Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, all the Ritsumeikan players had already arrived, ready with their proudest yellow jerseys to go to war. They were led by their captain and best player on the team, Takuro Iwai, as player number 14 was doing some light warm-up with the ball.

Unlike any other team that played in the dome for the first time, though, Ritsumeikan players were far from being nervous. No, they all were super-excited, their legs couldn’t stop moving even before the game began. Hell, Takuro Iwai even had to remind his teammates here, not wanting them to spend their energy here, and got deflated once the game started.

"Save your excitement for later. I can assure you, they will have enough for us to kill, and we will still be hungry later." Said the captain.

"Bah! No need to act so calm, Senpai!" one of his teammates mocked him teasingly. "At least, try to hide your trembling legs! You are shaking, you know?!" This was followed by laughter from everyone else, as they knew that their captain was the most excited one for this game.

Takuro Iwai himself could only sigh helplessly, especially when he saw that he didn’t really have a trembling leg right now. "You brat! You dare to tease your captain like that?!" Scolded the boy with a playful laugh coming out of his mouth.

After they had finished their warmup, Takuro Iwai asked them to huddle around him. Not just the boys, but the coach also did the same, knowing that this was the best time to give any motivational speech for the team.

"Okay, I don’t need to say a lot of things here. You all know how important this game is, especially for the senior years. Kuro, Ao, Takeshi, and Marukawa, this might be our last game in high school, so you’d better make sure you go all out, right? No, that’s not enough. You better give us your 120 percent, you understand?!"

"Yes, Captain!" The four senior members of the team nodded firmly, their eyes burning in determination.

"Also, Kono, Hizashi, you two are going to face Yuwell Carlson head-on. That bastard might be the strongest and the most intimidating striker on this island, but don’t get intimidated! Show some personalities! If he clashes with you, don’t hold back; put more weight on him! Just try to kill him, okay?!"

"Yes, Sir!" the two center backs grinned when they heard the captain allowed some roughness in their defense.

"Lastly..." Takuro Iwai took a deep breath, his gaze turned solemn. "Everyone has already expected us to lose, counting us out of the tournament. Hell, they even start to talk shit like their game against Hakodate Nishi, forgetting that last year, here, we managed to drag them down to the abyss. If we could do that last year, we could do the same today! Come on, everyone! Let’s show them hell again!"

"Hell, yeah!"

Right after that, the coach said some words for a little bit of a tactical reminder to the team. However, at this point, no amount of explanation could reach their ears. No, all the players were already in their jittery mode and couldn’t wait to get into action right now.

Poor man, he was the newest member of the team and still failed to establish his authority. While the others were listening to him during the tactical session, once the players were in their frenzy mode like this, he could only sigh helplessly, knowing that no words would be able to reach them.

"Just one thing, Iwai-kun." The man finally decided to drag the captain into this situation. "Just remind them to be careful and not get too reckless in the early minutes. Those are the times we are prone to make a mistake, so remind them of this again."

"Don’t worry, Sensei, I got this." Iwai nodded solemnly before walking into the pitch.

Soon enough, all the players from both teams finally entered the pitch. Suddenly, though, the whole stadium seemed to be a battlefield for Ritsumeikan High, as people started to cheer for the home team.

"COME ON! COME ON SAPPORO OTANI!"

"YUWELL! WE WAIT FOR YOUR GOAL! YUWELL!"

The whole stadium exploded instantly, with all 1000 supporters of the home team cheering and singing on the stands. Not only that, but so many flags were waved, giving a more imposing show to intimidate the opponent.

The atmosphere on Ritsumeikan High’s side also changed immediately. They weren’t jolly and goofy anymore, starting to enter their hyperfocus mode. Iwai, particularly, was taking a deep breath, glancing at one particular player on Sapporo Otani’s side.

’Hiroyuki, that damn defensive midfielder...’ He gritted his teeth, glaring so openly at the boy number 16 with eyes full of hate. ’The last time we met was just a sparing game, but he can lock me down so closely for the entire 90 minutes. If I want to have a chance, I need to deal with him soon.’

After a quick pleasantry and the ceremonial handshake with the opponent, Iwai stepped into the center circle, where Rin Mito had already waited for him, as they were about to have a coin toss here.

"Let’s have a good game." The Sapporo Otani’s captain offered a handshake once again there. His figure was still imposing, as if demanding that everyone follow his command. Even Iwai had to admit that the boy in front of him was intimidating here, and this was not their first time meeting each other.

’No, I cannot think that way.’ He shook his head quickly. ’He will also become another mountain that we have to move. I cannot be intimidated by him before the game begins, or my team will crumble immediately.’

Everything happened so quickly after this, with him winning the coin toss against Rin Mito. Iwai didn’t hesitate to pick the first to get the kickoff right, and after that, he went back to the team to get ready for the game.

The referee also did his last check, trying to make sure that no complications would arise in the middle of the game. After getting a nod from all of his colleagues, the man finally had the whistle on his lips, and soon enough...

FWEEE!

He finally blew the whistle, starting the second semifinal of the Hokkaido Winter Tournament between Ritsumeikan High and Sapporo Otani High.