Chapter 668: The End of the Game!

Indeed, just as Higo expected, the game went quite easily after the team established the lead. It also helped that the opponent was down by one player as well, giving them a big advantage for the rest of the game.

Since the one who was sent off was their center back, they had to make a quick adjustment here. After all, with their 3-5-2 formation, one player on the back out meant that they only had two more left, not enough to give a sense of safety toward the team itself. As a result, their coach had to give up one of their midfielders for a new center back, not wanting their defense to be breached once again.

Now with one less player in the midfield, Idrizi and the other two managed to suppress the opponent easily. This should be the first time in this game, as the opponent finally lost their numerical advantage.

Higo also felt the pressure on his side had decreased a lot. Oh, the opponent still tried to attack here and there, but they didn’t dare to go all out, still afraid of Schalke’s infamous quick counterattack. After all, Nassim, one of their sources of nightmare today besides Higo, was still there, and the Moroccan winger could strike where it hurt them the most when he was given a chance.

As a result, Higo didn’t do that much for the rest of the game, just picking up the ball here and there occasionally.

The only disappointing part here was that Schalke was content with a one-goal lead, not wanting to put in more effort to double it. Frohling took Randy off for a midfielder in the 71st minute, and later, the coach also replaced Fontein for a defender on the backline to strengthen the defense.

This was basically what the man said: he was satisfied with the result, so the players also backed down instantly.

With the slow tempo that Schalke players controlled cautiously, there was no way SC Verl players could fight back with only 10 players on the pitch, let alone scoring a goal. They couldn’t do it when they had a complete squad, so they weren’t naïve enough to think that they could do it right now.

As a result, in the 86th minute of the game, they had basically given up any attempt to tie the score, just letting the opponent play around with the ball. This also made Idrizi and the others happy, as they finally got to show their fancy tricks here and there. Nothing too much, just enough to entertain the supporters in the stands.

FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!

Once the referee blew the whistle, cheers exploded from all over the stadium as people there celebrated the victory with each other.

"Yes! Nice win, everyone!"

"Come on, Nassim! Come on, Higo! You are this team’s backbone!"

"We are still on top! We are still on top! We are still on top!"

Higo himself also felt a wave of relief when he heard the shrieking sound of the whistle. The boy felt the corner of his lips twitching a little bit at the chants behind him, and after shaking hands with the opponent players nearby, he didn’t forget to address the supporters who came here properly.

"THANK YOU FOR COMING, GUYS!" He shouted while bowing deeply, and after that, the boy started waving at the supporters in front of him. Of course, this little act was greeted back with great enthusiasm from the supporters there, as they couldn’t help but start to chant the boy’s name over and over again.

"HIGO! HIGO! HIGO!"

The boy grinned widely while sometimes taking his time to get closer to the stand to give a child there his sign. While he was not big-headed enough to think that he finally became a superstar, the boy knew that so many kids were looking up at him, and it gave him a sense of responsibility to become a good example for them.

It also helped that he enjoyed the adoration from those kids, finding their unadulterated admiration and the clear awe in their eyes to be something that made him happy. Somehow, Higo always had to fight the urge to smile smugly here, not wanting to be seen losing control in front of them all.

Once he went to the west side of the stand, though, the boy finally found the two girls he had been looking for.

"Ryukkun! Here!" Kumiko waved enthusiastically at him.

The girl wore the Schalke jersey that he gave yesterday, still carrying a phone that was recording the situation on the pitch. Behind her, Sakura was also there, wearing the same jersey to blend well with the surroundings. She also waved at him; her eyes were full of admiration.

"Kumiko-chan, you are there!" Higo laughed, somehow couldn’t help but grin foolishly. "So, how is it? I am awesome, right?" The boy smiled smugly, wanting to show off to his girlfriend.

Kumiko couldn’t help but laugh when she saw his goofiness, wiping the tears glistering behind her glasses. "Yes, Ryukkun! You are awesome! You are the best of the best!" She sent a big thumbs-up, showing her appreciation for the boy’s performance today.

Her appearance caused slight commotion on the stands, as this was the first time they saw Higo approaching one particular supporter so fondly like this. Well, not the first time, since they all knew the boy’s relationship with the Yabu family. However, it was different with Kumiko, as they noticed Higo seemed to be so close with her.

"That girl sure is a beauty, right?"

"Is she his girlfriend? "

"Damn, this will break so many hearts! Higo is the biggest catch of this town, you know?!"

Kumiko could feel her cheek get warmed when she heard the commotion around her. However, Higo didn’t have any reservations here, just laughing his ass off before dropping the bomb here.

"Her name is Kumiko Shishida, and she is my girlfriend! Everyone, please take care of her in the future, okay? I’m counting on you guys!"