Chapter 1023: Kick-Off! A Slow Game?

Soon enough, both captains gathered in the middle, joining the referee for the coin toss. It was no question here that Kolasinac lost. However, everyone was so speechless, not knowing what to say.

"Fuck! It is one thing for Omar to always lose, but you too?! This has been the fourth time, you know?!" Stambouli asked in disbelief.

Indeed, in the last four games since Omar left the team, Sead took over the captain role, and yet, just like the previous captain, he had never won even a single coin toss so far.

Even Kolasinac himself was so speechless right now, twitching the corner of his lips in confusion.

"Maybe we really are being cursed?" The current captain offered an explanation with a weak smile.

Even though it was ridiculous, since the reality was already in front of them, no one could deny that answer at all.

Higo himself tried his best to shrink his presence. After all, the boy felt like this was related to him, since whenever he played, whether it was when he was at Hakodate Nishi, Young Samurai, or even Schalke right now, his captain had never won a coin toss even once.

’Yeah, it seems I am the one who is cursed here...’ He murmured wryly.

Still, he didn’t think too much about it. No, the game was about to begin, so his focus was on the pitch already.

On the center spot, Wout Weghorst had already stood in front of the ball, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. The other Wolfsburg players were also the same, a little bit more relaxed than Schalke’s current state.

Still, anyone who opened their eyes carefully would be able to see that some players were way more tense than the others, probably having a unique responsibility for today’s game.

Higo didn’t know what it was, but he intended to get ready for everything.

’My first game after two games of absence... Let’s try to keep everything stable first, huh?’

FWEEE!

The moment everything was ready, the referee finally blew the whistle, and Wolfsburg didn’t wait for too long before they finally made their move.

Unlike Schalke, who was always eager to rush forward, though, Wolfsburg was not a team that preferred to play at a high tempo. No, they decided to dictate the tempo first, strengthening their control over the game before finally pulling some strings on the front line.

The combination between their captain, Maximilian Arnold, and a bulky French Midfielder, Josuha Guilavogui, was strong enough to play with the rhythm, ignoring the subtle pressure from Schalke’s side.

It also helped that they dropped deep, even parallel to their own defender, making it impossible for any players to rush toward them without taking the risk of leaving a big space behind them.

Of course, there was no way Schalke would do that. No, they came here with the purpose of stealing a point, so the thing they avoided the most right now was to charge recklessly.

This state lasted quite long, with both teams still trying to gauge their opponent’s approach. Just from the way they approached each other, it was clear that this was going to be a boring game, and even though it had only been 10 minutes, some people had already yawned on the stand.

"Come on, what are we watching here?!"

"This is not going to go anywhere! Arnold, do something!"

Well, it was understandable that the supporters started to lose their patience. Still, the players had their own way to approach this matter, so they just shut their ears and continued playing their own game.

After waiting a little bit more, the first dangerous threat finally came in the 17th minute, and ironically, it was for Schalke’s side.

Somehow, Ao Tanaka went undetected, sneaking to the joint area in Wolfsburg’s defense and mingling there in the space that was so close to the opponent’s offside line.

The midfielder was clever, though. He didn’t truly enter the offside zone, just hovering around Wolfsburg’s center back while also waiting for the opportunity to take an action.

The opportunity that he had been waiting for finally came, as Morita saw his movement and sent a strong pass straight to his feet.

This caught Wolfsburg defenders off guard, but they also reacted accordingly by trying to get closer to Tanaka in the next second.

However, Tanaka also knew about this, and contesting against them was never an option.

That was why, instead of receiving the pass on his own, the boy just let the ball go through his legs, using his presence as a distraction while letting it roll far to the flank where Benito Raman was blitzing his way through the wing.

"FUCK! He slips!"

"Kevin! Chase him!"

"I get this! I get this! Don’t worry about it!"

Wolfsburg’s fullback, Kevin Mbabu, also took an action here. He was a fullback from Switzerland with a mother from Congo, and if there was one thing a player with African roots excelled in, that would be their physical ability.

It didn’t even take a long time before the fullback covered the gap between him and Benito Raman, only leaving it to one step here. If the Belgian winger didn’t take an action immediately, Kevin Mbabu would definitely get him in a second.

However, Benito Raman also knew about that. He could feel the opponent had already breathed down his neck, so the man didn’t hesitate to whip a low cross to the penalty box.

BAM!

"FUCK!" Hoppe couldn’t help but curse as his attempt to tap the ball into the back of the net got blocked by Wolfsburg’s central defender, John Brooks.

Some of the Wolfsburg players sighed in relief, finding that the situation was a little bit dangerous to their liking.

However, the threat was far from being over.

From everyone’s blind spot, Ao Tanaka suddenly arrived to receive the ball, and before anyone could recover from Hoppe’s failed attempt, the boy had already launched a half-volley shot without controlling the ball first to take advantage of this chaotic situation.

’Come on! Give me a goal!’

BAM!