Chapter 906: Schalke Takes Control of the Game! (I)

Morita didn’t really know what was going on here. One moment he was so close to shooting the ball, even thinking about how he would celebrate, and the next, the boy felt like he’d been hit by a fucking train.

BAM!

"ARGH!" The boy roared in pain as he stumbled to the ground, starting to clutch his ankle as well. "FUCK! REF, FOUL! FOUL! AAARGH!" The way he screamed was so dramatic that it was like he was about to get killed here.

Unfortunately, everything happened right in front of the referee’s eyes, and the man just snorted with amusement. After all, the tackle was so clean that no complaint could overturn it, and honestly, Morita was lucky that he saw the boy stumbling on the ground, or he would think that the midfielder was just diving here and wouldn’t hesitate to give the boy a yellow card.

Knowing that he was being ignored by the referee, though, Morita was so helpless right now, asking for help from Mark Uth to get up from the ground. He looked so annoyed and unwilling, turning his head around to see which bastard dared to launch such a violent tackle at him.

’Fuck! If it missed a few millimeters, that tackle would’ve snapped my ankle! Who is stupid enough to do that?!’

However, his expression stiffened instantly when he found Makoto Hasebe grinning viciously at him. Hell, the boy turned his face away instantly, not wanting to get caught by the man who looked like he was in beast mode.

’Fucking hell, Hasebe-san... Why would you try to kill your kouhai like that?!’ He cried in grievance.

It wasn’t just him who was questioned himself. This game was broadcast across all of Japan, and all the people back home also wondered what Hasebe was trying to do with that tackle.

Fuck! Does Hasebe-san know that Morita is our future?! Does he really not want to see Morita on the Samurai Blue?!

Yeah, that tackle is too much! If he got injured again and couldn’t play for the national team, who would be held responsible?!

Hey, you bunch of softies, what do you know about it?! Hasebe-san is Morita’s opponent right now, and this is the biggest respect that he could show for Morita!

Yeah, this is a man’s sport! If he doesn’t want to get tackled, go and play something else!

Yeah, the incident had just happened a few seconds ago, and yet, a whole debate formed on social media so quickly. Not that anyone could blame them, since this game was quite big in Japan, where the two emerging young stars had to fight against two veterans who had been in the Bundesliga for so many years.

Still, one thing that people got, though, was that even though they came from the same country, they were currently fighting against each other, and Makoto Hasebe’s professionalism would never let him lower his standard just because he played against his kouhai.

Morita himself understood that, so he just got up with no complaints, getting ready to restart the game.

Unfortunately, that meant the momentum of the Blitzkrieg attack was gone, and now, Schalke had to build everything from scratch again. For a defensive team that didn’t really know how to grab back the momentum that they lost, this was usually the end of their attempt to attack, and now, it was time for them to move back.

Even though some players regretted that they couldn’t bag the second goal from this scenario, at least everyone knew that it was impossible for them to do that in almost every game, so they accepted it willingly.

To everyone’s surprise, though, instead of moving back to their own territory, somehow, Schalke chose to control possession first, using their strong midfield line filled with Omar Mascarell, Morita, and Nabil Bentaleb, three players who could hold the ball and distribute it well, to break through Frankfurt’s defense.

They were patient in this regard, not just passing aimlessly, but also doing everything they could to attract Frankfurt’s players and open up space behind their midfield line to get exploited later.

Then, the chance finally appeared in the 51st minute of the game, when Benito Raman received a through ball from Sebastian Rudy that allowed him to cut in and get a better angle. However, before he could do so, the Belgian winger felt someone was pulling his jersey, and in the next second, he couldn’t help but curse and stop running.

"What the fuck, Man?! That’s not cool!" He groaned in annoyance. "I cannot even move with him holding my jersey like that! It should be a fucking yellow!"

This time, the referee didn’t show any hesitation, just pointing at the spot where the incident happened while also letting a yellow card fly out of his pocket. This was a professional foul that warranted a card, and the Frankfurt defender didn’t show any reaction, knowing that he was at fault.

Still, the man’s gaze turned ugly when he realized how close they were to the penalty box. Even though the angle was tight, just closer to the flank side, it was just one foot away from the box, and honestly, if he fouled a little bit late, it would be a penalty for Schalke right now.

The other Frankfurt players also noticed this, and they couldn’t help but remind the man.

"Come on, Ndicka! That foul is too reckless!"

"Yeah, don’t do it that close to our territory, or they will kill us!"

Evan Ndicka just nodded quietly before joining the others to form a human wall in front of the spot. Meanwhile, holding the ball, Morita put it on the ground, staring at the referee for a moment in a relaxed state.

’This should be my first time getting a free kick this close in this season, right?’ The boy couldn’t help but muse. ’Well... Let’s see how it would turn into...’

FWEEE!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Morita didn’t hesitate here. However, in that tight angle, instead of shooting it by himself, the boy used his right foot to curl the ball to the far post, where one person was standing taller than anyone else to fight for the ball.

"HA! This is what I am waiting for, Morita!"