Chapter 712: Allianz Arena! VS Bayern Munich!

Kumiko’s words were enough to slap Higo awake.

’Yeah, even though the others give up already, I cannot really do that, right?’ He smiled wryly. ’What is it that Aya-nee said in the past? Oh, yeah, the road to greatness is always full of loneliness. I cannot follow the crowd blindly just because it is the easiest path here.’

With that thought in mind, Higo abandoned his previous attitude of just strolling around, wanting to try as hard as he could. At least, even though he would only embarrass himself, the boy would receive a great lesson from the best team in the country.

He also didn’t have any illusion that working harder would motivate the other players to do so. After all, this was not a high school anymore, and everyone here was professional. They all had their own priority, so there was no way they would be swayed by a little attitude here. If anything, they just scoffed at Higo secretly, looking down on the boy when he was not around.

’Yeah, anyone can be so motivated when they have never experienced playing against Bayern. They will always have the illusion that they can survive, huh?’

’Eh, that’s what youth can do for you. I just envy his naivety, you know?"

"Bah, that’s not naïve! That’s just stupid!"

Fortunately, Higo was too busy getting himself ready to hear that discordant voice. Still, even though he noticed that, the boy would just sneer, probably even mocking those guys with something like, ’No wonder you guys are just a bunch of bench players...’ Or something like that.

No curse words needed, but hitting straight where it would hurt them.

Well, with how busy Higo was, he didn’t even notice how quickly time passed by. Before he knew it, the boy had already stood in probably the most iconic stadium in Germany, Allianz Arena.

Still, the moment the boy glanced around here, it would be a lie if he somehow said that he was impressed with the atmosphere inside. With a capacity of around 75,000 people, he could see that every single seat was filled with people. However, the boy couldn’t feel the impact that could make him feel goosebumps here, as if something was missing from the stadium.

"Curious, right?" Fabian asked with a knowing smile while the boy was fixing his hairband. "How could such a big team not give you an imposing feeling? The number might be high, but their presence is so easy to miss."

Higo nodded quietly, glancing at his friend while also waiting for the answer. Well, he didn’t need to ask it verbally, because Fabian was more than happy to provide him with one.

"In fact, this is the trouble of any world-class club like them." Fabian shrugged. "Except for a big game like the Champions League, the ones who come here most of the time are tourists, supporters from abroad who want to watch their beloved team and make new memories. Not to look down on them, since they are fanatic enough to spend so much money to come here, but it is clear that they don’t understand the supporters’ culture here. Well, not just here, but you will see the same in any normal game in Bernabeu or Camp Nou."

"Ah, so that’s it..." Higo nodded, could understand the reason.

Well, he didn’t dwell on this matter too much, because soon enough, the boy could see Bayern’s players coming out of the tunnel, followed by deafening cheers from the stands.

"Lewa! We’ll wait for your goal!"

"Thomas Muller, can I have a photo?!"

"Coutinho, I flew here from India to watch your game!"

The supporters went crazy immediately when they saw their favorite players. It was clear that those who reacted were the fans of the players, not the team itself. Well, not that it really mattered in this case, as it was not Higo’s business.

No, he didn’t care about the cheers and shouts from the stands. What he paid more attention to were the players there, especially the superstars like Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller. They carried this air that made anyone think that even if they didn’t treat this seriously, they could just win this game like a walk in the park.

This was the confidence of those who had already stood on top of the world.

’So, that is the best team in Germany, huh?’ He clenched his fists secretly, not even realizing that he was smiling right now. ’Interesting...’

Before he could turn around and go back to the team, someone suddenly greeted him from behind.

"Hey, Higo! How are you doing?!"

When the boy turned around, he could see Alexander Nubel coming, wearing the vest that showed that he was sitting on the bench today. His smile was wry when he greeted Higo here, as if thinking about something ironic.

"Ah, I am good, Nubel-san. How about you?" Higo asked back politely. "Does Bayern Munich treat you well?"

"...Treat me well?" After pondering the question for a moment, he finally laughed wryly. "Well, I cannot complain here. Other than just sitting on the bench and having nothing to do, I think everything is better." He said it weakly, as if he didn’t even trust his own words.

Higo decided not to press this matter too far, not when the game was about to begin. However, Nubel suddenly said something that made him pause even for a second.

"Get ready for Lewa, Higo. He is determined to score at least two or three today, and everyone promised that they will feed the ball to him all the time."

Higo didn’t show any reaction at first, but after thinking about it for a second, he just asked a question. "Why would you tell me this? Is it psywar or something to shake off my mentality?"

Nubel just snorted amusedly at that. "Psywar? Don’t think so highly about yourself. In their eyes, you are just a small fry that they would forget about tomorrow." He then narrowed his eyes slightly, enough to make the boy uncomfortable. "I just want to see what you would do when you are at your most desperate moment, knowing that you have the information but not being able to do anything... Don’t get crushed, okay?"