Chapter 54
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: After the Season Starts, External Activities
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FA Chairman Gareth Southgate held up the shield-shaped [Charity Shield Trophy] high and cheered triumphantly.
Amid the roaring cheers from our Blackburn Rovers squad, Ferguson approached with a face like he was chewing raw flesh instead of gum, extending a hand to Heynckes for a handshake.
Heynckes gladly shook his hand and exchanged a few words in English, after which Ferguson promptly returned to his team.
I might be wrong, but the Manchester United locker room was probably going to hear a few hairdryers blowing tonight.
Even if it didn't carry much prestige, the Charity Shield was still an official FA trophy.
After the ceremony, the captain Southgate had received it and lifted it amid the cheers.
"Jupp, great job. I didn't expect us to snag a trophy this quickly."
"It's thanks to the players you brought in for the team and the coaches you hired, sir."
"Looking forward to this season."
With that, I left the stadium right away and got into the car.
"Whew, let's head out."
"Yes, Vice Chairman."
The Daeyang Global staff started the engine and set off straight for London.
"It'll take about two and a half hours to London."
"Take it easy. We'll stop at a rest area on the way and have a smoke."
Thinking back, that final penalty shootout was absolutely thrilling.
How did they manage to put Baggio and Southgate—who both had penalty trauma—up first and nail it?
And then placing Paul Ince as the fifth kicker to blatantly lift the trophy right in front of Ferguson.
Heynckes was a true master tactician the more you learned about him.
We arrived in London late that evening and checked into the hotel, where the TV was flooded with Charity Shield coverage.
[Yupf, just one word, please.]
[What's your take on winning the Charity Shield against United in your managerial debut?]
Reporters were filming Heynckes and requesting interviews, but on screen, he remained composed.
[It was a great match, and you can look forward to Blackburn's performance this season.]
[Sir Alex Ferguson said before the season that 'you can't buy a title with money,' and your owner, Mr. Lee, fired back. Doesn't the Blackburn manager have anything to say?]
[I'm not great with words, and besides, German humor doesn't seem to land with people.]
The German manager's fluent English response before the British press drew nonstop laughter, creating a warm atmosphere.
The screen then switched back to the BBC studio with the panelists.
And there was a familiar face: Ian Wright.
[Ian, as a Blackburn legend yourself, you must have plenty to say?]
Ian Wright served publicly as a Blackburn ambassador and was a regular Blackburn pundit on BBC.
Sitting as the Manchester United pundit was former United No. 7, Steve Coppell.
[Jack Walker planted the seed, and Mr. Lee is nurturing it—Rovers will only grow stronger from here.]
[The final shootout was heartbreaking, but that's football. Fergie was Fergie, and Beckham was unlucky today.]
Even the broadcasts were now acknowledging Blackburn as 'another powerhouse in the Premier League that can't be ignored.'
While I played the clown on the outside, we'd keep building steadily from within the club.
Anyway, after the Charity Shield, tonight I could finally sleep easy.
Tomorrow, I'd handle the 'UK real estate venture' preparations at the London HQ, then head back to Blackburn and check the stock trends at the Korean HQ.
Three days after the Charity Shield ended.
The small villa on the outskirts of Manchester was Ferguson's secret hideout.
This place had hosted countless football heavyweights—only those invited by Ferguson could enter.
A German sedan pulled up, and Heynckes stepped out from the back seat, straightening his suit.
"What a strange affair, getting invited by the opposing manager after the match."
Such a thing would be unthinkable in Germany or Spain, but it was apparently an English tradition.
More precisely, a tradition created by Alex Ferguson: after the game, he'd invite you for wine and a match review.
"Hey, Yupf, you made it."
"Yes, I have."
The two legends shook hands again since the Charity Shield and sat at the table.
Ferguson poured expensive Spanish wine and served sausage dishes in front of the German Heynckes.
"Pesquera, huh? I drank it often during my Spain days."
"It's my favorite."
Heynckes gratefully sipped the wine since he'd been invited.
"I got a taste of spicy German football after a long time. Since Hitzfeld, that is."
"Ottmar senior is one of Germany's proudest managers."
Heynckes chimed in by mentioning Ottmar Hitzfeld's nickname 'Ottmar,' the hottest current German manager.
"You're one too."
"!"
"Out of the Premier League's 20 teams and 20 managers, only you and I have Big Ears. Know what that means?"
"Hahaha..."
"I've got you targeted for this season."
Ferguson finished and segued into Charity Shield talk over wine.
"No matter how much I provoked, you stayed cool."
"I'm not much for words."
"They called you the 'Osram Bulb' in La Liga for bulging veins and masterful Spanish trash talk?"
"I got fed up and told Lorenzo Sanz, 'This shit's why I'm out.' What good are Big Ears if you're losing to Barcelona and getting hammered daily for un-Real-like league standing?"
Heynckes gradually opened up over Ferguson's hospitality and delved into football talk.
Soon, the two managers were dissecting tactics.
"Early on, I didn't sweat you sticking Holland's kid Kino on him. Kino's not the type to get bullied."
"A bit of a gamble. Start with Parker or Holland to rile Roy Keane for 45 minutes. Then push with three stamina-rich central mids."
"That's why you double-pivoted defensive mids in the center?"
"My go-to. Drop two DMs and bring up one CB for a de facto three-man midfield base."
Heynckes swirled his wine, took a sip, and grinned broadly.
"And the players Sir Fergie called 'that level' executed perfectly."
Heynckes freely shared his tactics, unconcerned.
He could learn Ferguson's in detail through the review too.
"I thought we could break through plenty."
"Beckham and Giggs were terrifying that day. Every time they pushed the line, they'd exploit the flanks— one slip and we'd concede a bunch."
"But damn if it didn't hold firm. Hahaha!"
As they chatted openly, Ferguson brought up Lee Dae-hyun.
"How's it working under that clownish young owner?"
"So far, he's great to work with."
"Shower you with investment, and everything looks pretty."
"Not meddling in the locker room makes him an excellent owner already. Reminds me of someone from my Bayern days."
"Hm?"
"The guy who spoke first on interviews and players. Bayern's shadow emperor."
"Uli Hoeneß. Hate that type—higher-ups yapping and shaking the league while managers and players are on the pitch."
"Hahaha!"
The two Champions League-winning EPL managers shared a warm drink, creating a fine evening. Heynckes, his face glowing like an Osram bulb from the booze, stood first.
"See you in the league."
"I'm going for three in a row this year."
"Guess I'll chase my first league title in a decade."
They parted with a firm, heated handshake, their minds in different places.
'Double pivot pulling up the defensive line for zonal control. Pretty solid—maybe adapt it to my style?'
Ferguson hid it, but he was intrigued by Heynckes' tactics.
'Short passes with high press, aggressive side activity to disrupt. With Figo, Duff, and Shaun Wright-Phillips, I could make it work.'
Heynckes felt the same.
After arriving back in Blackburn.
I headed to the Walker Foundation instead of the training ground.
Hyde Walker greeted me warmly, offering tea, and I savored its aroma while pulling out documents.
"After Chairman Jack Walker's passing, I heard the foundation planned real estate ventures on large plots in Lancashire."
"It was Father's dream. To give back big to his hometown."
"So, what do you plan to do with the land?"
At my direct question, Hyde's expression turned subtly complex. He took a sip of tea and replied.
"I don't know what you're aiming for, but it'll be a park for Blackburn's citizens."
"I'd like to develop it for Blackburn's citizens too."
I handed Hyde the prepared proposal.
Hyde Walker pulled out his reading glasses from his breast pocket and read through it carefully before looking at me.
"What... is all this?"
"The hopes and wishes of our Blackburn Rovers players, coaching staff, and their families—the famous faces of Blackburn."
"!"
Inside was Daeyang Global's research on Blackburn, turned into a city development plan.
And requests from stars like Baggio, Figo, Ian Wright, and other players' wives and kids in the club.
To shop properly, you had to go to Manchester.
Tourist spots? Manchester Art Gallery and cathedral, that's it.
For basic culture, you drove out.
"These are real Blackburn issues, so people head to Manchester—just 30 miles away."
About the distance between Seoul and Incheon.
But there was plenty of development potential.
"I'm proposing a cotton museum in the declining cotton mill district—Blackburn's traditional industry. Remodel the old munitions factory from WWII into a WWII museum, and build a zoo on the park site."
"No, that's..."
"Even Manchester lacks kid-friendly amusement parks or zoos—they trek an hour and a half to Cheshire for the racetrack and horse-gazing."
We'd surveyed Lancashire transport and demand projections. For a city under 100,000, we'd detailed comparisons with tourist draws like Chester and Blackpool.
Hyde Walker finished reading, removed his glasses, and let out a long breath.
"I'd considered a botanical garden and sports park, but..."
"Let's go big. Daeyang will help. Foundation owns it, we plan and build, negotiate operations with the council?"
"Can't decide alone. I'll discuss with my brothers and foundation execs. But..."
Walker extended a hand with a faint smile.
"This intrigues me as much as your football operations."
I gripped Hyde Walker's hand firmly in an handshake of anticipation.