Chapter 20
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Park Si-hyun Doesn't Take Advice
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Park Si-hyun planted the Korean traditional Eul-yong-ta...
no, the newly born Si-hyun-ta right into the back of Marco's head.
And, as expected, I got a straight red card.
What can you do? Who would've thought he'd pass out cold from that.
But as I was sent off, the fans cheered me on fervently.
"King! King! King!"
"Kuhahaha! That's it! That's what football's all about!"
"Guys like that deserve to get smacked!"
If there's any spectator cursing out a player who scored a hat-trick after getting sent off, they must be an assassin sent by the opposing team.
Potsipalais Stadium.
Every fan in the stands was on their feet, giving me a standing ovation.
These same fans who had hurled racist jeers before the game started were now chanting my name in ecstasy.
Unbelievable scene! Park Si-hyun follows his debut hat-trick with a straight red card! This is history in the making!
But getting a red doesn't diminish Park Si-hyun's value! On the contrary, he's shown Essen fans exactly what a top star looks like!
Back on the bench, Coach Frank patted my shoulder instead of chewing me out.
"Well done. Scum like that deserve a smack to the head."
I grinned and replied.
"Coach, I didn't hit him. I just gave him a little pat. If I'd really hit him... he'd be greeting King Yama by now."
"...Ahem. Just sit down and rest."
The match wrapped up with Coach Frank's trademark parking-the-bus tactic, and the scoreboard glowed with a perfect 3-0.
And there I was, naturally, in the Man of the Match interview seat.
Debut hat-trick. Straight red to top it off. The legendary record was set.
Everyone knew it. A new star had been born today.
"Park Si-hyun, congratulations on your debut hat-trick. Personally, that first goal—the overhead kick—was unforgettable. What were you thinking in that moment?"
"Thinking? None. I just wanted to score, and my legs did the rest."
"Haha, that's a quotable. But... there was that moment where you struck Marco in the back of the head, knocking him out. Why did you do it?"
"I didn't strike him. I just patted him."
"But Marco collapsed and was knocked unconscious?"
I smirked, locking eyes straight with the reporter.
"If I'd really hit him... Marco would be shaking hands with King Yama in the afterlife right now."
The interview area buzzed instantly, pens scratching paper like mad.
"So, any words for Marco?"
I raised my voice, staring right into the camera.
"If you wanna do racism, bring some skill first. Next time it happens, it won't be my hand—it'll be my foot."
At that moment, one reporter shot up from his chair.
Wolfgang Hausmann. Veteran sports journalist for Ruhr Nachrichten.
I couldn't forget him—one of the ugliest among those who'd grilled me negatively at the signing ceremony.
"But that was unnecessary. You miss the next game now. Isn't that a loss for the team? Plus, there were several pointless plays during the match—"
"Hold up."
I cut him off with a raised hand.
"Mister Reporter, you any good at football? Better than me?"
"Well... no."
"Then why're you making judgments? You deciding how I should play?"
Sweat beaded on Wolfgang's forehead.
"I'm... a reporter. My job is to ask questions, and that's what I'm doing."
"Fine, ask away. Reporters write, I play football. Why're you meddling in the game too? You think it's okay for you to coach players from the sidelines?"
He stood there, lips flapping, no comeback.
I slowly rose and walked right up to him.
Club staff panicked, trying to grab me, but I ignored them.
Standing before Wolfgang, I took off my football boot and chucked it at his chest.
"If you wanna coach so bad, you play the next game."
The interview zone exploded in chaos, camera flashes crackling like lightning.
Rot-Weiss Essen crushes opening match 3-0. At the center: Park Si-hyun, who called himself the 'world's best player' even before kickoff. He backed it up with a debut hat-trick, proving it's no bluff.
First-ever player to score a hat-trick in debut and get sent off for smacking opponent's head. Unprecedented.
When a reporter called out unnecessary play, Park Si-hyun threw his boot: "If you wanna coach, play the next game yourself." Arrogance or confidence?
"He's not a footballer—he's a thug. Players like that need to be run out of football."
"Then what about you, ripping at your eyes with racist taunts? Besides, your eyes look even smaller—who're you mocking?"
At first, everyone outside German media and Essen fans condemned Park Si-hyun's actions.
But the tide turned fast.
Essen released CCTV footage capturing Marco's racist gestures in full.
Marco pulling at his eyes at Park Si-hyun for no reason, smirking mockingly as he walked away.
Of course, one video wouldn't flip German fans overnight.
In 2001 German society, racism wasn't treated as seriously as today.
That's where an agent shines, and Jang Do-yoon nailed the role perfectly.
"Hello. I'm Jang Do-yoon, agent for Park Si-hyun."
Sitting for a regional sports broadcast WDR interview, he spoke calmly.
"Si-hyun was just protecting himself. The only way a sixteen-year-old boy in a foreign land could respond to that humiliation."
The reporter tilted his head.
"Even so, wasn't it too much? Marco passed out on the pitch."
Jang Do-yoon took a breath before continuing.
"Germans will remember Guido Buchwald being called 'nigger' by Rudi Völler in 1988. Ever thought about how Buchwald felt?"
The reporter's face hardened.
"Or Antoni Zubov hearing monkey chants in Halle in 1992? What did the German FA do? Nothing."
Jang Do-yoon's tone grew firmer.
"Now imagine it's not a pro adult, but a sixteen-year-old kid. Ten thousand kilometers from home, in a foreign country?"
The reporter couldn't rebut.
"Si-hyun responded rough, sure. But did he have options? Refs ignored it, opponent kept mocking. All a kid that age can do is defend himself. How'd you feel if your child heard 'All Germans are Nazis' abroad?"
Jang Do-yoon paused, then stared into the camera.
"Germany's a football powerhouse. But to be a true powerhouse, every player on the pitch must be respected—no matter skin color or nationality."
The day after the interview aired, public opinion began shifting.
"Cocky Asian prospect? No. A sixteen-year-old standing up to racism."
"Park Si-hyun's Si-hyun-ta: Violence or self-defense?"
"Marco Schneider's racist gestures caught. The ugly underbelly of German football."
"Racism on the pitch is unacceptable. Can't blame a young player for protecting himself."
And then, the man who sealed the deal appeared.
Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson.
"Racism? That's trash behavior."
In a BBC interview, Ferguson spoke bluntly, face flushed as usual.
"Heard about this Park Si-hyun kid. Sixteen, playing abroad alone, and copping racism? If I were him, I'd have kicked 'em, not punched."
The reporter looked shocked.
"But violence..."
"Violence?"
Ferguson glared.
His eyes were in that infamous 'hairdryer' mode that froze players solid.
"You really don't know what violence is? Racism is the real violence! That kid just defended himself."
"Ferguson defends Park Si-hyun: 'Racism is the real violence.'"
"Man U boss's wake-up call to German football."
"With Ferguson's backing, Park Si-hyun goes from cocky prospect to racism-fighting warrior."
Park Si-hyun was no longer just a 'cocky Asian prospect.'
He was now the brave warrior who'd stood alone against racism abroad.
"Release? Me?!"
Marco Schneider stared in disbelief in the club office.
The SV Waldhof Mannheim director slid papers over coldly.
"Marco, you clueless? Sir Alex Ferguson himself... sided with that Asian kid."
"But—"
"No buts! Our club's being called a 'den of racists' because of you!"
The director slammed the desk.
"Know how pissed the shareholders are? Sponsors are pulling contracts left and right!"
Marco was speechless.
"DFB's pressuring us too. Says it could hurt the 2006 World Cup bid."
"Still, I've been with this club..."
"Fifty years wouldn't save you!!"
The director dropped the hammer.
"You're released as of today. What you always wanted? Leaving this team? Go beg another club to take you. If they'll have you."
As Marco left in a daze, reporters swarmed.
"Marco! Thoughts on the release? Was the racism scandal the nail in the coffin?"
"Any plans for a formal apology to Park Si-hyun? German fans are waiting!"
"Talking to other clubs?"
Marco said nothing, got in his car.
The Asian he'd dismissed ended his football career that day.