From Arsenal to the Ball God

Ma’el didn’t pay much attention to his opponents, instead he looked up at the stadium, feeling the glory of stepping onto this field.

The grandeur of the closing ceremony kept flashing through his mind, and his ears were filled with the fans’ screams.

Just stepping onto this pitch, he felt like tears were filling his eyes, eager to start the championship battle here!

”While the captains of both teams are conducting the coin toss, let’s take a look at the starting players for both sides. These are two incredibly star-studded lineups.

”Spain’s coach Bosque, as one of the most outstanding managers in today’s world football, has steadfastly chosen the lineup arrangement from previous matches for this final.

”Goalkeeper Casillas, center-backs Pique alongside Ramos, left-back Alba, right-back Aveloya.

”In midfield are Busquets in the center, flanked by Javi and Alonso.

”Attacking midfielder Fabregas, with David Silva and Iniesta upfront.

”However, we all know that their formation is not concrete, the team surely has a six-midfield no-striker formation!

”The six front players will rely on their strong personal ability and creativity to constantly rotate and switch positions, anyone might suddenly move forward and become that assassin!

”This is a strategy that relies on their configuration, but since this Spanish team has the strongest midfield configuration ever seen in football history?

”It’s hard to find a more formidable midfield lineup than theirs. Even including the defenders, their starting eleven ranks within the top three in historical dynasty teams!”

”.....”

”As for France, Deschamps has made some changes to the starting lineup compared to the last match! The team shifted to a 4-1-4-1 formation!”

”Goalkeeper Lori, center-backs Koscielny and Rami, left-back Klich, right-back Sagna.

”Single defensive midfielder Matuidi, with two midfielders in front of him: Malouda and Yohan Cabaye.

”On the wings are Ma’el and Nasri, with Giroud still as the center forward.

”Deschamps made a compromise, choosing to reinforce the midfield control and defensive capabilities; otherwise, it would be difficult to withstand Spain’s six-midfield impact with any formation including 4-4-2!

”Malouda and Yohan Cabaye should fall back to their own penalty area edge during defense, forming a seven-man defensive unit.

”Even Nasri might drop back if there’s time, leaving only Ma’el and Giroud upfront!”

”.....”

”Looking at the starting lineups, both teams have obvious strengths and vulnerabilities.

”Spain’s vulnerability is their right-back Aveloya, an attack-oriented full-back up against Ma’el’s assault, which might be quite challenging for him.

”France’s vulnerability is the team’s central and back defense, even though they have crowded the area, it seems difficult to resist Spain’s extraordinary control and offensive capabilities.

”But Deschamps and Bosque are undoubtedly aware of this. The former aims to achieve balance with Ma’el’s aggressive power, the latter aims to use ball control to substitute defense, reducing the time France’s speedster has the ball.”

”.....”

At Warsaw National Stadium, both teams’ starting players stood in the center of the field, awaiting the referee’s whistle to commence the match.

Ma’el glanced over Spain’s lineup, he’s exceptionally familiar with each face because most of them are historically top-tier players in their positions.

In the history of top three goalkeeper selections, you can’t bypass Casillas; in top ten center-backs, you can’t bypass Pique and Ramos, and Alba is a strong contender for top five left-backs.

Looking at the midfield, even including Xiaofa, they are top-three players in positions like defensive midfielder, playmaking midfielder, attacking midfielder, some are undisputed number one.

Facing them certainly comes with pressure, he needs to trust himself and seize possibly incredibly rare opportunities when they come!

While observing, he noticed Xiaofa deliberately avoided his gaze, obviously not out of fear; the opponent’s expression was still very confident, with a desire for successful revenge.

”Ten...Nine...Eight!”

The stadium’s LED screen suddenly started flashing the countdown, prompting fans throughout to join in, ”Seven...Six...Five...Four!”

As the last three numbers counted down, Ma’el and most players on the field instinctively joined the shout.

They stimulated their brains, using the final moments to make themselves more alert, ”Three...Two...One.....!!”

At the instant of the count reaching 1, Ma’el noticed Fabregas finally directed his gaze towards him, and they exchanged a glance before rushing into the opponent’s half.

”Beep!!” The whistle signaling the start of the European Cup final sounded, David Silva kicked the ball to Iniesta, the latter returned it, initiating the defense’s transmission.

”CCTV!

”CCTV!!

”Viewers, welcome to the live broadcast of the 14th European Cup final in 2012! France and Spain will compete for this championship!”

Under He Wei’s commentary, Spain passed the ball to the right side of their backline, initially testing France’s pressing strength.

Deschamps likely arranged an aggressive opening tactic; France’s players crossed the halfway line with lightning speed, immediately surrounding Alba, who helplessly kicked the ball across to the opposite sideline after a large-scale pass.

Klich went to the sideline to pick up the ball, tossing it directly to Ma’el, who was confronting Aveloya.

Ma’el glanced left and right, choosing to forcefully turn to the center, except for Ramos and Pique, most of Spain’s players couldn’t exert physical pressure on him.