Chapter 856: Live Broadcast with a Legend!

Meanwhile, far from Dortmund, in Munich, a live broadcast was underway as DAZN, the country’s biggest sports platform, aired the game live, with two experts guiding viewers back home.

Honestly, if Higo saw the men here, the boy would be clueless, not knowing a single shit about him. However, it would be different for Morita. The midfielder would be starstruck instantly, especially since the man in the studio was a legendary midfielder.

That person was none other than Michael Ballack, probably everyone’s idol in this country back then.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Bundesliga with DAZN! I am Daniel Herzog, your host, and with me today, we have our legendary midfielder Michael Ballack to guide us throughout the game! Michael, it’s good to see you here! How are you doing?"

Ballack coughed a little when he heard his name was mentioned by the host next to him, even fixing the imaginary mess on his tie. Just based on his sitting posture, on how he always wiggled uncomfortably, it was clear that he was nervous here.

Well, how could he not, since the man himself was never someone performative. No, he always let his game do all the talking, and it also didn’t help that he had been away from football for almost 9 years.

Yeah, since he retired from professional football, the man had never touched football again, and this was probably the first proper gathering that he had where the main purpose was talking about his old profession again.

Still, the man knew how to be a professional here. Since he was signed to guide the viewers back home to follow the game, the man had an idea of what he should do right now.

"I am good, thank you for the question, Daniel." He nodded lightly, not even offering a smile to the camera.

Well, it seemed that the host had already expected this, as he continued the conversation. "So, Revier Derby! Some people even say that this is the biggest derby in the country, even more than Der Klassiker. What do you think about it?"

In return, the man just snorted lightly. "In my era, yes, probably. I mean, those two teams fought tooth and nail for the top spot with Bayern for so many years, so it is clear that their meeting would always be heated. However, you cannot say the same in the last couple of years, right?’

This was definitely a jab at Schalke, whose performance had been declining in the last couple of years, with their best achievement only allowing them to get into the Europa League a few years ago; before then, they had to struggle to avoid the relegation zone.

"So, do you think that Schalke doesn’t stand a chance today?" The host inquired further.

"Oh, I wouldn’t say that." Ballack shook his head while adjusting his clip-on. "Even if Schalke couldn’t be compared to Dortmund, they still have two players that could make a big change. In fact, they are my favorite players so far this year, and I have been watching them almost every game."

"You mean the Japanese duo, Koki Morita and Ryusuke Higo?" This time, Daniel Herzog leaned his body forward, showing an interest in this topic. "Indeed, they have been causing a big storm in the last couple of weeks. Still, you think that they are good enough to maintain this consistency?"

"I believe so." Ballack nodded firmly. "In fact, I have been following them since they emerged in the league last year, and I know that this is what they are capable of, not just them riding a good momentum. It is good that their head coach, Torsten Frohling, knows how to utilize them, as his achievement would depend on those two."

Higo and Morita didn’t know that a legendary figure in this country’s football community had just pushed them to the spotlight even before the game started. Hell, they didn’t even realize that their aim to steal the show had already succeeded before the game began, courtesy of the national TV broadcast that allowed all the people in the country to hear Ballack’s opinion.

Still, right now, they couldn’t care less about it. No, ten minutes after the game began, those two Japanese boys had their own problem right now.

Higo had to keep predicting where Haaland would suddenly pop in the penalty box, as the man could appear out of anywhere like a fucking ghost, while Morita also had his own problem, having to stop another anomaly on Dortmund’s side.

The anomaly himself was, coincidentally enough, his and Higo’s rival if they wanted to snatch the Kopa Trophy next year. It was none other than Jude Bellingham, the teenager that the team just recruited from Birmingham this year.

Honestly, the boy’s presence was not something that anyone predicted earlier, as before this, the sponge-haired boy had always been a substitute in the first four games of the league.

No, Schalke was expecting the stable Mahmoud Dahoud to operate in the midfield, not a hot-blooded teenager who liked to charge forward the first time he received the ball, no matter where he was.

"Nabil! You switch with Morita!" Omar instructed quickly when he saw their engine stuck. "Go press that boy with power! I don’t believe he could survive your pressure!"

Well, that was a decent thought, since it allowed Morita to be freed from Jude Bellingham’s pressure while also preoccupying the Englishman in the midfield.

It worked to some extent, before somehow Dortmund managed to adjust so quickly, not giving Schalke any room to breathe.

Yeah, they were not just a one- or two-man team like Schalke. If anything, Dortmund possessed more offensive resources, and using the wing-side was definitely one of them.

This time, by using Bellingham’s gravity that managed to attract Nabil Bentaleb away from the midfield, the ball was pushed to the flank, where Jadon Sancho used his left foot to switch side and got a space to face the penalty box directly.

Seeing this, especially with his clairvoyant ability in the mix, Higo couldn’t help but scowl. ’Fuck! You think that this is going to work against me?!’