If before, everyone talked behind Higo’s back with a sarcastic tone about what a country bumpkin he was, this time, they were put in their place, with no one daring to say anything again. Higo turned this training session into his personal show, acting as the guardian angel for both teams whenever he stepped onto the pitch.
Hell, some of the players even groaned whenever they heard Higo’s name was called to play, and they would also sigh in relief when he was called out for a little break. That just showed how much the boy traumatized the team with his ability in between the posts. They really treated him like a boogeyman, fearing him whenever the boy was on the pitch.
Well, not that they couldn’t be blamed here. After all, Higo’s performance was ridiculous. Fifteen minutes since the game started, he hadn’t conceded even a single goal yet, protecting his territory so fiercely.
As a reference, the score right now was 13-11 for the first team, and the other three goalkeepers conceded seven to eight goals in total today. This was not because they were bad, but the smaller pitch made it easier for the players to take a shot, which meant the goal came more easily as well in this session.
That was also what made Higo’s performance special.
In his three to four minutes playing on the pitch, he hadn’t conceded a single one yet, and it also wasn’t an empty stat. No, the boy earned it with his own sweat and tears, blocking at least 7 attempts to his own goal while also claiming 5 crosses coming in front of him.
It was as if the boy was telling that the penalty box was his territory, and no one could do anything they liked inside.
’Yeah, as expected from the goalkeeper that I have chosen myself.’ Frohling nodded secretly on the sideline, watching Higo scare the shit out of his players in satisfaction. ’The only minus side is probably his ability as a sweeper keeper, but we can train him that slowly. There is no need to rush things up.’
In hindsight, though, Higo’s performance in this regard wasn’t that bad. He hadn’t missed any short pass yet so far, and several times he tried to launch the ball forward; it always fell to the best spot for his teammates to react. The result of the training he had done with Norio-sensei in the national team started to come into fruition.
Still, for a team that was the origin of Manuel Neuer, the best sweeper-keeper in football history, Schalke had a high standard in this area.
Even if Higo’s ability was passable, Frohling found that the boy was awkward with the ball at his feet, getting panicked easily, and always wanting to send the ball off as quickly as possible. This not only failed to give a sense of safety to the team, but also didn’t allow the other players to create space on their own first, having to move at Higo’s pace.
Even though it wasn’t a big problem, Frohling felt like the boy could improve further, and he had already thought of who to talk to help the goalkeeper improve his ability.
’Shall I introduce him to the main team’s goalkeeper coach? He would be able to see this boy’s potential.’ He thought inwardly.
Higo himself didn’t know that someone had just plotted against him behind his back. No, right now, his focus was completely on the pitch, and the moment his name was being called for another break, he couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh.
"Damn, Higo-san! You moved so fast like a real ninja!" Randy slapped his back excitedly. He grinned foolishly, starting to make a familiar hand sign. "You know, Naruto! Naruto!"
While taking a sip of his bottle of water, Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching speechlessly here. Somehow, the boy forgot that his Ghanaian friend was a crazy otaku who tried to flirt with his sister just because she was the first Japanese girl he had ever met.
"Anyway, great work protecting the goal." Jonas Hoffman, the team’s captain, suddenly approached as well. "This is the first time I’ve seen someone going in this session without conceding a real goal. It seems that the coach is right. We really hit a jackpot when signing you."
Before Higo could answer, someone else interrupted. "Hey, hey, I heard you are being signed from your high school team! Is that true?"
"Tch! Why are you asking something so insensitive like that?!" Another person came, hugging Higo on his shoulder. "Name is Schopf, by the way, the team’s vice captain. If you need anything else or if someone is bothering you, don’t forget to call me!" He grinned while patting his chest proudly.
The others also followed along, surrounding Higo while also acting friendly with him. The boy himself just smiled politely while trying to answer every question one by one, but inwardly, he couldn’t help but sigh in melancholy.
’Yeah, Kumiko-chan is right. At the end of the day, only my real ability could help me gain a strong foothold in the team. No amount of flattery will help me achieve this kind of attention.’
Of course, not everyone reacted the same. No, he could notice some hostile gazes directed at him, and without knowing who the culprits’ real identities were, he knew that those were the group of ’local scoundrels’ that Fabian talked about earlier. The two goalkeepers were also included, giving him a stinging glare that would kill him if gazes could.
In this case, though, the best thing he could do was to ignore them, not giving them the attention they desperately sought while they didn’t deserve a single shit about it. Right now, they hadn’t done something excessive, so Higo also maintained his distance from them. However, once those scoundrels started putting their hands on him...
’Nah, if that time comes, they will never come out unscratched. That, I promise.’ He clenched his fists, repeating the vows inside his heart over and over again.