My Girlfriend Wants Victory

---

As time swiftly passed, Jürgen Klopp and the coaching staff were consumed with thoughts on how to escape the injury crisis.

Dortmund headed towards Olympiastadion Berlin, the home ground of Hertha Berlin.

Before the players’ eyes appeared the vast stadium, which could hold around 75,000 spectators.

Just as Wembley Stadium is the heart of English football, Olympiastadion Berlin symbolizes the heart of German football and is the venue where the DFB Pokal Cup finals are held every time.

The bus carrying the Dortmund players entered the stadium.

Right before the match began, Jürgen Klopp started his locker room speech to encourage the players.

“Hertha Berlin is the only team that has beaten us at Signal Iduna Park this season.”

At Jürgen Klopp’s words, the players’ expressions instantly changed. Filled with a desire for victory, Jürgen Klopp spoke passionately.

“This time we’ve come to Hertha Berlin’s stadium! Let’s go and smash Hertha Berlin! Show them the stature of the German champions! Heja!”

“BVB!”

As soon as Jürgen Klopp finished his last words, the Dortmund players erupted in cheers.

Before long, the match began.

Currently sitting in the relegation zone, Hertha Berlin dropped back and adopted a ten-man defense against Dortmund to secure at least a draw.

There was only a 2-point difference from the 13th place in the league.

Desperate for points, Hertha Berlin grit their teeth and focused on defense, even fiercely blocking shots with their faces to protect the goal.

“Ugh—!”

“I’m not Perišić.”

“Lewandowski!”

“…Don’t change my name now.”

In such circumstances, we had several chances, but we couldn’t finish them off.

“Damn it! Block their shots with your bodies!”

Rather, just before the first half ended, a dangerous situation arose from Hertha Berlin’s counterattack.

Thud—!

“Are you out of your minds? You fools!”

Fortunately, thanks to Roman Weidenfeller’s great save, we avoided conceding, but Dortmund, rattled by Hertha Berlin’s sharp attacks, shrank back, and the first half ended without any significant incidents.

“I won’t say anything because I trust you. Fight with all your might.”

‘…Click?’

Half time ended without any special instructions or locker room speeches from Jürgen Klopp, and the second half began.

“HA HO HE Hertha BSC!”

“Ale Ale Ale oh BVB!”

In the 31st minute of the second half, as Dortmund and Hertha Berlin fiercely exchanged blows, a moment to seize victory arrived.

Sebastian Kehl shut down a Hertha Berlin attack from a counter while Marcel Schmelzer attempted an overlapping run.

‘It might be better to take a moment before passing instead of just delivering it directly.’

Schmelzer, who was active and diligent on both ends for the team, was starting to lose pace.

I imagined that if I passed straight into the space in front of Schmelzer, it wouldn’t be long before a defender blocked it.

“Kehl!”

Having made my decision, I called for Sebastian Kehl and moved to receive the ball.

It was to draw the defenders’ eyes toward me.

If Kehl had seen Schmelzer’s overlapping run, he might have made a different choice, but fortunately, he was in a position where he couldn’t see it and passed it to me directly.

With a single touch, I sent the ball into the space ahead of Marcel Schmelzer and dashed forward.

Though I lacked extraordinary pace and dribbling skills, Schmelzer, with his sharp crosses, prompted the Hertha Berlin defense to quickly close in.

Cracks began to form in the Hertha Berlin defense.

Roberto Lewandowski burrowed into the penalty box, drawing the defenders’ attention.

I swiftly cut into the space that Lewandowski had created by pulling the defenders away.

In that moment, my gaze met Schmelzer’s.

Schmelzer’s legs began to swing slowly after confirming my presence.

Was it an instinctive movement?

As I sliced into the box, I positioned my forehead perfectly against the incoming cross.

The ball, with only its trajectory altered, headed to the near post, evading the Hertha Berlin goalkeeper’s hands and shook the net.

“Hoouuuuuuuuu—!”

As soon as I scored, I sprinted towards the Dortmund away fans to celebrate.

“Ho—ou! Ho—ou! Even Bayern’s scared of him! Soon the whole world will know him! Ho! Ho! Ho! Hoou!”

The Dortmund away fans responded with a cheer song for my celebration.

‘…This feels like a mixed breed of Ronaldo’s celebration and Haaland’s chant.’

***

After Son Jinho’s goal, Hertha Berlin removed their ten-man defense to seek a consolation goal, and Dortmund easily took advantage of the exposed Hertha Berlin.

[Wooo—! Son Jinho’s forward pass leads directly to a one-on-one chance!]

[Kevin! Shoot! Goooooal—! It’s in! Kevin!! Großkreutz!! Dortmund begins to pull ahead 2-0!]

Kevin Großkreutz, receiving Son Jinho’s pass, scored another goal, ending the match at 2-0.

[Dortmund secures a solid 2-0 victory against Hertha Berlin away.]

[Son Jinho fills in for the injured Mario Götze and Shinji Kagawa, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist, earning M.O.M!]

[Jürgen Klopp speaks up about the team’s injuries. ‘It’s a tough time, but I believe the players will come together and get through it.’]

[Shinji Kagawa, returning from injury, starts in the home match against Hanover 96.]

***

League Round 23.

Dortmund vs. Hanover.

Shinji Kagawa, who returned to the pitch in just 10 days due to his rapid recovery, showcased an excellent performance.

I nodded as I watched Kagawa stir up Hanover’s defense from the front.

Definitely, when he’s here, Kagawa Shinji’s influence is palpable.

‘At this pace, he should be nominated for the second half WK.’

In order to stop the rampaging Kagawa, Hanover players spread their defensive attentions, reducing the pressure on me and making it easier to maneuver through the match.

The ball cleared by a Hanover defender hit Roberto Lewandowski and fell to me.

I passed to Kagawa Shinji, who was cutting into the half-space before the Hanover defense could regroup.

Receiving the pass, Kagawa calmly shook the net of Hanover’s goal.

With Kagawa’s return, Dortmund began with a 5-0 victory against Hanover 96, bolstered by Kagawa’s opening goal.

Dortmund also succeeded in defeating Jürgen Klopp’s former team Mainz and the Augsburg team that Gu Jachil and Cha Dongwon had joined on loan during the winter transfer market with scores of 2-0 and 1-0, respectively.

And soon, the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 approached.

Borussia Dortmund headed towards Basel in Switzerland.

***

In the match between Dortmund and Basel, there were no surprises.

[Match Over) Dortmund advances to the quarter-finals with a total score of 8-0.]

An 8-goal margin was tremendous, and Arsenal faced a similar fate.

[Arsenal eliminated in the Round of 16 with a total score of 8-2.]

└ Again Garma hahaha

└ Arsenal calls. 8282

└ lol, come to think of it, 8282 is complete lol

As it appeared that the Champions League would end without surprises.

However, the match the following day featuring Chelsea was different.

[Wowwwww—! Chelsea!! Chelsea advances! After a fierce battle that went into extra time, Chelsea succeeded in reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League!!]

The spirit of the newly appointed manager Di Matteo and the veteran players provided a miracle for Chelsea.

– Cheolmo: Ughhhhh!! Ivanović! Ivanović! Ivanović!!

– Hwang Geum-soon: Ah;; Chelsea did make it, huh;

– Maenggyeoul: Not fun.

– Hwang Geum-soon: So boring.

– Cheolmo: Sorry~ but I can’t hear what losers are saying~

Having been down 3-1 against Napoli, Chelsea turned the match around to win 5-4 and successfully reached the quarter-finals.

This was the beginning of Chelseamdunk.

***

With the conclusion of the Napoli vs. Chelsea match, all the teams advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals were finalized.

March 16, 2012

Champions League quarter-finals draw day.

[The first team drawn will play the first leg at home. First team! Borussia Dortmund!]

The Dortmund players gathered at the Dortmund club house once again.

“Please! Apoeeeel—!”

“Wow. Apoel has taken down Moscow and made it through.”

Having easily advanced to the quarter-finals by facing the weak team FC Basel, Dortmund sought the weakest team among those remaining in the quarter-finals, Apoel.

It’s human nature to prefer taking the easy road, even if it means crossing the Samaui path, isn’t it?

But perhaps justice was still alive.

[FC Barcelona.]

A great trial was placed upon Dortmund, who sought only honey.

[Breaking News) Borussia Dortmund vs FC Barcelona.]

The moment it was confirmed that Dortmund’s opponent in the Champions League quarter-finals was the FC Barcelona, considered the strongest in the world at that time.

“Mother.”

“Mother Fucker.”

“Mutter ficker.”

Everyone, regardless of race, shouted with one voice in support of Dortmund.