My Girlfriend Wants Victory

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**July 5, 2010, Monday.**

During the time when South Korea reached the round of 16 for the first time ever, the heat of the World Cup was still palpable.

I proudly had my name on the list for the U-19 national team training.

– Han Gyeouri: “Hey, Son Jinho, you got a banner again, lol.”

And once again, the banner was hung in front of the school gate.

Well, it was familiar to me.

I had experienced this a few times in my past life.

– Han Gyeouri: “Pride of Geumsun High School and the future captain of Arsenal, Son Jinho. Called up to the South Korea U-19 national team!”

– Han Gyeouri: “But if you don’t make the final list, that’ll be embarrassing, lol.”

However, Gyeouri seemed amazed that my name was hanging at the school gate. She sent me a photo posing with a V in front of the banner.

I saved Gyeouri’s photo on my smartphone and replied.

– Son Ho-woo: “You don’t have to worry; that won’t happen, hehe.”

– Son Ho-woo: “By the way, you look even prettier today.”

Hmm. That’s strange.

Clearly, the ‘1’ had disappeared. Why was there no reply? It wasn’t until that evening that I figured out what had happened to Gyeouri.

– Mother-in-law: “ㅠㅠ Jinho, it’s me, Gyeouri! ㅠㅠ I got my phone taken away by my friend ㅠㅠ Sorry for not replying, ㅠㅠ”

***

The U-19 national team roster hadn’t changed much since the last time I saw it.

‘Sigh… it feels a bit empty without Dongwon Tuna.’

Except for the absence of Dongwon Tuna, who had been called up to the U-23 national team.

Anyway, on the day of the assembly.

The U-19 youth national team players only went through light training and then, for some reason, gathered in my room during the social meeting despite Dongwon Tuna’s absence.

“So, scouts from Dortmund and Swansea are coming to see you?”

I answered calmly to Jo Hyun-soo, who was looking at me enviously.

“Yeah. The association provided a good opportunity.”

He might become a star player known as “Light Hyun-soo,” but for now, he was the second goalkeeper behind Labor.

“Wow….”

I pondered as I watched Hyun-soo exclaim. What can I say? It was a bit of a strange feeling.

Meeting the faces I had seen in the senior national team again at such a young age, and the main players from the youth days were gone from the national team list while the substitutes kept appearing in the senior team was quite fascinating.

While I was feeling a peculiar sense of déjà vu about my return, the older guys bombarded me with questions.

“By the way, where’s Swansea? I haven’t heard of them in the EPL.”

“They’re a second-division team. Their home base is in Wales.”

At this time, Swansea City hadn’t been promoted to the Premier League, and since it was during the period when Ki Sung-yueng was playing at Celtic, it wasn’t a well-known club in Korea. Even the president of the Korea Football Association didn’t seem to know they were a British team.

“Huh? Since it’s Wales, why aren’t they playing in the English League?”

“Because it’s the same Commonwealth, you ignorant fool.”

“No, Scotland has its own league. Fool. Baby brother. Does Wales not have a football league?”

Center-back Lee Tae-beom spoke, and I explained with a kind expression like a tutor.

“Wales is more interested in rugby than football, so the professional league was established only in 1992. Therefore, Swansea had been sticking with the EPL all this time.”

Seeing my expression, Tae-beom nodded reluctantly.

“Ah… I see. By the way, did your team coach allow that? Back in my day, the coach would change the kids’ positions and prevent them from studying abroad.”

“Yeah. In fact, he actively helps with my overseas studies and suggests ideas.”

“Hmm… Your team coach is quite unique.”

I nodded.

Gi-hyun Choi is indeed unique.

“Hey… don’t forget what I said before, baby brother. If I don’t get a call on the holiday, I’ll definitely post about how you changed after getting famous.”

I put on a serious face towards the joking older brothers.

“Everyone should work hard on the field. It’s not just about me; anyone can grab the scouts’ attention. Who knows? You could catch a scout’s eye and go abroad?”

As soon as I finished speaking, several gazes in the room changed. While some players seemed to listen disinterestedly,

That’s out of my control. Everyone has their own dreams to fulfill.

Anyway, while I looked at several players who were igniting their determination, a satisfied smile spread across my face.

“…But why does this guy speak so casually?”

Forward Lee Hojong pointed out the uncomfortable truth, and unlike before, most of the gazes turned sharply.

It was natural.

I got caught.

“Actually, I’m older than you guys.”

I pointed at the tense older brothers with my finger. As a result, the stale Confucianism got forcibly injected.

***

Time passed, and the day to fly to Vietnam approached.

This time, all the summoned players of the U-19 national team could head to Vietnam, unlike last time.

‘Is it because the plane ticket is cheaper?’

Honestly, I don’t know why. Head coach Han Gwangjong might have strongly argued with the association considering the players’ morale. Or it might genuinely be cheaper to fly to Vietnam than to the UAE.

Well, thanks to that, the atmosphere among the players at the Paju NFC was not bad. The players weren’t overly intense during training, but they weren’t slacking off either.

The substitute players trained desperately to catch the coach’s eye to start, while the starters participated in the training more diligently so that the substitutes wouldn’t take their spots.

That said, the little kids could not take my starting spot. Well. Someday, there should be rewards for effort, right?

“Don’t cry thinking about your noona! And don’t chicken out just because scouts are around!”

Anyway, I headed to Vietnam, waving goodbye to Gyeouri, who had just started her summer vacation.

***

July 24, Saturday.

Vietnam, Thong Nat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh.

“At least my competing team is a Championship team, so that’s a relief.”

Jork Frei, a scout from Dortmund who visited the stadium to see Son Jinho, muttered with a sour expression as he looked at the white scout from Swansea City in the stands.

“How did Dortmund end up like this?”

Jork Frei reminisced about the past.

In the 1990s, Dortmund rose up as Bayern’s rival due to its success. However, the club’s management attempted to go public as the first German club, leading to drastic investments to pump up stock value that resulted in financial difficulties after being eliminated from the Champions League.

Eventually, Dortmund had to sell its home stadium and cut all player wages by 20%. As a result, the players who shared the glory of the 1990s left, and Dortmund even had to borrow money from Bayern Munich.

Just four years ago, Dortmund was a club worried about bankruptcy or relegation.

‘If he shows even half of what was shown in the video, we’ll definitely bring him in.’

While Klopp said he would be an immediate requirement, it didn’t matter if he wasn’t. To play in the Bundesliga, you need to be at least 16 years and 6 months old. That’s another year to go. Assuming the skills shown in the video are real, giving him a year of honing would make it reasonable to assume he could play first-team football.

“Or, we could consider narrowing the existing restrictions to exactly 16 years with DFL.”

While Jork Frei mumbled to himself, the game continued, and as he watched Son Jinho intercept an Australian pass and deliver a slicing pass to the frontline, the scout from Dortmund felt his heart racing.

“I’m so grateful there are no Schalke guys here.”

***

Meanwhile, at that time.

Choi Gi-hyun, who was watching the broadcast, marveled at the slicing pass while lighting a cigarette.

“Wow… That kid has no limits.”

His coaching career wasn’t that long, but after over 20 years of making a living from football, he felt he had a rough idea of how big that player would be.

Yet, there was no such feeling from Son Jinho.

Which footballer would flawlessly memorize the latest tactical trends?

‘That kid is one of two types.’

He’s either crazy about football, or he’s someone who has lived life twice and came back from the future.

But honestly, does the latter even make sense?

If he had come from the future, he would have become a legendary investor by now. Who would still be playing football?

‘Well, if he really came from the future and is playing football, he must be crazy about it.’

So, anyway, that guy is definitely crazy about football. Probably falls into the category of what they commonly call madmen.

Of course, that doesn’t have a bad connotation.

After all, it’s these non-conformists—often called lunatics in society—who have changed the world.

“I’m here to convey good words.”

Gi-hyun recalled Son Jinho, who came by in the early morning to talk about tactics. The glint in his eyes resembled the madmen from historical records.

‘Haven’t the previous coaches all caused problems or neglected the kids? Personally, I wish that Choi Gi-hyun, who knows Son Jinho the best, could join and take care of him.’

Taking a slow drag of his cigarette, Coach Gi-hyun thought of the association chairman’s words. Give up everything he had achieved and go to Germany? That’s easier said than done. Who would willingly say, “Yes! I understand!”?

“Park Jisong… no, since it’s Germany, a coach who can find and care for a player who surpasses Cha Bum-kun? It’s me.”

But strangely, Gi-hyun wanted to walk that path. Perhaps, it was because he had been a player who should have remained nameless, so he felt vicarious satisfaction watching his disciple shine on the field.

‘Sigh… Do I have to study German again?’

During my playing days, my head was filled with dreams of surpassing Cha Bum-kun, and it felt regrettable to have studied German blindly.

– Woohoo─!

Anyway, watching Son Jinho score and celebrate, Gi-hyun smiled widely as he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“Phew. They say secondhand smoke is bad for you.”

For the future of South Korean football, I could quit smoking.

And not long after, Gi-hyun regretted it.

‘…Ah, I should have just smoked that.’