Chapter 847: Half-Time Break

"Fabian, sorry, you have to watch the second half from the bench."

The moment the players went back to the locker room, Frohling didn’t wait long before announcing his adjustment. Fabian Reese was taken aback slightly, but looking at the serious gaze from the coach, he knew that the decision stood.

"It is not like you played bad, I tell you that. You were the one who got fouled, which got us a penalty, and I will never forget it." Frohling added when he saw the winger’s face drop. "However, we need a reinforcement in the midfield without destroying our overall structure, and you cannot play on the frontline like Beni, so I have to sacrifice you here."

"Don’t worry, Coach, I know." The boy interrupted with a wan smile. "It is normal to get replaced, you know? I cannot just be the main hero all the time!" He laughed in self-deprecation.

The head coach looked uneasy at that response, but in the end, he just ignored it, thinking that he made the right decision here.

It was clear that they needed another midfielder on the pitch, with both Nabil Bentaleb and Omar Mascarell getting overwhelmed for the whole game.

Makino’s appearance would definitely change things for the team, not only for his ability to dictate the tempo, but also for his sniper ability to pinpoint all of his teammates on the frontline.

Still, just like what Frohling said, it wasn’t an easy decision. While Fabian Reese didn’t show that much of a contribution in offense, his discipline level when the team got pressured helped Sead Kolasinac a lot, alleviating the worry on that side.

Unfortunately, though, out of everyone else on the pitch, he was the only one who could be sacrificed without costing too much for the team.

"For the second half, don’t give up on controlling possession, but move the ball faster than before." Frohling continued his instruction. "If anything, Higo, you also have to act as an outfielder, joining the possession play to help reduce the pressure on the midfield. Let’s try to avoid any tough clash, but when they get the ball, you know what to do!"

Higo himself just rolled in exasperation when he saw everyone so excited out of nowhere. This was exactly the same strategy as what they did against Werder Bremen last season, so he wasn’t really surprised that Frohling decided to dig deep into his memory to pick it.

Still, that begged a question here.

’At that time, things didn’t get worse at all, just a rough game with a lot of fouls. But this time, we have already had two red cards and two pens. Will it be okay, though?’

Unfortunately, no one really thought straight enough to get that question popped into their head. No, they all were driven by emotion, wanting nothing but kill the opponent in the second half.

Soon enough, Morita also got back to the locker room, getting ready with the jersey already on. He had just done his warm up outside, and now, he was set to be on the pitch again after three months of absence, couldn’t wait to wreak havoc on the opponent’s side.

"Take it easy, Morita-san." Higo couldn’t help but pat his Japanese compatriot when he saw the man was bouncing around excitedly. "Don’t try to engage in any physical confrontation in the first five minutes. Adjust your state first, make sure that everything is okay before hitting the accelerator."

As someone who had just been back from injury, Higo felt the need to remind Morita here, not wanting for him to fall from the same pit.

"Don’t worry, I am okay." The midfielder just grinned, brushing off the concern nonchalantly. "There is no way I would let myself get injured again. Come on! We need to be ready for the second half!"

Without even waiting for Higo and the others, Morita went to the pitch immediately, leaving the goalkeeper sighing helplessly.

He turned around to Nabil Bentaleb and Omar Mascarell, who would be his friend’s partners in the midfield, before bowing his head lightly. "Morita-san might be a little bit too excited to listen to me, so please, protect him well, Senpai."

"Hah! Don’t worry, I know what it feels to play for the first time after getting injured, you know?" The team’s captain snorted amusedly.

Nabil Bentaleb also gave a quiet nod, accepting the request. Even though Bentaleb didn’t know Morita well since the man was new here, he was still willing to protect the boy from the physical clashes later, knowing that the coach and everyone on the team was betting on Morita’s brilliance in the second half.

Higo let out a relieved sigh once again when he heard that, and soon enough, he followed the rest of the team to get onto the pitch.

There, all the Werder Bremen players were also ready for the second half. One player stood on the sideline together with Morita, stretching his body a little bit. It was clear that he was a super-sub that the away team prepared to surprise Schalke, so now, the question should be: what kind of player would he be?

’Oh, well, it doesn’t really matter here.’ Higo murmured while walking straight to his territory, high-fiving Benjamin Stambouli and Timo Becker on the way. ’In this situation, it should be a new midfielder. However, with Morita-san being here, there is no way he could do anything significant on the pitch."

This was the confidence that Higo always had over Morita’s ability. Even though his name had already resounded throughout the world, even becoming a more famous player than Morita, Higo still couldn’t forget one important fact: his friend was hailed as the best player in their generation back in Japan, and one injury would never be enough to dismiss that.

As he watched Morita coming onto the pitch, Higo couldn’t help but murmur, ’Come on, Morita-san... Remind the whole world again why you are still the most talented player that I have ever seen! Come on!’