Chapter 98
“Ah…. Manager Park Chan-hyuk just suddenly collapsed? I hope it isn’t anything serious.”
The Korean commentators and football fans watching Union Berlin’s match were visibly worried.
Because the broadcast showed Park Chan-hyuk collapsing and the players gathering around him.
“……! It was a cramp! What a relief!”
“Yes, that’s right. We really thought something terrible had happened. I’m so glad it was just a cramp.”
And a little while later.
When the team doctor, looking thoroughly fed up, was seen lifting Park Chan-hyuk’s legs, the commentators let out a sigh of relief.
It didn’t look like there was any serious problem.
- Holy shit, I thought it was serious and my heart was about to explode.
- No, but is it for real that the manager got a cramp? LOL
- He did sprint like crazy to steal the celebration, though.
- LOL, a manager getting injured because he ran full speed to steal a player’s celebration, hahaha.
***
After the little commotion(?), the match resumed with Bayern Munich’s kickoff.
Bayern Munich’s players couldn’t possibly lose so helplessly at home.
They immediately went on the offensive in search of an equalizer.
Union Berlin began to work the match calmly.
“Don’t get dragged into their tempo!”
It was Cafu’s veteran savvy that steadied the Union Berlin players.
If Cafu shone in defense, the player making the biggest impact up front was Yannick Voigt.
Yannick Voigt’s sudden runs, made possible by his superb positioning and burst of speed,
quickly tore into Bayern Munich’s penalty area.
The keeper dropped low and hurriedly narrowed the shooting angle, but
There would be no repeat of the first mistake.
After checking the positions of the goal and the keeper, Yannick Voigt calmly shot while keeping his eyes on the ball.
Bwoom─.
The ball skimmed past the keeper’s side and shook Bayern Munich’s net.
The moment Yannick Voigt’s shot once again tore through Bayern Munich’s net.
“Yannick─ Voigt!! Fußball Gott!!”
An enormous roar erupted from Union Berlin’s away supporters.
[The man who was top scorer in the 4th Division, top scorer in the 3rd Division, top scorer in the 2nd Division, and is now challenging for the top scorer title in the 1st Division is Yannick Voigt!]
***
‘……At this rate, it’s not Yannick Voigt becoming Germany’s Jamie Vardy—it’s Jamie Vardy becoming England’s Yannick Voigt.’
When Yannick Voigt’s shot hit the net, I quietly celebrated on the bench.
The reason I didn’t sprint out to the corner flag was that the pain I’d felt just moments ago was still vivid.
Anyway.
The first half ended, and I didn’t give the players any particular tactical instructions during halftime in the locker room.
After all, you can only counter an opponent if they actually have a proper tactic to respond to.
There was no need to change tactics while we were already beating Munich.
‘It’ll just confuse the players for no reason.’
If they tried to switch tactics on the fly like they did in the first half, we’d just improvise
and deal with it.
“How’s that? Bayern’s not that big a deal after all, right?”
“Boss, is this what tactical difference looks like!”
“That’s right. Praise me, you fools.”
So I spent halftime cracking light jokes with the players.
The rookies found this locker-room atmosphere awkward, but well. They’d get used to it before long.
Time flew by while we laughed and chatted.
A little later, the second half between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich got underway.
***
Bayern Munich’s players entered the pitch with hard, set expressions.
A 3–0 scoreline.
It was an unbelievable score at Bayern Munich’s home ground.
I couldn’t even remember the last time they’d done that at home.
I might have to dig through records from a very long time ago.
The Munich players pressed Union Berlin hard the moment the second half started.
The longer the match went on, the more anxious Bayern Munich’s players became.
The home fans’ boos were growing louder.
And they weren’t aimed at the opposing team, but at Munich’s players, manager, and board.
Since Thomas Tuchel had led Bayern Munich last season, the difference in performance the fans felt had to seem even greater than in the original timeline before Park Chan-hyuk returned.
[Schweinsteiger on the ball, but under Union Berlin’s strong pressure he plays it back.]
The more Bayern Munich’s players grew impatient, the clearer their weaknesses became.
[That’s an incredibly organized press.]
[Excellent interception by Luka Modric! He cuts out Bayern Munich’s pass!]
Bayern Munich lost the ball to Union Berlin during a passing exchange.
The moment Luka Modric intercepted it, Union Berlin’s counterattack began.
And Yannick Voigt, who had been slowly watching Bayern Munich’s reactions like a predator stalking prey,
the instant Bayern Munich’s defensive line fell apart, he quickly darted into the penalty area.
It was less a decision made by sight and judgment than something closer to an animal instinct.
Luka Modric’s pass found the infiltrating Yannick Voigt,
with a steady first touch, Yannick Voigt looked at the charging keeper and lightly toe-poked the ball─
Yannick Voigt’s chip shot shook Bayern Munich’s net.
“Jawooooooooooooohl!”
The moment Yannick Voigt sent the ball into the back of the net, he tore off his shirt and roared as he sprinted to the corner flag.
[Hat-trick! Yannick Voigt! He sends Bayern Munich plummeting into the abyss of despair!]
***
Yannick Voigt recorded his first Bundesliga hat-trick against Bayern Munich.
While the Union Berlin players sprinted over to celebrate Yannick Voigt’s hat-trick, I could only stand there dumbly for a long while.
Even I couldn’t do anything about it.
Because…
[Yannick Voigt]
Current ability: ★★★★★
Potential: ★★★★★
Because the temporary tag next to Yannick Voigt’s stats had disappeared.
At this moment, Yannick Voigt had reached the limit of his potential.
Apparently, he had gained some kind of realization the moment he scored a hat-trick against Munich.
Looking at Yannick Voigt, I felt a strange emotion.
Yannick was already 28.
For a footballer, that wasn’t exactly young anymore.
His physical condition had also reached its peak, so all that was left was maintaining his current form.
‘It’s a shame he can’t take the next step.’
Anyway.
The match ended without anything special after Yannick Voigt’s hat-trick.
Bayern Munich’s morale was completely shattered.
- First of all, congratulations on the hat-trick.
Once the match ended, Yannick Voigt, who had been named MOM, began his interview.
I quietly watched Yannick Voigt during the interview.
My first meeting with Yannick came back to me naturally.
Back then, I was just an anonymous Asian A who had only just started his coaching career.
Yannick Voigt was a no-name player whose current ability was awful, despite his tremendous potential.
In fact, back then there had been plenty of objections to selecting Yannick Voigt, including Chairman Zingler and Tuchel.
I felt a small sense of pride at having unearthed a player who would otherwise have vanished without leaving a trace.
And at having become close friends with the player I had unearthed.
“Um…. This is a little embarrassing, but I had help from many people to get where I am today. And among them, I can’t leave out the help of my boss, my friend, and my brother in all but blood, Chan-hyuk. I want to tell him I’m always grateful.”
Yannick Voigt sincerely thanked me.
I quietly looked up at the sky.
“Ah…. I got dust in my eye.”
For some reason, my eyes grew blurry.
***
After the Bayern Munich and Union Berlin match ended, reactions of every kind poured in.
Bayern Munich losing in the Bundesliga was a rare occurrence.
Even a 4–0 blowout was so rare it could be counted on one hand.
For that reason, news of Munich’s rout was naturally splashed across newspaper articles.
[Huge upset! Newly promoted Union Berlin crush Bayern Munich away from home!]
└ What? Union Berlin won?
└ Union Berlin? What club is that?
└ The club that got promoted from the second division this time.
└ Bayern lost to a promoted team? Bayern’s really gone all the way down now.
└ They could still win 1–0, I guess.
└ I heard Union Berlin won 4–0, though?
└ So Bayern’s finally falling apart?
Naturally, Bundesliga fans found it hard to believe Munich’s blowout loss.
A promoted team beating the Bundesliga’s reigning kings, Bayern Munich, was practically a miracle.
Before the season started, the experts had rated Union Berlin as a dark horse.
But even they didn’t think the promoted Union Berlin would be able to take down Bayern Munich.
“Right now, find out everything you can about this Union Berlin team!”
“Park Chan-hyuk? Look into this man as well!”
Given Bayern Munich’s unexpected rout, it was only natural for Bundesliga fans and insiders to become curious about Park Chan-hyuk and Union Berlin.
[Let’s take a look at the career of Park, the genius manager from Korea.]
[‘Youngest Bundesliga manager.’ Park Chan-hyuk, who is he?]
[Oriental Magic? Park Chan-hyuk’s magic brings down the Bundesliga giant.]
[‘The beauty of a flower that bloomed late.’ Yannick Voigt, from a nobody to a footballer everyone is watching.]
It was the moment when Park Chan-hyuk and the club called Union Berlin were firmly etched into the memories of Bundesliga fans and players.