Factions Fracture and Lekka's Outrage
Acting Chairman of the National Team Improvement Committee, he felt a pang of guilt over Ryu Rion's accusation from their previous meeting that he'd turned a blind eye to the factions within the national team. That's why he'd ordered Manager Lee Cheol-woo to investigate the matter thoroughly.
"So... what's the update?"
Manager Lee Cheol-woo's face was grim as he held the report. He hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.
"First off, as Ryu Rion said, the faction problem inside the national team is more serious than we thought."
Kim Myeonggyu's brow furrowed.
"Hold on—are you saying it's worse than before?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Go on."
Lee Cheol-woo swallowed dryly and pointed to the key parts of the report.
"We conducted discreet interviews with staff and players, and it turns out the underlying conflicts that had been simmering came to a full boil under Coach Baek Ho-dol's interim regime, triggered by the incident where Ryu Rion and Baek Ho-dol called out Mo Chanhee. The factions have split hard."
"……."
"Even among the players, resentments have built up and exploded, fracturing everything. Worse, the staff are picking sides too, unsure where to stand. It's impossible to call this a unified team anymore."
"Hoo……."
Kim Myeonggyu let out a deep sigh.
"So all those past issues were never resolved and just piled up?"
"Exactly."
Kim Myeonggyu leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Deep down, he knew this mess stemmed from his failure as association president to hold things together. He just didn't want to admit it.
To confirm, he asked point-blank:
"That all started under the foreign coach, right?"
"……."
Lee Cheol-woo couldn't answer right away.
It was this very president who had appointed that foreign coach and given him full authority. No one could say "It's your fault, sir" to his face.
But Kim Myeonggyu didn't need the words to know. He'd ignored multiple reports about players overstepping and the coach's failure to control the squad.
He'd asked out of denial, hoping otherwise, but the silence was a painful affirmation.
A heavy silence settled over the president's office again.
After a long pause, Kim Myeonggyu spoke, his voice laced with exhaustion.
"Manager Lee. Do you think appointing a foreign coach now would fix the internal factions?"
Lee Cheol-woo pondered briefly, then shook his head firmly.
"In my judgment... no, it won't."
"Why not?"
"Foreign coaches don't understand Korean culture at all. Resolving the tangled seniority and interpersonal issues among Koreans through an interpreter has clear limits. Plus, players these days don't respect foreign coaches like they used to—they even look down on them. Realistically, it won't solve the factions."
Kim Myeonggyu had come to the same bitter realization from this report.
The wounds inside the team were too deep to keep pushing for a foreign coach.
In this state, even a legendary coach couldn't make sand grains into a team. They'd scrape through World Cup qualifiers by miracle, only to crash spectacularly.
The national team had to be one team.
What use were tactics if that foundation crumbled?
Kim Myeonggyu tapped his desk and asked:
"What's the status on the Improvement Committee?"
"With Chairman Seo Taeyoung's resignation, some remaining members followed suit in a wave of quits."
"Follow-up plans?"
"Technical Director Lee Jinhak has called the leftover members for an emergency online meeting."
"No results yet?"
"No."
Kim Myeonggyu's worries deepened.
He needed to flip the board. But how?
Ryu Rion's bold gaze flashed in his mind.
I lay on the bed and turned on my smartphone to quickly scan community reactions.
As I scrolled, posts buzzing about yesterday's K League All-Stars vs. Celta Vigo friendly were still smoldering.
Seemed like they'd enjoyed it enough. Scrolling further, I hit a warzone: the board on next national team coach hires. This is where the 50 Million Bandwagon Fans showed their true colors.
The so-called colonial inferiority complex, clinging to foreign coaches blindly, pressuring the association.
Obsessed with the "foreign" label, no realistic alternatives.
Then a best post title caught my eye.
Views exploding. What bullshit would they spew this time? Curiosity got me—I opened the YouTube app. Algorithm had it front and center; I'd tweak it later while watching girl groups.
Thumbnail screamed in red: "Daash? Wagner? This is too much! Association incompetence—how far will it go?"
I clicked play.
"Hey everyone, Mundre here with Park Hamsu. You seeing this mess? The association with the coach..."
The familiar, nauseating voice hit, and I smashed pause, closing the video.
Stomach churning.
"Talking out their asses again... more incitement?"
Facts or insider truth didn't matter. Classic Lekka cyber trash, just poking public rage for views.
But people fall for it hook, line, and sinker. That one video would turn thousands into parrots, slamming the association and steering opinion wrong.
Frustrating as hell.
About to chuck the phone, a breaking news alert popped up top.
I froze.
Tapped it—portal site's sports main filled the screen.
The Korea Football Association held an executive meeting on the 30th, accepting the resignation of Seo Taeyoung, former Power Enhancement Committee Chairman who recently stepped down, and discussing follow-up measures.
An association official stated, “With Chairman Seo's departure, Technical Director Lee Jinhak will take over the remaining coach selection process.”
Lee Jinhak will conduct direct interviews and negotiations based on the final candidates shortlisted by the prior committee.
The association added, “To avoid further delays, we've delegated full authority to Director Lee Jinhak to finalize the appointment swiftly.”
I read on, staring at the screen.
Technical Director Lee Jinhak. Delegating coach recommendation procedures to him. From leaks so far, finalists were Daash, Wagner, and Yoon Seungwoo. With Lee Jinhak handling the process for these three, one of them was basically locked in as national team coach. No wonder Park Hamsu and Mundre were flipping out—they'd achieved zilch compared to Yoon Seungwoo. Not that those inciters were right. That's why they made the video. Let's see what those bastards say next. As I pondered Lee Jinhak's call, my phone rang—Cha Daehyeok.