Chapter 955: Third Consecutive Win!

"OH! YES!"

"THREE WINS IN A ROW! THREE FUCKING WINS IN A ROW!"

"COME ON, GUYS! THIS IS AWESOME!"

The moment the whistle blew, all the Schalke players celebrated excessively, startling the away team for a moment. After all, this was just a normal game in the middle of the season, so there should be no need to do this, right?

Well, they couldn’t understand how important this win was for Schalke.

This wasn’t just an ordinary result. No, counting the last two games, this was the first time Schalke managed to bag three wins in a row since 2014, the time when they managed to get into the Europa League.

It had been seven years since that happened, and the team had been through so many downs for them to be in this spot again.

Then, to make it sweeter, this wasn’t an easy game for everyone here. Oh, no, it wasn’t about their performance on the pitch, since this was way more important than Frohling would ever admit.

No, this was about before the game, when everyone was so reluctant to be here since they had to sacrifice their New Year holiday just for some might say ’Stupid football’ or something like that.

Some had to cancel their plans with their family or partners, some had to go back to the team quicker than being planned, and some even came to the training ground reeking alcohol due to them not caring enough to bother with the coach’s warning.

And yet, even with all the troubles there, the team still managed to get a perfect win, getting through this shithole so decisively to continue the momentum they left before the Christmas break earlier.

Now, they managed to sneak into sixth place with 24 points from 7 wins, 3 draws, and 6 losses.

Compared to last year where even getting a draw itself was like a mission impossible as they had to fight to get out of the relegation zone, the improvement right now was so massive that each player could also feel the change in the atmosphere inside the team.

The main focus of this win was, of course, none other than Morita. After all, he managed to end the game in the 50th minute with a goal and two assists, earning him the Man of the Match award.

Compared to that boy, this time, Higo didn’t get any spotlight at all.

Well, not that the goalkeeper had a problem with it, since he didn’t really do much in this game. Other than one free kick from Ellyes Skhiri in the first half, he only picked up a few crosses that came to him, not worth mentioning at all.

Hell, in total, he only managed to get one save, probably the least he had in his professional career so far.

That was not a reflection of how strong Schalke was, but more like how weak FC K?ln was this year.

’Well, at least we managed to win this game without any much problem.’ Higo murmured quietly.

After the game was over, he didn’t go back to the locker room immediately with the team. No, the boy went straight to the stands, bowing deeply to show his gratitude for their support here.

"Thank you for coming, Guys!"

Of course, the supporters accepted this gesture readily, even starting to chant his name over and over again.

"YES! Thank you for your hard work, Wakabayashi!"

"Keep up your performance! You are the Wakabayashi of our club!"

"Lead us to the Champions League, Wakabayashi!"

Higo just felt the corner of his lips twitching madly when he heard that. At this point, it seemed that all the people in Gelsenkirchen, other than those who knew him well, just called him Wakabayashi here.

Honestly, the boy still felt like the nickname was cringey. Unfortunately, the supporters had already shown their love for this name, so there was nothing he could do about it.

Still, even though their number wasn’t that much, just around 500, Higo still appreciated their presence here. After all, it was just three days after New Year’s Day, and they were willing to sacrifice their holiday in such cold weather to come and support the team.

At least, this just showed how fanatic they were for this city.

Once Higo was back in the locker room, Morita and Frohling were also back from the post-match interview.

The former was still calm as if nothing could bother him anymore, but the older man was definitely ecstatic right now, having the biggest grin that he could muster.

Hell, when Higo looked at that, he was so afraid that his coach would hurt his facial muscles, unable to go back to his original expression, and had to smile like that for the rest of his life.

"Okay, guys! What a win!" The man opened his speech with a big applause, which was followed by the players inside.

"People might see it as an easy win for us, but I know how much sacrifice you guys have to make just to come to the stadium at this moment, and for that, I appreciate your effort to bring glory to the team today!"

The players joined the applause, but they still had their own restraint. If anything, they were looking at the head coach eagerly, wanting to hear what came next from the man’s mouth.

Frohling also saw this, and he could feel the corner of his lips twitching.

"Well, since you guys are waiting for this, then, let me announce it." He took a deep breath, letting the players fall into anticipation first before grinning widely.

"Three days off for the bench players! Four for those who played as a substitute! And five for the main players! Enjoy your holiday, guys!"

Silence fell for a moment as everyone had their eyes widen in shock and disbelief. However, it only lasted for a heartbeat, because in the next second, everyone roared instantly at this announcement.

"FUCK YEAH!"