Well, the frenzy state didn’t stop just like that. Even though the World Cup U-20 wasn’t that big of an event outside, in Japan, the country that managed to advance to the quarterfinal, the team’s success was like an earthquake.
Every news platform back home seemed to report this matter. Even though this was not a major tournament like the World Cup itself, and even though football was always the second sport in this country after baseball, that didn’t diminish the enthusiasm here. After all, the one they beat yesterday was the one and only South Korea, their old and noisy neighbor.
Being so close to each other, their rivalry ran thicker than blood itself. In the last couple of years, even though South Korea always managed to produce a better superstar like Park Ji-Sung or Son Heung-Min, they were always one step behind in terms of team competition like this. The result yesterday once again proved that this matter was still valid, and they couldn’t help but brag about it to the South Korean media.
Of course, the main attention was still on Higo. After all, the boy was the main hero of the game, and after laying low for quite a while after the winter tournament, his name finally resounded once again in the sky after his heroic performance yesterday.
Fuck it! I know he is the Iron Wall from Hakodate! He is a crazy bastard when facing a penalty kick!
Yeah, this should be his third shootout, right? He really establishes himself as the best penalty stopper in the country!
The other teams would droll in envy! Who doesn’t want to have such a talented goalkeeper?!
So many people commented about his performance, and it would be a lie if Higo didn’t feel smug about it. Fortunately, his mother acted fast, calling him immediately before his ego could inflate further.
"Remember, Ryukkun, all the words that the media and people on the Internet said are not permanent. Once you make a mistake, you will be on the opposite side. Keep your head calm and don’t let those words affect your mentality, let alone make you feel better than anyone else. Don’t make any unnecessary enemies in the team."
Even though Minami didn’t know any intricacy in the football world, she was still wise enough to notice a pitfall when it was laid in front of her son’s path. With all people praising her son, it was her, Kumiko, and Ayaka’s task to make sure that Higo didn’t have his ego inflated big enough to cause any ripple between him and his teammates.
Listening to his mother gushing over him, the boy could only feel the corner of his lips twitching here. ’How could I have my ego inflated big enough when I myself am still the second choice in the team? I could only have that right when I could convince everyone that I deserve the spot between the posts. Before that, I am still just a small player with a little bit better ability in one aspect.’
Well, at least the boy had a good mentality here. Little did he know, though, that what people feared the most was that he would start to put pressure on the coaching team because he believed he deserved better than this.
Other than his mother, one more message that baffled him came from Torsten Frohling, his head coach in Schalke’s second team.
Just wanted to say I was really impressed with your performance against South Korea yesterday. I’ve been keeping an eye on you, and I’m genuinely excited about what you’re achieving out there. Keep up the great work!
I also want to remind you that you’re part of the Schalke family now, so it’s important to keep things tight and avoid contact with other teams. We’re all looking forward to working with you in the new season and seeing you grow even more.
Take care, and see you soon!
Best,
Torsten Frohling
The email was concise, but it still left a part that Higo was quite puzzled about. Avoid contact with other teams? Why would he suddenly make contact with them?
Well, he misunderstood one thing here. It wasn’t him who made contact with other teams, but it was the other teams who were trying to seduce him to come to their palms, as the next afternoon, Fujita-san, his agent, suddenly called him with great enthusiasm.
"Ryusuke-kun, so many teams want to inquire about your information! They watched your game yesterday, and they couldn’t help but feel interested in you! There are Paderborn from Germany, Sint-Truidense from Belgium, and even Fortuna Sittard from the Netherlands! What do you want to do with them?"
Having already received the subtle message from his head coach, Higo just shook his head quickly. "Forget it, Fujita-san. I just signed a contract with Schalke a month ago; it wouldn’t be good to have a talk with another team in this situation. Just tell them I am happy with my new team and excited about the new adventure in Germany."
At least, that was what Kumiko guided him to say. Not that Higo would say otherwise, since he quite liked the answer. In the end, instead of talking about the interest from so many clubs outside, he and Fujita-san chatted about the more relaxing topic like the endorsement offers that the boy received from the local product back home.
Overall, though, it was quite an eventful day in the aftermath of his brilliant performance. Unfortunately, once the training session was back, the boy had to face the reality again that he was just the second choice in this team.
"Yeah, it is quite a humbling experience, I have to say." He couldn’t help but murmur.
"Huh? What did you say, Higo-san?" Zion asked.
"No, nothing." He shook his head quickly. "Come on, let me help you with that sequence again! You are always moving too slow here, letting the pressure get too close to our teammates. Sometimes, playing it safe is not a sin, you know?" He helped the boy review the last game.
Zion just nodded quietly, but Higo himself was not sure whether he would listen or not.
In the end, though, once the day was over, Kageyama-sensei gathered the players once again with a solemn expression. Amidst the confusion from everyone here, he finally announced one thing.
"It has been determined. Our next opponent is going to be Senegal, so get ready."