Chapter 637: A Big Storm is Coming!

"Fucking hell! You can sabotage your satellite team like that?!"

"What the fuck is that old geezer trying to do?!"

"This is so fucking ridiculous! He pulled this shit right before the derby game?!"

Chaos erupted on the pitch as players were getting furious over this decision. Hell, even those who didn’t understand the implications behind the Revierderby like Higo got angry as well, not believing that the main team’s head coach could be this petty.

Unfortunately, David Wagner was not someone local here, so in his mind, this was just another kind of Bayern-Dortmund derby. While it could be fierce, everything still depended on the quality of the game itself, and the supporters wouldn’t make a big fuss over it.

He couldn’t be more wrong here, as the Revierderby was more intense than that.

Unfortunately, the call-up had been made, and the team didn’t have any choice but to let them go for the next game.

"I mean, should I deny the invitation?" Jonas Hofmann suddenly raised his hand here. "It is not like they need me in the next game, as their opponent is just SC Paderborn. They also don’t lack any midfielder in their team, so I doubt I would get a chance in that game."

Fabian Reese nodded as well, and while Morita didn’t voice his opinion, it was clear that he leaned more toward doing that. While it would be a pity to let go of the chance to be on the first team, his contract stated that he would be given a chance to play there, so as long as he remained patient, the boy would be able to enter that stage sooner or later. It was definitely better than abandoning the second team right when they were about to face such a big derby.

However, Frohling was the first one to reject that suggestion. "No, you cannot refuse that call-up. Wagner is still the head coach no matter how much I loathe it, and he could make your life difficult. Just go there and treat it as a study tour; he will send you back to the second team again. It is a targeted move against me, so you don’t need to be involved."

However, this only made the players more anxious.

"No, Boss, we cannot survive against Dortmund like this!" Jonas Hofmann interrupted with an uneasy tone. "One player might be okay, and two might be a little bit of a stretch, but three players immediately?! That is a blatant robbery from the first team! You have to ask the management about it; they would understand the importance of this derby even if it is just the second team!"

Frohling just stayed quiet for a moment. However, his mind was in a storm right now. How could he not understand what his captain said? The three players who were called to the main team were those whom he always relied on, after all.

Jonas Hofmann wasn’t just a captain, but he was the team’s engine and the bridge between the backline and the frontline; Fabian Reese was the team’s top scorer so far with four goals, and Morita was the team’s best player so far, not only being the top assister with four but also always being the most dangerous person on the pitch.

Losing one or two might still be manageable, but three of them at the same time? That was definitely a disaster for the team, and Frohling also knew full well about it. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it, since the management themselves also sided with the main team’s head coach.

"Shit! Why would they want to bring our best players just to fight against a fucking Paderborn?!" Brackelmann couldn’t help but curse right now. Even though he would be the captain with Jonas Hofmann’s absence, the boy didn’t feel happy, especially since the stakes of the next game were so high.

In the end, Frohling just gritted his teeth and finally said, "Just do the training with the others first. I will make a plan for the next game. I don’t believe I couldn’t do anything even after being sabotaged by my own team like this!"

The man didn’t wait for anyone to answer, rushing back to his office as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, his action only created more uncertainty in the team, as now, not a single one of them was sure what to do. They still followed the training plan, and yet, everything seemed to be hollow.

Once the training session was over, Higo took out his phone immediately and told the story to Kumiko back home. At this point, it had already become an instinct for him to call her whenever something happened here.

After pondering for a moment, the girl finally sighed helplessly. "That is the cruelty of professional sports, Ryukkun, especially for those who played in a mediocre team. Everyone has their own ambition, and even inside the team, people could still treat each other like enemies. I can tell you that this is not an isolated case, but most teams also have their internal problem like this."

"So, what should I do?" Higo asked, a little bit reluctant to just accept this reality.

"Just like I said, everyone has their own focus, so you also should have one. In this case, you just need to play well and prevent any ball from getting past you. Show the people there that you are playing with your heart, playing for that badge. Become the darling of the team, and as long as the performance matches your effort, your future in Schalke will be more secure."

Well, Higo could only accept this for now, because there was nothing else that he could do. Fortunately, goalkeeper was a position that didn’t need to consider too much of a teamwork. If anything, he had to be careful if everyone’s teamwork didn’t go flawlessly, as it could screw him over.

Still, now that Higo pondered over Kumiko’s words, he couldn’t help but sigh in melancholy. ’Yeah, sometimes, I really miss Hakodate Nishi, team.’