Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Asia's GOAT-2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Son Hong-min.
The undisputed GOAT in the history of Korean soccer.
No Korean—no, no Asian—had surpassed his stature even after his retirement, and none would for a long time.
Someone might one day put up numbers that outshone him temporarily, but earning the label of having surpassed him? That was clearly going to be tough.
Even the season dubbed his absolute worst still featured 11 goals and 11 assists from this legendary player.
Even when teammates left the club for titles.
He stayed with Tottenham until the end, delivering that championship at last. Tottenham's legend. The epitome of romance. Tottenham's eternal captain.
"Ahh. I have to worship him."
Looking into Son Hong-min's anecdotes made it clear he was a ridiculous talent.
Of course, no one could deny his hard work. But without that talent, the heights he reached would have been utterly unattainable.
Claiming Son Hong-min lacked talent was like calling Park Ji-song a hard worker.
Regrettably, the public had pegged Park Ji-song as a grinder just by looking at his face.
Thanks to the future Manchester United turning into a laughingstock, people underestimated the club now. But joining Manchester United at this time alone made "genius" undeniable.
Anyway.
One of Son Hong-min's most famous stories: he'd trained alone until middle school. That was basically code for insane talent.
These days in Spain, they prioritized match experience over basic drills for prospects. Drills could only take skills so far.
A Spanish coach I'd gotten close to once said that as adults, performance came down to reading and reacting to the game's flow. Most pros had similar fundamentals.
Personally, I thought that was only half right.
"There's me, after all."
There was someone like me, who never improved no matter how much they drilled the basics.
That Spanish coach had definitely omitted "pros playing in the same league."
Still, match experience wasn't unimportant.
Spain kept producing great players with that approach.
In that light, you could glimpse Son Hong-min's talent.
He'd caught a German scout's eye with barely any match experience in middle school and made it abroad.
"Of course, in Korea, it's so bad that prospects get weeded out."
On the flip side, training solo until middle school might have been Korean soccer's luck. Kept him safe from injuries.
Anyway.
The referee's whistle blew, and the match between Dongnam High School and Jaerim High School kicked off.
I tore my eyes from Son Hong-min and slowly scanned the kids on the pitch.
It wasn't just nerves. The players were off in a way that went beyond that.
A subtle sense you pick up from the Elite Youth Overseas Study Program.
The student-athletes were clearly half-assing it under unfair orders from their coach.
"...Did you tell them I was here, by any chance?"
I asked the association staffer to confirm.
"Uh... yes. If you spot someone you like, we have to ask the coaches to cooperate."
His answer left me impressed.
"Wow..."
These folks really didn't grasp the on-site vibe.
Something felt off, though.
Knowing the association president's personality, he wouldn't have let this slide.
"Who cut the report that should've gone to the association president?"
A very reasonable suspicion.
***
Unlike Park Chan-hyuk's expectation of deliberate tanking, both teams were playing seriously. This was the tournament semifinals, after all.
Even without that, neither coach at Dongnam High nor Jaerim High was the type to pressure players.
Dongnam High, being under a pro youth team, focused on developing prospects over results anyway.
Jaerim High was the same.
Sure, it wasn't a pro youth affiliate, but Jaerim's coach genuinely wished for Korean soccer's growth.
He wasn't the petty type to mortgage prospects' futures for his job security.
So, the high schoolers were giving their all on their coaches' orders.
"Do well today, and I go to Germany?"
"Germany means dating blonde hotties, right?"
"Heh heh. German babe. Dating. Me and her."
The real issue was the players' mindsets.
Sadly, the harder they tried to shine, the stiffer they got.
That was why they looked bad enough for Park Chan-hyuk to suspect intentional sabotage.
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"I wanna play too."
Son Hong-min watched from the bench.
Unless you overwhelmingly outclassed the guy in your position, upperclassmen got priority.
Even at pro-affiliated high schools.
"Is he really an assistant coach? Doesn't look much older than me."
Son Hong-min eyed Park Chan-hyuk, who watched in casual clothes unlike typical scouts. Their age gap seemed tiny for a club's assistant coach. In reality, it was just five years.
Union Berlin had been on the brink of financial collapse and ruin. Otherwise, such rapid promotion was impossible. On a normal path, Park Chan-hyuk would be grinding as a bottom-rung youth coach right now.
Anyway.
"Come to think of it, that senpai was an Elite Youth Overseas Study Program alum too, right?"
Maybe seeing a success story from the program fired him up.
Son Hong-min burned with resolve to star here and earn a spot.
"Grab a spot here, and I'll make it big too?"
This program's terms were better than usual too.
Normally a six-month stint, but at Union Berlin's assistant coach's request, it stretched to twelve months.
Park Chan-hyuk had insisted twelve months minimum for him to learn anything worthwhile abroad.
Association President Jung Joon accepted despite internal pushback.
Convincing FIFA took effort, but President Jung still had a sliver of pull there.
Thus, a full year of study abroad was set.
"One year is plenty."
Son Hong-min thought to himself.
He was sure he could showcase his talent and land a contract in that time.
"If I'm lacking, I'll just work harder."
Eyes blazing with desire to play, Son Hong-min bored holes into Dongnam High's coach.
Feeling that burning passion, maybe?
"Ugh, you wanna play that bad? Son Hong-min, you're subbing in. Warm up!"
Dongnam's coach named him as the sub.
Son Hong-min started warming up the instant the call came.
And in that moment.
He startled, unable to help it.
Assistant Coach Park Chan-hyuk was staring at him with creepy, perverted eyes.
***
Halftime, 32nd minute.
"Oh. Finally subbing in."
Son Hong-min entered as a sub.
True to the saying about promising buds, he shone immediately.
That curling shot he later tried in the zone dubbed Hong-minjon? Impressively done.
But personally, I figured his real weapon was his ambidexterity.
Truth is, Korean players' two-footedness came from old-school coaching.
They emphasized it, training kids to use both feet fluently early on.
Not the best way to develop players.
"Two feet require talent too, after all."
It was a talent-dependent skill.
Son Hong-min clearly had killer instinct there.
Otherwise, world-class kicking power in both feet? Impossible.
The world runs on trade-offs: gain one, lose another.
Didn't the manga "Steel Alchemist" have that "equivalent exchange" rule?
Mastering both feet meant sacrificing time on your dominant one.
For Son Hong-min, his talent synergized perfectly—no debuff, just the ultimate weapon equipped. Lucky him.
"That kid's good."
"Son Hong-min? Solid prospect. Seoul CF's got eyes on him too."
From the stands, I nodded in satisfaction watching his play.
First off, Son Hong-min was a lock for Union Berlin's study abroad slots. No debate.
Pro mindset aiding potential unlock? Top-notch.
His endurance from harsh youth training? Needless to say.
"How many study abroad kids can I pick?"
"Two or three would be great."
Seemed a good number, so I nodded.
Bringing more wasn't bad, but Union Berlin might struggle managing them.
I gazed contentedly at the players battling it out.
"My precious...!"
Korea was my little treasure chest.