From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 63: Chapter 2: The Interest of Famous Managers, Dipping Shot Upgrade!

During training on the second day, Ma’el began to preliminarily test his speed ability among Championship players.

According to his previous feedback, Level 3 skills are outstanding and effective in the Championship, and he shouldn’t be intimidated even when facing Premier League players.

However, speed ability, as a crucial skill in football, is something that most players possess, and each team has a few speedsters.

This has nothing to do with league level; even if you go to a League Two club, you will likely find a player known for their speed.

”Bang Bang! Bang....!”

During one-on-one breakthrough training, Ma’el made fewer physical feints, mostly making simple touches and then bursting through directly.

Few could keep up with him; he could wipe out some defenders with average speed ability fairly easily in the first few steps after pushing off the ground.

This boosted his confidence, and he began using more violent burst sprints to break through.

Not to mention, bursting through really felt great.

This absolute physical dominance brings a strong sense of feedback and experience, making one deeply addicted to this feeling.

”What’s wrong with him?”

Gradually, Sheffield United players noticed Ma’el’s unusual behavior today, many peeking at him with a bewildered expression.

This guy’s gone crazy today?

Why does he keep sprinting to beat players with such a high success rate?

Fortunately, Ma’el had developed a certain speed ability long ago, allowing them some time to accept it, so they didn’t directly ask about it.

”Can you really run?”

After training ended, the fastest player in the team, Luton, approached Ma’el, ”I didn’t notice it before; try running a few steps?”

”Sure.”

Ma’el happily accepted the invitation, standing near the edge of the penalty area, ”Let’s run from one end of the penalty area to the other, running a hundred meters is meaningless for players.”

Luton nodded, agreed to the proposal, flexed his ankle to prepare for sprinting.

The showdown between the two attracted quite a few spectators; seven or eight players gathered around, while the rest watched from afar.

”I’ll call the start.”

Gilbert volunteered, willing to act as the whistle, mainly because he was really curious, ”Three, two, one..... go!”

”Thump thump thump!” The sound of rapid footsteps echoed as the two started simultaneously, their reaction speeds were similar, their speeds were similar at the start.

From the side view, their legs moved at the same level, bursting with exuberant power, dazzling the onlookers, fast as if trailing shadows.

”They’re actually similar?”

”Walt.... doesn’t this mean Ma’el is faster than all of us?”

”Fack, what’s going on, Luton shouldn’t be like this.”

The voices of surprise rose one after another; only now did Sheffield United players have a specific understanding of Ma’el’s speed.

Forty meters or so flew by, both crossed the finish line almost simultaneously, and the onlookers couldn’t see who led by a slight advantage.

Only Luton, the experiencer, was filled with astonishment and shock, ”You won, is this the result of your training?”

When Ma’el first met them, he had already faced Ma’el in an attack-defense matchup, and he still vaguely remembered Ma’el’s abilities at that time.

Luton thought that even if he couldn’t compete with this guy in other talents, he would surely take back some pride in his proud speed, which was why he proposed the showdown.

In the end, he lost?

”I guess so.”

Ma’el nodded with a smile, now having a clearer understanding of his speed ability.

It can be said that, except for speedsters of the level of Saint Bell or Little Flying Hero Robben, he need not worry too much about others.

”Being 17 truly holds endless possibilities; this age is really great.” Luton’s eyes were filled with envy as if it was spilling over; he shook his head and sighed, leaving in defeat.

”I run the hundred meters in 11.1 seconds.”

Remembering something, he turned and asked, ”You should be around 11 seconds?”

”I don’t know.”

Ma’el shook his head, indicating he hadn’t measured it; using hundred-meter times to judge a football player’s speed is indeed not standard.

Players need more of the burst ability in the first five to ten meters, as long-distance running is rare.

However, an 11-second hundred-meter time is certainly a good reference.

...

London, Chelsea Training Base.

After finishing the morning training, the current Chelsea first-team coach Ancelotti walked into the office calmly, poured a cup of tea, and began handling club affairs.

As a coach who once achieved significant honors at AC Milan, he was brought to Stanford Bridge last year by Ah Bu.

Ah Bu’s purpose was clear, there’s plenty of money here, plenty of people here, and I won’t interfere with the coach’s work; just bring me back a Champions League title.

Ancelotti understood the club’s expectations, but he had his unspeakable difficulties; the pressure was immense.

”Scout report?”

He quickly saw a fresh file on the desk, seemingly newly printed and brought over, piquing his curiosity.

Ordinarily, head coaches don’t frequently send scouts to survey players, always observing their performance reports like in FM games.

They only deal with similar reports at specific times, concentrating on sorted ones.

But today, with nothing else to do..... Ancelotti picked up the file, opened from the first page, and began a careful inspection.

As he read, his facial expression changed, his mind completely immersed in it, not noticing even when someone entered the office.

”Mr. Ancelotti.”

A voice rang out, and Ancelotti, as if waking from a dream, put down the document and looked up, seeing an unfamiliar face.

”I came to see you not long ago.”

The person smiled and pointed at the document, ”When I saw you weren’t here, I left the report I wrote on your desk.”

”So it was you who wrote it.”

Ancelotti nodded, put down the document, gestured for the person to sit, and began searching on the computer, ”Please wait a moment.”

”Are you looking for player highlights?”

The person guessed Ancelotti’s thoughts and took out a USB drive, ”I made one, sir, you can just watch it. It includes not only his goals and assists but also other spectacular performances.”

”That’s perfect.”

Ancelotti took the USB drive and remembered this unfamiliar face firmly, thinking he was a newly employed scout with pretty good work ability.

He inserted the USB drive into the computer and soon saw a video over 20 minutes long.

He clicked play, sat in front of the computer, and immersed himself in watching intently. Time flew by, and soon he was done watching.

Throughout the process, he didn’t lose focus for even a second; the video on the screen seemed to have an extremely strong attraction for him.

”Unbelievable.”

That was Ancelotti’s first comment, and then he picked up the report again: ”17 years old, not even half a season into his debut, 9 goals 10 assists, this almost guarantees that his future won’t be dim.

”Such a talent, I hadn’t noticed before. If not for you, I’d probably next see him as a star at Arsenal.”

”The player is still on loan, otherwise...” The scout wasn’t arrogant but seriously reminded him.

Ancelotti stood up, rubbed his hands, thought for a moment, and said, ”I will observe him more closely, and if suitable, I will definitely contact Arsenal to probe their stance.

”If there’s a chance, whether for now or the future, we must help Chelsea acquire him!”

...

November 17th, at Manchester United’s Carrington Training Base.

Old Lord Ferguson was heading out of the training base by car, preparing to go home to rest when a team assistant coach suddenly stopped his car.

”What’s the matter?”

He asked the driver to stop, rolled down the window, and stuck his head out, ”Come on up and talk.”

The assistant coach got in, took a report out of his briefcase, and handed it to Ferguson, ”This shouldn’t be discussed in this setting, but tomorrow is a day off, I was afraid it would be too late.

”There’s an incredible player in the Championship; I just discussed with a few other assistant coaches, and we all think his talent might not be less than Rooney’s.”

”Rooney?” Ferguson lifted his head a bit; for him, Rooney indeed was a descriptive word, especially in describing a genius.

”Maybe he didn’t start high, but he’s already proven himself in the Championship, accumulating a lot of experience.”

The assistant coach was exuberant, continuously expressing his admiration, ”He not only has talent, but his growth attributes are also great, visibly improving every month, there’s no visible ceiling.”

Ferguson was intrigued, flipped open the report, and read it. Upon seeing the detailed data and age, inevitably... his heart also trembled a little.

After a long time, once he finished, he turned and asked, ”What’s Wenger’s attitude towards him?”

”He hasn’t shown it publicly, but you can guess, he definitely treasures him.”

After the assistant coach answered, there was some urgency in his emotions, ”I estimate quite a few teams are already watching him. If Mr. Ferguson wants to act, he must do so quickly, the winter transfer window is soon.”

”Steal Wenger’s player?”

Ferguson chuckled softly, after a consideration, said, ”We can try, but don’t hold too much hope.”

...

November 19th, at Sheffield United’s training base.

Gilbert stood on the goal line, wearing goalkeeper gloves, playfully taking on the role of a goalkeeper, defending Ma’el’s cut-in shots.

”Bang!”

Another shot went straight into the top corner, Gilbert instinctively shrank his neck, took off the gloves, ”No more, can’t hold it.”

Seeing Ma’el didn’t seem to have the intention to try again, he walked over, sat next to him, and tentatively asked, ”Do you plan to go back? I feel like your ability is ready to try.”

”It’s not up to me to decide.”

Ma’el answered, lying on the ground, clearing his mind. He really enjoyed doing that.

[Skill: Curved Ball Dipping Shot Lv3]

[Skill Level: (1/800)]

[Utility: After mastering the art of the dipping shot, you start adding more curve to achieve higher quality, sharper angle shots, currently showing initial success, with amazing power!]

His dipping shot ability had just improved to level 3 after that shot!

Now, aside from the implicitly improved ’Observation’ skill, all his skills had reached beyond level 3!

Including three physical attributes, two shooting abilities, two breakthrough abilities, and one passing ability!

His comprehensive ability had undergone a massive change compared to before, growing to a level he had once yearned for.

Looking back, he couldn’t tell how much sweat he shed on the training grounds, how much ton of suffering he endured, to have this sense of brightness today.

Ma’el stood up, looked in one direction, his gaze filled with longing.

”What are you looking at?” Gilbert followed his gaze, only seeing a sky covered by dark clouds.

”Towards London.”

Ma’el answered with a smile, feeling he had shed a burden. In fact, he wasn’t pretending to smile; he genuinely wanted to go to the Emirates Stadium.