From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 69: Chapter 8: Trippier Suffers a Heavy Blow! Legendary Stars on BBC Keep an Eye on Him! [3/5]

The match slowly passed the 70-minute mark, and Barnsley’s coach did not substitute Trippier, who’s already on a card, but took some precautions.

He switched the other side’s fullback Shakel over to this side and dispatched Trippier to the other.

This could somewhat alleviate the pressure Ma’el was putting on them; even if they couldn’t stop him, they could resort to fouling to obstruct him.

After all, Shakel wasn’t on a card yet and had a chance to err without consequence. The cost of a yellow card was definitely acceptable.

”Bang.”

In the 72nd minute of the match, Ma’el retreated to receive a direct pass from Luton. He prepared to drag the ball and turn but sensed a defender closing in from behind.

He glanced over with his peripheral vision, pretended not to notice, and executed the move to turn with the ball.

But at the last moment, he suddenly flicked the ball to his left side, choosing to break into the inner line!

Shakel, who charged in, was instantly outmaneuvered as Sheffield United’s midfielders and forwards dashed forward in full force towards Barnsley’s defensive half, plunging the situation into crisis.

”Oh...!” A cheer erupted from the away fans’ section, with fans exclaiming in awe at Ma’el’s brilliant breakout move.

Shakel, with his head throbbing, was further provoked by the away fans. In a moment of fervor, he fiercely stretched out his right hand to yank Ma’el, pulling him to a stop with all his might.

Another foul!

And such a blatant, overt obstructive foul at that!

”Idiot!”

This time, it was Barnsley’s coach’s turn to get worked up after positioning Shakel over here. Why had they rashly thrown away their trial-and-error opportunity so quickly?

He stormed back to the bench in anger, calling on a fullback to warm up and prepare for a substitution.

”Beep!”

The referee’s whistle sounded as he swiftly rushed towards Shakel, reaching into the pocket on his chest to pull out a yellow card, raising it high.

”My bad.” Shakel gestured to his teammates, clenching his teeth, finally understanding the pressure Trippier had been under moments ago.

Ma’el subsequently took the set piece, but its quality wasn’t high, being directly headed out of the penalty area by the opposing defender, nullifying the threat.

He wasn’t discouraged, jogging lightly to steady his breath, waiting for the next opportunity.

”Bang!”

Six minutes later, he delivered a corner from the flank. The first point was headed out by a Barnsley defender, but the second point saw Gilbert catching the ball.

Gilbert intended to lob it back into the box but was pressured by an approaching opponent, forcing him to turn and pass back.

”Push up!”

Barnsley’s center-back yelled, signaling his teammates to press forward out of the penalty area and advance the offside line.

Otherwise, they’d be left in a passive, defensive position.

Ma’el noticed this, predicting some degree of chaos during their defensive line’s forward move, and stealthily moved to a central position.

”Bang!”

Janu, a seasoned teammate familiar with him, caught his movement and trajectory, delivering a defense-splitting pass.

Beautiful... As Ma’el received the ball, he immediately turned, taking advantage of the opponent’s reaction time to accelerate and launch an assault.

”Close him down!”

First to approach were the opponent’s midfield line players, getting close to Ma’el but failing to truly press up to him.

With no time to assign responsibilities, they all saw themselves as the support defenders; although someone called out, no one stepped forward to press.

Ma’el wouldn’t give them time to correct any mistakes, striding past the midfield line and directly facing the opposing defensive line.

The opposing center-back couldn’t help but keep backpedaling, hoping Ma’el would make a mistake for a chance to tackle.

However, someone couldn’t wait any longer.

”Screech!” The red-eyed Trippier dashed over from the opposite flank with a sideways pursuit, seizing another opportunity to confront Ma’el.

This time, with a determined spirit, he lunged in a slide tackle, aiming to redeem himself and save his team from peril.

What he hadn’t anticipated was Ma’el’s reaction speed; just as he launched the tackle, Ma’el seemed to sense it, deftly flicking the ball inside as Trippier slid in.

His slide tackle missed the ball, merely tripping Ma’el!

This challenge wasn’t too forceful, unlikely to cause injury, but it definitely met the standard for a yellow card.

”Hey!!” Protested voices rose from the away team’s South Stand, with thousands of away fans standing, raising both hands to express their dissatisfaction.

They all knew Trippier was on a yellow card and understood this foul might see him sent off, hence they exerted all their effort to pressure the referee.

Trippier stood, a faint ringing in his ears, as everything around him seemed to blur into ghostly figures.

He saw his teammates looking bewildered at him, Sheffield United players noisily approaching the referee, and Ma’el rising from the ground after a roll, gesturing towards the referee with open hands.

Finally, he saw the referee running towards him, reaching for his pocket.

”Wow!” At that moment, Trippier snapped back to reality, hearing the uproar in the stadium and the referee’s voice, ”Yellow card! Two yellow cards, that’s a red! Please leave the field immediately!”

As he moved his almost numb legs, a flood of emotions engulfed him—regret, resentment, puzzlement, and grievance.

Born in 1990, three years older than Ma’el, he was completely overwhelmed by him on the pitch.

Undoubtedly, this dealt a severe blow to his confidence; he would need a long time to recover.

Leaving the field, he saw the head coach had no intention of speaking to him, so he quietly walked towards the players’ tunnel alone.

”Yeah.....!!” At this moment, the South Stand erupted into passionate cheers, its momentum shaking the entire stadium.

Instinctively, he glanced back to see Ma’el, arms spread wide, sprinting towards the corner flag area, leaping high to throw a rising uppercut.

Looking back to the penalty area, the embryonic wall formed by five Barnsley players was still in place while the goalkeeper rose from the ground, spreading his hands towards the men arranging the wall.

Clearly, Ma’el had taken the free kick and scored directly!

”Oh.....” Trippier grimaced immediately, realizing that this wasn’t even his lowest emotional point; he’d suffer another blow before making his exit.

This match, he would never forget for the rest of his life.

......

”Premier League match report round 17, Newcastle 3-1 Liverpool, the biggest upset of the round!” — The Guardian

”Key battle, Manchester United wins 1-0 at home against Arsenal, Park Ji-sung scores the winning goal! The point gap between the two teams has widened to 9 points!” — Premier League column in BBC

”Fabregas hasn’t started for two consecutive rounds since returning, has Wenger abandoned him?” — French Football

”Sheffield United beat Barnsley 4-1 on the road, Ma’el caused 3 yellow cards, 1 red card, scored 1 goal and completed 2 assists, dominating the entire match!” — Championship column in BBC

”13 goals and 13 assists! After 20 rounds of the league, Ma’el’s total number of created goals surpasses Sean Long by 4 goals!” — Sheffield Evening Paper

After match day passed, football media in the United Kingdom published the latest news of this round of the Premier League and Championship, and even many foreign media joined in the excitement.

Most people gathered in forums for Newcastle’s 3-1 Liverpool and Manchester United’s 1-0 Arsenal, talking boastfully, with mockers of losing teams, meme players, and rational analysts, all sorts of opinions.

Christmas is approaching, the halfway point of the league is passing, and football is always especially hot at this time.

Fans eagerly anticipate the Boxing Day battle, hope their beloved players earn the honor of half-season best, they’re enthusiastic, watching daily for updates about football.

A lot of new faces appeared under the posts about Ma’el this time too.

”20 rounds with 26 goals? What kind of monster? Wait..... 17 years old?!”

”I don’t see much potential in him, he only dribbles and strides past, his shooting is just strikes, lacking creativity.”

”Indeed! He gives a sense of disjointedness, although he scores a lot, it’s very monotonous, and he can’t head the ball!”

”Reading fans and Watford fans need to leave, just because Sean Long was outperformed, Graham is also losing ground, and they’re nervous about protecting their players?”

”Insightful!”

”Hope Ma’el can bring more intensity in the second half of the Championship, if he can win the Golden Boot or Assist King, it would surely be record-breaking.”

”At 17, if he achieves these two accomplishments, calling him a genius wouldn’t suffice.”

”.....”

This time, it wasn’t just online fans discussing him.

Even a BBC column featured a segment mentioning his name, introduced by two former Premier League stars.

In a program hosted by England’s famous broadcaster, former professional player Reinke, viewers saw a familiar face, legendary player Alan Shearer.

He holds the record for the most Premier League goals, and is Newcastle United’s greatest-ever star.

The two chatted about Premier League anecdotes for a while, and Alan Shearer was the first to bring up Sheffield United, ”Remember Garrispeed? My friend, he’s coaching now and doing well.”

He took out his phone and found several poster photos of Garrispeed celebrating passionately on the sidelines, placing them in front of Reinke.

”Are you tempted too?”

Reinke signaled the broadcast personnel to display Garrispeed’s poster on the big screen, then asked, ”Do you have any plans to become a coach?”

”No such plans.”

Alan Shearer shrugged regretfully and continued, ”Speaking of him, it reminded me of a couple of Championship matches I watched recently at Bramall Lane, their team’s number 31 left a strong impression.”

”Ma’el?” As a media person, Reinke knew about many developments but hadn’t had the opportunity to mention them.

Now Alan Shearer brought it up, and he naturally picked up the topic.

”I think so.”

Curious, Alan Shearer asked, ”Is he famous in the Championship League? I heard he’s already reached over 15 created goals, and he’s not yet 20 years old this year.”

”You’re mistaken.”

Reinke signaled the broadcasting team again, this time displaying Ma’el’s poster, introducing the latest news, ”He’s 17 years old this year, from a youth training club in France, joined Arsenal’s youth training a year ago.”

”Seventeen?!” He wasn’t finished when Alan Shearer interrupted with trembling lips, ”My God..... so young.”

Reinke gestured for him to hold on, continuing, ”One more point, your information is outdated. Just yesterday, his number of created goals broke through 26, achieved in 20 league rounds.”

Alan Shearer was silent, shaking his head and raising his brows, hoping Reinke was joking.

”It’s real.”

Unfortunately, Reinke dashed his hopes, still spreading information, ”He’s already attracted attention from several top clubs, rumors have it that Ancelotti asked Ah Bu to buy him, Tottenham, West Ham and other clubs want him too.”

”Any offers?” Alan Shearer turned to ask, deeply shaken.

”Over ten million pounds.”

Reinke delivered the final blow, leaving Alan Shearer speechless for a long time.

After recovering, he chose to distract himself by joking about his friend Garrispeed, ”I say, Garrispeed winning Monthly Best is because there’s a divine striker in his team.”

Alan Shearer joked, ”What I mean is, how can someone with his coaching skills lead a turbulent team into the top four.”

”Still in the top four after 20 rounds.”

Reinke shook his head and advised Alan Shearer to be less arrogant when saying such things, ”It signifies that he has a chance to lead the team into the Premier League.”

”Ha-ha!”

Laughter filled the broadcasting room, the former Newcastle ace laughed heartily, ”If he leads Sheffield to promotion, I’ll run naked along the Thames River.”

”You might not hope for him.”

Reinke was amused but reminded, ”But you certainly must be hopeful for the young talent, he seems to perform as if he has magic.”

He really was looking forward to that kid’s data by season’s end and future performance in the Premier League.

Even if Championship level isn’t high, it’s a notch below Premier League, but such efficiency..... it’s simply outrageous.

Alan Shearer kept laughing, looking toward the broadcasting room’s comment section to see fans’ reactions.

However, besides some explaining about Ma’el to others, the comment section’s traffic noticeably diminished.

Are they..... looking up the player?