Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 121

121: Acquiring a Temporary Coach

With the World Cup concluding on December 19th, leagues around the world accelerated their efforts to resume their regular schedules.

Burnley, too, with the exception of Karim Adeyemi, welcomed back its players and plunged into a brief preparation period for the second half of the season.

Karim Adeyemi, who played almost every minute of six full games for the German national team en route to winning the World Cup, was granted an additional two weeks of vacation to recover.

As players who had preserved or recovered their stamina during the unprecedented winter break were readjusting to the feel of the game, Jonathan Landris, Burnley’s football director, visited Hyungmin, who was busy with preparations.

“Kim, do you have a moment?”

“Ah, Jonathan. I have a few minutes.”

Hyungmin, who was observing the training taking place amidst the fierce winds of Burnley in December, consulted with Carolina, who was directing the training alongside him, on a few matters before approaching Jonathan.

“What’s going on?”

“Well… I received a call from the English Football Association [FA]. Or, to be precise, the English FA forwarded a letter of cooperation sent by the Korean Football Association [KFA]. Have you heard anything about this from the Korean side?”

“A letter from the Korean Football Association? I haven’t heard anything at all.”

Jonathan sighed lightly and handed over a tablet. Hyungmin slowly read the title of the email that appeared before his eyes.

“…Request for cooperation regarding coaching training? What is this?!”

Hyungmin quickly skimmed through the email and immediately conveyed his opinion to Jonathan without a second thought.

“I’ll decline.”

[…Hey, are you trying to get me killed?!]

[…Who authorized this! How can you just send these kinds of official letters through the Football Association without permission!]

While Jonathan Landris and the coaching staff watched with interest, Hyungmin took out his cell phone to answer a call from the other side of the world, speaking in rapid Korean on the cold, windy Banfield Training Center’s outdoor field.

[…When you retire, just retire quietly and disappear. Why does your coaching training have to be at Burnley?!]

[…Do you know what the atmosphere is like in Korea right now? Reporters are camped out in front of my house, banging on the door! I need a place to escape to quickly!]

With the South Korean national team’s dramatic advancement to the quarterfinals at the World Cup held overseas, national attention was intensely focused on them. Except for the players who played in overseas leagues and were able to escape abroad, the remaining players were suffering from intense media scrutiny.

In particular, the attention being poured on Jung Taejin, who was praised for his dedicated play in the World Cup and announced his retirement from his playing career at the end of the tournament, was far greater than that of other players.

A veteran striker who renewed the South Korean national team’s youngest scorer and most goals in A matches [official international matches], as well as goals-per-game record, and finally broke the record for most appearances in A matches at this World Cup.

There were cautious considerations regarding focusing on active players due to club protection, the player’s own refusal, and public opinion that it would interfere with their playing careers. However, people assumed that retired players would have more time and be more responsive to the media.

In fact, since there were precedents of retired players entering broadcasting or media, Jung Taejin was receiving intensive attention from various media outlets and even entertainment shows.

[…Why Burnley of all places?! Just go hide in your villa!]

[…That’s been exposed too! After you went into hiding last summer, some reporter searched all the real estate registrations nationwide and eventually found the villa under your wife’s name!]

Ah, that’s a little my fault.

Thanks to that, he was able to stay comfortably while visiting Korea in the summer, but it seemed that it had ultimately led to Jung Taejin’s hideout being exposed.

[…Anyway, hurry up and say you’ll agree!]

[…Why would I?!]

[…I asked you to take care of me last summer!]

How would I have known that’s what you meant…?

Hyungmin, with a dumbfounded expression, realized that the other person couldn’t see his face and conveyed his honest feelings directly into the phone.

[…We don’t have the money to pay your salary.]

[…I don’t need money! I just need you to officially create a job for me to be in England for a few months!]

Hmm… Well, that’s a bit different.

[…I’ll talk to Helena and Jonathan.]

[…Okay. Please, save me. I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, so just agree.]

[…Well, you can never have too many ball boys.]

Hyungmin, with a satisfied expression, hung up the phone at the sudden, shocking silence flowing from the other side.

“So, we can just think of it as getting a temporary coach for free?”

He couldn’t understand any of the conversation that took place in Korean, but now he could roughly grasp the content just by looking at the manager’s expression and tone.

Hyungmin shrugged at Jonathan Landris’ question.

“Well, since it’s free, there’s no need to refuse, right?”

“Well… I don’t mind if you’re okay with it. I’m already swamped with work, and I don’t think Carolina or Paulo would object either. If it’s for coaching training, we can use him in the youth or reserve team.”

“Hmm… Then please send a reply saying we agree.”

“Alright.”

Taejin must have been really desperate, because he packed his bags and flew to Burnley less than three days after the letter of acceptance arrived in Korea.

Officially, it was part of an exchange training program between the Korean Football Association and the English Football Association to acquire a coaching license.

Unofficially, no such training program existed, but at Taejin’s earnest urging, the Korean Football Association and Burnley coordinated their stories and arbitrarily created a program.

It seemed that the Korean media was pouring out another round of articles about Hyungmin and Taejin reuniting at Burnley, but Hyungmin didn’t usually read Korean media, and Taejin only expressed relief because he had fled there to avoid the media.

Having arrived in Burnley, Taejin quickly integrated into Burnley’s first team to youth team based on his unique sociability, his foreign language skills acquired while playing in the Spanish Primera Liga [Spanish First Division], and, above all, his brilliant career.

“Coach Taejin! Coach Taejin! Please help us with the striker movement training this time!”

“Oh, of course. Then shall we all give the defenders and goalkeeper a good scolding together?”

“Yes!”

The innocent Burnley youth players rushed in and dragged Jung Taejin to the training ground where youth training was taking place.

A member of the Century Club [players with 100+ international caps] who played in over 100 A matches for the national team.

A veteran who had been called up to the national team since his college days, participated in four World Cups, and finished more than 10 years of professional life, but was friendly and affable, and was still healthy enough to play as a starter in the World Cup until recently.

In other words, he could not help but be an object of admiration for the youth and respect for the first team players, and Hyungmin watched his friend, who was quickly permeating Burnley like ice cream melting in midsummer, with a jealous expression.

“Damn it… This isn’t it…”

He expected him to pick up balls, organize equipment, clean soccer shoes, and pick up trash after the first team training was over, but when a retired veteran tried to do such a thing, everyone from the youth to the first team players was startled and stopped him.

In fact, the oldest players in Burnley’s first team, Wout Weghorst and Nick Pope, were only 30 years old.

Their professional or national team careers were far behind Taejin’s, so there was no reason or excuse to try to assert seniority here.

Above all, he was close friends with the young manager who had joined the ranks of Burnley’s legends in just one season since high school, so that was even more so, but Hyungmin himself didn’t realize that at all.

Of course, Helena and all of Burnley’s club coaching staff and employees who were watching this scene were very happy to use the scenes where the usually gentle manager showed all kinds of raw emotions when he was entangled with the temporary coach as a new source of entertainment.

***

Regardless of Burnley’s internal affairs, one week after the end of the Qatar World Cup, league schedules in each country resumed.

Burnley, who had reached the second half of the season, had 10 wins and 5 losses in 15 games, earning 30 points and ranking 4th, behind Liverpool in 3rd place due to goal difference.

However, considering that Liverpool had only played 14 games and Manchester United, who had also played 14 games and recorded 28 points, was in 5th place, it seemed more accurate to evaluate them as being in 5th place.

Of course, for Burnley, 5th place in the league was also a huge achievement.

In terms of scoring, they scored 33 goals in 15 games, ranking 2nd after Manchester City, who recorded 39 goals, led by Erling Haaland, who scored a whopping 16 goals in 14 games.

They were showing off their explosive offensive power, but they conceded 21 goals during the same period, ranking 12th in the league, far behind teams such as Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Liverpool, which boasted solid defenses.

On top of that, strangely enough, they have not recorded a single draw, and are being evaluated as playing games that are either all or nothing.

With the entire squad, except for Karim Adeyemi, who was granted special leave, reassembled in good health, Burnley prepared to herald the start of the second half at Turf Moor against Arsenal.

The first opponent of the second half and the opponent of the last game of 2022 is Arsenal.

Arsenal, who inflicted Burnley’s only two league defeats last season, reorganized the squad under the leadership of manager Mikel Arteta and with the full support of the club’s executives, and sharpened the attack by signing Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City.

The problem is that in the Premier League, which finished the first half, Arsenal recorded 22 points with 6 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses in 14 games, ranking 10th.

It seemed difficult to even qualify for the Europa League, let alone the coveted European Champions League.

It took a lot of time to clear up the failed signings at the club during the end of Arsene Wenger’s long reign at Arsenal and the era of manager Unai Emery, who was in charge for a relatively short period of time.

However, after manager Mikel Arteta took office, he showed full trust, and the Arsenal owner and board of directors, who poured nearly 100 million pounds into pure transfer fees in the summer transfer market, were also beginning to show signs of reaching their limits of patience.

Arsenal, who desperately needed a win, and Burnley, who were trying to continue the momentum they had gained by defeating Manchester United in the last game of the first half, collided head-on at Turf Moor.

Of course, in a direction that neither team’s manager expected at all.