Chapter 641: Kick-Off!

It was no wonder Randy was so nervous...

In fact, it wasn’t just Randy. Almost all the boys here could feel their legs quivering the moment they stepped onto the pitch. While yes, the unwavering support from the stands could be a motivation for them, on the other hand, it could also be a pressure that could crush their shoulder.

It was such a double-edged sword that could get their head if they couldn’t handle it well enough, and now, it seemed that the players were far from their best state to wield that sword.

"Nervous?" Frohling asked as he greeted the players in the locker room.

They had already done their warm-up, and right now, all they had to do was wait for the referee to come here, so the coach decided to use this chance for a little pep-talk.

"Well, it would be a lie if I said I’m not nervous here." Brackelmann shrugged while tightening the captain band on his arm. The others didn’t say anything, but their expression told the coach that they were on the same boat right now.

"Good. Nervous means you care a lot about this game." Frohling nodded appreciatively. "I will not say anything grand here. You guys know what this derby means for us. So, I only have one message. This is our home, so even without our three best players, we have to defend it today!"

"Yes, Sir!" Everyone shouted simultaneously.

Soon enough, the referee finally came and asked them to come out. There, in the tunnel, all the Dortmund players had already stood still, showing a steel expression. Not a single one of them showed any intention to exchange words with Schalke players, and the same could be seen for the home team.

Just from the heavy atmosphere inside, everyone there understood how big the game today was, and they all were here with the intention to kill their opponent.

The moment the players entered the pitch, cheers and boos mixed simultaneously, creating a buzzing noise that could kill weak-willed players around.

"COME ON, SCHALKE! YOU MUST WIN TODAY!"

"Fuck you, Lüdenscheid-Nord Bastards! Go back to the sewer!"

"Kill them all! Never show mercy!"

Higo had to admit that so many people cursing like this was quite intimidating, and he was so afraid that they would lose their temper and come down to the pitch to kill all the Dortmund players there.

He also had to give a hat off to the opponent players—not that he would say it out loud, of course—as they didn’t even flinch under the immense pressure coming from the stand. The boy didn’t know whether they were truly nonchalant or they just hid their nervousness well, but at least this little gesture was enough to show that they were more than ready to face this kind of hostility.

Once everyone was on the pitch, the referee called both captains to the center circle. Poor man, he was sweating a lot already before the game even started. It was clear that he was not ready to lead such a big game.

Higo could see from afar that the man tried to warn both captains so many times, wanting to have a clean game today. Unfortunately, based on the research that Higo had done, it was basically a futile hope, as there would always be at least five yellow cards given in the game between those two, showing how heated the players would be once everything started.

A moment later, Brackelmann finally came back from the coin toss duel, and even before the ’new’ captain said anything else, Higo had already guessed the result there.

"We are losing, right?" He asked a little bit sarcastically.

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Higo, who usually was polite, to say something with that tone. To their surprise, though, Brackelmann nodded along and asked, "How do you know about it?"

Higo just sneered quietly, not providing any answer. There was no way he would let the others know about his bad luck here.

Still, this didn’t change that much for the team. Higo walked to the northern goal immediately, straight where the big choreography stood. There, before the game began, he took his time greeting the supporters there, which was followed by the deafening cheers from that part of the stand.

"YES! COME ON, HIGO!"

"YOU BRAT! PROTECT OUR HOME!"

"WE HAVE YOUR BACK! COME ON!"

The giant block flags had already gone at this point, being replaced with so many Schalke flags waving proudly on the stand. Some people even stood on the fence, leading the supporters to sing and show their support louder. Honestly, even with only 2000 people coming around, the atmosphere was so explosive it didn’t look like a second-team game.

After waiting for a while, everyone was finally ready on the pitch. The two Dortmund strikers were also standing in front of the ball, waiting for the whistle to be blown. The referee checked his clock for a moment, communicating with the linesmen on the sideline to make sure everything was okay.

Then...

FWEEE!

The referee finally blew the whistle, starting the Revierderby for both teams’ second squad, fighting for the pride of their town.

Straight away, Dortmund’s two strikers rushed forward quickly, wanting to occupy the frontline. Then, a long pass was sent from afar, and Higo couldn’t help but turn solemn when he saw this.

’A Blitzkrieg attack!’

This was the infamous tactic that put fear in all the Hakodate Nishi opponents in the past, and the last time Higo saw this was when Ukraine pulled it against Japan in the final of the World Cup U-20 two months ago.

This time, facing the end of it, Higo lowered his stance, getting ready to anticipate this blitz attack. His teammates were far from being ready, though, allowing the ball itself to fall into the pocket space in front of Brackelmann. There, Higo saw Dortmund’s captain coming, and his first reaction was a big curse.

’Fuck! I need to move!’