As the training session passed by, Alexander Nubel let out a deep sigh once again, the fourth time this afternoon. A big number, especially when the team was still halfway through the session, was over.
Still, the man couldn’t help it. He stared at Higo with a complicated mood, somehow recalling what the team’s chief scout, Marius Draxler, said about the boy.
"He is no match to you or Manuel when it comes to ball distribution or organization, but he is a player who is born to be a goalkeeper. His reaction speed, anticipation, reading the game ability, command, and most importantly, shot-stopping skill are all top-notch. I dare to say that he is better than you and Manuel when you both were at his age."
The ’Manuel’ who Draxler mentioned here was none other than Manuel Neuer, one of the best goalkeepers in this century and also the one who was said to define what it meant to be a modern goalkeeper.If anyone said something like this, Nubel would just scoff it off as a big delusion for someone who wanted to get his attention. However, Marius Draxler was different.
The man was the one who scouted Manuel Neuer and him in the past, and he was also the one who connected them both, which helped Nubel convince himself to join Bayern Munich as Neuer’s successor. It could be said that out of all the scouts in the world, Draxler was the one who knew them the best.
So, to hear the man say that a teenager from Japan was better than him and Manuel Neuer when they were his age... Even though it bruised his ego, Nubel had already accepted this fact without even batting his eyes twice. Hell, he was even happy that his successor would be good, knowing that it would help his childhood team survive in the Bundesliga.
At least, he would be able to leave with ease of mind.
However, Nubel always maintained the level of arrogance that made him think that he was better than Higo. Not that it was strange, of course, since one was hailed as Neuer’s successor and the other was just a teenage dude coming from Japan.
Still, this was what made him accept Higo easily, and now, when the boy showed a strong performance that was up to his par—or even better than him, if he ever dared to say—Nubel couldn’t really think properly of his feelings right now.
’If he could lead the team into a better position than when I am in this club, does that mean the team will not miss me?’
It was egoistic for him to think that way, but Nubel still harbored the illusion that people would be reluctant to see him go. Little did he know, though, that Higo’s reputation in this town was already higher than his, and people couldn’t wait to see him go so that the Japanese boy could take over the team quickly.
Still, that was a matter for the future. Right now, though, as he watched Higo doing everything from protecting the goal to initiating a decisive counterattack that led to the goal, Nubel could feel his fighting spirit burning.
"Boss, let me play again." He requested of the head coach.
Frohling just arched one of his eyebrows lightly. Inwardly, though, he smiled victoriously. ’Yeah, one person got affected by the boys’ performance. Now, let’s see if it could spread wider to the other players.’
Yeah, besides paving the way for those four boys to come to the main team, his other purpose in setting up this training session was to ignite the motivation that was hidden deep inside the players’ hearts. It wasn’t like they couldn’t find it, but the team’s terrible performance in the last couple of matches was enough to kill all the burning spirit inside them.
Now, seeing the youthful performance from the four boys on the pitch, hopefully, some players would find their competitive spirit again, ready to play with all of their might in the future.
Now that Nubel had already initiated it, Frohling didn’t have any reason to refuse. "Just wait here; after this chance is over, you are in again."
Nubel nodded secretly while also looking back at the game. He had already conceded two goals so far, one from Hofmann and the other from Morita. In the process, the man also observed everything quietly, and he had to admit that the four young boys there were quite excellent.
’Yeah, with them around, the team will bounce higher than ever.’ He muttered under his breath. ’However, that doesn’t mean I will let you guys do anything that you want!’
Right after that, Nubel finally came to the pitch with new spirit, ready to fight for his life again. This change was noticed by the rest of the players, and Morita couldn’t help but whisper to Hofmann, ’Will he be a problem?’
In return, the second team’s former captain just nodded quietly, having already been familiar with Nubel’s change of expression. ’Yeah, Nubel is serious. Get ready, because scoring the next goal will be a hassle. Also, he will start distributing the ball more, so get ready for a cut into the box.’
Even though Morita was curious, he still nodded along, not thinking about this matter too much. He started to realize how serious the situation was in the next attack, when he managed to send a good through ball to Fabian. Without even hesitating, Nubel rushed out of his own territory, chasing the ball quickly before sending a decisive tackle that knocked the ball out of the blonde boy’s position.
"YES!" He roared so passionately as if this was a real game. "COME ON, GUYS! NOT AGAIN!"
Morita could feel the corner of his lips twitching at the excessive celebration here. However, he knew that Nubel didn’t do that to provoke him, but more like to vent out all of his emotion so far.
Seeing that the goalkeeper got calmer in a second, he couldn’t help but smirk inwardly. ’Yeah, this is how the game should be, not just a goal after goal so easily! This is going to be more interesting, damn!’
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