Death Group Draw and Leverkusen Conquest
August 28, 2011. Bundesliga Round 4: Dortmund vs. Leverkusen.
Dortmund had traveled to Leverkusen's home ground, the BayArena.
Before kickoff, I lightly warmed up and scanned the surroundings.
Curiously, unlike other Bundesliga stadiums, Leverkusen's BayArena had no fences.
"...Isn't this way too easy for fans to invade the pitch?"
I couldn't help but marvel at the fan-friendly setup of Leverkusen's stadium.
'They probably don't put up fences because the fans don't rush the field.'
As I worried about pitch invaders,
Peep─!
The referee, deeming the players ready, blew the whistle to start the match.
The ref for this Dortmund-Leverkusen clash was Wolfgang Stark.
He was the guy who'd reffed Korea vs. Uruguay at the 2010 South Africa World Cup, getting absolutely roasted by Korean and Uruguayan media alike.
He'd also officiated the first leg of the 2008/2009 Champions League semifinal between Chelsea and FC Barcelona.
Though overshadowed by Ovrebo's gem of a second-leg performance, Wolfgang Stark had gifted both Chelsea and Barca some egregious calls of his own, earning infamy.
Unsurprisingly, his notoriety was sky-high in Germany too.
"No matter how bullshit the calls are, don't lose your cool! If we stay calm and play our game, we can win!"
Even Jurgen Klopp, who'd preached composure to the players pre-match, was now fuming at the touchline, face beet-red, protesting fiercely.
'Ah, this feels ominous...'
Seeing Wolfgang Stark's face stirred an inexplicable sense of dread.
Aaagh─!
"Ref! That's a foul!"
"Nein! That was a clean tackle."
And it didn't take long for my bad feeling to prove spot-on.
Dortmund vs. Leverkusen was growing increasingly physical thanks to the ref's erratic, incomprehensible rulings.
"Was ist das für ein Stück Scheiße! (What the fuck is this shit!)"
"What the hell is this shit?!"
"This pig bastard!"
"Eat shit, you moron!"
Though teammates rushed in to separate them,
Ref Wolfgang Stark handed both players yellows "fairly," but Mario Gotze was sent off for accumulating cards.
After Mario Gotze's sending-off, Leverkusen pressed hard. A pass found Stefan Kiesling slicing into Dortmund's backline momentarily.
Everyone thought it was a goal...
Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller barely parried the shot. From the corner kick, Weidenfeller claimed it, sparking Dortmund's counter.
Robert Lewandowski won the goal kick and lofted it to the space ahead of sprinting winger Ivan Perisic on the flank.
As Perisic drove into the box for a shot,
"Argh! Cross!"
My voice rang out, and Perisic instinctively obeyed.
The ball floated lazily toward me from Perisic's toe.
I timed my run perfectly between Leverkusen's defenders and keeper, redirecting it with a deft header into the net.
"Hoo!"
Two days after the Leverkusen match.
Park Joo-young transferred to Arsenal as per original history.
Personally, I thought heading to Lille as a rotation option might've kept his form better than Arsenal's bench,
but hey, his choice wasn't incomprehensible. At 26, this might be his last shot at a big club.
'And Wenger's phone call? Yeah, can't pass that up.'
Park Joo-young hyung probably couldn't shake thoughts of Man United's Ferguson and Park Ji-sung.
Anyway, now that he's at Arsenal, I hope he thrives unlike his past life.
As the Dortmund-Arsenal clash loomed, the group chat blew up.
Ever since Dortmund drew into Arsenal's Group F,
The Man U and Chelsea fans unleashed a glorious combo attack on Arsenal supporter Hwang Geum-sun Chairman.
Unable to withstand the pincer attack, Hwang Geum-sun Chairman bailed from the group chat, ending the chaos.