On May 2nd, on a BBC program, Lineker and Alan Shearer appeared in front of the camera again. After completing the opening remarks, they steered the topic to Sheffield United.
"Mr. Alan Shearer."
Lineker looked at Alan Shearer with a teasing expression and said, "In the first half of the season, we discussed Sheffield United's excellent performance, especially mentioning Gareth Speed and Maël from their team.
"Now that the EFL Championship is about to end, when we look back at our evaluation of them at that time, what new thoughts do you have?"
Alan Shearer's expression was slightly awkward. He remembered saying that if Gareth Speed led the team to Promotion to the Super League, he would streak around the Thames River.
Fortunately, everyone tacitly knew that such flags are rarely fulfilled.
He only needed to be prepared to be teased, not actually go to the Thames River.
"We underestimated them."
Alan Shearer stabilized his mentality and analyzed from a professional perspective as much as possible: "Sheffield United is about to complete an outstanding season, an incredible season, they represent the spirit of competition.
"We all know that the EFL Championship has as many as 46 rounds of matches each season, but in the past, the teams that won the championship often had scores around 90 points, and some even fell below 90, which is unreasonable, almost the same as the 38 rounds of the Premier League.
"The reason is simple: it is difficult for mid-to-lower teams to put pressure on the upper teams, and the competition among the upper teams can hardly be called fierce.
"After Sheffield United's sudden emergence this season, they strengthened the competition, forcing other upper teams to make changes and do their best to win and earn points, which raised the level of competition in the league.
"As a result, we have all seen that two teams have already broken 100 points this season, and Norwich, ranked third, has also broken the highest score record of previous seasons."
Lineker nodded slightly, leading the topic: "What do you think made them emerge suddenly, Gareth Speed?"
"Haha..."
Alan Shearer smiled and shook his head, denying, "Although the flag I set for Gareth Speed has caused me to be teased by many fans recently, I still have to say that, at least when he first took office, he did not have the ability to coach an EFL Championship title-contending team.
"Why Sheffield United emerged suddenly is something everyone knows—because of Maël."
Lineker adjusted his headset, he had just wanted to guide the topic here, "Yes, it is indeed because of Maël, he has achieved unimaginable achievements this season, and most of the team's goals are related to him.
"39 goals and 27 assists in a single season, either one of which could make a player the best of the season, but he has combined these two outrageous statistics into one! 66 goals created in 45 rounds in his debut season, I must say that no football genius has reached his level in his debut season! He has almost redefined genius and demonstrated extraordinary standards."
"Not even Ronaldo?" Alan Shearer asked with a smile, this is a hot topic on the internet now.
"No!"
Lineker firmly answered, risking being scolded, he believed in his judgment, "Look at his achievements, he has already led the team to complete the promotion task, in addition, he also won the Top Scorer and Assists Leader, and both in record-breaking ways.
"You must believe that he has the ability to secure a starting position in a Premier League powerhouse at the age of 18, and slowly pursue those records in the Premier League."
Speaking of this, he remembered something and laughed: "I just remembered that Mr. Alan Shearer is the holder of the Premier League goal record, do you think his landing in the Premier League next season will bring you pressure?"
"No." Alan Shearer straightened his back, he was no longer sleepy when talking about this, and smiled: "At least he has to wait until he is over 23 years old, when he reaches his prime, to have a chance to take this record, right?
"Don't say I'm confident, look, even Cristiano failed to break my record before he left, haha."
Lineker nodded, what he said made some sense, but he always felt that this magical kid might bring surprises to everyone when he lands in the Premier League.
...
In the next few days, Maël adjusted his state well and quietly waited for the game to arrive.
On May 4th, he stopped the extra training tasks and used all his time to rest, striving to appear in the best posture at Queen's Park Rangers' home stadium, Loftus Road Stadium.
"I got you tickets."
That afternoon, he took out 11 tickets and gave 2 to Safina and Harry, and smiled: "Then, sit with Mr. Wenger and my family."
After his aunt asked him for 5 tickets, people have been asking him for tickets for this focused battle in the past few days.
First, his youth team coach, Hans, called and asked him to help get 2 tickets, saying that he wanted to come with Mr. Wenger.
Then there was Mr. Mendes, who noticed the importance of this game and also said he wanted to witness it live.
Finally, Miss Isabella, after asking if his relatives would come, actually asked him for tickets, saying that she couldn't book them all the time, which was a bit outrageous, she could obviously buy them at a high price directly.
In this way, Maël asked the club for 9 VIP tickets in a row, and added 2 more after thinking of Harry and Safina.
A cheering squad of 11 relatives and friends.
He was doing quite well, with two Premier League team coaches, a top agent, two Super League-level therapists, a rich lady, and five family members in his cheering squad.
"Phew"
Exhaling, Maël felt a surge of pressure in his heart. If he didn't play well, it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
"Mr. Wenger is coming too?"
Safina's expression shifted, and she asked curiously, "What about your agent? Is he coming?"
"Yes, he is."
Maël smiled. It seemed Mendes had some influence in this circle. "You'll all be together then."
"That's great."
Harry held the tickets and sighed, "You have to play well. So many important people are watching. We want to see you lift the trophy."
"I will."
Maël clenched his fist and went to his room to rest. Passing Gilbert's room, he saw him meditating with headphones on, probably feeling immense pressure as well.
He didn't disturb him, went around to his room to rest, and waited for Harry's massage therapy.
On the morning of May 6th, his uncle's family arrived in Sheffield City, their second visit this year.
"Little star!"
"Brother is a big star!"
Compared to last time, they had gradually accepted Maël's transformation, and they got along very well from the moment they met.
Maël took them to a restaurant, arranged their accommodation, and booked a business car for them to go to the Fulham district of London tomorrow before preparing to leave.
"Take two more tickets."
He handed the tickets for Wenger and Hans to them, asking them to keep them together: "Mr. Wenger and Coach Hans will come together tomorrow. They are very busy and will only arrive near the stadium before the match.
"I'll give you Hans's phone number later. Contact him and give him the tickets."
"Okay." Clermont took the tickets and put them in his bag, knowing that these were for important people and he had to take good care of them.
"Wait."
Clermont remembered something, his eyes lighting up: "Are we sitting next to Wenger?"
"Yes." Maël nodded, knowing that this would be even more shocking to his uncle's family than sitting with McCabe last time.
In France, Wenger's status was unimaginable. If Zidane was the representative of French football players, then Wenger was the representative of French coaches.
Their influence in the world was comparable.
"That's great!"
Clermont grinned, showing two rows of teeth, and exchanged a look with Betty, both of them looking very excited.
His eldest sister Maqi picked up the youngest, Ava, to celebrate the opportunity to sit with the old gentleman and watch her brother play football.
"Will you go back to Arsenal next season, brother?"
His second younger brother, Bruno, looked expectant and yearned, "If you go back, we can go to the Emirates Stadium to watch you play in the future."
That was a completely different place, with more than 60,000 people attending each game, and the players on the field were all familiar to fans around the world.
"It's already confirmed that I'm going back."
Maël replied with a smile, knowing what they were thinking. He was also looking forward to it, but he would take it one step at a time.
Without chatting further, he left the hotel where his family was staying and headed to a café he had arranged to meet Mendes.
"Long time no see."
Mendes was wearing a comical, bright red suit with a slightly reflective material, making him look much younger. "I thought I would see you next time in London, but I didn't expect it to still be in Sheffield."
"It's actually London."
Maël was in a good mood when he saw him. "Queens Park Rangers' home stadium is in London. It's your fault for running to Sheffield first."
"Wow."
Mendes made an exaggeratedly shocked expression and put his arm around Maël's shoulder. "Before such an important game, if I didn't come to see you first and stabilize your mentality, then I would be too unqualified as an agent, wouldn't I?"
"What if it increases my nervousness?"
Maël raised an eyebrow, jokingly saying to him, "Some people are just like that, the more expectations they carry, the more nervous they become."
"Afraid of losing after wanting to win?" Mendes summarized such people, shaking his head and saying, "Kid, you're definitely not that kind of player. If you had that kind of thinking, you wouldn't have made it this far with this team."
"Haha..."
Maël laughed. They both had a cup of coffee, and after he gave Isabella's ticket to Mendes, he said goodbye.
He returned to the club, packed his things, and boarded the team bus to head to Queen's Park Rangers' home stadium.
The great battle was about to begin.
...
The next day, countless vendors selling fireworks appeared on the streets of Sheffield City.
They had heard that the residents of this city had been ordering fireworks recently, seemingly in preparation for the final championship battle, so they hurried over to seize the last day of market demand.
"Give me two boxes!"
"I want five boxes!"
"How many pounds per box?"
This indeed attracted a lot of Sheffield people to snap them up. Many of them couldn't go to the away game today and could only watch the broadcast at home.
In that case, why not buy more fireworks? If the team wins the championship, they'll light up the Sheffield United sky with fireworks! Let everyone in Sheffield, including themselves, know that at this moment, everyone is together! Of course, they couldn't be too happy too soon; if the team lost the game, they would have bought them for nothing.
The fireworks in the Fulham district of London would definitely sell out today as well. It just depended on who could laugh last and set them off into the sky.
...
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Sheffield United expedition began to depart one after another.
Some drove themselves, and some took pre-arranged buses. Along the way, Sheffield traffic police rode motorcycles to clear the way for them, maintain order, and minimize traffic jams and accidents.
The away team tickets released were two thousand five hundred, but the number of people going to London was definitely no less than fifteen thousand.
They would occupy the surrounding bars and watch the game in the fan square that had been arranged in advance.
"Deng deng deng!"
"Bang bang bang!!"
...
At five o'clock, many Sheffield United fans had already appeared around Loftus Road Stadium. They slowly gathered together, beating gongs and drums, and singing the team's anthem.
The atmosphere of the game began to become tense and fierce from this moment on. Everyone knew that the moment that would determine their fate this season was coming! At six thirty, a bus with the Sheffield United team logo drove in through the controlled roads, and the team's players and coaches arrived from the hotel.
"Ooh ooh...!" This caused a commotion. Tens of thousands of Sheffield United fans gathered at the fence, waving their hands to greet them, letting them know that they were here to support them.
On the bus, the atmosphere was silent. Most people were wearing headphones, doing their final relaxation.
Maël sat in his usual seat in the back row, taking deep breaths to adjust his heart rate. After hearing the shouts, he opened the curtains a little to peek at the fans outside, feeling a sense of peace.
The first championship battle of his career was really coming... He had never thought that his first championship battle would not be a cup match, but a league match.
The weight of the league was very heavy. It represented the efforts of the entire season, more than 46 games of hard work spanning over a year!
He didn't want these 46 games to be like the autumn wind, sweeping away the fallen leaves and then leaving directly. At least some souvenirs had to be left behind! He had enough personal souvenirs already, so now he would see if he could leave some important souvenirs for the team.
Team honors were no weaker than individual honors. In some awards, important awards such as the Champions League and the World Cup accounted for a very high proportion.
Come on!
Put all your efforts into this one battle!!
He cheered himself up in his heart, hoping to walk out of London with a smile today.
...
At seven twenty-five, Maël held the hand of a ball boy and stood in the player tunnel of Loftus Road Stadium, preparing for the entrance ceremony.
The player tunnel seemed very quiet. Apart from the cheers coming from outside, it was rare to hear players and staff talking.
Everyone's mood was the same: excited and heavy, nervous and expectant. No one would have any other thoughts in their minds.
"Let's go!"
With the referee's whistle, all the players followed the referee's steps and walked out of the player tunnel.
Maël passed through the tunnel with a blue-based color scheme and entered Loftus Road Stadium. This was a small stadium with only one tier of stands, but it was clean and tidy overall, very refreshing.
They would decide the EFL Championship title for the 10-11 season here! After a simple pre-match ceremony, an old man brought the EFL Championship trophy out of the player tunnel and placed it on a high platform that had been set up at the entrance of the tunnel.
"Oh!!"
The fans of both teams cheered, their eyes filled with extreme desire, hoping that their team would ultimately lift the final trophy! Standing in their positions waiting to play, most of the Queens Park Rangers players cast curious glances at Maël and Gilbert, two completely new faces they hadn't seen in the first half of the season.
In that match, they defeated this team four to zero, easily achieving a season-opening victory.
They wondered if Sheffield United, with Maël and Gilbert and several new players, would become more difficult to deal with this time.
They also cheered themselves on, hoping for a good result.
"BEEP!!"
At 7:30 in the evening, with the referee's whistle, this final battle of the EFL Championship finally began, and the atmosphere inside the stadium instantly heated up.
Maël rushed across the halfway line at top Speed, quickly pressing while also warming up his body.
"The match begins! This is a decisive battle concerning the fate of both teams, the most heated and focused match of this EFL Championship season!"
In the commentary box, the Sky Sports commentator's voice was filled with passion: "Two teams with over a hundred points are engaged in a fierce competition! Only one team can be crowned champion today, let's see who has the last laugh! Let's take a look at the starting lineups, for Sheffield United, the goalkeeper is Robert, the defense..."
In the stands, in the away team's VIP area, Maël's family sat.
To their left were Mr. Wenger and Hans, along with a middle-aged man dressed in a suit, looking like an elite, and to their right were a beautiful British girl and two therapists serving their nephew.
"Olé! Olé olé olé!" Below them, more than three thousand Sheffield United fans stood watching the game, constantly jumping and making noise, warming up the atmosphere of the stadium.
Outside the stadium fence behind them, many Sheffield United fans were either hanging on the fence or observing the situation inside through small gaps in the gate.
People were everywhere! Hundreds of thousands of people would also be watching this game in front of their televisions, anticipating the ultimate champion!
"Go, big brother!" Ava stood up, clenching her small fists to cheer for her brother.
Compared to other areas, the people here seemed more restrained, with no large-scale cheering activities taking place.
"Maël's sister?"
Mr. Wenger, seeing Ava's appearance, smiled and waved for her to come over.
Ava was not shy and walked generously to Mr. Wenger's side. "Are you the coach of Arsenal?"
"Haha..."
Mr. Wenger chuckled softly, stood up, picked up Ava, and faced the direction of the field. "Do you think your brother will score today?"
"Definitely!"
Ava's eyes sparkled with confidence as she waved her arms and said, "He scores every time!"
"I hope your words bring good luck."
Mr. Wenger held Ava for a while, then put her back on the ground, sat back down, and focused his attention on the field.
On the other side, Isabella saw this scene and beckoned to Ava, took out a few candies from her bag, and handed them to Ava. "Here, little one, candy that big sister bought in France."
This quickly won Ava over. She took the candy, unwrapped it, and praised, "Pretty big sister."
Isabella's thin lips parted to reveal her pearly teeth, and she chuckled softly as she picked up Ava and placed her in her arms, preparing to watch the game while holding her.
Soon, seeing Maël's first touch of the ball, she stood up from her seat, looking down at the situation.
The other ten people beside her also stood up one after another, and even Mr. Wenger, without regard for his status, cast an expectant gaze towards the left side of the field.
-----------
This high quality machine translation is powered by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
To read the full translation, as well as more than 130+ full translations or to request new translations, check out: https:// randomtranslator.com/
You can also join the Random Translator Community on Discord to connect with other readers: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------