would do well had naturally turned them into fans.
“Goooooooal─!”
“It's in! Union Berlin! They've succeeded in scoring the equalizer from a corner kick! By the way, who scored it? In that scramble in front of goal... the hero of the equalizer is none other than Niklas Eisen!”
“Wow─! A goal-scoring defender is exactly that kind of player! Great in defense and great in attack! From a manager's perspective, he's the kind of player you can't help but like!]
The main producer and assistant director, watching the commentators' broadcast, began talking as they watched the match.
“How would you feel about filming a documentary about Union Berlin?”
“Come on, they're only a second-division team now. Isn't that a little too much fanboying?”
“There are so many materials we could use.”
“That's true. But it's way too late for this season.”
“Then we'll negotiate so we can film next season or the season after.”
“Filming the club's first-ever promotion in a documentary would be a huge hit, wouldn't it?”
“Shut up, we're going up this season. Then we'll film a documentary about the club's first-ever first-division season next year.”
“That's not bad either. But what if we go film them and their results are bad?”
“…I believe. Hyeok-men….”
And while the two were talking, the first half between Union Berlin and Cologne came to an end.
***
Thomas Meyer stared straight ahead.
During halftime, Park Chan-hyeok was passionately explaining the tactics to the players.
‘Dedicated, huh...’
While catching his breath and listening to Park Chan-hyeok's tactical explanation, Thomas Meyer recalled the media's recent assessment of him.
Dedication isn't something you do expecting anything in return.
Thomas Meyer had realized that from a young age.
‘Benevolence born of selfishness is worth nothing.’
But nothing was more hollow than dedication that went unrewarded.
Most of the attention in football goes to the player who scored the goal.
Of course, switching from striker to midfielder is no easy task.
The chance of getting the spotlight drops that much.
But Thomas Meyer accepted Park Chan-hyeok's suggestion.
It was because he trusted the manager's gaze, full of confidence that moving to midfield would lead to success.
‘Chan-hyeok, no, boss now, I guess.’
In his eyes, Park Chan-hyeok was a rather mysterious person.
The boss's eyes held a certainty about the players' success.
Thomas Meyer recalled a conversation he'd once had with Yannick Voigt.
- Once you get a look like that, you can't help but work hard.
A deep trust in a player's potential.
The moment a coach looked at them like that, players had no choice but to become warriors on the pitch.
They didn't want to disappoint someone who believed in their abilities, in their potential.
Thomas Meyer met Park Chan-hyeok's eyes at that moment.
“Thomas, nice play. You were the best again today.”
And praise from Park Chan-hyeok poured down on him.
‘My dedication is being rewarded.’
Thomas Meyer had no intention of leaving the club until his boss kicked him out.
***
The second-half match between Union Berlin and Cologne continued.
Both teams battled fiercely for victory.
But neither side was able to find the back of the net again.
Time passed quickly.
Before long, the match had reached a point where very little time remained.
Yannick Voigt did not give up on the game.
Even though this was only his second year as a pro, he knew.
He knew just how valuable a win in the league opener was to a team.
He let out a rough breath and looked at Thomas Meyer.
‘He's still running around like that. Doesn't he get tired?’
Thomas Meyer was still running around like a madman even as the end of the game drew near. It felt as though he'd gladly let his heart burst and die if it meant victory.
In the end, Thomas Meyer stole the ball from Cologne's forward.
“Thomas!”
At that moment, Yannick Voigt sprinted forward and called for the pass.
Thomas Meyer's clumsy pass flew forward.
‘That's a longer pass than I expected...’
Apparently, Thomas Meyer was tired too.
But Yannick Voigt did not give up.
It was a ball his teammate had struggled to muster the strength to send.
Just because he was having a hard time now didn't mean he could waste an attacking chance pointlessly.
‘That'd be way too embarrassing.’
He put strength into his thighs and ran forward.
And he somehow managed to keep Thomas Meyer's pass alive.
The defenders could be seen scrambling back, and Yannick Voigt immediately sprinted toward the penalty area.
The moment he entered the box, he saw the goalkeeper lowering his stance.
‘Huuup....’
He was already gasping for breath, but he stayed focused until the very end and swung his leg.
Pow─.
A shot struck cleanly, with his focus maintained to the very end.
Clang─.
But Yannick Voigt's shot slammed into the post.
At the same time, Yannick Voigt's heart sank with a thud.
The ball hit the post and spun, twirling round and round─.
‘Please go in!!!’
Yannick Voigt shouted desperately.
“Jaaaaaaa─!”
Fortunately, the ball spun across the goal line, and Yannick Voigt threw both hands into the air and roared.
And at that same moment.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish─!
“Hooooooouuuuu─!”
Park Chan-hyeok's fantastic knee-slide celebration unfolded from the corner flag.
“Jaaaaaa─!”
Before they even realized it, Union Berlin's players ran toward Park Chan-hyeok.
On the field, Yannick Voigt's hollow muttering echoed.
“…No, I’m the one who scored.”
Union Berlin's players had, once again today, had the day's highlight stolen by their manager.