75 – The Reason “Because They’re Friends”
075
The Bundesliga is known as one of the top four leagues in Europe, alongside the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and Italy’s Serie A.
However, the Bundesliga had many differences compared to the other four major leagues, with the most famous being the ’50+1 rule’ and the operation of 18 teams.
Unlike other leagues that typically operate with 20 teams, the Bundesliga has only 18 teams.
Having fewer participating teams means fewer matches, and naturally, the Bundesliga had fewer matches compared to other leagues, and the match schedule was more relaxed. How could the schedule be tight without many matches?
Because of this, the Bundesliga had a long winter break. Usually, the first half is played from August to early December, and the second half continues from February to mid-May the following year. And in between, there is a roughly two-month vacant period known as the winter break.
Of course, it’s not all fun and games for two whole months.
Typically, after spending about a fortnight on vacation, spring camp commences to prepare for the latter half of the season. However, compared to other leagues, the schedule is undeniably more relaxed.
Early December.
While other leagues are in the midst of a tight schedule, the Bundesliga is gearing up for the last match of the first half of the season, just before the winter break.
1860 Munich: Leipzig
Grünwalder Stadion
[1860 Munich 4-3-3]
FW: Jan Heinke / Jo Jaeshin / Stephan Buls
MF: Daniel Laut / Alan Walker / Rodel Ditz
DF: Berti Meyer / Ju Ji-tae / Helmut Focktz / Matthias
GK: Hans Zimmer
[Leipzig 3-4-3]
FW: Brian Baidu / Jerome Ongene / Mamadi Diamba
MF: Luca Steskal / Strahinja Pavlovic / Seku Boyata / Chukwuebuka Kamara
DF: Amar Tetich / Adam Ulmer / Samson Tijani
GK: Alexander Schulage
1860 Munich’s final opponent of the first half is the only representative club from the former East Germany, Wacker Sachsen, in the Bundesliga. In a league known for its strong civic spirit, Wacker Sachsen stands out as one of the most alien clubs.
Considered one of the few formidable rivals of the ‘public enemy’ Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig is also the most disliked team in the Bundesliga, with a significant amount of anti-fans.
They represent the former East Germany, but ironically, Leipzig is a club that even in East Germany receives disdain. This season, and in recent seasons, Leipzig is the only team in the Bundesliga representing the former East Germany.
One would expect some support from people in the former East Germany, but oddly, Leipzig is a club that is hated even in East Germany, representing both the East and the West. This may be due to their crafty evasion of the Bundesliga’s unique ’50+1′ rule, which prevents clubs, with few exceptions, from including corporate names in their team names. Leipzig, however, blatantly uses the name ‘RB Leipzig,’ which unmistakably refers to its actual owner, ‘Red Bull,’ officially claiming that ‘RB’ stands for ‘RasenBallsport’ (ball sports on grass), a dubious excuse that no one believes.
Repeatedly engaging in such sly tactics only nurtures anti-fans. Nevertheless, cunning or not, they are strong.
Unlike other Bundesliga teams that boast being ‘club teams,’ Leipzig, with its ‘cover your eyes and pretend not to see’ approach, proudly challenged Bayern Munich with a hefty capital. In other words, their financial strength matches their prowess.
Perhaps that’s why, or maybe due to being a club with a high anti-fan count in Germany, Leipzig’s first team squad, despite being a German league team, showcased a multinational squad that is hard to find among German players.
Especially this season was the pinnacle of the ‘multinational squad,’ with not a single German player in the starting lineup.
On the other hand, in 1860 Munich, the majority of the team was composed of Germans. Of course, Ace and his young Asian teammate were exceptions. 1860 Munich continued to field a lineup that was almost copy-paste, as always.
The only notable change was that Allen Walker, a backup member, had gradually moved up to become a regular starter. A fixed lineup provided stability and strengthened the team’s organization, but it came with disadvantages, including difficulties in maintaining morale, team spirit, and preparation for injuries or physical issues.
However, 1860 Munich was a team that, as a newly promoted side, didn’t have the burden of European competition schedules. They only had to focus on league and cup competitions. Even in cup competitions, they had been eliminated early, allowing them to concentrate primarily on the league.
In other words, with a copy-paste level starting lineup, the players had some flexibility in dealing with fatigue. Moreover, it wasn’t as if the Bundesliga was known for a tight schedule.
The only remaining issue was the potential lack of motivation among rotation players due to the fixed lineup and the pressure on the regular starters. However, this was not a concern at the moment, as Allen Walker, the backup member, was making an unexpected leap, and the team was on an unbelievable winning streak.
Of course, this alone wouldn’t solve all the problems. As they say, successful teams keep succeeding, and struggling teams continue to face challenges. A team on the rise tends to be blinded by the sweetness of victory, ignoring minor issues.
Joo Ji-tae was replaying the video of the Leipzig match in the first half of the season, aiming to conclude the year on a high note.
“Three backs… why does everyone look so familiar?”
Just like their reputation suggested, Leipzig had scouted and collected talented players from all over the world. As Joo Ji-tae watched the video of Leipzig, which was filled with players he remembered, he soon began to look around.
“Where is that guy?”
Jo Jae-shin was nowhere to be seen.
With little time left until the game, Joo Ji-tae cautiously left the locker room.
“It had to be Leipzig for a three-back system… my compatibility with Jo Jae-shin is terrible.”
No matter how well he prepared, if he approached the game as usual, he might run into trouble.
Joo Ji-tae looked around for Jo Jae-shin, with the intention of giving some advice to his struggling friend.
“Where the heck is this kid hiding? I’m tempted to just give up.”
As Joo Ji-tae was briskly walking, he heard a muffled ringing sound in his ear.
Approaching, he found Jo Jae-shin chuckling while on the phone.
“Tsk, tsk. He’s laughing like a kid.”
As the game time drew closer, Joo Ji-tae leaned against the wall and took out his phone.
“Huh? Jo Jae-shin’s in the news?”
Curiosity piqued, he sorted the news articles about Jo Jae-shin by time.
“Korea’s Scoring Machine Roars Back to Life!”
The media’s renewed interest in Jo Jae-shin started after the Bayern Munich match. After that match, Jo Jae-shin had displayed a sharper scoring sense than before, leading to increased attention.
It was as if he had never been in a slump, and after a long time, he scored in the Munich match.
“Jo Jaeshin, scoring once again! Has he broken free from the slump?”
In the next game, and the game after that, he continued to score consecutively.
“Goal, goal! Another contender joins the race for the top scorer title.”
Before they knew it, he had even become a candidate for the top scorer, so it was only natural that the attention of the media and fans was focused on him.
Joo Jitae recalled Jo Jaeshin’s records once again.
“Hmm… this is strange. Why is he suddenly performing like this?”
Foreign language proficiency, like soccer skills, doesn’t gradually improve but rather, it’s like your ears and mouth suddenly opening up, just like the way your abilities skyrocket once you become a professional.
During their youth when they were learning the fundamentals, their skills improved gradually, like an upward graph. However, when you became a pro, it was more like jumping up the stairs.
But no matter how much that might be the case, it’s hard to believe that one’s skills would suddenly increase in one moment. Even Joo Jitae, a veteran with more than 16 years of professional experience, had never seen anything like this before.
“Is he a protagonist from a boys’ comic? Suddenly realizing his potential during a game.”
Everyone knew how talented Jo Jaeshin was. After all, he had been the runner-up for the Ballon d’Or three times in his career. Ballon d’Or runner-up, mind you. It’s no exaggeration to say that he was the second-best soccer player in the world.
And that happened not just once but three times, over a period of three years.
From Noble mtl dot com
So, there was no need to emphasize how exceptional Jo Jaeshin’s talent was. That’s why, even more than anyone else in the world, Joo Jitae was confident in knowing Jo Jaeshin’s genius talent. But even Joo Jitae couldn’t have anticipated such rapid growth.
“After the A match, his pattern was analyzed, and he struggled. That’s natural. No matter how talented you are, you need experience to adapt to the professional stage. But after the Munich match, his play has become much more flexible. Why is that?”
No matter how talented someone is, growth and adaptation always require a certain amount of time. Of course, depending on the talent, that time could be reduced, but it’s impossible to eliminate it completely. That’s just an unrealistic story, something only gods of soccer could achieve.
Even if Jo Jaeshin was a genius, it’s not like he could surpass all the past greats… adapting to the professional level so quickly?
“It took me two years even in my first season to adapt to the professional stage… What’s going on? What triggered this change?”
If it were him, he should be able to figure it out on his own and overcome it by himself, but… he never expected him to overcome it this quickly.
Joo Jitae thought deeply and soon found a reasonable explanation.
“There’s no other explanation. It must be because of me. He achieved faster growth because of my influence.”
No matter how much he thought about it, that was the only answer.
Joo Jitae was convinced.
He had achieved faster growth because of his influence. He entered Europe at an earlier stage than the first season, and he debuted as a professional earlier. Under normal circumstances, it should have been more challenging to adapt.
However, by entering Europe together and debuting together, Jo Jaesin became a role model for Jo Jaesin, leading to his rapid growth.
Jo Jaesin’s ambition was something his close friend knew very well, so it was clear that he had ignited his competitive spirit.
“I seem to have received some motivation from my performance. Lately, he’s been coming in unusually late. Maybe he stayed late for some personal training.”
Ju Jitae, who had been smiling contentedly at his friend’s growth, suddenly stopped and looked at a fresh news article about Jo Jaesin that had just come out today.
『The Sun: Jo Jaesin Revealed to Be Dating an Unnamed Woman』
『Jo Jaesin, in a Relationship with an Older Blonde Beauty?』
His smile vanished in an instant.
“What…? Dating during this crucial period…?”
And with a blonde, older girlfriend?
His head started to spin.
Ju Jitae immediately clicked on the brand-new article from The Sun.
『(photo) A Stunning Woman, Lana Formel (25), Suspected to Be in a Relationship with Jo Jaesin』
He skimmed through the photos.
Blonde hair… and a notably large chest. It was incredibly large.
“Wait a minute. Why does she look familiar?”
He zoomed in on the photos.
She wasn’t just a dirty blonde; her hair was a bright shade of blonde, and she had a beautiful smile with a big chest. Her chest was really huge.
“Lana Formel… Lana Formel… Uh… Lana Formel!?”
Ju Jitae made up his mind.
“Why does this guy have to date someone like her…?”
This couldn’t be left alone.
He had to intervene.
“It’s not because I don’t want to see him dating a busty blonde. It’s purely to prevent my friend’s downfall.”
