From Arsenal to the Ball God

”The physical trainer of the former Primeira Liga team Boavista... has already retired.”

Davis, a Portuguese and a fellow countryman of Mr. Mendes, shrugged and said, ”But Mendes couldn’t stop inviting him over and over. He said there’s a surprising player here. Following him, you’d achieve all honors.”

”I asked him, is it the new Ronaldo? He said yes, but it isn’t a Portuguese.”

”I said if I could serve such a player, I wouldn’t care if he’s from our country or not. I just want to achieve something before saying goodbye to the world.”

”Haha...” The three of them laughed together, gradually getting to know each other with a good first impression.

”Would both of you be willing to stay here?”

Ma’el already knew about them, no doubts there, just wanted to finalize things quickly: ”As you can see, it’s quite spacious here, my physiotherapist and nutritionist live on the first floor.”

”I would be very willing,” Davis responded first. His wife was a few years older and passed away last year, and his children are already working.

As people age, being home alone can be lonely, so coming out to work and spending time with colleagues is quite nice.

”I can too,”

Jose smiled and introduced, ”My wife is a full-time homemaker looking after three kids at home. They might just need me to send money back, haha.

”Of course, when you’re busiest during the season, I sure will have more downtime. Then, after I’ve set up a daily training plan, I might need to visit Spain to see the kids often.”

”No problem.” Ma’el nodded and told the two, ”Once the work is done, you can go home anytime, just let me know in advance.”

Next, the three of them discussed the salary matter, and with Mr. Mendes having already provided Ma’el with some references, the negotiation was fairly smooth.

Eventually, the two joined Ma’el’s team at a weekly pay of £4,000!

Back in his room, Ma’el did some simple math. He now needs to pay £14,000 a week to his team, which is quite a hefty amount.

Before, this was a figure beyond his wildest dreams, as he once worried about a few hundred quid for a pair of football boots… just goes to show how rapidly he has grown.

”Quickly raise the salary, quickly begin the season!”

An urgency arose in his heart, knowing that with a salary increase, his steady income would be significantly higher, and after the season starts, there would be substantial bonus contracts.

At that time, his burden of supporting the team would significantly decrease.

He had no intention of reducing investment in this area; he understood that only by increasing his growth speed and strengthening his ability would his value rise.

The current investment would come back to him in the best possible way in the future.

......

The next day, the two personal trainers officially started their work, and after reviewing Ma’el’s training schedule, they began formulating a detailed training plan.

Ma’el was also heavily involved in this process, almost directly intervening.

He clearly told Jose that besides the Reverse Foot, Stopping the Ball Ability, Ball Control Ability, and underfoot Speed, he has no intention of practicing other technical capabilities.

He also clearly told Davis that what he is currently focusing on is body strength and coordination, including some body training needed to increase underfoot speed.

Nothing more.

The two expressed some confusion; generally, drafting a comprehensive training outline based on the player’s current status is their job, isn’t it?

How come Ma’el is doing it?

But having just started, it wasn’t appropriate to say much to the new boss, so the two wrote the training plan based on Ma’el’s outline.

Training started thus.

”Vomos!!”

”Ole! Ole!”

Ma’el said goodbye to the days of training alone, spending every day either with Jose on the training field or with Davis in the gym.

He entered a more professional, healthier training environment, with a noticeable improvement in his growth speed.

”Ball control training needs to be combined with marker plates. There are at least a hundred similar combination trainings, but the most important is your own focus, along with the training attitude of ’pursuing ultimate speed and rate’.

”You’re doing very well in this regard, and I barely need to remind or urge you. This might be due to your long-term additional training habits and expectations for yourself.

”Keep it up! Ma’el, you can definitely dramatically enhance your ball control ability before the season starts!”

”.....”

”Your underfoot speed and thigh strength relate to the anti-torque response ability. I found your leg strength and coordination level very high, suggesting a good foundation. Now, it’s about adaptive training.

”Your muscles are somewhat peculiar; ordinarily, everyone more or less has some shortcomings, but I didn’t find obvious shortcomings on you.

”It’s more like you’ve pushed everything towards an ideal, perfect state through long-term training, which is what all athletes, especially top athletes, strive for.”

”.....”

With the devoted assistance of the two, on June 25, Ma’el achieved a breakthrough from Level 2 to Level 3 in his stopping the ball ability.

[Skill: Sticky]

[Skill Level: (1/800)]

[Utility: After mastering the Force Dissipation Technique, you didn’t give up on training your stopping the ball ability but continued to pursue a higher breakthrough meticulously. You gradually find that you can easily stick the ball to your feet!]

”Marcelo?”

Ma’el quickly recalled several instances of Real Madrid’s full-back Marcelo stopping the ball. No matter how fast the ball the teammates passed was or how fierce the curve, he could effortlessly discharge the ball onto his foot surface.

It was as if his foot was coated with strong glue, directly sticking the incoming ball.