From Arsenal to the Ball God

He smiled in shock, ”There are other reasons, I really can’t figure out if he continues to progress like this, what kind of player he will become.

”People cannot imagine things beyond their knowledge, so...”

He spread his hands, and the final explanation was to avoid Wenger misunderstanding his meaning.

Wenger leaned forward a bit, as if he thought this was a question worth exploring. After thinking for a while, he said: ”I don’t think he will, but like you, I really can’t figure out how he will develop.

”Perhaps we can find commonalities from Messi and Ronaldo and extend our imaginations as much as possible. Before they emerged, no one believed there could be a scorer who could maintain 40+ or even 50+ goals in a single season.

”But now people seem to be used to it, and think top scorers should be like that.”

He also spread his hands, but it was to show his incomprehension, ”Maybe when Ma’e’el can score more goals, people will first be amazed, then slowly get used to it, and finally become completely numb.

”At that time, some interesting things might happen, like a league silver boot with 40 goals or 50 goals, and other players feeling powerless when compared to Ma’el.

”Some coaches might tell young players you have to score 60 goals in the youth league, and your goal is Ma’el, then the kids will be bewildered.”

Wenger’s expression became interesting as he spoke, clearly imagining that scene, ”Haha... this is really amusing.”

”Haha.....” Michel, Hollande, and others chuckled, then they heard Wenger continue: ”But that’s too far away, for now, we still hope he first surpasses Messi.

”The Argentine forward scored 70+ goals last season and contributed to 100+ goals.

”Especially in the calendar year of 2012, his form clearly rose, and people believe he might score 100 goals this year, leaving a record difficult for future generations to achieve.

”Ma’el’s primary goal is to catch up to him...” Wenger said, looking expectant, ”The world of football is becoming more exciting, there hasn’t been such a big showdown for a long time.

”The competitiveness brought about by this three-person contest, and the level of excitement generated by the competition, will make people love football even more.”

Michel nodded in agreement after hearing this. After learning about Messi’s data, he thought Ma’el might still have a small way to go.

But at most, he might reach 100 goals annually or 100 goals in a single season?

Beyond that, it should be beyond what humans can achieve.

”Alright.” Michel also stood up and applauded for Ma’el and the France team, concluding, ”No matter what the future holds, I only know that we might be able to stand at the top of Europe again thanks to him.

”This will not be the end, I believe he will lead us to the pinnacle of the world.

”I look forward to that day, after the game, I will find him, I want to give him a hug and a promise.”

At this moment, Hollande glanced at him askew. Being experienced, he understood the reason Michel liked Ma’el so much was because he saw someone similar to himself.

Energetic, constantly improving, extremely ambitious... He had some ideas of caution about Michel, even though he was someone he had promoted, but from the heart, he didn’t resonate with the other on certain points.

”Beep!”

The match restarted, time ticked away towards the moment when the referee blew the final whistle.

The few of them couldn’t sit still, standing to watch the game, ready to celebrate again afterwards.

In the box where the Germany team was located, people were also chattering away, many showing troubled faces, clearly concerned about facing Ma’el’s challenge.

”I think Italy at least provided an idea, to engage in physical confrontation during shooting, do everything possible to disrupt him.”

”Exactly! No matter how good a shooter is, if the supporting foot isn’t stable, they can’t take high-quality shots.”

”What about the referee factor?”

”Don’t worry about the penalty scale, Ma’el can’t possibly get more than 6 chances in a game, if we can restrict him, reaching the finals and getting 6 yellow cards would be worth it.”

”Anything else? Italy did this today, Ma’el still got a goal and an assist, which is the scariest part.”

”...”

The discussion stopped here, Hummels, Khedira, Mueller, and others were all silent after just speaking openly.

Löf was jotting something in his notebook, then stopped as if thinking of a countermeasure.

Whenever he thought about something, his hands wouldn’t remain idle, his right hand reached for his nostril again, and after digging, he nibbled on his nails.

Standing by, Matthias watched him in this manner, feeling a surge of unexplainable anger. As the head coach of the Germany team, Löf’s work ability was good, but his image was often questioned by fans.

The football association had communicated to him many times, asking him to be mindful, but he still couldn’t help it, often standing at the side of the field digging his nostril.

”I think it’s still the midfield.”

At this point, Löf rose to point at the tactics board, seeming to have come up with a plan, ”You just said he can’t get more than 6 shots, so let’s reduce his chances.

”If we let him get only 2-3 shooting opportunities, and only 1 excellent chance or simply none, we’re very likely to hold him back.

”The specific tactics arrangement will be conveyed to you during training, keep a steady mindset.”

His eyes moved left and right, searching for something, and after spotting someone, he pointed at them, ”Boateng, I’ll move you to right defender and have you mark him closely.

”Remember, he is a top forward, you are also a top defender, you can do it, defend Ma’el like Cambiasso defended Messi.”