From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Not bro, Avengers Alliance?!... Anyway, this post is mainly to congratulate Ma’el on winning his third championship of the year, an incredible player.” — Alan Shearer on social media

”(Wide-eyed)(Smile)(Red anger)(White ghost)!” — Bell on social media

...

”Hahaha...!”

Not long after, in the France team’s locker room, it was a total mess, with players spraying champagne everywhere, and the person standing in the center couldn’t even open his eyes.

Many were chugging beer and singing, thick beer inevitably spilling onto them.

But at this moment, who cares? They just wanted to keep the celebration going!

”Oh... Oh... Oh...!!”

Sagna and a few other black players with dancing skills stood on the table, swinging their arms, dancing a style that resembled street dance but wasn’t really, all just for fun.

The President of France, Hollande, along with Prime Minister Ayrault, Secretary-General Michel, and others had already arrived outside, but seeing the scene inside, they decided not to enter, opting to clap instead.

Ma’el returned to the locker room and drank a lot, half-lying half-sitting with a silly grin, until he was pulled up by everyone to dance in the middle.

”Champions...!!”

”We are the champions...!!”

Everyone gathered together, trembling with excitement, their faces flushed.

”Hey!”

Shortly after, the equally drunk Deschamps clapped his hands and laughed, ”Let’s have our captain, the hero Ma’el who led us to the championship, say a few words! Share his feelings on winning four extra awards!”

”Come on, come on...!”

”Can’t wait to hear!”

Ma’el was half-pushed to the table, smiling as he stood in front of the De Lorne Cup, contemplating what to say.

He definitely didn’t plan to speak just for himself but wanted to talk about the entire team.

Meeting here, spending a beautiful summer together, was a rare fate, leaving each other with a profoundly colorful mark in their careers.

This experience is surely unforgettable, so he really wanted to summarize it.

Once everyone was leaning on the table, he rested one arm on the De Lorne Cup and raised his other hand, ”Although each of us will embark on different paths in the future.

”But from this moment on, everything about us will be closely connected to this trophy.

”What I want to say is, this concerns everyone here, from tonight, we are all unique.

”Do you know why?”

Pausing at this point, everything he said before was very calm, until now when his emotions suddenly surged, and he yelled, quickly raising the De Lorne Cup, ”Because we are the champions of Europe!!”

”Yeahhh...!!” Everyone in the locker room pounded the table and shouted with laughter, their cheers blending together, giving the small space a sonic boom sensation.

”Bang bang bang...!” Ma’el also closed his eyes and excitedly pounded the table, able to distinguish everyone’s voice, and etched their sounds deeply in his heart.

The players then embraced again, jumping and spinning in circles, with no intent to stop celebrating.

At the door, Michel smiled and shrugged at Hollande, ”I wanted to play with his gold medal too, let’s wait until we return to France.”

”I think so too.” Hollande shook his head slightly, chuckling, ”Trying to enter this door today is really hard.”

Behind them, Wenger and Mendes exchanged glances, feeling the same way. The words they kept in their hearts could be said later; today, let Ma’el drink to his heart’s content.

At 2:39 a.m., Ma’el returned to the hotel accompanied by Isabella, falling asleep as soon as he got back, even forgetting about the promised party.

...

The next afternoon at one, the entire French team boarded the plane back to France, with most of them still sober, falling asleep again during the flight.

Ma’el was among them, but he felt like he had just fallen asleep when a loud rumbling noise occurred from the side.

”Rumble rumble...!!”

The plane seemed to tremble as if encountering turbulence, but clearly, the vibrations were from a sound outside the window.

Half-asleep and half-awake, he looked out the window to see a fighter jet appearing, the pilot wearing a white helmet looking their way, picking up his radio.

”You have entered French airspace!”

The announcement came from inside the plane, strong yet friendly, ”Thank you for your heroic performance at the European Cup! We represent the French Air Force to escort you home!!”

”Oh...!” The French players realized, all proudly waving their arms, many bursting into laughter.

This was the plane Mr. Hollande sent to escort them home, the highest honor shown to them!

Ma’el smiled knowingly, truly experiencing these special feelings in a football kingdom.

The fighter escort didn’t last long before the plane slowly descended from Paris International Airport, taxiing along the runway, gradually slowing down.

”Swoosh swoosh...!”

As it passed between two black markers, jets of water suddenly rose from both sides, crossing in the air, droplets quickly falling, making the entire window hazy.

This was also one of the highest welcoming ceremonies, passing through the water gate, symbolizing a cleansing welcome to those arriving here!

Five minutes later, under the watchful eyes of dozens of reporters, the plane’s door slowly opened, and a figure appeared.

”Click click...!” Many started pressing their camera shutters in advance to avoid missing any critical moments.

At the cabin door, Ma’el, with a backpack and sunglasses, smilingly emerged, holding the De Lorne Champion Trophy, showing it to everyone as he stepped out.