Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: vs FSV Mainz 05 -1
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***
Jürgen Klopp cautiously recalled Mainz's next opponent. Naturally, the face of the young—nay, boyish—manager came to mind.
'Union Berlin's Park...'
He was a manager Klopp had wanted to meet someday.
'Assistant coach at 18? And head coach in the 2. Bundesliga at 20. Impressive.'
Park Chan-hyuk's resume had become a huge topic in Germany too.
In fact, when it was announced that Park Chan-hyuk would succeed Thomas Tuchel, there had been an outpouring of concerns. People wondered if a 20-year-old rookie with no managerial experience could handle a professional team.
Betting sites that offered wagers not just on soccer matches but on politics and various other sports even had bets on how many games it would take before Park Chan-hyuk got fired.
But Park Chan-hyuk's Union Berlin had turned things around by beating Leverkusen and Cologne.
[Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel lavishes praise on his protégé Park Chan-hyuk... 'People are missing the essence right now because of their biases.']
Jürgen Klopp felt a pang of regret as he recalled Thomas Tuchel's interview.
'If only I'd known about their tactics last year.'
The tactics of Thomas Tuchel and Park Chan-hyuk had been that sensational.
There were so many things to learn from watching them.
It felt like they'd taken his own Gegenpressing and elevated it to the next level.
'Then maybe Mainz and I could have stayed in the Bundesliga too.'
In truth, Gegenpressing was a tactic highly effective for underdogs beating stronger teams, but it came with fatal flaws.
'As the number of matches piles up, it falls apart in the second half of the season due to stamina issues.'
The fact that Union Berlin had managed back-to-back promotions all the way to the 2. Bundesliga was largely because...
They hadn't participated in any competitions outside the league.
If Union Berlin hadn't skipped the DFB-Pokal, they might have missed key matches at the end of the league season due to stamina problems.
'I should have looked into Union Berlin's tactics when we were trying to sign that guy Yannick Foith.'
Jürgen Klopp knew Yannick Foith was playing for Union Berlin, but analyzing a lower-league team's tactics was inevitably difficult.
Mainz was a small club, after all.
Small clubs had their limitations.
'To begin with, hardly any Bundesliga clubs pay much attention to lower leagues.'
The managerial job was so demanding that unless it was the next opponent, analysis was bound to be limited.
On Jürgen Klopp's desk sat papers analyzing Union Berlin's tactics, worked on all night.
'Come to think of it, Yannick was scouted by Park too... A matchup against such a versatile guy has me excited.'
Jürgen Klopp was looking forward to the game against Union Berlin.
A smile tugged at his lips as he shifted his gaze sideways to the tactical notes analyzing Thomas Tuchel's strategies.
For reference, analyzing Tuchel's tactics was, of course, essential to face Union Berlin. Tuchel had been Union Berlin's previous manager. And Park Chan-hyuk simply didn't have enough games under his belt as manager.
'That said, I wanted to face off against Thomas Tuchel too...'
For the time being, it seemed difficult to guarantee a win even if they did match up.
"...Munich is just cheating."
In the Bundesliga, Munich's very existence was in a league of its own.
***
Jürgen Klopp.
Any soccer fan would know him as an incredible manager.
He was the great manager who had rebuilt crumbling powerhouses like Dortmund and Liverpool.
A manager with exceptional tactical acumen, player management skills, and a great sense of humor.
Unlike the cold, ruthless tactician Thomas Tuchel who lacked any human touch, Klopp was a manager who felt approachable and warm.
'...I can't lose.'
I felt an unprecedented sense of rivalry toward this man named Jürgen Klopp.
'No matter what, I can't let him outshine me in entertainment value...'
It was starting to feel like a crisis if Jürgen Klopp stole the spotlight.
Soccer matches?
Sorry, but soccer balls are round.
Upsets against underdogs happen.
But getting outdone in entertainment value would prove I was inferior to Jürgen Klopp.
Okay, light joke.
I was just a bit excited at the fact of facing off against a manager I'd only seen on TV.
'Feels like the ultimate high.'
Anyway, just as Thomas Tuchel the tactical genius had a fatal flaw in social skills...
Jürgen Klopp had his weaknesses too.
'He messes up the transfer market and signings...'
Personally, that's why I saw him as a superstar.
His incomprehensible transfer dealings had driven Liverpool fans insane.
'The man who drives fans both love and hate crazy...'
Whether because he trusted his own player management abilities or due to his bonds with players...
He had a strong tendency to cling to flops and try 'faith football.'
'Tuchel would've shipped them out immediately.'
Just my opinion, but Klopp needed a cool-headed sporting director.
'Someone like Michael Zorc or Michael Edwards.'
As I shared my take on Jürgen Klopp's strengths and weaknesses, assistant coach Daniel Teixeira stared at me blankly.
"...Chan-hyuk, doesn't that sound a lot like you?"
Me?
"Think about Yannick Foith and Thomas Maier. Especially Yannick—he was supposedly not good enough for pro level. But you got fixated and signed him anyway. Just looking at that, it seems pretty similar to you?"
Nah, it's different in my case.
I had the otherworldly Scouter ability.
That said, Daniel Teixeira wasn't entirely wrong.
Truth be told, until my regression, I was the same type as Jürgen Klopp.
As a fan-owned club, we had limited resources, so I had to somehow lead the team with what we had.
'Now that I think about it, Jürgen Klopp built his career at mid-tier Mainz and financially ruined Dortmund.'
Maybe that's where his soccer style took shape—a habit from those days.
'One season with Tuchel and he'd change his mind completely.'
I'd learned a lot from Thomas Tuchel.
For the record, on the tactical side, it was more like I was the one teaching him.
I had future knowledge as a cheat, after all.
Though that didn't last long before he saw through it.
As I got lost in thought, Daniel Teixeira continued.
"And you're plenty of a superstar yourself."
I nodded as I looked at the newspaper Daniel Teixeira handed me.
After the Cologne win, my knee-slide celebration was splashed across the front page.
'But why is Yannick glaring at me from behind...'
Does he have a lot of societal grievances?
***
[Mainz's Jürgen Klopp vs Union Berlin's Park Chan-hyuk: A head-to-head between two similar yet different managers.]
[Union Berlin manager Park Chan-hyuk: "I'll stake Asia's honor on victory."]
└?
└?
└?
└ Wait, why stake Asia's honor;;
[Mainz manager Jürgen Klopp responds to Park Chan-hyuk... "Then I'll stake Europe's honor."]
└ No way lol why is this guy staking Europe's honor too?
└ This is wild lololol
***
Before kickoff, I exchanged greetings with Jürgen Klopp.
He approached me first.
"Oh. Park! I've wanted to meet you at least once. By the way, Chadory told me Koreans put family names first, not given names—is that right?"
Seeing Jürgen Klopp in person, how should I put it.
"Whoa. He's freaking tall."
Just huge.
"Still can't speak German yet?"
Disappointment crossed Jürgen Klopp's face. He'd been looking forward to chatting.
"I can."
His face lit up when I replied in German.
"Your German accent reminds me of my grandpa."
Well, I learned from old videos.
"By the way, then why use Korean?"
"Just love for my native tongue."
"Good attitude."
Jürgen Klopp laughed and clapped my shoulder, and we spent some time building rapport.
***
The match kicked off at Mainz's Bruchweg Stadium.
We clashed fiercely from the opening whistle.
Then, in the 12th minute of the first half.
Union Berlin shook Mainz's net.
I bolted the moment Mainz's net rippled.
Shwaaaaa—.
I nailed a fantastic knee-slide celebration.
The problem, though.
Was that Yannick Foith's shot wasn't ruled a goal.
Turning to the touchline, the linesman was raising the offside flag.
"...Oh, it's offside."
Eh. Minor issue.
"But it was cool, right?"
***