CHAPTER 96: WATCHING ON

For a brief moment, the crowd didn’t know what to make of his celebration. Was he paying homage? Was he thanking them? Was he taunting them?

The outcry a second later was massive as they concluded it must have been the latter.

Lukas raised his head from the bow, smiling as they booed him. He could see the anger in their faces as they piled on the metal railing in front of the stands.

Bahoya was his first teammate to get to him as he hooked his hands around Lukas’s shoulder and pointed to his chest in front of the crowd. Larsson, Ekitike, Hojlund, and the rest joined soon after as they screamed at Lukas.

"I really should stop doubting you," Theate said as he shook hands with Lukas.

"You really shouldn’t. Else how do I prove myself? I need someone to prove wrong."

The two laughed as they set out for their half of the pitch to resume the match.

"There will be six minutes of stoppage time," the stadium announcer said, prompting cheers from the fans with hope that their team could regain the lead before the first half ended.

The game restarted, and this time, the flow was flipped again.

Bayern played like a team possessed.

Toppmöller, who had gone to take a seat after Lukas’s wonder free kick goal, had to come back to the technical area to help organize the defense.

For the next six minutes until the end of the first half, Lukas did not get to the centerline. He was pinned back to the edge of his penalty area as he stood as the first line of defense together with Bahoya and Ekitike.

In the 45+6’ minute, Musiala went on one of his trademark runs through the middle of the pitch.

He danced with the ball at his feet, always looking like the ball would be lost at any moment, but never actually losing the ball.

Lukas stuck his leg in to dispossess him, but Musiala glided through the challenge with a La Croqueta. Lukas turned, but he was gone.

He went through Hojlund and Larsson too, but his shot was blocked by Tuta and the deflected shot was easily collected by Trapp, which he held under his chest while lying down.

FWEEE

"And it’s half time. 45 minutes of thrilling, scintillating football. Olise opens the scoring for Bayern Munich in the 20th minute with a tap-in after a beautiful cross by Sané. Lukas Brandt restored the tie for Eintracht Frankfurt with a world-class goal. Nothing separates us at half time and we will be back in 15 minutes."

As the referee’s whistle signaled half-time, the roar of the Allianz Arena dipped into a low hum of chatter, whistles, and claps. On the giant Jumbotron above the stands, the broadcast camera panned across the executive boxes.

There he was.

Julian Nagelsmann — the German national team coach — seated in one of the glass-fronted booths. Dressed sharply in a dark tailored jacket over a light turtleneck, his posture was casual but his eyes betrayed intensity, following every replay on the monitor in front of him. His arms rested lightly on the rail as he leaned forward, lips pressed together, giving the impression of a man already dissecting each phase of play for future reference.

The crowd reacted instantly when his face appeared on the big screen. A wave of recognition swept through the stadium, a mixture of applause and murmurs. Some Bayern fans rose to clap, while a few Frankfurt supporters whistled in playful defiance. Nagelsmann, unflustered, acknowledged the attention with the faintest of nods before turning back to the pitch.

Up in the commentary booth, the broadcasters picked up the moment.

"Well, there he is — Julian Nagelsmann, the Bundestrainer himself, watching on from the executive boxes here at the Allianz Arena."

"And you can be sure he’s keeping a close eye on a number of players tonight. Of course, Bayern are packed with internationals, but Frankfurt too — Lukas Brandt, for instance, what a first half he’s had. You wonder if Nagelsmann is making notes about him as a potential option for Germany in the near future."

"Exactly. With the Nations League quarterfinals against Italy in a few weeks, and the World Cup qualifiers coming soon, every performance matters. And when the national coach is in the stands, the players know it."

The camera lingered for a moment longer, catching Nagelsmann tapping his chin, deep in thought, before cutting back to replays of the first-half highlights.

As Lukas walked into the dressing room, assistant coach Buck tapped him on the shoulder. "Great goal, Luke," he said as he handed him a bottle of hydration drink.

Lukas was getting taps on the back and silent nods as he drank the drink.

"Good response out there today, guys," coach Toppmöller said as he stepped into the room. "I love the immediate response after we conceded and that’s what I wanna see from the start of the second half."

He looked around the locker room with some players being attended to by the medic for bruises and nicks from tackles, while others were getting their hamstrings massaged as they had done a lot of running in the first 45 minutes.

His eyes settled on Lukas, who had a medic checking his foot, especially his left ankle in case of any signs of resurgence of his ankle injury from that tackle by Kimmich.

"How’s he?" Toppmöller asked as the medic stood up from his squatting position.

"He’s okay, coach. There are just slight scratches from when he hit the ground, he’s able to continue."

"Good. I need you at your best in the second half, Luke."

"I’m good to go, coach," Lukas replied.

Toppmöller then turned to Hojlund. He had also just returned from an injury and was still gearing up to 90 minutes of fitness. "Oscar, you’ve played well today. Can will come on for you in the second half."

"Yes, coach." Hojlund knew his minutes were still being monitored, so he didn’t complain. Uzun had also been warming up since the 35th minute, so he could already guess who was coming off for him.

"I know it’s been a difficult game. I know it’s been frustrating. But I’ll need you guys to keep pushing. We’re level at half time against league leaders Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena. We already showed we’re not so far behind them in terms of quality when they came to our home last year. As long as we stay disciplined and in the game, there is a chance of leaving here with something. This is our chance to send a clear message to every other team we’ll be facing both domestically and in the Europa League. For most of you trying to make it into the German team, this is also your chance to impress Julian Nagelsmann. I’m sure you’re all aware he’s in the stadium. He probably is here for Bayern Munich, but show him why he should pick you too.

Even the rest of you from several other countries, a performance against Bayern Munich will not be overlooked by your national teams."

Toppmöller tried to encourage his players by any means necessary to keep them sharp and able to pull strength out of the depth of their souls. He knew they would need all the motivation they could get if they wanted to hold their own against this Bayern team for another 45 minutes.

The fact that the highest goalscorer in the Bundesliga so far, Harry Kane, was still on the bench and would definitely be introduced sometime in the second half was also in the back of his mind.

The players looked energetic and focused after Toppmöller’s motivational talk as he moved on to specific tactical demands for the second half.

Lukas was dazed throughout the speech, though.

"Coach Nagelsmann is here?" was all he could think about after the first time Toppmöller mentioned him.