My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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This year’s LIGA Total Cup 2011 was held at the Copas Arena, which is Mainz’s home ground.

From the last match against Mainz, I could tell that the stadium had a rather pristine appearance since it had been completed just the week before.

“BVB! BVB! BVB!”

The atmosphere in the stadium was so lively that it felt like a home game supporting Dortmund.

“Whoa—! Dortmund, you little rascals! Run with everything you’ve got! Bring a victory to Kloppo!”

The reason for such fervor was, of course, Jürgen Klopp.

Before joining Dortmund, Klopp had played over 11 years as a player for Mainz and spent another 7 years as their manager, becoming a living legend for Mainz by promoting them to the Bundesliga for the first time.

Well… after that, he did experience relegation and resigned after failing to get promoted again.

“Kloppo! Come to our restaurant after the game! I’ll treat you to an amazing dinner!”

“Damn! This guy is trying to assassinate Kloppo!”

“No way anyone here doesn’t know about your culinary skills, huh?”

“Kloppo! Just come over to my house instead!”

The Mainz fans showed unwavering affection towards Jürgen Klopp, who led them to their dream stage.

“Booooooooo! You rookies! If you’re going to play like that, just quit!”

Anyway, despite having the Mainz fans cheering behind them, the match against Hamburg was anything but easy.

Hamburg, coming off a victory over the giant Bayern Munich in their last game, was full of confidence.

“Get your head in the game and defend properly!”

From the early stages, they frequently displayed sharp moves, threatening Dortmund’s goal.

Especially, Son Heung-min, who had scored multiple goals in the last match against Bayern, showed exceptional agility.

Bang—!

In the 11th minute, Son Heung-min’s shot slammed into the crossbar, making Dortmund’s hearts skip a beat. If that shot had curved in a bit more, Dortmund could have been in trouble, potentially conceding first.

“Ah! Darn… H-hello…?”

Son Heung-min, looking a bit regretful after his shot, awkwardly waved at me when our eyes met.

“You can speak comfortably.”

I approached and whispered softly while covering my mouth.

“Really? Nice to…”

Meeting a Korean playing in the Bundesliga seemed to make him happy, as Heung-min smiled and nodded, but then realized something odd and added.

“Wait, aren’t I older than you?”

“You’re older than me, so I told you to speak comfortably!”

“…Is that so?”

Son Heung-min displayed a look of disbelief. Seeing that expression brought back memories from the past.

“With skills that could definitely succeed abroad, haven’t you thought about moving overseas? If you need help with a transfer, I can assist!”

I had to turn down his offer because I couldn’t leave Gyeouri behind. Still, I was always grateful for that encouragement back then, as it helped me perform better.

So, in this life, I should repay that kindness.

“Let’s save him from Tottenham’s ‘no championship’ hell.”

I recalled the touching moments of him growing every season at Tottenham and finally becoming the top scorer. While I worried that different choices might change the future, I remembered—

“Excuse me, but our Heung-min is definitely not world-class.”

Looking at his father, I figured Heung-min would grow well and right, even if he went to another team.

“That’s right. By the way, if you plan to transfer later, learning under Manager Klopp wouldn’t be a bad idea. He’s a manager who knows how to identify and utilize players’ strengths well.”

For that reason, I started to rattle off the advantages of learning football under Jürgen Klopp, gaslighting Heung-min.

“…All of a sudden?”

Heung-min, who initially showed a perplexed expression, began to listen intently at some point, his face showing interest.

“Oh, Cha Du-ri also changed his position to fullback at Mainz and hit it big… Ah!”

Just when I thought he would totally come around.

I suddenly remembered something important.

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just recalled something I had forgotten.”

I needed to warn Lee Cheong-ryong to be careful of that Tom Miller punk, and I had to prevent Park Joo-yong’s transfer to Arsenal.

It struck me again how the strength of the South Korean national team had fragmented due to wrong choices and injuries at this time.

Could it be that the legendary first team the Japanese football fans always searched for was actually the unified South Korea National Team?

“Or not.”

Anyway.

“Hyung, let’s exchange numbers after the game.”

“Huh? Sure.”

I promised to exchange phone numbers with Heung-min after the game and then refocused on the match.

*

The Mainz fans who came to support their legend Jürgen Klopp conversed while watching the game.

“Seems like a nostalgic formation.”

“Right? Makes me think of when Kloppo was around.”

Dortmund’s formation was the same as last season, 4-2-3-1. It was a formation familiar to Mainz fans, which Klopp used during his time there.

On the other hand, Hamburg set up a 4-4-2 formation with Son Heung-min starting as a second striker. Both teams deployed their starting players. For Dortmund, their main striker Lucas Barrios was out due to injury, so Robert Lewandowski took his place.

“What, is there a baby here?”

The Mainz fans pointed at Son Jinho, whose unusually youthful face was reflected on the scoreboard.

“That’s Jinho, right?”

“What? Him?”

“He looks like he just started high school, huh?”

Like most German fans, they usually didn’t know much about promising players from teams other than the one they supported, but because Son Jinho’s name had been frequently mentioned in the media, they at least recognized it.

Didn’t they once envy and think, ‘Will such players come out in Mainz?’

Just then, Son Jinho got hold of the ball, and the Mainz crowd looked on with interest.

“Ooooh─!”

The Mainz fans couldn’t help but cheer as Son Jinho deftly got past a Hamburg midfielder with a light touch.

They stood up in excitement for his follow-up long-range shot, but a Hamburg defender collided with him from behind, throwing off his balance and sending his shot just over the crossbar.

“Ah! Perišić!”

As Son Jinho grabbed his head in disappointment over the shot that soared over the bar,

“…Why is he suddenly acting like that towards me?”

Perišić, who was on the bench, looked utterly bewildered.

*

Dortmund and Hamburg.

The match between the two teams was played at a very fast pace.

[Dortmund intercepting the ball with intense pressing! Immediately goes into counter-attack! Son Jinho passes straight to Lewandowski! Lewandowski takes his shot! Whoa─!! A fantastic save by Sven Neuhaus!! Hamburg’s guardian angel pulls off a super save!]

In just a few seconds, the ball moved from one team’s area to the other, with players expending their energy fiercely pressing from the front.

[Hamburg initiating an attack!]

[Dortmund is interfering with Hamburg’s buildup! This time they successfully break the pressure!]

[Son Heung-min makes a run into space! Robert Tesche!! He’s seen Son Heung-min!]

[And the pass is delivered! Son Heung-min is on the charge! He’s so fast!]

Dortmund’s backline momentarily opened up, and Son Heung-min attempted another shot, but it deflected off a defender and was blocked by the goalkeeper’s save.

Dortmund continued their attack.

Shinji Kagawa, who passed to Son Jinho, made a run into the penalty box, drawing a Hamburg defender.

“Jinho!”

In that moment, Son Jinho’s eyes met Robert Lewandowski’s, and he quickly crossed into the space ahead of Lewandowski.

The ball pierced right through the Hamburg defenders, landing perfectly in front of Lewandowski’s feet.

“Lewy! If you can’t score that, you should quit being a striker!!”

Having heard Son Jinho’s encouragement (?), Lewandowski kept his composure and took a one-touch shot, shaking the Hamburg net.

[Goool─!! Dortmund successfully scores the opening goal! Son Jinho makes an incredible assist!!]

└ Wow, that assist was insane.

└ They’re playing football so cleanly haha.

└ Seriously, feels like watching a football master at work lol.

Lewandowski, who shook the Hamburg net, dashed over to the corner flag to showcase Son Jinho’s celebration.

└ LOL, is Lewandowski showing off his ho-who? Haha.

└ As a ho-woo sommelier, I confidently say this, it’s not tasty.

└ Haha, let’s learn from Ho-woo, Lewy! LOL.

└ Lewy looks so pumped, then gets awkward while doing the ho-woo, it’s hilarious!

The comments from viewers exploded.