Shocking Debut Match (2)
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European football follows an Autumn-Spring Season System, where the season begins in the autumn and ends in the spring of the following year.
And in between, from December to January, around Christmas, there is a break called the Mid-season Player Break, which refers to a period of at least one week to as long as a month without any official football matches.
In the past, there was a league that actually ran a packed schedule during this break.
That was the English Premier League.
The 'Boxing Day' schedule, which originated from the capitalist idea that commercial profits would multiply if matches were played while everyone else was resting, was famous for its brutal schedule, boasting an insane lineup of 3 games in a single week.
Even at the time, there was much controversy over the schedule that overworked the players.
Famous manager Arsène Wenger criticized it, saying, "Playing 6 games in 19 days is a murderous schedule," while Pep Guardiola called it "killing the players," and Jose Mourinho criticized it by saying, "The lack of rest days lowers the EPL's competitiveness in European competitions."
Due to criticism from prominent football figures, appeals from players, and the declining competitiveness in European competitions, The Football Association (FA) finally approved the implementation of a 'Winter Break' ahead of the 19/20 season.
However, even after that, the EPL's winter break was not properly implemented due to reasons like FA Cup replays or shortened seasons due to COVID-19. As time passed, it gradually became established, and now, in the 32/33 season, it is implemented for at least a short period of one week, becoming a standard across all major European leagues.
The German Bundesliga is famous for having the longest winter break.
Compared to the English EPL, which has a one-week break, or the Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A, which have a break of about two weeks, it is a league that takes a full month-long break, which is twice as long.
The reason this is possible is the difference in the number of teams participating in the first division.
While the English, Spanish, and Italian first divisions have 20 clubs participating, the German Bundesliga only has 18 teams.
In other words, while other countries play up to 38 rounds, Germany ends the season in just 34 rounds, allowing for a generous winter break.
This is the same for the second division, 2. Fußball-Bundesliga.
Germany's second-tier league, 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, is also operated with 18 teams, and although it is a second-tier league, its capabilities are superior to most European first-tier leagues.
The average annual revenue of teams participating in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga is around 45 billion, which is significantly higher than the 32 billion average revenue of teams in the Dutch first division, the Eredivisie. Above all, the average attendance of the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga is nearly 20,000, at a whopping 19,000. It boasts a higher average attendance than most European first-tier leagues.
As a result, there were quite a few clubs in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga with solid foundations.
Just like Frankfurt.
Founded in 1899, this club with a long history even reached the finals in the early days of the Champions League and played a great match against Real Madrid, and it is a prestigious club that kept its place in the first division for 33 seasons as a founding member of the Bundesliga.
However, their best league finish is only 3rd place, and their only championship record is the DFB-Pokal.
They did leave an unforgettable record in their long history by winning the Europa League in the 79/80 season, and the Korean player who played an active role at that time was none other than Cha Bum.
That season, Cha Bum-kun received a Kicker rating of 2 from the very first league match, rising to 2nd place among all strikers, and from the next match until the 17th match—halfway through the 34-round Bundesliga—he overwhelmingly held 1st place in striker ratings.
The players in 2nd and 3rd place in ratings below Cha Bum-kun at the time were Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Kevin Keegan.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was in 2nd place below Cha Bum-kun, who overwhelmingly held 1st place in ratings, was a Ballon d'Or winner who won the Ballon d'Or that year, and 3rd place Kevin Keegan was a Ballon d'Or winner who had won the Ballon d'Or the previous year.
This continued until the 30th round, with only 5 games left in the league. Although the point gap had narrowed, Cha Bum-kun, who had held 1st place in ratings until the 30th round, unfortunately missed 3 of the remaining 5 games due to injury, ultimately finishing 3rd in striker ratings.
However, the German Kicker magazine, famous for its harsh evaluations, named only 2 foreigners as WK (World Class) that year: 1st place was Cha Bum-kun, who won 'Player of the Season', and 2nd place was Kevin Keegan, a superstar and the previous year's Ballon d'Or winner.
In this season, Frankfurt lifted their first European trophy in the club's long history, for the first and last time.
Thanks to the performance of Cha Bum-kun, who led the club to victory by receiving MOM in the Europa League final.
And this very season was the de facto debut season for Cha Bum-kun, a 26-year-old unfamiliar Asian who had come to the Bundesliga from the poor football scene of the East, which didn't even have a professional league, after playing one game for Darmstadt and then re-enlisting in the military before returning.
Just looking at the fact that Cha Bum-kun was selected for the all-time Best 11 announced by the club in 2013, decades later, one can tell how incredible Cha Bum's performance was at the time.
Afterward, Cha Bum-kun transferred to Bayer Leverkusen, which had just been promoted to the first division, and also brought Bayer Leverkusen their first and last European trophy in history.
After the glorious era ended, Frankfurt, which faced financial difficulties in the 90s, began to repeat relegation and promotion, and this 32/33 season was also spent struggling in the second division.
"Valder. Are you really okay with just this one player?"
"Of course. It's enough. More than enough."
Frankfurt's General Manager Hermann could not hide his worry.
It had already been 2 years since they dropped to the second division.
If they fail to get promoted even this season, even the value of the 'prestigious' label that still remains will fade.
But now, halfway through the season, Frankfurt's situation was not very good.
Unlike Hermann, who was looking at the league table with 6th place in it with concern, the expression of the old Coach Franz Valder was bright.
"Haha, I'm looking forward to it. So, when did they say he'd arrive?"
"The staff picked him up at the airport, so he should be here soon."
Seeing the old gentleman wearing a wide smile as if the contract with the player he had been waiting for was that good, Hermann became grumpy for no reason.
"Is it that good?"
"Of course it is!"
"What on earth did you see? That player's performance at Barcelona was just disappointing."
"That's just because he had a sudden growth spurt."
"Isn't that the problem, my friend?"
At Hermann's concern, the old Coach laughed good-naturedly.
"Listen, Hermann. Do you know how many years I've been in the football world?"
"Let's see. Including your playing days, about 40 years?"
"20 years just as a coach."
Although this is his first time in a manager career, Franz Valder has been active in numerous leagues as a competent coach.
"I also spent 10 years in Spain. Among the connections I made there, there is also a Barcelona coach."
"Sigh. Is that what you were talking about? That Hong Min-jun has already regained his old form?"
"Of course! His performance in training is already perfect!"
"Don't you think there's a reason the Barcelona manager doesn't use him?"
"I don't know."
At the old Coach's carefree smile, Hermann just let out deep sighs.
"Fine. Since we've already signed him, I'll have to hope for a good performance."
Watching the Asian through the window, Hermann just muttered quietly.
The contract was signed in a flash.
After filming the scene of signing the contract, which the lawyers arranged by Oh Ha-rin had carefully checked, they took photos again at the stadium holding the Frankfurt uniform.
The so-called 'official' photo, also known as 'cloth-ficial'.
As soon as the official photo was uploaded to the official website, reporters poured in.
『Asian from Barcelona joins Die Adler (The Eagles) on loan!』
『What is the identity of the new face who will soothe the fans dissatisfied with the quiet winter transfer market?』
『Is Frankfurt aiming for promotion?』
「Frankfurt, which was relegated 2 years ago, unfortunately lost in the promotion playoffs last season and started in the second division this season as well.
With growing doubts about Coach Franz Valder (64), who took the helm last season but has no results, and with the team maintaining a precarious 6th place this season, worries about promotion are growing. The club, which had been spending a quiet winter transfer market, moved its heavy body.
The new signing is 20-year-old young player Hong Min-jun (20. Barcelona).
The unknown Asian, who rose to stardom overnight through the Australia Olympics that ended half a year ago, proved his skills through two matches against Spain in the Olympics and headed to Barcelona in a spectacular fashion.
However, Hong Min-jun, who grew rapidly after the transfer and lost his balance, was sluggish, and after just half a season, he was effectively notified of his release and joined Die Adler (The Eagles) through a loan transfer.
Coach Franz Valder did not hide his expectations, saying, "Signing a player of Hong Min-jun's quality is an unbelievable achievement. He will be the second Cha Bum!"」
The local media expressed a tone of half-doubt and half-worry, but unexpectedly, the fans were in a quite welcoming mood.
—It's been a long time since we had an Asian!! Welcome, friend from the East!!
ㄴHe's the Asian I've been looking forward to since Makoto Hasebe, who was the vice-captain in the 22 season!
ㄴI remember that player! Since he came from the same country, he'll surely perform well too, right?
ㄴThis friend... this newbie is Korean. Please don't say he's the same nationality as Hasebe in front of the newbie.
ㄴ??? Why??
—I like the way this friend smiles. He looks like a pure boy, doesn't he?
ㄴI think he looks like a girl?
ㄴHey, that's discriminatory language.
ㄴCalm down, friend. I was just complimenting him on being pretty.
ㄴHmm... can't argue with that.
—Why is everyone saying weird things? Does anyone know about this player's skills? What's his playstyle?
ㄴI looked it up, and he's a player who blew up because of the Olympics. His playstyle seems similar to Cha Bum's?
ㄴCha Bum!! I'm so excited!!
ㄴPlease lead us to promotion, New Cha Bum!!
ㄴBut I've never seen Cha Bum play... what kind of style is it?
ㄴOh~ my god! We have a true newbie here!! You've never seen Cha Bum's game... you're not a true Eagle!! Go watch it right now!!
—So, is he good? Can I have high expectations?
ㄴHmm... his appearance at the Olympics and his appearance in Spain were so different, I don't know.
The Frankfurt fans, who had been bored with no signings and not even any releases while other clubs were busy moving, were excited about the club's first signing since the opening of the transfer market.
Even if that player is a 20-year-old youngster, ambiguous to call an immediate starter, isn't he a former Barcelona first-team player?
At the very least, he will help with the promotion competition, was the general expectation.
It didn't take long for the fans, who were soothing their boredom with stories about the only new signing during the short period when the Bundesliga, which had fallen into hibernation, woke up after the winter break, to witness the true worth of the unfamiliar Asian player.
January 20, 2033.
The match held at home against VfL Bochum of the same second division, with Frankfurt having advanced to the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal.
It took less than 5 minutes for Die Adler (The Eagles), who were sending generous support to the unfamiliar Asian playing his debut match, to truly go wild.
"Goal! It's a goal!! An unbelievable wonder goal from the young player from Korea!!"
"5 minutes was enough for a debut goal for this player. Hong Min-jun records a wonderful debut goal in his debut match!!"