Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 100

100: Here and Now

Riding the momentum from the Sparta Prague victory, they brought the promoted team Bournemouth to Turf Moor in the 6th round of the Premier League and won 1-0.

Then, in Sweden, they played their long-awaited first European away game against IFK Norrköping and won again 1-0.

Although the matches were thrilling with only a one-goal difference, Burnley was steadily accumulating victories.

The problem was that, throughout August and September, teams facing Burnley began to sit back even more defensively than they had last season.

Unless they had an overwhelming difference in power like Manchester City, or charged in aggressively to win like Aston Villa, they would lock down their penalty box and start the game.

Thanks to this, it was taking longer than expected to break through their defenses and score goals against them.

And in the meantime, the fatigue of Burnley’s players was increasing.

On the surface, they seemed to be on a winning streak, but against Bournemouth, Nicolas Seiwald scored a mid-range shot in the 72nd minute of the second half, and against IFK Norrköping, Wout Weghorst earned a penalty in extra time of the second half and successfully converted it, scoring the only goal.

In the second half of the season, teams desperate for points would become more aggressive from the start of the game, but for now, they seemed content with even one point, prioritizing defending their penalty box.

Various tactical options were floating in Hyungmin and Karolina’s minds, but due to the fear of weakening their already fragile organization, they couldn’t even start the process of embodying forms outside the 4-3-3 formation through training.

Of course, thanks to this damn schedule from September to November, they honestly didn’t have enough time for proper tactical training.

“Should we increase video analysis instead…?”

Karolina, who was sitting on the opposite side of the conference room analyzing game data for their next opponent, Southampton, raised her head at Hyungmin’s grumble.

“What was that?”

“No… I was thinking, since there’s not enough time for training, should we increase video training instead?”

Even now, after each game, they analyze and show the players scenes where problems occurred or good moments, and in the tactical analysis before the next game, they show scenes of the opposing team.

What Hyungmin was talking about was increasing the players’ familiarity with new formations or tactics through video training, beyond those things.

“You don’t really like training with just video, do you?”

“I don’t like it. The game is played with the body, so we can’t just keep training with our eyes and head.”

“But?”

“But there’s not enough time…”

Karolina shrugged at Hyungmin’s sigh.

“Like I said, everyone in Burnley, even the fans wandering around town, expected the team’s organization to be at its worst this season.”

“I know. I know, but the manager can’t just give up and do nothing.”

Karolina frowned, knowing that the already thin manager would become even thinner after a nail-biting one-goal victory.

“Hyungmin, you can’t do everything. You’re not a wizard. You can’t just hold a specially treated wooden stick and shout the magic spell ‘Wingardium Leviosa’ [a spell from Harry Potter that makes objects float] to float Burnley into the sky.”

“Hmm…”

Karolina, looking at Hyungmin with a look that said he wished he could, glanced at the closed conference room door and carefully asked Hyungmin.

“Honestly, Burnley has more restrictions than a typical small to medium-sized club. You’re doing really well considering that. Why don’t you leave Burnley and go to a bigger club? You should be getting offers soon, right?”

She shrugged at Hyungmin, who was looking at Karolina with a bewildered expression.

“You don’t have to stay at Burnley forever. You can leave someday.”

“Well, yes, but… I didn’t choose Burnley.”

“…?”

“We chose each other.”

Hyungmin gave a rare smile to Karolina, who was making a dumbfounded expression.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you make that face.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hyungmin sighed lightly at his friend, who was quickly managing her expression and demanding an explanation with a snort.

“Around this time last year, I was a youth coach at RB Salzburg. Not a manager, but a coach.”

“Hmm… Strictly speaking, it’s September now, so last September would be after you were officially appointed as the manager of Burnley, right? But I understand what you’re trying to say.”

Karolina chuckled at Hyungmin’s expression, which was becoming increasingly annoyed at her nitpicking, and gestured for him to continue.

“You know, I was a youth coach, not a youth manager. Of course, I learned a lot and was treated well at Red Bull, but I didn’t really have any authority.”

“But Burnley appointed you as a youth manager, brought you up to the first team, and even made you the first team manager, so you have to keep your loyalty?”

Hyungmin shook his head at Karolina’s question.

“If you ask if I have no loyalty at all, I would say no, but we’re professionals. Professionals always talk with results… Of course, I’m grateful for the opportunity, but I think I’ve shown some results that match the given opportunity.”

“‘Some’ is leading a team that was expected to be relegated to the Europa League [a European football competition]? I’m excited to see what happens if I get a lot out of you.”

Hyungmin chuckled along with Karolina.

“So, Burnley and I are in a relationship of mutual benefit. Burnley has a manager and coaching staff that somehow manage to produce results despite difficult financial situations. Conversely, I have received much more authority and command than my experience or age would suggest, while being relatively free from the pressure of results.”

Tactics as I please, player selection as I please, training as I please.

The manager is more sensitive to the game results, but the board and fans are honestly very satisfied.

Honestly, unless Burnley gets relegated, I won’t be fired. You know that, right?” Hyungmin concluded.

Karolina looked at Hyungmin with a renewed gaze.

“Hey, you just now… That was a pretty accurate assessment of the situation for someone as timid and with low self-esteem as you?”

“Timid and with low self-esteem?”

“Ah, seeing you get hung up on useless things, you’re definitely timid and have low self-esteem.”

“Ugh!”

He had tried so hard to reveal the truth hidden deep in his heart, but she was just teasing him.

Ignoring the annoyed Hyungmin, Karolina nodded.

“Well, honestly, with your status at Burnley, you don’t have to worry about being fired. Jonathan is a very capable football director, and your opinions are fully reflected in player recruitment and releases. It’s not easy to do that at a big club.”

Even in groups operated by experts like the Red Bull Football Group, there are times when internal political conflicts and conflicts of interest arise.

And in the Premier League, where almost all clubs are privately owned, the owner’s influence is inevitable, and the pressure to perform is always present.

Moreover, the bigger the club, the shorter the patience of the club’s executives and fans, and they demand victory in every game.

Even the top clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona are not satisfied with simple victories, and if they fail to deliver overwhelming victories through beautiful football, they can be fired in the season they win the league.

“So, how long will it last? This beautiful partnership?”

Hyungmin shrugged at Karolina’s question.

“Wouldn’t it be the moment when one of us chooses not to continue the partnership? Either I can no longer produce results…”

“…Or?”

“…Or Burnley can no longer give me what I want? Or I’m no longer satisfied with Burnley?”

Hyungmin explained, tilting his head as if he didn’t know exactly himself.

“Not now, then.”

“Not now.”

Hyungmin looked around his office.

This room, which was originally the office of former manager Sean Dyche, had become a familiar and comfortable space for Hyungmin.

It was only a year ago that he was sitting across from Arthur at a narrow desk in the youth director’s office, which was a converted warehouse at the Barnfield Training Centre, discussing the youth players while unfolding a folding chair.

Hyungmin muttered, looking at the two Manager of the Month awards that Arthur had insisted on displaying by the office window.

“But I’m curious, though.”

“About what?”

“How far I can take Burnley.”

***

Burnley Dorm (Temporary).

To be exact, it’s no longer temporary, nor is it a dorm exclusively for loan players.

Karim Adeyemi, who was fully signed by Burnley and signed a formal contract, but stayed because he was too lazy to move out and find a new place to live.

Nicolas Seiwald, who stayed right next to him because he liked being right next to the training ground.

Nico Gonzalez, who originally had a room in the dorm and had the official qualifications to reside there since he was actually a loan player.

Benjamin Šeško and Luka Sučić, who joined from RB Salzburg on a permanent transfer, but moved into the dorm without thinking when they saw that Karim Adeyemi and Nicolas Seiwald, who had arrived earlier, were all staying in the dorm.

Cristian Medina, who came from faraway Argentina and moved into the dorm at the recommendation of the coaching staff, who thought it would be good for him to share a dorm with other teammates until he adapted to England.

Mika Mármol, a permanent transfer from Barcelona who was naturally brought in by loan player Nico Gonzalez.

And even Tommaso Pobega, a true loan player, and Joe Gelhardt, who moved into the dorm because he was too lazy to commute from Leeds, which was an hour away during his loan period.

Fortunately, if it weren’t for the so-called ‘middle-class’ players such as Sebastian Szymański, Anel Ahmedhodžić, Jamal Lewis, and Guðmundur Guðmundsson, who shook their heads after seeing the state of the dorm just once and used their experience from their longer professional careers to find their own homes, the rooms in the endlessly connected hallway would have finally been filled.

Adding Dwight McNeil and Nathan Collins, who often came to visit when they were bored, the dorm was always crowded with as many as 11 players, like a constant team-building event.

“Ah, get out of the way!”

As if the sofa in front of the TV was too narrow, the giant Benjamin Šeško elbowed Mika Mármol, who was sitting next to him, and subtly touched the controller he was holding.

“Referee! Foul! Player interference!”

Mika Mármol, who missed a crucial shot due to a mistake in operation thanks to the elbow that came in from the side at a critical moment, shouted in a thick Spanish accent, but Burnley’s upright man Nicolas Seiwald just shrugged.

“That level of contact is just an advantage in the Premier League, Mika.”

“This is FXFA though?!”

“Hmm… Then Burnley house rules?”

“There’s no such thing?!”

During the summer break, the club made several improvements to the dorm (temporary) at the strong insistence of Hyungmin and the first team coaching staff, especially fitness coach Paulo Morais and team doctor Simon Morris.

The living room, which had been expanded by tearing down the walls to the garden where weeds were indiscriminately spreading, and filled with proper IKEA furniture to make it a more habitable space.

Of course, the furniture assembly was carried out by the young players who were excited like they had discovered a new toy.

The kitchen, which was also expanded by tearing down the walls to prevent a second Hannibal Mejbri incident, and equipped with the latest facilities, and hired a professional nutritionist to support the existing manager.

For reference, team doctor Simon Morris listened to the testimonies of Nico Gonzalez and Oscar Mingueza and permanently banned Hannibal Mejbri from entering the kitchen after tasting ‘that dish’ once to prevent poisoning.

And much brighter LED lighting and heat-resistant materials installed on the exterior walls for players coming from southern Europe or South America, where the climate is warmer.

In the living room of the dorm, which was now filled with a much warmer and more human atmosphere, the Nth Burnley Cup FXFA tournament was taking place.

“Hmm… Why is Mika so good at attacking in FXFA [likely a fictional video game] when he’s a defender?”

Nico Gonzalez, who was sitting next to him, explained to Luka Sučić, who was muttering in disbelief.

“He wanted to know what the attackers were thinking, so he only practiced attacking with FXFA when he was at Barcelona? And that’s how he became like that.”

“Does that really help?”

Joe Gelhardt, who was sitting across the table, scoffed at Nathan Collins’ question, who was listening from the side.

“Does that make sense? No matter how much I try to control the defenders, I don’t really understand what the defenders are thinking?”

“Well, your crosses are…”

“Hey!”

Joe Gelhardt, who was permanently removed from Burnley Football Club’s set-piece kicker list alongside Karim Adeyemi after only a few training sessions, flared up at Nathan Collins’ sarcasm.

“Ah, forget it. Anyone going out to Burnley town this afternoon?”

Karim Adeyemi interjected.

“Why Burnley all of a sudden?”

“Henry said he’s free today. And if we don’t go out to Burnley while the days are still a bit long… We can’t go in the winter.”

“Hmm…”

Nicolas Seiwald paused for a moment and looked around the living room, where 11 young players were sprawled out on the sofas and cushions in various poses.

“If we go out with this many people and get caught by the residents…”

“Gasp…”

Karim Adeyemi also flinched at Nicolas Seiwald’s point.

He didn’t want to hold another impromptu autograph session for all the residents, or be dragged to the club office and scolded by the CEO and manager.

But the scariest thing was that Paulo Morais, the coach who was already complaining about the lack of training time, wouldn’t miss this good opportunity and would eliminate the young players’ day off as punishment and give them additional training (which is written as training but read as torture).

“Eing… Then that would be difficult.”

“Yeah. The answer is to just quietly stay here.”

“Haa… It’s stuffy though…”

“Don’t cause too much trouble. Don’t get banned from going out again.”

Nicolas Seiwald stopped Karim Adeyemi as if he remembered last season.

“Get plenty of rest for the next game.”

“Next game? That’s Southampton. That’s easy, right?”