Chapter 60
Dortmund, having won the DFB Pokal Cup, moved to the VfB Stuttgart’s home ground, Mercedes-Benz Arena, four days later.
“Wow… Is this real? We have a match against Olympiacos just two days after the away game.”
I sighed, thinking of Dortmund’s schedule.
The last match was the DFB Pokal Cup on October 25, and today, October 29, it was the league match against VfB Stuttgart.
Then there was the Champions League match against Olympiacos on November 1, followed by the league’s 12th round against Wolfsburg on November 5.
It was truly a grueling schedule with no chance to catch my breath.
“And after the game with Wolfsburg, it’s an international match?”
Damn. Harsh words slipped out.
Playing matches without any rest right now, flying 10,000 km to South Korea for another match, and then coming back another 10,000 km?
I was starting to understand why Hyung-Seong declared his retirement from the national team at such a young age of 30.
I could almost hear my knees cracking in real-time.
“Was retiring from the national team a stroke of genius…?”
Suddenly, I recalled how Jürgen Klopp beamed with joy when I declared my own retirement from the national team.
– Kloppo, why are you so happy? Is it that great that I’m retiring from the national team?
– Aww, Jinho, when did I say I was happy?
– Put your hand over your mouth down and let’s talk.
– Ah… I shouldn’t be laughing, but it’s hard not to.
Well, to be honest, even without national team matches, the gegenpressing tactic itself was incredibly draining, so my stamina was already running low.
If it hadn’t been for the three weeks of rest, my still-growing body might have been exhausted already.
“At least one good thing is that there’s a Winter Break in the Bundesliga.”
I suddenly started to worry about what would happen after I transferred to Manchester United.
Since the 2019-20 season, there will be a Winter Break in the Premier League too, but right now, there was no break at all.
Only Boxing Day existed.
“But wait, is Boxing Day really something people can handle?”
If it weren’t for my promise with Gyeouri, I might not have ever glanced at the Premier League.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to transfer before Ferguson retires, so I’ll have to take my time with it.”
When I returned, my plan was to join Manchester United before Ferguson retired, but the more I thought about it, the harder it seemed.
Due to FIFA regulations, I could only transfer in January 2013 when I turned 18, and by then, it would already be too late.
According to the current Champions League rules, if I play in the Champions League as part of Dortmund, I can’t play in it for Manchester United.
So, since it’s already late, I plan to transfer to Manchester United when the fans have fully accepted me as an established player.
To be honest, I wished I could have matured fully by 2019, when the Winter Break was introduced in the Premier League.
“That’s not maturity; that’s rotten, right?”
No matter how late it got, I felt I had to transfer to Manchester United before Pogba goes there.
***
As soon as the referee blew the whistle, the match ended.
I slowly moved toward the crowd, applauding.
After bursting into tears during the last game against Köln, strange memes about me had emerged, but not everything was bad.
[Jino, making a sad face in an interview. ‘Sometimes players get so excited in the match that they throw racist comments at me. It hurts.’]
The trash talking racists started to be cautious with their words.
[Racist comments to a 16-year-old boy? Just pure trash!]
Well, to be honest, there hadn’t been that many racist comments aimed at me due to my age.
“If there were, people around would usually calm them down.”
In fact, during today’s match against VfB Stuttgart, one senseless fan made a racist remark directed at me.
“Shut it before my fist closes your mouth!”
Another fan around intervened.
“Don’t make my beloved team a trash club that promotes racism, you bastards!”
Well… that fan wasn’t exactly opposed to racism.
They just didn’t want their beloved team to be branded as a racist club.
Still, it was quite grateful of them to stand up for me.
“Thanks for earlier.”
“…Damn! Kid! Be gentle when we meet next time!”
As soon as the match against Stuttgart ended, I thanked that fan and handed over my jersey.
The Stuttgart fans clapped for me, creating a warm atmosphere.
***
[The match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart ends in a 1:1 draw.]
[The reason football isn’t war! Jino gifts a jersey to a fan who stood against racism, and the Stuttgart home fans applaud Jino!]
[Dortmund, in danger of failing to advance in the Champions League, invites Olympiacos at home.]
[Only 3 matches left in the Champions League! Can the last-placed Dortmund in Group F advance to the knockout stage?]
***
“Mats! Focus! Don’t lose track of the players!”
After the VfB Stuttgart match, Dortmund immediately entered intensive training for the Champions League Group F match against Olympiacos on November 1.
“…The atmosphere is seriously heavy.”
I murmured, glancing around the training ground.
The atmosphere in Dortmund’s training ground felt as tense as a military base awaiting war.
[Last season’s Bundesliga champions Dortmund! Are they headed for elimination in the Champions League?]
And it made sense, Dortmund was currently facing elimination, recording 1 win and 2 losses, which fell short of expectations.
[In the third round of Group F, Dortmund suffered a 3-1 defeat against Olympiacos!]
[With a terrible performance contributing to the team’s loss was İlkay Gündoğan!]
German media strongly criticized Dortmund for their powerless performance in the Champions League.
Well… from Dortmund’s perspective, they could have come up with a variety of excuses.
There was the incident back in Korea that caused my departure from the team, plus the lack of European competition experience among Dortmund’s players.
[Signals of Bundesliga’s decline? ‘Deutscher Meister’ Dortmund’s Champions League elimination crisis!]
But the circumstances of Dortmund weren’t that important to the German media.
What mattered to them was simply the sensational fact that last season’s Bundesliga champions were in danger of elimination in the Champions League.
As a result, the atmosphere in the training ground was heavy enough to be suffocating.
“Ah, I can’t take this anymore.”
Determined to change the mood, I decided to lighten things up.
Splash─!
I stepped onto the practice field as an attacking midfielder, received a pass from İlkay Gündoğan, maneuvered past Dortmund’s impenetrable duo Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic, and succeeded in shaking the goal net defended by Roman Weidenfeller.
“Woohooo─!”
“Woohoo─!”
After scoring, I pulled a playful celebration in front of Roman Weidenfeller, Neven Subotic, and Mats Hummels to change the mood on the practice field.
“Woohoooooooo─!!!”
All of this was to break the overly tense atmosphere in the training ground.
“…Why are you shouting louder at me, you punk?”
Mats Hummels, with an incredulous look, put me in a headlock.
“…Pfft.”
The Dortmund players erupted in laughter, and the atmosphere that had been as tense as ice began to thaw.
***
“Having Jinho here changes the training ground’s atmosphere entirely.”
Dortmund’s coach marveled at how quickly the serious atmosphere transformed into a cheerful one thanks to Son Jinho.
“He’s the mood maker of the team. It wouldn’t be bad to include him in the captaincy after a couple more years.”
“…Will Jinho still be playing for Dortmund by then?”
Jürgen Klopp couldn’t respond to the coach’s question.
There was already growing interest from big clubs in Son Jinho recently.
***
November 1, 2011.
Perhaps the day had come that would determine Dortmund’s elimination from the Champions League.
“Leuchte auf mein Stern Borussia (Shine, my star Borussia)”
The Borussia Dortmund fans, having invited Olympiacos at home, cheered for the players with all their might before the match began.
“Signal Iduna Park is behind us. Trust each other! Let’s go out and fight! And show that our Champions League isn’t over yet!”
Sebastian Kehl, Dortmund’s captain waiting in the entrance tunnel, turned to encourage his teammates, reacting to the cheering crowd.
The players entered the field.
[Dortmund and Olympiacos in the Champions League! If Dortmund loses this match, their elimination will be practically confirmed!]
[That’s right. Can South Korea’s Son Jinho save Dortmund from this crisis? The match begins with the referee’s whistle!]
The match between Olympiacos and Dortmund had started.