Chapter 765: Back to Training Again!

It was the next morning, in the training session, that Higo found himself standing between the posts in the training ground once again. Outside of the penalty box, everyone was lining up, waiting eagerly to test the goalkeeper there.

"COME ON! Bring it to me!" Higo shouted, challenging them boisterously.

The rule of the training was simple. No defenders, and the shooter would have to start from outside the box. There, Waldoch would send a pass in a random direction, and they had to make a run to that spot before executing the ball by themselves.

The purpose was simple. Even though in the last game, Schalke’s offensive line had done great with four goals against their rival, Frohling knew full well his team’s quality. The last game was definitely a coincidence, and he didn’t want his players to be big-headed, thinking that they could conquer the world right now.

That was why he arranged this session, wanting to make sure that everyone also realized their level as well. With Higo between the posts, if somehow they managed to get a few goals, Frohling would definitely let them brag about their offense, as the coach also recognized Higo as one of the best goalkeepers in the country right now. But before that, it was better to stay humble.

Of course, Higo himself was excited for this little scrimmage. Besides the fact that he could exert his muscles more toward his teammates, showing off his dominance in the penalty box, this session reminded him a lot of his first time joining Hakodate Nishi, where he foolishly enough challenged the team’s retired senpaiat that time.

’Yeah, my temper wasn’t really that controlled at that time. Poor Kumiko-chan, she had to deal with me all the time, huh?’ Higo couldn’t help but smile wryly here.

Still, he didn’t expect that after going to the professional level, the boy would still have a chance to do this kind of training again, and he didn’t even hide his enthusiasm right now.

He wasn’t the only one to feel that way, though. Now that the training session had begun, with that provocation from Higo, of course, the rest of the players would not hold back here. The first one to step up here was Daniel Caligliuri, the oldest striker in the group today.

"Come on, Higo! Get ready!"

Thud!

After that, Waldoch sent a ball through Cali’s legs, going slightly toward the left side of the goal. The man rushed immediately, wanting to catch up with the ball. Unfortunately, age seemed to be his enemy, as he couldn’t even exert all the muscles in his lower limbs right now, preventing him from speeding up and getting the ball first.

As a result, the moment the ball was within his reach, Higo was also already in front of him, diving on the ground to get it first.

BAM!

"Shit!" Cali couldn’t help but curse as he was stumbled by Higo’s body, trying to maintain his balance. As he managed to recover, the man was so speechless when he turned around and saw the ball was already in Higo’s clutch. "Damn! Good save, Higo! But don’t think you can get it again next!"

Higo himself didn’t care about that little provocation. Instead, he got up from the ground, throwing the ball back to the crowd with a provoking gaze.

"Come on! A weak attempt! Who’s next?!"

Well... While they liked Higo as a team’s goalkeeper, that didn’t mean Schalke’s players were a bunch of paper tigers. No, the constant provocation from Higo was enough to tickle their curiosity, and they became more determined than ever to shut the boy up before this session was over.

"Nassim! It is your time! Make sure you did everything right!"

"Ha! Leave everything to me!"

Thud!

Once again, Waldoch sent a pass toward the left side of the goal, an unfavorable spot for Nassim Boujellab, who was the right-footer. Still, the Moroccan winger got the ball easily, and one glance toward the goal where Higo was standing was enough to make him decide what kind of action he would take here.

Thud!

It was a high lob, threatening to get into the goal from above. However, before Nassim could show a happy reaction, the boy was so stunned when he saw Higo was already halfway through the goal again and punched the ball back to the top of the net.

"YES!" Higo jumped immediately, punching the air straight in front of Nassim Boujellab. "That’s how you stop the opponent, Nassim!" Higo laughed boisterously, enough to annoy anyone else on the sideline.

"MORITA!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Not wanting to give Higo a chance to breathe, another pass came again, and this time, it was for none other than Morita himself. If it happened last year, Higo would be intimidated due to the vast difference between him and Morita in their high school. But this time, Higo jumped out of his territory quickly, pouncing on the ball without hesitation.

BAM!

"FUCK!"

Instead of being close enough to control that ball, Morita failed to execute it properly. No, in a very close distance, his shot only found Higo’s foot before it flew away from the goal, wasting all the chance the chance for him to get the goal.

"Damn! Another one?!"

"What is going on with Higo?! How could he be this excited for training?!"

"Shit! This is ridiculous!"

The noises from the outside of the pitch started to get restless. Instead of killing the offensive line’s confidence, though, this session only made the team excited about Higo’s performance in the future. This reminded the team that they had one of the most talented players between the posts, so they could be bolder in their offense later.

Amidst the whispers from all around the training ground, Higo woke up before taunting all the players in front of him mockingly. "Three of our best players have already gotten down right now! Come on, who still dares to step up here?! Who still dares to resist in front of me?!"