Chapter 948: High-Pressure from the Start!

January 3rd, Veltins Arena.

Over 400 fans had already gathered, chanting all the songs that showed their support for Schalke.

The number was quite low, as they were still in the middle of the restrictions due to the pandemic. At this moment, most people thought that they didn’t have time for football, having to think of a way to survive this shitty period.

Still, that was probably why every single support that they received today was way more valuable than ever.

"COME ON, THE BLUES! WE CAN DO THIS!"

"BRING BACK WIN, HIGO! MORITA!"

"LET’S SNATCH THE VICTORY!"

Usually, Higo would take time to greet the supporters when they shouted his name. However, it was different once he was inside the tunnel, getting ready with everyone to take the pitch.

He stood behind Omar as usual, and the moment the referee led everyone to the pitch, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes lightly, finding the sunlight outside to be blinding even a little.

’How could there be sun outside in the middle of the winter? This doesn’t make sense at all.’ He murmured quietly.

Still, the boy didn’t complain, joining everyone to shake hands with the opponents. Once he was done doing that, the boy continued his warm-up while also waiting for Omar Mascarell to finish the coin toss.

Not that he was looking forward to the result, of course, since not just the boy, but everyone else had already known before the captain was back on the team again.

"So, another defeat?" Stambouli asked mockingly.

"Oh, shut up!" Omar glared while also making a lot of rude hand gestures to the defender. It seemed that even the man himself was so bothered by the fact that he had never won the coin toss here.

Hoppe, who was confused as he had never known about this, couldn’t help but ask, and when Morita whispered the answer, the striker couldn’t help but choke, looking at the captain in disbelief.

"You mean he has never won a single one for more than two years?!"

Even though he asked in a voice barely above a whisper, everyone could hear it, and they all stiffened their laughter instantly. The captain himself had his face darkened, finding himself getting annoyed with everyone else here.

"Anyway, let’s focus on the game already. Don’t lose concentration, or the boss will hang your head, okay?!" He raised his voice, trying to change the subject.

The others also knew about it, but since the game was indeed about to begin, they all reached a collective agreement in silence that they would bring this up later once everything was over today.

Soon enough, everyone was ready on the pitch, with two of the FC K?ln players, Ondrej Duda and Marius Wolf, waiting inside the circle line for the kick-off.

Once the referee was ready...

FWEEE!

The whistle was finally blown, starting the very first game of 2021 for the two teams!

Just as Frohling planned, Hoppe didn’t even wait for a second time here. He blitzed forward without hesitation, chasing the ball with full speed like a rabid dog.

Hell, even some of his teammates like Fabian and Morita found it difficult to catch up with the boy, as he bounced from one player to another so quickly.

Matthew Hoppe was the true definition of a madman here.

Of course, this action caught everyone on FC K?ln off guard. After all, they were so used to the Schalke team that was passive and willing to wait for the first thirty minutes before they started to attack.

"Shit! Shit! Move the ball faster! Come on!"

"Give it to Ellyes! Fuck, where the hell is he?!"

"No, don’t send the ball there!"

Even though Schalke’s pressure was sloppy, the most dangerous thing here was how unpredictable it was. No one knew how they would do it or who was in command of the operation, so the opponent panicked instantly, not knowing where to send the ball.

In the end, they finally made a mistake here.

Unable to bear the pressure from Hoppe, K?ln’s center back, Sebastian Bornauw, slipped at the last second. He wanted to push the ball far to the opposition half, and yet, it only ended up on Benito Raman on the right side of the flank.

Well, the Belgian winger didn’t need any command to execute this play. Even though he was startled to receive this wild ball out of nowhere, his instinct came into play, guiding him to push the ball outward to the byline.

"Shit! Shut him down!"

"Don’t let him send a cross! Keep an eye on the middle as well!"

For a moment, everything was chaotic inside K?ln’s penalty box. Their defense revealed too much space to handle, and not a single one of them was able to correct this mistake quickly enough.

Benito Raman was also quite smart in this regard. Instead of trying to get into the box, he just hogged the flank tightly, spreading the opponent’s defense thin.

Then, once the winger saw the one he had been waiting for to support him was already following behind, he didn’t hesitate to send the ball there.

’Well, it is time for you to shine, Morita! Get it done properly, okay?’

Thud!

Right in the next second, the ball that went back for a moment flew toward the penalty box immediately, catching everyone off guard.

"Shit! Defenders, get ready!"

Yeah, no one expected Morita to be decisive here, whipping a cross instantly without controlling the ball first. However, it was a beautiful delivery, curving so sharply to get into the most dangerous position inside the box.

It helped that everyone seemed to be hypnotized, having to stare at the sky to see where the ball would land.

In doing so, though, they didn’t pay attention to who was sneaking from everyone’s blind spot.

Matthew Hoppe was also tracking the ball there, and once he calculated everything inside his head, the boy didn’t hesitate to take off the snowy ground here.

’The ball will be there, right, Morita?’

BAM!