Chapter 814: The Arrival of Two New Veterans!

"Oh! Hunter, my brother! Do you still remember me?"

"Ha! Of course, I would remember you, Cali! You couldn’t win against us with Freiburg, and you decided to join us?!"

"Sead, are you going to take over the defense? With you here, everything will be safe!"

"Damn! I cannot wait until the next season begins!"

The people who greeted them here were, of course, none other than the team’s veterans, those who had been serving the team for more than five years. After all, those two left in 2017, so players who joined the team from that time still had a basic memory of them.

Higo himself didn’t join the fun. He just looked at the two ’new’ veteran guys in front of him intently, observing every single movement of their facial muscles.

’Well, at least, Huntelaar-san is excited to be in this team again, so this will be a big boost in our morale.’ The boy mused. ’As for Kolasinac-san... It is hard to read his flat expression. However, he doesn’t show any negative feeling, and he is quite patient in listening to whatever nonsense the others said to him, so he shouldn’t be a problem in the back as well.’

Much to his surprise, though, Sead Kolasinac suddenly got rid of whoever was around him, glancing around before the man’s gaze fell on Higo. The man’s eyes brightened instantly as he approached the boy with great enthusiasm.

"So, you are Ryusuke Higo? The one who Torsten said has the potential to surpass Neuer? Not bad... Not bad..." He patted Higo’s shoulder while also giving the boy a nod of approval. "We will work together a lot this season, so let’s get along well, okay? Even though I am a vet, don’t hesitate to yell at me when I make a mistake."

Higo just nodded blankly, still processing what was going on here. The corner of his lips twitched a little, forming a wry smile.

’What the hell? Frohling-sensei talked about me to the others? And he said that I have the potential to surpass Neuer? Is this a fucking joke or what?’

If it were any other year, Higo would believe the words and feel flattered about it. However, this year, Manuel Neuer was on a different level. Besides leading Bayern Munich to win the treble, he was also considered one of the best players in the world right now, even being put alongside Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi as the top three players who could get the Ballon D’Or this year.

The man was the pinnacle of goalkeeping, and being told that he could surpass the man was like a cruel joke for Higo.

Still, the boy didn’t say his thoughts out loud. No, he chatted with the man for a while, and after spending a few moments greeting the two new players here, Frohling finally took over the command once again, not wanting to waste too much time to start the training session.

Higo himself was still in modified training even though the progress was clear. Now, he was allowed to do catching training, receiving the end of the shooting. However, for diving and falling, those were still no-go as he needed to wait for the medical team’s approval.

During this time, Higo also observed how the two new veterans trained. Well, at least, they showed a good example here, not even complaining about the high-intensity training even though this was their very first day together with the team again.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, moreover, also showed his hunger for the win was still there. Even though he was already 37 years old with a lot of knee problems, the man still ran the most, putting pressure on any of the defenders in front of him like a wild beast getting unleashed by its owner. The man might say that he was only here as a morale booster, but at least his presence alone was enough to burn the team’s spirit brighter than ever.

As for Sead Kolasinac, he was the complete opposite here. He was calm and tough, and his game-reading skill was top-notch. It also helped that his speed and strength were still there, enough to cover up any misjudgment that he made in the middle of the game.

Yeah, even though all the guys here talked about Sead Kolasinac being a veteran, in reality, the Bosnian defender was just 28 years old, having just entered his prime. His physical state was no problem here, as the man still had enough fuel in his tank to fight against anyone else in the league right now.

That was why the man managed to make defending look so easy for anyone who watched the training session.

Higo himself also clenched his fist secretly as he watched everything from the sideline. ’Such a good player is going to play for us? What the fuck did Arsenal do to sell him to us? Or is it because Arsenal’s defensive players are all way better than him? If so, that would be problematic, right?’

Thinking about it, Higo couldn’t help but shudder. The image of a premier league team suddenly became scary inside his head, as, if Arsenal that was only at the eighth position in the table last season could ditch a defender caliber Sead Kolasinac easily, how scary would the top team’s defense would be?

Then, Higo also remembered that Ozan Kabak was personally recruited by Liverpool, the best team in England right now, and he couldn’t help but snort. Not that Ozan Kabak was a bad player, but the Turkish defender was so clumsy and had so many hidden dangers in him that sometimes, even Higo himself wouldn’t trust him, and here Liverpool was, getting interested in that kind of defender.

All the scary images earlier collapsed, getting replaced by one thought that was definitely more mature.

’It is either Kolasinac-san is not a part of their coach’s team, which would be foolish on their part, or he has a hidden bomb located in his body. Hopefully, it will be the first one, or we are going to be so screwed...’