Chapter 945: Preparation for the Next Game!

"Hey, Hoppe! Stop sulking like that!"

"Yeah, no one has ever managed to win against Higo in a one-on-one battle! He is really that freak!"

"The key is to lower your expectations! Even Lewandowski himself wouldn’t be able to get one easily from Higo, let alone you!"

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching madly when he heard that.

The boy was okay with the rest of the team consoling Hoppe. After all, he also had a similar thought once the matchup was over, knowing that this would be a huge blow to the boy’s confidence.

Still, why would they drag his name like that? Talking about him as if he was a boogeyman on the backline or something similar?!

In the end, though, Higo just huffed, letting out an annoyed sigh before approaching the sulking Hoppe.

Everyone made a room for those two immediately, knowing that this was something that they needed to resolve right now. Those who weren’t involved in that matchup, other than being spectators, didn’t have the right to jump in for this conversation.

"What? Still unwilling?" Higo asked shortly. Hoppe didn’t really answer it, just staring at the ball in Higo’s hand with hatred as if it had just offended his whole family.

"Well, it is good that you still think about it. If only you just dropped this matter because I was more experienced or something with that tone, that would only mean I misjudged you."

"Sorry?" This time, Hoppe finally couldn’t hold back anymore, asking with a big frown formed on his forehead.

"I mean, at least you care enough about this result, right? If you just made an excuse, that means you are content to be just a mediocre player, and I would be disappointed if you were that kind of a person." Higo shrugged.

Silence followed for a moment as those two didn’t speak a single word, just holding a staring contest inside the penalty box. The other players didn’t seem to be bothered by this, letting them finish their business while they were starting to fix the pitch.

"You are allowed to be frustrated, but if you are willing to think more, maybe you can fix some of your problems, you know?"

"...Such as?" Hoppe finally lowered his ego to ask a question here.

"How your eyes always move when you are thinking, and how obviously you open your body toward the direction that you are aiming at," Higo answered without hesitation.

"You might not notice it, but for me, those two are obvious, allowing me to read you without any mistake. Any experienced goalkeeper would be able to do that as well. Just watch your footage and ask Waldoch-sensei about it, and he will also have the same conclusion as me."

Indeed, this was a huge problem that Higo noticed in the second encounter. It might be ridiculous to say, as that happened in a split second and it would be difficult for any normal person to take notice of it.

However, goalkeepers were trained to notice that change in a split second.

Well... Not all, but at least, that was Higo’s case, as Kumiko forced him to study sports biomechanics that would give him an idea of how to read his opponent’s intention in a very short time.

This knowledge helped him on so many occasions, including this one. Even without his clairvoyance ability, Higo managed to read where Hoppe would send the ball perfectly, preventing himself from losing a single goal in this matchup.

"Well, you have the potential here, but you are still quite immature. Train more, and maybe you can challenge me again in the future."

Higo patted the boy on the shoulder before walking back to the team, leaving Hoppe alone to ponder everything quietly in the penalty box.

This was just a short episode in the training session that everyone forgot about immediately, as their focus was back on the game that they would play three days later.

They would have to face FC K?ln on their home ground, and with their last two games ending up in them winning them all, the momentum was on their hands, so there was no way Frohling would aim for anything other than victory.

Still, that didn’t mean he could lower his guard, especially since tomorrow would be the last day of the year. Some players would definitely demand to have a break, wanting to celebrate the event with their family.

The worst part, though, was that he couldn’t really reject them, as this should indeed be the holiday period for everyone.

That was where the headache came from, as now he was forced to rack his brain to think of how to manage everyone’s schedule that would leave them all satisfied with the result.

"Oh, God... Why would the federation try to compress the schedule in the worst way possible?! Can they just prolong the summer season rather than this?!" He groaned, wanting to bang his head on the table.

At the same time, Waldoch came into the office with a cup of coffee in his hand, just to find his boss was having a meltdown over everything.

"You are overthinking this, Boss." The Polish man grunted.

"Just give all the benchwarmers two days of a break first and give a promise to the main team that they would have two days as well after the game is done. Don’t worry about whether they like it or not. They are professionals, getting paid to do this shit. They could shove their complaints to their ass if they want."

That was such a... "Fucking brilliant idea, Thomasz! You are a fucking genius!" Frohling’s eyes were shining brighter than ever, as if he had just received some sort of enlightenment.

"Yeah, you are right. This is a simple but effective way to allocate the break time. No one will be able to complain about it. No, even if someone dares to do that, just say that they are professionals. Damn! This way, we might have a complete squad for the game later!"