Chapter 685: Higo’s Debut Opponent!

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

That was going to be Schalke’s first opponent in the second half of the season, and also the opponent that Higo would face in his debut game. Located in Sinsheim, a small town on the south-west side of the country, it was not a big club, at least compared to Schalke.

Well... That was when the topic was a full history, since the very first start of the Bundesliga itself.

However, things were different in the last couple of years. While Schalke’s state kept declining further due to so many problems, Hoffenheim somehow showed that a countryside club like them could survive, even thriving to fight for a European spot in this league.

It was just last year when they managed to make a historical debut in the UEFA Champions League, and while they showed a decline in performance in the league, that team still managed to end up in the sixth position in the Bundesliga last season, putting them in the European League this year.

As for this season, they continued their strong momentum, currently sitting in fourth position in the standings. Even though they were quite far from Bayern Munich, which led the league, they were just four points away from the current runner-up, Borussia Dortmund.

It just showed how big of a leap they took in the last couple of years, wanting to establish themselves as a new strong team in this country.

That was also why no one was foolish enough to think that the game would be a walk in the park. If anything, the difficulty would be great, as Hoffenheim would want to continue walking on the winning track and keep getting closer to the top of the table.

Frohling himself had already done some research about it. Now, he gathered his players in the meeting room, starting to explain how their opponent would fight.

"They are a flexible team, with the formation often switching in the middle of the game from 4-2-3-1to 3-4-3 to even 4-1-4-1 in an extreme situation. One thing is clear, though: they like to overwhelm their opponent’s penalty box with very high pressure, forcing them to make a mistake. So far, they are the best team to do so, managing to force their opponent to commit at least 6 mistakes in their own opposition half per game. So, defenders, don’t you dare slacking off here!"

The two center backs, Ozan Kabak and Bastian Oczipka, gulped nervously. Well, how could they not, when they themselves were quite weak when it came to something like building the attack from below. One little pressure and they could crumble easily, and now the coach told them that the opponent would put more force?

"They also like to cut off the connection between the fullback and winger, so Morita, Hofmann, Weston, I need you to roam closer to the flank sides to provide more support there." Frohling turned to his three engines in the midfield line.

"Sure, Boss!" Those three looked at each other for a moment before giving a nod simultaneously.

At this point, they had already gotten used to playing together that they knew exactly what they had to do in the next action. It also helped that they were quite suitable playing together, what with their abilities being so different and yet complementing each other nicely.

Weston was the team’s bulldog, always chasing the opponent even to the edge of the world. Once he started taking action, he was quick and relentless, never stopping to show some support to his other teammates.It was completely different than his state during the first training session that Higo joined, which the man just brushed off as nothing.

"I mean, who got serious in a little 5v5 game?! You know you’ve just won because we let you do that, right?!" The man laughed boisterously when Higo asked about that.

Even though Higo disagreed with that, knowing that it was the man’s way to save his pitiful dignity after being beaten by a bunch of rookies, the boy didn’t say anything else, knowing that they were already teammates at that point.

Still, while Weston was a strong engine in the midfield, he didn’t have any creativity in his bones. It was the reason why they couldn’t score a lot of goals in the past, because no one had this magical touch to send the decisive pass to get into the box.

That was when Morita slotted in nicely.

He might be quite weak compared to any other big midfielders in the Bundesliga, often getting pushed and charged crazily by the opponent due to his small figure. However, the boy was also the most creative player on the pitch, becoming the one who sent the most key passes since he started playing. Not only that, but Morita also became the team’s top assister with 5 so far, showing that no opponent could brush him off as just a mere rookie.

Then, coupled with Hofmann, who anchored the midfield with his disciplined defense in the pocket space, Schalke’s trio of midfielders was quite strong, enough for Frohling to rely on them to win the game.

As the coach gave the instruction on what to do for the next game, Higo also listened seriously, waiting for his part. Who would’ve thought, though, that once Frohling turned around to his side, the man just said something quite short.

"Just do your job well and don’t panic at any moment, okay?"

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching madly when he heard that. Inwardly, he couldn’t help but groan, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "What the fuck is that instruction?! What is the difference between that and not saying anything, for fuck’s sake?!"

Not that he would complain about it out loud, of course, since this was how Frohling usually instructed him in the second team. The man seemed to trust Higo too much, not even giving him any meaningful instruction before the game began.

Fortunately, Kumiko came to rescue. The girl was still staying at his flat, and once she heard how Frohling let Higo do anything he wanted, she was also speechless before she started to open her laptop.

"Wait a second, let me give you something interesting here..."