From Arsenal to the Ball God

In a non-competitive situation, almost every ball he kicked out could hit the dead corner of the net!

During the 20-minute shooting practice, he tried over 30 times, but only 2 shots missed the goal for being too ambitious with angle and power, and 2 hit the crossbar.

The remaining 26 shots all hit the target!

And most of the time, primary goalkeeper Lori and backup goalkeeper Mandanda could only stand in place and watch the ball helplessly, feeling no confidence in making saves, with no physical response.

"Is he human?!"

While taking a water break, Mandanda complained to Lori with open arms, "I’ve played against him, and although he scored a long shot, his success rate was never this high!

"Lori, is it because there’s no competition? How does he manage to have almost a 100% success rate?"

"I don’t know." Lori’s gaze was somewhat dazed, a bit stunned by what he saw, "We’ll just have to try it out in the actual match."

The two of them cast their gaze toward Deschamps, noticing that the Basque man had a hard time suppressing his smile, discussing something with the assistant coach.

Nasri and Klich were also standing together, whispering something.

The training session ended after the last 20 minutes of competitive practice, and the players took off their high-tech vests that monitor cardiopulmonary function and headed to the cafeteria for dinner.

"What’s going on with you?"

On the way, Sagna, walking beside Ma’el, asked with a laugh, "Have you improved again? Tell me, quickly!"

"A little bit." Ma’el couldn’t resist his questions, answering, "Just a little, not too much."

"Who believes that?" Sagna tilted his head to glance at Ma’el, then smiled again, "Is the Song of Ma’el going to echo throughout the France team and European Cup again?"

"Who knows."

Ma’el beamed, "Composer, can’t you come up with some new creative work, something more pleasant?"

"Sure." Sagna raised his eyebrows, with the confidence of encountering his most proficient field, "Just wait, on the day the European Cup officially begins, I’ll perform a heartfelt song for you."

"Great."

Ma’el felt a sense of anticipation and then walked into the cafeteria with them, taking some photos of Safina.

Safina quickly helped him choose some food, ensuring proper nutrition and portion control.

Ma’el picked up his meal as per her instructions and sat down with Sagna and Koscielny, eating lunch quietly.

"Splat."

"Splat."

The sound of two light thuds caught his attention. He looked up to see Nasri and Klich approaching with trays.

"..."

Perhaps due to the awkward atmosphere, the two didn’t look at him but instead started chatting with their more familiar acquaintances, Sagna and Koscielny.

"Sagna." Nasri, holding a glass of juice, tapped Sagna’s tray, smiling, "Congratulations, I’m happy to see you in this European Cup team."

Klich also smiled at Koscielny, as they both played on the same side in the backfield, being old partners.

Sagna and Koscielny were taken aback, they exchanged glances with Ma’el from the corner of their eyes and found that his expression was normal, showing no displeasure or strange reaction.

Sometimes players are rather simple, growing up playing in clubs with limited exposure to people and events.

In such situations, they’re often ill-equipped to respond, making the atmosphere awkward.

The batch of players who grew up in the internet age are a bit better..... but these people grew up with video games, without mobile phones.

"Ah...." Sagna lowered his head, let out a dry laugh, and started eating a bacon roll, "I’m also happy to be here, it’s great to play in the European Cup with Ma’el."

Koscielny nodded and smiled back at Klich, then lowered his head and continued eating.

Nasri and Klich didn’t know what else to say. It already took them all the courage to walk over and sit down, so they quietly focused on their meals.

Deschamps entered from the other side, sensing the awkward atmosphere; he hesitated before walking over, grabbing a plate of food first, then approaching everyone, "Mind if I join you for dinner?"

"Not at all."

"Of course not."

They responded in unison. Deschamps sat down and tried to ease relations by engaging in conversation.

This had some effect, as the four former Arsenal teammates were soon looking up while eating, their eyes engaging more frequently.

"The two friendly matches before the European Cup, being international A-level events, cannot be held secretly."

As they were finishing up, Deschamps reminded, "So, even though I want you all to give your best to help me pick the starting lineup.

"I’ll be keeping some tactics under wraps to prevent group stage opponents from having targeted arrangements..... especially England.

"You know, after entering the European Cup schedule, we won’t have the luxury of a buffer and adaptation period; we’ll be facing the strongest group rival directly.

"I’m mentioning this hoping that even if things don’t go well, don’t be disheartened or lose confidence..... after all, it’s just a friendly match meant to identify problems."

Ma’el nodded slightly, understanding that since the friendlies weren’t secret, they had to keep some strategies secret.

If everything was revealed before the match, England could easily target and limit them, making victory very unlikely given their lack of synergy.

"Ma’el," Deschamps focused on him, with a special instruction, "in the friendly, try to hold back, minimize letting them guard against you.

"I know they can’t possibly ignore you, but reducing it a little could enhance your performance in the European Cup debut.

"Some may think one match isn’t crucial, not worth such hassle.

"But I think it’s quite important; if we can win against England in the opening match, we can vie for the top spot in the group and possibly reach the semifinals!"

Ma’el nodded, indicating he understood, pondering what to hold back..... the answer was clear, lv5 Long Shot.

The English team members, to some extent, already knew his other capabilities, so keeping them under wraps wasn’t an option.

He decided to conceal the long shot, to surprise England in the European Cup debut!

After finishing their meal, they didn’t hurry to leave, aware that some matters needed resolution today.

Deschamps watched from the side, hoping someone would take the brave first step.

"Well....." Ma’el felt it had to be him, he stood up, stretched out his hand toward Nasri and Klich across the table, "Let’s push hard for the European Cup, hoping we can succeed together!"

"Alright!" Nasri quickly stood up, laughing as he high-fived Ma’el, and Klich almost followed suit.

"Clap!"

Their hands slapped together, dispersing past grievances and stance issues completely.

Perhaps they can never be as close as good friends, but at least they successfully signed a truce agreement before the European Cup, ready to collectively resist external threats!

Deschamps displayed a caring smile, feeling tempted to join the high-five but refrained.

From gathering day, their European Cup kickoff looked promising..... a long-standing issue for the team was effectively settled.

He knew the reason, just as Ma’el brought championship hope to Arsenal, he brought it to this team as well, tempting many to actively seek solutions.

At night, when all players were asleep, Deschamps lay awake, finally making a decision at 2 a.m.

On June 1st, during the France team’s routine training, they held a friendly match against Serbia, a well-established strong team.

"4-4-2, then switch to 4-3-3 after 25 minutes, and I’ll be making substitutions in the second half, switching formations twice for testing, understood?"

Deschamps emphasized everything, confirming the details before closing the tactical notebook, then his gaze swept to the back of the meeting room, "In this European Cup, Ma’el will be our captain."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed varying degrees of shock in their expressions, but none directed questioning looks.

An 18-year-old captain for the France team, this must be unprecedented in history, right?

...

Not keen on writing about friendlies, let’s just skip quickly.