From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Jay Simpson kicks the ball from the center circle, passing it back to the defender’s feet! He opts for a long pass down the wing, but loses possession!

”Now it’s Sheffield United’s turn, they’ve regained possession and are organizing from the back!

”Ward receives the ball, a diagonal long pass finds an opening on the left side, and Luton brings the ball down! Another back pass, it’s hard to attack, the opponent has cut off Ma’el’s receiving route!”

On the pitch, after a series of possession exchanges, Sheffield United still passes back the ball, maintaining control.

They aren’t in a hurry, patiently waiting for an offensive opportunity.

At this moment, losing possession recklessly might allow the opponent to score in a frenzy, which no one wants to see.

”Step up, press!”

”Push, push, push!”

Hull City players in deep yellow jerseys, under the captain’s command, charge forward, using their last bit of energy to press high.

”Here they come! Watch your back!”

”Here, here!”

Sheffield United players are highly focused, each observing the situation and reminding teammates to handle the ball more reasonably.

Everyone has a strong desire to possess the ball, which is rare. In important matches, players often fear mistakes and are afraid of handling the ball.

Unless, everyone wants to do something!

”Sheffield United substitutes! Numbers 10 and 17 are coming off!”

In the 78th minute, the on-site DJ announcer’s voice came through, Sheffield United made a substitution adjustment.

Gilbert, who scored a goal, and Janu, who was nearly cramping, were taken off; Montgomery and Mark Yates were brought on.

Substituting two midfielders for one midfielder and a versatile winger, Garrispeed’s intention to strengthen the attack is obvious.

But honestly, it’s a bit risky.

Gilbert and Janu walked off the field, each feeling differently frustrated, both wishing to play a little longer.

”Leave it to the teammates.”

Garrispeed noticed their disappointment, lightly smiling and high-fiving them: ”Trust them, they’ll achieve a good result for us.”

Saying this, he suppressed his own tension, in fact, the pressure on him was still immense, his eyebrows and temples constantly taut.

At Bramall Lane Stadium, on such a day, a draw is a loss.

”I hope so.”

Gilbert nodded, sitting alongside Janu on the substitute bench, putting on long-sleeved jackets.

On the field, Luton threw the ball in from the touchline, and the freshly-subbed Montgomery passed it back to him with a ’bang’, then Luton quickly swept it forward into Ma’el’s control area.

Ma’el moved to receive, turning just in time to see the opponent’s wingback rushing up.

He stepped to the right, then pushed the ball towards the byline, attempting to use speed to break through.

Unexpectedly, the wingback was quite fast, staying close by, only half a body behind him.

”Smack!” Ma’el suddenly stopped, cutting inside.

The defense was denser there, breaking through the opponent’s defense would be tougher, but he wanted to try!

Otherwise, sticking to the wing would make it even harder to perform.

With the cutting inside motion, the tall wingback couldn’t turn quickly and didn’t follow promptly.

This gave Ma’el time to handle the ball, he observed his teammates’ positioning, finding no great opportunities, he lowered his head to focus fully on the ball at his feet.

”Thump! Thump! Thump....!”

Both his feet quickly touched the ball, mixing cuts and dribbles, often combining with step-overs or bicycle kicks.

Actually, his dribbling ability was just enough, definitely far from unpredictable and versatile, lacking a lot to become a truly effective dribbler.

The only thing that gave him confidence in his dribbling was his excellent burst and combat ability!

If you had to find a template, he thought of Traore, who later played for Wolves, who was a similar small explosive point on the wing.

Of course, peak Traore’s speed and power should belong to Level 4.

He’s still a bit below that strength, but he has shooting!

After creating a slight angle, Ma’el decisively shifted his body sideways, fluidly swinging his leg to scoop the ball.

”Boom!!”

A soft sound arose, at the moment of shooting, Ma’el couldn’t see the net, the defending players blocked his view.

But he shot anyway, confident he could sneak in a bit of shooting angle with curve!

Besides, if he couldn’t see the net or the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper couldn’t see his specific shooting action or where he aimed.

The football drew a beautiful curve, the speed wasn’t fast, but reached the goal promptly!

”Oh.....” The murmurs began to rise, as Sheffield United fans stood up and cheered at the moment of the shot, unable to contain their excitement.

On the goal line, Manone hadn’t seen Ma’el’s move, but as an experienced goalkeeper, he focused left.

These shots typically aim for the far corner, a forward’s shooting habit.

Indeed!

He saw the ball curve out from behind a defender’s leg, heading towards the far corner.

”Come on!” Manone wasn’t careless, shouting as he dived left towards the goal.

He didn’t want to gamble whether the shot was on target, better to dive anyway!

He was confident, because he practically did his best, well-prepared and quick to respond.

Until his fingertips touched the ball, his face suddenly turned gray, his heart sinking.

Didn’t touch it!

Just grazed it!

Manone’s satisfaction quickly vanished, replaced by regret and endless remorse, just half a finger away from tipping the ball out.

Now, at the moment of landing, he just has to close his eyes and wait for God’s verdict. Everything that happens on the field next will tell him the answer.

”Yeah.....!!” A hysterical shout echoed, sentencing Manone to death, and also sentencing Hull City with him, the whole stadium plunged into madness, it felt as if the earth was shaking.

For a moment, Manone wished he could stay in the air forever, so he wouldn’t have to face reality.

The boomerang struck him fast!

Made his face hurt!

Upon landing, he nervously waited for his teammates to save the game, not wanting to be nailed to the pillar of shame by the opponents and accept the victor’s humiliation as the defeated side.

But no one came up, the teammates all hung their heads, standing in place regretfully.

Only the figure Manone least wanted to see came around for a celebration, in this very moment, more like coming from hell.

”Catch it!”

Ma’el roared, his mood hit a high point, nothing in his brain except excitement and joy, he returned all of Manone’s previous mockery: ”With the net you’re guarding?!”

He poured most of his emotions on the opponent’s goalkeeper, liberating himself.

Three to two!

They’ve overtaken the score!

”Come on!!” Evans came up, clenching his right fist and right arm, shouting in celebration toward Manone’s direction.

Manone’s taunt was aimed at him just now, Ma’el essentially stood up for him, now that the ball is in, of course, he wants to return all the anger he endured with the help of his teammate.

Manone lowered his head with a dark face, picked the ball out of the net, and tossed it toward the front field.

His cheeks burned, he had nothing to say, only praying in his heart for this damned situation to pass quickly.

Ma’el came up, wrapped his arm around Evans’ shoulder, and ran toward the sidelines of the field together, only remembering their sliding knee celebration in excitement, gliding out exuberantly.

Evans contributed little to this goal, at most drawing a defense.

But who cares at this moment, emotions have escalated to this point, just slide along if you want to slide!

”The ball went in!! The star’s shining moment, Ma’el received the ball on the sideline, cut in and shot, sending the ball into Hull City’s net!!”

”The situation changes again, Sheffield United retake the lead, this match is truly full of twists and turns, breathtaking!!”

What happened in front of the goal area was just a small moment.

At the same time, in the field, many different expressions of Sheffield people were present, quite a few high-definition cameras were capturing these scenes, projecting them onto the broadcast screens.

In the coach’s area, Garrispeed turned around, bumped chests and embraced with Jorson and others who rushed over, then moved toward the fan zone.

He clenched his fists, taking small steps forward, throwing a punch every two steps, elevating his mood one notch, ”Oh...Oh...Oh...Yeah.....!”

In the beginning, fans couldn’t keep up with him, gradually some joined in shouting with him, waving fists, until finally, most of this side of the stands got involved.

Despite it being his disciple’s goal, Garrispeed relished in the thrill of rallying the crowd with a single call.

This made him feel that the reason people enjoy being a coach is probably something akin to this.

”Ness! Ness!!”

In the substitutes’ area, Janu and Gilbert who just got off the field jumped up, instinctively wanting to rush towards Ma’el.

Remembering they had already exited the field, they laughed heartily, clapping hands, then linked arms and cheered joyfully: ”Ma’el! Ma’el!!”

...

”Oh.....!”

In the private box, the cheers from the field reached them, and the six stood up simultaneously, joyfully high-fiving and embracing each other heavily.

”Ma’el!”

”This time it’s his goal!!”

”Didn’t expect to be so lucky, coming to watch him, and he just happened to score.”

”His efficiency is inherently high.”

The three adults were almost drunk, feeling no formality left ages ago, in this moment, they forgot about identity, forgot about nationality, knowing only to celebrate for the goal.

They even treated the three kids equally, not forgetting them while high-fiving in celebration.

McCabe crouched down, high-fived Eva, then picked her up and came to the sliding glass door, ”Want to hear the sounds from outside?”

”Yes.” Eva nodded smilingly, reaching out to open the sliding door.

McCabe helped her pull it open, instantly, the cold air outside came rushing in, causing those who had been under the air conditioning to feel a strong discomfort.

But immediately afterwards, they clearly felt the real atmosphere inside the field after the barrier was removed, heard the penetrating cheers, ”Yeah.....!!”

The room seemed to tremble, the red wine in the glasses swaying, Maki and Eva covered their ears.

”So overwhelming!”

Clément and Betty exchanged glances, their emotions were stirred, when thinking about it all being for Ma’el, their eyes felt a sudden warmth, as if tears were about to overflow.

It was as if everyone tacitly let out their loudest voices, shouting at the top of their lungs, they revered the goal-scorer Ma’el like a deity.

”You all saw it.”

McCabe looked back at everyone, shaking his head and smiling softly, ”He belongs here, and here belongs to him, he can deliver such performances for the fans almost weekly, and the fans reciprocate with their enthusiasm and love.

”He’s a loaned player, but from the moment he came here, he conquered the fans, now, he’s the king of this city, this team.

”If we make it to the Premier League, his image will be etched in the hearts of all Sheffield people, indelibly.”

Clément’s body trembled slightly, not from the cold, but from within, he swallowed thickly, ”For him to achieve such accomplishments, our whole family feels immensely honored.”

McCabe put Eva down, went to the table, opened another bottle of red wine, poured some for everyone, raised his glass, then smiled faintly with a tilted head.

As if to say, it was only right.

”What kind of person will he become in the future?” Betty was drunk, blushing, looking at that figure below and asked.

”Who knows?”

McCabe didn’t answer, also turned his gaze toward the field, ”I look forward to the day he reaches the peak, although I don’t know what his peak is.”

The three kids at home listened to the adults chatting, and a seed was planted in their hearts too, hoping their brother can become an even more famous person.