Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: vs FSV Mainz 05 -3
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***
[Son Hong-min! Son Hong-min! A goal by Son Hong-min! Son Hong-min's Bundesliga debut goal! And it's a goal that shatters the record for the youngest scorer in Bundesliga history!!]
[Whoa—curled it perfectly from there!]
[Such a composed shot at that young age. We might be witnessing the birth of a legend.]
[Oh? The Union Berlin bench is getting rowdy?]
[It's like... they're holding back Manager Park Chan-hyuk?]
└ Holy shit lol, looks like he tried to steal Hong-min's celebration.
└ No way lol, Park Chan-hyuk's not that guy.
└ Yannick Foight: ???
└ Probably 'cause he's close with Yannick.
└ So he's not close with Hong-min?
└ Uh...?
└ Haha, no good. Daniel Teixeira, open wide—Choco Pie incoming.
└ For real lol, he protected our precious Hong-min's celebration lol
└ Daniel Teixeira, don't retire?
└ He's working as a Union Berlin coach post-retirement.
└ Got it.
└ Holy shit lol, the whole squad grabbing Park Chan-hyuk is hilarious lol
└ It's reassuring to see just how loved Hong-min is on the team.
└ Park Chan-hyuk being manager means no racism at Union Berlin anyway, but getting respect from teammates is something else.
└ Guys, is racism in Germany that bad?
└ Yeah, Germany's way more racist than you'd think.
└ That's why Asian federations are sending players to Union Berlin. Park Chan-hyuk develops them well, but it's also the perfect spot to adapt to Europe with minimal racism.
└ Manager's Asian—racism? Player pulls that shit, career's over on the spot lol
└ Fr, reserve team for the rest of the contract lol
***
After conceding, Mainz came at us like madmen to equalize.
Sure enough, Jürgen Klopp's Mainz was no pushover.
Mainz managed to pull one back right at the death. In a corner kick situation, Neven Subotić's header ripped straight through the net Manuel Schmidt was guarding.
Manuel Schmidt had come off his line to claim it—would've been secure—but it couldn't be helped.
'...Well. That's just experience.'
I glanced at the goalkeeper coach, who met my eyes and nodded. For reference, he'd been the one coaching Manuel Schmidt in Union Berlin's youth team. We had no choice but to maximize our existing resources.
'Well. He's got decent ability anyway.'
We'd filled the vacant youth coach spot on Daniel Teixeira's recommendation.
Having journeymaned around various countries, Daniel knew plenty of retired coaches (ex-players) looking for work, and he introduced ones he thought were solid character-wise.
From there, we'd interviewed and cherry-picked the best for youth coach roles.
'Union Berlin's youth are our future. Gotta hire the best we can.'
Anyway.
The moment Neven Subotić slotted home the equalizer, Jürgen Klopp let out a roar and went sprinting everywhere in celebration.
'Young blood. Hamstrings still fresh, huh.'
The match ended in a draw, but even so.
"Good game."
"Yeah. But I won."
I'd beaten Jürgen Klopp in our rivalry clash.
Objectively speaking, my knee-slide celebration was objectively cooler.
[Manager Celebrations Steal the Show in Union Berlin vs. Mainz Clash.]
And once again, I made the front page of the papers.
***
Right after the match, I returned to Union Berlin and got straight back to work.
'They've all grown a ton.'
It was to update my evaluations of the players post-match.
'Huh. Squad's definitely shrunk.'
Union Berlin's current first-team squad totaled 21 players.
After Thomas Tuchel transferred to Bayern Munich, the roster had naturally slimmed down.
'This is plenty.'
I didn't feel the need to bring in more.
Unlike our lower-league days, individual stamina had improved across the board, and it was to give opportunities to rising youth talents.
Even after loaning out Znicz Pruszków players, plenty of youth remained at Union Berlin.
The loanees had torn it up in Poland's second division, and Znicz Pruszków had expressed interest in permanent deals for a few.
When players wanted transfers, we'd negotiated and sold to Znicz Pruszków for appropriate fees.
Probably best for their futures anyway.
Their current ability and potential were too middling for Union Berlin.
'We're at the level now where we evaluate current ability, not just potential.'
I felt a swell of pride at Union Berlin's growth as I reviewed the first-team squad.
GK (Current Ability / Potential)
Manuel Schmidt ( ★★★ / ★★★★★ )
Lucas Steinmann (★★ / ★★★)
Felix Adler ( ★ / ★★)
Goalkeepers first.
No call-up prospects for GK at the moment.
Manuel Schmidt himself was already an 18-year-old prospect.
There were youth keepers, but none threatening his spot.
Stability matters a lot for keepers.
Manuel had shown shaky moments due to inexperience.
For big games needing defensive solidity, Lucas Steinmann had started too.
DF (Current Ability / Potential)
Jonas Hofmann (★★☆ /★★★★) - Fullback.
One-liner: Union Berlin's starting right back.
Janek Kovács (★★★ /★★★★)
One-liner: Hungarian-born, fighter's face but commander type.
Marek Jankowski (★★☆ /★★★★)
One-liner: Polish-born, occasionally brainless defending causes danger.
Ivan Petrović (★★☆ /★★★★) - Multi-position (fullback/center back)
One-liner: Croatian. Aggressive overlapping fullback. Can play center back but prefers left back.
Florian Weber (★★☆ /★★★★) - Multi-position (fullback/center back)
One-liner: Prioritizes stable defense over attack. Rare ambidextrous European; handles both left and right back.
Niklas Eisen (★★ /★★★)
One-liner: German center back, rotation member.
Call-up scheduled.
Kim Min-hyuk (★★ /★★★★★) - Center back.
Next, defenders.
Maybe because we'd focused too much on mids and attackers lately.
Potential lagged behind other positions.
Likely the first spot we'd reinforce next season.
Youth player Kim Min-hyuk could probably get called up for a debut in the second half of the season.
MF (Current Ability / Potential)
Marcus Matzke (★★★ / ★★★★)
Trait: Rose with us from the fourth tier.
Thomas Meier (★★★★ / ★★★★★) - Multi-position (midfielder/winger)
Trait: Recent formation change.
Roberto Lewandowski (★★★ / ★★★★★) - Multi-position (attacking midfielder/striker)
Luca Schneider (★★☆ / ★★★★★)
Trait: Recently transferred from another club's youth team to Union Berlin.
Milan Petrović (★★☆ / ★★★★)
Trait: Serbian-born, excellent passer.
Kai Hayden (★★ / ★★★★)
Paul Zimmer (★★ / ★★★★)
Emil Gross (★★ / ★★★★)
Next up: midfielders, where Union Berlin had the most depth. Fitting my favorite position, they all had solid potential overall.
FW (Current Ability / Potential)
Timo Breitner (★★★/ ★★★★)
- One-liner: Classic winger; prefers crossing over direct shots.
Thomas Meier (★★★ / ★★★★) - Multi-position (winger/midfielder).
- One-liner: Will use as midfielder unless positional hole.
Yannick Foight (★★★★ / ★★★★★)
- One-liner: Undisputed Union Berlin ace. But hitting the woodwork a lot lately. Something's off. *Needs consultation.
Roberto Lewandowski (★★★ / ★★★★★★★) - Multi-position (striker/attacking midfielder).
- One-liner: Growing fast playing attacking mid.
Son Hong-min (★★☆ / ★★★★★★)
- One-liner: Union Berlin's new game-changer. High goal rate relative to minutes.
Ben Richter (★★☆ / ★★★)
- Trait: Rotation member. Contract ends after this season.
No need to say it—the attack was stacked. Lewandowski, Son Hong-min, Yannick Foight. Done.
As I scanned the first-team squad, it hit me.
'...Huh? We're stronger than I thought.'
***
Union Berlin was mostly German but mixed with Asians and various other nationalities.
Typical of a poor club, though.
No pricey Western Europeans or South Americans.
After reviewing the first team, I checked the prospect reports and nodded quietly.
This was Union Berlin's future.
'Huh. Been so busy as manager.'
Too busy managing to scout more elite talents.
But we'd swept up every talented kid in Berlin.
Whenever funds came in, we'd poured them into youth facilities and actively promoted prospects.
That drew youth from other Bundesliga clubs sniffing around.
League mattered for the first team, but for prospects, the key was whether the first-team manager actually used them.
For the record—not bragging—I was that kind of manager.
'Life's all or nothing.'
If I wanted safe, I'd have managed in Korea this life too.
'And... honestly, I won't starve.'
That was the big one.
Financial freedom meant no looking over my shoulder.
Like I'd said before.
Unlocking full potential is tough.
For Union Berlin's youths, I'd tailored training for fast growth based on their potential and instructed coaches on fixes—which sped things up. Normally, it'd be twice as slow.
Lewandowski was growing fast too, playing attacking mid.
He'd felt something different subbing as striker last game and now ran hard at AM without complaints.
"...Let's prep for the next one."
I sipped my coffee, then slowly geared up for the next match.
***
Union Berlin kept the unbeaten run going after the Mainz draw.
[Union Berlin beats Freiburg 2-1 at home. 'Son Hong-min's first start of the season.' But lackluster showing.]
[Union Berlin crushes Greuther Fürth 3-0 away. Son Hong-min's second league goal.]
[Union Berlin edges Augsburg 1-0 at home. Son Hong-min plays full 90.]
[Union Berlin falls 0-1 away at Hoffenheim.]
['Woodwork Magnet' Yannick Foight, five games without a goal.]
But the unbeaten streak snapped against Hoffenheim.
Couldn't be helped.
Can't win 'em all.
'...How do you beat legendary Demba Ba?'
Unlike my calm face despite the frustrating loss.
"......Damn it!"
Yannick Foight, who'd flubbed the equalizer in a golden chance, was beating himself up hard.
I eyed the anxious, burdened Yannick.
The next day, I called him to my office.
For a heart-to-heart.
"...Girlfriend."
In the calm vibe I'd set, Yannick hesitantly opened up.
"Girlfriend what. Cheated?"
"She's pregnant."
Ah. Got it.
Rustle.
"I quit after turning pro."
"Days like this, one won't hurt."
That day, we shared a smoke.
Suddenly, his slump made perfect sense.