Vs. Bayern Munich
South Korean soccer fans flooded two places right after the match ended.
One was the soccer association.
- Hoo-oooooo!
- Let us all repent! It's our fault for getting played by the stupid media and badmouthing Son Jinho! Let's atone right now!
The other was my SNS.
It wasn't quite on the level of all of Argentina holding up signs saying 'NoTeVayasLio' to Messi, begging him not to leave and snapping pics at his house.
- Please come back! Korean soccer is doomed without you!
But pleas from Korean soccer fans were starting to mix in with the comments on my SNS.
Well, naturally, there weren't that many yet. I was still just a young punk making a name for himself in the Bundesliga.
But the more my name spread, the more Korean soccer fans would itch with regret over their past actions.
I closed my SNS and nodded.
"Not bad."
Imagining them obsessing over me with regret put me in a good mood.
Well, that doesn't mean I'll return to the national team...
The people who hated me would keep hating even if I came back.
The people who liked me would keep liking me regardless.
So what I needed to do was thank the fans cheering me on and give them the ultimate fan service: victory.
I motivated myself and checked my next schedule.
"Bayern Munich, huh..."
Dortmund's next opponent was one of the dominant teams of the 2010s: Bayern Munich.
The match against Bayern Munich was right around the corner.
Dortmund headed to Bayern Munich's home ground, the Allianz Arena.
A rubber boat, huh.
True to its status as a Bundesliga powerhouse, an incredibly grand—and a bit uniquely shaped—stadium came into view.
Right before kickoff, in the tunnel, I recalled info on Dortmund's opponents, Bayern Munich.
The man in charge at Bayern Munich right now was Jupp Heynckes.
He'd led Leverkusen to second place last season, and in the original history, he'd guide Bayern to a runner-up treble this season and a full treble next.
A legendary coach who mainly used a 4-2-3-1 formation, with strong pressing tactics and quick build-up tempo as his main weapons.
"Bayern! Pack ma's (Let's go!)"
I turned toward the voice and saw familiar faces.
Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry, Philipp Lahm, Mario Gomez, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Toni Kroos, Jérôme Boateng, and more.
Names of players who had dominated or were about to dominate an era.
My heart started pounding at the thought of facing such incredible players.
"Heja!"
I shouted at the Dortmund players to suppress my excitement.
"BVB!"
The Dortmund players roared back.
The atmosphere was heating up even before kickoff.
Beep!
The Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund match was fiercely contested without an inch given.
In the 6th minute of the first half, Toni Kroos sent a penetrating pass from the right sideline to Arjen Robben breaking through.
Robben, with his overwhelming pace and concise yet precise dribbling, tore through Marcel Schmelzer's back space and cut inside to unleash a curling shot.
Thwack!
Arjen Robben's signature macro shot grazed past Dortmund's goal by a hair.
"Scheiße!! (Damn it!)"
As Robben showed frustration, ball boy-passed Roman Weidenfeller gave a short pass to Hummels and took the goal kick.
"Mats!"
I dropped slightly to receive, and Hummels immediately passed to me.
Thomas Müller quickly closed in with pressure. With my back to Müller, I returned the ball to Hummels and pointed to Schmelzer.
No need to force a breakthrough.
Hummels confirmed my finger and passed to Schmelzer, who slotted a through ball to Mario Götze, starting as left winger for the first time in a while.
The moment Götze received Schmelzer's pass, Dortmund players surged into Bayern's half.
Bayern players raced back to position too.
Götze narrowed the angle while glancing around, then drove centrally.
Shrrk—thud!
"Agh—!"
Philipp Lahm's tackle caught Götze's leg. Götze hit the ground and raised both arms appealing to the ref.
The ref, about to whistle for the foul, saw Shinji Kagawa grab the ball first and signaled advantage over Toni Kroos.
"Gino!"
Kagawa received and passed to me immediately.
From just outside the penalty box, I whipped a non-stop cross up with my left foot.
The sudden cross caught Bayern defenders off-guard in backpedal, sailing over their heads to Lewandowski's forehead perfectly.
The moment it hit Lewandowski's head toward goal...
"Olé, jetzt kommt Der BVB!"
Dortmund's away fans jumped up, sensing the goal.
Thud!
But Bayern's guardian deity, Manuel Neuer, punched it away with beastly reaction speed despite his backpedal.
"Whoa... is that even human? How do you stop that?"
It was the kind of reaction speed that drew genuine praise.
The two teams traded early chances but ended the first half without further highlights.
Dortmund and Bayern locker rooms filled only with players' heavy breathing.
Players recovered stamina by eating bananas that convert quickly to energy, each in their own way.
Jupp Heynckes and Jurgen Klopp offered simple encouragement over tactics, giving players time to recover.
Both coaches anticipated it would come down to stamina over tactics.
And into the second half.
The second half flowed similarly to the first.
In the 70th minute, Son Jinho dispossessed Toni Kroos with a sliding tackle.
"Ref!"
As Toni Kroos protested with arms wide...
Even the Professor's still young.
Son Jinho sprang up and lofted a precise through ball to Robert Lewandowski breaking into Bayern's back space.
It was the difference in experience—and the post-VAR era.
Clubs trained players to protest after the ball goes out rather than mid-play once VAR was introduced.
Anyway, Lewandowski received Son Jinho's pass and feinted a shot, passing centrally to Götze.
"Damn!"
Neuer, seeing the ball pass Boateng, dropped low bracing for the shot.
Götze stared at the incoming ball and struck immediately.
Neuer read the trajectory, dove left, and parried it.
"Great! Saved...!"
A smile formed on Neuer's lips as he kept a clean sheet again.
But his eyes widened in shock.
He saw Son Jinho sprinting full tilt from the halfway line.
"Hoo! I knew you'd save that!"
Son Jinho, lungs burning from the full sprint to the box, stretched his leg just before defenders cleared the rebound and poked it into the net.
"Heja!!!!!"
Dortmund away fans erupted in cheers.
The scorer flashed a light smile and dashed to the corner flag where away fans were.
"Huuuugh-hooooo—!"
But the full sprint from halfway left him too winded for a proper roar.