On the night of October 9th, Maël once again arrived at the Clairefontaine training camp in Paris, beginning another journey for the international match day.
His schedule this month is quite packed. Including the one league match and one Champions League match that just ended, he has a total of six club matches to play, as well as three national team matches.
Of course, he won't appear in some of the matches. The final specific degree of fatigue depends on the rotation arrangements of Wenger and Deschamps.
After arriving at the room and settling down, Maël received a call from Deschamps, who wanted him to come to his office.
He agreed, took a shower to wash away the fatigue, and then went to Deschamps' office, where he soon met the Basque coach.
"You're here."
Deschamps smiled and asked, "Have you seen the schedule for this time?"
"Not yet." Maël shook his head, sat down opposite Deschamps, and waited for the other party to continue.
"On October 11th, we have a friendly match with the Korean Team, mainly to train the troops."
Deschamps got up and walked to the water dispenser, pouring water for Maël, and said, "Then on October 15th, there will be the third round of the European Qualifiers against the Armenian Team, and then on October 19th, the fourth round of the European Qualifiers against the Czech Team.
"Once this is over, this year's European Qualifiers will be completely finished, and the remaining games will be in next year."
Korean Team, Maël pursed his lips. The reputation of this country in various sports really makes it hard not to be prejudiced.
The 'shocking' dance of the 2002 World Cup left an indelible shadow on the Portugal Team and many other teams, and also labeled them.
In addition, in many other sports, they can often rush to the top of the hot searches in various countries, but in an ugly image.
"I saw your club's schedule. After you go back on the 20th, you have four more games to play, which averages less than three days for one game."
Deschamps poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Maël, and then said, "I talked to Wenger, and he told me to take care of you and not to injure you. That's what I think too.
"So, you only need to play in two of these three games.
"I called you here this time to ask if you have any objections to this, and to discuss the rotation arrangements with you."
Deschamps glanced at Maël. Out of respect for the players, he wanted to discuss this matter with Maël in advance, rather than notifying the players when the game was approaching.
Because Maël, who has already scored 23 goals for the French Team, may be able to break the record left by Henry at the age of twenty if he can maintain his hot state.
Players may want more games and try their best in the pre-match preparations for each game.
If you tell the players that you don't need to play at that time, it may obviously chill the players' hearts and affect the relationship between the two.
Deschamps may not have this worry about other people, but Maël is obviously the kind of player who needs special treatment.
"Of course not."
Maël smiled and shook his head, "Mr. Deschamps can just make this arrangement directly, any player can understand it."
"Okay." Deschamps looked at Maël gently, "Then which two of these three games do you prefer to play? "If there are no accidents, you definitely want to play in the two European Qualifiers, right?"
Maël thought for a while, and after thinking about it, he said, "Actually, I would prefer to play against the Korean Team and the Czech Team. I haven't encountered any Asian teams yet, and I want to feel it. Anyway, they are all international A-level events."
That's what he said, but what he thought in his heart was completely different.
In this life, he has such strength, and now he has this rare opportunity, he naturally looks forward to having a contest with the Korean Team and bullying the Koreans. This kind of thinking is human nature.
As for the Armenian Team, although there are now a group of masters such as Mkhitaryan, and the world ranking is also good, it obviously cannot pose any threat to the French Team.
"Oh?" Deschamps' eyes showed obvious surprise. He didn't ask for details, but lowered his head to consider for a moment, finally looking up and saying, "I respect your idea, but in that case, I will still bring you to play against the Armenian Team.
"If the situation isn't right in the second half, you might still have to play.
"You have to consider this carefully. If you play three games in a row, you'll definitely miss two games at the end of the month when you return to the club. You're in a crucial period of trying to reach 49 unbeaten games, so..."
"I understand." A bright smile appeared on Maël's face, and he was already predicting the game against the Korean Team in his mind.
He was actually quite confident. His stamina this season was much better than in the first half of last season, so playing two more games wouldn't matter much.
"The European Qualifiers have a total of 10 games. In previous years, about 25 points would be enough to qualify directly for the World Cup as the top of the group."
Deschamps suddenly brought up a new topic. He stood up and walked to the schedule, looking at it as he said, "As I said last time, this is our only way.
"We have already raised the expectations of fans across the country and even the world with the European Cup. If we can't qualify directly, we will be under great public pressure.
"Even if we lose a game, we will become the target of public criticism. Finishing first in the group and directly qualifying for the 2014 World Cup is our goal."
He suddenly turned around and smiled at Maël, "I believe we can do it, because we have the best player in the world, a player who can perform excellently in any game."
Maël's heart stirred, and he smiled as well. Being praised like this by the head coach to his face was still a little embarrassing.
However, this feeling wasn't bad.
October 11th, in the cafeteria, the French Team players were eating their last meal before the game against the Korean Team.
Maël sat with Arsenal players such as Sagna, eating and chatting.
"It's a pity you're being rotated."
Sagna looked at Maël with a look of regret, sighing exaggeratedly, "I thought you could raise your number of national team goals to 30 during this international match day."
"30 goals?" Koscielny, who was sitting next to him as a center-back, obviously had no concept of this number, and looked blankly, "I remember Henry only has 51 goals, is Maël going to exceed half of that so quickly?"
"After the last game against Malta, his number of national team goals was 23."
Sagna looked at him with disdain, seemingly despising his memory, "With his recent form, is it difficult to score 7 goals in 3 games?"
"It doesn't seem difficult..." Koscielny murmured, a look of shock slowly appearing on his face, and even the movement of eating slowed down a lot, as if he had entered slow motion.
While everyone was chatting, Maël inadvertently glanced in Giroud's direction and noticed that the other party was lowering his head, with an obviously depressed expression.
He remembered the starting lineup against the Korean Team, and it seemed that Giroud's name wasn't on it. This might be because he hadn't gotten much playing time in Arsenal recently, and Deschamps was worried about his form.
"Giroud."
After finishing his meal, Maël stopped Giroud, who was about to leave the cafeteria, and followed him with a smile, "Let's go for a walk together."
"Ah, okay." Giroud was a little surprised, but he still stayed in place to wait for Maël.
Walking out of the cafeteria side by side, Maël went straight to the point, "Are you in a bad mood?"
Giroud lowered his head again, but after raising it again, he was also frank, "I'm very envious of you guys, sometimes I feel like I'm not cut out to play football."
Just as Maël took a breath to speak, Giroud continued, "Although in the eyes of others, I play football in Arsenal, and I was also selected for the French Team and won the European Cup, I'm a winner in life.
"But compared to you guys, I always feel a sense of frustration."
As he spoke, he also opened his heart, saying, "I only entered the national team at the age of 25, and I only went to a top team at the age of 26.
"Sometimes I get lost wondering what I'm even persisting for. Maybe I should just leave European football early and go to a platform that can offer higher wages."
"Several Chinese Super League teams have contacted me before, but I refused. Looking back, I regret it a bit now."
Saying this, he sighed deeply, as if he had to get it off his chest. "Recently, I've been really stressed. After Bale finished his break-in period, it seems like there's no place for me at the club, and my position in the national team is also in danger."
"I saw your meteoric rise, and I also saw Griezmann, who was selected for the national team before me, and that exceptionally talented black midfielder, Pogba, I think he should be coming soon too."
"Maybe I'm just a passerby in this team and at Arsenal. I shouldn't complain so much, sorry."
Maël listened to him quietly, then smiled and put his hand on his shoulder. "For center forwards, 25-6 years old is just the beginning, isn't it? How old do you think you can play until? If you keep up the discipline."
Giroud thought for a moment and replied, "35? 38 if I'm lucky?"
"That's at least 10 more years." Maël shrugged and glanced at Giroud. "Anything is possible, isn't it?"
"Does Platini's European Cup record seem unbreakable? Are Henry's national team goals and assists records unbreakable? Yes, they seem very difficult, but as long as you work hard, nothing is impossible."
Giroud nodded thoughtfully, then gave a wry smile. "But Maël, that's you, not me."
"I guessed you'd say that." Maël wore a knowing smile and patted his arm. "But you can score goals for the French Team, and you can score goals for Arsenal."
"Keep moving forward, keep approaching in one direction, and do that for 10 years. Why wouldn't you be able to surpass Henry and sit at the top of the French Team's all-time scorer list?"
He vaguely remembered that later, Giroud surpassed Henry and a host of other famous players to sit at the top of the national team's all-time scorer list.
Giroud's story is actually quite inspiring, and he's also a representative of late bloomers, which may be related to his position.
Giroud paused, then nodded thoughtfully, seeming to understand a lot of things.
"Of course, being able to surpass Henry doesn't mean you can surpass me." Maël joked with a smile, teasing his teammate.
"Haha...!" They both laughed together, but it was clear that Giroud's mood had improved a lot.
When they returned to the dormitory, a mass text message made them take out their phones at the same time.
Giroud saw it first, his eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Mene has a cold, Deschamps is starting me instead, I'm so lucky!"
Soon, his face changed drastically, and he clasped his hands together and said, "Oh, I'm sorry Mene, you know I never want you to have a cold or fever, and I don't want you to have any injuries."
"Haha...!"
"Clap!"
They laughed again, and this time they even completed a high-five.
They quickly went upstairs to prepare, both looking forward to the arrival of this match. Their last collaboration was in September.
Outside the Stade de France, about 2400+ South Korean expeditionary forces had arrived.
Including the students who came from nearby, there were nearly 3000 Asian faces gathered near the stadium.
This match was a very important one for South Korean fans. They wouldn't travel to Europe for a friendly match every time.
After all, there aren't many opportunities to play against the current European Cup champion, and there aren't many opportunities to play against top stars.
Their Asian Qualifiers were also in full swing, and the Korean Team's chances of qualifying were a bit tense. The fans were hoping that the team could learn a lot from this match, improve their form, and then rush into the World Cup in one fell swoop.
"Will Son Heung-min start?"
"That kid from Hamburg? I reckon so, but I think he just finished the league, so he should be a bit tired."
"Which player from the French Team hasn't just played in the league? Maël just played and scored 2 goals and 1 assist."
The Korean Team fans were chatting outside the stadium, their voices loud and boisterous, drawing curious glances from passersby.
"Here to see Ki Sung-yueng, our senior!"
"I want to curse Kim Young-gwon! Aish, why would such a prodigy go to a Chinese Super League team on the other side? Does he think he can win the Asian championship there? He must have been blinded by the high salary!"
"The football level there is very low; the league is like a game of make-believe."
"Eh, I heard Maël is starting today; that's a real surprise. It's great to see him."
"I heard he has Korean blood; his ancestors were one of us."
"Isn't it Chinese?"
"Korean!"
"."
After chatting for a while, they gathered together in an organized manner, cheering for the match.
"Korean Team! Korean Team!"
"Crush the French Team! Let the European Cup champions taste our power, make Maël submit! Siba!!"
"Eh!!"
"Clap clap... clap...!" The fans clapped their hands, chanting slogans, and walked into the stadium with murderous intent.
The people at the very back somehow got into a conflict with the French Team fans, and the two sides kicked each other a few times, but the conflict didn't escalate thanks to the mounted police.
After being pulled away, the Korean fans were very arrogant, baring their teeth and roaring at the French, "Go to hell! We'll strip your pants off, robbers!"
Although the French fans couldn't understand, they probably knew they were being cursed and gave the international friendly gesture.
This scene was also recorded by reporters and posted on social media, and patrolling Korean fans quickly rushed over.
"No manners!"
"What kind of people are they?"
"We must win this game! We'll go after them after the match!"
"Kick over Maël! Let him see our intensity!"
"Where can I watch the live broadcast?"
"KT seems to have it."
"Let's go watch!"
"."
Not long after, both team buses arrived at the stadium, and the match was about to begin.
On the famous Korean telecommunications company KT, two Korean commentators also began broadcasting the match, and they generally attached great importance to this match.
"Hello, friends of the audience, welcome to the international A-level match exclusively broadcast by KT, the match between the Korean Team and the French Team!"
"Today's French Team has sent out almost its entire main lineup, which is a great threat to us."
"Yes, yes!"
"."
Thus, everything was being prepared intensively, and the players from both sides finally gathered in the player tunnel at 5:15 pm.
Maël stood at the front, looking straight ahead, but he was clearly a little absent-minded.
Just now, Isabella sent a message saying that after this game, she had some special news to tell him.
In fact, without spending too much effort to guess, he quickly thought of the other party's previous abnormality, and understood what probably happened.
What to do? This is what he is currently thinking. This is not something that can be easily decided, and must be carefully considered. For now, let's concentrate on the game and have some fun with the Korean Team first!
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