Chapter 824: Before the Game Begins
Once they were back in the locker room, the atmosphere was back to being heavy, as no one dared to utter their opinion right now.
No, even though Higo was clearly excited to face Bayern Munich today, the same joyfulness couldn’t be shared with the rest of the players, as all they wanted to do was get over this shit as quickly as possible, knowing that they had a big chance to get humiliated here.
Frohling himself also noticed it, as he coughed quite loudly to get the players’ attention.
"I will not try to insult your intelligence by saying something like, ’ As long as we try hard enough, we will steal a point today. No, you guys are all experienced players here, and you know what facing Bayern Munich means." His tone was solemn. "I don’t expect you to create a miracle, but I want to see a good attitude here! Show everyone that this season will be better than before!"
"Yes, Sir!"
After that, players who were going to be on the pitch since the beginning of the game had already formed a line in the tunnel. Higo was standing straight behind Omar Mascarell, doing a little bit of warm-up to deal with the tension around him.
Today, Frohling used the normal 4-4-2 formation with so many newcomers filling the gap.
Higo would still be the one between the posts as usual. However, the defensive line in front of him was completely different. There was no Ozan Kabak, Bastian Ozcipka, Jonjoe Kenny, Juan Miranda, or Jean-Clair Todibo again. In return, Sead Kolasinac filled the left side, Benjamin Stambouli and Timo Becker guarded the center, and Sebastian Rudy was protecting the right flank.
Meanwhile, in midfield, Omar Mascarell was there, but Suat Serdar got dragged to accompany the Spaniard. Even though the man was originally a striker, he could still play the role of a decent ball-winning midfielder, fighting for every second ball coming at him.
Fabian Reese and Benito Raman were also there, acting as the spears that would destroy the opponent’s flanks. Then, the two tops would be Mark Uth, the striker who had just gotten promoted from the second team this season, and Goncalo Paciencia, the one that the team loaned from Eintracht Frankfurt.
On paper, this team was definitely weaker than what Schalke had last year, but they had to accept it and go with that for now.
It took a while before Schalke players were allowed to go to the pitch. After all, Bayern Munich also had some sort of ceremony, with the team bringing out all three trophies that they won last season and showing them off in front of the camera.
This was probably their way to celebrate, as they didn’t get permission to hold a parade even after winning it all a few months ago.
Soon enough, though, the fourth referee finally gave Omar Mascarell a signal, and with the Spaniard leading, Higo followed behind, shaking hands with some of the Bayern players that he knew a little bit.
Well, not some, per se, as only one person came straight to his mind.
"Muller-san, congratulations." He offered a smile while hugging the man politely. "At this point, your career should’ve already been completed, right?" He looked at the man enviously.
Indeed, Thomas Muller had one hell of a career, having already won everything from the World Cup to the Champions League with his childhood team and country. This was definitely something to brag about, as not a lot of players managed to achieve that.
Hell, even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the greatest players of all time, didn’t have the same luxury as Thomas Muller, which showed how great the man’s career was.
"Haha! It’s just luck, I swear!" Thomas Muller grinned widely, the one that was always infectious. "Anyway, this is the first game of the season, so don’t ruin our little celebration with your crazy performance, eh?" He joked mischievously.
In return, Higo just rolled his eyes in exasperation. "It should be me who is asking for mercy, huh? Still, tell that Lewandowski that even if I lose today, I would never let him score against me." He smiled back with the same mischievousness.
Bayern’s captain just barked out a laugh here, patting Higo’s shoulder fondly. "Good, God! You sure know how to make things interesting! Anyway, I’ll tell Lewy about it! Just get ready for everything, okay?!"
Higo snorted a little bit before walking to his territory, where all the defenders were waiting there. He didn’t even notice that someone was looking at him with a complicated—and maybe a little bit of envious—gaze from afar.
That person was none other than Alexander Nubel, Schalke’s main goalkeeper before Higo, who decided to change sides to Bayern Munich. Unfortunately for him, Manuel Neuer was still at the peak of his career, so shaking off the national team’s goalkeeper from his position was pretty much impossible right now.
’If I were still at Schalke... would I be able to get so much love like him?’ The man couldn’t help but wonder while sitting tightly on the bench, and his butt started to get used. Unfortunately, time couldn’t move back, so all he could do was think about so many what-if scenarios inside his head without finding an answer that could satisfy him.
Higo himself didn’t know that Nubel was looking at him intently. Well, even if he knew, the boy couldn’t care less about it right now. No, his focus was completely on the pitch, as Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski were already standing in front of the ball.
The former could be seen holding back a mischievous smile, while the latter was staring daggers at Higo. This alone should be enough to make any goalkeeper tremble in fear, and yet, if anything, the boy got way more excited than ever.
’Yeah, even if I lost, I will die before letting him score.’ He took a deep breath, returning the gaze with the same intensity. ’After this match is over, at least, I will have the right to brag that I am his bane! Come on! Come to me, Bastard!’