Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: vs Manchester United -5
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Thomas Müller didn’t panic at Park Chan-hyuk’s sudden instruction.
He figured there had to be a good reason for Park Chan-hyuk to give such an order.
Splash—.
Following the directive, Thomas Müller launched a fierce tackle on Park Ji-sang.
The referee called a foul right away, but fortunately, no card was shown.
Thomas Müller extended a hand to Park Ji-sang and helped him up.
“It’s a message from that gentleman over there.”
He pointed toward the Union Berlin bench and whispered.
Park Chan-hyuk was holding a plastic cup from who-knows-where, waving lazily with a smug grin.
‘His taunting game is on another level.’
Thomas Müller couldn’t help but genuinely admire the scene.
Right now, Park Chan-hyuk was the textbook definition of provocation.
***
Park Ji-sang had been taunted by Park Chan-hyuk, but it didn’t really faze him.
- So, what’s your team’s manager like?
- Uh… he’s a good guy, but he seems a bit out of his mind. Take that in the good or bad way.
He’d already heard plenty about Park Chan-hyuk from the Korean players at Union Berlin.
Overseas pros in Europe often kept in touch with each other. They shared the common bond of grinding it out abroad, swapping tips on European life and culture.
That said, Korean players thriving overseas hesitated to contact Park Chan-hyuk directly. It was all down to his social standing.
Beyond the manager-player dynamic,
the rampant rumors that he was the owner of Guten and engaged to a scion of a prestigious German family didn’t help.
Players found themselves subconsciously aware of his background.
‘Hitting him up first does feel a bit intimidating.’
Honestly, from the perspective of overseas pros, it was hard to fathom how the Union Berlin players hung out with him so casually.
Anyway, Park Ji-sang gazed at Union Berlin and let out a pure sigh of admiration. They felt like a precision machine in perfect sync.
Sure, they’d occasionally glitch with a mistake, but another teammate would swiftly cover for it. It was as if every player knew exactly what to do in any situation.
But even the most machine-like teams make errors. Manchester United’s pressure caused them to miss Park Ji-sang’s position, leading to a misplaced pass.
Park Ji-sang stretched out his leg to intercept Luka Modrić’s pass.
He fed it to Michael Carrick, then sprinted forward.
Union Berlin players knew Park Ji-sang was bait, but they had to mark him anyway.
You always had to stop a player breaking into space.
While Park Ji-sang drew the Union Berlin defenders’ eyes,
Michael Carrick’s pass reached Berbatov.
Berbatov turned smoothly with his signature exquisite first touch.
He spotted Wayne Rooney surging forward.
Berbatov pulled the defenders’ gaze once, then slotted the ball to Wayne Rooney.
Wayne Rooney spotted Manuel Schmitt’s position and calmly took the shot.
Rooney’s strike ripped straight into Union Berlin’s net.
The powerful blast from close range was too quick to react to.
‘…I thought he’d stop that one too.’
Of course, Wayne Rooney flinched when Manuel Schmitt actually got a hand to it.
Anyway, Manchester United had pierced Union Berlin’s famed triple net defense to equalize.
***
After the equalizer, Manchester United rode the momentum and hammered Union Berlin relentlessly.
But Union Berlin’s players refused to cede control easily.
They kept the tempo high, clashing head-on with Manchester United.
The first half had seen them dominate, proving United wasn’t invincible. Surprisingly, United began to falter.
The young, almost youthful Union Berlin outlasted Manchester United in stamina.
With United’s energy a step behind, Park Chan-hyuk made substitutions.
Ángel Di María replaced the exhausted Kagawa Shinji at attacking midfield, and Sven Bender came on for Thomas Müller.
Sven Bender seamlessly took over Thomas Müller’s role.
Ángel Di María injected creativity into the attack against Union Berlin.
Sven Bender stole the ball from Michael Carrick; it went through Luka Modrić to Ángel Di María.
The moment Di María controlled it, Yannick Foight dropped deep instead of running into space, while Robert Lewandowski bolted into Foight’s spot.
Son Heung-min exploited the space Lewandowski vacated.
Di María’s choice: Son Heung-min.
Rivals or not in the same position, they weren’t on bad enough terms to ignore a clear chance.
Di María’s pass found Son Heung-min perfectly.
Son’s first touch was a tad long,
but Manchester United’s keeper wasn’t Van der Sar.
That let Son line up a steady shot.
Splash—!
Son Heung-min’s strike pierced Manchester United’s net.
“Goooaaoooool—! It’s in! Son Heung-min! Son Heung-min scores on his Champions League debut against Manchester United!!”
Union Berlin had toppled European football’s giant, Manchester United. Naturally, Union Berlin and Park Chan-hyuk’s names buzzed across the European scene once more.
***
[Union Berlin defeats Manchester United 2-1.]
└ Whoa, no way they actually won.
└ Gareth Bale <<< This guy is insane.
└ Why the hell did Tottenham sell him?
└ They couldn’t back then ffs;;
└ Heard they tried using him as a wing-back lol
└ Tottenham using an attacker like that at wing-back ㄷㄷ;
└ Tottenham fans are losing it now.
└ Hilarious—they’re the ones who pushed to sell him lol
└ TBH, their mental gymnastics about him not cutting it in the Prem was kinda pathetic.
[Park Chan-hyuk Magic Works in Champions League Too? Who Called Union Berlin Frogs in a Well!]
└ Wasn’t this the same reporter?
└ Lmao yeah, eating crow.
└ Flip-flopping is reporter 101.
[Union Berlin Manager Park Chan-hyuk: “We’re Last Season’s Champions Too.”]
[Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson: “Union Berlin is a good team. Football will be watching them closely from now on.”]
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
- What? We actually lost?
- Union Berlin? Is there even a team like that in Germany?
Local Manchester United fans couldn’t hide their shock. Their pride and joy had fallen to some no-name outfit called Union Berlin.
European football fans typically stuck to their domestic leagues—
especially their own team’s matches. That was the default.
Football often served as a local community hub in Europe.
Fans gathered at stadiums to swap stories from the week, share sorrows, and catch the game.
Even for a club like Manchester United, victory mattered more than community vibes.
Still, United fans rarely watched other teams.
Deep down, they carried that superiority: ‘Our team’s the best—why bother?’
So, even if the opponent was last season’s Bundesliga champs,
most hadn’t heard of Union Berlin.
United fan forums flooded with talk of Union Berlin in minutes.
But the real chaos erupted elsewhere.
- Bald bastard, get out!!
- What? You sold a guy like that for peanuts?
- You German spy?
It was Tottenham Hotspur, who’d offloaded Gareth Bale on the cheap—the same Bale who’d torn United apart.
United fans started clamoring for their club to buy him.
- Why’s Gareth Bale running around at Union Berlin?
- Dude was class. Loan, right? Sell him to us next season.
Tottenham’s fan boards turned into a warzone overnight.
***
After the Manchester United match ended, I had a brief chat with Alex Ferguson.
“…Congrats on the win.”
“Thanks. Good game.”
“Ever thought about managing United?”
Alex Ferguson proposed the job with a serious look.
My response was icy.
“Me? Why?”
I knew United’s future, after all.