The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1 Chapter 086

Clairefontaine revived in the morning of April.

Gao and Giroud went to the restaurant together for a meal. In the past few days, his relationship with Giroud had grown quite close.

Giroud himself had no roots in the national team and was Benzema’s substitute. Naturally, he felt a stronger affinity for fringe players like Gao, coupled with Gao’s deliberate efforts to forge a closer bond.

The two were almost like brothers from different fathers and mothers.

Gao thought, if possible, he still needed to find Kante, but he had no idea where Kante played before joining Leicester City.

“Forget it, let’s take it one step at a time.”

Gao knew that Kante was also a good person and not difficult to approach.

Reading the morning paper during breakfast was a habit among the players.

However,

Gao frowned when he saw today’s newspaper.

Le Figaro published an interview with Nasri, in which Nasri sarcastically remarked, “I still say the same thing, the current French team is not a monolith, and some people are always trying to create division. The national team is a place to achieve results for this country, not a training ground for young people. We need strength, not potential…”

These words almost directly named Gao.

Gao sneered. Nasri’s previous petty actions hadn’t been settled, and now he’s at it again, is he?

Gao silently put down the newspaper and followed his teammates to the training ground to begin the final day of training.

Tomorrow was the intra-squad match, after which everyone could go home.

The April training camp thus came to an end, with one more friendly match scheduled for May.

The end of May marked the moment when France’s final 23-man squad for the European Championship would be confirmed.

Inside the training ground.

Although almost everyone had read the report on Nasri’s interview, it seemed no one paid it any mind.

Only Blanc’s eyes constantly roamed over the players, wondering what he was thinking.

“Hey, Gao, do you think you can make it to the European Championship?”

Giroud asked after training.

Gao shook his head, “I don’t care if I can make it to the European Championship. That’s not something I can control. All I can control is to help the team score as much as possible when I’m on the field, and to train hard off the field. As for the rest, thinking too much will only bring more trouble.”

After speaking, Gao retorted, “What? Are you worried about not making the squad?”

“Yeah.” Giroud didn’t evade, nodding, “I’m almost 26. This is my first potential major national team tournament experience, so I’m really worried about being left out.”

Gao shook his head, “Don’t worry, you’ll definitely make the squad. It’s just that you might not have a stable starting spot. That guy from Real Madrid will take the starting position.”

“Karim? Yes, he plays with natural talents like Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale at Real Madrid.”

Giroud’s voice was slightly low when he said this.

He never considered himself a genius. Everyone said he was a late bloomer, but wasn’t that also something he had accumulated little by little with time and sweat?

Gao patted Giroud’s shoulder heavily, “Compared to that arrogant guy, you are the player the team needs most. The French team can still become world champions without Karim Benzema, but if they lack you…”

Gao shook his head emphatically, “It won’t work.”

Why did Giroud like Gao? It was because this kid, at such a young age, always spoke words that resonated deeply with him.

However, he didn’t think Gao’s words were factual. The French team’s world championship seemed a long way off.

Giroud wondered if he would see it in his career.

He looked at Gao.

A thought emerged in his mind, “Will he be the future of the French team?”

He had no answer yet.

The next day.

At the French national team training ground in Clairefontaine, there were only two or three scattered reporters.

This kind of intra-squad match was not open to the public; these were all embedded reporters.

Even if they took pictures, they wouldn’t release them unless permitted by the national team.

The players, wearing red and yellow training bibs, began to warm up.

Blanc divided the 33 players into two teams, A and B, with a few substitutes on each team.

He didn’t divide them into the usual starting and reserve teams.

Instead, he divided them based on the players’ relationships – for example, Giroud was the main center forward for Team B, his partner was Gao on the right wing, and the defensive line consisted of Rami, Debuchy…

On the other side, the “Four Little Swans” were all present.

As the players from both sides stood at the center circle, Nasri’s gaze fixed on Gao, a hint of playful mockery on his lips.

In his opinion, Gao, a guy who hadn’t even played in the top league, was purely here to be served up.

Beep!

The assistant coach, acting as the referee, blew the whistle, and the match began.

Intra-squad matches usually had a slower pace, with the focus on team cohesion and familiarizing with the coach’s tactics.

But this French team’s match was a bit different.

Both sides were giving it their all.

Soon after the start, Nasri and Ben Arfa combined on the right flank, fiercely attacking the penalty area. They dribbled left and right, shaking off defenders, and unleashed a powerful shot.

Fortunately, the second-choice goalkeeper, Carrasso, reacted quickly and parried the ball away, defusing the attack.

Conversely, Team B immediately launched a counter-attack down the left wing, with Ribery quickly advancing with the ball.

However, Ribery either wasn’t in form or didn’t consider this match important. He tried to cut inside but had the ball tackled away by Clichy.

The early stages were mainly dominated by Team A’s offense. The “Four Little Swans” indeed showed good footwork.

Nasri and Ben Arfa were particularly active.

Blanc watched from the sidelines, his brows furrowed.

The stronger they were, the smaller the chances of him taking control. Even in clubs, it was difficult for a coach to fully determine the lineup, let alone in the national team.

“Defend!”

Suddenly, Matuidi shouted.

Debuchy cleared the ball with a big kick inside the penalty area. Giroud won the header, flicking the ball to Gao.

Menez immediately moved to cover, trying to steal the ball from Gao’s feet.

But after receiving the ball, Gao simply pushed and pulled, completely shaking off Menez.

Gao accelerated!

His absolute speed wasn’t fast, so Menez could still keep up, attempting to pull him back. But Gao made a sudden stop, evaded him, and then passed the ball to the supporting Giroud.

Gao continued to accelerate, charging forward.

After reaching top speed, Gao suddenly burst into a second acceleration!

Completely shaking off Menez.

Giroud also saw the opportunity in front of Gao at this moment and played a horizontal pass.

At the same time, Nasri tracked back into position. In fact, most of the time Nasri didn’t track back, but this time he deliberately wanted to give Gao a taste of his own medicine.

Seeing the ball passed in Gao’s direction, he immediately blocked the path.

On the other side, Evra also closed in.

However,

Gao didn’t slow down or stop the ball. He simply poked the ball forward, and the ball went through Nasri’s legs.

With the “Rampage” buff, Gao’s speed was extremely fast, and he suddenly burst through between Nasri and Evra.

In a flash of lightning.

Neither Nasri nor Evra had time to react.

Gao burst out, the angle was already very tight, but Giroud had followed up in the center.

A reverse pass.

Giroud threw himself forward, bringing down Mexes, who was marking him, along with him. Both extended their legs.

Giroud’s was a bit longer.

Swish!

Mandanda had no time to react at all.

Team B scored the first goal.

Gao paused for a moment, excitedly pointing his finger at Giroud, who was running towards him after getting up, “Well done! Big Giroud!”

“Haha! Your pass was brilliant!”

Gao was the first to call him “Big Giroud.” Giroud didn’t know why he was called that, but it sounded powerful, so he gladly accepted it.

The two embraced in celebration.

The rest of their teammates also rushed over, joining in the embrace and celebration.

Blanc’s face lit up.

He looked at Nasri, who was shrugging at his teammates, and his mood brightened considerably, “Do you think no one can replace you…?”