Deutscher Meister - 1
Nuri Sahin had been diagnosed with a partial tear in his right knee medial ligament, requiring at least six weeks of recovery.
With only four Bundesliga matches left in the season, it was essentially a season-ending injury.
Despite a slew of late-game injuries punching holes in the squad, Dortmund wasn't steeped in gloom.
They needed just one point from their remaining four matches to clinch the league title outright, so the players threw themselves into training while the manager and coaches fine-tuned their tactics.
"Alright, so where do you think we should deploy Jinho?"
"Shouldn't we have him take on Nuri Sahin's role? He handled it brilliantly in the last match."
"I disagree. Considering his attacking talent, Kagawa's spot might be bet—"
"But Roberto's there at Kagawa's position. And we have to think about next year—Nuri's agent's already talking to Real Madrid!"
Perhaps it was because a replacement had emerged who outshone even those two in talent.
"Okay, okay, for now, we'll start Jinho in Nuri Sahin's spot. That's the more pressing need."
Clopp raised his hands to calm the arguing coaches, then eyed them with an intrigued grin. Not a single Dortmund coach objected to Son Jinho starting.
Seizing the opportunity from the injury crisis, Son Jinho was rapidly cementing his place in the team.
Meanwhile, Son Jinho was starting to make waves not just in Korea and Germany, but in Japan too.
Thanks to ace performer Kagawa Shinji drawing in a huge wave of Japanese fans to Dortmund, they naturally got hooked on the sub who lit up the pitch—Son Jinho.
These posts naturally got translated and spread to Korean communities too.
"Hey, Son Jinho, check this out! Japanese reactions!"
"...It's only been a minute since it was posted. Gyeowol, you surfing communities all day?"
"No! I was studying, took a break cuz I was tired!"
It was only a matter of time before it reached Son Jinho.
April 23, 2011. Today was the match against relegation-threatened Mönchengladbach. We headed to their home ground, Borussia-Park, for the away fixture.
Dortmund aiming to seal the league title, Mönchengladbach desperate for three points to dodge the drop.
Truth be told, as the season winds down, facing relegation battlers is trickier than mid-table sides.
The clear, simple motivation of staving off relegation—short of extreme issues like unpaid wages—often unites a squad like nothing else.
I eyed the packed stadium of Borussia-Park fans, braving the relegation fight, and sensed this wouldn't be easy.
"Jino! You good?"
"Huh? With what?"
"Ah, nothing."
Mario Gotze approached, but when I tilted my head in confusion, he flashed an awkward smile and wandered off.
For the past three days, Jurgen Klopp and the starters had been telling me steadily: Ignore the media.
Apparently, chatter about my starting debut had stirred things up.
As I scrolled articles on my smartphone...
"Everyone, listen up!"
Klopp entered the locker room, glanced at me with a smile. Seemed he was checking if I was nervous for my first start.
I gave a thumbs-up to signal I was in top form. He nodded and launched into his locker room speech.
"It's been a full five years! While Dortmund faced financial ruin's darkest hour, our fans stayed loyal, cheering from that spot—and now they've come all the way to Borussia-Park, dreaming of our title!"
The players rose, arms around shoulders, eyes locked on the passionate Klopp.
"Let's go! Let's seal the win in front of our proud fans! Heja!!!"
"BVB!!"
With renewed resolve, we marched to the pitch, faces set.
We got absolutely dog-walked. Marco Reus, grabbing relegation-threatened Mönchengladbach by the collar and carrying them, was insane.
Dortmund's luck was rotten overall. Ref errors piled on shots that smashed the frame repeatedly in prime chances. We sank into the mire.
The young squad could've sunk into despair from the unlucky loss, but...
"...Hmm. Lifting the Meisterschale in front of the home fans would look pretty cool, right?"
Klopp sauntered into the locker room, deadpanning the line switch-up. Laughter erupted, snapping the heavy mood right back.
Klopp's big-bro leadership meshed perfectly with the impressionable young squad.
Defeat stings. Even with countless losses across my past life and this one, the mood dipped inevitably.
"Feeling better now?"
Gyeowol, sensing my funk, slipped over quietly and hugged me. Come to think of it, she'd always done this before her accident—comforting my post-loss rage or sorrow.
Back then, it never registered... but losing her once made me appreciate it.
"Yeah... thanks."
My sudden gratitude widened her eyes, then a soft smile bloomed. As I leaned for a careful kiss—
"Jinho, saw something hilarious on the community again?"
Really wish she'd cut back on communities.
April 30, 2011.
I'd failed to save the team in my first start, but for my first home start, I was determined to deliver a win no matter what.
Sure, parking the bus for a draw seals the title... but that's low-class. And big bro Klopp felt the same.
"Finally, time to hoist the Meisterschale in style before the home fans. Clean win and lift it high!"
A few chuckled recalling the prior mishap. Laughter's contagious—smiles spread, tension melted from stiffened bodies.
"Let's go, you idiots!"
Stepping onto the pitch from the tunnel—
"Die Menschen im Schwarz und Gelben Ruhrgebiet. (The black and yellow people of the Ruhr)"
A sea of black and yellow surged through the stadium.
"Werden immer stolz an deiner Seite sein. (Will always stand proudly by your side.)"