Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: vs Jürgen Klopp -1
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***
Mainz's Jürgen Klopp was deep in thought ahead of the match against Union Berlin.
It was all because of Mainz's current standings.
[Mainz Sitting 4th in the League—Will They Fail to Promote to the Top Flight?]
Mainz was currently holding 4th place in the league, trailing Mönchengladbach, Union Berlin, and Hoffenheim.
With only the top three able to promote to the 1. Bundesliga,
Mainz absolutely had to beat Union Berlin.
‘I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad about this.’
In that situation, Jürgen Klopp felt mixed emotions seeing Union Berlin back in form.
Regret over how he could’ve easily beaten them during their slump,
and on the other hand, excitement at the chance to go head-to-head with them at full strength.
‘Impressive.’
Jürgen Klopp personally held Park Chan-hyuk in high regard.
His tactics, strategy, and leadership were far too polished for a rookie manager.
And above all, Park Chan-hyuk’s eye for talent was top-class.
Even managers praised for their scouting couldn’t match Park Chan-hyuk’s consistent results.
With all that goodwill between them, they’d exchanged numbers after their first-half clash.
The two often chatted.
And the more they talked, the more they realized their values aligned pretty well.
Ahead of the Union Berlin match, Jürgen Klopp sent Park Chan-hyuk a message.
- Jürgen Klopp: Let’s put on a good show.
But Park Chan-hyuk’s reply was not what Jürgen Klopp expected.
- Park Chan-hyuk: Jürgen Klopp, you should have respected me. I am Union Berlin’s largest shareholder and the greatest manager in Union Berlin history who will lead Union Berlin to the Bundesliga and…[more]
***
I couldn’t hide my bewilderment at Jürgen Klopp’s message.
[Mainz Manager Jürgen Klopp: “Mainz will win this one. I saw Chan-hyuk’s limits in our last match.”]
- Klopp: Let’s put on a good show.
He’d thrown out the provocation in an interview, but his messenger app said let’s have a good game—what was that supposed to mean?
‘Two-faced tactics…?’
Whatever. It didn’t matter how they came at us.
What counted was how prepared we were.
Union Berlin was undeniably a powerhouse in the 2. Bundesliga, and powerhouses had their ways.
Powerhouses didn’t get rattled by petty stuff like this.
“Yanick! Focus!”
Ahead of the Mainz match, I ran training “as usual.”
“…Why’s the boss so on edge today?”
“Dunno. Maybe his family’s pushing him to get married.”
“Lucky. Wish I had a sister to hook me up…”
***
Union Berlin’s squad was ridiculously young. With Yanick Peitz, barely mid-20s, as one of the veterans, that said it all.
‘…Huh. Come to think of it, I’m the manager and I’m barely early 20s myself.’
A telltale sign of such a young team was how easily they got swept up in the mood.
Once they caught a rhythm, they could overwhelm anyone—Barcelona or Real Madrid, no difference.
But once they started slipping, it was a bottomless pit.
I’d sacrificed myself to flip the momentum with that win over St. Pauli,
but we still hadn’t fully seized control, so the unease lingered.
Still, I believed in the players I’d built this Union Berlin with.
‘Trust the players. And trust myself, the one who raised them.’
I watched the players train hard and shook off the anxiety as best I could.
***
[League 2nd-Place Union Berlin vs. 4th-Place Mainz Clash.]
[Mönchengladbach Falls to Relegation Fodder… Can Union Berlin Beat Mainz and Reclaim the Top Spot?]
└ Damn lol, this is a real shot at 1st place
└ 2. Bundesliga’s sneakily fun lol
└ First time seeing such fierce title race in the second division.
└ Park Chan-hyuk <<< Tanked against Bayern in the Pokal and made 2. Bundesliga a bloodbath.
└ Fr tho, who’d have thought he’d go full starters against them.
└ But that match was insane fun. 4-1 final, but only cuz Oliver Kahn went god-mode…
└
└ Y’all, winner gets auto-promo to 1. Bundesliga?
└ Nah, top 3.
└ What about playoffs?
└ Bundesliga’s got no playoffs.
└ So we’ll see Union Berlin in 1. Bundesliga next year?
└ Yeah, unless Park Chan-hyuk catches legendary curse and chokes, promotion’s locked.
[Clash of Rising Young Managers… Who Will Prevail?]
***
“Chan-hyuk!”
“Jürgen!”
Before kickoff, I exchanged warm greetings with Jürgen Klopp.
We started chatting—not anything grand, just small talk.
“Recommend me a player for the next transfer window.”
“What kind you want?”
“Scores every game, defends like a beast.”
“Hey, if there’s a guy like that, we’d sign him first.”
“Greedy for talent, aren’t you?”
“Ever seen a good manager hate good players?”
After our first-half matchup, we’d had plenty of those talks.
Miseries of running mid-table clubs bonded us.
That’s how we became buddies who talked casually.
While Jürgen Klopp and I caught up,
time flew by.
Moments later, with the ref’s whistle,
Union Berlin vs. Mainz kicked off.
“Eisen─!! Union!!”
***
[Both teams trading blows right from kickoff.]
From the start, both sides pressed hard.
Mainz and Union Berlin had come out aggressive.
[Ball stolen! But Thomas Meier fouls to stop the counter—smart.]
[Clever foul. A straight run would’ve been dangerous, but he halts it.]
[Yes. And no card from the ref.]
The pitch saw relentless transitions.
Then, at the 33rd minute of the first half,
Union Berlin grabbed the game’s momentum first.
[Thomas Meier intercepts again. Looks up for a teammate!]
Thomas Meier stole the ball and fed it to Lewandowski.
[Thomas Meier to Lewandowski!]
Lewandowski backheeled it to Son Heung-min infiltrating from deep.
[Lewandowski’s backheel! To Son Heung-min! He’s off! Mainz’s backline is wide open!]
Son Heung-min raced through Mainz’s space.
Dodging defenders, he entered the box.
Spotting the keeper, Son stayed cool and shot.
But maybe a slight mishit.
Son’s shot struck the post and rebounded into the box.
“Argh!!”
As Son clutched his head in regret,
the rebound from his shot,
thud.
Yanick Peitz tapped it cleanly home.
[Go, goooaaal─! Yanick Peitz! Yanick Peitz with the opener! When did this guy ghost into the box? Pops up out of nowhere and slots it home!!]
***
The moment Yanick Peitz’s shot ripped Mainz’s net,
I bolted straight for the corner flag.
The shackles holding me back were off for aesthetic reasons.
Right now, I was an unchained Exodia.
No one could stop me.
I saw Jürgen Klopp’s dazed grin, and slowly crossed my arms.
“Hooouuuu─!”
Perfect opening salvo against Jürgen Klopp.
Against an ordinary manager, this one flex would’ve handed Union Berlin an easy win.
But… regrettably, Jürgen Klopp was no ordinary manager.
Five minutes later,
Mainz’s Neven Subotić equalized from a corner.
Jürgen Klopp sprinted to the corner flag, dropped into a knee-slide celebration, and eyed me.
‘…Provoking me here?’
I could feel it instinctively. This was him saying, ‘Bet you can’t knee-slide.’
While the pitch hosted a fierce battle,
the touchline saw managers locked in a savage celebration duel.
***
Meanwhile, at that moment.
“…Why are the managers acting like idiots on the touchline?”
Yanick Peitz, robbed of celebration duties again today, felt hard done by.