Chapter 84
***
Mainz’s Jürgen Klopp was deeply troubled ahead of the match against Union Berlin.
That was because of Mainz’s current results.
[Mainz, currently 4th in the league—will they fail to earn promotion to the Bundesliga?]
Mainz were currently in 4th place in the league, behind Mönchengladbach, Union Berlin, and Hoffenheim.
Since only the top three could be promoted to the top flight.
Mainz had to beat Union Berlin in this match.
‘I don’t know whether I should be happy or sad.’
Because of that situation, Jürgen Klopp felt conflicted seeing Union Berlin regain their form.
He regretted having had the chance to take an easy win against the slumping Union Berlin.
At the same time, he felt joy at being able to face Union Berlin at full strength.
‘Amazing.’
Jürgen Klopp held Park Chan-hyeok in very high regard.
His tactics, strategy, and even leadership were too perfect for a rookie manager.
And above all, Park Chan-hyeok’s eye for talent was good enough to be called the best.
Even among managers praised for their eye for talent, there was no one who produced results as steadily as Park Chan-hyeok.
Having grown somewhat friendly after their first-half clash, the two exchanged contact details.
The two of them often talked.
And the more they talked, the more they realized their values matched quite well.
Ahead of the match against Union Berlin, Jürgen Klopp sent Park Chan-hyeok a message.
- Jürgen Klopp: Let’s have a good game.
But Park Chan-hyeok’s reply that followed was not what Jürgen Klopp expected.
- Park Chan-hyeok: Jürgen Klopp, you should have shown me respect. I am Union Berlin’s largest shareholder, the greatest manager in Union Berlin history, and the man who will lead Union Berlin to the Bundesliga, and…[Read more.]
***
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at Jürgen Klopp’s message.
[Mainz manager Jürgen Klopp: “Mainz will win this match. I saw Chan-hyeok’s limits in the last game.”]
- Old Man Klopp: Let’s have a good game.
I didn’t understand what he meant by provoking me in an interview and then telling me to have a good game in a messaging app.
‘Is this some kind of carrot-and-stick tactic...?’
Well... it didn’t matter how the other side came at us.
What mattered now was how prepared we were.
Union Berlin were an obvious powerhouse in the second division, and powerhouse teams have their own way of doing things.
A strong team shouldn’t be shaken by trivial things like this.
“Yannick! Focus!”
I ran training as usual before the match against Mainz.
“…Why is the boss so on edge today?”
“No clue. Did he tell somebody to go home and get married or something?”
“Lucky. I wish I had a younger sibling who could introduce me to women...”
***
Union Berlin’s squad was absurdly young. The fact that Yannick Poit, who was only in his mid-twenties, was already among Union Berlin’s oldest players said it all.
‘……Huh, come to think of it, I’m only in my early twenties myself.’
One characteristic of such a young team was that it tended to be overly swayed by momentum.
Once they got on a roll, they’d look so overwhelmingly dominant you’d think they could beat Barcelona or Real Madrid to a pulp, but once they started to slip, they’d keep falling and falling.
Thanks to my sacrifice, we had managed to reverse the momentum and squeeze out a win against St. Pauli in the previous match.
Still, the fact remained that we hadn’t fully caught the momentum yet, so I was uneasy.
But I believed we’d be fine as long as I was with the Union Berlin players I had raised.
‘Let’s trust the players. And let’s trust myself, the one who raised them.’
Watching the players train hard, I tried to shake off my unease.
***
[Union Berlin, 2nd in the league, vs. Mainz, 4th in the league.]
[Mönchengladbach lose to a team in the relegation zone...! Can Union Berlin beat Mainz and retake first place?]
└ Hah lol this is a real chance to retake first place
└ The second division is weirdly fun lol
└ I’ve never seen the standings race this intense in the second division before.
└ Park Chan-hyeok <<< making the second division exciting by crashing out against Bayern Munich in the cup.
└ Lmao, I never thought he’d field a full-strength lineup and just go straight at them.
└ But honestly that match was insanely fun. It ended 4-1, but that was because Oliver Kahn put on an insane save clinic....
└
└ Do you only get promoted to the Bundesliga if you win the title?
└ No, the top three get promoted to the Bundesliga.
└ What about the playoffs?
└ There are no playoffs in the Bundesliga.
└ Then if things stay like this, we’ll be able to see Union Berlin in the Bundesliga next year, right?
└ Yeah, unless Park Chan-hyeok gets a bad case of master-manager syndrome and blows it, they’re basically in the clear for promotion.
[A showdown between the newly emerging young managers.... Who will come out on top!]
***
“Chan-hyeok!”
“Jürgen!”
Before the match started, I greeted Jürgen Klopp warmly.
And we started chatting, though nothing grand—just very trivial things.
“Next transfer window, recommend me a player.”
“What kind of player do you want?”
“A defender who scores a goal every match and can defend well.”
“If there were such a great player, we’d sign him ourselves.”
“You’re quite the talent hog, aren’t you?”
“Have you ever seen a good manager hate a good player?”
After our first-half clash, we’d had many conversations.
It was because we’d each carried our share of frustrations while leading similarly sized mid-tier clubs.
That was how we became the kind of friends who could speak casually with each other.
As I was greeting Jürgen Klopp warmly,
time passed quickly.
A moment later, with the referee’s whistle,
the match between Union Berlin and Mainz began.
“Eisern─!! Union!!”
***
[The two teams are clashing fiercely right from the start of the match.]
The two teams showed intense pressing from the opening whistle.
Both Mainz and Union Berlin had come out with aggressive tactics.
[They’ve won the ball back! But Thomas Meier stops the counterattack with a foul before long.]
[A smart foul. If he’d been beaten there, it would have been dangerous. He cut it off with a foul.]
[Yes. He didn’t even receive a card from the referee.]
On the pitch, the two teams were switching between attack and defense without a moment’s rest.
Then, in the 33rd minute of the first half.
It was Union Berlin that first seized control of the game.
[Thomas Meier cuts it out once again. He turns his head, looking for a teammate to pass to!]
The moment Thomas Meier intercepted it, he played it to Lewandowski.
[Thomas Meier to Lewandowski!]
Lewandowski backheeled it to Son Hong-min, who was making a run into Mainz’s back line.
[Lewandowski’s backheel! To Son Hong-min! Son Hong-min is fast! Mainz’s back line is completely open!]
Son Hong-min quickly burst into the space behind Mainz’s back line.
After shaking off Mainz’s defenders, Son Hong-min entered the penalty box.
After checking the goalkeeper’s position, Son Hong-min struck calmly.
But perhaps because he struck it a little off-center.
Son Hong-min’s shot hit the post and bounced back out into the box.
“Ah!!”
Just as Son Hong-min was clutching his head in disappointment.
The shot rebounded off the post.
Tap.
Yannick Poit neatly tapped it into the net.
[G-goooooooooal─!! Yannick Poit! Yannick Poit scores the opener! Since when was this player in the penalty box? Yannick Poit suddenly pops up and slots it home for the goal!!]
***
The moment Yannick Poit’s shot tore into Mainz’s net.
I ran straight to the corner flag.
The shackles that had bound me had also been removed, for appearances’ sake.
I was Exodia, freed from its seal.
That meant no one could stop me.
I could see the wry smile on Jürgen Klopp’s face, and I slowly crossed my arms.
“Hooouuuuu─!”
It was a perfect opening strike against Jürgen Klopp.
If the opponent had been an ordinary manager, Union Berlin could have coasted to a comfortable win off that one opening strike.
But... unfortunately, Jürgen Klopp was not an ordinary manager.
Five minutes later.
Mainz’s Neven Subotić scored the equalizer from a corner kick.
Jürgen Klopp immediately ran to the corner flag and performed a knee-slide celebration while looking at me.
‘……You’re taunting me here?’
I could tell instinctively. This was a taunt that meant, ‘You can’t do a knee-slide celebration, can you?’
Apart from the fierce battle on the field.
A fierce battle of celebrations was unfolding between the managers on the touchline.
***
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
‘……Why are the managers acting like idiots on the touchline?’
Yannick Poit, who had had his celebration stolen from him again today, felt wronged.