Turning Point
The training ground lay shrouded in deep shadow. Udo Hoeness stared out the window from the manager’s office, his expression grave as he replayed Bayern Munich’s DFB-Pokal quarterfinal defeat to Dortmund.
“If only Ribéry had been available… No, we shouldn’t have tried to shut the game down in the first place.”
The more he dissected the match, the more the absence of Ribéry and his own tactical misjudgment gnawed at him.
“Heh…”
After replaying the game for what felt like the hundredth time, Udo Hoeness caught his reflection in the mirror and let out a sudden laugh.
“Look at that face, dripping with regret. Is this really the expression of a man who announced his retirement?”
Udo Hoeness had declared he would retire at the end of the season due to health concerns. Yet after the loss to Dortmund, an unexpected reluctance had taken root.
“So this season is a failure.”
He muttered the words under his breath. The label felt absurd for a Bayern Munich side that was marching toward the Bundesliga title with a commanding points lead, but it was unavoidable. Bayern Munich was not a club that could be satisfied with league success alone. Winning both the league and the cup—the double—was the bare minimum required to save face. Losing meant front-page mockery from the German press and fans alike. Udo Hoeness had no desire to leave the pitch remembered as the man who had been bested by Dortmund. He could not accept ending his career on a note of failure.
Deep down, he wanted to reverse his retirement and take charge of Bayern for one more season. But his health issues held him back. Udo Hoeness felt betrayed by his aging body. Just as his fighting spirit was about to fade, a newspaper headline caught his eye.
Udo Hoeness’s eyes lit up. Alex Ferguson, older than him, was still going strong. The spark that had been dying inside Udo Hoeness flared back to life. He did not want to leave the pitch yet. Even after transitioning from player to manager, the game still called to him. He stopped ignoring the voice inside and acted on what his heart demanded. Picking up the phone, he called the man who had been urging him to stay.
“Is your offer still on the table?”
— Thanks for putting up with an old man’s whims.
“We’ve been hoping you’d stay on as manager all along.”
Matthias Sammer ended the late-night call with Udo Hoeness, still stunned by the unexpected gift of his manager reversing his retirement. He smiled and immediately phoned Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness.
“Udo Hoeness has just decided to remain in charge.”
Uli Hoeness burst out laughing on the other end.
— Come to think of it, Rummenigge once said football is like a drug. Once you’re hooked, you’ll always find your way back as long as your body allows. Looks like he was right again.
Extending Udo Hoeness’s contract had always been Bayern’s top priority. Even while negotiating with Pep Guardiola, the board had continued persuading Hoeness. His decision to stay felt like a reward for their efforts.
— By the way, with Hoeness staying, what about the deal with Pep Guardiola?
“We were still in discussions, so there’s no issue.”
Fortunately, Bayern had not yet finalized a contract with Pep Guardiola. The sticking point had been Guardiola’s demand for either Neymar or Son Jinho—neither of whom had been secured. While Neymar was dominating the Brazilian league, Bayern’s executives remained skeptical about paying an astronomical fee for a Brazilian player, given the club’s history of failed direct imports from Brazil. In the original timeline, they would have promised Mario Götze and moved forward with Guardiola. But in this altered history, negotiations had stalled while pursuing Son Jinho instead.
Bayern had done everything possible to sign Son Jinho. Yet he had made it clear he would only leave Dortmund for another Bundesliga club.
— If Hoeness wants anyone, do whatever it takes to bring them in.
“Understood.”
The time wasted chasing Son Jinho had, ironically, turned into a stroke of luck for Bayern Munich.
“For the upcoming home match against Hannover, we’ll be rotating the squad to prepare for the Champions League. Anyone left out of the squad should take it easy and rest.”
After Dortmund’s victory over Bayern in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinal, Jürgen Klopp gave his players time off. I spent most of mine at home.
While the group chat buzzed with its usual chaotic energy, a new message popped up.
The news of Udo Hoeness reversing his retirement hit me like a truck. I stared at the article, unable to react. I could already feel my life twisting into knots again.
After Carlo Ancelotti had been sacked for poor results following Guardiola, Udo Hoeness had stepped in as a stopgap. Even with an aging, broken squad, he had delivered a dominant Bundesliga title, a Champions League semifinal run, and a Pokal final appearance. Now Bayern were at their peak, nothing like the declining side he had inherited before.
“Ha. Fuck.”
The curse slipped out on its own. Was this the price for stopping Alex Ferguson’s retirement and handing Dortmund a gift? Facing Cristiano Ronaldo in his prime at Real Madrid and Lionel Messi at Barcelona was already terrifying enough. Now Udo Hoeness’s Bayern were about to join the mix.
“Wait a second. What happens to Pep Guardiola now?”
As I let out a hollow laugh at the news, Pep Guardiola’s name suddenly flashed through my mind.
“Glory Glory Man U~ As long as Ferguson’s there, United are unbeatable!”
Seeing my girlfriend Han Gyeowul happily cheering for Manchester United’s league-leading form only made the uneasy feeling worse.
At the very moment Son Jinho felt a chill of foreboding—
“What about Mancini?”
“We’ll have to part ways at the end of the season. Not just us—the majority of the first-team players don’t want to continue with him either.”
Manchester City began searching for a new manager. Roberto Mancini had delivered a miraculous Premier League title the previous season, but in 2012/13 his side had produced one dismal performance after another. Tensions had risen with both the board and the star players. Despite scraping results through individual brilliance and sitting second in the league, the underlying performances were rotten.
Pep Guardiola’s name appeared on City’s radar. Having achieved everything at Barcelona, Guardiola had announced he needed a year’s rest and left the club. Now, after honoring that promise, he was ready to return. Big clubs—Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester United—had all made contact. Bayern had been leading the chase until Udo Hoeness’s surprise decision to stay pulled them out of the race. Manchester United were also out after Alex Ferguson declared he had no intention of retiring.
“His managerial experience is still quite short, isn’t it?”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to go with Pellegrini…?”
Many favored the more experienced Pellegrini, but one sentence silenced the opposition.
“The owner wants him.”