Chapter 875: An Unexpected Award!

"Still... Damn! If only we had managed to win the game yesterday, we would’ve been in third position, right?" Morita sighed in regret as he walked side by side with Higo.

It was two days later, when they were finally back at the training session, that Higo found himself walking next to Morita as they were going to Berger Feld early in the morning. Higo himself felt the corner of his lips twitch when he heard the complaint from Morita here.

"Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe, that is because we are not that good to deserve that spot?" He asked. "I mean, luck plays a big part in our journey so far, you know? Wanting to aim at the top three seems to be a little bit of a stretch, even for us."

In return, though, Morita just clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You cannot say that, Higo. As a man, you have to know how to dream big! Also, be more confident in yourself! Even Endo-san praised you greatly after the match, right?"

At that, Higo went quiet, pondering their conversation with their senpai after the game was over yesterday.

"You know, I get why everyone says that you both are going to be big, even bigger than any other Japanese in football history!" The man laughed freely, as if he was admitting something quite casual here. "You both are destined to be great, so don’t be satisfied with the result you’ve gotten so far! Climb higher, and when you are high enough, come back and let’s fight together for the country!"

It would be a lie if Higo said that he wasn’t touched by the man’s words. It was a genuine praise and invitation, and while the boy had heard so many good things about him before, when it came from Endo, everything seemed to be different.

Still, in the end, he just said, "It is Endo-san that we are talking about. I doubt he can be objective about it. Hell, I even think that he would still praise a dead wood after the game is over, you know?"

Morita stopped immediately, which made Higo follow his lead, looking at the boy in confusion. To his surprise, though, the midfielder barked out a laugh out of nowhere.

"Ha! You are right! Endo-san is so good at flattery that he would praise even dead wood for sticking with his position for the whole game! A good joke, Ryusuke!"

They chatted for a while before entering the locker room. However, to their surprise, they found that everything was dark, as if no one had been here today. It took a while before Higo finally found the switch, but the moment he pulled it on...

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

So many people suddenly popped up the moment the light went on, catching those two off guard. Well, not so many people anymore, as every single player was here. It seemed that they were waiting for their arrival just for this occasion, which only made the two Japanese more confused.

"What congratulations? What happened here?!" Higo asked, still bewildered over everything.

The guys just looked at each other helplessly while Omar Mascarell had the biggest grin on his face, as if he had just won something big.

"I tell you that they wouldn’t know about it beforehand! They are typical of this generation, never reading the news other than their social media! Well, don’t forget to pay me 5 Euros for each one of you, okay?"

The others just grumbled lightly, some even giving the smug captain a big middle finger.

"Wait, what news?! What is going on?!" Morita asked in confusion.

In the end, it was Frohling who stepped up here. "Well, the month is already over, and the league’s monthly award is out already. You have been determined as the second-place rookie of the month, so congrats, Morita."

This was followed by polite applause, with some even rubbing the boy’s hair quite fondly.

The midfielder himself had his jaw dropped, not expecting the news to come out of nowhere. At this point, he finally realized that they were already in November, and indeed, it was time for the award to be out.

However, in the next second, a realization hit him hard, followed by another question: "Wait, I am in second place?! Who beats me?!"

This time, all the eyes shifted to Higo, with the head coach asking, "Well, who else other than your friend?"

This time, the man took a tall, sleek black trophy out of nowhere, and in the middle of it, everyone could see the big Bundesliga logo and the words ’Rookie of the Month Award’ being placed big in there.

"OH! Is that the trophy?!"

"Damn! This is the first time I see one directly!"

"Shit! I have to take a photo of it first! Wait! Wait!"

The commotion broke instantly as everyone was looking at the trophy in awe. Well, not everyone, per se, but most of them whose careers failed to reach a good height stared at it like this was the biggest honor in the world.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Higo? Come and get it!" Frohling smiled, inviting the boy to come forward.

At least, this was enough to snap Higo out of his thoughts, and he nodded numbly, still getting overwhelmed by the situation. Hell, when he received the trophy, the boy felt his hand trembling, as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

"Hahaha! Good for you, Higo! If anyone can beat me, it has to be you!" Morita laughed boisterously the moment he saw his friend with that trophy.

There was no envy in his tone, as if getting beaten by Higo was not a big deal, even though in high school, his status was way bigger than that of the goalkeeper.

"It is just a pity that you didn’t get the Player of the Month as well." Frohling sighed in regret. "Your performance is good enough to get second place in that, but the winner... Robert Lewandowski somehow managed to bag 9 goals in the 3 games that he played in October, so the award goes to him this time..."