Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Sweet Home
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***
I had no intention of provoking the opponents during this match.
In fact, even when Lewandowski scored, I desperately held back my emotions.
And the same went for when Son Heung-min scored—I tried to restrain myself.
As a manager, there was such a thing as dignity, but more importantly, I had to be cautious of the karma that existed in the soccer world.
But then, enlightenment suddenly struck me.
‘Wait, no. After today, I won’t see Leverkusen anymore anyway, right?’
It was the fact that Union Berlin from the 2. Bundesliga and Leverkusen from the Bundesliga wouldn’t meet again this season.
In that moment, the seal on the little kid inside me broke loose.
I bolted straight to the corner flag where the Union Berlin fans were gathered.
Provoking them in front of the opposing bench would’ve been fine too, but that might earn me a card, so I held back.
‘Now that I’m the manager, missing the next game would be a disaster.’
Climbing to the manager position had instilled a certain sense of responsibility in me.
Shwaaaah—!
“Hoooouuuu—!”
Anyway.
“Waaaaaah—!”
The crowd’s cheers grew louder at the fantastic knee-slide celebration.
‘Yeah, this is what grass is supposed to be like.’
I nodded inwardly in satisfaction. Unlike Korean pitches, the German grass slid smoothly without any resistance.
Leverkusen’s manager started glaring at me with a sullen expression—
And I sneered right back at Leverkusen’s manager.
‘…If it bugs you that much, you should’ve won.’
The DFB-Pokal, where a 2nd division team meets a 1st division team just once.
After that day, the DFB-Pokal became my personal little playground.
***
[(Full Time) Union Berlin 2 : 0 Leverkusen.]
[Union Berlin defeats Leverkusen at home and advances to DFB-Pokal Round 2.]
[Son Heung-min makes history as youngest to feature and score in DFB-Pokal.]
[Son Heung-min’s pro debut: debut goal on the big stage. “I’m grateful to Manager Park Chan-hyuk.”]
└ Damn lol Heung-min, you’re Korea’s future.
└ …? Heung-min scored?
└ You didn’t know?
└ Why is the only thing I remember Park Chan-hyuk’s celebration?
└ That knee slide was badass.
└ Fr lmao Park Chan-hyuk is just a celebration master
[Manager Park Chan-hyuk captures German hearts with viral sliding celebration.]
└ Holy shit lol Bild and Kicker front page for real? Lmao
└ Honestly thought the aggro would backfire lol
└ Even without that, a 2nd division team demolishing a Bundesliga side deserves the front page
└ At this rate, are they seriously going up to the top flight? 👀
└ League hasn’t even started yet, chill.
[Leverkusen’s Michael Skibbe vents frustration post-match…. “Union Berlin’s manager needs to learn how to respect opponents.”]
[Union Berlin’s Manager Park Chan-hyuk responds: “I know what he’s upset about. But if he’d won the game, would he have been offended by my celebration? No. He’d have been too busy mocking us. So let me ask again. Is he really mad about the celebration? No. His real issue is that he lost the match.”]
└ Sounds like bullshit philosophy but kinda makes sense.
└ Whoa, why is Park Chan-hyuk so good at speeches?
└ Feels totally different hearing it in German.
└ Dude’s got charisma lol
└ …Why does that accent sound familiar?
└ Hitler mustache…?
└ Oh shit it does
└ Why did the mustache spirit possess this guy all of a sudden?
└ Chan-hyuk stop or WW3 with the Germans incoming 👀
***
Meanwhile, at that time, at the Korea Football Association.
The KFA had been buzzing with activity lately.
It stemmed from Bernd Stange resigning voluntarily after the 2007 AFC Asian Cup on July 29, 2007.
Stange had been managing not just the senior national team but also the Olympic team, and now the association was actively discussing candidates for the national team manager position.
“Alright, with the president absent, I’ll run this meeting.”
The current KFA meeting was being led by Vice President Jo Yeon-jung.
President Jung Joon was tied up with the FIFA president and vice president elections and such. Both Jeff Blatter and Jung Joon had run unopposed and been elected without contest, but he still had to meet other nations’ presidents to smooth things over.
“First off, to improve the Olympic team’s results and allow the senior team to focus on World Cup and internationals, let’s split the senior and Olympic team manager roles.”
Vice President Jo Yeon-jung directed that the senior and Olympic team managerial positions be separated.
“Agreed!”
“Everyone in agreement?”
“Unanimous agreement!”
The KFA board members didn’t object to Vice President Jo’s words.
After all, it meant more rice bowls for them.
“If anyone has objections to splitting the national team roles, please raise your hand and speak.”
Public opposition was tricky with the seniority dynamics at play.
In any case, the KFA executives hoped the national team would perform well in internationals.
They’d witnessed soccer’s popularity skyrocket after the huge success of the 2002 World Cup hosted by Korea and Japan.
‘Ah…. Those were the days.’
But after disappointing results at the 2006 World Cup and 2007 Asian Cup,
Soccer’s popularity showed signs of waning, and the executives worried it might regress to old levels.
It was only natural. These were soccer people too.
They’d played the game themselves because they truly loved it.
They sincerely wanted Korean soccer to advance.
And fading popularity meant shrinking rice bowls for the executives as well.
Anyway, with the Olympics coming to Asia for the first time in 20 years since Seoul 1988,
The executives hoped Korean soccer could shine internationally once more.
Thus, they held meetings day and night to select the next managers for the Olympic and senior teams.
“Hey, that guy in Germany, Berlin or wherever, doing manager stuff. How about appointing him?”
And so, Park Chan-hyuk’s name naturally came up as a candidate.
“Well…. He might be a stretch. He just took over as manager; his first season hasn’t even started. Calling him up now would be tough.”
“Hey now, when the country calls, he should come running, right?”
“Haha… He’s promoting Korean soccer in Europe, so don’t be too harsh. Anyway, beating a Bundesliga side is great news.”
“Haha, exactly. Shows how far Korean soccer has come. After 2002, maybe those Europeans aren’t all that.”
Park Chan-hyuk fulfilled both key criteria the executives wanted.
What they commonly sought was twofold:
Someone who could deliver good international results, and preferably a Korean manager over a foreigner for the national team job.
“Why keep fattening foreign coaches with Korean money? We need to nurture our own talent.”
They truly believed Korean soccer could compete globally.
They thought Korean coaches were in no way inferior to foreigners.
‘If that young punk Park Chan-hyuk can do it, why not me?’
‘Good results here, and I could head overseas as a manager.’
Park Chan-hyuk’s success in Germany proved it.
“Look, I’ll back your guy for the senior team if you recommend me for the Olympic team.”
And some began openly showing their ambitions for the roles.
***
Over the past few days, strange things had been happening to me.
My phone was flooded with weird texts.
The numbers varied, but the messages were all similar.
- This is so-and-so from the KFA. Support me or him for the position.
In my previous life, I hadn’t been part of Korean soccer’s mainstream.
Meaning, no connections at the KFA.
And in this life, same deal—no mainstream status.
So, no one should’ve had reason to contact me.
‘New scam tactic?’
I didn’t pay it much mind and just blocked them all.
I wasn’t so idle as to bother with that nonsense.
What mattered to me now was naming the new stadium.
‘Stadion An der Alten Försterei’ was fine for the old one, but I insisted a new stadium needed a fresh name.
Chairman Dirk Zingler couldn’t outright ignore the majority shareholder’s demand, so he agreed with conditions.
“Then tell me your idea for the stadium name. We’ll do a fan vote later.”
I’d been pondering it ever since.
‘The vibe I want for the stadium….’
Only one thing I desired.
A fortress where the home team overwhelmingly dominates.
A hell for away teams.
In that sense, something that could be a graveyard for Germans….
“…Stalingrad?”
That day, I came up with a name for the new home ground.
Of course, it was never used.