Chapter 98
Chapter 98
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: vs 08/09 Bayern Munich -2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ah.... Manager Park Chan-hyuk has suddenly collapsed, right? I hope it's nothing serious."
The Korean broadcast team and soccer fans watching Union Berlin's match were visibly worried.
It was because the broadcast showed Park Chan-hyuk collapsing, with the players gathering around him.
"......! It's a cramp! Thank goodness!"
"Yes. That's right. I really thought something bad had happened. It's a huge relief that it's just a cramp."
And shortly after.
As the team doctor, looking a bit dazed, lifted Park Chan-hyuk's legs, the broadcast team let out a sigh of relief.
From the unfolding situation, it didn't seem like a serious issue.
- Whoa, shit, I thought it was serious and my heart was gonna explode.
- Wait, more than that, the manager actually cramped up? LOL
- He did sprint like crazy for that celebration.
- Lol, a manager who sprints full speed to steal the players' celebration and ends up injured ㅋㅋ
***
After the minor commotion(?), the match resumed with Bayern Munich's kickoff.
Bayern Munich's players couldn't afford to lose limply at home.
They launched an aggressive attack to score a comeback goal.
Union Berlin began to calmly manage the game.
"Don't get dragged into their tempo!"
Cafu's experience gave the Union Berlin players a sense of stability.
While Cafu shone in defense, the standout in attack was Yannick Foight.
Yannick Foight's superb positioning and quick bursts of speed led to a sneaky infiltration.
He quickly pierced into Bayern Munich's penalty area.
The goalkeeper lowered his stance, desperately narrowing the shooting angle.
But there was no repeat of the earlier mistake.
Confirming the goal and the goalkeeper's position, Yannick Foight calmly eyed the ball and shot.
Thwack—.
The ball grazed the goalkeeper's side and shook Bayern Munich's net.
The moment Yannick Foight's shot ripped through Bayern Munich's net again.
"Yannick— Foight!! Push the goat!!"
An enormous cheer erupted from the Union Berlin away fans' section.
[The top scorer in the 4th division, 3rd division, 2nd division, and now challenging for the 1st division top scorer—Yannick Foight!]
***
‘......If it's like this, does that make Yannick Foight Germany's Jamie Vardy, or Jamie Vardy England's Yannick Foight?’
The moment Yannick Foight's shot hit the net, I quietly celebrated from the bench.
I didn't dash to the corner flag because the pain from earlier was still fresh.
Anyway.
The first half ended, and during halftime in the locker room, I gave the players no special tactical instructions.
After all, you need the opponent to have a proper tactic to counter it.
There was no need to change tactics while leading against Munich.
‘No point confusing the players.’
If they tried to switch tactics among themselves like in the first half, we could just improvise accordingly.
"How about it? Munich isn't all that, right?"
"Boss, is this the difference in tactics!"
"That's right. Praise me, you peasants."
So, during halftime, I just joked around lightly with the players.
The new guys felt awkward in the locker room atmosphere, but whatever. They'd adjust soon enough.
While we laughed and chatted, time flew by.
Shortly after, the second half between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich began.
***
Bayern Munich's players entered the pitch with grim expressions.
A 3-0 scoreline.
It was hard to believe at Bayern Munich's home ground.
No one could remember the last time they'd lost at home.
They might have to dig through ancient records.
Munich's players pressed Union Berlin fiercely from the start of the second half.
The longer the match went on, the more anxious Bayern Munich's players became.
The jeers from the home fans were growing louder.
But these weren't jeers aimed at the opposing team—they were directed at Munich's players, manager, and board.
Since Thomas Tuchel had led Bayern Munich the previous season, the fans felt the performance gap even more starkly than in the original history before Park Chan-hyuk's return.
[Schweinsteiger gets the ball, but under Union Berlin's intense pressure, he passes it back.]
The more frantic Bayern Munich's players got, the clearer their weaknesses became.
[Such organized pressing.]
[Luka Modrić with a great interception! He cuts off Bayern Munich's pass!]
Bayern Munich lost possession during their buildup play to Union Berlin.
The moment Luka Modrić intercepted the ball, Union Berlin launched a counterattack.
Yannick Foight, stalking his prey like a beast of the jungle, watched Bayern Munich's reactions closely.
The instant Bayern Munich's defensive line faltered, he darted into the penalty area.
It was less a calculated decision with eyes and brain, more an animal instinct.
Luka Modrić's pass connected to the infiltrating Yannick Foight.
With a stable first touch, Yannick Foight lightly chipped the ball—tap—over the onrushing goalkeeper.
Yannick Foight's chip shot shook Bayern Munich's net.
"Jawooooooooooooohl!"
The moment it went in, Yannick Foight ripped off his jersey top and roared as he ran to the corner flag.
[Hat-trick! Yannick Foight! He pushes Bayern Munich into the abyss of despair!]
***
Yannick Foight achieved his first Bundesliga hat-trick against Bayern Munich.
As Union Berlin's players ran over to celebrate Yannick Foight's hat-trick, I could only stand there in a daze for a while.
Even I couldn't help it.
And that was because....
[Yannick Foight]
Current Ability: ★★★★★
Potential: ★★★★★
The temporary label next to Yannick Foight's ability stats had vanished.
Right here, right now, Yannick Foight had reached his potential limit.
It seemed like scoring a hat-trick against Munich had brought him some enlightenment.
Gazing at Yannick Foight, I felt a strange mix of emotions.
Yannick was already 28.
For a soccer player, that wasn't particularly young.
His physical abilities had peaked, and now it was just a matter of maintaining his current condition.
'It's a shame he can't make the next leap.'
Anyway.
After Yannick Foight's hat-trick, the match ended without further incident.
Bayern Munich's players' morale had been utterly shattered.
- First off, congrats on the hat-trick.
After the match, Man of the Match Yannick Foight began his interview.
I quietly watched him.
Memories of our first meeting naturally surfaced.
Back then, I was just an unknown Asian coach B starting my career.
Yannick Foight was a nobody with awful current stats despite his great potential.
In fact, there had been plenty of objections from Chairman Kängler, Tuchel, and others about signing him.
I felt a swell of pride knowing I'd unearthed a player who would have vanished without a trace.
And that this player I'd discovered had become my best friend.
"Um.... It's a bit embarrassing, but I wouldn't be here without the help of many people. And among them, I can't leave out my boss, my friend, my brother—Chan-hyuk. I want to always tell him how grateful I am."
Yannick Foight sincerely thanked me.
I quietly looked up at the sky.
"Ah.... Got some dust in my eye."
For some reason, my eyes felt misty.
***
After the Bayern Munich vs. Union Berlin match ended, reactions poured in from all directions.
Bayern Munich losses in the Bundesliga were rare.
And a 4-0 thrashing? You could count them on one hand.
That's why news of Munich's defeat naturally dominated the headlines.
[Upset of the century! Promoted side Union Berlin stuns Bayern Munich away!]
└ What? Union Berlin won?
└ Union Berlin? What's that club?
└ The team that just got promoted from the 2nd division.
└ Munich lost to a promoted team? Guess they've finally hit rock bottom.
└ They could win 1-0 maybe.
└ I heard Union Berlin won 4-0?
└ Is Munich finally done for?
Naturally, Bundesliga fans could hardly believe the news of Munich's thrashing.
A promoted team beating Bundesliga overlords Bayern Munich was a one-in-a-million shot.
Experts had called Union Berlin a dark horse before the season, but even they hadn't predicted they'd topple Bayern Munich.
"Look into this Union Berlin team right now!"
"And investigate this Park Chan-hyuk guy!"
With Bayern Munich's unexpected defeat, it was only natural for Bundesliga fans and insiders to grow curious about Park Chan-hyuk and Union Berlin.
[Korean genius manager: Let's look at Park's career.]
['Youngest Bundesliga manager.' Who is Park Chan-hyuk?]
[Oriental magic? Park Chan-hyuk's sorcery fells Bundesliga's dinosaur.]
['Beauty in late bloom.' Yannick Foight: From nobody to the soccer player everyone's watching.]
This was the moment Park Chan-hyuk and Union Berlin etched themselves clearly into the minds of Bundesliga fans and players.