Dad was a Genius - Chapter 54
Only Noblemtl
My Dad Was a Genius Episode 054
-Are you in your right mind, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation?
-There’s a limit to how much you can do. They’re really trying to blatantly pickle our coach.
-What power does our country’s coach have? It’s all because of the pressure from the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation that this has happened!
As the full interview with Cha Seong-eun was widely released, people poured out harsh criticism toward the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the national team coach.
If Cha Seong-i had been angry and given an emotional interview, the atmosphere would have been different.
Because the media would have attacked him mercilessly with articles they had prepared in advance.
But when it comes to public opinion, what matters is who makes the first strike.
They say the hearts of the people are like reeds.
When Cha Seong-eun took the lead first, people naturally took his side.
-By the way, did you see what Director Cha Seong said? How could he not have a single complaint?
-He is an adult… …. Not an ordinary human like us.
-The god of soccer, he is Cha Seong-eun.
Companies that had tried to properly capture the public sentiment have quietly fallen behind after seeing the public sentiment burning.
They started to insist that they had no influence on this matter and that it was all just the national team coach’s decision.
Thanks to that, director Kim Myung-kyung has eaten all the hate she could possibly eat in her life.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation was also beaten up, asking how they could do such a hooligan-like thing.
However, here, Cha Seong-eun leaves another interview asking for respect for director Kim Myeong-gyeong’s decision and for the criticism to stop.
This was virtually a confirmed kill.
The Football Association, coach Kim Myung-kyung, and the companies that controlled everything behind the scenes have drawn public outrage.
“Really… … The more I watch it, the more I feel it, but our director is a real pro.”
“Yes. And he is a very scary person.”
“I never thought you would land the final blow and confirm the kill… … .”
Director Kim Tae-hwan and the front office staff felt like they were getting chills even though it was midsummer.
When the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation first announced that it would take away seven players from Cheonan, the front office was in an uproar.
Didn’t all employees rise up and immediately condemn the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation’s tyranny?
But the director’s actions were different.
He calmly accepted the whole situation and followed the wishes of the association, thinking that it would be a good opportunity for the players.
Until then, the employees thought of Cha Seong-eun as the epitome of an ‘adult’.
But the truth is that all of this was Cha Seong-eun’s operation.
“I really didn’t know that large corporations would come together and prepare for the media.”
“Oh my. If we had been emotional and condemned the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, I wonder what would have happened by now… .”
They found out later that the media was waiting to completely bury Cha Seong-eun. If Cha Seong-eun had been as angry as the employees here, he might have been hanged at Gwanghwamun as the greatest criminal in the world.
“How on earth did the director know about this? The information came to us a long time later.”
“Haha. Our manager is the best tactician in the K-League for nothing. When something happens, he doesn’t just look ahead, but also sees what’s behind it, and sees through the essence.”
“Thanks to that, the people are sympathizing with us and public opinion is on our side. Hmm-. Are you saying that real life is tactical like soccer? Hahaha.”
In addition, he delivered the final blow by giving an interview that seemed to protect Director Kim Myeong-gyeong and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.
The front desk staff felt the coolness of having several bottles of cider poured straight down their throats.
“Are you making me look like such a sinister person?”
“Hey! Go, Director!”
“Are you here, Director?”
At that moment, everyone jumped up from their seats when they saw Cha Seong-eun entering the office.
Today too, from her outfit to her hairstyle, she looks flawless.
“You came later than usual today?”
“Yes. I was barely able to stop the chairman from getting so angry that he turned everything upside down.”
“ah-.”
They all know very well that Chairman Cha is extremely scary when he gets angry.
How angry he must have been when he heard that his youngest son, whom he loved the most, was almost involved in a conspiracy between large corporations.
“Oh my. Those guys are bad guys, but the director is the one who suffers the most.”
“I don’t mind anything as long as Cheonan wins.”
“Yes. Thank you all. Then, I will start the meeting in an hour.”
“yes!”
He is a really kind gentleman.
You could say he’s a person without any frills.
Yeah. There’s no way someone like that would intentionally induce something like this.
The employees went back to their busy work again.
* * *
The last interview I left behind was… … very personal.
I said it was good that the players had many opportunities, but as a coach, it wasn’t something I could just enjoy.
So, I was a little angry because I’m human, and so I took a little revenge.
My father, who was very upset in the chairman’s office, said that he would step in himself and finish it off, but I barely managed to stop him.
It’s not that I didn’t want to vent my anger a bit more, but it wasn’t cool to drag it out any further.
And above all,
“Director… … .”
I didn’t want to see the players struggling mentally.
“We will talk to the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.”
“Since it is difficult for the director to step forward, we will step forward.”
It wasn’t the coaches but the players who came rushing into the manager’s office.
Everyone’s expression is dark.
Even though they did nothing wrong.
“Are you all trying to bully me?”
“Tae, Taeup, huh?”
“That’s not true, Director!”
I smiled as I watched the players panicking.
“I clearly gave instructions through interviews and coaches. I told everyone to eat comfortably and go.”
“But what if the seven of us miss five games?”
“I’m sure the manager has a goal he wants to achieve this season.”
“Aha~ So what you’re saying is, without us, a rookie manager like you can never win, that’s it.”
Then the players became even more embarrassed and waved their hands.
“Oh, no. We didn’t mean that… … .”
“That’s true.”
“……yes?”
“How can the team be healthy when seven starting members are missing? I’m already having trouble sleeping because I don’t know what to do for the next game. Look at the dark circles under my eyes.”
“… … .”
The players’ complexions darkened further.
“No way, Director. We should go to the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation right now and protest with force… .”
“I’ll get the extension, bro.”
I actually got up and grabbed the players who were about to leave and made them sit back down.
“I’m so scared I can’t even joke.”
“But because of us, the director’s dream… … .”
I felt a little touched.
Even though their careers are obviously more important, aren’t they willing to sacrifice themselves for me?
These are truly wonderful people.
“Do you trust me, everyone?”
“of course!”
“The person I trust more than my parents is the director!”
“Then trust me. Leave the team’s work to me as the coach, and as players and members of the Republic of Korea, you just have to bring the victory that the people want.”
Only then did the players nod their heads.
“Of course, it won’t be easy while you’re gone. But I’ll hold on until then, so just do your job well. And show us that your skills are not inferior to those of overseas players.”
“Yes, sir!”
“I will show you why Cheonan is the best team!”
I wish the players good luck and wish them a bright future.
However, the South Korean national team under coach Kim Myung-kyung was going forward as I had expected.
* * *
[This is a really disappointing performance. The national team has no real color.]
[Yes. The national team made a lot of changes to the squad, but they barely managed to win thanks to a goal by Kang Dae-ho in the second half.]
Friendly match against Peru.
The result was a 1-0 victory for South Korea.
But no one celebrated this victory.
Although we ended up winning, our performance was the worst.
Despite bringing in a large number of overseas players and players from Cheonan, the strongest team in the K-League, the national team’s performance did not improve.
Rather, it was like he was jumping around here and there, unable to even figure out the exact direction.
“I thought you could handle Peru easily.”
“We almost had a draw if Kang Dae-ho hadn’t scored a goal so carelessly.”
“The next evaluation match is against Croatia, right? If they’re struggling this much against Peru, I wonder what they’re planning to do there.”
If you are Korean, even people who don’t like soccer end up watching the national team’s games.
I think the 2002 World Cup had the biggest impact.
That’s why, if the national team’s soccer team doesn’t do well even a little bit, they get criticized a lot.
This is because the South Korean soccer they think of is still stuck in the myth of the 2002 semifinals.
I just hope that the glory of that day can be recreated once again.
But would it be difficult to go back to that time?
Seoul’s Kim Sung-il smacked his lips in regret.
“I had some expectations since the squad was well-reinforced this time. And it was as expected.”
I can’t say that Director Kim Myung-kyung is completely at fault, but it would still be unfair.
Being a national team coach is inherently difficult.
If you suddenly gather players from different teams and under different managers in one place and ask them to play a game, it’s bound to be chaotic.
It’s equally difficult for players who have trained in different styles under different coaches.
Moreover, director Kim Myung-kyung still has little experience as a director.
However, the reason he is in charge of the national team is purely because he was a key player in the 2002 World Cup.
If the KFA really wanted the future of Korean soccer, it should have put Cha Seong-eun in the manager’s seat at all costs.
“This incident has proven once again that the Cheonan players are only well-mannered by Coach Cha Seong.”
It was something that had already been proven once.
When Cha Seong-eun suddenly collapsed, a temporary manager took over the team and they ended up on a losing streak.
The illusion that Cheonan was a team made up of super-star players was shattered, and it was clearly revealed at that time that Cha Seong was in fact a one-man team.
“Yes. It’s a shame that the national team ended up like that… … but it’s an opportunity for us.”
In fact, the coaches didn’t really care what happened to the national team.
For them, winning the K-League is more important than winning the World Cup.
“Yes. No matter how much I say that, if seven starting members are missing, it’s bound to be a big blow. But we can’t let our guard down. Last time, we left out a lot of starting members from the squad and played only with the newly recruited players, and didn’t we continue our winning streak?”
“That’s right. But we can’t do that to Seoul either.”
The next match is between Cheonan and Seoul.
It was a long wait.
The time has finally come to take revenge on Cheonan.
“Tsk. That’s too bad. I wish we had fought at full strength.”
“… … Last time, you said you wished that the Cheonan starting members would be injured and leave.”
“Be quiet!”
Yes. I know that I can never win if I fight at full strength.
But in Cheonan now, it is possible.
It was a little dirty at first, but it was important to win at least once.
Only then will the players realize that we can beat Cheonan!
And next time we meet again, we will fight with full force and win.
“Hoo hoo hoo.”
Coach Kim Seong-il was looking forward to the match against Cheonan, which was not even half-baked.