Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Union Berlin and the Champions League Final -2
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***
With the referee's whistle, the Champions League final kicked off.
“Manuel Schmidt! Fußballgott!!”
Union Berlin's fans shouted out each player's name one by one.
The cheers that started with goalkeeper Manuel Schmidt swept through to Yannick Foite in an instant.
“Chan-hyuk!!”
And finally, Union Berlin's fans called out Park Chan-hyuk's name.
Union Berlin's fans recalled the past events one by one.
The moment Park Chan-hyuk and Thomas Tuchel first joined Union Berlin.
Back then, the fans had looked at the young manager and the boyishly young East Asian assistant coach with suspicion.
And most fans believed the team had fallen this far due to the crisis of financial bankruptcy.
But they proved their greatness solely through skill and results.
In that season when everyone predicted relegation, they achieved promotion right away.
It was a result hard to believe had been accomplished by a young manager and a childlike assistant coach.
After those two joined, the team broke free from its downward spiral and began advancing triumphantly.
Of course, crises continued to plague Union Berlin afterward as well.
And the biggest crisis for Union Berlin was when their stadium's deterioration led to the denial of promotion to the 2. Bundesliga,
and when Thomas Tuchel accepted Munich's offer and left the team.
[Thomas Tuchel Accepts Bayern Munich's Offer.]
When Thomas Tuchel, the manager who had led the team's rise, left due to the stadium's aging issues, the fans once again felt despair rising from deep in their hearts.
It was another moment when the club's financial problems held the team back.
Self-proclaimed soccer experts predicted that Union Berlin, having lost its leader Thomas Tuchel, would plummet quickly.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, Union Berlin did not collapse.
[Park Chan-hyuk Assistant Coach Decides to Stay with Union Berlin.]
[Soccer Experts Evaluate Park Chan-hyuk's Choice as 'The Whim Only a Young Man Could Make.']
Surprisingly, it was Park Chan-hyuk who supported the crumbling team and fans.
[Park Chan-hyuk Assistant Coach Takes Over as Acting Manager at Union Berlin.]
Park Chan-hyuk, who was thought to leave with Tuchel, stayed at Union Berlin.
“That little guy's struggling to save the club, so shouldn't we step up and do something too!”
When everyone was ready to abandon the team, the fans rose from despair watching Park Chan-hyuk fight to save it.
[Union Berlin's Miracle? Winning Streak Continues!]
And from then on, it was a string of dreamlike events.
[Union Berlin Clinches Bundesliga Promotion!]
[The Storm Continues in the Bundesliga!]
[Union Berlin Secures League Title.]
First promotion to the Bundesliga, followed by a monumental first championship.
[How Far Does Manager Park Chan-hyuk's Magic Go? Union Berlin Advances to Champions League Final!]
This season, they even achieved back-to-back league titles and reached the Champions League final.
Union Berlin's fans felt like this moment, all of it, was a dream.
A sweet dream they never wanted to wake from, no matter what.
Some fans even had nightmares of returning to the fourth division days.
Union Berlin's fans gazed at Park Chan-hyuk sitting on the bench.
Before they knew it, Park Chan-hyuk had become an indispensable presence for Union Berlin.
The fans could no longer imagine a club without him.
Park Chan-hyuk always gave them hope.
Park Chan-hyuk was also the lighthouse showing Union Berlin the path forward.
But the sweet dream they enjoyed was possible only because of someone's dedication.
When Union Berlin's documentary was released, the fans realized that the dream they enjoyed came at the price of someone's pain and anguish.
Now, rather than relying on someone, they hoped to walk together toward the future.
And now.
“Fußballgott─!!!!!”
The stadium, silent until Park Chan-hyuk's name was called, exploded with someone's shout as the trigger.
──!!
A massive roar echoed, incomparable to that for any other player.
“We will face the dawn winds 'together.'”
And then the fans began singing their chant at the top of their lungs.
To let Park Chan-hyuk know he no longer had to suffer alone.
Union Berlin's fans didn't care if they didn't win the Champions League.
Just being able to dream of Champions League glory was enough for them.
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
[(UEFA Champions League Final LIVE) Union Berlin 0:0 Inter.]
└ Wow… damn. Just got chills.
└ I involuntarily stood up from my seat.
└ Take a stand! You too, take a stand!
Korean soccer fans watching the scene were electrified. They had never imagined a Korean manager thriving in Europe and loved like this.
Overseas players had started paving the way with Park Ji-sung,
but managers were still uncharted territory.
However, with Park Chan-hyuk's recent success, the atmosphere in Korea was changing.
Korean coaches were actively learning European soccer tactics.
People began taking seriously the idea of going to Europe instead of competing for limited domestic coaching jobs, and some actually started building careers from Europe's lower leagues.
Rather than despairing at the Korean soccer world's reality of denying opportunities to anyone not from the first division as players, they began dreaming of becoming the second Park Chan-hyuk and challenging themselves. In this way, Park Chan-hyuk was quietly becoming an icon of an era, someone who embodied dreams and hope for others.
***
The Champions League final was unfolding in a somewhat one-sided manner.
Inter's squad wasn't objectively stronger than Barcelona's.
Of course, true to Mourinho's emphasis on defense, Inter's backline wasn't easily breached.
But Union Berlin gradually increased the number of threats on Inter's goal.
As the game flow turned difficult, Mourinho's expression naturally hardened.
I watched the flow of the match and quietly smiled.
‘This is thanks to Mourinho's interview, in a way.’
Right now, Union Berlin's players were overflowing with fighting spirit.
It wasn't because of the speech from the day before the match.
The players' anger had reignited from Mourinho's past remarks resurfacing during pre-match interviews.
‘They're even angrier than me.’
Well, I was grateful they were fired up, but I truly wasn't bothered by Mourinho's interview.
I knew that's just how he was, and I believed it wasn't sincere.
Anyway, Union Berlin's players pressed Inter aggressively from the front.
Then, in the 16th minute of the first half.
Thomas Mayer blocked Inter's counterattack attempt.
It was the moment Inter launched a counter, so the transition was underway,
and Inter's defensive line was disorganized as a result.
Thomas Mayer checked Inter's defense and quickly connected the ball.
It was a pass toward where Luka Modrić was positioned.
Inter's players rushed desperately to Modrić. Union Berlin's attacks practically started from Luka Modrić, after all.
But I and Union Berlin knew the value of the sweat Thomas Mayer had shed.
Thomas Mayer had worked hard to acquire his own new weapon.
And finally, on the stage of the Champions League final, he unveiled the weapon he had honed.
Modrić didn't trap Thomas Mayer's pass but let it run through his legs.
Inter's players couldn't react in time to Modrić releasing the ball, and Thomas Mayer's pass connected to Yannick Foite infiltrating behind Modrić.
“Block him!!”
Mourinho's shout rang out from the touchline, but
it was too late to stop Yannick Foite breaking into the penalty box.
Yannick Foite calmly struck at Inter's goalkeeper,
and the ball left Yannick Foite's foot and ripped into the net.
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The crowd's roar filled the stadium,
and Yannick Foite, having scored, ran over with a bright smile.
Normally, I might have ignored Yannick Foite and celebrated on my own.
But in this moment, right now.
I didn't turn away from Yannick Foite approaching for the celebration.
Perhaps it was the magic of the Champions League final stage.
Yannick Foite sprinted full tilt toward me and hugged me.
“Chan-hyuk, you were right! We're the best!”
I celebrated the opening goal together with Yannick Foite.
***
“Goaaaaal!!”
The moment Yannick Foite's opening goal shook Inter's net.
“From the fourth division to the first division and now the Champions League—these two have always been together! One became the greatest manager, and the other leads the team as captain!”
“Their friendship transcends nationality and creates a miracle at the Santiago Bernabéu!”
“1-0! Union Berlin takes the lead in the Champions League final!”
Soccer fans watching the scene felt a strange resonance in their hearts.
It was the romance that had been slowly fading from soccer due to the influx of capital.