From Arsenal, Forge the Path to Football God

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"Whistle Blows"

More than ten minutes later, Head Coach Kevin blew the final whistle of the full match, gathering all the players around him.

Maël finished his relaxation stretches and walked over to stand beside Gilbert.

"Good Match Quality."

Kevin's face showed satisfaction as he encouraged them, "I can see some Technical and Tactical Level, and there were very few unreasonable ball handling moments.

"Especially the performance of a few New Players was quite surprising."

As he said this, his gaze swept over the New Players, pausing on four of them, including Maël and Gilbert.

"I hope that in the New Season, everyone can work together and strive for excellence in the League."

After Kevin finished his motivational speech, he flipped open the tactical board, "Here is the Pre-season Training schedule and the general training schedule during the season.

"Pre-season Training will be six days a week, with nine sessions, and Sunday will be a rest day.

"In-season Training will be less frequent, with fewer than nine sessions a week. After each League match, there will be a recovery training session in the morning, and the afternoon and the next day will be rest days."

After speaking, he closed the tactical board and took a deep breath, "The specific schedule will be arranged after I discuss it with the coaching staff and will be distributed later."

Maël's brow furrowed slightly, a sense of confusion and bewilderment rising in his heart. He saw that most of the people around him had similar expressions.

Nine sessions a week during the pre-season, and fewer than nine during the season? This training intensity was far from meeting the standards of Professional Teams, and could be described as lax.

When they were at the Arsenal Youth Academy, they had twelve training sessions a week. How could it be that after upgrading to a higher competitive level in the senior team, the training intensity was reduced?

"Tomorrow is a rest day, and training will officially start the day after tomorrow."

Kevin placed his hands behind his back and said goodbye, "Alright, I wish everyone good luck. See you at the next training!"

He left with a few assistant coaches, and Gary Speed and Joelson exchanged a deep look before following him, leaving the players behind.

"Is this old man trying to win back the support of the Veteran Players?"

As soon as they left, one of the veteran players, looking resentful, muttered, "Last season, he almost killed us with training, and this season he's pretending to be a nice guy."

"Ha, who would still listen to him?"

Someone shook their head, feeling relieved, "Most of the good players have left. Now, it's just us, the remnants, and a few kids. This is his comeuppance!"

A wave of complaints arose, and most of the Veteran Players expressed their hatred for Kevin.

"I hope he fulfills what he said: if he can't lead us to promotion last season, he'll never coach again!"

"I think he's already given up on this career. He's just muddling through, waiting for the team to pay him off."

"Old Dog! He caused two players to have severe knee effusion and permanent knee joint damage, ending their careers."

After the match, they mostly accepted the new players. Since they were now a team, there was nothing they couldn't talk about.

Maël listened to their curses and gradually understood the conflict between Kevin and the players. It seemed that Kevin had been too harsh on the players last season, causing physical harm, and had been using the promise of promotion to motivate them.

But when the promotion failed, the players' accumulated anger finally erupted.

Maël didn't join in the conversation or ask questions. He didn't know the full story, and too much talk could lead to mistakes.

Anyway, it was a conflict from last season, and it didn't directly involve him. He just needed to do his part.

Less training sessions weren't a bad thing for him; it gave him more time to improve his skills.

"Evans."

A voice called out, and Evans, along with a few other players, walked over, extending their hands and introducing themselves.

"Janu Hans."

"Lorton, as mentioned earlier."

"Bolodanovich, Pleasant Goal from Header."

Maël shook hands with them, gave a light hug, and introduced himself, thus getting to know his teammates.

This was definitely a good start.

Evans and Janu Hans were likely Veteran Players.

After just one training match, they had taken the initiative to befriend him, which proved that his performance had indeed been impressive.

Gilbert also joined a small group within the Red Team, chatting and laughing with his teammates, fitting in well.

On their way home, the two of them looked at the bustling streets and the crowds, feeling a sense of openness and freedom, as if nothing was too difficult.

"Maël, don't you feel that everything is moving so fast?"

Gilbert, hands in his pockets, head down, smiled, "Especially you, improving like a rocket. I suddenly can't see your endpoint."

"I can see it."

Maël puffed out his chest and chin, teasing, "But for now, I need a starting spot and some stats in the English Football League (EFL) Championship, and a 3 million euro valuation."

The next day, Sheffield United's first training session hadn't started yet.

Maël's training had already begun. He and Gilbert entered the intense training mode again.

Coach Kevin's Pre-season Training schedule was also distributed, with one session on single days and two on double days, each session lasting 90 minutes.

Maël then created his own schedule, adding six hours of training on single days and four hours on double days.

Saturdays and Sundays would be decided based on the week's condition and physical state.

Long-term high-intensity training was a great test of both body and mind.

After all, humans are not machines or beasts, unable to work tirelessly and devote all their time outside of sleep to self-improvement.

Maël planned to make full use of the mornings and afternoons for training, and in the evenings, he and Gilbert would find other ways to entertain themselves.

Like watching matches, movies, playing pool, or going shopping.

Days passed one by one, filled with a sense of fulfillment.

On July 12, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final kicked off at Soccer City Stadium in South Africa.

Neither team scored in regular time, but in the second half of extra time, Fabregas delivered a brilliant pass to Andrés Iniesta, who, after a mishandled ball, quickly adjusted and scored a stunning long-range shot, sealing the victory!

Spain, historically, won the World Cup Champion!

"Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa!!"

In the cozy little home on Cherry Street, Maël and Gilbert enjoyed a rare couple of beers, hugging and singing along to Shakira, Piqué's wife's fiery song.

They even seemed to identify with the winning team, celebrating as if they had won themselves.

"Fabregas!"

Gilbert shouted the name of his Arsenal senior, kneeling and raising his hands, his face flushed.

Maël also cheered for the fiery World Cup, but he didn't shout the name of the Spanish midfielder.

Calculating the days, the "Kitgate Incident" was about to break. The Professor and Arsenal would never recover, losing all hope and direction.

He was still not part of that event, and this World Cup didn't belong to him, nor did Arsenal.

The Premier League and the World Cup seemed like a distant world, out of reach.

Yet, they also seemed to be always in front of him, constantly beckoning him to take steps toward them.

He would work hard, intensively improving his skills, striving to become a key player in these top teams and top competitions in the future.

On July 15, the Kitgate Incident broke out!

During the victory parade, Arsenal captain Fabregas put on a Barcelona jersey, showing his true allegiance!

The football world was shocked, and Barcelona players Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué quickly responded, saying the jersey incident was just a joke to make people laugh.

Unfortunately, it was a weak and ineffective response.

For several days after that, Gilbert was silent and even lost his appetite.

He tore up all the posters of Fabregas, often cursing, turning his previous love into even deeper hatred.

On July 31, the two of them bought several buckets of drinks and a large amount of delicacies to celebrate Maël's 17th birthday, giving him the eligibility to learn to drive and get a license in the UK.

Unfortunately, he currently had no such idea or time.

[Skill: Muscularity Level 2]

[Proficiency: (459/800)]

[Skill: Curved Cross (Level 2)]

[Proficiency: (225/300)]

[Skill: Continuous Dribble Level 2]

[Proficiency: (198/300)]

Looking at the results of his recent efforts, Maël took a big gulp of his drink, burped, and said, "Next month, I'm going to compete for a starting spot in the English Football League (EFL) Championship!"

By mid-month, his Curved Cross and Continuous Dribble skills would reach Level 3.

From his trials, Level 3 skills were quite outstanding even among English Football League (EFL) Championship players.

At that time, he would undoubtedly step onto the English Football League (EFL) Championship stage without any doubt!