From Arsenal to the Ball God

On January 3rd, just two days after the last match, another home league game is upon us.

This is what people often refer to as the Christmas marathon schedule. While other leagues take a winter break, the leagues under the English professional system play on vigorously.

Each team is expected to play about 7-8 matches from mid-December to mid-January, averaging a game every 3-4 days.

Playing such high-frequency matches in frigid weather exponentially increases player injury rates, yet they must grit their teeth and persist.

”This is Sky Sports bringing you live coverage of the 25th round of the Championship League from Bramall Lane Stadium. Both teams are ready and waiting for today’s match to begin!

”Sheffield United has been in hot form lately, increasing their attacking firepower! It’s said that during this winter transfer window, their signings are mainly targeted at the midfield and defensive positions!”

”.....”

”Ma’el takes it to the byline! In the current Championship League, his dribbles and success rate are second only to Queens Park’s Taarabt, Norwich’s Holt, and Reading’s Sean Long!

”A crossing pass! The placement is extremely precise! Bolodanovich heads the ball fiercely at the near post!

”A beautiful header, and Sheffield United leads at home!!”

”.....”

”It’s a penalty! Sheffield United has given away too many penalty chances to their opponents this season, practically one every two or three games!

”Sharp steps up to take it! He shoots down the middle, Robert guessed the wrong way, and it’s in!!”

”.....”

”Ma’el holds the ball at midfield, and the opposing defenders are intent on not letting him turn around, pressing in on him. As long as he’s in the center, he’s almost safe.

”He’s still dribbling; it seems like he noticed Evans’ run!

”A pass! Oh...! He managed to deliver such a high-quality through ball, the football penetrated Doncaster’s defense and landed right at Evans’ feet!

”Goal! Evans is in hot form, scoring three goals in two league matches, while Ma’el collects his second assist of the match!!”

On the field, the goal-scoring Evans first slides on his knees to the sidelines, then turns to look for Ma’el.

”Should’ve had this in the last match.”

He’s still a bit regretful about not getting a hat trick, shaking his head and sighing, ”Is it possible I’ll never have a hat trick in this life?”

Ma’el high-fives him and says with a low chuckle, ”This time, I hope you don’t guess so accurately.”

”In the 25th round of the Championship, Sheffield United narrowly wins against Doncaster at home! Two to one!”—BBC Championship League column

...

On January 8th, the FA Cup match comes around. As a lower-tier league team, Sheffield United joins directly from the third round.

Their opponent is Aston Villa, a formidable team currently ranked sixth in the Premier League.

Garrispeed makes a decisive move, calling up a few youngsters from the youth team to play alongside the substitute lineup for this match.

He essentially abandoned this somewhat extraneous front for Sheffield United for now, giving the core players a few days’ rest, allowing them to focus entirely on the push for promotion to the Premier League in the latter part of the season!

The match ended unsurprisingly in a four-nil defeat, but everyone looked relaxed.

Ma’el was naturally in the resting squad as well, seizing this rare break to ramp up his training regimen, intensifying his efforts.

Mendes got in touch with him a couple of days ago, and he already knows how lucrative his new contract is.

Undoubtedly, this is the most valuable contract of his professional career to date, with his weekly pay increasing by 42k, more than five Gilberts.

Of course, he heard that Gilbert’s salary is also going up to 23k, which is something to be happy about.

Even though Mendes will take a 2.75% cut and there’s a 40% tax rate,

Ma’el calculated that his annual salary would still be around 1.6 million pounds.

Astronomical!

This surpasses the average salary in the Premier League and exceeds the Premier League’s median salary, not to mention that it comes from Arsenal, a club always known for ”lack of funds.”

Meanwhile, the bonus contract, which he never imagined, also greatly astounded him.

Ma’el deeply appreciated Mendes’ capabilities and understood the high regard the gentleman from Emirates Stadium, whom he had never met, held for him.

Now, he’s just waiting for the 15th match to pass so that after the marathon schedule ends, he can head to London to sign the contract!

”Time to learn to drive.”

Ma’el had this thought; he couldn’t wait to buy himself a sports car after completing the new contract.

Apart from the limited editions, the signing bonus he received could nearly let him pick any sports car on the market, driving whatever he wants.

It’s both the completion of an unfulfilled dream from a past life and a convenient means of getting around.

Both he and Gilbert don’t have driver’s licenses for now, often needing to catch a ride with Evans and Janu, which is quite inconvenient at times.

When going out, if they don’t arrange with the club in advance, they often have to rely on taxis.

Ma’el didn’t mind the time; he could already drive in his past life, so getting a license didn’t seem like a big deal to him. He just needed to familiarize himself with the local traffic laws and get used to driving on the right side.

He’d practice when he had the time, treating it as a rest from training by sitting in the driver’s seat and driving.

”Boom! Boom! Boom....!”

At the Sheffield United training base, Ma’el was sweating as he engaged in his reverse foot training.

With crossing reaching Level 4, only dipping shots and short passing remained as skills he was still working on, which were far from enough.

The reverse foot should also be integrated into his training.

He continuously practiced short passes against the wall, shooting at the goal, and long passes with his left foot, training his cerebellum and enhancing muscle memory.