Chapter 158: Out of the Cup

The German Cup went wrong on a Wednesday night in Munich.

Magath had made his choice before the team sheet went up. Two competitions mattered this season, the Bundesliga and the Champions League, and the squad was too thin to chase a third. So he chose to rotate heavily against 1860 Munich, rolling out a lineup loaded with youth and fringe players to face an energetic second-tier side eager to cause an upset on home turf.

The home side seized their opportunity with both hands.

Schalke's backup defensive unit looked completely uncoordinated in the first half, conceding two scruffy goals inside thirty-five minutes that the first-choice backline would have cleared without a second thought. Magath made an immediate double change at the break, bringing on Mateo and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to restore order.

The momentum shifted instantly for twenty minutes. Huntelaar rose above the center-backs to bury a thumping header, and shortly after, Mateo carved his way through the middle to square an unselfish tap-in for Edu, leveling the score at 2-2.

Just as a comeback seemed certain, 1860 caught Schalke completely flat-footed on a rapid counter in the eighty-second minute, tucking a low finish into the bottom corner.

3-2.

In the away dressing room afterwards, nobody said much. Losing to a second-division side stung, even a second-division side you'd half-decided to lose to.

Magath didn't rage. He stood in the middle of the room and waited for the quiet.

"Put this out of your minds," Magath said, his voice cutting through the quiet. "Our focus has to stay on what matters. We never had the squad depth to chase three separate trophies all spring. Now we can stop dividing our energy." He scanned the room, meeting their eyes. "The Bundesliga and the Champions League. That is our entire season. Every single ounce of our preparation goes toward those two competitions. We move on immediately."

His pragmatic tone settled the players. The squad had been punching above its weight all season, and trimming the schedule allowed them to focus purely on their primary targets. By the time the team bus rolled back into Gelsenkirchen, the mood had fully pivoted toward the fixture everyone was anticipating.

Valencia at home was just four days away.

The atmosphere throughout Gelsenkirchen had been electric for over a week.

Ever since the dominant first leg at the Mestalla, the entire city had embraced the Champions League run like an ongoing celebration. Royal blue and white flags hung from almost every balcony and shopfront. The catchy chant the supporters had created for Mateo echoed through local pubs, train stations, and work sites. A fan base accustomed to years of near-misses was finally buzzing with genuine belief.

When the traveling Valencia contingent began arriving in town, the atmosphere developed a sharp, hostile edge.

Nearly five thousand away fans had traveled for the second leg, carrying the bitter memory of their home defeat. They clearly remembered the jeers and hostile chants their own crowd had hurled at Mateo for ninety minutes in Spain, fully expecting a tense reception. They had not anticipated that Mateo's calm comments during the Spanish press conference would be adopted by the entire German fanbase as an invitation to ramp up the pressure.

The local supporters took that challenge to heart.

The airport banner had merely set the tone. By the time the weekend arrived, several supporter groups had escalated the celebration across the stadium plaza. They had set up a massive, towering inflatable figure of Mateo right in the center of the concourse, modeled after his iconic celebration with his back turned and both thumbs pointing boldly at his name and number 38. The stadium songs had grown considerably louder and more intense, designed specifically to build an electric wall of sound the moment the Spanish side entered the city.

When the Valencia team bus pulled up to the arena, Roberto Soldado stepped off the coach into a deafening wall of boos and jeers. He stared up at the giant inflatable of Mateo dominating the plaza, his jaw tightening with frustration as he muttered something under his breath to David Albelda. The veteran captain quickly clapped a hand onto Soldado's shoulder, steering him swiftly past the cameras and down the tunnel before tensions could rise any further.

By the evening before kickoff, local police units were working overtime. Small groups of rival supporters had clashed outside several bars in the old quarter, resulting in a string of minor scuffles, dozens of temporary detentions, and several away fans spending the night in holding cells. The celebratory mood of the previous week had taken on a raw, volatile intensity.

Mateo watched the evening news broadcast from his living room sofa alongside Farfán, who had come over to review video footage of Valencia's backline over dinner.

"You realize you practically set this entire fire yourself, right?" Farfán asked with a dry chuckle, pointing a fork toward the television.

Mateo shook his head with an amused smile. "Come on, I just said one polite sentence at a press table."

"You said that polite sentence to fifty thousand passionate supporters who treat this club like a religion," Farfán pointed out, leaning forward. "Giving them a subtle green light is like dropping a lit match into dry grass. Look at that screen, the police are literally patrolling the square. You should probably say something tomorrow morning to calm the temperature down."

Mateo watched the live news report and realized Farfán was right.

During the pre-match press conference the following afternoon, Mateo addressed the situation directly, speaking with complete sincerity.

"I really want to thank our supporters for the unbelievable energy they have shown throughout the week," Mateo said, looking out at the packed room of journalists. "The team feels that backing every single day. At the same time, I hope we treat Valencia with true sporting respect while they are in our city. Let us make the stadium as loud as possible, out-sing them for ninety minutes, and back us to get the job done on the pitch. That is the kind of welcome that truly represents Schalke."

A German reporter in the third row raised his hand, offering an amused smirk. "That sounds very diplomatic, Mateo, especially since your comments in Spain were the exact spark that kicked off this whole massive fan frenzy in the first place."

Mateo held a relaxed grin and met the reporter's gaze. "I simply asked our supporters to bring their voices. If they decided to build giant inflatables and take over the city square, that comes down to their creativity, not my tactics. But seriously, let us keep all the intensity strictly between the white lines tomorrow night."

A wave of light laughter moved through the media room. The journalists quietly admired how effortlessly the teenager navigated the press, playfully ramping up the anticipation before gracefully stepping in to cool the tension.

Thursday evening arrived under cold stadium lights.

With kickoff less than half an hour away, the traveling section presented an unusually subdued sight. While five thousand seats had been allocated to the visitors, only a fraction of that number were scattered throughout the away block, mostly casual supporters and neutral spectators wearing thick winter coats without team colors. The ultras who typically led the away noise had clearly decided that spending an evening in the middle of a rowdy German crowd was not worth the trouble, leaving their section largely muted.

The rest of the Veltins-Arena was completely overflowing.

The home stands were packed to the brim an hour before the players even emerged for warmups. Over sixty thousand supporters created an overwhelming wall of sound, with thousands wearing replica number 38 shirts and chanting Mateo's anthem across the covered roof. Giant royal blue banners swayed behind both goals, filling the stadium with an intense, electric atmosphere that felt more like a cup final than a routine second leg.

Inside the tunnel, both starting lineups lined up along the tiled walls.

Soldado stood three places ahead of Mateo, staring intently toward the pitch with a rigid, focused posture. Between the airport scenes, the massive murals outside, and the noise pouring in from the pitch, the Spanish striker looked completely ready for the match to begin just to escape the surrounding circus.

Mateo observed him for a brief second, feeling a slight sense of empathy for the pressure the Spanish squad was under, though his competitive focus took over immediately.

The head referee moved to the front of the tunnel, signaling for both teams to step forward as the roar from the stands reached a deafening pitch.

Farfán stepped up beside Mateo's shoulder, tapping his shin guard with a confident grin. "Remember what we talked about in the car. Hit that wide channel early and I'll be flying down the flank."

"I've got the space mapped out already, Jefferson," Mateo replied with a calm smile, adjusting his socks. "Just make sure you stay onside."

"Leave that part to me," Farfán laughed, pulling his sleeves down against the chill.

Side by side, they marched out of the tunnel and straight into the roaring cauldron of the Veltins-Arena.

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