The game itself was, if Higo had to be honest, quite disappointing.
It was Schalke 04 against Augsburg, two teams that were currently fighting to avoid the relegation zone. The home team was just two points away from 16th place, where the team would have to fight for a playoff to maintain its status as the Bundesliga team, and the away team was just one spot higher, at 14th place, in the standings right now.
This was a duel of two teams that had been bad throughout the year, so it was clear that the game itself also didn’t run as smoothly as Higo had thought it would.
So many aimless long balls were thrown, so many unnecessary battles in the midfield erupted, and more importantly, no one was able to hold the tempo for more than one minute without losing it completely in the next second. The game was so disorganized that it was quite hard to watch.
However, Higo could still see some players who looked quite promising. On Schalke’s defensive line, a tall man with a full tattoo on his arm was always calm in his command, occupying the backline and always giving timely support from time to time to the side where the ball came. Later, Higo learned that the man was Matija Nastasic, a veteran defender who had experience playing under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Then, there was also Weston McKennie, a curly-haired midfielder from America who was so rapid and agile in the center line. Not only that, his movement was also quite sharp, always appearing close to the conflict to recycle the ball.
Honestly, the man reminded Higo of the duo midfielders from Hannan University High who were always so mobile in fighting for the second ball like this, a selfless janitor who made sure the team could maintain possession as long as possible.
Still, other than those two, everything was so bleak here. The offensive line, especially, couldn’t even get closer to the penalty box without giving up their possession first or launching a rocket that was either far too weak for the goalkeeper to handle or far too wide from the goal itself.
So many shots were made, but none of them were threatening enough to open up the score. The same could also be said for Augsburg, as they were so frustrated at their lack of ability to breach through Nastasic’s defensive area.
In the end, even though there were some sparks here and there, the score was still the same, a tie with neither team able to score even a single goal, leaving the home team supporters in dissatisfaction.
"Not a game that you would expect, huh?" Fabian sighed as he took a pint of beer he brought outside. Honestly, it was incredible how a beer was allowed to be inside a stadium like this. "You can see people’s anger from here, and it is understandable. A game against Augsburg should be a must-win game for us, especially since they are our rivals in the relegation zone. Well, once again, Schalke is the best at disappointing its supporters, so a draw is the best that we can get today."
"Honestly, I don’t even know what is wrong with the team!" Randi also made a comment, clearly frustrated with the final result. "We have a decent squad, even some renowned international players, for God’s sake! But when it really matters, everyone crumbles, and no one dares to take responsibility! It is as if the team is cursed to have such a mediocre result like this! If nothing changes, even when we are going to play there next year, we would only suffer more..."
Well, it was clear that Fabian and Randy were worried here. After all, they had quite a good chance to play in the main team next year, but if this was the kind of performance they were going to chime in, no matter how good they were, they would only get swallowed by the depressing atmosphere inside the team first.
Even Higo, who shouldn’t concern himself with this situation since he would only get into the second team next year, couldn’t help but feel worried right now. Unfortunately, he himself didn’t know about the team’s situation, so the boy could only offer a silent comfort right now.
Of course, not knowing was one thing, but not searching for it was another matter.
Right after Higo went back to the hotel room, he took out his phone immediately, checking the time for a second.
’6 in the evening... That means it should be around midnight back home, right? Anyone else might have been asleep, but Kumiko-chan is still probably studying something big in her own room. Let’s try to make a call here.’
As he expected, Kumiko was still awake. When the phone call was connected, Higo could still hear the girl writing something, probably busy planning the end of the world or something sophisticated like that.
Before he could say anything, though, the girl had already spoken first. "Yes, Ryukkun? You should still be in Schalke’s game, right? How is it? Have you been impressed with how a professional game looks?"
Higo couldn’t help but smile when he heard that barrage of questions. Kumiko sure had a way to make himself feel special, what with how curious she was over everything that he had done in the day.
Well, Higo didn’t have any reservations here. The boy just told her everything that happened today, from the game itself to the underwhelming feeling he had after the game was over. Kumiko listened quietly, not even interrupting the story at all. The only thing that made Higo sure that the call was still connected was the quiet sound of the girl’s breath on the other side of the call.
"Well, I told you that this could happen, right? They haven’t been in their best performance in the last couple of years, so getting a draw shouldn’t be that surprising for you." In the end, Kumiko just said that easily.
"I know that, but this is the first time I’ve seen their game, and it is so hard to watch..." Higo sighed helplessly.
Kumiko was quiet for a moment before she threw a crucial question here. "Are you probably thinking something in line with... What should I do to help this team?"