Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Union Berlin Charging Through the Champions League -2
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Union Berlin was scheduled to play an international break match ahead of their Champions League away game against Manchester United.
‘After the international break comes the league match, and then the Champs.’
Up until now, Union Berlin had benefited greatly from using the international break as a rest period, thanks to the club's relatively low profile. But after winning the Bundesliga, the club's name value had skyrocketed, making such luck a thing of the past.
Union Berlin's players were now being called up to their national teams in earnest.
[Union Berlin Captain Yannick Foite Called Up to Germany National Team.]
['Beauty of a Late Bloomer.' Yannick Foite Called Up to Germany National Team.]
And among them, the biggest news by far was Yannick Foite's call-up to the national team.
Frankly, given Yannick's performances, he should have been called up long ago.
But due to various internal politics within the German national team, his call-up had been delayed.
- Yannick's a great goalscorer, I'll give him that. But is he really good enough to displace Klose or Mario Gomez, guys he's never linked up with in the national team?
Unlike the future German national team, which lacked a decisive finisher in key moments,
the current German squad was overflowing with star strikers.
On top of that, Yannick's age made him an awkward fit for developing as the next-generation striker.
‘And right when they were about to call him up, Yannick got injured.’
Anyway, Germany national team coach Joachim Löw, seeing Yannick Foite continue his stellar form from last season into this one, finally decided to bring him in.
And so, on the day Yannick's inclusion in the Germany squad was confirmed.
- Chan-hyuk, I still can't believe I'm going to wear the national team jersey.
- Meeting you was the luckiest moment of my life, Chan-hyuk.
Yannick Foite, swept up in emotion, sent those messages and acted all mushy.
‘Well... I probably would've done the same.’
Anyway, time flew by after that day.
Setting aside the heartwarming story of a factory worker getting his international call-up,
a series of bad news hit Union Berlin one after another.
[Gareth Bale Injured? Leaves Pitch Early in First Half.]
[Luka Modrić Out 5 Weeks After Rough Tackle.]
[Union Berlin on Alert? Squad Turns into Injury Ward Overnight.]
News trickled in of players called up to their national teams picking up injuries.
[Union Berlin Manager Park Chan-hyuk Blasts National Teams' Poor Medical Support.]
└ Holy shit, what a curse.
└ Union Berlin was doing so well... we're screwed;;
└ How's Union Berlin holding up right now?
└ Full emergency mode. Screams coming from the manager's office. No joke.
└ You Sun-myeong?
└ Who's Sun-myeong?
└ That Kim Sun-myeong guy. Started as a Union Berlin volunteer, became an intern, then full-time, now heads the info team.
└ ??? Dude's a walking cheat code? Why bring him up?
└ It's a meme: any Korean who knows Union Berlin's inside info suspiciously well? Gotta be Sun-myeong.
└ Why him specifically? Could be Park Chan-hyuk.
└ You think the manager's got time on his hands? Stick to your Naver K-League articles.
└ LMAO for real. Reading K-League news during this crisis? That's insane.
I read the comments and nodded obediently.
‘Hmm. Guess I should close the Naver K-League articles for now.’
Anyway.
Fortunately, none of the injuries were season-ending.
But the players would have to step away from the squad for recovery in the meantime.
‘Ugh, this is exactly why I hate international breaks.’
With the long flights and jet lag hitting the Asian players hard, their condition was poor, and it was no surprise that alarm bells were ringing for Union Berlin's schedule.
‘...Thank goodness I built the squad with some depth.’
At least the double squad setup helped soften the blow.
If this had happened last season, Union Berlin might have collapsed entirely.
Either way.
With Union Berlin's key players injured, Bundesliga lower-table managers started running their mouths.
[Anonymous Bundesliga Manager: "Rookie Manager's Luck Has Run Out."]
They were brimming with confidence about beating me.
[Union Berlin Manager Park Chan-hyuk: "Put your name out there and step up like a man. Don't be a coward whispering behind my back."]
I fired back immediately after seeing the interview.
I was pissed at the nameless manager's assessment.
‘...So you think you're on the level of Tuchel, Klopp, or Ferguson?’
Honestly, I tend to undervalue myself a bit.
I keep myself in check to avoid getting arrogant.
‘Success breeds arrogance, and arrogance ends ugly.’
But as the manager who led the Bundesliga champions last season, I don't think I'm some pushover to be dismissed like this.
Even if I did use the insane cheats of regression and scouting.
The tactics that formed the foundation of that title win were mine.
Sure, you could argue the tactics came from future knowledge too.
‘If you're jealous, die and come back to life like me.’
Come to think of it, regression is my ability, isn't it?
Coming back to life after death.
That's on par with the Second Coming of Jesus, basically.
Hell, I even pulled off time reversal, something Jesus couldn't do.
Don't Earth's people need to found the Church of Chan-hyuk right now...?
‘Whoa...!’
In that moment, I shook my head vigorously.
‘Stay humble. That was way too arrogant.’
Just as I was voluntarily dialing back my humility,
[Leverkusen Manager Jupp Heynckes Defends Union Berlin Manager, Blasts Anonymous Coach: "Union Berlin Manager's Tactical Ability Is Already World-Class. Never Take Them Lightly."]
The manager of our next opponents, Leverkusen, spoke up.
Sigh. Oh.
That guy's kinda scary.
‘Damn. Can't you let your guard down a little?’
***
I had to pull an all-nighter ahead of the Leverkusen match.
With players injured during the international break,
I needed to rebuild the starting lineup for Leverkusen.
‘Hong Min, Kagawa Shinji, and Nakamoto Yuto are out of form from long flights and jet lag. Roberto Lewandowski has minor bruising, Luka Modrić has an ankle sprain, and Gareth Bale's got a hamstring? Fuck. This sucks.’
Union Berlin's squad was half-wrecked right now.
I stared at the roster, barely suppressing my rising frustration.
First, I penciled in Manuel Schmidt at goalkeeper. The level gap between him and the other keepers was clear.
‘Lewandowski's out, so lone striker it is. Phew... At least Yannick's fine.’
Next, Yannick Foite. Normally I'd slot in Luka Modrić or Thomas second, but with Lewandowski gone, no need to worry about the striker spot.
‘Thomas looks a bit fatigued too, so bench him.’
As I filled out the starting XI one by one, their strengths and weaknesses flashed in my mind,
and before I knew it, I was arranging the names to maximize their strengths.
ST: Yannick Foite.
CAM: Lee Sung-jae
LWB: Azpilicueta - LCM: Larsen Bender - CDM: Sven Bender - RCM: Luca Schneider - RM: Ángel Di María.
LCB: Dante - CB: Thiago Silva - RCB: Virgil van Dijk
GK: Manuel Schmidt.
A moment later, I stared blankly at the completed lineup.
‘...Wait, why does this actually look solid?’
Attack power dipped a bit without the stars, but the overall balance was even better.
***
A few days later.
The match against Leverkusen, led by Bayern Munich's eternal runner-up Jupp Heynckes, kicked off at Union Berlin's home ground.
Before kickoff, I watched Toni Kroos receiving instructions from Jupp Heynckes.
This season, Toni Kroos was soaring under Heynckes' guidance.
Since Heynckes' arrival, he'd locked down a starting spot at Leverkusen and was growing rapidly.
‘He's too famous now; can't just poach him casually anymore. Driving me nuts.’
I forced my gaze away from Toni Kroos.
Right now, focus on the game, not talent hunting.
To shut down Toni Kroos this match, I called over Azpilicueta. He was my secret weapon for the job.
As Azpilicueta approached,
I quickly organized the tactical instructions in my head.
Note that as the game progresses, players' memories of the coach's instructions fade.
So skip the complex stuff—keep tactics simple and clear for them to grasp.
That's why, when Azpilicueta got close, I pointed at Toni Kroos and explained simply and concisely.
"Mark him."
No need for a second explanation. Perfect.