Chapter 76
***
When Union Berlin was preparing for its DFB-Pokal match, Korea was buzzing over the news that Park Chan-hyeok had been exempted from military service.
[Union Berlin Manager Park Chan-hyeok Exempted from Military Service!]
Reporters had been framing things by citing Union Berlin's recent moves and tried to paint Park Chan-hyeok as if he'd mocked the entire nation, but unfortunately for them, football fans were on Park Chan-hyeok's side.
[Union Berlin, All Four Korean Overseas Players Join the First-Team Roster….]
That was because Park Chan-hyeok was now a great manager who had unearthed no fewer than four players based overseas.
For South Korean football fans, aside from Hiddink, Park Chan-hyeok was the best manager in the business.
[‘Patriotism on the lips, treason in action.’ Union Berlin manager Park Chan-hyeok's hypocritical conduct.]
└ Calling someone a traitor for being medically exempt because he's sick? What kind of bullshit is that.
└ But why was he exempt from military service? Is something wrong with Park Chan-hyeok?
└ They say he had surgery for an ACL tear.
└ Damn, when did he have surgery? So did he retire from playing because of that?
└ No, he didn't retire because of that. When Park Chan-hyeok visited Korea last year and did that celebration, he was rushed to the hospital; that's when he had the surgery.
└ Huh? He had ACL surgery then?
└ Yeah;; but judging from Park Chan-hyeok's expression, he really did look like he was in a ton of pain.
└ Seriously;; what kind of guts does it take to do a knee-slide celebration on Korean turf?
└ Park Chan-hyeok went straight to Germany without playing professionally in Korea, so not knowing any better, that kind of boldness makes sense lol.
└ But even after that, he was still doing knee slides just fine, so what was that about?
└ He said he himself didn't even know he'd had ACL surgery.
└ How could he not know that?
└ He said he was in so much pain that he couldn't even think straight at the hospital lol.
Of course, not every football fan sided with Park Chan-hyeok. The ones who hated him started bashing him over alleged military-service fraud.
└ Isn't that a lie? I heard Park Chan-hyeok's family is loaded.
└ Honestly, he could've just gotten the exemption through permanent residency—why would he lie about tearing his ACL?
└ He's probably trying to protect his image.
└ There aren't that many Korean football fans anyway, so what's the point of protecting his image?
└ Regardless of the surgery, from the way he was doing those celebrations he looked perfectly fine; shouldn't he have to serve?
└ What nonsense are you spouting? You have to take good care of an ACL, okay;;
└ And this time a statement from Park Chan-hyeok was posted on the official site. It said he hadn't known he'd torn his ACL and had surgery, and that he wouldn't do knee-slide celebrations anymore.
└ No more knee slides now? That's a shame....
└ He said he'd make up for it with another celebration.
└ Fuck lol, is there anything he won't do?
└ Nope lololol.
└ Guys, go vote on the Union Berlin site.
└ What vote?
└ If you go to Union Berlin's site now, Park Chan-hyeok has posted his celebration options and is taking votes on what his next celebration should be lol.
└ Personally, I recommend number 4, the Hoo celebration lol. At first it looks dumb, but the more you watch it, the funnier it gets lol.
For a while, Park Chan-hyeok took over the Korean internet.
Not only existing Union Berlin fans but new fans started pouring in too.
And naturally, Korean football fans' attention turned to the DFB-Pokal, where Union Berlin's match was being played.
- So, what celebration is Park Chan-hyeok doing?
He was curious what celebration Park Chan-hyeok would perform.
And a moment later, the match between Stuttgart and Union Berlin began with the referee's whistle.
[Recently, with three other Korean overseas players besides Son Hong-min being called up to the first team, Union Berlin now has a whopping four! Four Korean players are on the first-team roster.]
└ Kyaa lol, that's insane. Four Korean players on the bench—is this real?
└ Damn, there are four Korean players and you're not going to support them? Are you a traitor?
└ Please, if you're Korean, let's support Union Berlin!!
***
The match began with Stuttgart taking the opening kickoff.
The match against Stuttgart was harder than expected.
Stuttgart pressed Union Berlin hard from the very start of the match.
'As expected, they really were last season's Bundesliga champions.'
Stuttgart won the league title in last year's Bundesliga.
It was their third Bundesliga title in 15 years.
That meant Stuttgart was no longer a mid-to-lower-table club, but an undisputed top-tier club.
Well... this season, despite being last season's Bundesliga champions, they were sitting 7th in the league.
'Did Tuchel rough them up too hard early in the season?'
For reference, the current Bundesliga leaders were Bayern Munich, led by Thomas Tuchel.
This season, Thomas Tuchel had been brutally battering Bundesliga teams.
They'd even earned a new nickname: the terrifying Bayern Munich.
'It feels a bit like Bayern from the Lewa-Bayern days.'
Well. They did seem to stumble a little in the Champions League, but lately they were gradually getting used to that stage too.
Anyway, even if Stuttgart were 7th this season, you couldn't deny they were last season's champions.
Objectively, Stuttgart's squad was clearly superior to Union Berlin's.
'They also kept their squad together really well after winning the title....'
Even so, unlike the first-generation "kindergarten" squad, which had disbanded when its coach left for Bayern Munich, the current Stuttgart had managed to keep most of its key players intact.
'Mario Gomez and Sami Khedira....'
I looked at the two key players for Stuttgart.
Back when I was at Stuttgart, those two were competing for a place in the starting lineup from the bench; now they had firmly established themselves as starters.
Unlike in the past, when we never really got close, I exchanged brief greetings with both of them before the match.
Maybe because they'd secured starting spots, they looked more relaxed than before and greeted me warmly.
Or maybe it was because my position had changed.
Back then I was just a prospect who'd come over from Asia, but now I was the manager of a team likely to be promoted to the top flight.
If back then I'd been treated as just another prospect who'd disappear without a trace, now I was being recognized as part of European football.
A little bittersweet.
Anyway, as a scout, I checked out Stuttgart's players' stats.
Sure enough, as you'd expect from a league-winning club, their players' stats were dazzling.
'He's only 22 and already a monster.'
Among them, I couldn't take my eyes off Mario Gomez.
[Name: Mario Gomez]
[Current Ability: ★★★★★]
[Potential Ability: ★★★★★★]
His current ability was the same five stars as Yannick Voigt's, but with six stars in potential, he seemed a little better than Voigt right now.
I really wanted to sign him.
In the original timeline, Mario Gomez went to Bayern Munich, but now that Thomas Tuchel had taken over Bayern Munich, I had no idea which team he'd end up going to.
Well... even if he didn't go to Bayern Munich, signing Mario Gomez was realistically impossible.
Union Berlin still lacked prestige.
Anyway, once the match started, Mario Gomez was the first to create a dangerous chance among the players on either side.
"Wow.... fuck, I thought that was going in."
Mario Gomez's header just sailed over the crossbar, and I let out a sigh of relief.
***
Rather than pressing high today, Union Berlin sat deeper and went with a counterattacking tactic.
That was because Stuttgart, awkwardly sitting 7th in the league, were the more desperate side, since we were only 2nd.
If the match ended in a draw, it would go to extra time, and considering Stuttgart's remaining schedule, it would be far more damaging to them than to us.
And anyway, from the fans' perspective, scraping out a hard-fought win at home against a second-division team wouldn't be pleasant either.
That was one of the risks that came with being a first-division club.
By contrast, our Union Berlin fans wouldn't care even if we sweated against a third-division team at home.
Maybe because it still felt like just yesterday that the club had almost folded due to a financial crisis, expectations were incredibly low.
Well... that would probably change once Union Berlin stayed in the first division for a long time.
Anyway, even if I was in far-off Germany, I was still of Korean blood.
I was pretty well versed in Korea's traditional 'you come at me' tactic.
I parked two buses and unleashed the 'you come at me' tactic, and as time passed, Stuttgart under Coach Agamin Pe slowly began to push their line higher.
Stuttgart's players must have been getting impatient with the current situation, where it felt like a goal was about to go in but never did, because at some point the midfield and defense lines started to spread apart.
'Now!'
And just then, Ivan Petrovich succeeded in taking the ball away from Mario Gomez.
"Referee!!"
"No foul!"
Since the foul was rougher than expected, we might have been awarded a free kick in a dangerous area, but thankfully the referee let play continue.
Union Berlin's counterattack continued, and the ball went through Lewandowski to reach Son Hong-min.
Son Hong-min calmly attempted a cross from the flank….
The one who shook Stuttgart's net was….
"Yannick─!!!"
It was Union Berlin's savior, Yannick Voigt.
The moment Yannick Voigt's shot ripped through the net, I sprinted full speed toward the corner flag.
Because the club thought a manager appearing in handcuffs at every match looked bad for its image, they'd taken them off.
"At last, freedom!!"
But I couldn't perform the celebration I'd prepared.
"Ah, right. This was my old club."
Because Stuttgart had been my old club.
Only after reaching the corner flag did I belatedly remember that Stuttgart was my former team, and I hurriedly raised both hands in a gesture of respect toward my old club.
"...What the hell is he doing?"
What I hadn't expected, however, was the bewildered reaction from the Stuttgart fans.