My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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The match against Mönchengladbach ended with Dortmund’s victory, 3-1.

“Heja BVB, Heja BVB, Heja, Heja, Heja BVB”

The cheers of jubilant home fans echoed through Signal Iduna Park.

Thanks to my frequent visits to Signal Iduna Park, Han Gyeouri and my mother-in-law sang along with familiarity.

“Jürgen Klopp!”

I could see the young Jürgen Klopp passionately greeting the players on the ground.

Suddenly, I remembered Jürgen Klopp announcing his resignation in 2024.

Unlike that time when he looked worn out and battered by life, the current Jürgen Klopp was bursting with energy.

In fact, the job of a coach consumes a lot of energy in many ways.

The pressure of wins and losses, along with the stress from excessive work, is beyond imagination.

Not to mention, the “football professor” Ralph Rangnick from Schalke during the 11-12 season also resigned due to burnout.

Fortunately, Rangnick has since improved and moved on to become a sports director.

Well, anyway.

There are coaches who consistently produce results while managing the same team for decades amidst stress and heavy workloads.

But those people are special.

“After all, Ferguson and Wenger are legends for a reason.”

It’s fair to say their mindset is different from the average person.

“Or, they are like coaches who watch matches with a smile even after conceding a goal without stress.”

This too can be regarded as a unique mindset.

Regardless, after the match ended, articles about the event prepared by Dortmund fans poured in.

[Dortmund, spreading the anti-racism campaign.]

[Jürgen Klopp: “I hope today’s event brought Jinho some comfort.”]

[“10-minute cheer in the number 10 jersey” – A voluntary event by Dortmund fans to comfort Son Jinho!]

[Dortmund fan: “Gino is a fantastic player. He’ll leave Dortmund someday, but I hope he takes more happy memories than painful ones.”]

[Overwhelming jersey sales for Son Jinho? A massive influx of jersey orders alongside the anti-racism movement.]

[The birth of a global sports star? Son Jinho achieves first place in Dortmund jersey sales.]

As this was the first match following the racism incident during the Revier derby, the media’s attention was unparalleled, resulting in articles from around the globe.

@Jinho10

“Thank you for all the support you sent. It helped me a lot. Heja BVB!”

I wrote a gratitude post to the fans on social media. After carefully composing the post, it went up, and immediately, messages of support flooded in from around the world.

“There are a lot of Japanese people.”

Strangely, most of the comforting comments on my SNS account were from Japanese users, not Koreans.

“Did the Koreans go terrorize Schalke’s SNS instead?”

It seems the Koreans, with the activation of SNS, have broadened their battlefields and become that much busier.

Terrorizing SNS and playing games while feeling concerned about their parents—this must be the satirical and humorous folk play of the Korean people.

I silently prayed for their victory. If losing makes one a fool, then it’s better to be a victorious fool.

Anyway, following Schalke’s racism incident, anti-racism campaigns have continued among clubs with Asian players or those trying to break into the Asian market.

[“God of Football” Lionel Messi defies racism by showcasing Son Jinho’s jersey celebration in El Clásico.]

└ This guy slits his eyes for a celebration, yet suddenly opposes racism?

└ He seems to be fine with Son Jinho, so I guess he doesn’t discriminate.

“My” jersey celebration became a symbol of the anti-racism movement.

[Lionel Messi praises Son Jinho: “He’s someone I would love to play with on the same team someday.”]

└ Woohooo─!! From now on, Lionel Messi declares himself one with the Ho-woo gallery!!!!!

└ Recognized by the god of football, a great woo-hoo!!

└ From now on, the green portal football news will be taken over by the Ho-woo gallery!

└ Woohooo─!

└ Ho-woo villain, come on over.

*

Time flew by.

Chelsea, with their cloth defense, defeated FC Barcelona and reached the Champions League final.

The most impressive scene in the Champions League semifinals was, undeniably, Fernando Torres’ 90 billion one-time goal.

In the 80th minute, the 90 billion man, Fernando Torres, entered the field, substituting Didier Drogba.

[Fernando Torres, who transferred from Liverpool to Chelsea, repays his transfer fee of 90 billion with a single goal!!]

He scored a decisive goal, catching Barcelona off-guard just before the end of the match by receiving a pass from Ashley Cole against their all-out attack.

“Torres! Torres! Torres! I believed in you!!”

Looking anxious as she watched FC Barcelona constantly knock on the goal, my mother-in-law, Hwang Mi-yeon, that day, screamed Torres’ name loudly, shaking the neighborhood.

“Torres─!”

“Ah! Mom! Quiet down!”

It was a bit awkward to use the expression “screamed” for my mother-in-law, but no more accurate description could be made.

– “Hey! What’s wrong with you, Torres! You couldn’t score that!!!”

Completely shedding the goalkeeper with a flailing leg but failing to score, her shift in attitude was a complete 180 from when she harshly condemned him as “Torres the worthless.”

“Is it Chelamdunk…?”

I gazed at the screaming mother-in-law and Han Gyeouri, who was covering her ears, and suddenly felt regret about the quarterfinal match against Barcelona.

If Dortmund had a player who could repay 90 billion all at once, wouldn’t the results have been different?

If so, the possibility of a treble could have existed.

As I swallowed my disappointment inwardly,

“Anyone would think you don’t have a single Champions trophy.”

Han Gyeouri’s provocation toward my mother-in-law continued.

“Ah. Right?”

“You, you brat!”

“Ah! That stings!!”

For a while, while teasing my mother-in-law, Han Gyeouri was thrilled by her mother-in-law’s loving slap.

*

The league semifinal against Freiburg ended, and a week passed.

“Berlin! Berlin! Wir fahren nach Berlin! (Berlin! Berlin! We are going to Berlin!)”

Dortmund headed to Olympiastadion Berlin, the home ground of Hertha Berlin, where the DFB Pokal final would unfold.