Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Silent Night, Holy Night
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Silent night, holy night.
***
I realized that there was some strange undercurrent among the international students after more time had passed than I expected.
‘What’s going on? Why are they suddenly training so hard?’
It was probably because I’d been too busy myself to keep tabs on the international students continuously. I had to analyze the opposing teams’ tactics for every match and explain Thomas Tuchel’s strategies to the players in a way they could understand.
On top of that, I needed to prepare for obtaining my license qualification for the future. Thanks to passing the License B exam last year with overwhelming scores, I’d earned the eligibility to take the DFB Pro License exam this year.
I obtained a recommendation letter from Union Berlin, the club I was currently with, and presented it to the association, clearing the acquisition conditions without issue.
The problem, however, was that the DFB Pro License training period alone was roughly 320 hours.
Taking into account my position as Union Berlin’s current Assistant Coach, they gave me some reduction in hours, but I still had to submit the corresponding reports and projects.
Well… a young body really is something. Even after pulling two all-nighters, I felt fine. My head was a bit fuzzy from lack of sleep, putting me in an unusually euphoric mood, but there didn’t seem to be any major issues.
[Assistant Coach Park Chan-hyuk Crashes Thomas Tuchel’s Interview, Tells Tuchel… “Hair, hair~.”]
Anyway, obtaining the DFB Pro License would allow me to take charge of a pro league team through the ‘temporary permit system.’
Finding a pro club to appoint me would be a separate matter, but given my current reputation in German soccer, the chances of a 2nd division relegation-zone team giving me an opportunity looked promising.
‘My day of independence from Tuchel really is approaching.’
Well, whether I’d actually go independent was another story.
In any case.
‘Sigh. No matter how I look at it, the kids are hiding something.’
Even amid my hectic schedule, I steadily looked into the kids’ issue. Asking them directly would’ve been ideal, but since it could be a sensitive matter, I had to be cautious.
‘The kids aren’t the type to open up easily anyway.’
But I ended up hearing the full story from an unexpected source.
‘Is this guy an idiot?’
True to the saying that a dog’s habits die hard, the rookie Scouter had openly made racist remarks in front of the other kids. He probably couldn’t even imagine that another white person would report him to the club.
There are plenty of fools among those consumed by prejudice and hatred, but this guy seemed to be on another level.
- My son mentioned something strange today.
- I sent him to Union Berlin because they oppose all forms of discrimination… Now I’m worried he’ll pick up weird influences for no reason.
In any case, the issue was quickly relayed to the club through the youth players’ parents.
And it was only natural that the club erupted in outrage.
“You bastard!”
President Dirk Zingler was raging like a madman. Since Union Berlin had publicly declared to the media that racism had no place in the club, this incident—being racism itself—must have bruised his ego.
Meanwhile, the Scouter team leader who had been with the offending team member bowed his head in apology to me.
“Uh. This isn’t something you need to apologize to me for…”
I shook my head, meaning it wasn’t his fault.
‘That moron’s shitting in my treasure chest.’
Other than being fucking pissed, I hadn’t suffered any direct damage.
And the Scouter team leader hadn’t done anything wrong.
President Dirk Zingler, director Jörg Heinrich, manager Thomas Tuchel, and I gathered to discuss countermeasures. The Scouter team leader, being directly involved with the perpetrator and stakeholder, had no choice but to sit this one out.
“We can’t let that malignant tumor set foot in soccer again.”
President Dirk Zingler was taking a hardline stance, ready to fire the Scouter who’d spewed the racist remarks right then and there and bar him from soccer entirely.
In truth, now that the club knew, it was as good as a foregone conclusion.
Even if the president didn’t lift a finger, the rookie Scouter’s career was effectively over.
Getting fired from a job for something like racism made reemployment in the same field nearly impossible unless you had overwhelmingly exceptional skills.
And with the Asian market set to grow rapidly.
And players of various nationalities poised to enter and shine in the Bundesliga.
No sane club would hire a Scouter who’d made racist remarks in that environment.
‘…Though if I looked, I bet I’d find one.’
I couldn’t imagine it being a proper club.
And even aside from that, from my experience living in Germany, unlike in Korea, recommendation letters from connections carried more weight than I’d expected.
If your peers gave you a bad reputation, finding employment became significantly harder.
Especially in soccer, where most jobs came through their own networks.
Getting blacklisted by the president and other executives was the worst outcome.
This was something I’d learned the hard way during my year of unemployment before joining Union Berlin. Having ruined my own reputation once, I knew it all too well.
And that incident wasn’t even 100% my fault. If anything, the blame lay more with the other party who’d started the racism.
‘Thinking back, it’s unfair.’
I’d been able to make a comeback thanks to my connection with the outlier Thomas Tuchel.
But whether the rookie Scouter had such connections was anyone’s guess.
‘Hmm… looks tough.’
In any case.
Once President Dirk Zingler, who’d been raging like a maniac, calmed down, I glanced around.
Director Jörg Heinrich, who also opposed racism, was on the same hardline side as the president. Jörg believed they needed to nip it in the bud so that discriminators couldn’t enter soccer at all.
Thomas Tuchel was keeping his seat with an expression that said, ‘I’m already busy as hell, and now they’re making me waste time on this nonsense.’
Classic Tuchel.
‘Okay. Tuchel’s neutral.’
Having gauged everyone’s stances at the meeting, I cautiously spoke up.
“Thank you, but let’s hold off and give it a bit more time for now.”
“What?!”
President Dirk Zingler’s voice rose. He must’ve expected me, a fellow Korean, to be the most hardline.
But as the kids’ practical protector, I needed to look a little further ahead.
“The kids currently believe they can change discriminatory views with their own power.”
If the adults stepped in and quietly resolved it, the kids would lose faith in their ability to solve problems themselves.
They might even become passive people waiting for someone to fix their issues.
Of course, given their age, it wouldn’t go to such extremes.
But the experience of successfully changing a racist’s mindset through their own efforts would undoubtedly become a valuable asset for continuing as soccer players in Europe.
‘However…’
Separate from that, it seemed necessary to give the rookie Scouter a bit of a warning.
People who crossed the line once tended to lose their sense of boundaries.
‘I’ll need to keep a close eye on that rookie Scouter.’
Well, even without me asking, President Dirk Zingler insisted strongly on it.
***
Quite some time passed after that.
Winter break arrived for the Regionalliga, where Union Berlin competed.
And on December 23.
Union Berlin held its Christmas carol event again, just like last year.
Union Berlin fans began gathering one by one at Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
“Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht! (Silent night! Holy night!)”
In the stadium, men and women, young and old, united as one to sing Christmas carols. Surprisingly, the hugely popular ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ in Korea was originally in German. The day I mindlessly thought, ‘Huh? Isn’t this originally in English?’ I nearly died on the spot.
Anyway, it was an event for the fans, but also Union Berlin’s special occasion to share deep love for the club and strengthen solidarity.
This time, the international students from Korea participated as well.
It was only natural, in a way. They were now members of Union Berlin, after all.
‘Now that they’re in our hands, we won’t let them go.’
Unlike my worries about possible discrimination, Union Berlin’s fans welcomed the international students with smiles.
Watching the scene, I thought today’s event would help the kids. Wounds inflicted by people could only be healed by people.
‘I hope they realize not all Germans hold discriminatory views.’
Meanwhile, Leon Han had gotten close to the Korean international students and was hanging out with them.
I could see the international students doting on Leon like a cute little brother.
Honestly, watching that made me worry.
‘Leon, still, you can’t choose the Korean national team.’
Regrettably, that place was destined to be hell.
‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions,’ and that saying fit perfectly.