Chapter 702: The End of the Game! The First Clean Sheet!

"FUCK YEAAAAAAH!"

The moment the referee blew the whistle, it was Higo who reacted first. The boy let out the biggest roar in his life, wanting to make sure that every single corner of this building could hear his voice. It was just his way to vent out his emotion, as this was probably the most exhausting game he had ever experienced in his career, both mentally and physically.

Soon enough, the other players came at him. The first was Ozan Kabak, as the Turkish defender hugged him from behind and raised him in the air even just for a few seconds.

"Hey, Oz-san! What the hell are you doing?! Put me down, Old Man!" Higo wiggled his legs in panic the moment he realized his foot couldn’t find the ground.

"Hahaha! Why are you panicking like that?! Is our hero really afraid of this little height?!" The man laughed boisterously; all traces of conflict that they both had earlier vanished instantly. "Good fucking job! This is definitely the best game of this season so far!"

Then, Oczipka followed, and soon enough, everyone was gathering around Higo, laughing while also rubbing the boy on his hair. If no one knew the context here, they would’ve thought that this was a final or an elimination game, what with how crazy the players were celebrating the result.

Well, not that they could be blamed here, because the entire stadium also cheered so loudly, showing their love for Schalke.

Blau und Weiß, wie lieb’ ich dich

Blau und Weiß, verlass mich nicht

Blau und Weiß ist ja der Himmel nur, der Himmel nur

Blau und Weiß ist unsere Fußballgarnitur

Around 60,000 people in the stadium raised their Schalke scarf together, chanting their proudest song here. The title was Blau und Weiß, wie lieb’ ich dich, which basically meant Blue and White, How I Love You.

Once Higo found his feet on the ground again, his gaze wandered around, finding that so many flashlights were turned on by the supporters there. Coupled with the song that echoed throughout the whole building, he could feel goosebumps, as all the hair on his body rose in awe.

"That’s awesome, right?" Morita suddenly patted his shoulder with a knowing expression. "That’s exactly what I felt the first time I won the game here. The feeling is unbelievable, as if you could conquer the world with them behind your back."

Higo nodded subtly in agreement, his eyes still scanning the whole surroundings there. Hell, he didn’t even notice that all the Hoffenheim players were gone already.

Yeah, at this point, all the players with white jerseys could be seen walking so quickly to the tunnel, not wanting to see their opponent’s celebration. They all knew that once they went to the locker room, they would get the hair dryer treatment for this defeat.

After this, all the Schalke players also went back one by one, leaving Higo, who was still alone on the pitch. The boy was so sure that he would get dragged to the press conference later as the best player of this game, so before that, he had to make sure he did one thing that he had always done after the game was over.

Greeting the supporters properly.

"THANK YOU VERY MUCH, EVERYONE!" He bowed deeply at the people on the northern part of the stadium, the place where all the fanatic supporters gathered. This got a warm response from the people there, as they all started chanting his name as loudly as possible.

"OUR WAKABAYASHI! RYUSUKE HIGO!"

"OUR WAKABAYASHI! RYUSUKE HIGO!"

The boy’s face was so flushed when he heard that, even starting to laugh at how ridiculous the comparison was. However, he stood there for a moment, letting himself bask in the flattering praises around him. This was his glorious moment, and Higo intended to enjoy every second of it.

In the family box, the three most important women in Higo’s life could also be seen hugging each other tightly, some even crying here. Of course, the one who burst her tears was none other than Minami, the mother herself.

Looking at her son, the one she gave birth to and promised to love more than anything else in the world, now stood so tall in this foreign land. More than 50,000 people were chanting his name as if he was the God reincarnated as a man, being sent down to save this town from its desperation.

Seeing this, Minami wiped the tears on the corner of her eyes while also trying to hide her sobbing, muttering lowly, "That’s our Ryukkun, Aya-chan... That’s our Ryukkun..." She murmured over and over again.

"Yeah, I know, Mom..." Ayaka just rubbed the back of her mother soothingly, knowing that no words could describe their feeling right now.

Kumiko herself was beaming so brightly, joining the applause around when Higo came closer to the family box. She also had to hold Chiaki back so that the little girl wouldn’t jump so recklessly the moment she saw her brother being so close here. Still, the girl couldn’t hide how proud she was of her boyfriend on the pitch right now.

’Yeah, Ryukkun, you have worked hard to reach this point, so now, just enjoy this glory...’

Unfortunately, soon enough, Higo had to stop his little trip all around the stadium. After all, Waldoch suddenly came to his side, whispering lowly, ’The boss has been waiting for you. The press conference is about to begin, so be punctual.’

Higo clicked his tongue in annoyance, not wanting to go to the press conference right now. Unfortunately, as a part of the team, this was also his obligation, so he could only nod quietly at the man.

Of course, that didn’t mean Higo would forget the supporters in front of him. With one last bow to the entire stadium, he announced his departure, and once again, his name boomed throughout the whole stadium as people used this to walk him down the tunnel.

"OUR WAKABAYASHI! RYUSUKE HIGO!"