Somehow, July passed slowly, and the closer it was to the peak of summer, the easier it was for Higo to get exhausted.
Honestly, the weather here was so strange. Higo had been told that Gelsenkirchen, due to its location that was more toward the northwest of the country, wouldn’t have that many hot days even in summer. The people around warned him about breezy and rainy days, but never about a hot one.
The reality, though, slapped those people straight to the face.
Just in the last couple of days, the temperature had already reached 29 degrees Celcius, at least way higher than the peak summer in Hakodate that was only around 26 degrees. There was also news spreading around telling everyone that this was just the beginning, since August would only be hotter than ever.
For a person who grew up in a cold place like Hakodate, this was definitely a different form of hell in his mind. The only reason why Higo didn’t collapse here was that Kumiko had already prepared him for this situation, forcing him to get used to this hot temperature before the boy came here.
"You remember Furuya Satoru from the manga Daiya no A, right? He collapses under the scorching sun because he is not used to playing in a hot summer after moving from Hokkaido, and that will be your fate if you cannot adapt to it! Come on, let’s start again!’
Even though that training didn’t do much to his physical ability, at least the boy was mentally prepared for this kind of weather, finding it easier to adapt right now.
Unfortunately, the hot weather was not the only problem here. The breezy and rainy day that everyone warned about also came as well. A day could be hot for the entire noon, and once it was about to go dark, the wind would get stronger, being mixed with the drastic drop in temperature and the rain that would last for the entire night.
In this situation, it was no wonder some players would get sick and collapse on their own beds as they couldn’t bear to deal with this harsh environment.
Fortunately, Higo was one of so many who managed to survive throughout this whole ordeal. By maintaining the discipline of train, eat, and rest, coupled with the herbal medicine recipe that his mother sent from afar, the boy managed to get out unscratched, even healthier than ever.
Then, before he and the others could get distracted further by this horrible weather, the head coach finally announced their pre-season match schedule. It was about 18 days before the season started, and the coach had already prepared at least three games to help them warm up for the long competition.
The schedule was a bit tight, but the coach insisted on doing this.
"In a long competition, the schedule will be crazier at some point, so you need to get used to this kind of arrangement. Three games in two weeks. At least, this will give me an idea of how ready you are in terms of physical condition."
That was what Frohling said when he announced the schedule.
Higo himself got the chance to be the main goalkeeper for the first game. What made him excited, though, was that the first one was a game against a third-division team, KFC Uerdingen 05. It was a team from Krefeld, 40 minutes from Gelsenkirchen. Compared to the other two matches where the opponents would be at the same level or even lower, this was definitely the most difficult one.
"Yes!" Higo clenched his fist when he was told that he would play in the next game. "A third-division team, huh? Let me see how far the level of that division!"
Both Kumiko, his mother, and his sister were also excited when they heard the news. Unfortunately, the game was not broadcast anywhere, so they could only get to know about the result once everything was over. Still, they didn’t forget to send their support from afar, knowing that this was the first step for Higo to establish his name in the football world.
Mom: Play carefully, don’t hurt yourself, and don’t forget to have fun!
Aya-nee: Send any footage that you have to me later; I will edit it for your page. Enjoy your game!
Kumiko-chan: Listen to what the coach said, and if you are not sure about your other role, just remember, your main task is to prevent any goal from your opponent’s side. Do well in that regard, and no one can complain about you! Have fun!
Higo couldn’t help but smile a little when he read this. No one put pressure on him, pushing him to play a good game. No, those three only asked him to have fun, which was the best they could ask for. However, for Higo, the fun part of this game was when he won it, so there was no way he would slack off even before it began.
The game itself would be played in Berger Feld, their very own home ground. Unfortunately, unlike the main team, their game didn’t really attract that much attention, as only a few family members of the players and several fanatic fans would come and watch. Still, Higo had an experience playing without any audience during his time in Hakodate Nishi, so for him, this was nothing.
His friends were also selected to play in this game. Morita and Fabian would play from the beginning, while Randy was promised that he would come in the second half. It seemed that Frohling wanted to put his best squad in at the beginning of the game, wanting to see how they would fare against a better opponent when they were in their best state.
Well, Higo didn’t think too much about it. He just prepared everything thoroughly, and soon enough, the game day finally came.
It was Friday, and somehow, the temperature was hotter than ever. Before leaving his apartment, Higo checked the temperature, and it even started to reach 32 degrees Celcius. This was definitely the hottest temperature he had experienced in his life.
Still, the boy stepped outside of his flat, tying his shoelace tightly before starting to jog toward the training ground with determination blazing in his eyes.
’Yeah, my first game with this team... I have to do well today!’