May 27th, the day of departure.
After doing some physical Strength and Speed training in the morning, Maël took a shower, changed clothes, packed his things, and made the final preparations before setting off.
In the process, he also glanced at the proficiency of his various skills to see how much they had improved after this period of intensive training.
[Skill: Judgment lv4]
[Proficiency: (2032/5000)]
[Skill: Sprint lv4]
[Proficiency: (1454/5000)]
[Skill: Godly Strength lv4]
[Proficiency: (1021/5000)]
[Skill: Fancy Breakthrough lv3]
[Proficiency: (1439/2000)]
[Additional Skill: Fancy Skills lv2]
[Proficiency: (391/1500)]
"The increases are all good."
He exited the proficiency panel with satisfaction. Fancy Breakthrough should be reaching lv4 soon, ushering in a qualitative leap.
When the additional skill Fancy Skills is raised to lv3 or lv4, he will have officially lit up the 4-star weak foot!
Just thinking about it, he knew how much this would improve his overall breakthrough ability.
After a season of top league experience, Maël could clearly feel that with the continuous development of modern Football tactics, the intensity of defenders' defense was increasing.
This does not mean that their individual abilities are increasing, but that under an increasingly sophisticated defense system, each defender can better exert their advantages and avoid their disadvantages as much as possible.
The scenes of being out of position and facing forwards one-on-one have decreased, the embarrassing scenes of hasty retreat have decreased, and the defense line is no longer easily scattered and no longer appears loose.
More often, they have enough time to stand in position, lower their center of gravity, and face the impact of the forwards in a serious manner, while maintaining a close chain-like structure with each other.
In this case, even Messi cannot easily get past them.
His few times of breaking through in head-to-head situations are some of the classic scenes of his career, such as shaking off Scholes in place and criminally felling Boateng.
Maël chose to practice fancy skills for this reason. He found that his Dribbling breakthroughs were mostly in one-on-one and one-on-two scenarios during counterattacks.
As long as the opponent delays his attack, stands in position, and engages him in a head-to-head situation, then his success rate of breaking through may not be so high.
Not to mention in the face of dense defense in positional attack and defense, in the face of the opponent's 3-4-man chain structure defense group.
Even with the blessing of amazing Strength and Speed, he can still have 4-8 breakthroughs per game, create 2-3 scoring opportunities, and have a chance to complete 1 goal.
But it's not enough!
He has such powerful passing and shooting skills, he should use his breakthrough ability to create more scoring opportunities and complete more goals and assists when the team cannot open up the situation! Therefore, he must pursue more gorgeous changes, pursue breakthrough ability in small areas and head-on confrontation! After half a season, he has improved well, and the day of true success is not far away.
When he lights up the 4-star weak foot, he can upgrade his Dribbling and additional skill Rhythm lv4-lv5, truly bringing his level in 'Dribbling' close to the limit.
At that time, even if the opponent's defense is tight and their positions are solid, his solo runs will become commonplace, giving him even more highlight-reel moments than Messi and Neymar.
No longer thinking about breakthroughs, Maël focused his attention on the three skills currently undergoing level 5 upgrades.
"The off-season is over, it shouldn't be difficult to increase each by nearly 1000 points."
He had a rough estimate of his improvement speed in his mind. The European Cup ends on July 2nd, and the new season starts in mid-August.
During this period, his improvement speed will be very fast. With the small improvements during the European Cup, gaining 1000 points really isn't that difficult.
"But if I'm aiming for immediate combat effectiveness, should I add one or two level 4 skills that can be upgraded with 2000 points?"
Maël had the idea of making a new plan. If he starts practicing skills with 2000 points of proficiency now, he will definitely be able to complete the upgrades in the first half of next season, and his ability level will be greatly enhanced by then.
Otherwise, always waiting for these three skills to reach 5000 points of proficiency, who knows how long it will take.
Just do it!
Now that he has entered the level 5 era, he can't let Long Shot be the only skill at level 5. He needs to train two more to accompany it, abilities that complement it! Maël didn't hesitate too long in choosing skills, first adding Curved Shot to the training plan, and then adding Cross as well.
Obviously, these two skills are the 2000-proficiency skills that can maximize his goal and assist efficiency.
This can be seen from his choice to practice these two skills from the very beginning of his career; their input-output ratio is the highest.
"José!"
After packing up, Maël called José to help him develop a training plan in this regard.
This time, only physiotherapist Harry, Safina, and personal doctor Lewis accompanied him to the French Team training camp.
José and Davis couldn't help much, and they were said to be going home for a while, waiting to come back as spectators to watch the games when the competition starts.
So he should start planning early, so he can practice in his spare time.
"Give me three days, and I'll send it to you on your phone." José agreed, not rushing to study it. They were going to see Maël off together today.
"Okay." Maël wasn't in a hurry. He went to his room, took out the suit he wore to the Ballon d'Or ceremony last time, and then got Isabella's help to style his hair.
He glanced at the time, it was already past eleven in the morning, and there were still five hours before departure.
"Buzz..." The phone suddenly rang, vibrating in his pants pocket. He took it out and saw it was Pepino calling.
"Have you left yet?" Pepino's voice was filled with joy and urgency. "The landlord happens to be in London today and asked if we could complete the signing of various procedures now, as he's going back to Asia later."
"Now?"
Maël's expression changed slightly. After thinking about it, he felt that buying the house before leaving was indeed a good idea, as it would save him a few weeks' rent. "Can we definitely sign it now? Are all the procedures complete?"
They had been dealing with this matter recently, and Pepino had also helped him value the house, finding that the market price was between £12.5 million and £14.5 million.
Buying it for £12 million would definitely be a very cost-effective deal.
"It can definitely be completed." Pepino replied with a smile, "The procedures are complete, and I have negotiated everything that needs to be negotiated with his agent."
"Also, I want to say that the landlord is also involved in the football industry. He is the owner of Brighton, but he is currently mainly engaged in gambling-related industries in Asia."
"Haha..." The corners of Maël's mouth curved up. He knew who this person was, the great London 'mathematician' Tony Bloom. This is really a strange and wonderful fate.
He immediately made a decision, "Then let's sign it now, we have to be quick, my flight is at four in the afternoon."
"Okay."
Half an hour later, Maël arrived at a restaurant to complete the contract with the landlord's agent, and then went to the bank to remit the money.
Pepino helped him handle the land stamp duty and land certificate registration. There are no property ownership certificates for buying a house in England; completing the registration is sufficient.
"Ding!"
At the moment the remittance was completed, Maël's mind went blank, but he felt a lot more at ease, and a few traces of joy appeared on his face.
From today on, he could be considered to truly have a place to settle down, a home of his own! This was something he dared not imagine in his previous life, and dared not imagine when he first transmigrated.
To borrow half a sentence from his uncle Clermont, he had only seen such a magnificent mansion in the center of London purchased in full in television and news, but he didn't really grasp the reality of it.
After returning home, looking at his own house from a distance, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity, just like the first time he saw it.
But soon, his brain was surrounded by a sense of accomplishment and security. From now on, not only this house was his, but also every plant and tree around it.
He not only owned the permanent property rights of this house, but also the permanent property rights of the surrounding garden of over two thousand square meters! "It was all earned step by step." Maël smiled brightly, walked into the room, and lay on the sofa, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment.
He really didn't know what else he could kick out with his own feet.
After getting up, he glanced at the time and asked Safina to make one last afternoon tea before officially preparing to set off.
"Cheers!"
The family briefly celebrated Maël's acquisition of the house during afternoon tea, and also sent their blessings for his first expedition to an intercontinental competition, hoping that he would have a smooth journey.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Peter and Emilia also arrived. They and their party took two business cars to the underground parking garage of the airport, where they said goodbye.
"Maël!"
José seemed to have prepared something. He smiled and pulled out a banner with the slogan 'King of Europe', "I have high hopes for you! Go for it! I hope you can play all 6 European Cup games!
"I will grab the tickets for the final in advance and come to watch with my family."
"Haha...!"
Davis laughed, and he also took out a gilded crescent necklace he had prepared, "If possible, please wrap it around your foot. In Portugal, it symbolizes good luck."
"I will."
Maël smiled and stepped forward to take the necklace, then took out his mobile phone and took a photo with José holding the banner, and then walked to the elevator, waving goodbye to the two before closing the door.
The European Cup, here he comes! "Oheieiei!"
"Yeaheieiei!"
At night, Maël and his party walked out of Warsaw Chopin Airport with their suitcases. As soon as they went out, they felt a gust of hot wind blowing towards them, and they heard songs with a strong football flavor in their ears.
He quickly recognized that this was the European Cup Theme Song sung by the singer Oceana, and it was being played on a loop in the airport.
Turning his head to look around, he saw the team logos of the 16 European Cup participating teams, as well as large posters of the star players of each team.
In the French Team column, he noticed that the promotional photo he had taken last time appeared in the middle, flanked by Evra and Nasri.
This made him feel a little strange, since the relationship between the three of them was the most strained... Maybe it was because of their fame.
"Endless Summer!"
"Endless Summer!"
The cheerful rhythm continued to echo in my ears, and everything I saw was related to football.
Maël's emotions were quickly drawn into the passionate European Cup summer. He could feel how fiery the upcoming games would be, how many fans would come here, and how many eyes would be on them.
The European Cup, this is probably the highest level of competition besides the Champions League! Although it doesn't have the strong teams from North and South America, and it doesn't have the high level of attention and importance as the World Cup, it also doesn't have the weak teams from Asia and America. The overall level is very solid.
You know, the overall strength of European football is very strong. They often occupy 15 of the top 20 spots in world football, and 32 of the top 40 spots.
The 16 teams that emerge from them to participate in the European Cup finals must be among the strongest and most in-form teams in world football that year!
Their head-to-head battles and competition for the championship are extremely fierce.
There won't be any game where one side has an overwhelming advantage. From the first game of the group stage, every team will face great challenges.
Italy, Spain, England and other teams may fall in the group stage. At this time, the French Team is even considered by people to have considerable difficulties in qualifying from the group.
It can be said that this is a feast for top teams. Every player who appears here almost plays in the top five leagues, and each team also has core players from big clubs.
The best here can be called the best in European football, and also the best in world football! A fire ignited in Maël's chest, and the hand holding the suitcase clenched a little tighter. He had been looking forward to such a stage for a long time, and only hoped that the game would come soon.
"Oh!"
"Maël!"
"Arsenal Gun King!"
As he walked out of the airport, a burst of enthusiastic shouts rang out. He saw many Polish fans holding Arsenal jerseys, who had been waiting here for a long time.
They should know that the French Team will gather on May 28, and most of the players will arrive here on May 27, so they came to pick up the plane early to try their luck.
"Click, click!" Dozens of cameras from major media outlets also aimed at him at this time, and white light kept flashing at the exit.
Maël smiled and waved to the fans, walked forward and signed a few names, and then walked towards the parking garage.
Soon, he got on the French Team's special car and went to the hotel where the team was staying.
He was very tired and needed to rest well and recharge his energy before throwing himself into tomorrow's training.
That night, the latest episode of Sky Sports focused on the upcoming European Cup, taking stock of the 16 participating teams in this European Cup.
"The heated European Cup is about to kick off, and I believe many fans are already impatient. Today we will do a brand new show!
"The name of this episode is - European Cup Powerhouse Tour!
"As we all know, according to FIFAPoints, the European Cup participating teams are divided into four levels, but this is inaccurate and only applicable to the group stage draw.
"We have joined forces with the celebrities and reporters of various national teams to re-vote and re-divide them into three levels! "These three levels are: First tier: Title favorites, Second tier: Super strong teams, Third tier: Strong teams!"
A scantily clad, hot-bodied female host stood in front of the stage, pointing to the screen and said: "First of all, the first tier, there are 5 teams in total, namely Spain, Italy, England, Germany, and Portugal.
"They are the 5 teams that are most favored, and each team not only has super strength, but also has the ambition to win the championship!
"The specific comments will be handed over to the legendary England celebrity, Mr. Bobby Charlton, please!"
The camera flipped, and an old man sitting in a chair appeared on the screen, directly cutting to the theme, "Okay, since it's a tour, then I'll talk about it in order. First of all, Spain, the winner of the 08 European Cup and the 10 World Cup.
"This team, even among the title favorites, is the most special and strongest team. I even think they are in a league of their own.
"They have perfectly inherited the Guardiola-style passing and control of Dream Team 3, and have taken this tactic to its peak!" Head coach Del Bosque likes to play with a 6-midfielder, striker-less formation. Although there is no forward, each midfielder can step forward to the striker position at any time, becoming the sharpest knife!
"The passing combination of Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas, and David Silva is the best midfield combination in the world, and each of them is top-notch.
"So, this is an unprecedentedly powerful team. I am optimistic that they will reach the European Cup final and then lose to England in the final, haha."
He joked, then became serious again and said, "I don't want to talk too much about Italy and Germany. Their strength is simple: first-class players in every position, firm beliefs, and an iron-blooded temperament and super cohesion.
"Yeah, even though the two teams have different focuses, they are actually somewhat similar.
"Let's talk about England and Portugal. First, the latter. Honestly, Portugal is not a super strong team, but I think everyone knows why they are in this position.
"That's right, Ronaldo. Just because Ronaldo is there, this team will definitely be a favorite to win the European Cup.
"He brings amazing things to this team and can always stand up in times of crisis.
"About Portugal, I think that's all I have to say. Finally, let's talk about England."
Bobby Charlton rummaged through a drawer next to him and found a photo of a strong player wearing a Sheffield United jersey. "Before everything is finalized, I would like to give coach Pearce a suggestion: please recruit him.
"The team's attack has Welbeck, Rooney, Ashley Young, Ashley Cole, Milner, and so on.
"But the defense only has Gerrard alone." He spread his hands and shrugged helplessly. "I must say that Downing and Chamberlain in this list do not have defensive attributes.
"So I think Gilbert has a place in this team. I have been following him for a while and found that after two seasons of training, his defense has become very mature.
"More importantly, as a technical midfielder transitioning to a defensive midfielder, I think his footwork is also sufficient, and he is very comprehensive.
"If Pearce wants to win in the group competition with the French Team, the Swedish Team, and the Ukrainian Team, he must carefully consider what I said."
Bobby Charlton held up Gilbert's photo, showed it, and then waved his hand with a smile, indicating that his explanation was over.
The camera turned back to the studio, and the beautiful host raised her eyebrows and nodded, seemingly agreeing with this statement.
She then pointed to the screen again, "One file of the tour is over, let's take a look at the second file of the tour. There are 5 teams in this file.
"They are Greece, Russia, Netherlands, Croatia, France.
"Regarding their comments, I will hand over the camera to the legendary French Team star, Zidane!"
The camera flipped, and Zidane's listless face appeared on the screen. He squeezed out a few smiles and said, "Okay, I will also speak in order, but the words may be shorter.
"First of all, Greece. Since completing the feat of 'Greek Mythology', this team has unprecedented confidence and fighting spirit.
"Maybe they are often overlooked, but their strength should not be underestimated. When a group of mid-to-lower-tier players in the five major leagues have strong cohesion and execution, they have the possibility of defeating any strong team."
He scratched his chin and continued with a smile: "Then there is Russia, which is also a relatively special team, with few players from the five major leagues.
"However, it should be noted that the competitiveness of the Russian Premier League has become stronger and stronger in recent years. Players from this league are definitely not easy to deal with, especially when they come from the same club.
"Yes, obviously, this Russian Team is the Zenit Team. They take Arshavin, a former Arsenal player, as the core, and Zenit players as the basic team, and then strengthen individual positions.
"Tacit understanding will be their biggest competitive advantage, which other teams do not have."
He took a sip of water and continued: "Next is the Netherlands, uh... This is a team somewhat similar to the French Team, ah, I am not referring to infighting.
"I'm just saying that they used to be favorites to win the championship, but they haven't been very strong in recent years.
"An old strong team, a sick tulip, that's how I would evaluate them.
"As for the Croatian Team, it's clear they've ushered in a golden generation. Mandžukić, Modrić, Rakitić, and Perišić, among other 'ićs', ensure they have strong players in every position.
"You have to realize, these are all core and key players from top European football teams. When they come together to fight for Croatia, their combat power is bound to be astonishing."
Zidane straightened up, noticeably more serious when he spoke of the French Team.
"I'd say the French Team might be underestimated, and it's not just because I'm French that I say this. Well, you can probably guess, I'm going to start with 'Maël'.
"But my angle might be different. I won't simply talk about how he enhances the French Team's attacking power, as fans are hotly discussing.
"Because how much a top striker can help a team's offense is uncertain. It needs to be verified in the European Cup. Talking about it now is mostly ineffective.
"I want to talk about his performance at Arsenal last season and explain why this is important for the current French Team."
Admiration flickered in Zidane's eyes as he spoke deliberately, "Everyone knows the success he brought to Arsenal in the past year and how well he himself performed.
"But people haven't clearly seen what impact this has on the French Team."
He held up a hand and began to count, "We'll find that strong teams like Spain, England, Italy, and Germany are all based on one or two domestic clubs, which, to some extent, enhances their combat power.
"But France, due to its league level being a notch below these countries, can't put together such a club base.
"The players often come from all over, unfamiliar with each other. This may be why French Team players are famous and expensive, but their results are not good.
"I think Maël and Wenger's Arsenal have helped the French Team solve this problem. Their performance this season allows Deschamps to trust the Arsenal lineup's French Gang.
"Maël, Koscielny, Sagna—these three players who have proven themselves will gain Deschamps' trust and become key players for the French Team.
"In addition, Nasri and Clichy, who played for Arsenal the season before last, may also become Deschamps' capable assistants."
Zidane held up five fingers, raising his eyebrows, "The combination of five current and former Arsenal players gives this team a club base.
"This will give them a high degree of consistency, especially with Arsenal's soul, Maël, on the team.
"I believe this team can achieve good results in this European Cup and give us surprises."
The scene suddenly cut back to the broadcast room, where Zidane only occupied a small part of the screen.
The beautiful host picked up the microphone and asked with a smile, "But I have a question. According to rumors and public opinion trends on major social media, the possible relationship between the three current Arsenal players and the two former Arsenal players is not good.
"Together, they seem to be the Arsenal 5-man Gang, but in reality, it may backfire."
Zidane nodded, acknowledging that he also knew this, and finally smiled, "I think this is a problem that needs to be solved, either by Deschamps or by the players themselves.
"They must be clear that if they want the championship, they have to solve the potential problems."
After saying this, he left the studio, and the program continued.
"The last six teams—Czech, Poland, Denmark, Ireland, Ukraine, Sweden—let's invite..."
There were many similar programs, including player profiles and player wives' profiles. In short, during this time, the eyes of the whole world gradually turned to Poland and Ukraine.
Everyone knew that a grand event was about to be held here! May 28th, assembly day.
Maël changed into his jersey and shorts in the morning. After receiving physiotherapy and massage from Harry and Safina, he went to the team's meeting room.
Compared to his last time with the team, he was clearly much more familiar this time. Plus, with Sagna joining the team, he had more friends in the squad, so overall, he was quite comfortable.
After arriving at the meeting room, he sat next to Koscielny and Sagna, chatting leisurely.
"Ribery really didn't make the team."
Koscielny's voice was small as he leaned in to whisper, "Looks like Deschamps really has some tough methods. If he says he won't call someone up, he won't."
Sagna, on the other hand, wasn't surprised. He spread his hands and said, "It's obvious, Deschamps is building the team around Maël. Anyone who goes against him will be purged."
Maël smiled slightly. As Sagna said, he could indeed feel Deschamps' high regard for him and his importance to the team.
This was different from before. Previously, he had changed environments twice, once starting from the bench and once from the starting lineup.
He had never been established as a core player before a tournament. Deschamps' actions earned him a lot of goodwill, making him even more supportive of this Basque coach.
As the three were chatting, Nasri and Clichy walked in together, glancing in their direction.
Maël made eye contact with both of them. He saw a different expression on their faces compared to last time, especially Nasri. The coldness on his face was gone, replaced by an indescribable sense of unease.
Moreover, this unease was tinged with anxiety, as if he had been trying to find a way to break the ice between them.
Maël had also thought about this issue before coming. Nasri was an indispensable player in the French Team's attack, even more important than Ramsey was to Arsenal.
If the other party was willing to let go of the past and take the initiative to show a cooperative attitude, he certainly wouldn't act like a ball hog and force Deschamps to choose one or the other.
After all, since they were going to fight together in a new tournament, the team should come first. He really wanted to win the game.
"Tap, tap, tap..." Footsteps sounded, and Deschamps' figure soon appeared at the front of the meeting room, followed by several people holding cameras.
Maël recognized them as the filming crew from Football Record newspaper. The documentary filming should have already begun.
"A brand new road lies before each of us. The choice of how to complete it is yours."
After Deschamps came to the stage, he spoke very directly, his voice powerful and resonant: "Either you walk it in vain, putting in effort and not getting anything good in return, ending up exhausted and returning with pain!
"Or you can experience the peak and most wonderful moments of your life on this road, and enjoy the fans' wildest cheers in front of the Arc de Triomphe when you return home!" I won't say any more unnecessary words here; I'll emphasize them again in future training.
"Now, go outside the hotel and take the bus to our training ground.
"Let's go, guys!!"
"Clap, clap, clap!" Applause rang out here, and all the members of the French Team stood up and followed Deschamps out.
Maël and Sagna and others walked at the back. When he came to the front of the camera filming the documentary, he smiled faintly, winked, and raised his index finger, expressing his confidence in competing for first place.
Since he knew this was filming a championship documentary, he had to seek more of this kind of interaction.
Anyway, it wouldn't be broadcast if they didn't win the championship, so there was no boomerang to come back and hit him.
Half an hour later, on a training ground in a mountainous area, the players of the French Team began their first training session after gathering, warming up under the guidance of the assistant coach.
They had a warm-up match on June 1st, which was not only a match to test their strength, but also a national A-level event, which must be taken seriously.
Four days of training time could definitely be considered a tight schedule with heavy tasks.
"Beep beep!"
After the warm-up, Deschamps first led everyone in some fun games, which was a way to better integrate everyone into the team.
In the rugby game, Maël found that Nasri and Clichy were intentionally throwing the ball to him, and he returned the favor, starting to pass the ball to them.
After the shift, the two no longer avoided him, but often came up to seek some physical confrontation and defend seriously.
"Pa!" After one fall, Nasri even smiled and made eye contact with him.
All of this seemed to indicate that their relationship was improving.
This scene kept Deschamps smiling; he realized he seemed to have avoided a big problem.
"Bang!!"
"Bang!!"
Soon after, when shooting practice began, Maël continuously launched shots from the edge of the penalty area. Each strike brought a violent sound of the ball being touched, echoing throughout the training ground, causing others to turn their heads.
And without any opposition, almost every shot he took went into the dead corner of the net!
During the 20-minute shooting practice, he attempted over 30 shots, but only two missed due to excessively pursuing angle and power, and two hit the crossbar.
The remaining 26 all hit the target!
And most of the time, first-choice goalkeeper Lloris and substitute goalkeeper Mandanda could only stand in place and sigh at the ball, with no confidence in saving it and no physical reaction.
"Is this a human?!"
During a water break, Mandanda spread his hands and complained to Lloris, "I've played with him before. Although he scored long shots, the success rate was definitely not this high! Lloris, is it because there's no opposition? I feel like he's almost 100% accurate."
"I don't know." Lloris's eyes were also a bit dull, as if he had been stunned. "We can only try it in a real match."
The two of them turned their gaze to Deschamps, and found that the Basque was barely suppressing his smile, discussing something with the assistant coach.
Nasri and Clichy were also standing together, quietly plotting something.
This training session ended after 20 minutes of opposition training. The players took off their high-tech vests that monitored cardiopulmonary function and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.
"What's going on with you?"
On the way, Sagna followed beside Maël, asking with a smile, "Have you improved again? Tell me, quickly!"
"A little bit, maybe." Maël couldn't resist his questioning and replied, "Just a little bit, not too much."
"Who believes that?" Sagna glanced at Maël sideways, then smiled again, "Then is Maël's Song going to resonate throughout the French Team and the European Cup again?"
"Who knows?"
Maël smiled brightly, "Great composer, can't you come up with some new ideas, something even better?"
"Sure." Sagna raised his eyebrows, with the confidence of someone touching on his best industry, "Wait, I'll sing you a song with all my heart on the day the European Cup officially starts."
"Okay."
Maël felt a sense of anticipation in his heart, then walked into the cafeteria with them and took some photos for Safina.
Safina quickly helped him choose some food, ensuring a balanced diet and portion control.
Maël got his food according to her instructions and sat with Sagna and Koscielny, quietly eating lunch.
"Pa."
"Pa."
Two soft sounds rang out. He looked up and saw Nasri and Clichy coming over with their plates.
Perhaps the atmosphere was a bit awkward, as the two didn't look at him, but chatted with Sagna and Koscielny, who they were more familiar with.
"Sagna." Nasri, holding a glass of juice, tapped Sagna's plate and smiled, "Congratulations, I'm happy to see you in this European Cup squad."
Clichy also smiled at Koscielny. They played on the same side in the backfield and were considered old partners.
Sagna and Koscielny were stunned. They both glanced at Maël out of the corner of their eyes and found that the latter's expression was normal, without any displeasure or strange reaction.
Sometimes players are actually quite simple. They play football in clubs from childhood to adulthood, and they don't come into contact with that many people and things.
They often lack the means to deal with this kind of situation, which can make the atmosphere very awkward.
The batch of players who grew up in the Internet age were a little better, but these people played video game consoles when they were young and didn't have mobile phones yet.
"Ah," Sagna lowered his head, chuckled dryly, picked up a piece of bacon roll and ate it, "I'm also very happy to be here. It's great to play in the European Cup with Maël."
Koscielny nodded and smiled back at Clichy, then lowered his head and continued eating.
Nasri and Clichy didn't know what to say either. It took their greatest courage to come over and sit down, so they had to bury their heads and eat first.
Deschamps walked in from the other side at this time, and after seeing this scene, he could perceive the awkward atmosphere between everyone.
He hesitated for a moment, preparing to come over, then turned back to get a plate of food before walking towards everyone, and said with a light smile after arriving, "Don't mind if I eat with you?"
"No."
"Of course not."
Several people replied together, and Deschamps sat down, trying to ease the relationship between everyone through conversation.
This had some effect. At least the 4 former Arsenal teammates soon raised their heads to eat, and their eyes often met.
"The 2 friendly matches before the European Cup, because they are international A-level events, cannot be conducted secretly."
When he was almost finished eating, Deschamps reminded, "So, although I will let you do your best so that I can select the starting lineup.
"But I will hide some things in terms of tactics to avoid the group stage opponents from making targeted arrangements, especially England.
"You need to know that after entering the European Cup schedule, we have no chance to buffer and adapt, and we will directly face the strongest opponent in the group.
"The meaning of saying this is to hope that if the result is not good at that time, don't be discouraged and don't lose confidence. This is just a friendly match, to discover problems."
Maël nodded slightly. Since the friendly match is not conducted secretly, then some things must indeed be hidden.
If they reveal all their cards before the battle, and England imposes targeted restrictions, their chances of winning, which are already not very well coordinated, will be very slim.
"Maël." Deschamps focused his gaze on Maël, as if he had a special instruction, "Especially you, try to hold back in the friendly match and minimize their defense against you as much as possible.
"I know they can't ignore you, but if they can reduce it a little, your performance in your European Cup debut will be better.
"Maybe some people think that 1 game is not important, and there is no need to be so troublesome.
"But I think it is very important. As long as we can beat England in the opening game, we can compete for the first place in the group and qualify, and the final four is also promising!"
Maël nodded to indicate that he understood. He thought about it, and the answer to which aspect he should hold back was actually obvious, Long Shot lv5.
The people in the England Team know more or less about his other abilities, and he can't hold them back even if he wants to.
...
Then I'll hide a Long Shot and wait for my European Cup debut to give the England Team a surprise!
After dinner, everyone wasn't in a hurry to leave. They knew that some things had to be settled today.
Deschamps was also watching from the side, hoping someone would take a brave step.
"Then," Maël felt it could only be him. He stood up and extended his hand towards Nasri and Clichy across the table, "Let's work hard together in the European Cup, I hope we can succeed together!"
"Okay!" Nasri quickly got up, laughing and high-fiving Maël, and Clichy did almost the same.
"Clap!"
Their hands clapped together, scattering all past grievances and stance issues.
Maybe they can't be as close as real friends, but at least they successfully signed a truce before the European Cup, ready to work together to resist foreign enemies! Deschamps showed a kind smile, he even wanted to high-five everyone, but he held back.
Judging from the day of assembly, their European Cup started well. A problem that had plagued the team for a long time was properly resolved.
He knew the reason, just like the hope of a championship that Maël brought to Arsenal, he also brought the hope of a championship to this team, which can tempt many people to actively seek ways to solve problems.
At night, when all the players were asleep, Deschamps couldn't sleep all night, and finally made a decision at 2 am.
On June 1st, at the French Team's daily training ground, they ushered in a friendly match with Serbia, an old strong team.
"442, then switch to 433 after 25 minutes. In the second half, I want to make substitutions. You must experiment with two sets of formations in each half, understand?"
Deschamps emphasized everything, confirmed this, closed the tactical pen, and then turned his gaze to the back of the conference room, "In this European Cup, Maël will be our captain."
As soon as the words fell, different degrees of shock appeared in everyone's expressions, but no one turned their heads to cast a questioning look.
The 18-year-old captain of the French Team, this should be unprecedented in history, right? Friendly matches are not often written about, so it passed quickly.
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 444+ fanfic and original translations or request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the RandomTranslator community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------