Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 248 The happy day has arrived! The World Cup European Qualifiers have begun! Go climb, go conquer!!

September 9rd was destined to be a happy day for Maher's team.

Maher, who had just scored four goals in the Premier League, was in a good mood and quickly fulfilled his promise, offering each of them a new contract.

"Ha ha.!"

"Hey, hurry up, I'm going to buy some flowers to decorate the living room!"

"We're going to have a celebratory meal at home today and have a few drinks!"

Laughter and joy filled the villa since morning. Five members of the personal trainer and physiotherapy team were busy running around. Some went out to get contracts for them in person, and some bought flowers and wedding candies to decorate the house.

"Hey!"

After cleaning up with a mop, Jose looked fulfilled and satisfied. He said to old Davis beside him happily: "This is the first salary increase since you and I came here. It feels really good."

"Yeah." Davis came out of the kitchen with a fruit plate, shook his head and smiled, "Although I'm very old and don't know how to spend all the money I make, I'm still very happy."

"Where are your children?"

Jose asked curiously, "Doesn't she need old Davis' help?"

Without waiting for Davis to answer, he said with longing: "I have thought about it. This time when the salary increases, I will spend lavishly to improve the living standards of my family and make the children happier.

"When I save more money in the future, I will bite the bullet and buy a single-family villa in Spain so that my family can experience the life of a wealthy person."

“They need it.”

Davis thought of his son and daughter, with a look of longing and complexity on his face. "But they are already working and rarely accept my help. I can only save a lot of money to prepare for their future."

The smile on Jose's face faded a little. He had been with Davis for a long time and knew him quite well. He could also roughly guess the situation of their family.

"Are your children not very close to you?"

"I guess so." Davis' voice became higher, trying to sound calm. "I spent 23 years in the Portuguese First Division and Portuguese Super League clubs. At that time, I was a workaholic and rarely spent time with my family.

“When I retired, my wife had left me and my youngest daughter was already in college, so they no longer had time to spend with me.

"I think they might be resentful because I love football too much and want to achieve something in this industry, so I neglected to care about them."

Davis smiled and said, "People often say that there is no best of both worlds. If you choose something, you are destined to lose something else.

"Just like now, I choose to accompany a talented young man to blossom his second career and gain glory that he never dared to think of before, but I have to stay in London, which is farther away from home."

He picked up a piece of watermelon and smiled brightly, "But there's nothing wrong with it. Except for missing my family sometimes, I enjoy my life now.

"I have more than 55 followers on my Facebook and Twitter. I am very famous all over the world, especially in the circle of physical trainers and in the football circle. I have received many praises and people have started to ask me to do advertisements."

José patted him on the shoulder and smiled: “You’re right, there’s no such thing as having the best of both worlds, and it’s good now.

"Why did we choose this path? Isn't it because we want to live the life we ​​have now? To be a famous person, to be a great person in the eyes of others, and to work with the best players."

"Haha!" Davis laughed out loud. He stroked Jose's shoulder. "Okay, let's not talk about anything else today. Let's celebrate. We need to have a couple more drinks."

"Yes."

"Harry went to print the contract? Why hasn't he come back yet?"

"I don't know, it should be soon."

The two were chatting in the living room. Because they had the floor-to-ceiling windows in the front hall open, their voices were carried upstairs and heard by Isabella, who was at home making handmade commemorative jerseys.

Isabella sat at the table thoughtfully. After hesitating for a long time, she called Mendes. "Hi, Mr. Mendes, are you sunbathing by the Atlantic Ocean again? How are you doing?"

"Haha, no, I just happened to be at the company dealing with Maher's affairs. There are four operations people here preparing to leave for London, and I have some instructions for them."

"Oh, that's right. Jose and Davis are the people you found. I think they have been away from home for too long. Aren't they a little lonely?"

"Huh? What?"

"There have been a lot of happy events recently, so I thought you might want to contact their families and invite them to a 'family' party in London."

".Oh, that's a good idea, I think we can try it."

"It just so happens that we haven't met your family either, so invite them to come along."

"Haha. I don't know how to refuse. I've actually had this idea for a long time. Why not do it together? Let me think about it. It has to be something grand."

"of course."

"Okay, I'll contact them. Wait for my news. By the way, do you mean to keep it a secret and give them a surprise when the time comes?"

"Yes."

"Okay, it may take some time, try to get it before the end of the month."

After confirming this, Isabella left a message for Maher. After receiving a positive reply from the other party, she smiled with satisfaction and started to make the commemorative jersey in her hand again. That was the gift she was going to give to Maher.

Not long after, Harry and Safina, who had gone out to find Peppino to pick up the contract and do some shopping, returned home, and they were instantly surrounded by others.

"What about mine?"

"Show me quickly!"

Since they have been together for a long time and their salary structure is relatively reasonable and commensurate with their personal abilities and efforts, they do not mind other people seeing and knowing their salary and salary increase.

Before receiving the contract, they knew their respective salaries and salary increases. They wanted to see it now just out of curiosity about the confirmation in black and white.

"Boom!"

Jose took his contract and after seeing the 5500 pounds weekly salary on the new contract, he kissed the ink-scented paper with an intoxicated look on his face.

Davis also looked through his contract with a smile. His salary increase was the same as Jose's, which was increased to 5500 pounds.

As for the sisters Harry and Safina, their salaries were raised to 4800 pounds each, which must have included the amount of the "old employee incentive bonus".

As Lewis was still working part-time, he was not comfortable with the same salary increase as everyone else. After discussing with Maher, he only raised his salary by 500 pounds to 7500 pounds, which was considered a symbolic increase to celebrate with everyone else.

"boom!"

"Cheers!"

The family of five who got the contract sat down at the dining table, holding cups and starting to eat before Maher, who was out, came back.

They don't have any psychological burden. Anyway, during the opening period of the season, Maher should drink less and eat less greasy food.

"Buzz.!"

After a while, the unique low roar of the Ferrari 458 sounded, and Maher's car lights shone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, illuminating the faces of the five people and bringing smiles to their faces.

Because everyone knows that the boss is back with gifts!
"I'll open the door!"

Safina jumped up, trotted to the door, opened it, and waited for their boss to return.

Mael came in quickly, holding two large boxes in his hands. It looked like they were gifts for everyone.

Seeing that everyone had already started eating and drinking, he raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Why are you celebrating again? And why don't you wait for me to join?"

"We celebrate every day, naturally because we are happy every day."

Safina thoughtfully took a box and helped him carry it to the dining table, while answering: "As for you, the Champions League is coming soon, so don't eat greasy barbecue or drink alcohol. I will make you some healthy food every day."

"."

Maher was speechless, but there was a smile in the corners of his eyes and mouth. He put down the box and took out an LV bag from it.

"This is the bag I customized for you at Louis Vuitton. Inside are commemorative edition luxury goods from most of the famous brands under the LV Group."

He opened a bag, took out a special edition Dior perfume and a Hennessy oval wine, and said proudly: "Just these two things, the total cost is nearly 2 pounds, and this is only a small part.

“However, since I am their spokesperson, they gave me seven sets of these gifts.

"I really have so much money that I can't spend it. I guess this will be the norm in the future. It seems that I don't even have to spend my own money on gifts, haha."

He prepared a gift for each of the five team members, and also prepared one for his uncle Clement and aunt Betty, a total of seven sets, all of which were free, saving him 5 to 7 pounds.

As the resources he can leverage grow, many brands are increasingly seeking to establish good relationships with him, and are waiting to send him gifts when he needs them.

He knows that free things are the most expensive, and he also understands what brands think.

But now that things have come to this, there’s no need to be too calculating or fussy about human relationships.

Live with a broad mind, be an upright person, and even enjoy the convenience that comes with the improvement of your identity and status, and the enthusiasm brought by your own high value.

"Oh oh!" exclamations were heard, some in surprise, some in amazement, and of course some in ridicule.

Safina took a bag with bright eyes and said while happily unpacking it: "Thank you, boss! Every time at this time, it is my happiest moment."

"This is very expensive." Davis was a little reserved. "It's equivalent to many weeks' wages for us."

Harry smiled at him and said, "Don't worry about it, just take it. This is the year-end benefit given to us by the boss, and it's given to us every year.

"Didn't you hear? As he's getting stronger and stronger, he doesn't even need to spend his own money on year-end benefits."

"Ha ha.!"

Jose and the others laughed together. Soon, they each held a bag and raised the cup together in front of the table. "Cheers to the most handsome, talented, richest and best player in the world, Maher!!"

Maher looked at them and smiled at them at the table, with a mixture of envy and satisfaction in his eyes.

Wait a little longer until their families come over, then you can have a couple of drinks at the family gathering and get to know their families.

After all, from the moment they decided to walk this path together, their lives were destined to be inseparable. If nothing unexpected happens, they will become lifelong friends.

On September 9, Maher flew to the Clairefontaine training camp in Paris, France, to participate in the national team training.

Just after three rounds of the league, he ushered in the first international match day of the season, which lasted a total of nine days.

Unlike last season, this season he has become the captain of the French team and must report to the national team on every international match day to participate in training and competitions.

This time, their task on the international match day is not to compete for national team points in an international A-level friendly match, but the main competition of the European qualifiers for the World Cup!
This is definitely a very important game and the key to determining whether the French team can advance to the World Cup finals!
Even for a team like France, qualifying for the World Cup round of 32 doesn't seem to be difficult for them, but in the face of such an important task, no one will take it lightly. "Buzz."

Shortly after getting off the plane, Maher received the group draw and schedule sent by Deschamps in the business car. He opened it and read it carefully.

It can be said that since this report, he has begun a journey of fighting on two fronts for both the club and the national team.

In the club, he will strive for more championships in different competitions, strive to achieve better statistical performance, and win the Grand Slam in an amazing manner.

As for the national team, he will strive to send France to the Brazil World Cup in two years, and also strive to become the team's historical top scorer.

"Group B: France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta."

Soon, Maher saw the group arrangement of this European qualifier. The French team was in Group B with five opponents in the same group.

There are a total of 53 teams participating in this European qualifier. They are divided into 9 groups, 8 of which are 6 teams and the last group is 5 teams.

The teams in each group will play a double round-robin match, and the first place in the group will advance directly to the World Cup.

The remaining eight runners-up will be drawn for a home and away double round-robin, and the team that wins on aggregate score will take the remaining four places.

"The goal can only be to be first in the group."

After watching it, Maher confirmed one thing in his mind: only the first place in the group would be safe to qualify.

If we finish second in the group and draw for a double round-robin qualifying tournament, it’s hard to say what the result will be as the margin for error is too small.

In this group, the only teams capable of competing with them for the first place are Denmark and the Czech Republic, and the remaining two teams are likely to be runners-up.

The focus should be on these two teams, try not to let them gain points against their own team, and also try to safely defeat the other three teams at home and away, so as not to lose points that should not be lost.

After thinking about this, Maher looked at the schedule for this international match day.

They have not encountered any direct competitors yet. The first round of this period will be on September 9, and their opponent is Bulgaria. The second round will be on September 8, and their opponent is Malta.

He put down his phone and treated the two opponents calmly, neither worrying nor underestimating them.

"call"

When getting off the bus, Maher looked at the Clairefontaine training camp that was gradually becoming familiar to him, and suddenly felt a sense of fulfillment in his heart.

Through his hard work over the past two years, he has been able to appear safely in all the highest competitions, both at the club level and at the national team level.

Before his eyes were two broad roads filled with flowers and applause.

Not only could he put one foot on one of the roads and move forward at the same time, he also seemed to see the two roads getting closer, intersecting at the end of the road, and merging into one, reaching the summit at the same time!

That was his end point - the first Grand Slam in football, the God of Football!
In the future, he will live a very busy and fulfilling life, climbing up on both roads to reach higher heights and conquer higher places!

"Hello, Captain."

Walking into the hotel inside the training camp, Maher saw Sagna standing at the door waiting for him with a playful smile on his face, as if he met him for the first time.

He put his arms around the other person's neck and took the elevator upstairs with him.

"There's a new guy in the team, a 21-year-old Real Sociedad striker."

Sagna arrived earlier and introduced the new player to him with a smile, "Griezmann, you should have an impression of him. He ranked among the top in the Golden Boy Award last year.

"I looked at his statistics. He scored seven goals and provided four assists in La Liga last season. That's very good. He has great potential and should be trained as a future player."

Seeing that Maher didn't show any surprise or other expressions, he chuckled again, "Of course, compared to you, his potential is not so obvious."

“I hope we can cooperate well.”

Maher said with a faint smile, "It's hard to say, but in two years' World Cup, we will fight together."

"Yes."

Sagna nodded and blurted out, "When I went downstairs to pick you up just now, he was with some La Liga players. When he heard you were here, he was obviously a little weird. He wanted to get to know you but was embarrassed."

"Haha." Mael laughed a few times without saying anything. Has he made other geniuses feel this way now?

After returning to his room and settling in, he held a meeting with Deschamps as usual, then went back to his room to rest and relieve the fatigue of the journey.

"Bang bang bang!"

From the next day, the intense preparation training kicked off. Maher also began to get to know Griezmann in the process. They first got to know each other through the communication and passing on the court.

Maher's first impression of him is that he is agile. He kicks the ball very skillfully, and has excellent creativity and shooting skills. At first glance, he is a good candidate to be the core of the offense.

However, as he has just played as a main player in La Liga for one season, he is still a bit less mature than his peak period. It seems unlikely that he will be able to compete with Nasri and other midfielders and forwards.

From another perspective, he felt that the other party was a little restrained.

As soon as he arrived at the stadium, he only huddled together with a few La Liga players. He rarely spoke to him, and when he spoke, he did so with a shy smile and often looked away.

This gave him some special feelings. The future No. 10 of the French team, one of the biggest contributors to the World Cup victory, looked like this in front of him, who was two years younger than him, when he was a child.

It seems that the accumulation of data and honors on the field has given him a sense of distance with many halos and dazzling light.

It has to be said that this feeling is good, and it makes him want to achieve more brilliant achievements on this front.

In the 10 group matches, most of them were bullying matches. He hopes he can score more goals and get closer to the position of France's all-time top scorer!
"Tomorrow's opponent is Bulgaria, a third- or fourth-rate team in Europe."

On the evening of September 9, Deschamps held his last meeting in the conference room of Clairefontaine. "I think everyone must think that a third- or fourth-rate team must not be competitive and can be easily defeated."

He paced back and forth. The European Cup championship had given him great confidence, making him believe that he was the best candidate for this position.

"I do not deny."

Deschamps first gave everyone confidence, "Facing such a team, we must not only strive for victory, but also strive for a complete victory at home, or even a beautiful victory.

"Many people would feel that, facing such a team, no matter how many goals they score, it would be useless and meaningless."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “But I want to say that a person’s only opponent is himself. What you need to do is to play at your best level and strive to perform above your level, no matter who you are facing!
“What’s more, many goal-scoring records and big-victory records are achieved by teams and players that are weaker than you. You don’t often get such opportunities when you play against strong teams.

“If you don’t value these kinds of games, you’re never going to beat the guys who value these opportunities.

"Because they understand that every game is very important, and their performance against weaker teams is one of the important reasons that make them top players and top teams!"

Deschamps chose a rather strange angle at the beginning, but then he got to the point, "Also, don't underestimate the enemy, Bulgaria is not weak, they are ranked around 72nd in the world.

"Many of the team's players are core players of the Bulgarian League giants Ludogorets and CSKA Sofia, as well as many core players of the Russian Premier League giants.

“This time they are full of fighting spirit, and the strength they display may not be weaker than that of the Czech Republic and Denmark.

"If you're not careful, they can take points away from you or even give you a loss.

"Okay, let the data analysis coach give you the final pre-match analysis later."

Deschamps clapped his hands, and an assistant coach came to the podium with a notebook, plugged in a USB drive, opened a long video and began to explain.

The players listened carefully and understood many of the characteristics of the Bulgarian players, their recent formations and tactical play, and possible scenarios that might occur in tomorrow's game.

Soon after, under the leadership of Maher, everyone in the conference room shouted together: "France! Come on!!"

At 8:7 the next evening, the Stade de France, which can accommodate spectators, was brightly lit and packed with at least French fans.

"France, France!!"

Their shouts were extremely unified, and each time they came out, it was like a huge wave that surged back and forth in the field, causing a small earthquake in the stadium.

"Boom!"

When Maher came on stage to the sound of music, he looked around the court with surprise and shock in his eyes.

On the one hand, he had never seen so many fans supporting their team in a national team game. During the European Cup, because the other team also had a large number of spectators, the number of French spectators who came was only 20,000 to 30,000, less than half of today.

Even at club matches, he never saw the 7-plus Arsenal fans cheering him on.

After the number of cheering people exceeded 3, the shock level caused by every additional 1 people increased exponentially.

You will feel like there are people behind you, giving you a special sense of security and motivation to compete.

On the other hand, he did not expect that there would be so many fans coming to the scene to cheer for them in just the European qualifiers against Bulgaria.

In his impression, the European qualifiers are actually not that important. The strong and weak teams are very obvious. The weak teams are just monsters for the strong teams to gain experience, and will not arouse too many people's desire to watch the game live.

However, when he recalled the importance he attached to the Asian qualifiers in his previous life, and the importance fans of Asian football powers such as Japan, South Korea and O'Ivanovic attached to the Asian qualifiers, he understood.

No matter what, this is the key to determining whether this team can appear in the World Cup. This kind of game is extremely important for people in any region!

"Go ahead, guys. We are right behind you, singing for you and trembling for you!"

"Dreams are so beautiful, enough to make us pass the ball, shoot, score goals, and let our hearts beat for you!"

Soon after, players from both teams completed their pre-match etiquette amid the singing of fans, stood in their respective halves, and formed a circle to cheer each other on.

“Come on, come on!!”

Maher placed his hand between the French players, looked around and said: "So many people are watching us, we must bring a wonderful game! Go climb, go conquer!!

"Come on, France!!"

The 11 French players ran away to their own positions, and the referee blew the whistle to start the game, "Beep!"

The first round of the 14 World Cup European qualifiers officially kicked off.

Maher, who has already scored 18 goals for the French team, has started his new journey. His goal is to surpass the team's all-time top scorer Henry, who has scored a total of 51 goals for the French team.

This is not a distant goal. Perhaps, if he continues to develop along this path, he will have a hope of overtaking his opponents around the 14 World Cup.

Now, it's time to lay a solid foundation. He must seize every scoring opportunity as much as possible and move closer to the goal!

If he can surpass the legendary star Henry's career-long goal achievements both for his club and the French team before the age of 22, he will surely be very close to his ultimate goal.

ps: There is another chapter that will be posted later. I woke up a little late today because of a headache. I will finish writing about the two games in the next chapter.

(End of this chapter)