The Premier League's Season Finale: The Rivalry Ignites
The first Premier League match of the second half of the season was a clash between Manchester City and Brighton.
Current league leaders faced off against the relegation zone in what promised to be a decisive battle.
Manchester City was in the midst of a title race, yet they had made zero signings during the winter transfer window. Was this confidence, or arrogance?
Manchester City had not recruited a single player in the winter transfer window.
There had been a reason for that decision, and the biggest one was that the current Manchester City squad was far more solid than people thought.
Across every position except goalkeeper, the starting lineup was already filled with first-team regulars, making rotation not only possible but seamless.
That had been possible because the youngsters we had all signed — me, Guerrero, Sanchez, and Castillo — had been performing at levels far beyond expectations.
The second reason was Manchester City’s financial limits.
Once called “the club of capital,” Manchester City had been on a triumphant rise, but as results began to slide, the club owners kept changing.
The Ravencroft family, the current owners, was an ancient British aristocratic clan with deep roots, yet they had taken a far more conservative stance on financial investment than their predecessors.
Of course, they had not always been conservative.
Investing always begins with hope.
That was true even for a football club.
When the Ravencrofts bought Manchester City, they had surely drawn up a grand plan.
But in recent years they had repeatedly been disappointed by the club.
Vertical performance drops, mounting losses, and a declining brand value had shattered the dreams they had once cherished.
“No taste in spending money.”
Anyone who has ever invested knows exactly what that feels like.
Buying a stock you thought would rise, watching it fall further and further, and even after you double down, it just keeps going down.
Who would decide to invest more when you don’t even know when the company might be delisted?
From their perspective, hiring Peter Guardian and us youngsters was already more than enough — or perhaps even excessive.
They could not be swayed from their current first-place position with a temporary uptick in form.
They needed something that would completely restore their faith, not just a short-term result.
Exactly what this season’s championship trophy was.
For us, it had been absolutely essential.
“If we fail to win this season and don’t receive proper investment, other teams might manage, but Manchester United will never be able to beat us.”
That was what Eun Ga-young told me.
They were already negotiating with Yoo Hee-sung and Manchester United.
If we missed out on this season’s title, it would be over for us.
I was here to change that.
Or so I hoped.
Still, perhaps I would not even be here if we failed.
If we did not win, would I even be allowed to stay on this team?
Right now Manchester City was just an intermediate station, not the final destination for players.
Sell the good ones at a high transfer fee and move on — that was the current address of our club.
Of course I did not want to leave Manchester City.
But there were many ways they could make me go.
“It’s simple. Just keep me in the B team until I say I’m leaving.”
The sound of a KakaoTalk notification chime rang out.
Grandpa Tae-woo: Tae-woo, is our Manchester City finally winning the title? I’ll die happy if that’s true.
Mom: What do you mean “die happy”? Tae-woo, we’re not winning once — we’re winning multiple times, so enjoy it while you’re alive.
Grandpa Tae-woo: Is that right? Hahaha, Tae-woo, a single trophy is enough for me.
Da-min: Dad! Don’t say weird things.
Smiling as I looked at the screen.
“Yeah, I’ve been worrying about the title since the very beginning.”
The trophy was just a result.
What I had to do was simple: give everything in every match and play like myself in every moment.
Then the title would come naturally.
“I’ve been too emotional lately. It’s time to go back to playing like myself.”
Oh, right. I still had things to do.
I replied.
Tae-woo: I accept.
Grandpa Tae-woo replied with a laugh.
Grandpa Tae-woo: Haha, go win the title and come home, Tae-woo.
Da-min: ?
I had always thought we were hiding it perfectly.
Every time we met we acted indifferent, and in public we pretended to be awkward, convinced we were the perfect actors.
But reality had been different.
When I asked Mina, “When did you find out?”, she looked at me with pure confusion.
“How could you think we were hiding it?”
Hearing her words, I realized anew just how brazen our act had been.
The way my voice changed when I saw Da-min, the smiles I couldn’t hide whenever we met — every single moment we had believed we were fooling everyone had turned out to be the clearest proof.
“Tsk. Even though he’s this handsome, football was still a good decision.”
The world was indeed fair.
* * *
Brighton currently sat 19th, deep in the relegation zone.
With relegation all but certain, they had made major reinforcements during this second-half transfer window.
In particular, they had focused on bolstering their defense, their biggest weakness.
They had signed Portuguese league Braga central defender Marcos Heira and Ajax prospect defender Vim de Yong.
They had also brought in Argentine River Plate defensive midfielder Joaquin Fernandez, reinforcing the midfield.
But one transfer story was making waves far beyond Europe.
Only in the Korean and Japanese football worlds was it igniting passionate debate.
“[Japanese U-23’s top prospect Nakamura Kenji confirms move to Brighton… first match against Premier League leaders Manchester City’s Jung Tae-woo]”
The news that Japan’s top prospect Nakamura Kenji had finalized his move to Brighton had exploded.
The headline about his first match against Manchester City’s Jung Tae-woo had caught everyone’s eye.
Yes, that Nakamura Kenji.
Just a year ago the situation had been completely different.
He had been dominating in the J-League, widely regarded as a step above me.
It was only natural.
When I was winning the national high-school championship on the school field, Nakamura was already tearing up the J-League as a goalscorer.
But time had turned everything upside down.
“It is understandable that Korean players are gaining attention. I have already proven my ability on the professional stage, while they are still amateurs. I will show the true gap in ability between us in this match.”
That was his arrogant declaration before the Olympics.
But now reality had taken the exact opposite path.
The Jung Tae-woo he had once dismissed as “amateur” had completely dominated Japan at the Olympics and was now writing a new chapter in Premier League history.
He had set an unprecedented record of 17 consecutive clean sheets and earned the overwhelming praise of football fans around the world.
While I was leading Manchester City’s charge to first place, Nakamura was merely a rookie signed as a last hope for a struggling Brighton side.
“As a new signing for Brighton this time, your first match is against Manchester City. What are your thoughts as you head into the game?”
Nakamura’s eyes had turned cold as the reporter asked.
People do not easily change.
People do not rewrite themselves.
As the saying goes, one year had passed, yet his arrogance and stubborn refusal to admit defeat remained unchanged.
“Yeah, I just wasn’t in top condition at the Olympics. This time it’ll be different.”
He was still clearly remembering the arrogant expression Jung Tae-woo had worn after the match and the words he had spoken.
He had even studied Korean just to understand them.
“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s me you’re facing.”
“Don’t be disappointed? This time I’ll say it to your face. Watch my arrogant expression.”
“As for my mindset…”
A faint smile tugged at Nakamura’s lips.
“It means nothing. They’re just lucky to be on top. In the first match of the second half they’ll learn what their luck can do… I’ll tell them myself.”
“Manchester City has the iron-wall goalkeeper Jung Tae-woo, who stopped every shot Japan sent his way at the Olympics. He’s also receiving praise as the best goalkeeper in the world. Are you confident?”
“Of course.”
Cold confidence dripped from Nakamura’s voice.
“Goalkeepers need a lot of experience. He’ll soon face his limits… especially meeting me, he’ll experience them even sooner.”
Of course this interview had become a massive topic in European football circles.
Jung Tae-woo was already recognized by current form as the Premier League’s top goalkeeper.
Yet an unknown newcomer had dared to belittle him.
Not just Manchester City fans, but fans of every club who had faced his wall had joined in criticizing Nakamura’s words.
“He’s really cocky.”
“Clearly doesn’t know Tae-woo’s ability.”
“Hah, what a big shot. Tae-woo stopped even our team’s best strikers… ridiculous.”
This match had been seen as a small Korea-Japan battle in Asia and a “cocky rookie’s debut” in Europe, with great interest building.
While warming up, Nakamura spotted me walking across the pitch.
He slowly began walking toward me.
“Hahaha… you’re going to get nervous too. I came to Europe, after all.”
The moment we met, the big screen behind the goal even displayed the scene.
“You today—”
“Who are you?”
Nakamura’s face froze for a split second.
“Who… who are you? No way. The match has been hyped up from before… no, this is definitely mocking me. Don’t fall for it.”
“That’s not—”
“We’ll exchange jerseys after the match. See you.”
After delivering his line, Jung Tae-woo turned and walked away as if there was nothing more to say.
“Chikusho!!”