"This young man is Ryusuke Higo, our new goalkeeper." Frohling introduced him to the whole team the next day, the first time he joined the training session. "He will be here to fight together with us, so take care of him, okay?"
"Yes, Sir!" The rest of the players nodded simultaneously, not even asking any questions. Some might be curious, especially those who had experienced playing together with him during Higo’s trial session. However, most of the players didn’t even glance at the boy here.
This reaction was understandable. After all, Higo himself didn’t have any professional team before joining Schalke, and now, the coach suddenly let him jump, not even putting him on the U-19 team first. No, the boy was projected as the second team’s main goalkeeper, and that was why some hostility sparked even on the first day he was here.
Higo himself also didn’t bat an eye at their reaction. The boy had already predicted this kind of outcome based on Fabian’s prediction, so unless he beat them convincingly with his ability, everyone would still look down on him in this team.
’Well, time will tell that I deserve the spot in this team!’ He clenched his fists tightly.
As the training session began, he started to exert his muscles, showing everyone why the coach was eager to sign him. The boy crushed the goalkeeping training, from the reaction drill, the crossing-anticipation scenario, facing a shot with a big wall blocking his sight, and even the direct shot-stopping training, which involved a lot of one-on-one scenarios against a striker.
The other three goalkeepers just had their jaws dropped when they saw this, never expecting Higo to push the accelerator the moment he came here.
"Damn, Brother! You are crushing everything!" A boy—No, not a boy. He should be a man—with a bald head and short beard approached him with a friendly attitude. "I know that the coach said he signed a talented goalkeeper, but I never thought it would be outrageous! My name is Michael Zadach, by the way! Just call me Zee!"
Higo had a sweat drop when he heard this nickname, somehow remembering Zion Suzuki, the national team’s main goalkeeper. "My name is Higo, thank you for the praise." The boy nodded politely.
As for the other two goalkeepers, they just looked at Higo warily, not even exchanging words with him. Well, Higo himself didn’t think too much, but inwardly, the boy had already labeled the two as potential enemies, those whom Fabian warned him about.
’Let’s just hope that they are willing to compete in football, not resorting to any dirty trick outside of the pitch.’ He murmured secretly.
Meanwhile, after the morning training was over, it was time for lunch, and Zee decided to take it upon himself to be a guide for Higo. The boy was quite talkative, chatting about everything that came to mind.
From the boy, Higo learned that the other two goalkeepers were the team’s backups last year, failing to compete against Alexander Nubel, who was being promoted to the main team this season. They had a great hope to be the main choice this year, but based on the training session this morning, Higo could feel that even some of the goalkeepers from the national tournament back home would be better than them.
’Yeah, fuck! How could this team still give them two spots in the team? Do they give a charity or what?’ He grumbled inwardly while also chewing his food and listening to Zee’s story quietly.
After lunch was over, it was time for a group training. This time, everyone, from the goalkeeper to the striker, would be involved in this session.
The rule was simple. It was a 5v5 game being played on a small pitch, only using less than half the original size of the pitch. No fixed team would be assigned, and instead, the head coach would determine everything on the fly. If he saw one team was being too strong, he would put a rookie there, and the same could be said for a team that was too weak. He put the best player to balance things out.
Based on everyone’s casual gaze, it was clear that the players there were used to this kind of training method. Higo himself still learned the rule since this would be his first time, but instead of feeling nervous, the boy couldn’t help but feel excited.
’If before, only the goalkeepers could see my ability, this time, I will force everyone else to look at me properly. No way in hell I would let this golden chance to show off to slide away just like that!’ He vowed inwardly.
After waiting for the players to gather around, Frohling finally raised his voice. "Okay, have you guys finished your warm-up? Make sure you do it properly! Anyone who gets injured because of that will get fined 50 Euros!"
Some of the guys flinched at the mention of a fine. While 50 Euros might not seem a lot, at the end of the day, they were still players from the second team whose status was definitely lower than the regular one. Their salary wasn’t that much in the first place, and having to pay a fine would be a disaster for their wallet.
Seeing that everyone was ready, Frohling couldn’t help but nod in approval. "Good! The first group! Ahlers! Becker! Hoffman! Fontein! Schuler! You go in!" He shouted the first batch of names.
"Yes, Sir!"
"Second group! Zadach! Jordan! Gueye! Idrizi! Randy! You are in as well!"
This time, the next five people came forward, and Higo noticed one familiar person there. Randy, the Ghanaian striker, also came, ready to impress the head coach. Four out of five players from the second team were bench warmers, so they all were eager to show off in this chance.
"I want a clean game, no malicious intent or action toward your opponent! We all are teammates, so don’t use violence to settle your differences. Do you guys understand?!" The coach stared at the two teams intently. After getting nods from the players, he finally put the whistle to his mouth. "Good! Then, let’s start this session!"
FWEEE!