From Arsenal to the Ball God

She opened her bag and took out a medallion encased in glass, exuding a sense of quality and an air of antiquity.

”The Knight’s Badge.”

Isabella looked up to observe Ma’el’s expression, hoping to see surprise on his face, ”This isn’t a replica; it was passed down from the Hundred Years’ War, my family has kept three of these.”

Ma’el took the badge and examined it closely, looking at the patterns and the crown, certainly surprised...but he asked first, ”You took something from your family to give away, did they agree?”

Isabella noticed Ma’el’s calm reaction, a bit disappointed but didn’t show it, ”Of course they agreed. Who would mind giving a Knight’s Badge to our best player of the last season?”

Ma’el thought it made sense, considering Isabella was the daughter of his old acquaintance McCabe...he carefully put away the Knight’s Badge, vowing to keep it well; no boy would dislike this.

”Mine is simple.”

Gilbert walked to the door, opened the suitcase, and took out two plaques and a box, ”Guess what this is? I must clarify, it’s not just from me.

”Jorson and Mr. Garrispeed heard I was coming, so they brought gifts too.”

”Market value plaques.”

Hearing Jorson’s name, Ma’el immediately guessed what Gilbert was holding, ”Both of those plaques are, one was when it increased to 20 million, and the other when it increased to 30 million?”

Gilbert was stunned and quickly turned beet red, ”No way, I thought it was really creative, I discussed with Jorson for a long time before deciding to give you this.

”Thinking you lack nothing but don’t have the time to order these meaningful souvenirs, we did it for you.”

Ma’el smiled, took the plaques, and said, ”The time Jorson gave me a market value plaque is still vivid in my memory, hearing you mention him reminded me.

”Well, I can definitely feel your sincerity, it’s not about whether I guessed it right. What’s in the box?”

”It’s from Mr. Garrispeed for you.” Gilbert’s expression softened, handing the box to Ma’el, ”He said he promised to tell you something when you left, he can tell you half of it now.”

Ma’el quickly took the box and opened it to find a small note inside, curiously unfolding it.

And on it was half a sentence—”Actually, I’ve always...”

Ma’el: ”...”

When he said he’d tell half, he literally meant half?

How could Mr. Garrispeed joke around with him from so far away...but thinking that the other party was probably in a good mood recently and had the leisure to joke with someone, he felt a bit more at ease.

”Now tell me, where are you planning to go?”

”The Ruhr Area.”

”To watch my match?”

”Your first UEFA Champions League match, it’s natural to watch. Besides...I said before, if things go well, I’d come back early to see you.”

”That’s great.” Ma’el was slightly moved, and he took the two of them to tour his room of honors, placing the two new market value plaques alongside the original 8 million Euro one.

Isabella, slightly agape, looked around, surprised to see how impressive Ma’el’s accumulated honors were since his debut.

She also glanced at the photo wall, seeing Ma’el’s glorious moments in the Premier League, her beautiful eyes rippling.

Finally, she arrived in front of the value plaques, gazing at the neatly arranged plaques and said with longing, ”These are all markers of your journey, you must keep them well, looking forward to the day your value surpasses 100 million.”

”100 million?” Gilbert’s eyes widened, and then he burst out laughing, ”Only Messi from Barcelona has a market value of 100 million, if Ma’el’s worth reaches 100 million, wouldn’t he become Mr. Golden Ball?”

Ma’el and Isabella exchanged glances and chuckled, but in each other’s eyes, they saw an inexplicable confidence.

...

On the evening of September 18th, at twenty past seven, the Westfalen Stadium, Arsenal’s new UEFA Champions League season opener was about to kick off.

”Dortmund...! Dortmund...!! Oh oh oh...!!”

Amidst the deafening cheers, players from both teams walked out of the players’ tunnel, heading toward the center of the field.

Once on the field, Ma’el immediately felt as though the entire sky was yellow and black, over seventy thousand Dortmund fans holding up cards displayed a banner stretching across three stands of the home section.

He had seen this scene on TV...but standing on the field looking at this human wall forming the banner formation, he still felt an intense sense of oppression.

He felt so small, and this club from Germany, so united and powerful.

But he quickly took a deep breath to calm himself; conquering such a team, such fans, would be the most challenging, the most fulfilling thing!

No matter who the stands belonged to, the pitch belonged to the players, this was his stage, and he would not be influenced by others!

”Buzz...buzz...”

As players from both teams reached the round flag with the UEFA Champions League logo on it, dozens of staff members rapidly shook the flag, creating a sensation like surging waves.

Ma’el’s breath became rapid, his first Champions League match in life had finally arrived.

This was the stage for top players, the highest level of competition in the world, every year many world-famous stars emerge from here, and countless are crowned with the Golden Ball here!

UEFA Champions League!

The dreamlike football stage!

”Da da da da dum dum...da da da da dum dum...!” *2

The stirring Champions League anthem suddenly began at this moment, the melody most familiar to fans all over the world, resonating throughout the whole Westfalen Stadium.