Chapter 75
***
A few days earlier, when she was in Korea on business, Park Jeong-ah went to the hospital where Park Chan-hyuk had once been hospitalized.
She was there to take care of Park Chan-hyuk's military-service issue.
‘No, if you just pay a little to get him exempted, why would he be stressed out about that…. ’
Since he had actually been hospitalized, all it would have taken was a simple falsified diagnosis.
‘Idiot.’
Military-service issues were something that could be solved very easily with money.
But Park Jeong-ah had to hear an unexpected answer at the hospital.
"...He really had ACL surgery?"
"Uh… yes. We told the patient, and we got his consent form too."
"Why the hell didn't he tell his family he'd had surgery?"
It was only natural that harsh words came out of Park Jeong-ah's mouth.
She'd come all the way to the hospital in the middle of a busy schedule, only to make a wasted trip.
‘...Let's see how long he keeps it a secret from his family.’
Park Jeong-ah waited to see when Park Chan-hyuk would bring up the ACL surgery himself.
“Hey, Park Jeong-ah, if I don't have to go to the army, will that get in the way of doing business in Korea?”
“You're exempt, oppa.”
“Huh?”
But only today did Park Jeong-ah realize the truth.
That Park Chan-hyuk really had no idea he'd had ACL surgery.
***
‘No wonder it hurt like hell back then.’
The moment I heard Park Jeong-ah's words, a smile spread across my face on its own.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I don't know; it just comes out on its own.”
An ACL tear doesn't actually reduce athletic ability all that much.
‘The meniscus is a lot more serious than the ACL.’
Still, it was definitely a serious injury. It required thorough management and rehab.
‘Looks like I'll definitely have to keep doing lower-body workouts from now on.’
For the record, after an ACL tear, you shouldn't do intense movements like knee-slide celebrations.
But how many people actually listen to their doctors?
In fact, some people who tear their ACL while playing soccer still keep playing without ever coming to their senses.
‘...Guess my body was really young, since my recovery was on another level.’
Well. Looks like knee-slide celebrations end here.
‘From now on, I'll be greeting you all with Hoo.’
‘Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a no-celebration in my dictionary.’
***
[Bundesliga, the winter transfer window opens....]
[Top clubs express interest in Yannick Voigt.]
[Dortmund and Leverkusen make transfer offers for Yannick Voigt....]
[Yannick Voigt posts on his SNS.... “My heart is made of steel.”]
└ Nice lol
└ But do they pay that much? Union Berlin players are insanely loyal.
└ They boot out anyone who complains right away, lol.
└ Wow, Union Berlin's average age is ridiculously young....
└ Yannick Voigt is basically the team's oldest guy, so that says it all.
***
Although the January transfer window had opened, Union Berlin were already running a stable squad and didn't plan to bring in any more players, so even with the winter window open, I wasn't as busy as I'd expected.
Youth call-ups were already planned, and even if one or two players suddenly left the team, it wouldn't be a major problem.
I decided to save the money we'd use in the winter transfer window for next season.
If we were promoted to the first division this season, we'd need a major recruitment drive.
And if we made it to the first division, the pool of players we could recruit would widen as well.
Players who wouldn't have even looked at us in the second division would at least show some interest for a moment.
‘More than anything, winter signings are too expensive.’
Well. There was no need to sign anyone in the winter transfer window anyway.
The Union Berlin players still hadn't fully unlocked their potential, and they already had more than enough of it to begin with.
If the players kept growing like this, we'd be even stronger next year.
‘Next season, maybe a 24-man squad, excluding prospects, would be enough?’
The Bundesliga has only 18 teams in the first division, fewer than La Liga, the Premier League, or Serie A, so the schedule is a bit looser—unless you're playing in Europe.
‘For the time being, I should look first at defenders with good potential.’
‘Didn't they say attack brings in the crowds, while defense brings victories?’
A stable back line was essential if we wanted to win the title.
‘And besides, even for attack to work, the back line has to be solid.’
I thought about Union Berlin's current defenders.
Unfortunately, their attributes were lacking compared with the other positions.
‘Hmph. Should I teach them my secret weapon, the “Devil’s Right Arm”?’
This technique has the advantage of being able to stop even players a tier above you, but its fatal flaw is that opposing fans will curse you out to hell and you'll earn a thoroughly hated image.
Back in my days in the Korean league, it was such a small pond that everyone knew everyone through one degree of separation, so the players didn't want to learn it. The risk outweighed the benefit.
‘Still, this place is bigger, so maybe there'll be players who want to learn it?’
Well, once the break was over, I'd ask the defenders.
‘If we reach the first division, the first thing I’ll need to do is rebuild the reserve team.’
I set my priorities for what needed to be done if we got promoted, and the reserve team was first on the list to bring back.
Not having a reserve team was more inconvenient than I'd expected.
In fact, Union Berlin had originally had a reserve team, as you'd expect from a second-division club. But after Thomas Tuchel took over, he streamlined things.
‘From the start, the financial trouble was so severe that proper operation wasn't even possible.’
After that, the reserve team had been empty ever since.
‘Somehow, finding a coach or manager was even harder than finding players....’
There just weren't many people willing to work as coaches under a twenty-year-old Asian kid.
And that was why Daniel Teixeira was effectively our head coach.
Daniel Teixeira's work was better than I'd expected, and the head coach needed to be someone the manager could trust more than someone with raw ability.
‘If your head coach stabs you in the back, you’re done for.’
Because they often served as the bridge between the squad and the manager, once they started sowing discord, there'd be no fixing it. Besides, our family's stake in the club was absolute, so even if we got stabbed in the back we could retaliate immediately—but the best thing was to avoid that situation in the first place.
‘Still, once we got promoted to the first division, there would be plenty of people eager to work with us.’
Well.... right now the club's reputation isn't strong enough, so they brush us off, but if we reach the first division, a lot of things will change.
***
Time passed quickly, and a week before the DFB-Pokal round of 16 against Stuttgart, the squad was called back together.
On the first day, I lightly checked the players' current physical condition.
After a long break, there were bound to be some players whose condition was a complete mess.
Well, naturally.
As human beings, it's hard to overcome desire.
- Anyone whose condition is a wreck gets sent back for another army boot camp during pre-season.
Still, just in case, I'd strongly warned the players before the winter break.
“...You really hated going to the army that much?”
“Ja!”
However, what I hadn't expected was that these guys hated army boot camp far more than I'd imagined.
The entire squad came back in excellent shape.
‘Well.... more than the army, their hunger to be promoted was probably greater.’
If they didn't completely tank in the second half, they'd become the first-division players they'd always dreamed of.
‘Looks like there are a few I won’t be able to take with me....’
I felt bad, but it couldn't be helped.
It was part of a manager's job to decisively cut loose players who lacked ability.
That said, I'll try to take as many players as possible who can fill rotation roles.
‘Players who don't complain about playing time are just as rare as high-potential players.’
Anyway.
After that, time passed quickly and the DFB-Pokal match against Stuttgart was right around the corner.
***
‘Stuttgart....’
We arrived at Stuttgart's home ground, Gottlieb Daimler Stadium.
I slowly looked around the stadium for a while.
It felt strangely nostalgic to be back here.
‘Most of the squad had changed.’
In a way, Stuttgart was my old club in this life.
I’d started my career here through the German study-abroad program.
And meeting Tuchel here was the biggest stroke of luck I'd ever had.
‘After Tuchel stormed off in a rage, I was left high and dry....’
Well... I didn't have any regrets at all.
Honestly, if I were them, I wouldn't develop a prospect like me either.
“Park. Long time no see.”
“Oh. Have you been well?”
Anyway, I exchanged light greetings with Stuttgart's higher-ups after a long time.
Well.... that was all there was to it.
The person I was closest to at Stuttgart was Philipp Lahm, and unfortunately he'd already gone back to Bayern Munich.
‘...Still, to respect my old club, I’d better hold back on the celebration.’
“At the very least, why are you stealing a player's celebration in the first place, coach?”
Daniel Teixeira, who'd heard my muttering, shot back, but I let it go in one ear and out the other.
‘A question so uncool it wasn’t even worth answering.’