Chapter 624: Before the Season Starts

Regionalliga.

That was the name of the competition, the fourth division of the German football competition. This was also the place where Schalke II and so many other Bundesliga second teams would fight, with their players trying so hard to make a name for themselves and elevate their careers to a new level.

This competition would be separated into five divisions: Nord, Nordost, West, Sudwest, and Bayern. The winners of the Nord, Sudwest, and Bayern would advance to the 3. Liga immediately, while the winner of the West and Nordost had to fight once again in a playoff game to determine who got the fourth promotion ticket.

Sound unfair?

That was exactly what Higo thought, and yet, up until now, he still couldn’t find any reason behind this. He just read that because 3. Liga could only allow four promotion clubs while there were five divisions, two unlucky winners had to fight against each other for a final spot, and that was determined by a random draw. What a ridiculous way to determine such a big thing like promotion.

The most infuriating part, though, was that Schalke II was in the West division, and that meant that they would have one more stage to fight even if they won it all. Not that they were confident, since they had just gotten back from the fifth division, but this also affected the whole team.

"Tch! This crappy system, can they just send five teams to promote?! This is so unnecessary!" Higo scowled while scrolling through his phone furiously.

"Well, that is the procedure, and you cannot fight against it, so just accept your fate." Fabian shrugged casually.

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching madly while the other boys around snickered secretly behind their backs. At this point, Higo knew that Fabian was the stereotypical German man who always fussed about procedures and bureaucracy, so there was nothing he could do about it.

"Anyway, screw the procedure! The opening game is going to be in the next three days, right? I haven’t checked about our opponent yet." Higo scrolled through his phone again. "Any idea of what to expect?" He turned to the veterans expectantly, thinking that they should’ve known a lot about the team they faced over and over again for so many years.

"The schedule was shared in the group chat yesterday; just check it out." Someone answered the question. "As for our opponent in the first week, it would be Borussia Monchengladbach II, a Bundesliga team’s second squad just like us."

Higo frowned for a second, realizing that the first week was going to be difficult. Unlike any other clubs in this division, a Bundesliga team’s second squad would always be more dangerous. They had experienced so many high-level trainings from the first team, and sometimes, their players were good enough to be in the Bundesliga.

This was the case for themselves, and also the same for all the second teams outside.

"Okay, everyone! Let’s gather!" Frohling suddenly shouted, snapping everyone from their thought. They were all in the locker room, waiting for the coach’s instruction. "The first game of the season is just three days away, so I will announce some important roles for the team. First! Captain! Jonas Hofmann!"

’Yes, Sir!" The captain nodded solemnly. This was going to be his second year as captain, so the boy knew what to do here.

"Brackelmann, vice captain!"

"Sure!" The defender with curly hair and a thin mustache, Calvin Brackelmann, nodded while also sending a thumbs-up.

"Then, the third captain! Fabian!"

"Got it, Boss!" The blonde winger gave the coach a nod while also playing with his hairband casually.

Three leaders for the team, coming from all different positions. They all were also the players who had the most experience with the team, so this was definitely the most appropriate selection by the coach.

"As for the team’s selection for the first game, I will keep it tight and only announce it a day before the game, so just concentrate on your own training and try to impress me more! Who knows, maybe I will have a change of mind later!"

For some inexperienced players, this encouragement was enough to get them pumped up. However, most of the players here were not that innocent, knowing that the coach should’ve already had a list of players to play in the next game. After all, that was the reason why the team scheduled three pre-season games beforehand.

True enough, two days later, the announcement was made early in the morning from the group chat, and no one was surprised by the selection.

In the goalkeeper position, Higo’s position was absolute, especially since the other three goalkeepers failed to show a good performance during the pre-season time. The boy himself had already been told about this, so he didn’t feel any surprise or excitement at all.

Then, in the defensive line, the vice-captain would lead the team. Calvin Brackelmann would be accompanied by Timo Becker, another experienced player, in the center back, while Turkish youngster Levent Mercan and another local boy, Jonas Carls, would protect the flank area.

Moving to the midfield area, both Morita and Jonas Hofmann would be the control tower, sending a command to everyone else from their position. Alessandro Schopf would be the third wheel in the center and the bridge toward the front line as well, completing the trio of midfielders for Schalke II later.

As for the front line, the team would rely on the combination between Fabian Reese, a dude from Morocco named Nassim Boujellab, and Luca Schuler to score a goal later.

On paper, this was definitely the best squad that Schalke II could set up. Hell, it wouldn’t be that often that they could put them all together on the pitch this year, what with some being promoted to the first team when necessary.

However, that didn’t mean they would be able to win the first game easily. If anything, Higo found that the pressure in this first game would be greater than ever.

’We have done well in the pre-season, so can that result be translated to the real competition?’