Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 249: Stade de France vs Bulgaria! Maher's career scoring rate! Big win over Malta
"Bang bang bang!"

After the Bulgarian team kicked the ball out of the center circle, they lost possession of the ball under the pressure of the French team without passing the ball a few times in the backcourt.

From then on, it became difficult for them to get the ball back.

The players in the frontcourt of the French team used their excellent footwork to firmly control the situation and pressed all of them into the defensive area.

"Oh!"

“Bang!”

The football rotated quickly between the left and right sides, and Nasri and Cabaye would occasionally play diagonal passes to look for threatening opportunities in the penalty area.

The Bulgarian team could only cope with the situation, moving the two wing midfielders in the starting formation of 4-4-2 back to the wing-back positions and one of the center forwards back to the midfield, playing a 6-3-1 iron bucket formation.

This is almost the usual start and practice for all weak teams playing against strong teams. There is only one purpose for being so conservative - to endure first and then counterattack to steal a goal and strive to get points away from home!
"here!"

"suffer!"

Maher was very active after coming on, often using changes in running rhythm to seek opportunities to pass the ball.

Bulgaria's Bodulov and Manolev were guarding him. In the pre-match analysis he learned that these two were teammates of the Bulgarian League giants Lovech and had a tacit understanding in their cooperation.

He didn't take the two of them seriously at first, thinking that it would be relatively easy to play against them.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Boom!"

It was not until after several confrontations and races that he discovered that their physical fitness was not much weaker than that of the defenders of the Premier League teams, that the look in his eyes changed and his center of gravity dropped even lower.

These defenders may not play in the top leagues due to their awareness, concentration, passing ability and other reasons.

But having a market value of over 300 million Euros does not mean that they are pushovers. At least their physical fitness is definitely strong enough to withstand training.

Coupled with their anticipation for the World Cup and the motivation of playing in a stadium of 8 people, the strength they unleash may be much higher than their value.

Go all out!

He completely abandoned all thoughts of underestimating the enemy and fought with all his might.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the French team often created good shooting opportunities.

Even their attacks looked threatening every time, with Maher and Nasri often using their personal abilities to break through the penalty area and create chaos, but they still failed to score a goal for the time being.

"what!"

"Oh!"

Sighs and regrets were the norm at the Stade de France at this time. French fans often held their heads in their hands and then applauded to encourage the players' performance.

Looking at the situation, they still believe that the team can secure 3 points. Bulgaria should not have much ability to fight back. It all depends on when they score a goal and whether they will win by a large margin.

Compared with their optimism, Deschamps stood on the sidelines with a slightly melancholy look, staring at the court with a serious expression.

As the head coach, he faces greater pressure. If the goal difference in this game is not 3, he will definitely be ridiculed by the fans after the game.

He kept looking at the time, and every time the minute hand moved a little further, he felt more urgent.

"suffer!!"

When 30 minutes had passed, Deschamps became anxious and shouted to the court, "Go! Get in! Push them into the penalty area and give Mahel a chance to shoot from long distance!"
"It's you, Cabaye, Malouda! Get in there! Squeeze in! Make them retreat and expose the top of the arc!"

In the Bulgarian coaching booth nearby, a French-speaking translator quickly stood up and repeated Deschamps' words to the players in Bulgarian.

"damn it."

Deschamps didn't expect the opponent to be so prepared, and returned to his coaching seat complaining.

There is always pressure when playing against any team at home.

If Bulgaria cannot break the deadlock, then as the game gets closer to the end, they will have a stronger desire and fighting spirit to hold on to one point, and may even have the ambition to steal three points.

"bang bang bang"

In the 32nd minute of the game, Bulgarian striker Popov received the ball and advanced to the front of the French team's penalty area with difficulty, but was sandwiched by Clichy and Koscielny.

He was forced all the way to the sideline and looked like he was about to lose the ball.

"Oh!"

As a last resort, he could only try to kick the ball to the middle and send a threatening shot.

Unexpectedly, the ball hit Koscielny's leg, spun towards the baseline, and slipped out of the baseline near the corner flagpole.

Corner kick.

The Bulgarian players rushed into the French team's penalty area. This was a good opportunity for them to score. In set pieces, the gap between strong teams and weak teams will be minimized unless there are abnormal tactics.

"Oh!"

Under the indifferent gazes of the French fans, Ivanov sent a corner kick to Bulgaria, and the ball went straight to the front point at a very fast speed.

"Crack!"

No one saw what happened in the front point. They only saw the football suddenly rush to the near corner, and Lori flew quickly but failed to catch the football.

"Swish!" The football hit the net and the Bulgarian players in red jerseys immediately ran to the sidelines to celebrate as if they had scored a winning goal.

Zero to one!

Home team behind!

"Ah, huff, huff!" The atmosphere in the stadium was terribly depressing; the noise and boos from the French fans drowned out the celebrations from the Bulgarian fans, making the place seem like it was shrouded in the atmosphere of hell.

Maher was standing in the front court. When he saw the opponent score a goal, he put his hands on his hips. After he came to his senses, he raised his hands and clapped, encouraging the players to concentrate.

It is very common for weak teams to steal a goal from a set piece. As long as they keep their composure and strive for the first goal, they still have a chance to win by a large margin.

On the sidelines of the court, Deschamps looked sad. He returned to the coaching seat with a grimace and drank water. He was really nervous.

It is absolutely possible to lose to a team like Bulgaria. They are not opponents like Malta and Gibraltar that you can really win against.

Bulgaria can still beat the top 10 teams in the world 1-2 times every 20 times, but he doesn't want France to be unlucky this time, at home, after winning the European Cup.

"Hi! Hi!"

Deschamps turned around and pointed to his temple, signaling the players to concentrate and not relax too much.

After finishing all this, he returned to the coaching seat, fearing that he would not be able to help but convey more negative emotions to the team.

"Beep!"

After the game started again, the French team's attack became more fierce.

"Oh!"

As soon as Mahel got the ball, he used his superb footwork and speed to complete a one-on-two breakthrough, and then used a ground pass through the crotch to find Kabaye who was in the inverted triangle position.

But the latter's subsequent shot went wide of the bottom line less than ten centimeters from the goal.

"Ah!" Kabaye shouted in self-blame, slapped his face, turned around and ran again.

Maher did not have too many regrets, but he just wondered if there was really such a thing as overdrawing luck. He scored four goals in a row in the last game, which made his luck go into debt.

However, this was just a fleeting joke. He still believed that in the face of absolute strength, scoring a goal was only a matter of time.

He was right.

"Oh!"

In the 43rd minute of the game, Nasri sent a sweeping cross from the right, the Bulgarian defender touched the ball with his right foot, and the football spun and flew into his control area.

After getting the ball, he initially prepared to grit his teeth and cut towards the middle, looking for an opportunity to cut inside and shoot.

But after seeing Cabaye move into the inverted triangle position again, he chose a more reasonable pass and chose to trust his teammates.

“Bang!! Shua!”

This time Kabaye did not disappoint him. He made a solid ground shot and nailed the ball firmly into the right corner of the net, scoring the first goal for the French team.

"Aaahhh!" The cheers from the French fans were not very enthusiastic. Most people just chose to applaud, as they thought the goal was their due.

In this atmosphere, even though Cabaye and Maher wanted to celebrate their first European qualifying goal, they chose to simply high-five and hug each other, then take the football and run towards the center circle.

They must prove their attitude and not disappoint the supporters behind them.

Two minutes later, when the fourth official just raised the injury time card, many Bulgarian players were distracted by looking at the injury time.

"Boom."

After Sagna joined the attack, he made a lateral pass to Mahel who was running in the middle. The latter stepped the ball to the front right with the sole of his foot, then swung his arm and right leg and kicked it out with a powerful shot.

This was a rare long-range shot opportunity. The player who came to block the ball in front of the penalty area was more than one meter away from him, and he could also see a shooting line from the right.

Even though he noticed the goalkeeper was standing to the right, he still took a kick to see if he could beat his opponent's reaction and strength!
"Bang!!"

The football flew out from Maher's feet and pierced through the Bulgarian team's defense line like a sharp sword, giving the air along the way a sharp temperament.

In comparison, the Bulgarian goalkeeper's movements were so slow and so weak.

It seems that compared to the small football, he is the smaller and more vulnerable one.

"Dang!" The sound of hitting the iron was heard, but the football did not hit the crossbar and the post as the Bulgarians expected, but hit the supporting pillar inside the net heavily and bounced back into the penalty area.

"Oh!"

A Bulgarian player reacted quickly, turned around and kicked the ball to the sideline, thinking he had cleared the ball.

"Wowww!!"

"Beep!"

It was not until he heard cheers even louder than France's goal echoing in the Stade de France, saw the referee whistle and point to the center circle, and saw Maher running to celebrate, that he reacted.

Two to one!

The French team scored consecutive goals!
Heavy artillery success!

"Folala!!"

This time, Maher could rush to the sidelines to celebrate without any shame. He clenched his fists and opened his chest, making the precursor movement of chest expansion exercise, and then tightened his fists hard, allowing the two fists to collide together with great force.

This was a celebration similar to showing off muscles and releasing force. It was quite unique. He forgot where he saw it from.

After making his fifth assist, he also scored the 5th goal for the national team!
In this game, he still has a hope of scoring 20 goals!
"Yes!"

Deschamps on the sidelines also clenched his fists tightly, turned around and celebrated with the assistant coaches, and the pressure was relieved a lot.

Two minutes later, in the last attack of stoppage time, Clichy made a cross towards the middle, and Giroud immediately jumped over the opponent's defender and blasted the ball into the Bulgarian net for the third time.

Three to one!

came back!
Giroud and all the members of the French team finally smiled. They hugged each other and celebrated together near the goal.

"I didn't expect to encounter so many difficulties, but fortunately we are strong!"

Maher smiled and said to everyone: "We have got the first three points. I hope we can keep winning in these 3 games until we win the World Cup in Brazil!

"We may encounter more challenges, but still, if something is too easy, it won't be attractive to anyone and won't bring any joy!"

"Yeah!" The players laughed and nodded in agreement, then jumped up and down happily with their arms around each other's shoulders.

During the half-time break, Deschamps, who had intended to give the team a good spurring, ultimately refrained from making any accusatory comments. Instead, he emphasized the phenomenon of underestimating the opponent and asked everyone to strive for more goals.

"Rotation?"

Finally, he came to Maher and asked him if he still wanted to play in the second half of the game.

At this point, he must ask and respect the opinions of the core members of the team.

Because players like Maher may not want to continue playing after a sure win for fear that injuries will affect their club's game status and their best hopes of competing for the best.

"I want to continue."

Maher shook his head and chuckled as he expressed his thoughts, "It's not easy for me to come back, and I only have two games, so I really cherish it.

"Of course, if you want to give the substitutes a chance to rotate, I have no objection to replacing me, but I can't take the initiative to ask to leave the field."

"I understand what you mean." Deschamps grinned, pointed at Maher with his finger, and walked away with a smile on his face.

"Beep!"

After the start of the second half, the situation tilted towards the French team, and the Bulgarian team gradually lost the strength to fight back.

In the 61st minute of the game, Menez, who had just come on as a substitute, shot the ball into the middle after losing his balance after a confrontation.

"Bang!!"

Maher pushed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal from the middle, scoring a rare goal. He celebrated by sliding on his knees at the Stade de France. Goal 20!
In his 10th game on behalf of the French team, he scored 20 goals and 5 assists, averaging 2.5 goals per game!
He can be sure that this is a journey of conquest and an important period for reaping personal and team honors!
"Beep!"

In the 78th minute of the game, a substitution card was raised on the sidelines and Griezmann stood on the extended line of the center circle, waiting to come on the field.

When Maher saw the number 7 on the substitution card, he turned around and walked off the field, raising his hand and clapping with the enthusiastic French fans.

"Clap clap clap!"

This was his first time playing at the Stade de France, the home stadium of the French team. He scored 2 goals and 1 assist. This was his first home debut and also his first European qualifying debut.

He was still very satisfied with it, and the trip was not in vain!
"come on!"

"Snapped!"

After high-fiving Griezmann, he took the towel handed to him by the assistant coach and walked towards Deschamps with a smile on his face.

"I have a question."

Taking a few steps closer, he took the initiative to ask, "Who is the French team's all-time assist leader? I think people rarely mention it."

"I'm careless too." Deschamps smiled embarrassedly, hugged him, then turned around and asked the assistant coaches this question.

"It's Zidane, I think. I remember he had 26 assists for the national team."

"No, no, no, I don't know if it was Henry, but he made 27 assists."

"Let me check."

"That's Henry!"

"27." Maher raised his shoulders and sighed, "That's a lot. I didn't expect Henry to be the top scorer and top assists player. He really had an extremely brilliant career."

He became more and more impressed with this striker with whom he had worked for some time. He originally thought that Henry was a superstar, but he did not expect that he had so many records.

It seems that the strength of Melo's career has made most people forget the striker's former dominance.

"Mr. Deschamps."

After thinking about this, Maher looked at Deschamps and smiled: "Do you think I can play in these two positions in the future?"

Deschamps looked at him with a smile, and after a long while, he answered confidently: "You should ask me when I took these two positions."

"When?"

"Less than 10 years? Less than 5 years? I can't really say for sure, but I feel like it will be soon."

"Ha ha."

Maher laughed twice and didn't tell him that he wanted to play in these two positions around the 14 World Cup. He returned to the bench, drank some water and watched the game.

When the time came to the last moment, Bulgaria seemed to decide to give it a try and launched an all-out attack.

The French team, which had been attacking for the entire game, was clearly not adapting, but people didn't think much of it yet. It's normal that even the weakest team can create a threat with a desperate fight at the last minute.

Even Maher looked at the court optimistically, thinking that the game would soon be over and the first 3 points would be obtained.

“Bang! Shua!”

But the Bulgarian team had a touch of metaphysics. They scored two goals in the 83rd and 89th minutes of the game through a header from a cross from the bottom and a penalty kick!
Four to three!
"Beep! Beep! Beep--!"

After a difficult period of defense under tremendous pressure, the French team finally held on to 3 points, but the score of to still made everyone return to the locker room with gloomy faces.

When Maher took off his shin guards in the locker room, he could feel the silence of the crowd and their fear of post-match public opinion, especially the players on the back line.

He observed Deschamps's expression and found that he was obviously feeling uncomfortable.

"call"

He sighed slightly. This is football, it can make people's emotions rise and fall several times in a short period of time.

No one can always get good and expected results, even if you score 2 goals and 1 assist and win the game in the end.

"Almost upset by Bulgaria! France won its first European qualifier 4-3, but the performance of the back line is worrying, and it may be difficult to resist Denmark and the Czech Republic!" - French "L'Equipe"

This is L'Equipe, the most authoritative football media in France. The dissatisfaction expressed in their post-match report on the game also attracted the dissatisfaction of French fans.

"After Mexes moved to AC Milan, he gradually became a rotation player last season, with only 14 appearances. He is really getting old and is no longer at his peak.

"Rami and Koscielny are both starters in their respective clubs, but they are not considered core players in the same position in the team. They need someone to lead them, otherwise it will be difficult to be considered first-class." - Michel, former French international and coach
"Give young people some opportunities. Varane transferred from Lens to Real Madrid for 1100 million euros last year. He started to get a lot of opportunities this year. Let him try." - Zidane's social media post

"The French team has only one face, and that is Maher. Deschamps' current performance can hardly be called stable, which is worrying!" - Former coach Blanc

"I don't quite understand. The Bulgarian team is worth only 8930 million euros, not as much as Maher alone. Why did they play like this?" - French football critic Stephen

The posts from the big names and former coaches quickly put Deschamps and others in the spotlight, and people seemed to have forgotten that they had just won the European Cup.

This happens in every industry, and when you fail to meet expectations, the criticism is relentless, even a little heartless.

Fortunately, L'Equipe finally received some internal pressure and used a diverting article to draw everyone's attention away.

"Mael's terrifying goal-scoring efficiency and goal-creating efficiency! Use data to show the player's dominance in various competitions for each club and national team!" - L'Equipe

"During his time at Sheffield United, Maher played 42 games in the Championship, scoring 40 goals, averaging 0.95 goals per game, and also had 27 assists, averaging 1.6 goals per game.

“This is also the player’s total number for the Championship, he did not play in any of the cup competitions that year.

"Later he played in the Premier League, and in his first season he played 46 games for Arsenal, scoring 58 goals, averaging 1.26 goals per game.

"Coincidentally, he also provided 27 assists, bringing his total goal creation to an astonishing 1.85 goals per game!
"That season, he made 36 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 43 goals and providing 20 assists. Including the 3 goals and 7 assists in the first 2 games of the new season, he made a total of 39 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 50 goals and providing 22 assists.

"The player's top-level league scoring rate is also 1.28 goals per game, and the total goal-making rate is 1.85 goals per game!
"As for the players' explosive performances in the French national team, it is unprecedented.

"He scored 10 goals and provided 20 assists in 5 national team matches, averaging 2.0 goals per game and 2.5 goals created per game, which is far beyond the reach of Messi and Ronaldo."

"."

“In conclusion, we can see that the player has maintained extremely high efficiency since the beginning, and this efficiency has not declined as the level of the competitions he competes in has become higher and higher, but has increased dramatically!

"In the process, we can also clearly feel the players' speed of progress and unpredictable potential.

"In the end, the player played in 101 official games in his career, scored 125 goals, made 61 assists, and averaged 1.24 goals per game and 1.84 goals created.

"Except for Messi last season and the entire year of 2012, no one has ever achieved such a terrifying efficiency in the past!"

"."

This report illustrates Maher's horror from a data perspective, pushing out the only current face of the French team and attracting the attention of fans.

This did have some effect, and in the following days, the French team prepared for the match against Malta in a relatively quiet atmosphere.

On September 9, the entire French team flew to the Republic of Malta in southern Europe.

This is a pocket-sized country with an area of ​​only 316 square kilometers, but it is known as the heart of the Mediterranean. It is a European tourist destination and a very developed country.

However, their football level is not really high, and cannot be compared with some small European countries. It is ranked only 192nd in the world.

It is naturally very easy for the French team to play against such opponents.

This can be seen from the starting lineup they arranged before the game. They sent out second goalkeeper Mandanda, and the back line and midfield line were reshuffled. Varane, Diaby, Mavuba, Griezmann and others all played.

As for the forward line, Maher partners with Giroud and Nasri to form a trident to attack the opponent's defense.

This game also set a record, with five Arsenal players appearing in the French team's starting lineup.

If Lori had not failed to start, the number would have been 6; if Clichy and Nasri were included, the number would have been 8!
It can be said that Wenger has not only made a lot of contributions to Arsenal, but also to the French team.

"Beep!"

At 4:30 in the afternoon, at the National Stadium of Malaysia, the second round of the European qualifiers kicked off on a stadium with a plastic track.

Thousands of French fans came to the scene to cheer, and there were slightly more fans of other Maltese teams, about 10,000 or so. However, compared to the last game, the atmosphere of this game was still a little deserted.

It seemed that the crisis at the last moment of the previous game and the post-match public opinion left the French players with lingering fears. They tried their best from the start of this game, and attacked frantically with courage and awareness of shame.

"Bang!!"

In the 11th minute of the game, taking advantage of the chaos in the opponent's defense, Maher once again volleyed the ball into the goal from the front of the penalty area, continuing his style of averaging one world-class goal per game.

Seven minutes later, it was him again, heading the ball into the net from Sri Lanka's cross in the penalty area, changing the score to 7-!

"Oh!"

In the 35th minute, it was Giroud who made the pass, Nasri broke into the penalty area and dribbled past two players before shooting into the empty goal. The French team set out to play against the other teams.

In the first half stoppage time, Giroud received a cross from Griezmann in the corner and scored another goal with a header!
Four to zero!
After the start of the second half, Maher learned that he would be substituted in the 65th minute of the game, so he began to dribble frantically into the penalty area and shoot, aiming for his third hat-trick for the French team.

The other players on the Malaysian team seemed to know this as well, and they didn't care much about others. They just competed with him, trying to limit his goals by forming a human wall.

But again, with such absolute physical strength and technical frequency, scoring a goal is just a matter of time!
“Bang, bang, snap!!”

After several setbacks, in the 64th minute of the game, Maher made a beautiful one-on-two pass through continuous changes of direction.

He dribbled the ball past the opponent's full-back, then forced his way into the middle before the opponent closed the door, knocked both of them to the ground, and then rushed to the middle position.

Facing the defense of the opponent's two central defenders, he just dribbled the ball to the bottom line unreasonably, and after shaking off one person, he dribbled the ball outwards to create a little angle.

"Bang!!"

Finally, he shook his ankle violently and sent the ball into the upper right corner of the opponent's net.

"Shh!"

Not surprisingly, the goalkeeper Malta symbolically stretched out his hand and then sat down on the ground, saluting the football that flew into the right blind corner.

"Yeah!" Maher clenched his fists on the spot, released them with a low grunt, and then high-fived the other players who came up.

Goal 23!
Hat-trick for the third time!
Some people may say that this is just a punishment for a group of players worth 30 to 50 euros, which is nothing.

But like Deschamps said, as long as it is a game, you should take it seriously and play to your average level!

Many records and achievements were not achieved by strong teams, but by weak teams.

So far in his career, he has played more than 100 games, and he has played against no more than 15 strong teams. If he looked down on weak teams and just played simply every time, he would never have scored 128 goals!
Of course, he would only regard this as an important accumulation, and would not elaborate on how wonderful, important, and challenging these three goals were.

Just treat it with a normal attitude and conquer your way forward!

"Beep!"

When he left the field, Maher received applause from the French fans again. Many fans of other Malaysian teams also gathered in front of the stands and shouted something at him, but the distance was too far to hear clearly.

I guess you want a jersey?

After high-fiving Deschamps, Maher sat down in his seat and watched his teammates' performance.

The subsequent game became Giroud's special game. He scored consecutive goals in the 73rd and 78th minutes, scoring his first hat trick for the national team!
In the final moments, he also assisted Griezmann, who was making his debut, to score!
Nine to zero!
This is the final score, and it is also a score that is consistent with the international ranking and strength of the French team and other Maltese teams.

"Clap clap clap!"

The French fans were finally satisfied and stood up and applauded their team for the game.

Maher also walked around the court with a smile on his face as he thanked the fans. He was in a good mood. On the first day of the European qualifiers, he got 2 points in 6 games, which was a good performance overall.

If we continue playing like this, there is still a great hope that we will advance to the World Cup as the first in the group!
"Mael!"

"I came first!"

Soon after, a noise sounded in his ears. He turned around and found a large number of other players running towards him, wanting to exchange jerseys with him.

He didn't know these people's names, nor did he know where they played football, so in his eyes, these people looked like fanatical fans.

This is normal. After all, his worth of 35m is more than the total of their entire team multiplied by 5.

He did not refuse, and exchanged jerseys with the person he felt came up first, and took a photo with the other person with a smile.

“Thank you for trying your best.”

As the other players left, the Malaysian said with a smile: "We lose like this every time. We are used to it. We just want to see more superstars in the national team games and see how they play with all their strength."

Maher was slightly stunned, and gave him a thumbs up. "Keep going, I hope to see you in the top league one day."

"Haha." The man smiled and nodded, "Okay, wait for me, I will join Arsenal."

Maher also laughed. This was obviously a joke. He was probably making fun of himself that he would never be able to reach the top level in his lifetime.

He withdrew his gaze, let out a long breath, took one last look at the stadium, and prepared to leave.

This national team match day ended without any major incident. I hope that next time I come to this team, I can still get 6 points and bring the European qualifying group points to 12!

Now, he is ready to return to the Premier League to play for a club with a higher competitive level where every game is a crucial battle!

The Champions League is about to start, and the Premier League schedule is moving forward in an orderly manner; his shooting additional skills always feel like they are about to come out, and several companies are about to be merged under the name of "Mael Company".

I hope he can find more happiness and experience more emotions in these exciting days.

Set off tomorrow and go home!
(End of this chapter)