From Arsenal to the Ball God

Ma’el tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and then quickly opened them. His breathing grew more rapid, his chest heaving, his whole body trembling.

”Ce sont les meilleures équipes.....!

(Fr) They are the best teams.....!”

The first deep female voice reached his ears, sending a shiver to the back of Ma’el’s head, as if he had entered a new realm.

”Sie sind die allerbesten Mannschaften.....!

(Ger) They are the best teams.....!”

With a burst of orchestral drama, the second voice rang out, and by this moment, no one in the stadium could remain calm.

This is a song mixing French, German, and English, undoubtedly born for this great event, the most thrilling anthem in the world!

The glory of the past and all legendary teams make this song even more powerful, stirring endless imagination.

It makes everyone understand what kind of match is taking place right now!

”The main event.....!

(En) The most important event.....!”

The final prelude sound echoed, all emotions reaching a fever pitch, as the song arrived at its climax: ”Dun dun dun dun... dun dun dun dun.....!” *2

”Die Meister（Ger）Victorious team.....!!”

As the chorus arrived, Ma’el’s eyes and nose felt an intense rush, uncontrollably warm.

”Die Besten（Ger）Champion team.....!!”

He raised his head to the highest point, hands behind his back, forcing himself to stand calmly in place.

”Les grandes équipes（Fr）Great teams.....!!”

Ma’el opened his mouth to breathe, sweat already rolling down the side of his face, experiencing what he felt was the most wonderful moment of his life.

Childhood dreams, the stage of glory.... In this life, he must make the Champions League his championship!

”The champions（En）Champions.....!!”

With the final note of the first segment, Dortmund and Arsenal fans erupted into thunderous cheers, ”Oh.....!!”

Ma’el and the Arsenal players all raised their hands, clapping excitedly.

Next to him stood Arteta, whom he turned to see, the veteran of many years in the Premier League, already moved to tears.

”Go for it!!”

Ma’el patted his chest, and Arteta turned, raising his fist: ”Vamos!!”

The two did not exchange more words, closing their eyes to savor the remaining segments of the song, then running in excitement to their positions.

”Beep!!”

At 7:30, under the backdrop of a grand banner, the referee’s whistle blew, officially commencing the 11-12 season Champions League opening match.

Ma’el even had the illusion that he could not feel his body, only knowing he had to grit his teeth and put all his strength into charging toward the opponent’s half.

He craved the first Champions League goal.

”CCTV! CCTV!”

In the live broadcast room, the voice of CCTV commentator He Wei resounded with a strong personal style, ”The match between Dortmund and Arsenal has kicked off, with Van Persie sending the ball out from the center circle for Arsenal.

”Let’s look at the starting lineups, Dortmund is lined up in a 5-4-1 formation, with Weidenfeller as the goalkeeper. The defense from left to right: Schmelzer, Subotic, Hummels, Gross, Piszczek.

”In midfield: Kael, Shinji Kagawa, Sven Bender, Götze.

”Upfront is the Polish forward Lewandowski, who is only 22 years old this year.

”Arsenal has made some changes too.... They are lined up in a 4-2-4 formation, with Van Persie and Walcott at central forward, Ma’el the rising star on the left, Gervinho on the right.

”In midfield, Arteta pairs up with Alexander Song, and in defense.....”

After introducing the starting lineups, He Wei focused on Westfalen Stadium, his voice not overly excited but with a unique poetic feel, ”The stage of dreams once again lights up with flashlights, 32 teams will vie for the ultimate glory!

”Let’s see this attacking opportunity, Dortmund fully retreating, with a clear intent to defend and counter-attack.

”Arsenal’s midfield control, with two wingers withdrawing, they might not have many opportunities upfront against a five-man defense.”

On the soccer field, Ma’el was constantly making probing forward sprints at the defenders, today matched against Piszczek.

This is a very balanced fullback, strong and robust, contributing in both defense and attack.

He initially played as a winger, but after switching to fullback, he was immediately praised as the best fullback in the German league.

Facing him came with pressure, but Ma’el was eager to spar with these top-level fullbacks, viewing Piszczek as a good opponent.

”Thud.”

In the 2nd minute of the match, Arteta passed the ball horizontally to his position.

He drove the ball towards Piszczek, who lowered his center of gravity, retreating, eyes focused, waiting for the chance to intercept.

Ma’el employed step-over and crossover techniques, trying repeatedly but failing to shift the opponent’s balance in the slightest, even when he quickly played the ball towards the middle, the opponent could turn and follow swiftly.

”Thud!” With a testing intent, he suddenly played the ball towards the baseline, wanting to test his speed.

”Watch the middle!” Piszczek quickly turned, retreating, his starting reaction even faster than Ma’el’s, likely anticipating it.

In the initial steps, he took the lead, seemingly about to reach the ball.

Ma’el gritted his teeth, pushed off the ground, closing the distance, and as they came to a parallel line, he lowered his center of gravity and collided with his opponent.

”Bang!” After a sound from the goal box, Piszczek stumbled, but maintained a forward sprinting posture.

Of course, his situation was bad, with every running step further destabilizing him, teetering on the brink of falling.

”Ah!!”

In the moment before falling, Piszczek shouted, his body bursting forward, sliding to kick.

His sliding tackle was very sharp, contacting the ball about to go out of bounds, sweeping it over the sideline.

”Come on.....!” Rising, he swung a dragon punch towards the fans at the South Stand before him.

Ma’el, unable to brake, charged off the baseline, crashing towards the advertising boards, holding an advantage in the breakout but looking rather embarrassed in the last moment.

He got up, feeling excitement rising within; only such an opponent could better test his strength!

He felt a few sparks of combativeness, catching Piszczek’s eye as the latter turned back.

”Slap!”

Their right hands made contact, lightly slapping together.

Quite reminiscent of the elegance when Ronaldinho was tackled, then got up to high-five the opponent.

Both knew well that in this match, they couldn’t avoid a real showdown; a genuine fight was about to break out on the left wing!

”In the first confrontation, Piszczek didn’t let Ma’el pass.”

From the live broadcast room, He Wei’s voice carried a hint of anticipation, ”Their contest on the left flank is one of the match’s highlights.

”This is a collision between the Premier League’s super burst and the Bundesliga’s best fullback on the Champions League stage!”