Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Union Berlin Storming the Champions League -7
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***
[Match End: Manchester United Defeats Union Berlin.]
└ Honestly, was anyone scared thinking we were gonna lose?
└ Me lolololol
└ Union Berlin is way stronger than I thought;;
└ So it's 1-1 now.
└ Both teams won at home.
└ Damn, if our starters weren't injured, we could've won.
└ You'd think we had no injuries.
└ Those players are Bale and Modric?
└ Oh. If it's Modric and Bale, yeah;; Those two are damn good at soccer.
[Manchester United Wins 3-2 at Old Trafford!]
[Park Chan-hyuk Smiles Brightly at His Players Despite Defeat; Alex Ferguson Looks Grim Despite Victory.]
└ Why's Park Chan-hyuk smiling after losing? Has he lost his mind?
└ Who knows?
└ Then why does Fergie look so down?
└ No idea?
└ Is there something we don't know?
└ Why do these guys answer questions with questions?
└ Lmao you're saying exactly what I was thinking lol
[Alex Ferguson Lavishes Praise on Opponents: "Union Berlin Is a Team That's Constantly Growing."]
[Park Chan-hyuk: "Though we suffered a defeat at Old Trafford, we'll come out even stronger because of it."]
***
After the Champions League match against Manchester United ended in defeat.
Union Berlin's players began training with a more serious attitude than usual.
They had learned a great deal from just that one loss.
In fact, some players even saw significant growth in their mental-related stats.
'Not bad. We put up a solid fight.'
It was a bit regrettable that they couldn't secure a win away at Old Trafford and lock in first place in the group.
But what can you do? The opponent was Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.
If it were future M16 or Maeng-gu, they'd probably head to the locker room and yell, "This is what a team is!"
Holding their own against Ferguson at Old Trafford was a decent performance in its own right.
Plus, with Union Berlin's key players out injured.
They had anticipated it would be a tough match.
'That said, not having anyone to replace Luka Modric hurts.'
For reference, the biggest gap felt in the last Man United match wasn't Bale—it was Luka Modric's absence.
No one else could fill Modric's role. Meaning Union Berlin's ball distribution relied far too heavily on Luka Modric.
He wanted to bring in Toni Kroos and form the KroModric line.
But signing Toni Kroos was realistically difficult.
Unfortunately, Kroos's current club was Bayern Munich.
Maybe if it were Toni Kroos after falling out with the club post-2014 Brazil World Cup.
But right now, Toni Kroos clearly had no intentions beyond playing for Munich.
'And Bayern Munich selling us Toni Kroos?'
From the recent vibe, it felt like Bayern wouldn't sell to Union Berlin even if it killed them.
Even Lewandowski had half-given up on the move after gauging Union Berlin fans' mood.
And at that moment.
Leon from the youth team popped into his head.
But he immediately shook his head.
Leon was still too young.
'I'll tough it out this season and scout for signings next season.'
***
After the Champions League match against Manchester United, time flew by.
[Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Roberto Lewandowski All Return!]
[Roberto Lewandowski Comes Off the Bench Just Before Halftime to Check His Fitness.]
The injured players started returning one by one.
Thanks to that, Union Berlin successfully navigated the precarious period.
[Gareth Bale Records Assist in Return Match, Proving He's Still in Top Form!]
[Luka Modric's Influence Remains as Strong as Ever!]
└ Damn, with the starters back, our attack just rips through.
└ The previous guys weren't bad, but the build-up is totally different lol
Union Berlin was still holding down first place in the league.
Meanwhile, they won all their other Champions League fixtures, finishing 5-1 and securing top spot in the group.
[Union Berlin Stirring Up a Storm in the Champions League Too?]
[Union Berlin Tops Group, Edges Out Manchester United.]
Union Berlin overtaking Manchester United for the group win became quite the hot topic.
Watching Union Berlin's name echo across European soccer, he nodded.
'Definitely, the Champions League is the Champions League.'
The level of attention was incomparable to the Bundesliga.
And public interest naturally led to revenue.
With growing revenue came an influx of casual fans day by day.
'Sure enough, with so many Asian players, growth in Asia is steep.'
For reference, not just Northeast Asia, but Southeast Asia too—fans interested in Union Berlin matches were multiplying.
Centered around Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, stories about the player study-abroad programs in Japan and Korea were circulating.
'No, we haven't even confirmed going yet....'
Actually, preseason was planned for China this time.
But pivoting to Southeast Asia didn't sound bad.
'It's fine now, but thinking about China's future... yeah.'
Anyway.
If Union Berlin could maintain this level of performance for the next 10 years or so, becoming a big club was just a matter of time.
The Bundesliga's broadcast rights were low due to its nature.
But it wasn't like there was no money at all.
Anyway. The day after the Champions League group stage ended.
The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw began.
[UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Draw....]
└ Please, an easy opponent!
└ Union Berlin, just avoid Barcelona!
└ Union Berlin can't face Barcelona anyway.
└ Why?
└ Group winners only face group runners-up in the round of 16.
└ Anyone got a list of group winners and runners-up?
└ Group 1st: Bordeaux, Union Berlin, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Fiorentina, FC Barcelona, Sevilla, Arsenal.
└ Group 2nd: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, AC Milan, FC Porto, Olympique Lyon, Inter, Wolfsburg, Olympiacos.
└ Thx
└ What a dick
└ Thank you.
└ Yeah.
└ What the hell did Munich do to finish second behind Bordeaux? Lmao
└ Always bragging about Bundesliga tradition and prestige, but ends up second to Bordeaux lol
He watched the Champions League Round of 16 draw broadcast.
For reference, he wasn't watching the broadcast just because his schedule was busy.
He had blocked club president Dirk Zingler and the top brass from attending, just in case.
Anyway. He watched the broadcast, lost in thought.
'Porto, Lyon, or Olympiacos would be ideal.'
Or facing AC Milan as in the original history wouldn't be bad.
[FC Barcelona's opponent is!]
But the draw results that followed left him cursing the gods.
[Union Berlin!]
He didn't even have time to sense something off with the draw.
The disappointment was that crushing.
'Barcelona! Of all teams, that Barcelona... Huh?'
But the UEFA staff and host started chatting, then announced a redraw due to a machine error.
"......Oh. Machine error. Right, both Barcelona and us were group winners. Phew... Got me for a second there."
Well.... Machine errors leading to redraws happened occasionally.
This one was better than some situations.
UEFA caught it quick, preventing a drawn-out disaster before the redraw.
[Due to machine error, redraw commencing. FC Barcelona's opponent is....]
And so, Barcelona's opponent was redrawn.
[Bayern Munich!]
He quietly raised a toast.
A blockbuster Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona matchup was set.
'Wonder if Bayern can play the big dog against Barcelona at this point.'
Whatever.
Even if Bayern couldn't, it didn't matter.
Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
One of those thorny teams was out.
The draw continued after Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
[Manchester City vs. Inter.]
[Real Madrid vs. Manchester United.]
[Arsenal vs. Wolfsburg.]
Blockbusters kept coming.
As club reps let out hollow laughs.
[Union Berlin's next opponent is....!]
Then Union Berlin's matchup was drawn.
[FC Porto!]
He dropped to his knees right there and shouted.
"All I neeeeed~~~ is not them!!"