Chapter 95
A few days after Park Chan-hyuk held the burning event.
A match between Union Berlin and Oseong Red Wings was held at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
"Let's go home with a big win!"
"Jaaaaaaa!"
Union Berlin's players were fired up even before the match began.
Oseong Red Wings, just two years ago,
had been the team to hand Union Berlin a defeat when they were still in the third division.
For Union Berlin's players, it was a revenge match of their own.
[Yes, Union Berlin, who were a third-division team just two years ago, have returned as a Bundesliga first-division side!]
[Hearing that, you can really feel how quickly Union Berlin has grown. Their squad list has changed a lot since then, but there are still some players who remain.]
Of the players who had taken part in that match, only Markus Matschke and Yannick Voigt remained. Plus a few bench players, and Daniel Teixeira, who was now a coach.
That was enough to influence Union Berlin's newcomers.
The players who had recently joined Union Berlin, upon hearing that the team had once lost to Oseong Red Wings, did not let their guard down and finished their preparations in earnest.
They had forgotten that Union Berlin had been in the third division just two years ago.
It was that unusual to be promoted directly from the fourth division to the first division.
[And we're off! The match between Oseong Red Wings and Union Berlin has begun. Union Berlin get the kickoff!]
The match began with the referee's whistle.
[Oh? Union Berlin are sending a long ball forward right from the kickoff?]
As soon as the match started, Robert Lewandowski booted the ball that Yannick Voigt had nudged to him toward the attacking touchline.
It was a tactic that PSG's Luis Enrique would later use.
'The first one to use it gets to keep it.'
The "Copy Ninja" Hatake Park Chan-hyuk was unapologetic.
Simply because a tactic was in his head and not someone else's did not mean he wasn't giving it his all, and in sports, that would actually be the more shameful thing.
[Union Berlin's strong press! The Oseong Red Wings players are rattled!]
[Ah! We've never heard or seen a tactic like this before!]
And a short while later,
the Oseong Red Wings players were dispossessed by Union Berlin's organized, meticulous press.
[Luka Modrić steals the ball!]
Luka Modrić, having won the ball, looked toward Yannick Voigt, who was darting into the penalty box.
[Luka Modrić has spotted Yannick Voigt!]
Luka Modrić's through ball headed for Yannick Voigt.
[Yannick Voigt enters the penalty box! He shoots right away!]
He calmly slotted it past the goalkeeper, who was hurriedly dropping low.
[Goooooal─! Yannick Voigt scores the opening goal just one minute into the match!!]
[Park Chan-hyuk's inventive tactic and Yannick Voigt's clean finish! Union Berlin take a one-goal lead!!]
***
'...Was it always this easy?'
Yannick Voigt, who had scored the opening goal, tilted his head.
Facing Oseong Red Wings again left him feeling a little strange.
Until just two years ago, Oseong Red Wings had been as towering to Union Berlin as a mountain.
Back then, Oseong Red Wings had made Yannick Voigt feel as if he were facing a wall.
But Union Berlin were crushing the Oseong Red Wings they had met again.
In the past, if Union Berlin's players had looked at the professional Oseong Red Wings players with eyes full of admiration,
now it was the Oseong Red Wings players who were looking at Yannick Voigt with admiration.
'We really have grown a lot.'
Yannick Voigt was once again aware of how much the club's standing had changed.
While Yannick Voigt, who had shared in Union Berlin's history, was lost in sentiment,
"Nice goal."
"Ah. Luka. That pass was insane."
Luka Modrić came over and congratulated Yannick Voigt on the goal.
Yannick Voigt got along with this newcomer better than he'd expected.
He was diligent in training, and there were no problems in his personal life either.
He was always kind to Union Berlin's staff, and he never held back from giving his teammates sharp criticism when it could improve their play.
'Chan-hyuk said the goal this season was to reach the Champions League, right...?'
Yannick Voigt thought that goal might actually be possible.
'The Champions League....'
The words "Champions League" made Yannick's heart start pounding.
***
Right from kickoff, Union Berlin aggressively pinned Oseong Red Wings back.
We succeeded in scoring the opening goal.
"Waaaaaaa─!"
Along with Union Berlin's goal, the fans' cheers rang out.
Unlike the last time we came to Korea, there were quite a lot of fans in the stadium cheering for Union Berlin.
I remembered that most of the fans who came to the stadium back then had been booing us.
'...Hmm. Was it because I provoked them back then?'
Anyway, I raised a hand from my seat to thank them, and turned my gaze back to the pitch to focus on the game.
I could see the Oseong Red Wings manager's bewildered expression at Union Berlin's outlandish tactics.
This was a tactic only possible because Union Berlin were confident in their high press.
I gave the players specific instructions on when to press, and they executed them excellently.
With Oseong Red Wings' kickoff, the match resumed, and not long after, Union Berlin succeeded in taking the ball from them.
"Push up!"
In Union Berlin's defensive line, only Thiago Silva and Ivan Petrovic were left.
For the record, in this match Cafu played as the right wing-back, helping Union Berlin's attacking buildup.
Even if his mobility had declined with age, his crosses were still sharp.
Against an opponent sitting deep, Cafu's crosses were enough.
"Drop down!!"
Still, that didn't mean Oseong Red Wings were being beaten one-sidedly.
They also launched dangerous counterattacks against Union Berlin.
Oseong Red Wings' counterattack came right after the ball was lost in the buildup.
But Union Berlin's final barrier was Thiago Silva.
Thiago Silva calmly shut down Oseong Red Wings' counterattack.
"Thiago!"
He intercepted it and immediately sent it long upfield.
This time, Robert Lewandowski shook the Oseong Red Wings net.
'...There really is quite a gap in squad quality.'
When the match ended, people might say it was down to player quality, but well, that only held if the margin was a decent three or four goals. If it was an overwhelming blowout, it would be hard even to say that.
Rather than giving Korean managers an excuse, it was better to crush them so thoroughly they couldn't even open their mouths.
Maybe because they were already two goals ahead early in the first half.
The fire in Union Berlin's players' eyes seemed to fade.
"Don't forget! The bonus is quadrupled!"
I clapped from the touchline and encouraged the players. The fire in their eyes began to return.
And among them, the 'dad-to-be' Yannick Voigt was especially impressive.
Maybe because his due date was drawing near, he had a lot of expenses coming up.
I walked up to a nearby camera and pointed at my eyes with my index and middle fingers.
I meant for the managers who had been talking big before the match to watch the game.
In truth, it was more common than you'd think for Korean sports officials to look down on overseas players.
They often thought they had plenty of ability, but had been unable to shine because of the era they lived in.
'Well. Among them, there were probably a few who really could have shone.'
Objectively, most of them were not.
It was fine to be proud of your own ability and league, but it wasn't okay to put others down.
Anyway, while I was provoking them toward the camera,
Union Berlin rattled Oseong Red Wings' net once again.
This time, it was Yannick Voigt who scored.
I just clapped from where I stood instead of celebrating.
It was because I was reminded of the PTSD from the last time we came to Korea, when I got injured doing a knee-slide celebration.
"Booooo─! Park Chan-hyuk, do a celebration!"
But when I didn't celebrate, boos erupted from the stands.
I remembered them being angry at my celebration just two years ago, so this was strange.
"Ho~! Hoo!"
Under the crowd's boos, I 'had no choice but to' sprint to the corner flag and put on a celebration.
"Park Chan-hyuk, you son of a bitch!!"
"Hey, are you provoking us right now?!"
Then, this time, curses broke out along with the boos.
"...What am I supposed to do?"
Seriously. Which beat was I supposed to dance to, anyway?
***
[Union Berlin keep applying pressure. Luka Modrić steals the ball! Pushes it to Robert Lewandowski! Lewandowski lays it off once more, Luka Modrić!!!]
[Goooooal! Luka Modrić scores his debut goal after joining Union Berlin.]
[Ah!! It's 4-0! 4-0!!!! What's going on here! Union Berlin are strong! Really strong!! They're showing an overwhelming difference in quality against the Korean league champions!]
[That last goal was basically the game-ender.... Ah! Oseong Red Wings fans are starting to cry.]
[This is shocking! Is this what a European first-division team looks like? How big is the gap with the K League?]
[All of Korean football must reflect on itself! If Korean football is to develop, it should start watching and learning from European football right now!]
***
The first half between Union Berlin and Oseong Red Wings came to an end.
Union Berlin added two more goals, successfully scoring six in the first half alone.
The Oseong Red Wings players headed to the locker room with shattered morale.
Meanwhile, Union Berlin's players seemed satisfied with the result.
I called out to the players whose fire had faded.
"I'm still hungry."
"...Want one?"
In response to my words, Yannick held out the banana he had been about to eat to replenish his energy.
'What is this, racism?'
I accepted the banana with a sour look.