Chapter 291 – Special One (1)

291

The dark screen brightens and a beautiful woman with a bright impression appears.

“I am a longtime Newcastle fan.”

Subtitles floated underneath her wearing her H-skirt in a tight white shirt that accentuated her curvy body.

〈Sarah McGinn, Newcastle correspondent for the Newcastle Chronicle〉

“It’s not just me. Parents, relatives… Everyone in the McGinn family is a longtime fan of Newcastle. Because the McGinns are natives of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.”

Then, a map of England appears on the darkened screen, and a red dot is placed on the northern part of England that faces the border with Scotland.

[Newcastle is a football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Weir, North East England.]

The Newcastle logo protrudes from the red dot.
Then, small images started appearing here and there on the screen.

The fans cheering passionately, the fans crying, the fans smiling broadly, the players playing the game, and the coach lifting the trophy.

[Newcastle is a team with a long history. It was founded in the 19th century.]

In an instant, one of the small screens that filled the screen becomes larger and fills the screen with a black and white image.

[It was in 1892 that this long-history team first stepped into the world of football. From the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End to United, Newcastle United has been the only football team in Newcastle upon Tyne.]

The narration then began to retrace the history of Newcastle.

From the time of its inception, through black and white photos of its short heyday, to the day when the English Football League was reorganized into the current Premier League.

[Newcastle has a long history, but it hasn’t left a big mark on the football world. Newcastle’s heyday was in the early 1900s, when it was founded.]

Scenes containing nearly 100 years of history pass by in an instant, as if fast-forwarded.

Four black-and-white photos of lifting the championship cup come to mind, engraved with the numbers 1904-05, 1906-07, 1908-09, and 1926-27, respectively.

Ten minutes passed only to explain Newcastle’s footsteps in a long history of over 100 years, close to 150 years.

[It was 2019 when the winds of change began to blow in Newcastle. This is from when Sheikh Khaled, the cousin of Manchester City’s owner ‘Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’, wanted to take over Newcastle.]

At the time, the article passed by and gave a summary of Newcastle’s difficult acquisition process,

[And in 2021, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund succeeds in acquiring Newcastle United, and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince bin Salman becomes the de facto owner and becomes the world’s richest club.]

Under the headline ‘The 2nd Manchester City’, the images of cheering fans bursting into toasts decorate the screen at the home stadium.

As if reflecting the hopes of the fans, the home stadium remodeling, training facilities and youth facilities strengthened, monorail connection with the city center, etc. The faces of the players pass by,

[But hope is short-lived.]

Screen darkened again.
Headlines such as rumors of the sale of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and the crisis appear one by one,

[Newcastle had to face the brutal reality of relegation to the Second Division.]

A girl bursting into tears, a young man with a dejected expression, an old man sitting down… The image of fans collapsing in the cruel reality filled the video.

[The moment when all hope seemed to be gone. It was Dubai Investment Corporation that emerged as the new owner of Newcastle.]

A calm narration that informs you of a short explanation and follow-up measures for Dubai, which has acquired Newcastle and has become the new owner.

[Relegation to the second division, departure of key players, collapsed leadership and disorganized discipline. A new board is embarking on a new project to innovate all of this.]

Then the data screen disappeared and what appeared was a middle-aged man with a decent impression.

“What was your first impression when you were appointed?”

Letters floating under a middle-aged man who licks his lips at Sarah McGinn’s voice coming from off-screen tell us 〈 Newcastle manager Lauren Botman〉.

“It was good. It was good.”

As if recalling that time, Lauren Bottman’s gaze wanders somewhere in the empty air, not the camera.

“He had a lot of managerial experience starting from youth team coaching, but he hadn’t thought of taking on the role of first-team manager. Even though the owner changed, the board changed, and the interviews with the new executives were quite successful, I didn’t have high expectations.”

The screen slowly dims as Lauren Bortman’s words fade.

In the center of the screen, where nothing can be seen as it becomes dark, faintly glowing letters come to mind.

〈 Newcastle Rebuild Project〉

Just as light drives out darkness, the light of brightly shining letters gradually spreads in all directions and dyes the dark screen with light.

Images come to mind one by one on the brightened screen.

“Championship!! It’s a win!! Newcastle lifts the 2nd division championship cup and finally succeeds in returning to the 1st division!!”
“Newcastle coming out of relegation near the end of the season! Premier League survival has been achieved!!”
“Newcastle’s young players are going to write a legend!! Newcastle jumped into the race to win the first half!!”
“Fourth place! It’s on the 4th!! Newcastle defend 4th place and finally, finally advance to the Champions League!! Great, Newcastle!!”
“Newcastle are signing the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer, the conqueror of Germany.”

Newcastle’s hymn of hope flows from the brightly lit screen.
Compared to the long history of 150 years, the short history is full of hope.

[The rebuilding project, which raised concerns from numerous experts and fans, seemed to be successful beyond the difficulties of the early and mid-terms. And-]

All the material in the video disappeared, leaving only one headline.

〈Newcastle sign Bundesliga top goalscorer, German conqueror from Asia〉

An Asian player wearing a Newcastle uniform and smiling brightly.

[And this day. Newcastle have made the best, best and best ever decision in their 150 year history. The jewel from the Orient, Newcastle Seongju ‘Mr.Almighty’ Hong Min-joon was recruited.]

Data video flowing to the TV screen in the video.

“Championship!! It’s a win!! Newcastle winning the League Cup!!”
“Unbelievable!! Newcastle finally win the Premier League!! After a whopping 150 years of waiting, passing through a long and long tunnel, finally the championship cup full of long aspirations!! Newcastle!! Occupy!!”
“Ballon d’Or podium! FIFA Player of the Year! Newcastle’s ace gets the golden boot!”

The growing light finally obscures the entire image—

“He is by far the best player I have ever seen. Both skillfully and attitudely.”
“Hong? It’s crazy. It really surprises me when I see him grow.”
“Minjun is my idol and the lord of Newcastle. He is confident of winning just playing with him.”
“He didn’t care at first, then he considered him a rival… It’s hard to even follow the back now.”
“I’m sure. He is the best player ever.”

On the screen that reappeared, from the manager to the staff, club staff, and fellow players… And finally, Jorge Garcia appeared.

“I recognized it early on. From the first time I saw you at the Olympics. I have nothing to say. He is the best player with me.”

Great Ballon d’Or winner.
The King of Spain has been the first since Messi to win three consecutive Ballon d’Or.

After the interview with Jorge Garcia, the screen goes black again.

[When Newcastle’s project became known, people initially ignored it and ridiculed it. But now, people praise Newcastle’s vision. Numerous clubs benchmark Newcastle’s project, experts praise it, and fans cheer for the right management.]

Amid the calm narration, the blurry photos gradually become clearer.

[Newcastle’s choice was right. And now. Newcastle want to become a legend beyond 150 years of history. To the immortal glory that will never be erased.]

Letters floating in the background of a picture of the coach and players lifting the league championship cup.

Founders of the Dynasty〉

* * *

The Newcastle documentary, ‘Dawn of the Dynasty’ was released the day before the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

While all attention in the soccer world was focused on the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony, only Newcastle fans paid attention to the documentary airing.

In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a promotional material for Newcastle, and the film, disguised as a documentary (commercial), filled with content, touched the hearts of fans and filled them with mulberries.

Results improved, and after Hong Min-joon’s recruitment, Newcastle’s fandom increased significantly and is now on a global scale.

In this situation, what if there was content that would fill the hearts of fans?
Naturally, it is spread through the Internet by active fans.

The Newcastle documentary, which started on SNS, soon landed in Korea, where Hong Min-joon’s most ardent supporters gathered, and as expected, showed an explosive response.

It’s a Newcastle documentary, because Hong Min-joon’s weight and influence were so great that Hong Min-joon’s fans thought it was a ‘Hong Min-joon tribute video’.

When a documentary like that became a hot topic and burned online.

Finally, the Ballon d’Or ceremony was held.