Chapter 965: Game Day! Challenging the Best Again!

Time passed quickly, and before Higo could realize it, he was already on game day, standing at the Veltins Arena once again, waiting for the opponent to come out of the tunnel as well.

It was another chilly day, with the temperature so close to 5 degrees Celsius. This was definitely not ideal weather to play football outside. Hell, Higo even had to come with three layers of jackets today, trying to avoid getting caught in a cold.

Fortunately, the stadium was way better than when he had to go with the team to Ulm last week.

No, Veltins Arena was a modern stadium with a heater in so many spots, allowing the snow to melt immediately without staying for too long on the pitch.

This way, the players didn’t have to worry about the ball not rolling properly on the ground, something that happened a lot of times in the DFB Pokal last week.

The supporters who came here for this game were also not that many. Honestly, it was quite strange, since people seemed to like a game against a big team like Bayern, wanting to watch world-class players with their own eyes.

Still, not only was the weather not friendly for people, but the pandemic seemed to get worse in this city as well.

The report this morning said that the number of cases had increased since New Year’s Day, as it seemed that people didn’t follow the self-quarantine policy during that time.

As a result, now with so many people getting infected by the virus, the enthusiasm to go to the stadium decreased as well, and only those who were fanatical enough were willing to come to watch today’s game.

Not that Higo minded, of course, as he still greeted them all before the game began.

"HIGO! HIGO! HIGO!"

"COME ON, WAKABAYASHI! PROTECT OUR GOAL TODAY!"

"DON’T LET THEM GET ONE AGAINST YOU!"

Even if they were just around 150 to 200 people, their chant was still deafening, enough to fill the whole stadium with their loud voices.

Soon enough, though, silence followed as an oppressive atmosphere came from the tunnel.

There, Bayern players started to come out one by one, and while some were still walking casually with headphones covering their ears, their aura was enough to make any opponent in the world nervous.

Well, at least, that was until one person there suddenly had his eyes lit up the moment he saw Higo on the pitch.

"OH! Ryusuke! You are here!"

Of course, it was none other than Thomas Muller, the only person who dared to be this friendly no matter where he was.

"How have you been? I heard you came so close to the Player of the Month award twice, right? Eh, don’t think too much about that empty award! Even I have never gotten one in my career!"

Higo could feel the corner of his lips twitching madly right now. Somehow, he forgot that Bayern had this Chihuahua, always barking non-stop whenever he found someone he was interested in.

Also, what the hell?! Talking about the Player of the Month award?!

Higo, who had already forgotten about this, remembered once again, and his face darkened instantly at the man’s innocent smile.

"Honestly, I don’t know whether you are just being blunt or you just want to mock me here, Muller-san." He sighed helplessly.

"Ahaha! Don’t think too much about that trivial matter!" Muller just laughed boisterously, slapping Higo on the back quite hard.

The rest of the players from both teams just ignored their interaction, having already been used to their strange friendship at this point.

The only one who still showed a reaction was Lewandowski, as the striker had his face darkened when he saw how friendly Muller was with Higo.

Muller also saw this, and he couldn’t help but smile mischievously at Higo.

"You see my boy there? He has been training so hard to get a goal against you. Get ready, okay? He will go crazy today." He whispered conspiratorially.

Higo just rolled his eyes once again, knowing that this was another attempt to provoke something between him and Lewandowski.

Still, a second after that, a mischievous smile formed on his face, and a thought suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"Well, I am ready more than ever, Muller-san." He stated. "If anything, you have to get ready as well, because I will make sure that your team won’t score more than a goal against me today. Just watch yourself, okay?"

This stunned Bayern’s captain for a second before he let out another boisterous laugh.

"Hah! I like your spirit! I would love to see how you pull that one!"

This time, though, Higo could hear a hint of determination in the man’s tone, as if he had just poked a sensitive spot here.

Well, how could Muller not react that strongly, when in this season, no one in the Bundesliga had ever been bold enough to declare something like this in front of his face.

The only thing that made Muller respect this declaration was that Higo had the ability to pull it off, so the German legend couldn’t wait to see how everything would turn out later.

’Yeah, as expected, playing against him is definitely the best.’ The man grinned widely, finding himself getting pumped up out of nowhere.

After this, all the players finally went back to their own locker room for the last preparation before the game began.

Higo tightened his gloves, taking a deep breath while also having his eyes stare back at the pitch for a moment.

’Yeah, I have already thrown the provocation, so I need to back it up with all I have today...’ He murmured secretly.

As he walked to the tunnel area with the others, Higo felt someone pat his shoulder, and he turned around quickly. There, Morita looked at him with the same determination as Higo had, and in a barely audible whisper, the boy patted him on the back firmly.

"Just protect the goal with all your might, Higo. Leave scoring for Hoppe and me. Together, let’s shock the best team in the world today!"