Chapter 327 Pretence
While Hiro and Shun were enjoying this moment, Yuya on the other hand was sweating profusely. Inside the tunnel, he had been acting all fine but upon confronting the crowds, his legs had lost it's strength while his palms had become sticky with sweat.
Those cheerful cheers were like harsh curses hauled towards him. And those cheerful fans were like onlookers who had come to see his doom.
It was probably his last chance to prove himself. If he couldn't capitalize this opportunity, his doom was inevitable and he very well knew about it.
Which is why, he was anxious even more than before.
"Well even though you are my teammate in the national team but don't expect me to go easy on you though"
Showcasing a smirk on his face, Takumi who was currently acting as the captain of the opposing team reminded Hiro that he wouldn't go easy on him.
"Well aren't you so considerate"
In a rather sarcastic way, Hiro replied.
Immediately those sentences which left Hiro's mouth got on his nerves as he felt his eyes twitching.
But before Takumi could even respond to Hiro, cameraman who were covering this match caught up to them and started taking pictures. Takumi now had no choice but to smile despite feeling humiliated by Hiro's response.
A starting striker for his club but a reserve striker for the national team, because of the presence of a striker like Nijichi, he had been left out of the limelight in the national team.
But right now, he was one of the core player of his team. And unlike before, currently he was one of the player who was at the center of the attention.
Involving with Hiro in current situation came both with a risk and a reward. And Takumi was very well aware of that fact as well. Thus, he didn't say anything to Hiro and instead showcased an amiable smile on his face.
Antagonizing Hiro was akin to antagonizing thousands of fans who supported Hiro. And with his measly reputation, it was like an ant trying to go up against an elephant.
After a short while as players of both the team exchanged friendly greetings and positioned themselves in their respective position, the game begun with the whistle of the referee.
Beep!
The opposing team started the kickoff.
And no sooner had the ball started rolling, players of both the team went into action. As much as this game was important to players of Kawasaki, it was equally important to the players of Aomori.
This one match could define the fate of their teams ranking at the end of the season. Kawasaki being the defending champion wanted to retain their position while Aomori being one of the favorite for the title wanted to dethrone the previous champion and take the crown for themselves.
Thus both team were rather careful and vigilant.
While moving the ball in their own half, Aomori's team slowly tried to draw the players of Kawasaki towards them. But their efforts were in vain as no matter how much they tried to provoke or bait the players of Kawasaki, nobody was going for the bait.
Moving in fixed position while staying close to each other, players of Kawasaki put pressure on the opposing players without even charging.
At time only one player would step froward for the ball while the remaining would retain their position, covering him and closing the gaps for the opposing team.
From an onlookers point of view, players of Aomori seemed to be in control of the game; given their dominance on the ball.
But only upon closer inspection would one realize that the people who were in control of the game was the players of Kawasaki. Controlling the flow of the game and dictating the open spaces, currently they were controlling this game from behind the scenes.
Soon enough, players of Aomori were starting to realize this as well.
Compared to the opposing players, they looked rather miserable. Not only were they running out of breath but their minds were also in a distressful state.
It was getting harder for them to think clearly.
With players of Kawasaki scattered everywhere, they were not being able to locate any open spaces or find an opportunity to move the ball forward.
Focusing their attention on Hiro had costed them quite a lot.
34 minutes had already gone by and not even a single shot on target had been recorded from both the team. Even Hiro who normally would be one of the most active player on the field was rather inactive in this match today.
Apart from scanning and providing passes, he hadn't done much today.
And because of such lousy performance from Hiro, seeds of doubts had started sprouting in the heart of the opposing players.
Is he injured? Takumi did tell us that he had been hospitalized at the end of the final match, perhaps his injuries hadn't healed completely yet....
While preparing for this match, Takumi had disclosed the condition of Hiro to his teammates so that they could prepare better against him.
But now until this point of match, upon noticing Hiro's inactiveness, they were starting to doubt whether Hiro was still recovering and thus was unable to perform like before.
It would have been completely different scenario if he was totally fine. But now that he was injured and his movements were limited, they had it rather easy.
Instead of guarding him with three of their players, even a single player would suffice to guard against this injured beast.
And by doing so, they would free up two of their players which would further assist them in building up their gameplay and break free from this trap like formation set by the opposing team.
The reason why they were struggling up till now was solely because of the lack of manpower. But now as they decided to ditch Hiro, for sure their gameplay would improve.
That's what they thought. But man oh man, how careless were they to think that way.
The beast that had sleeping until this point of time, the moment they let their guard against them immediately lunged towards them and grabbed them by their neck.
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