Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Park Chan-hyuk's Goal
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Park Chan-hyuk's Goal.
***
[Union Berlin victorious in 2. Bundesliga opener.]
[Union Berlin stages 2-1 comeback win over Köln.]
[Niklas Eisen's equalizer just before halftime, Yannick Feith's winner right before full time.]
[Man of the Match Thomas Mayer after the game: "I can't think of anything else. I'm just happy we won."]
[Park Chan-hyuk boosts team morale with a fantastic celebration.]
└ Whoa lol, that knee slide was awesome.
└ But if the manager celebrates like that, the guy who scored must feel proud.
└ That's how it should be.
└ Technically he stole the celebration, but Park Chan-hyuk fans are covering for it;;
└ Hey now, are you slandering our national treasure No. 1, Manager Park Chan-hyuk?
***
We capped off our opening match against Köln with a victory.
The opener is crucial. It wasn't an exaggeration to say it could make or break the season.
Soccer has its flows and momentum, after all.
In fact, after the opening win, training atmosphere was harmonious.
Leaving the players' laughter echoing across the training ground behind me, I headed to the president's office.
***
After being appointed Union Berlin's manager and with my family making a massive second investment into the club, I'd had many conversations with President Dirk Zingler.
From his perspective, with our family's stake growing, he couldn't help but worry about the club's operations.
"What are your goals? How far do you aim to go?"
And today, Dirk Zingler asked about my ambitions.
Well, it was only natural.
It wasn't like a run-of-the-mill manager pulling in a main sponsor and investing personal funds to build a massive stadium just to promote Union Berlin to the top flight.
'Besides, your average manager wouldn't have that kind of cash in the first place.'
We talked at length that day.
I laid out my vision for the future to President Dirk Zingler.
"First off, promote to the top flight and turn us into a selling club."
My immediate goal was to become a selling club like SL Benfica.
Brazilian players use the Portuguese league to adapt to Europe before transferring for huge fees.
'I could pull that off here too.'
It was a model that could work for Union Berlin.
Asia would play that role for me.
'Asia's pumping out some great talent.'
Korea's Son Heung-min and Kim Jae-min, Uzbekistan's Husanov, Iran's Mehdi Taremi, Japan's Shinji Kagawa, and so on.
There might be differences in nations and cultures, but Asia's potential was undeniable.
Plus, Union Berlin's home, the Bundesliga, had clear advantages.
The Bundesliga has no squad limits on foreign players, so we could sign as many as we wanted.
'Becoming a selling club won't be easy...'
But we could achieve that quickly at Union Berlin.
Just promotion to the top flight would do it.
A selling club wasn't my ultimate goal, though.
"...And the final goal is for Union Berlin to become a world-class big club."
When it came to endgames, becoming a big club was it.
Buying an established name wasn't a bad idea either.
But I preferred growing alongside the club from its tough times.
"Hmm..."
President Dirk Zingler pondered my words.
Of course, the road there would be treacherous.
It was like declaring I'd become the Busby and Ferguson who turned Manchester United into a global powerhouse.
'He probably thinks it's a pipe dream.'
Turning Union Berlin into a big club would take ages.
The Bundesliga even had Bayern Munich, that black hole sucking up Germany's best prospects and aces without mercy.
'Honestly, for the mission, jumping ship to another team might be smarter.'
By then, a big club ready for Champions League might come calling with a manager gig.
'Still, raising Union Berlin up has way more style.'
Some might mock my dream as absurd.
Just a few years ago, this club was on the brink of bankruptcy, unable to even afford licensing fees.
But that's why dreams exist—to dream them.
Even if you never achieve it, the challenge itself has value.
Call me a fool. Mock me all you want.
A world without dreams is too barren.
"That's a fantastic goal."
And here was another fool like me.
President Dirk Zingler smiled and offered a handshake.
"Until then, take good care of Union Berlin."
"I should be the one asking—take good care of us until then."
President Dirk Zingler burst out laughing at my words.
He must've thought I'd tell him to step down as president.
'Where do you think you're sneaking off to alone?'
Sure, I'd framed it as a wild dream.
But Union Berlin becoming a big club wasn't entirely impossible.
'It might actually be doable.'
Union Berlin had clear limitations now, but the future looked promising in many ways.
We were tiny compared to Bayern Munich and other global giants, but who knew what tomorrow held?
Who could've predicted Manchester United, that world-class big club, crumbling after Alex Ferguson's retirement?
If Man United could fall from the top, a poor mid-tier club like ours could rise just as easily.
Of course, tearing down a tower is always easier than building one.
'Who said they were always prestigious big clubs anyway?'
Still, building one wasn't impossible.
I thought of how Manchester City, a mid-tier Premier League club, became a big club.
It wasn't just by throwing money around.
Oil money certainly turbocharged their rise.
'It's not how much you spend, but how you spend it.'
They invested massively in training facilities, youth systems, and infrastructure—not just players—and worked hard to boost brand value in every way.
Hiring Pep Guardiola to build a club identity was part of that.
After Pep took over, Manchester City cemented their image as Premier League juggernauts.
But the real key was the size of their home city.
Manchester proper has only 500,000 people, but the greater county has about 3 million.
Just look at how many Premier League clubs are packed into London.
A city's population is pure potential for a club's growth.
Home base size and population density were that critical for becoming a big club.
Honestly, if Union Berlin's base was some small German town, I'd have jumped ship for the mission without hesitation.
'Clubs from small towns hit growth ceilings...'
Luckily, Union Berlin's home turf was the capital of Germany, leader of the EU.
Sure, right now, it lagged behind powerhouses like Munich and the Rhine region.
Berlin's GDP per capita was below the national average.
But Berlin's population was steadily growing, and its economy was on the rise.
A nation's capital reflects its power.
If the capital hasn't developed yet, it just means there's room to grow.
'I know this well, coming from a Seoul Republic.'
Plus, we had that 'rare' East German heritage title.
Its effects were huge.
Just promoting and surviving in the top flight would win ecstatic support from East Germans.
Oh, excluding Dynamo, of course.
As long as we weren't trading punches with their fans, we were golden.
Unlike other East German clubs with extreme political leanings, ours weren't far-right, so expansion potential was solid. Far-right vibes were off-putting in Germany anyway.
We'd even forged sister-club ties with a Polish team.
And our global Asian fanbase was growing.
'I've been crazy busy. Have I only listed the upsides?'
Maybe.
Maybe I was just finding excuses to stay with this club.
'Well...'
Truth be told, I'd grown to love this team.
They'd taken a chance on an unproven 20-year-old rookie manager on Thomas Tuchel's recommendation alone.
"...Mind letting go of my hand now?"
I looked at President Dirk Zingler.
The man who'd handed the keys to a kid barely 20.
It wouldn't have been weird if he'd ditched me when Tuchel left.
But he'd trusted my abilities and entrusted the club's fate to me.
Kicking out a guy like that to plant his own crony would've been bizarre.
'Gotta milk him for all he's worth.'
With that in mind, I bestowed an affectionate nickname on President Dirk Zingler.
"From now on, you're Chun-sik."
His face scrunched up at my Korean words.
"You said something weird again, didn't you?"
"Nope."
"Don't lie. When you speak Korean, it's weird 99% of the time."
Thomas Tuchel was the same—people here knew me too well.
***
Time flew by after that.
Union Berlin picked up another three points with a win over newly promoted St. Pauli from the 2. Bundesliga.
Then came matchday 3.
Our opponents were the team relegated from the 2. Bundesliga.
[Jürgen Klopp: "Park is already an excellent manager."]
Mainz, led by Jürgen Klopp.