Chapter 82
***
[Bayern Munich thrashes Union Berlin 4–1.]
[Bayern Munich advances to the DFB-Pokal semifinals.]
[Union Berlin's Park Chan-hyeok: “It's disappointing, but I have no regrets. I want to applaud the players who worked hard.”]
[Union Berlin, disappointing defeat..... Still, they fought well despite the loss!]
└ Wow. That match was fun.
└ If that shot had gone in in the second half, the momentum might've changed.
└ For real;; Oliver Kahn is insane for blocking that.
[Bayern Munich legends complain.... “Did we really need to run the starters full tilt?”]
[Thomas Tuchel to Munich legends.... “If you're so great, then you coach the team.”]
└ Why are the losers comforting each other while the winners are fighting among themselves?
└ A turf war, I guess.
└ Ugh, same over there too.
└ People are pretty much the same everywhere.
└ I wonder if Tuchel's going to step down once this season's over.
└ Seems like it.... They're doing well in the Bundesliga, the Pokal, and the Champions League, so they probably won't sack him in this situation.
└ He used to at least hide it, but now he's just going in headfirst. They must be completely at odds.
[Mansour, the owner of Manchester City, shows interest in Thomas Tuchel.]
***
The day after the match against Bayern Munich ended.
Union Berlin wasn't much different from usual.
With only a few league matches left, we focused on recovery training.
There was a bit of regret over the DFB-Pokal exit, but the players' expressions were mostly bright.
I guess that was thanks to me changing the atmosphere in the locker room.
'...Maybe we'd be in a better mood if we'd won the Pokal, though.'
Well. It couldn't be helped.
We'd run into a kind of calamity called Bayern Munich.
And it was Bayern Munich led by Thomas Tuchel, no less.
[Bayern Munich legends complain.... “Did we really need to run the starters full tilt?”]
What was ridiculous was that Bayern Munich's conflict erupted even after they won the Pokal in a rout.
“Why are you fighting even though you won?”
Well... It's not exactly an incomprehensible situation.
It's a well-known fact that Bayern Munich legends meddle in club management and the squad.
In fact, around the time Pep Guardiola took over Bayern Munich and started implanting his tactics.
one of the Munich legends publicly complained in the media that the team was turning into Barcelona.
'Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich had results that absolutely deserved criticism, though.'
Even from outside the club, the sense that they were trying to undermine Guardiola was too strong.
If that was being said outside, the inside must have been even worse, not better.
'Is this because I'm a manager?'
Well... Maybe I'm siding with Pep Guardiola because I'm a manager.
And unlike Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, this Guardiola had plenty of problems.
And though he was a little different from Pep Guardiola, Tuchel's personality also wasn't normal.
It was only natural for Thomas Tuchel and the Bayern board to clash.
Anyway, that afternoon after training ended.
I had coffee and talked with Park Jeong-ah, who had come to the club.
One oblivious Union Berlin employee grumbled after seeing Park Jeong-ah, asking if this was a playground for kids.
But after hearing she was the head of a huge IT company, he quietly lowered his head.
He'd realized who was paying his salary.
'As the saying goes, beware children, the elderly, and women.'
I clicked my tongue at that employee.
“Oppa, so you're not going on blind dates?”
I used to talk with Park Jeong-ah fairly often.
I'd been holding back on conversations lately because Park Jeong-ah kept telling me to go on blind dates, but it's not like I can spend my whole life avoiding talking to family.
“…I should enjoy life too!”
I told Park Jeong-ah I'd get married at the right time.
“No, didn't you live to around 37 in your previous life? That's enough enjoyment already, isn't it?”
“…….”
“Oppa, had you really never dated anyone until that age?”
I stayed silent at my younger sister's question, and our conversation naturally moved on to another topic.
For the record, I wasn't a total beginner.
The stories from the times I'd dated girls were horrifying beyond words... in any case, I wasn't.
I naturally changed the subject by talking about Thomas Tuchel and Bayern Munich.
Park Jeong-ah exploded in anger as soon as she heard me.
“That's jwi-heun. Fuck.”
My younger sister started babbling in words only she understood.
She said the novel she liked had gone on hiatus because of 'jwi-heun,' too.
“What is jwi-heun?”
“It means readers grab the author and shake them around.”
I obediently nodded at Park Jeong-ah's words.
I hadn't understood my sister's explanation.
I just nodded because if I didn't, she'd definitely go on for ages explaining something I had no interest in.
'By the way, why is this kid getting more and more foul-mouthed?'
I lightly smacked Park Jeong-ah on the head and lectured her.
“How can you curse in front of an adult? That's rude.”
As a descendant of the Korean people, I still had Confucian DNA in me.
“An adult? Where...”
Park Jeong-ah said that with a wronged look, and I pointed at myself with a finger.
I was legally an adult.
That meant I was on a different level from a minor like you.
“Me.”
“……”
Judging by Park Jeong-ah's expression, I figured it was time to set her straight.
“Water.”
“…… It's right in front of you.”
“Pour it for me.”
Park Jeong-ah glared at me, but what could she do?
If you don't like it, you should've been born earlier than me.
Anyway.
I succeeded in keeping Park Jeong-ah in line again today.
***
A few days after the Bayern Munich match ended.
Union Berlin lost a league match to Augsburg, who were fighting relegation.
[Huge upset! Augsburg takes down Union Berlin!]
[Augsburg moves one step closer to survival after beating Union Berlin!]
Well. Losing a football match is only natural.
No matter how good a team is, they can't win every time.
'There's a reason football is called a sport of mistakes.'
The most important thing is not falling into a losing streak.
Football is a sport of momentum, and what's important is breaking the bad momentum and bringing in good momentum.
[Union Berlin concede a late winner!]
But starting with the loss to Augsburg, Union Berlin fell into a losing streak.
[Two straight losses... Is Union Berlin okay?]
Wow. Did Bayern hit them too hard...?
What's with the defenders' concentration?
The whole team seems tired;;
Even when Union Berlin went ahead, they couldn't hold onto the lead until the end.
The situation was so bad that Union Berlin fans were voicing concern about the shaky team.
[Union Berlin drops to second place in the league...]
[Should Union Berlin have focused on the league? Manager Park Chan-hyeok's fatal misjudgment?]
Wow. The reporters who had been trashing Park Chan-hyeok were hiding out, and the moment the losing streak hit, they immediately popped back up to trash him again.
Reporter x, hack journalist o
Seriously, it's disgusting.
In the end.
Union Berlin went three matches in a row without a win and fell to second place in the league.
Their promotion chances were still largely intact, but if they couldn't turn things around quickly, trouble was likely.
'Not good.'
I looked at the squad after the loss.
Overall, the players looked thoroughly worn out.
It felt like they were at their limit mentally rather than physically.
The solution is simple.
Give them a short break to recharge.
That day, I declared a vacation for the players.
“From tomorrow, you have three days off, so don't come to the training ground.”
Worried I might criticize their performance...
The tense players looked at me with confused eyes.
Hearing that they were getting a vacation should have made them cheer, but the players instead looked worried.
Without realizing it, the burden of having to secure promotion this season had settled in their hearts.
“Chan-hyeok, we're okay...”
“For about three days, don't do anything and just rest.”
What we needed was time.
And fortunately, we still had enough time.
***
I had given the players a vacation, but I still had to prepare tactics for the next match.
[Union Berlin vs. St. Pauli.]
Union Berlin's next opponent wasn't bad.
It was their fellow promoted side, St. Pauli.
And on match day.
I entered the stadium wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, the classic vacation outfit.
The Union Berlin players' eyes were darting all over the place, and I made a declaration in front of them.
“Don't feel burdened. Just enjoy the match. So what if we don't get promoted? We'll do it next season.”
It was meant to tell the players not to feel pressure about promotion.
“I can't take it. I can't hear a thing over the boss's outfit...”
“...Aren't you cold? It's still chilly out.”
And my strategy seemed to be a complete success.