Field Commander - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26.

Chapter 26.

Chapter 26.

After undergoing intensive medical tests at a sports specialized hospital located in Seoul, all the officials gathered together and signed the contract.

Contract period: 2 years.

Transfer fee: 250,000 euros.

Weekly wage: 5,000 euros.

25% salary increase upon remaining in Bundesliga

1,500 euro bonus for winning Bundesliga matches

1,000 euro bonus for scoring in Bundesliga matches

800 euro bonus for assists in Bundesliga matches

…Various clauses like these were densely written on the A4 papers in tiny print.

Jung Seung-jin checked every single detail of the contract brought by Freiburg, practically dissecting it, and it took a full 2 hours from the brief greeting to stamping the seal.

There was a slight argument at the end over the contract period, but it was ultimately finalized as 2 years according to the original negotiation.

There’s something called the Bosman Rule, and Jung Seung-jin explained that the club must renew the contract before 1 year and 6 months.

Otherwise, the player would be released as a free agent and the club wouldn’t receive a transfer fee.

“Is that important?”

“Yes. Receiving wages that match your ability is very important for a professional player. It’s important for you, but it can also serve as a reference for junior players who advance overseas in the future.”

“Could troubles over the contract period interfere with playing matches?”

For me, playing matches was more important than money.

“I looked into Manager Streich a bit, and he’s absolutely not the type to abandon a talented player just because there are troubles with the club. You don’t need to worry about that. If you just show your skills, you could be called up to the first team right away, not after 3 months. But they’ll still need time to observe.”

Meaning an immediate call-up would be difficult.

After finishing the contract and receiving the plane ticket to Germany, it was late at night when I returned to the Cheongju FC Dormitory.

Now I had to pack my things and leave the next morning.

I opened the door and entered, but it was incredibly dark.

The curtains were drawn over all the windows, and all the lights were turned off.

Park Sang-il, who said it was hard for him to sleep when it was too dark.

‘Did he go out somewhere?’

I was hoping to have a final farewell conversation with him.

I reached out my hand, fumbling along the wall to find the switch.

But instead of the switch, I touched something unpleasant.

That was the moment.

The lights in the officetel building came on.

And all the players I had played with were crammed into this small room.

“…Uh…”

I made a bewildered expression, and Park Sang-il, who was standing next to the switch, covered my face with something.

“Ugh.”

I instinctively closed my eyes, but the sweet taste I felt was definitely cake.

“Where do you think you’re going, sneaking in and trying to sneak away?”

With my vision completely blocked, I heard Park Sang-il’s mischievous voice.

“Hey, when did I ever try to sneak away?”

“You snuck in late at night. Do you know how long everyone waited?”

“Oh my. My joints.”

Only after hearing Lee Soon-deok’s voice could I realize that they had all come for a farewell.

That guy really only spends time with his family outside of soccer matches.

When I roughly wiped off the cake on my face and opened my eyes, the players were smiling brightly and clapping.

Captain Seo Dong-myung approached me.

“When someone leaves a professional team, they usually leave quietly and the remaining players also send them off quietly. But we gained so much because of you that we couldn’t just let you go.”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

When the eldest Lee Soon-deok chimed in, everyone nodded.

As if I did anything particularly special…

“These are new soccer cleats like the ones you always wore, and this is the latest official ball. The players pooled their money to prepare this. Take them to Germany and use them well.”

“Uh…”

An unexpected gift…

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget this.”

I think this was the first time in my life I received such warm treatment.

“Of course, you shouldn’t forget. Even when you succeed, don’t forget us.”

“When you make the National Team, we’ll cheer hard for you.”

Na Sang-ho, who had played alongside me, said.

I couldn’t just answer “okay” to that.

They were all active soccer players too.

“Someday we should play together.”

It’s not like I’m particularly good at evaluating players, but I thought Na Sang-ho might join the National Team someday.

“Would that be possible for me too?”

Lee Soon-deok asked, and I scratched my head.

“If you happen to become a National Team coach, please take good care of me.”

“Hahaha. That’s right. Exactly!”

Lee Soon-deok, 35 years old this year.

He was still a young man in his 30s outside, but among soccer players, he was close to being a grandfather.

He planned to continue his playing career for about 1-2 more years… and after that, he had the goal of becoming a coaching staff member under Manager Park Chang-ryul.

“He has a good memory, our Sang-hyuk. And look how humble his comments are. There will be hardly anyone who dislikes you over there either. Oh, there’s nothing we can do about first impressions though.”

Laughter erupted in the officetel building at those words.

I knew it was true, so I just chuckled.

So now…

This is how we say goodbye.

* * *

Freiburg was an eco-friendly city with a very high quality of life even within Germany.

The University of Freiburg, a world-renowned prestigious university that produced numerous Nobel Prize winners, was considered one of the most beautiful universities in the world.

‘Since there are no places to have fun at night due to the beautiful natural scenery, maybe they just focused on studying?’

While on the plane to Germany, I read through the materials Jung Seung-jin had given me.

Since there were so many Asian international students in this city, it had relatively less racial discrimination compared to other German regions.

Most of Freiburg’s managers, coaches, and scouts were from this region.

Perhaps because they grew up in such an environment, it was written that there was almost no discrimination between foreign players and domestic players.

It was truly one of the best places for a soccer exchange student to step onto as their first stage.

The reason I chose Freiburg instead of Mainz was because of this point.

While youth exchange students are provided dormitories by the club, adult players aren’t given separate accommodations, but since the club pays for housing costs during the contract period, it’s not really a disadvantage.

Jung Seung-jin had already secured accommodation near the stadium, so I just needed to stay there.

He even wrote that if it was uncomfortable, I could move anytime.

My luggage consisted entirely of a few sets of clothes, soccer cleats, a soccer ball, and an old laptop.

As long as the place wasn’t too cramped to handle this luggage, and as long as there wasn’t severe noise when sleeping…

Anywhere would be fine.

The airplane seat was first class.

They said it was the club’s consideration, which meant they had high expectations for me.

Since Europeans are generally larger in build and have physical advantages over Asians on average…

I wonder if I’ll really be able to fulfill my role well…

But seeing that Jang Jin-woo has already become the top scorer this season…

It seems like it might be worth trying.

‘Just wait for me, you bastard.’

Thinking of Jang Jin-woo suddenly makes me feel energized.

Park Hong-min from Hamburg, who debuted as the youngest national team player, transferred to Tottenham in the EPL this season, so we probably won’t face each other.

‘That’s a shame. I’d like to see what kind of guy he is.’

A case of someone who went to study in Germany in middle school and became a big player there.

Since I was in Korea, I never even had a chance to see his face.

‘And I’m older than him, right?’

If someone were listening to my thoughts…

They’d think a 4th division German league player has gone crazy…

But these are my thoughts.

I turned my eyes back to the stack of papers.

Freiburg II is in the lower ranks even in the 4th division.

It’s a team that barely avoids relegation, and there’s a reason for that.

Anyone who shows promise here gets called up to the first team.

There’s no time for team chemistry to develop, so good results are impossible.

The remaining players also often transfer to other teams if they don’t get called up within two years.

Players who have played here for more than two years are extremely rare.

“The average age is 26.”

This was somewhat contrary to the fact that Freiburg has many promising prospects they’ve developed.

“A 41-year-old goalkeeper, a 39-year-old defender…”

Looking at their careers, they were all people who had played over 300 games in European first divisions.

True veterans among veterans.

– The older players in the II team are mainly substitute members, and rather than playing games, they’re people the club has brought in to develop young players. They’re scheduled to become first team coaches when the time comes. If you go there, winning their hearts first is most important. The club seems to get comprehensive information about second team players from them.

There was no information about how to win their hearts.

The only way is to face it directly.

After flipping through the materials Jung Seung-jin gave me for a while, I started feeling sleepy.

I have a window seat, but it’s pitch black outside so I can’t see anything.

‘But flying is really tiring and uncomfortable.’

The noise, this cold air…

This is my first flight…

I don’t want to take them often.

I closed my eyes briefly and organized my thoughts.

My goal is to play in the Bundesliga quickly.

Not just playing, but becoming a starter.

And becoming a national team player in the shortest time possible.

As a side goal, beating Jang Jin-woo.

* * *

“This is troublesome.”

Klaus Fichtel, who manages Freiburg’s second team, frowned, and Streich, who had received a meeting request, sat with his legs crossed.

“Why can’t you convince him?”

“He’s completely full of himself. Acting like he’s some kind of superstar.”

The conversation between the two was about a player on the Freiburg II team.

Christian Günter, who just turned 18 this year, was promoted from the youth team to Freiburg II at age 16, and last year was briefly called up to the first team by Streich, where he performed very well in the Bundesliga and helped prevent the team’s relegation.

Due to his performance in 8 games, Christian Günter was immediately selected for the German U-19 national team.

Christian Günter, who had shown potential since his youth days and signed a 5-year contract, complained about why he couldn’t play in the first team this season.

– If you have no intention of promoting me to the first team, I want to transfer.

– You’ll move up when the time comes. What’s the rush?

– I’m not at the level to play here.

Streich answered.

“I don’t think you came to see me just about that.”

“Adam heard that news.”

“Oh no.”

Adam is 39 years old this year and had played in the Bundesliga in Germany after going through Belgium and the Netherlands, then chose to continue his playing career at Freiburg II at age 35 instead of retiring.

He had such a rough and fiery personality that his teammates were afraid of him.

“It didn’t lead to violence, did it?”

“If it had… not just me, but the entire club would be in chaos. Jeff stopped it.”

Jeff was the oldest player at Freiburg II, a 41-year-old goalkeeper.

Freiburg was particularly excellent at producing promising goalkeepers, and Jeff, who had played 410 games in the Bundesliga, played a key role in that.

A player with that much influence.

He was the only player who could control Adam.

“So what do you want from me?”

“If you don’t have any particular player in mind for that position, how about taking Günter?”

The reason Günter was able to play in the Bundesliga last season was because Mayer, the starting center-back, couldn’t play due to injury.

This time he recovered well and returned, so they couldn’t include Günter in the squad.

“Try to persuade him well and make an effort to develop his skills more.”

Klaus sighed at Streich’s answer.

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do. The problem is I don’t know what that heartbroken kid might do.”

“I can use him in the first team next season, so make sure to tell him I’m watching.”

“Got it. But… about that Asian player… is he really getting called up to the first team after 3 months?”

“That’s how the contract is structured.”

“I don’t know how Günter will react.”

Klaus stood up with a bitter expression.

After he left, Streich also stood up.

‘It’ll probably be quite a stimulus.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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