My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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After Son Jinho’s uniform ceremony, Schalke’s momentum had completely shattered.

The Schalke fans, who had been singing racially charged songs, began to fall silent one by one.

Before long, the stadium was filled only with cheers from Dortmund fans.

Dortmund maintained control, and time passed quickly.

[Son Jinho intercepts the ball! Son Jinho on the left flank! He crosses it in!]

In the 68th minute, Son Jinho intercepted an opponent’s pass at the halfway line and delivered an early left-footed cross into the penalty box for Lewandowski, who was making a run.

[What a great play! Lewandowski with the header!! Goooooal─! Dortmund scores their 4th goal!!]

Lewandowski easily headed the cross that floated between the goalkeeper and a defender into the net.

It was Dortmund’s 4th goal, and Son Jinho set a new record for the most assists in a single Bundesliga season.

[Schalke’s supporters are beginning to leave the stadium!]

Angered by their terrible performance against their rivals Dortmund, the Schalke fans rose from their seats and started to exit the stadium.

Even as disappointed Schalke fans left the stands, Dortmund showed no mercy, relentlessly pushing Schalke back.

Today, they were wounded, but it still wasn’t enough to repay them for the injuries they inflicted.

[Wow, Son Jinho is really working hard out there.]

Schalke was being pushed back in midfield, thanks to Son Jinho running around like crazy.

[Son Jinho wins the second ball and passes it directly to İlkay Gündoğan!]

[İlkay Gündoğan receives the ball! A return pass to Son Jinho!]

Son Jinho, who had snatched the second ball a step ahead, exchanged one-two passes with İlkay Gündoğan to shake off the pressure.

Receiving a return pass near the penalty arc, Son Jinho swung his right foot powerfully.

Bam─!

The low and fast shot whizzed past the goalkeeper’s fingertips and shook the goal net.

[Goooooal─! It’s in! It’s in!! Son Jinho’s hat-trick!! Son Jinho’s lightning-fast long-range shot pierces Schalke’s goal net!!]

Seeing the net shake, Son Jinho kissed the emblem on his jersey and ran toward the Dortmund fans.

*

With the referee’s whistle, the long day finally came to an end.

After the match, we boarded the team bus and left the Veltins-Arena immediately, under Jürgen Klopp’s orders, without any interviews.

Since Dortmund and Schalke were not too far apart, we arrived at Brakel Training Center shortly after getting on the bus.

As the Dortmund players got into their cars to head home, I once again hitched a ride with Jürgen Klopp to return home.

“Jürgen, thanks for the ride today. See you at training tomorrow…”

Just as I was about to thank Jürgen Klopp and head inside, his voice caught my attention.

“Jinho, I’ll give you a few days off to spend time with your family. They’ll comfort your wounded heart.”

I heard Jürgen Klopp’s voice.

“Got it.”

I was about to reject Jürgen Klopp’s offer, but seeing the concern in his eyes made me nod and accept it.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, Gyeouri ran up to me and hugged me.

Gyeouri’s embrace was.

“Son Jinho, you worked hard.”

It was so warm.

*

[Dortmund, 5-0 win in the Revierderby.]

[Shocking racism occurrence at the Revierderby.]

[Angry Dortmund’s Kaiser Jinho records 3 goals and 1 assist, crushing Schalke.]

[Dortmund is not celebrating despite the big win. They leave the stadium right after the match.]

[The sweet revenge against Schalke fans who made racially charged remarks? Son Jinho lifts his jersey toward the Schalke fans during the goal celebration.]

[Dortmund’s Jürgen Klopp explodes in anger at Schalke fans who sang racist songs. “The disgusting and nauseating moment, the mere fact that we have a derby relationship with them is shameful.”]

[Schalke’s coach Huub Stevens: “Racism is a disease that eats away at football. Their actions rather demoralized the team.”]

[Gerald Asamoah: “I can’t believe the team I loved would make racist remarks.”]

[German Football Association (DFB) conducts an investigation into the racism incident at the Revierderby.]

*

As articles about racism flooded in Germany, the SNS terrorism began from Korean people who were waking up to a new day.

@S04 ★ Official

└ 卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍

└ Is this Nazi country? Is this Nazi country? Is this Nazi country?

└ 卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍卍

└ Man 卍─! Kai!

└ Keke, stop talking nonsense.

└ What does that even mean, you nerd?

└ (Image of racially insensitive meme .jpg)

In an instant, Schalke’s official SNS account became filled with Buddhist symbols.

“…We need to issue an apology soon. It seems like there are way more new comments than we can delete. Even if we block accounts, they just make new ones to comment.”

The staff managing Schalke’s official SNS burst into a nervous giggle while reporting to their team leader. The team leader could only nod after checking the SNS.

*

While Schalke’s board was drafting an apology, the DFB also received information about the racism incident that occurred during the Revierderby between Dortmund and Schalke.

“Hah…”

The DFB focused on the camera footage and recorded audio. They also checked the official letter sent from Dortmund.

It contained all the insulting remarks Son Jinho received at the Veltins-Arena.

“I can’t just ignore this…”

Under normal circumstances, it might have been brushed off as just another racist incident against an Asian player.

But Son Jinho had become a global prospect, showcasing his outstanding skills against FC Barcelona.

Moreover.

“Mr. Chairman, Korean and Japanese companies that were about to sign sponsorship contracts are expressing their concerns over this racist incident.”

Since the entries of Son Jinho and Shinji Kagawa, the rapidly growing broadcasting rights fees could plummet if things went wrong.

“We’ll forward the contents of the letter and audio to Schalke directly.”

The DFB decided to take unprecedented measures.

*

While I was taking a break, many things unfolded.

[Jürgen Klopp asking fans for support. “We need the fans’ help for Jinho, who has been wounded in heart.”]

[Ki Sung-yueng: “Racism is unacceptable for any reason.”]

[Mino Raiola, furious over Son Jinho’s racism. “Racism is synonymous with ignorance. No one can justify racism.”]

[Alex Ferguson speaks out about racism, “We should learn from what happened in Germany and think again about our views on racism.”]

The comforting words from football personalities who had regarded me well began with Jürgen Klopp.

– Jinho, as a member of the German public, I apologize for the wounds you’ve suffered. I am truly sorry.

German media extensively covered the incident.

[DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach officially states: “This must never happen again.”]

In light of the ongoing controversy, DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach visited the Dortmund Brakel Training Center to apologize and promise to prevent a recurrence.

[Schalke’s official SNS: “We apologize to Jinho, who has been harmed, and to Korean fans. We will identify those involved in racism and ensure they are punished. They are no longer fans of Schalke.”]

Schalke announced it would not only publicly apologize but also issue strict punishments.

[Schalke host Helmut Dietz personally called Dortmund’s Hans-Joachim Watzke and Son Jinho to deliver his apologies.]

Moreover, Schalke’s Jochen Schneider called me directly alongside Watzke to apologize.

I accepted Schalke’s Director’s apology.

To be honest, I never imagined they would act so proactively to apologize and promise to prevent a recurrence.

Considering how they’d typically responded to racism in the past, their current actions were quite surprising.

It was an act to evade severe penalties, but Schalke formally apologized for the racism.

As a result, DFB decided to impose a penalty by closing the northern curve (Veltins Nordkurve) at the Veltins-Arena for two matches.

“Partial closure of the stadium, huh?”

I was taken aback by the stringent punishment.

Just as Dortmund took pride in their South Stand (Südtribüne), Schalke took pride in their northern curve.

Closing this section would significantly sacrifice the club’s revenue.

[DFB’s official statement: “Schalke issued an immediate apology regarding the racism incident, and the punishment was eased with the agreement of victim Jinho.”]

In fact, it had initially been a five-match closure, which showed how seriously the DFB regarded this racism incident.

[Schalke accepts the penalties. “Once again, we extend our apologies to those harmed by racism.”]

And amazingly, Schalke accepted the penalties set forth by the DFB with calmness.

*

[The main culprits receive a lifetime ban from sports venues and a fine of €4,500 (around 6.13 million KRW).]

*

April 21, 2012.

– Jinho, could you possibly watch the game from the stands?

Taking a break, I visited Signal Iduna Park with my family at the request of Dortmund.

Our family was guided by a club staff member to the VIP stands.

Just before the match against Mönchengladbach began.

Dortmund held various anti-racism campaigns.

“You’ll never walk alone!”

As the 10th minute passed (my jersey number), Dortmund’s home fans began to sing their support.

And a card section with messages to cheer me on unfolded in the Südtribüne.

“Wow… that’s amazing.”

While Gyeouri exclaimed in admiration at the sight, I couldn’t smile at the affection of the Dortmund home crowd.

‘…If I transfer, won’t I get shot?’

Germany was a country that allowed gun possession.