Chapter 761: Aftermath

First Game in the Lockdown Era, Schalke 04 Destroys Borussia Dortmund 4-1!

Three Red Cards Drama, Is It the Right Choice?!

Favre: Daniel Caligliuri Should’ve Been Given a Red Card!

Who is Nassim Boujellab, Schalke 04’s New Hero?!

The day after the game was over, all the news platforms in this country were filled with reports of that game. Well, it couldn’t be helped, since it was the opening game of the lockdown era, which was the symbol of the new beginning.

It also helped that in those 90 minutes, so many dramas happened. From Higo’s amazing performance, the horror tackle to Rabbi Matondo, the crazy final score, to even Nassim Boujellab’s heroic hat-trick assists, every story exploded and became a headline not just in the whole country, but even among the big outlets in Europe.

The supporters all around the world were also ecstatic about this, all commenting with one viral hashtag.

#Footballisback!

Just for this day, somehow, all the news related to the coronavirus disappeared instantly, getting replaced by the result of this Revier Derby.

Of course, not everyone was happy here. No, all the Dortmund supporters were livid as they pushed the footage of Daniel Caligliuri’s little spat with Lukasz Piszczek in the second half to the internet, and it went viral quite fast. Their head coach’s words in the press conference also spread so fast on the Internet.

"Wow, I didn’t realize the referee was playing for the other team today. How could he miss that push on our guy? It’s almost like he was blind or just decided not to see it. If that wasn’t a red card, I don’t know what is. Maybe they only win because the referee is helping them out, turning a blind eye to all the fouls. I guess next time he’ll see the game with his eyes closed, and they’ll still get away with it."

Of course, Frohling would never let anyone criticize his players, not when he himself approved the action.

"Oh, come on now, Cali only pushed back because his guy was trying to seriously injure one of ours. If anything, that push was a response to that horror tackle to Matondo before that—what do you expect? And let’s be honest, that tackle his player made? That was more like attempted murder than a foul. A red card? Lucky he even got just a warning after that! He should be banned for life!"

At least, that was what the man said when a journalist asked during the press conference. He didn’t even mind his words here, using the harshest he could muster to shift the attention back to Lukasz Piszczek.

The purpose was simple.

Frohling knew that there was no way Caligliuri could avoid the punishment. However, by letting the public compare it to the foul that the opponent made, everyone would think subconsciously that Cali’s action wasn’t that bad, and it could lead to a lighter punishment.

This was definitely a PR masterclass from the head coach, subtly manipulating the outcome of the punishment with just his words.

Meanwhile, besides that incident, the other main focus of this game was Nassim Boujellab. Yeah, it was as if the Moroccan winger descended from the sky here, coming out of nowhere to bring a storm to the league.

Before the game, only a small part of Schalke fans knew that he existed. After all, while he was talented enough to be the second team’s superstar, the man had never been in the first team before. Hell, even some of the players in the team also doubted him the moment they heard Nassim was getting called up, wondering how a young man with a lack of experience like him would survive in the ’real’ Revier Derby.

Well, one performance was enough for the boy to prove that not only could he survive, but he would also thrive in this competition seamlessly.

A game against the team’s biggest rival in the country, bagging three assists without even breaking too much sweat; this was definitely the best way to introduce himself to the world. Now, everyone was digging into his data, trying to find out everything about him.

Nassim himself wasn’t affected too much by the news outside. No, even though he was excited about what he achieved in the last game, the boy had already moved on at this point, knowing that the only reason he could wreak havoc on Dortmund’s defense was that they didn’t know even a single thing about him.

Once he played more, his playing style would be analyzed by the opponent, and that would be when the big test came. Before that, Nassim didn’t want to get his head inflated first, just putting his eyes on the front again.

As for Higo... Well, he didn’t make a big splash this time.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, the boy still showed a strong performance. Other than initiating the first goal with his throw, the goalkeeper managed to make 12 saves in that game, including 7 coming from Erling Haaland himself. It was his second-best record after the game against Bayern a few months ago, which was incredible considering how hard it was for a goalkeeper to get a double-digit save like this.

However, one goal he conceded against Erling Haaland in the first half was like a stain on his resume. It didn’t dismiss his performance completely, but at least, people would think, ’Well, he conceded one goal, so it shouldn’t be that good, right?’

Still, Higo himself didn’t really mind about that. No, the boy knew that he wouldn’t always be able to play a perfect game, and Erling Haaland was an anomaly that came out of nowhere. There was no need to beat him too much, not when this was already within his expectations.

Now, he put the game against Dortmund behind him, deciding to focus on what would come next. There would still be at least 7 games before the end of the league, and to survive the relegation zone, this win alone would never be enough.

’After this, we have to play against Augsburg. We have to win this, or the momentum we carry from the last game will disappear instantly!’