My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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*
Before the match between Olympiacos and Dortmund in the Champions League.

As I stepped onto the ground, I slowly glanced around Signal Iduna Park.

“Borussia! Borussia! Borussia!”

Even though Dortmund had poor performances in the Champions League, the support from the crowd was still passionate.

‘About 15,000 seats are empty….’

But strangely, my gaze kept drifting towards the empty stands.

Was it because I had always seen the stands packed without a spare space? The emptiness felt surprisingly unfamiliar and tugged at my heartstrings.

Perhaps it meant that Dortmund fans had given up their hopes for the Champions League.

“Captain, sorry, but can I speak instead?”

I cautiously asked Sebastian Kehl, who was about to start a speech in a huddle.

Honestly, it’s pretty rare to see a rookie jump in while the captain is trying to address the team, no matter if it’s in the East or West.

Even if there might be cultural differences, Europe has its own hierarchy too.

I half-expected that I might get a scolding from the veterans, including Sebastian Kehl.

After all, what I was doing could be seen as undermining the team’s discipline.

But fortunately, Sebastian Kehl, the captain who would later follow in the footsteps of Michael Zorc to become Dortmund’s manager, gazed at me for a moment and nodded, willingly conceding the floor.

“Our little captain has something to say instead of me, so everyone, open your ears and listen up!”

As soon as Kehl’s words ended, all the players’ eyes turned toward me.

If I were a younger player, I might have stammered under the pressure.

But facing the players’ stares calmly, I slowly opened my mouth.

Despite being in a different league, I too had once been the captain of a team.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t mind being knocked out of the Champions League. It’s all good since I’m still young and have plenty of opportunities, right? But our captain definitely doesn’t think like that.”

“…Is that revenge for calling you little captain earlier?”

“Old captain, our little captain is speaking, so shut it!”

Roman Weidenfeller, just six months younger than Sebastian Kehl, sparked laughter among the players.

“Ahem….”

I too burst out laughing before clearing my throat, trying to refocus the team.

“Last season, we declared Dortmund’s resurgence to all of Germany by winning the Bundesliga. Am I right?”

From Robert Lewandowski, who had taken the striker position ahead of Lucas Barrios last season, to Roman Weidenfeller, the guardian angel of Dortmund, the pride of being German Champions began showing on the faces of the Dortmund players.

“So this time, let’s let Europe know! Dortmund is back, ready to take on Bayern Munich!”

“We’re going to instill some hope in Dortmund fans about the Champions League! So let’s fill those empty seats over there again! Heja!”

“BVB!”

The speech concluded, and everyone began applauding and encouraging one another.

“Jinho, but that’s the away section, right? Were you confused?”

Ivan Perišić remarked with a puzzled expression.

‘Ah, so that’s why it was empty.’

Equipped with this new knowledge, I stepped on Perišić’s foot to silence him, as he was completely missing the mood.

“Ow! My foot! Jinho, you jerk!”

Suddenly, fluent Korean swearing burst from Perišić’s mouth.

“I told you that’s a bad word.”

I sighed softly at his endearing curse.

I had taught him some greetings and curses in Korean, and it turned out he approached any Asian person he saw, greeting them with “Hello, you jerk.”

‘…What a crazy guy.’

No doubt, this guy was out of his mind.

*

[Title: Hey, no matter how I hear it, this sounds like a curse. Did I mishear it? Or is there such a saying in Croatia or Germany?]

(When I said I was Korean, Ivan Perišić cheerfully greeted me as we left the training ground .avi)

└ LOL, hello you jerkㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Sounds like Korean? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Why does it feel like the culprit is being pinpointed? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ I’m just pointing out the obvious, there’s only one Korean in Dortmund.

└ Wow, are you really taking this seriously? Got no friends, huh?

└ Comment reported.

└ Did I hit a nerve? Dropping some verbal heat now ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Haha, did you really not have any friends? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ But Mario Götze cursed the other day too.

└ What on earth are they teaching at Dortmund? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Isn’t this a character issue with Son Jinho? There are plenty of good words, why teach swearing instead?

└ You can’t judge character over this. My brother’s close friends with Perišić; we even eat together outside of the team.

└ It reminds me of when some kids along with Park Jisung got called idiots for getting him to say, “I’m a fool,” to Evra.

└ You’re close with him? That sounds pretty mismatched though.

└ Apparently, my brother gave him a nickname first, and they became buddies.

└ Wow, my brother really shines in popularity, huh?

└ So what’s Perišić’s nickname then?

└ Aoo!

└ Why are you suddenly getting angry?!

└ No, the nickname is Aoo! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Look at how quickly he swears ㅋㅋ

└ Didn’t you learn about netiquette at school? Your mouth is so crude.

└ Aoo? Why Aoo?

└ If you miss a pass, he yells Aoo! Perišić! or something. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ No way, is it really that ‘Aoo!’? ㅋㅋ

└ The only Aoo I know is Aoo! Lee So-ra….

└ Oh? The match is starting.

└ LOL, ignoring Manchester United Doctor’s rotten jokes as expected ㅋㅋ

└ That’s too much….

└ The too much bit was your rude comments.

└ Wow! Son Jinho’s pass was insane!

└ Aoo! Perišić! How can you miss that!

└ Aoo! So that’s why my brother named him ‘Aoo.’ I get it now.

└ LOL, Perišić actually swearing in Korean over not scoring a goal is hilarious.

*

Olympiacos, just like Dortmund, came out with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Although they called it 4-2-3-1, it was a pretty defensive tactic, closer to 4-4-2.

Unlike Dortmund, who desperately needed to win this match to secure their spot in the Champions League Round of 16, Olympiacos had already accumulated points well in Group F, so they had no need to rush.

From Olympiacos’ perspective, just gaining a point at Signal Iduna Park, famously known as the graveyard for visiting teams, was already a win-win situation.

And if they were lucky, they might land a counter-punch victory.

Of course, pulling off that counter-punch also required a decent skill set, but Olympiacos had a status similar to Bayern Munich in the Greek league.

They were a team tough to disregard.

Despite understanding Olympiacos’ strategy, Dortmund had no choice but to push their line higher.

[Son Jinho’s pass! Shinji Kagawa returns it cleanly to Lewandowski with a one-touch!]

Dortmund fiercely pressed Olympiacos to take the lead.

[Lewandowski!! Ah!! A super save from Mežeri!]

Although Lewandowski’s shot was unfortunately blocked by the goalkeeper…

“Gut! Leva!”

“It’s okay! Just put the next one in!”

Dortmund players encouraged each other with applause instead of passing blame.

[Ah! Olympiacos! A pass miss occurs!]

Thanks to Lewandowski’s high press, the ball goes to Son Jinho.

[Son Jinho shoots!! Ah! Just barely misses the net.]

Son Jinho’s surprise long-range shot narrowly sailed over the Olympiacos goal.

[Having moved up to the second striker position, Son Jinho shoots and quickly heads back to defend.]

[Son Jinho is showcasing an incredible work rate! Defense or attack! He’s literally all over the pitch!]

[Before receiving a 3-week break, Son Jinho was the leading scorer at Dortmund, right? I really hope he can score in this match.]

[Yes, apparently his play style and decisiveness have led people in Germany to even call him the reincarnation of Lothar Matthäus.]

As the game continued into the 35th minute of the first half.

Receiving the ball from Mario Götze, who played as an attacking midfielder, Son Jinho delivered a pass into the oncoming Ivan Perišić on the flank.

[Son Jinho! Passes to Perišić! Perišić is running fast!]

[Perišić delivers a ground cross!]

Just as Perišić’s ground cross was expected to be cleared by an Olympiacos defender…

[Waaaah! It’s in! Son Jinho scores his second goal in the Champions League!! Dortmund dramatically scores!!]

The suddenly emerging Son Jinho managed to touch the ball right before the defender cleared it, successfully shaking the net for Olympiacos.

[Seizing the moment when the attention of the Olympiacos players was on Ivan Perišić and Lewandowski, Son Jinho swiftly penetrated the penalty box and shook the net! Wow! It’s a stealthy and lethal movement like an assassin!]

After scoring, Son Jinho sprinted towards the home fans for a celebration after a long time.

“Hoowwwwwww─!!

The moment Signal Iduna Park became one with the roar of the crowd.