Chapter 892: A Tough Defeat Against Wolfsburg

Well, fortunately, it didn’t take much to convince Kumiko. The reason was simple, and that was because she herself was ready to get this kind of exposure, as she knew sooner or later, once Higo’s name was big enough, her existence would be revealed by some media outside.

The girl just regretted that he said it without discussing it with her first, and Higo apologized profusely, knowing that it was a pure mistake on his part.

"Yeah, I know that it wasn’t wise, but I cannot help it! I was just one push away from spilling out my secret ability, you know?!" Higo sighed helplessly. "Still, I am so sorry about that. Do you need me to talk to your advisor or someone else about that?" He asked, inquiring about this problem.

"Don’t worry, the campus has already known about it, and they will make sure that no one is bothering me. Also, people in this country are not that nosy. They wouldn’t be too gossipy about me, so everything will be okay."

Well, at least, this was a good reassurance for Higo, as he knew that his impulsive comment wouldn’t affect Kumiko’s life in a bad way.

Then, within a few hours, so many comments from professionals, either those who were still active or had already been retired, flooded in to support Higo, enough to boost his mood for the rest of the day.

Oliver Kahn, as usual, blasted the whole media with his harsh and blunt words, showing no mercy when he talked about their hypocritical faces. Hell, the man was a clear stereotype of a grumpy and angry German man at that time, and honestly, Higo was so curious about meeting him in the future.

However, what he didn’t expect was that even Manuel Neuer also said a piece of his mind when a reporter asked him about Higo.

"I still pride myself on believing that I am the best goalkeeper in the world, but he is definitely on par with me when it comes to shot-stopping. As for those who talked shit about him being in the Bundesliga, don’t forget that the one who conquered the whole continent is also from the same league here, so underestimating us will be your biggest mistake."

After that, more people also stepped up, from legendary figures like Michael Ballack, a senior goalkeeper like David De Gea, to even the most famous coach in the world, Jose Mourinho; all went to the media to support the boy.

After all, it wasn’t easy for a goalkeeper to enter everyone’s radar like this, and destroying the boy just because his position didn’t allow him to rush forward definitely didn’t sit well in those people’s stomachs.

However, all of those praises died instantly when, in the next game, Higo finally conceded a goal, and honestly, the scenario was just another infuriating one, the kind of play that the boy himself still cursed while looking at the ball on the back of the net helplessly.

It was the game against VfB Wolfsburg, and in the 38th minute, the away team got a free kick on the flank. The cross was sent to Higo’s penalty box, and like usual, he rushed to snatch it in the air.

In this case, though, the boy failed to snatch it. No, the crowd in front of him was too big, so in the end, he decided to punch the ball away to the other side of the flank, not wanting to take too much risk inside his box.

The second ball was received by one of the Wolfsburg players on the flank, and the man whipped a low cross that was quite bad, going straight to Sebastian Rudy on the near post.

In hindsight, this should be an easy ball to clear. However, it fell straight to Rudy’s left foot, his weaker one, and his attempt to clear it away was quite pathetic, only hitting Mark Uth in front of him.

The ball got pinballed quite a few times, bouncing left and right inside the penalty box without anyone knowing where it would end up. In the end, though, it fell straight to a veteran striker, Wout Weghorst, straight in front of the goal where Higo couldn’t guard, and the man didn’t even use his feet, just letting his chest push the ball into the back of the net easily.

In the end, that was the only goal that happened that day, as no one from Schalke managed to get one to force a draw. After their dramatic win against Mainz in the away game, this result sure was quite anticlimactic, enough to disappoint the supporters on the stand.

Somehow, Higo also faced some scrutiny after the game was over. People started to notice him since those three penalty saves last game, and looking at how the goal unfolded, it would be a lie if they said that they expected something like that to happen.

"Holy cow! How could he let such an easy goal happen?!"

"Tch! All those words about him being the best, and we see something like this happen?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Hey, at least we know that the media exaggerated their report again. He is not that good, so let’s just leave him like that."

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching when he heard that, finding himself getting so irritated at the criticism that was definitely unfounded here. After all, that goal itself was pure luck, as the ball just went all over the place without anyone being able to stop it.

Blaming something like this on Higo sure was the work of someone who deliberately targeted him, and his first instinct was honestly to snap, retorting to anyone who was brave enough to say that straight in front of his face. It was fortunate that Omar Mascarell worked fast, dragging him back to the locker room, or the consequence would be severe.

"Listen, you are allowed to have a conflict with the team, the media, the coach, or even your teammates, but the supporters are definitely untouchable." The captain reminded the boy. "They are the ones who paid to watch you, so they have all the right in the world to say anything they want about you. Get used to it, okay?"