Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Park Chan-hyuk's True Worth
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***
“……Still chilly weather like this, aren’t you cold?”
I quietly ignored Marcus Mätchke’s words.
As much as I hate to admit it, I was freezing my ass off, honestly. The weather in Berlin, Germany, is pretty similar to Seoul’s. Just a bit less hot in summer and a bit less cold in winter.
‘……Is this the promised land?’
Anyway.
March wasn’t exactly vacation outfit weather.
Even as my hands and feet trembled uncontrollably, I did my best not to show it while issuing tactical instructions to the players.
A poker face was one of the many qualities a great manager had to possess. So it was only natural that I had one.
“Now, St. Pauli is definitely going to…”
“……You look really cold.”
Daniel Teixeira quietly looked after me like that.
Ah.
Was it that obvious?
Looks like even a poker face doesn’t hold up against the cold.
***
St. Pauli’s manager hated Union Berlin. In his mind, Union Berlin was a nightmare team.
It wasn’t just Park Chan-hyuk provoking them right before kickoff—every time they faced Union Berlin, something unexpected happened to throw them off.
[‘Tactical genius or total weirdo?’ Park Chan-hyuk, who brought an aggressive tactic against Bayern Munich and got crushed.]
St. Pauli’s manager sighed as he read an article blasting Park Chan-hyuk.
People had a misconception about Union Berlin’s manager.
They thought his greatest strength was his strategic or tactical ability.
But according to evaluations from him and other managers, Union Berlin’s manager’s true standout skill was his ability to bond with players like friends or brothers and motivate them.
It was a weapon unique to the young manager Park Chan-hyuk, something older managers like him couldn’t pull off.
But neither he nor any other manager said that to the press.
If they did, journalists would just spin it as jealous, talentless old managers envious of a young hotshot.
Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
You couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy watching someone so young get all the spotlight and recognition.
‘Still, it’s amazing how he commands respect from the players despite acting like that.’
St. Pauli’s manager found the whole Union Berlin team a bit intriguing too.
To lead strong-ego players, a manager had to be authoritative.
But Park Chan-hyuk shocked the soccer world by being the opposite—completely anti-authoritarian.
It made sense from Park Chan-hyuk’s position.
He had players with more experience than him, most of them older. Going casual was the natural flow.
But to traditional soccer managers, Park Chan-hyuk’s anti-authoritarian style was baffling.
Lately, in the lower leagues, Park Chan-hyuk’s name was buzzing. “Park Chan-hyuk leadership” was a thing, with managers trying to be overly chummy with their players like him.
Veteran managers warned and advised the young ones looking to copy him.
Being too anti-authoritarian hurt team discipline.
Sure enough, in the lower leagues, some managers imitating Park Chan-hyuk had players ignoring orders and treating them like equals.
Yet young managers still insisted they were different and followed his lead.
‘Well, can’t be helped. It’s the privilege of youth.’
St. Pauli’s manager sighed.
Young people thinking they were special was par for the course.
‘But why does Union Berlin have zero issues with it?’
What baffled St. Pauli’s manager was Union Berlin.
That kind of behavior could undermine a manager’s authority, but oddly, Union Berlin never had problems.
‘Does it make sense for a rookie manager not even 21 yet to be some kind of virtuous leader?’
It was an inexplicable oddity.
And on match day.
St. Pauli’s manager exchanged greetings with Union Berlin’s manager.
His eyes caught the shorts Park Chan-hyuk was wearing.
And the Hawaiian shirt peeking out from under his jacket—it grated on him for some reason.
‘…What’s with that outfit?’
Was that anti-authoritarian too…?
There’d been talk before about him sitting on the bench in tracksuit pants.
But shorts in March? Beyond imagination.
“What the hell? Why’s Union Berlin’s manager dressed like that?”
“Is he treating us nobodies like he’s on vacation? Some kind of provocation?”
St. Pauli started psyching themselves up against Union Berlin before kickoff.
***
In the match against St. Pauli.
Union Berlin scored early.
Roberto Lewandowski took Marcus Mätchke’s pass and rifled in a surprise long-range shot for the goal.
As Lewandowski sprinted to the corner flag for his celebration.
“Fuck. Hey Yannick, what’s with your manager? Why’s he dressed like that?”
St. Pauli’s captain and Union Berlin’s captain chatted. They’d built a rapport from facing each other multiple times.
“……We don’t know either. He just showed up like that today.”
Yannick Foigt had nothing to say to St. Pauli’s captain. He genuinely didn’t know.
‘Well, from what they’re saying pre-match, I can guess…’
He couldn’t embarrass himself by admitting the truth: the manager dressed like that to ease the team’s tension.
‘What kind of lunatic manager shows up like that to relax the squad?’
Still, Park Chan-hyuk’s antics seemed pretty effective.
The underlying burden the Union Berlin players felt vanished in an instant.
The phrase “club’s first-ever promotion to the top flight” was enough to weigh them down.
Union Berlin’s players had been floundering in that anxiety without realizing it.
Yannick Foigt hadn’t noticed at the time, but looking back, he’d been way tenser than usual.
With the ref’s whistle and St. Pauli’s kickoff, the game resumed. Yannick Foigt eyed St. Pauli’s players.
‘St. Pauli’s guys look pretty rattled.’
It eased Union Berlin’s burden and flustered the opponents.
Minus the embarrassment of the manager’s outfit, it was a solid strategy…
“Huh?”
Lost in thought, Yannick Foigt saw the ball coming.
He calmly slotted home the ball into St. Pauli’s net.
“GOOOAAAL—!”
Yannick Foigt stared blankly at Park Chan-hyuk celebrating by the corner flag.
In his mind, the manager’s outfit was clearly a brilliant strategy.
***
[GOOOAAAL! It’s in! Yannick Foigt adds another! Union Berlin dominates St. Pauli!]
[Union Berlin piles on two in the first half alone!]
[Park Chan-hyuk, who’s drawn attention with his unique outfit. Could that be part of the strategy too…?]
└ Holy shit, giving him too much credit.
└ But seriously, what’s with the outfit?
└ Provocation?
***
[Union Berlin crushes St. Pauli 4-0.]
Union Berlin, who’d bossed the game and scored twice in the first half, notched a morale-boosting thrashing of St. Pauli.
The gloomy locker room vibe from the losing streak was gone.
I nodded in satisfaction at the players’ faces, freed from promotion pressure.
Call me crazy, but St. Pauli was like a tree that gave endlessly to us.
They always helped flip the team’s mood at crucial moments.
[Union Berlin’s Park Chan-hyuk post-match provocation? “St. Pauli is like a vitamin shot.”]
I expressed those feelings in the interview, thanking St. Pauli. Even with the media sure to stir shit, I trusted my sincerity would reach their fans.
[St. Pauli fans furious! Demand apology from Union Berlin’s Park Chan-hyuk.]
Unfortunately, St. Pauli took it as teabagging.
My ‘genuine’ thanks didn’t land—such a regrettable world.
[Park Chan-hyuk apologizes to St. Pauli fans…? “Sorry. That’s not what I meant. What I meant is playing a good team like St. Pauli is like a vitamin boost.”]
[St. Pauli manager, weary expression… “I just wish Union Berlin’s manager would shut up.”]
[Park Chan-hyuk: “The media drives a wedge between us.”]
└ ??? What’s Park Chan-hyuk on about? He provoked first lol
└ Saw the full interview quote—it’s exactly what he said lmao
Anyway.
Union Berlin snapped their losing streak and restored normalcy. Their next opponent?
[Mainz Jürgen Klopp: “The season isn’t over. We’ll make the top flight this year.”]
Mainz, sitting 4th under Jürgen Klopp.