Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them -3
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***
Union Berlin and St. Pauli's Regionalliga Round 5 match.
The home stadium of Union Berlin, where the game was taking place, was filled with banners from fans hoping for reconciliation between Park Chan-hyuk and Thomas Tuchel.
‘…This has gotten bigger than I thought.’
Park Chan-hyuk, who had arrived at the home stadium, broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing the banners covering every direction.
He turned his head at the gaze he felt from behind. Thomas Tuchel was looking at him, and the two quickly exchanged glances.
‘You, what are you going to do about this atmosphere?’
‘…Who are you?’
After a long exchange of glances, Park Chan-hyuk was the first to look away. He had decided to simply ignore the situation.
“Boooooo─!”
“Reconcile! Reconcile! Reconcile!”
“Reconcile! Reconcile! Reconcile!”
The fans watching this booed and urged them to make up. They sensed that the two men's emotions hadn't fully thawed yet from the way they whipped their heads away when their eyes met.
Meanwhile.
‘Judging by the mood of the players and fans, it looks like they really did fight.’
A smile began to deepen on the lips of the St. Pauli manager. It felt too real—the desperation emanating from the fans and players—to be just an act.
***
Union Berlin's players entered the locker room with serious expressions after warming up. The team's morale had plummeted due to the conflict between Park Chan-hyuk and Thomas Tuchel.
At least the player factions hadn't split in half, thanks to the efforts of the oldest member, Daniel Teixeira, and the ace, Yannick Foight.
“Chan-hyuk still has no intention of apologizing?”
“I don't know. His face was so serious I couldn't even talk to him.”
“Sigh, what the hell is going on all of a sudden.”
“What if Chan-hyuk refuses to apologize to the end?”
“Then one of them—either Thomas or Chan-hyuk—will have to leave the team.”
Silence fell over the locker room at Thomas Maier's cynical remark.
The players couldn't accept the fact that one of the two men who had revived Union Berlin would be gone.
“No way, is this really happening? Those two were so close just a few days ago.”
“Well… that's how relationships are. They can drift apart over something that seems trivial to outsiders.”
“…Will Chan-hyuk be the one to leave the team?”
“Who knows… Thomas might leave too. He's not exactly on great terms with the chairman.”
In general, when there's conflict between a manager and an assistant coach, it's the assistant coach who gets pushed out. After all, they were easier to replace than a manager.
But Union Berlin was in a slightly special situation.
More players followed the assistant coach Park Chan-hyuk than the manager Thomas Tuchel. Even the irreplaceable ace of Union Berlin, Yannick Foight, was Park Chan-hyuk's pick.
A typical manager would be wary of an assistant coach gaining too much influence, but Thomas Tuchel, obsessed with tactics, didn't mind Park Chan-hyuk's growing sway.
“What if Chan-hyuk leaves the team?”
“Well, I'd probably put in a transfer request. Thomas is a great manager, sure, but our personalities just don't mesh.”
As a result, kicking out the assistant coach Park Chan-hyuk carried an excessively high risk of problems.
“If one of them has to go, it'd be better if it was Thomas.”
“I disagree—Thomas has real talent.”
Of course, that didn't mean it was right to let Thomas Tuchel go. All of Union Berlin's players acknowledged his abilities.
“What good is talent if he has issues in other areas?”
But the point was that Thomas Tuchel wasn't the kind of boss the players wanted to work with long-term.
Just as arguments were about to break out due to the players' divided opinions,
Yannick Foight and Daniel Teixeira quickly stepped in to mediate.
‘Feels like even suppressing the team's discontent has reached its limit now.’
“Sigh, what a pain in my old age.’
But their worries vanished the moment Thomas Tuchel and Park Chan-hyuk entered the locker room laughing. And in the place of worry came massive rage at having been fooled.
“Ta-da, hidden camera~!”
Park Chan-hyuk flashed a bright smile toward the flustered players.
The moment Yannick Foight heard Park Chan-hyuk's cheerful tone,
“…Guys.”
He declared as the team's central figure.
“Grab that bastard.”
Before Yannick Foight could even point at Park Chan-hyuk, the players swiftly grabbed him as he tried to turn and flee.
“Chan-hyuk, where do you think you're going?”
“You need a beating.”
“You bastard, do you know how worried we were?”
“This guy's sneakily provoking a beatdown.”
For a while, only Park Chan-hyuk's frantic voice echoed through Union Berlin's locker room.
“Argh! I just got my cast off! You bastards!”
***
Declaring that everything up to now had been a hidden camera to fool the opponent, the players welcomed me with hot kicks.
The most surprising personal revelation from this incident was that I had more players following me than I thought.
I'd always figured that if I stepped to the forefront, a lot of players would oppose me. I was young—practically a kid—and above all, an Easterner who was a non-mainstream figure in European soccer.
‘Was it just a victim complex?’
Maybe it was a victim complex after all.
Truth be told, while I'd been friendly with the players, I hadn't truly opened up to them.
Living in Germany, the discrimination I'd faced knowingly and unknowingly had kept me from approaching the players with full sincerity.
But the players had accepted me as an indispensable member of Union Berlin.
That fact made me smile unwittingly.
“Daniel, this bastard's smiling?”
“Guess he hasn't been beaten enough. Step on him more.”
***
[Hello, soccer fans. This is caster Bae Moon-seong, bringing you the Union Berlin vs. St. Pauli match.]
[Commentator Jang Sung-jae here. Nice to meet you.]
The Union Berlin vs. St. Pauli match was also being broadcast in Korea.
It was because they'd gained recognition among Koreans through the preseason game against Ohseong Red Wings, and Park Chan-hyuk was the only Korean assistant coach active in Europe.
[It's a head-to-head between 1st-place St. Pauli and 2nd-place Union Berlin in the league, right? Word before kickoff is that it's expected to be a tough match for Union Berlin.]
└ WTF, they won't even broadcast Premier League but they're doing a third-division game?
└ I heard Premier League negotiations are ongoing.
└ When the hell will those negotiations end?
└ Feels like they're dragging it out to negotiate lower fees. Like, if you don't cut the rights fee, we won't bother broadcasting.
└ Then why broadcast Union Berlin right away?
└ Third division rights are cheap.
But above all, the low broadcast rights fee compared to the buzz was a huge advantage.
Compared to the Premier League, the incredibly cheap German third-division rights fees were enough to turn the heads of the bigwigs.
And in fact, far more viewers than the investment in rights fees were tuning into the Union Berlin vs. St. Pauli match.
[Yes, that's right. News of the conflict between Union Berlin manager Thomas Tuchel and assistant coach Park Chan-hyuk reached Korea a few days ago, drawing massive attention from soccer fans. The key will be whether Union Berlin can patch things up and overcome this crisis.]
It was thanks to the reports of the conflict between Thomas Tuchel and Park Chan-hyuk reaching Korea.
[Oh, right as we're talking, the teams are starting to come out. Even for a third-division game, the stadium is packed, and the fans' cheers are echoing. European soccer passion is something else.]
└ Wow, Union Berlin's support atmosphere is insane;;
└ But damn, that stadium looks so rundown. Can't someone build them a new one?
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
‘It was all an act!’
As Union Berlin's players entered, the St. Pauli manager realized he'd been duped.
The players' expressions were far too relaxed compared to when they'd been warming up. No team with internal conflict could wear faces like that.
‘Where did the acting start?’
Of course, not every player could act well. That meant they'd even fooled their own squad.
‘Crazy bastards, did they trick their own players too?’
The St. Pauli manager unwittingly clicked his tongue at Park Chan-hyuk and Thomas Tuchel for deceiving even their own team.
People often say life is high-risk, high-return, but what Park Chan-hyuk had done carried risks far outweighing the returns.
‘One wrong move and the team splits in half…’
It was something no manager with a normal mindset could pull off.
The St. Pauli manager burst out laughing despite himself.
He was up against madmen unlike any other in the world.
‘Damn, this isn't the time to be impressed.’
Shaking his head to clear his mind, he tried to issue new instructions to his players.
But before his voice could reach them,
The referee's whistle blew, and the match kicked off.
Union Berlin's players ran harder than usual.
They were venting their pent-up frustration from the past few days of anxiety at St. Pauli.
They'd vented some rage by stomping the perfectly acting Park Chan-hyuk, but embers still smoldered in their chests.
[Whoa! What's going on here! Contrary to expectations of a tight match, Union Berlin is dominating!]
As if resolved to pour everything into the first half, Union Berlin's players relentlessly pressed St. Pauli.
[Marcus passes to Yannick Foight, and Foight unleashes it!]
[Go, gooooal─! Yannick Foight's long-range shot bulges the net!]
[Wow. Yannick Foight isn't known for attempting long-range shots much. Is there some special change in his mindset?]
[Who knows. I think it's more accurate to say Yannick Foight has added a new weapon to his arsenal.]
In the 5th minute of the first half, fueled by the home crowd's cheers, Yannick Foight scored.
"Park Chan-hyuk!!! You bastard!!!"
After scoring, Yannick Foight sprinted straight to the corner flag and let out a roar.
[Ah, it's a touching scene of him strongly supporting the assistant coach who made him who he is today.]