Chapter 707: A Tough Game Against Werder Bremen!

The game against Werder Bremen itself didn’t go like the game last week went. Although Hoffenheim was aggressive, they still maintained some restraints in their approach, knowing that the game against Schalke was not the end of everything.

However, Werder Bremen didn’t show that restraint at all. No, they were just like a bunch of desperate hungry hyenas that hadn’t been eating anything for a full week, pouncing at all the Schalke players so fiercely as if whoever wore the blue jersey was just a big chunk of meat.

"Shit! Morita, move faster! Don’t hold the ball for too long!"

"Where is the support?! A fucking support, for God’s sake! That’s all I ask!"

Brugh!

"Oi, Ref! Foul! Foul!"

The mixture of collision and complaint could often be heard all over the place. The game itself was ugly, as neither team was successful enough to build up a decent play amidst the rough game today.

Of course, in this situation, the one who sweated the most was the referee himself, as the man had already sent out four yellow cards in the first half, three for the away team and one for the home team. It didn’t mean Schalke was rougher, but home advantage was real. Werder Bremen players seemed to be allowed to be a little bit rougher, but whenever Schalke wanted to retaliate, the referee would kill that momentum straight away.

As a result, the first half passed quickly, and the score was still 0-0. Neither team managed to put the ball in the back of the net. Hell, even the goalkeepers from both teams didn’t really work that hard, with only Higo managing to make one save during that period.

Yeah, only one shot on target in the first half for both teams, which showed how bad the game was today.

The moment all the players went back to the locker room, they all looked so weary, way more exhausted than in any normal game. Well, it was normal, since the physical demand today was far harsher than usual. Still, that didn’t mean Frohling would stop worrying, as he scanned throughout the whole room and found that the morale was so close to rock bottom right now.

Instead of addressing this immediately, though, the man took a long sigh before a name escaped from his mouth. "Higo, come outside for a moment. Let’s have a quick chat."

This was, of course, enough to make the rest of the team tense. It was the same scenario as what happened in the last game, and while the conflict was so fierce, the end result was better than expected. Now, they all wondered if the same could be repeated or not.

Of course, Higo didn’t have that illusion at all. If anything, he was so confused because the game today was completely different than when they played against Hoffenheim. Still, he complied, following the coach outside for this little talk.

Well, it seemed that Frohling himself was also quite nervous when he wanted to do this, and when Higo saw the man’s expression, his gut feeling told him that whatever came out of the coach’s mouth would be something that he didn’t like.

"I know that we have just moved on from our old way, but just for this game, we need to go back to that track again, and as the team’s goalkeeper, I need you to get involved in this as well."

Higo’s heart sank for a second, knowing what exactly the coach meant. It was about the team going for a possession football again, insisting on playing around in the most dangerous area to build up the attack.

"Is there really no way?" The boy asked reluctantly.

"Unfortunately, we have to do this." Frohling smiled apologetically.

The man knew why his goalkeeper was so down like this, so he took his time to explain it.

"Their strategy is clear for today’s game. They don’t want to play real football, but to engage us in a rough and cruel battlefield to drain their stamina. However, that means they also wouldn’t have the energy to last that long, so we need to drain them more here. The only way to do that is to keep the ball moving, letting them chase around like a bunch of retards. They wouldn’t do that if the bait is not tempting enough, and that’s why you have to participate in our next shenanigan."

The man could see the struggle on Higo’s mind, and he could understand why. Higo had already stated in the last game that this method was too dangerous and this team was not ready to pull it off, and yet here they were again, standing in front of the locker room to persuade the boy again.

In the end, Higo just sighed helplessly, stating, "It is not like I can refuse the order, right? You are the coach, so I will just follow the arrangement." His tone was full of resignation.

Well... Yeah, this shouldn’t be a conversation at all. Frohling was the head of this ship, and his words should be an order. However, the man didn’t want to create a rift between him and the young man in front of him, and that was why he took his time explaining this matter.

Frohling nodded quietly, and after this, he started explaining this matter to the team. Now that they knew what the coach wanted to do, the guys finally understood why Higo was so gloomy right now, and some who had the guts didn’t even hesitate to tease the boy.

"Come on, Higo! This is just a small matter, no need to be too depressed like that!" Morita chuckled while patting the boy on his back. Out of anyone else here, the Japanese midfielder was indeed the closest one who dared to speak his mind without having to worry about Higo lashing out at him.

The boy himself just felt the corner of his lips twitching before he muttered, "Now that we are going to invite the beast to our territory, don’t you dare slack off and make a mistake, Morita-san."