Chapter 69
***
[Son Hongmin! Son Hongmin! Son Hongmin scores! Son Hongmin's first Bundesliga goal! And it breaks the record for the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history!!]
[Wow—he curled that one in perfectly from there!]
[At such a young age, and with such a composed shot? We may be witnessing the birth of a legend.]
[Huh? Union Berlin's bench is making a fuss?]
[How should I put it... it feels like they're trying to stop Manager Park Chanhyuk...]
└ Damn lol, looks like they tried to steal Hongmin's celebration.
└ No way lol. Park Chanhyuk isn't that kind of person.
└ Yannick Foit: ???
└ He probably got along with Yannick.
└ Then wouldn't he be close with Hongmin too?
└ Uh...?
└ Ha, can't be helped. Daniel Teixeira. Open wide—here comes a Choco Pie.
└ For real lol, he protected our Hongmin's precious celebration lol
└ Didn't Daniel Teixeira retire?
└ He's been working as a Union Berlin coach since retiring.
└ Ohh.
└ Damn lol, the whole squad holding Park Chanhyuk back together is hilarious lol
└ Come to think of it, it's reassuring to see how much Hongmin is loved on the team.
└ Since Park Chanhyuk is the manager, there basically can't be any racism at Union Berlin, but that's different from being recognized by your teammates.
└ Guys, is racism in Germany really that bad?
└ Yeah, Germany is way more racist than you'd think.
└ That's also why Asian football associations want to send players to Union Berlin. Park Chanhyuk is good at developing players, but it's also the ideal place to adapt to Europe in a less discriminatory environment.
└ Racism when the manager's Asian? If a player pulls that crap, his career's over right then lol
└ For real, they'd probably be stuck in the reserves until their contract expires lol
***
After conceding, Mainz threw themselves forward like mad in search of the equalizer.
Indeed, Jürgen Klopp's Mainz was no pushover.
Mainz finally managed to score the equalizer right before the match ended. From a corner kick, Neven Subotić's header tore straight through the net protected by Manuel Schmidt.
It would have been safer if Manuel Schmidt had come out and claimed the ball, but there was nothing to be done.
'...Well. It's a matter of experience.'
I looked at the goalkeeper coach, and he nodded when he met my gaze. For reference, the goalkeeper coach had taught Manuel Schmidt in Union Berlin's youth team. Union Berlin had no choice but to make the most of the resources already at hand.
'Well. He has plenty of ability too.'
We found a replacement for the vacant youth coach through Daniel Teixeira's recommendation.
Maybe because Daniel had spent his journeyman years in several countries, he had former player-coaches around him who had retired and were looking for work, and he introduced one he thought had decent character.
And from among them, we carefully screened and selected the best candidate through interviews and appointed him as a youth coach.
'Union Berlin's future is in its youth system. We have to choose as well as we can.'
Anyway.
The moment Neven Subotić scored the equalizer, I could see Jürgen Klopp cheering and running around frantically.
'Maybe because he's young. Looks like his hamstrings are still in great shape.'
The match ended in a draw, and although the team had tied,
“It was a good game.”
“Yeah. Still, I won.”
I had won the rivalry match against Jürgen Klopp.
Because, objectively, my knee-slide celebration was cooler.
[The managers' flashy celebrations in the Union Berlin vs. Mainz clash.]
And once again, I made the front page.
***
As soon as the match was over and I returned to Union Berlin, I went straight to work.
'Everyone's grown a lot.'
It was to update the evaluations of the players after today's match.
'Anyway, the squad really has gotten smaller.'
Union Berlin's current squad totaled 21 players.
After Thomas Tuchel transferred to Bayern Munich, the squad size naturally shrank.
'This is enough.'
I didn't feel the need to sign any more players.
Unlike in the lower-league days, the players' individual stamina had improved, and I wanted to give opportunities to the youngsters coming up through the youth system.
Even after loaning them out to Znicz Pruszków, Union Berlin still had plenty of youth players left.
The players who went on loan were excelling in Poland's second division, and Znicz Pruszków had expressed interest in signing some of them permanently.
When a player wanted to leave, we negotiated and sold them to Znicz Pruszków for a proper fee.
Maybe, for their futures as well, moving on was the better choice.
Their current ability and potential were too middling for a club like Union Berlin.
'We've become a club that has to look not only at potential, but at current ability too.'
Feeling proud of how Union Berlin had grown, I looked over the current first-team squad.
GK (Current Ability / Potential)
Manuel Schmidt ( ★★★ / ★★★★★ )
Lukas Steinmann (★★ / ★★★)
Felix Adler ( ★ / ★★)
First up was the goalkeeper position.
In the goalkeeper position, there were no prospects to call up.
To begin with, Manuel Schmidt himself was now an 18-year-old prospect.
There were youth goalkeepers in the youth team, but none would be able to challenge Manuel Schmidt's standing.
Goalkeepers need stability above all else.
In fact, Manuel Schmidt himself sometimes looked shaky because of his lack of experience.
In important matches where defensive stability was needed, Lukas Steinmann would sometimes start.
DF (Current Ability / Potential)
Jonas Hofmann (★★☆ /★★★★) - Fullback.
One-line note: Union Berlin's starting right-back.
Janek Kovacs. (★★★ /★★★★)
One-line note: He looks like a fighter, but is a commander type.
Marek Jankowski (★★☆ /★★★★)
One-line note: From Poland, he sometimes creates danger with brainless defending.
Ivan Petrovic. (★★☆ /★★★★) - Multi-position (fullback/center back)
One-line note: Croatian. An attacking fullback who actively tries to overlap. He can also play center back, but prefers to play left back.
Florian Weber. (★★☆ /★★★★) - Multi-position (fullback/center back)
One-line note: More solid in defense than in attack. Rare among European players, he's two-footed and can play both left back and right back.
Niklas Eisen. (★★ /★★★)
One-line note: A German center back and rotation member.
Due for call-up.
Kim Minhyuk (★★ /★★★★★) - Center back.
Next came the defenders.
Maybe because I'd focused too much on the midfield and attack.
Compared to the other positions, their potential was a bit lower.
It seemed like the first position I'd reinforce next season.
And as for youth player Kim Minhyuk, it seemed fine to call him up in the second half of the season and give him his debut.
MF (Current Ability / Potential)
Marcus Matschke. (★★★ / ★★★★)
Feature: Came up together from the fourth division.
Thomas Mayer (★★★★ / ★★★★★) - Multi-position. (Midfielder/Winger)
Feature: Recently changed formations.
Roberto Lewandowski. (★★★ / ★★★★★★★) - Multi-position (attacking midfielder/striker)
Luca Schneider. (★★☆ / ★★★★★)
Feature: A player who recently came over to Union Berlin from another club's youth team.
Milan Petrovic (★★☆ / ★★★★)
Feature: Serbian-born, excellent passer.
Kai Heiden. (★★ / ★★★★)
Paul Zimmer. (★★ / ★★★★)
Emil Gross (★★ / ★★★★)
Next was the midfield position, where Union Berlin had the most players. As the position I was most interested in, it generally had solid potential.
FW (Current Ability / Potential)
Timo Breitner (★★★ / ★★★★)
- One-line note: As a classic winger, he prefers whipping in crosses over taking shots himself.
Thomas Mayer (★★★ / ★★★★) - Multi-position. (Winger/Midfielder.)
- One-line note: Unless there's a gap in the lineup, he'll be used as a midfielder.
Yannick Foit (★★★★ / ★★★★★)
- One-line note: Undisputedly Union Berlin's ace. But lately he's been hitting the post a lot. There seems to be some kind of problem. *Counseling needed.
Roberto Lewandowski. (★★★ / ★★★★★★★) - Multi-position (striker/attacking midfielder.)
- One-line note: Playing as an attacking midfielder and growing rapidly.
Son Hongmin (★★☆ / ★★★★★★)
- One-line note: Union Berlin's new finisher. Recording a high scoring rate relative to his playing time.
Ben Richter (★★☆ / ★★★)
- Feature: Rotation member. His contract is set to expire at the end of this season.
In fact, there was nothing to even discuss about the striker position. It ended with Lewandowski, Son Hongmin, and Yannick Foit.
Looking over the first-team squad, I suddenly realized.
'...Huh? Our squad is stronger than I thought.'
***
Union Berlin was mostly German overall, but it had a mix of different races, including Asian players.
And as you'd expect of a poor club,
there were no expensive Western European or South American players.
I then looked at the report containing the evaluations of the prospects after the first-team squad and quietly nodded.
Union Berlin's future was here.
'By the way, I've been way too busy since becoming a manager.'
Being busy as a manager had prevented me from recruiting more players with outstanding talent.
Still, I'd scooped up every kid in Berlin who was said to have talent.
Whenever the club had money, it poured it into youth facilities, and once it showed that it actively gave prospects playing time,
youth players from top-flight clubs were also hovering around, trying to join Union Berlin.
The league the first-team squad played in mattered, but for a prospect, the most important thing was whether the first-team manager was the kind who actively used youngsters.
For the record, not to brag, I was a manager who actively used prospects.
'Life is all or nothing.'
If I wanted to play it safe, I should've been a manager in Korea in this life too.
'And... honestly, it's not like I'd starve to death.'
That was the biggest factor.
Once I gained financial freedom, I no longer had to worry about what others thought.
Well. As I said before.
It's difficult for players to unlock all of their potential.
In Union Berlin's case, they grew quickly because I looked at the youth players' potential, built training around what would help them develop quickly, and instructed the youth coaches on which areas to improve; normally, they'd grow at least twice as slowly as they do now.
In fact, Lewandowski was also growing quickly while playing as an attacking midfielder.
After briefly playing as a striker in the previous match and perhaps feeling that something had changed, Lewandowski no longer complained about playing as an attacking midfielder and was working hard.
“...Let's prepare for the next match.”
After drinking coffee, I slowly prepared for the next match.
***
Union Berlin kept its unbeaten run going after drawing with Mainz.
[Union Berlin beat Freiburg 2-1 at home. 'Son Hongmin's first start of the season.' But a disappointing display.]
[Union Berlin crushed Greuther Fürth 3-0 away. Son Hongmin's second league goal.]
[Union Berlin beat Augsburg 1-0 at home. Son Hongmin went the full 90 minutes.]
[Union Berlin fell 1-0 away to Hoffenheim.]
['Hits the post' Yannick Foit, five straight matches without a goal.]
But Union Berlin's unbeaten run came to an end with the loss to Hoffenheim.
Well. It couldn't be helped.
You can't get points from every match.
'...How are you supposed to beat the legendary Demba Ba?'
Unlike me, who kept a calm expression despite the disappointing loss,
“……Dammit!”
Yannick Foit, who had squandered the equalizer in a crucial chance, was visibly beating himself up.
I looked at Yannick Foit, who was full of anxiety and pressure,
and the next day, I called him into the manager's office for a counseling session.
“…My girlfriend...”
And once I'd created a calm atmosphere, Yannick carefully opened up about his troubles.
“Your girlfriend what? Did she cheat on you or something?”
“She's pregnant.”
Right. I see.
Swish.
“I quit after I signed my pro contract.”
“On a day like today, it's fine to smoke one.”
That day, we shared a smoke.
It was the moment I immediately understood why he'd been in such poor form lately.