Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Park Chan-hyuk Acting Manager - 3
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***
Wolfgang Sidka, the manager of MSV Neuruppin, was gearing up for their match against Union Berlin.
“Manager, have you heard? Some 18-year-old rookie is stepping in as acting manager for the next game.”
“Er, we still can’t let our guard down.”
He was chatting with his assistant coach when a huge grin spread across his face. The news had just come in that Thomas Tuchel had been hospitalized with the flu.
*The heavens are on our side.*
He told his assistant not to get complacent, but inwardly, he was the most thrilled of all.
[Thomas Tuchel Crushes Rival BFC Dynamo with Overwhelming Firepower.]
And why not? The monster himself, Thomas Tuchel, was being replaced by an 18-year-old kid.
[League Standings.]
1. Union Berlin. Points: 40.
2. MSV Neuruppin. Points: 33.
Union Berlin led the league, but with a seven-point gap. If they faltered in this match, Neuruppin could seize the top spot.
Sure, Neuruppin could lose to Union Berlin too.
*But realistically, that’s not happening.*
Wolfgang Sidka had spent more years as a manager than this Park Chan-hyuk kid had even been alive.
That gave him the confidence to say it outright.
An unprepared rookie manager pulling off results? Tough as hell.
*What can an 18-year-old punk even do?*
Sure, the press had hyped up Thomas Tuchel’s praise for him, but that was just lip service.
Even if the kid had real talent, it didn’t matter.
Experience-wise, he was sorely lacking.
*Managing isn’t a job where flashes of genius solve everything.*
On top of that, Union Berlin was unbeaten.
Plenty of games left, but halfway through the season, whispers of an invincible title run were already floating around.
For an 18-year-old rookie to suddenly take the reins in that scenario?
Park Chan-hyuk had to be drowning in pressure.
*They’ll definitely play defensive.*
That pressure would force a cautious, defensive setup.
*I’d do the same.*
Convinced Union Berlin would turtle up, Wolfgang Sidka prepared an aggressive game plan for the clash.
[Park Chan-hyuk Assistant Coach Provokes Opponents: “Geball or get balled. But we’re not the ones getting balled.”]
[Park Chan-hyuk Assistant Coach on Provocation Backlash: “We won’t see them after next season anyway.”]
The sharp, aggressive interviews from Park Chan-hyuk only bolstered the manager’s certainty.
*A barking dog never bites.*
Wolfgang scoffed at the image of Park Chan-hyuk yapping like a scared puppy.
*Come to think of it, they say Thomas Tuchel’s no pushover. This could drive a wedge between them.*
Before he knew it, his mind had shifted from facing Park Chan-hyuk to a late-season showdown with Tuchel himself.
***
News of Park Chan-hyuk becoming the youngest acting manager ever spread quickly back in Korea too.
Union Berlin might be in the amateur fourth division, but...
["The Club Built on Fatigue: Let's Learn About Union Berlin."]
["Berlin's 21st-Century Coin Drive: A Heartwarming Tale."]
Their inspiring story had gained some fame.
And their Korea-friendly moves had built a solid fanbase.
[Title: Union Berlin Site Now 100% Translated into Korean.]
(Korean Union Berlin site .jpg)
└ Probably because the assistant coach is Korean. They even made a Korean site.
└ Grammar’s a bit off sometimes, but the translation’s clean.
└ Chan-hyuk did the translating?
└ Yeah, him and the volunteer team handled the site.
└ What’s with this familiar vibe?
└ This is peak Korean micro-corp energy.
Add in their down-to-earth, human touch, and Union Berlin had won over plenty of fans.
[Title: Update on Our Favorite Club, Union Berlin.]
Thomas Tuchel collapses from overwork, so the 18-year-old assistant coach takes over as manager.
Park Chan-hyuk now handles assistant coach, GM, and manager duties.
└ Wasn’t it the flu, not overwork?
└ Yeah, I thought flu too.
└ Park Chan-hyuk’s workload is insane, right?
└ That one-guy-doing-everything feeling hits too close to home.
└ Park Chan-hyuk is micro-corp elite incarnate.
└ Chan-hyuk, if Union Berlin fires you, come work for us.
└ Hell yeah, we’ll hire you.
└ If Union Berlin skyrockets to the Bundesliga like this, doesn’t that make the micro-corp a mid-tier?
└ Bundesliga team? That’s global mega-corp territory, dude.
└ Top flight in one of the big four leagues. Mid-tier my ass lol.
└ Second division’s mid-tier at best?
└ Nah, upper third division is mid-tier. Upper second division gets big corp treatment.
***
Time flew after the provocation. MSV Neuruppin’s manager fired back.
[MSV Neuruppin Manager’s Advice to Park Chan-hyuk: “He’s young and full of hot blood... A manager always needs to stay calm.”]
[Union Berlin’s Park Chan-hyuk Escalates Against Wolfgang: “Old soldiers never die. They just fade away. But Manager Wolfgang seems to have missed his fade-out cue.”]
The unexpected manager spat had everyone’s attention, heating up the stadium inside and out.
*Trash talk’s always the best part of a fight.*
In my press interview, I smirked at the old man blowing his top.
*Hit a nerve, huh?*
My provocations were on point, but Wolfgang Sidka was no slouch—back in his prime, he’d dragged a second-division bottom-feeder to promotion. Solid career.
*But now? Washed up.*
Not just him. The manager gig was brutal like that.
If you couldn’t adapt to new tactics and paradigms, you got left behind fast.
Once out, climbing back to the mainstream? Rare as hell.
Catching up to the cutting edge after falling behind? Brutal.
Sure, some washed-up managers did claw their way back with blood and sweat.
But that meant they had the prestige to earn second chances.
Big-name managers get multiple shots despite flops. Most? One and done.
That made this match huge for me too. My managerial debut on this precious stage.
Thump.
My heart raced like crazy at the thought of returning to the bench.
*I poked the bear on purpose, so they’ll come at us aggressive, right?*
I’d spent the night polishing tactics for Neuruppin.
***
Match day against Union Berlin and MSV Neuruppin arrived.
Away game, so we headed to Volksparkstadion in Neuruppin, Brandenburg.
Neuruppin’s home held 5,300—way smaller than Union Berlin’s. But Union had an oversized stadium for fourth division.
They’d reached second division before, after all.
The class gap between MSV Neuruppin and Union Berlin was real.
Anyway, the stands were packed with home fans.
Spotting the Asian entering, they unleashed a torrent of boos.
Racist jeers mixed in, hardening Union Berlin players’ faces.
I nodded at the sight.
*Perfect. I can use this.*
I’d planned to fire up the team using the racist crap from Neuruppin fans.
“You sent me out first knowing this would happen?!”
Kim Sun-myung grumbled, taking the racist hits meant for me.
I told the complaining Kim the truth.
“Yeah.”
Mom and Dad said lying was bad.
***
Pre-match.
I approached the opposing manager for a fair play handshake.
“Good luck in the match today.”
“Ho ho. Young blood, no filter in those interviews. What if you lose? Bold words.”
“That’s the no-backspace alpha move. Pure Germanic spirit, right?”
After the quick staredown, the Neuruppin manager’s face twisted for a split second. He smoothed it out for the reporters in the stands.
Moments later.
The ref’s whistle blew, and the game kicked off.
As Neuruppin eyed Union Berlin’s dropped defensive line, Wolfgang’s smile widened.
Then Union Berlin’s vibe flipped in an instant.
Up-top striker Daniel Teixeira snuffed out Neuruppin’s attack and sparked a counter.
Yannick Feith, poised by the center-back for the counter, bolted forward.
Teixeira lofted a perfect long ball ahead.
Feith controlled it and rifled a low shot into Neuruppin’s net.
I pulled a Yu-Gi-Oh card from my pocket, flashed a smirk at the stunned manager.
“You just activated my trap card.”