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The moment Son Jinho scored.

In the early hours of dawn, as the match between Dortmund and Juventus was being broadcast in Korea, the commentators erupted in cheers.

[Goal! It went in! Son Jinho!! In a situation where he could have been intimidated by the rough atmosphere of the Allianz Stadium! But Son Jinho overcame all that adversity and difficulties to score once again in the Champions League knockout stage!!]

[Indeed. It’s hard to believe he is so young with such a solid mentality! And after scoring, Son Jinho… Yes… is picking up a banana.]

└ What the hell is with the banana?!

└ Was that a banana that got thrown onto the field?

└ Those crazy Italians, racism is terrible.

└ Isn’t he gonna get penalized for that?

[Is he declaring a hat trick!? After eating one of the three bananas, Son Jinho shows two fingers!]

[Yes. To be honest, I thought he would pull off a more extravagant celebration when he approached the camera… but Son Jinho surprisingly shows a very mature response for his age.]

The commentator quickly changed the subject, spotting a burst of fiery comments.

[Ah! And at that moment, we’re shown the scoring scene again. If you look now, the movement to pass to Mario Götze was great. And here, in this scene, he draws the defenders towards him and calmly waits until the end to make a pass into the space where Marco Reus penetrates. This is called La Pausa, which allows for better attacking chances by purposefully holding onto the ball to create a better option. And doing this most effectively to create big chances is none other than Lionel Messi.]

└ Stop being a know-it-all!

└ If you explain it, you’re considered a know-it-all, and if you just shout without commentary, are you just an audience member? What the hell do you want? LOL

└ Wow. Do you not know the golden mean of the four books?!

└ Who even reads that nowadays…

└ You can’t even keep the balance between a primary school kid and an old coot. LOL

After finishing the celebration and turning around, the Dortmund players roughly patted my head with brighter smiles than usual.

I exhaled a deep breath to regain my composure.

Honestly, I thought about unleashing a furious counterattack, but remembering that I could be blamed for bringing the racism upon myself, I endured it.

“Jinho, did you just predict a hat trick?”

“Hah. I guess I need to push you up? Lewa! Switch positions with Jinho!”

“Sure, I’ll move to attacking midfielder because I can play there.”

“Then what position am I going to?”

As Mario Götze asked the question, Lewandowski, rolling his eyes, pointed at Jürgen Klopp, who was showing off a provocative celebration towards the Juventus fans and got a warning from the referee.

“…The bench? Someone needs to go tell Jürgen to chill out!”

“Seriously, isn’t he gonna tear his hamstring again?”

Until last season, we chuckled lightly at Ivan Perišić’s comment about Klopp’s hamstring issues.

On the way back to Dortmund’s side after the celebration.

“So, shall we push the ball a bit?”

Mario Götze, who was walking beside me, said, and I shook my head and replied.

“No, you all can score and just eat one of my bananas instead.”

We were confident that we could score one more goal before the end of the first half after the early goal.

However, the Dortmund attacks were thwarted by Gianluigi Buffon’s incredible saves.

“…That crazy, monstrous old man.”

The first half ended without additional goals as Gianluigi Buffon made a save from Mario Götze’s shot, leading to halftime.

“Scheiße! (Damn it!) Kill those bastards! Smash them to the point they can’t even make a sound!”

Jürgen Klopp launched a fierce speech fueled by racial slurs, fully agitated.

I shouldn’t think this, but I really appreciate that he’s getting mad for me…

‘But I’m the one who faced the racism….’

Caught up in Klopp’s intense anger, I missed my chance to get angry.

Well. Regardless, Jürgen Klopp’s speech succeeded in uniting the team.

Even the players who were awkward with me due to position competition came over to offer their support.

It’s one thing if I say something about my kid; it feels bad if someone else says something about our child.

Right now, at this moment, the Dortmund players became one.

***

The second half of the match began, and Juventus took control early on.

After conceding the first goal at home, Juventus launched an aggressive attack to score an equalizer.

“Jinho! Mark Pirlo so he can’t attempt a long pass!”

Following Jürgen Klopp’s instructions, I began closely marking Pirlo, the key playmaker for the back build-up.

As I pressured Pirlo decisively and thwarted his threatening long passes, Juventus struggled under Dortmund’s intense pressure.

As the momentum slowly shifted towards Dortmund, Antonio Conte was the first to pull out a substitution card.

Antonio Conte was seen holding onto Paul Pogba and giving tactical instructions from the touchline.

As Marco Reus’s shot was deflected off Chiellini’s toe and went out of bounds, Juventus made their substitution.

Perhaps still affected by his injury, Arturo Vidal, who hadn’t been showing his best, was replaced by Pogba.

Although Pogba was often referred to as a virus under Mourinho’s Manchester United regime, his contributions at Juventus were undeniable.

The MVP line of 14/15 (Marchisio-Vidal-Pirlo-Pogba) was crucial in Juventus’s confrontation with Barcelona’s MSN line.

“Nice to meet you.”

I happily greeted Paul Pogba as he approached.

Having the same agent, Mino Raiola, and building a friendly image during his fan services in Korea made me feel a sense of internal closeness.

“Uh… yeah. Nice to meet you.”

Pogba seemed flustered, clearly surprised that I treated him like someone I knew.

“I’ve heard a lot from Mino. You play really well.”

“Oh. Really?”

His simple compliment brought a pure smile to Pogba’s face, and he looked happy.

Uh… why is he so happy?

***

Son Jinho, who only repeated the cycle between home, training ground, and stadium, was unaware of his stature.

At just 18, being selected as the Golden Boy, World Best, and VDV Player of the Year, and receiving public love calls from Messi and Ronaldo, was all Son Jinho.

Moreover, unless another exceptional player emerged, he was mentioned as a candidate for the next Ballon d’Or after Ronaldo and Messi.

Football fans in South Korea harboring expectations felt that Son Jinho’s era would soon arrive, not knowing that Messi and Ronaldo would continue to dominate for another decade.

As Son Jinho warmly greeted him, the still-promising Paul Pogba felt joy overshadowing his competitive spirit to surpass Son Jinho and make a name for himself.

Pogba wanted to suggest swapping jerseys after the match, but he remembered that the game was still ongoing and didn’t bring it up.

Currently, Juventus didn’t have a surplus of veteran stars like shining stars. If he messed up, he could get beaten up by some temperamental veteran just like Balotelli did by Materazzi during his Inter Milan days.

Well. That doesn’t mean Pogba was actively participating in defense.

Marchisio effectively delayed Dortmund’s counterattacks with excellent positioning.

‘For me, flashy dribbling suits me better than that.’

As he watched, Pogba shook his head.

Reducing energy expenditure in defense allows for more vigorous movements in attack.

Antonio Conte replacing Vidal with himself was likely to aim for a scoring opportunity.

Pogba conserved energy in defense anticipating when to attack.

Soon enough, an opportunity arose.

A cross from Marcel Schmelzer on the left side was cleared by Bonucci with his head, and the ball approached Marchisio.

Marchisio passed to Pogba, and despite his height and physique, Pogba showcased skillful dribbling while moving forward.

Hearing cheers from the stands made Pogba’s footwork more dazzling.

With a brilliant individual move, Pogba shook off Sven Bender and returned a pass to Marchisio and then turned to sneak a glance at Son Jinho.

“…Wow. This guy has already gotten ahead of himself. For real.”

Son Jinho quietly remarked in Korean at Pogba’s flashy play, which seemed like a self-praise.

Taking it as a compliment, Pogba grinned widely at Son Jinho.

***

After Antonio Conte brought on Pogba, Juventus’s attack sharpened, but their defensive solidity weakened.

The path for passes targeting Pirlo and Marchisio was obstructed by the defense.

Predicting that the ball would head toward Pogba, Son Jinho charged in right as Asamoah attempted a pass, successfully intercepting it.

After cutting off the pass meant for Pogba, Son Jinho dashed toward Juventus’s territory.

Kicking the ball long while showcasing rapid speed, Son Jinho took off.

[Son Jinho snatches the ball and goes! He’s fast! So fast!]

└ What’s with the speed?

└ They don’t call him the hexagonal for nothing!

└ He’s slower than Marco Reus; my brother is fast enough too.

Dortmund’s away fans erupted in cheers, witnessing such a rare sight of Son Jinho racing ahead.

[Son Jinho crosses the halfway line in an instant!]

└ Isn’t sprinting like that going to drain his stamina quickly?

└ For real, LOL if my brother runs like that, his heart will explode, LOL

Marchisio quickly closed in on Son Jinho.

[Marchisio closes in! But Son Jinho charges forward again!]

But as Son Jinho put strength in his thighs and increased speed, Marchisio fell behind.

[Son Jinho! It’s a one-on-one chance! Son Jinho!! Shoot!]

Looking at Buffon’s left side where the goal was open, Son Jinho took a powerful shot.

[It, it went in!! Son Jinho!! He scores a multi-goal against Juventus!!]

As the ball hit the net, Son Jinho quickly grabbed the banana that had fallen in front of the camera and raised one finger.

[Son Jinho has only one more goal left to complete his declared hat trick!!]

***

Before we knew it, the end of the match was approaching.

Was it because they sensed defeat?

Booing started to erupt from the Juventus support section aimed at the home team players, who were showing a lackluster performance.

Well. Their reactions are somewhat understandable. Didn’t they concede multiple goals to the player who was taunted with racial chants and bananas?

As humans tend to be lenient towards themselves and strict towards others, they couldn’t rage against themselves and could only be angry at the players.

Anyway. The Juventus players were desperately going all out to avoid conceding a goal, as if their last trace of dignity was at stake.

As Mario Götze’s pass came my way, Paul Pogba pressed in on me.

I turned my body naturally towards the direction of the pass and shrugged off Pogba’s pressing grip. I forcefully knocked away Pogba’s hand that was grabbing my uniform.

Losing his balance, Pogba stumbled to the ground just as I brushed his hand off.

Was it because of the goal celebration shown to the camera earlier?

Juventus defenders seemed focused on me, thinking I would thirst for a hat trick since I declared one.

Naturally, the marking on Lewandowski loosened.

“Lewa! Shoot!”

While feeling a bit disappointed about the hat trick, I didn’t get greedy and passed to Lewandowski.

Prioritizing team advancement to the next round of the Champions League over personal revenge,

The difference between 2-0 and 3-0 is just one goal, but it feels different in the context of who accepts it. Especially in an away game.

Well. That doesn’t mean I simply passed and stood still. I penetrated into the penalty box anticipating any second ball.

In a no-mark chance, Roberto Lewandowski swung his legs, and just when I was about to settle for a 3-0 victory, Lewandowski attempted a heel pass instead of shooting.

Was it because everyone expected a shot?

No one reacted to Lewandowski’s sudden heel pass, and the soccer ball rolled towards me.

It was as if something was overtaking me as I focused both eyes on the ball and prepared to strike with my left foot.

Pow─!

Buffon, who was preparing for Lewandowski’s shot, was caught in the motion and couldn’t react. Gianluigi Buffon stared blankly at the soccer ball that had hit the net.

As he gave a defeated smile, I popped the last remaining banana in my mouth, spread my arms wide, and slowly wandered through the silent Allianz Stadium toward the location of the Dortmund away fans.

“Houuuuuuu─!”

And in front of the away fans, who ignited yellow flames, I performed a Houu celebration.

“Are you saying you’ll repay me with two assists later?”

Lewandowski, who had recorded assists, came over with a smile on his face.

***

[AAAHHHHH!!! It went in! It went in!! Son Jinho!! Son Jinho!! Son Jinho has broken the record for the youngest hat trick!]

└ Who the hell is torturing them with electrical shocks? LOL

└ For real, sounds like something I heard a lot at Namsan LOL

└ Namsan is ridiculous, LOL Who would have thought that kid was still a baby back then? LOL

[Son Jinho succeeds in reducing Raul González’s record from 18 years and 105 days to 18 years and 50 days!! He’s creating history and delivering a satisfying revenge!!]

└ Wow, shit, LOL he actually accomplished the hat trick in the end.

└ For real, LOL I thought he wouldn’t score with the pressure!

└ T_T Lewa, that last pass was touching, T_T

└ For real, LOL I didn’t think he’d pass from there, T_T

“Hou───!”

[Dear viewers, can you hear? The Dortmund fans in the away section are cheering like crazy!]

└ Houuuuuuu─!!

└ Houuuuuuuuu T_T T_T

 

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