The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 207 Suspension; West-France War

Varane and Griezmann had no idea that this was just Gaio spouting nonsense.

As a player still in the youth team, hearing about things related to the Football Association and the first team gives me the feeling that I'm touching on the unpredictable and treacherous affairs at the highest levels.

They instantly felt like they weren't just youth team players, but rather part of the national team's historical trajectory alongside Gaio.

Gaio remained noncommittal and said no more.

Varane and Griezmann nodded slightly, determined not to say a word to anyone else.

Gaio trusts them so much, what if he tells them these things and they fail to keep the secret and it gets out, harming Gaio?
They both felt a sense of sharing a secret with Gaio.

They are about the same age.

Gaio is so capable, yet he doesn't look down on them and often chats with them. Now he's telling them such a big thing.

Unbeknownst to them, Varane and Griezmann genuinely felt that Gaio was a good brother.

"I'm leaving now. Good luck on your win against Norway the day after tomorrow. I'll be waiting for you with the national team, let's play together."

Giroud and others on the field have finished their game.

Gaio spoke to Varane and Griezmann, who both nodded vigorously.

the next day.

The French team mainly focuses on tactical training; the training for the national team and clubs is different.

The club will focus on developing the individual abilities of its players.

However, in the national team, only players who can be plugged in and used immediately are needed.

All you need to do is execute the head coach's tactics.

"We will play a friendly match against Japan tomorrow, which will serve as a test before the match against Spain. Although it is a friendly, I hope you can execute your tactical plan and use the match to better adapt to the tactics."

Deschamps made these remarks during a training break, and later that afternoon, at a meeting, he distributed the Japanese national team roster to the players.

And the expected starting lineup.

Stephen said, "You're all familiar with Zaccheroni. He's coached Italian powerhouses like AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus. After taking over the Japanese national team two years ago, he led them to victory in the 2011 Qatar Asian Cup. In this match, they'll definitely adopt a more defensive approach against us; a 4-4-2 formation is probably their preferred strategy."

Gaio, listen.

Looking at the information in my hand, here's Japan's starting lineup for the 4-4-2 formation:

Kawashima Eiji
Hiroki Sakai, Yasuyuki Imano, Masaki Yoshida, Yuto Nagatomo

Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, Kengo Nakamura, Hiroshi Kiyotake

Shinji Kagawa, Havener

"I believe you all know about Shinji Kagawa's performance at Manchester United. Patrice, you tell us, you're teammates, no one knows better than you."

Evra stood up and said briefly, "He's very fast. Although he just joined Manchester United, I'm very impressed with him. Last year he was under Klopp."

When Gaio heard the name Shinji Kagawa, he didn't actually think of Kagawa helping Borussia Dortmund defend their Bundesliga title, nor of him becoming the core of the Japanese team and a rising star for Manchester United.

Instead, it was him and Masami Nagasawa.

Shinji Kagawa's epic performance at Dortmund this year, followed by his transfer to Manchester United, has cemented his status as a top Japanese football icon.

Participated in the recording of several Japanese variety shows.

During a conversation with Shun Oguri on the Fuji TV program "Thanks to Everyone No Matter What," she learned that he and Masami Nagasawa had many acting collaborations and expressed her envy.

So the production team followed up with the questions, and Shinji Kagawa was very honest.

He frankly admitted that Masami Nagasawa was his ideal type, and before the show ended, he even gave a long, heartfelt confession.

His words were incredibly cheesy, including claims that he had been secretly in love with Masami Nagasawa for 23 years and that everything about her was perfect to him.

But.

Although Masami Nagasawa's father is a Japanese national football player, she is a member of the "looks-matter" club and would rather be entangled with the hot-tempered Yusuke Iseya than pay attention to Shinji Kagawa.

Masami Nagasawa ignored Shinji Kagawa until he retired.

Gaio once joked with his friends that Masami Nagasawa's response to Shinji Kagawa and Kevin Durant drinking Scarlett Johansson's bathwater were two impossible tasks in the sports world.

At that time, his friend said, "If Shinji Kagawa had half the looks of Shun Oguri, Masami Nagasawa would have responded long ago."

These are all gossip.

Gaio didn't say any of this to Giroud beside him, but instead said, "Tomorrow, use your body to head the ball at them more often, and I'll pass the ball to you."

"it is good!"

However, Gaio glanced around and realized that most of the French players didn't seem to care much about the game.

They weren't interested in a friendly match, especially one between an Asian team.

More attention is focused on the World Cup qualifier against Spain.

This is the highlight.

night.

Gaio chatted with some friends and went to bed early.

In Le Havre, 180 kilometers from Paris.

But a different scene was unfolding.

Griezmann and his teammates chatted in their room, just like the first-team players, talking about their lives playing abroad and sharing all sorts of random things.

Black players, in particular, are more willing to share about the girls they met while playing football in the local area.

They talked until very late.

During this time, M'Vila (the non-first-team M'Vila, who shares the same name) received a phone call from someone asking if he was free to attend a party at a Paris nightclub.

When Mvila told everyone, Mavinga, Ben Yedder, and Niang quickly agreed.

Griezmann felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind.

Gaio's words still echoed in my ears: "Some people within the Football Association felt that the young players were too flamboyant and wanted to make an example of them."

He immediately said, "Sigh, I didn't rest well yesterday and even had extra training. I have training tomorrow morning and a competition in the afternoon. I really can't take it anymore. You guys go ahead."

"Hey bro, you can catch up on some sleep in the car," Mvira was still trying to persuade Griezmann.

“Hey, Antoine, don’t be such a boring person. Parisian nightclub parties, you know,” Ben Yedder winked at Griezmann.

"No, I'm really too tired. Maybe next time. If you have the chance, come to San Sebastian, Spain, and I'll organize a party for you."

Griezmann still refused.

At this point, his mindset was completely different from before. After getting to know Gaio, Giroud, Kanté and others, he began to see himself as half a French first-team player.

He felt he could no longer connect with these people.

After Mvira and the others tried to persuade them for a while without success, they hurriedly went out.

Griezmann then returned to his room.

Lying in bed.

Thinking back on everything that had just happened, he felt a little scared. If Gaio hadn't told him beforehand that the Football Association was cracking down on discipline among young players, he definitely would have gone with them.

Griezmann doesn't know if they will be discovered, or what the consequences will be.

just,

When he vaguely fell asleep, he dreamed that he and Mvira and others were living a life of debauchery in a Paris nightclub.

Young hormones filled the air.

On the way back to the hotel, in his dream he was still urging the driver, "Drive faster, faster!"

Finally, they attended training and competed on time.

I thought everything was fine.

As a result, he received news that he was banned from all levels of the national team for a year and a half.

A strong sense of fear made it hard for him to breathe.

"No, don't ban me! I want to play football! I want to play for France!"

Griezmann sat up abruptly.

A sliver of morning light shone through the gap in the curtains.

It was just a dream.

Griezmann got up, ate breakfast as usual, and then went to the training ground to train.

Head coach Montbaye saw him and asked, "Didn't you sleep well?"

Griezmann shook his head. "No, I was just thinking about the afternoon's game."

Montbaye patted him on the shoulder, "Play normally, no one can beat us."

Griezmann saw M'Vila, Ben Yedder, and others during training.

everything is normal.

However, after training, the vice-captain Varane approached him and said, "Something happened. Someone violated the rules and ran out of the training base last night. The competition is coming up soon, but this matter has been suppressed. I guess they will settle accounts after the competition."

Saying,

Varane sighed, "If Gaio hadn't told us that the FA was specifically targeting this kind of behavior, I think the worst we'd get is a warning and a fine. But now, I think it might escalate and lead to further penalties like suspensions."

Griezmann was stunned.

He was incredibly grateful to Gaio at that moment, and extremely thankful to have heard Gaio reveal the "football association secret".

otherwise.

He must have gone with them last night.

He turned to look at Niang, Ben Yedder, and the others who were chatting and laughing, as if everything was normal.

They had no idea of ​​their fate.

Stade de France.

It rained for a while yesterday, and it was a bit chilly.

Gaio followed his teammates onto the court. Because it was a friendly match, only half of the seats were open, about 40,000 people.

However, the tickets for these 40,000 people were almost sold out.

Even if it's just a friendly match, for French fans, the current French team is very different and worth buying tickets to support.

The DJ at the event was introducing the starting lineup for the French team.

"Number 9 Giroud, Number 13 Kanté."

Every shout from the DJ.

All of these actions elicited cheers from the fans at the scene.

boom!
Boom boom! !
Loud.

but,

When the last name was called, the roof of the Stade de France almost came off.

Number 10—

Gaio!!!

The DJ's voice blared, and the entire stadium erupted in chants of "Gayo!!" "Gayo!!"

One after another.

The Japanese players, looking serious, walked onto the field and lined up to shake hands with the French players.

Courtside.

Deschamps and Zaccheroni shook hands.

Back then, Deschamps played for Juventus, but Zaccheroni coached AC Milan and managed to win a Serie A title in the 1998/1999 season.

The two were acquaintances.

drop!
Game start.

As expected, the Japanese team fielded a 4-4-2 formation, and their starting lineup was almost exactly as predicted before the match.

The Japanese team is quite pragmatic.

Overall, it is at a low level.

France completely controlled the game.

Just beginning.

Both sides are slowly testing each other and getting a feel for the game. In addition, the intensity of the friendly match is not high and the pace is not fast.

Gaio received the ball on the right wing.

He is the player that Japan values ​​most in the French team.

So as soon as he got the ball, Yasuhito Endo and Yuto Nagatomo blocked his way from the front and back.

Furthermore, Japan's left winger, Kengo Nakamura, also dropped back to defend.

That means when Gaio gets the ball, he'll be double-teamed by three defenders.

In addition, Japan's low-post defense left Gaio little space, making it difficult for him to make any impact under such defense.

Gaio passed the ball back, slowly looking for an opportunity.

This game.

Deschamps intentionally gave young players experience, so the midfield combination was not the usual French national team starters.

The midfield trio consisted of Moussa Sissoko and Matuidi up front, with Kante as the lone defensive midfielder.

The two full-backs are Debuchy and Clichy.

They all put on their gear to help the team's offense.

However, the Japanese team's defense was quite tenacious, managing to thwart the French team's attacks time and time again.

Gaio was being closely watched.

Lyon striker Gomis replaced Ribery on the right wing.

He gets the ball more often.

However, none of them managed to create any significant scoring opportunities.

France had a high possession rate, but their overall attacking threat was insufficient, making the game somewhat dull.

Every time Gaio gets the ball, it elicits cheers from the fans in the stadium.

This continued until the end of the first half.

Opportunities are extremely rare.

On the contrary, Shinji Kagawa almost assisted Hafenar in scoring.

Hafenar, a purely white player, stood out somewhat in the Japanese team.

However, Hafenar is not a naturalized player; he is a native-born Japanese international.

His parents were Dutch in their early years, but later became Japanese citizens and subsequently had the Hafenar brothers.

It's like he's a pure Japanese person, except for his face.

Hafenar is 1.94 meters tall, a rare tall center forward in Japan.

During halftime.

Deschamps substituted Gaião, Matuidi, and Kante, replacing them with Capoue, Ribery, and Valbuena.

The effect wasn't very good.

The score remained 0-0 until almost the end of the match.

Until 86 minutes.

France continued their relentless attack, with Giroud unleashing a powerful and fast shot from near the penalty area line, which was saved by Eiji Kawashima.

After the corner kick was taken, Valbuena's shot was blocked by Eiji Kawashima.

Another corner kick.

But this time, after the corner kick was taken, Japan launched a lightning counterattack.

Substitute Yasuyuki Konno received the ball at the edge of his own penalty area and sprinted 70 meters.

The ball was passed wide from the edge of the French penalty area, and Yuto Nagatomo crossed it to the middle, where Shinji Kagawa dived to finish the move and scored.

0-1.

Shinji Kagawa celebrated wildly.

The French fans at the stadium shook their heads in frustration.

To see a game like this at home.

To them.

It's a kind of torture, to some extent.

After scoring, the Japanese team continued to defend in a low position until the end of the match.

After the whistle blew.

Deschamps wasn't exactly disappointed, even though a series of records were broken in this match—

Deschamps' undefeated streak since taking over came to an abrupt end;

France's unbeaten record against Japan in international A-level matches (4 wins, 1 draw) has come to an end.

The two-year unbeaten record in friendly matches, which began during the Blanc era, has also been broken.

After the game.

Zaccheroni said, "I think we played quite well in the first half. The French lacked accuracy in their shots, and if it weren't for our goalkeeper's excellent performance, we would have had a hard time keeping a clean sheet. But the final result proved that we did a good job."

Their next match will be against Brazil.

Zaccheroni said, "The Brazilian team is equally strong, and we need to maintain our current form."

Didier Deschamps suffered his first defeat as national team coach, and he naturally couldn't hide his disappointment during the interview.

However, he believes this is not an internal problem for the team: "It's a very bad result, but it's not because we have any technical flaws. We had many chances, but we just didn't score. Japan seized their opportunities."

“We have plenty of reasons to be satisfied with this game. We performed well in terms of the content of the game, our tactics had a positive effect, and we will recover from this defeat as soon as possible, both physically and mentally, and then face Spain.”

When I returned to the locker room.

Deschamps also told the players, "It's just a friendly match, forget about it and prepare well for the next game against Spain."

As if remembering something, Deschamps added before leaving the locker room, "We're heading to Spain the day after tomorrow, and I don't want to see anyone leave the training ground during that time."

Finished talking and left.

When Gaio heard Deschamps' words, he thought about the U21 situation and wondered how Griezmann was doing.

It was already evening when the first team's match ended.

The first leg of the U21 European Championship play-off match against Norway U21 ended in the afternoon.

Gaio sent a message asking Varane how the game was going.

Varane called.

"We won, by a narrow margin of one goal."

Varane's words revealed excitement; winning is something to be happy about.

We chatted for a bit.

Varane suddenly said, "Gaio, you're right."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Gaio arrived.

But he still pretended not to know anything, "What's wrong?"

Varane paused, seemingly taking a few steps away from the crowd, and whispered, "Before the match, four of our team members left the training base at night to party all night at a Paris nightclub, and they got caught."

"Who?"

When Gaio asked, Varane named the four M'Vila members.

Upon hearing that Griezmann wasn't on the list, Gaio smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. As long as you focus on playing football, it's only a matter of time before you establish yourself in the first team."

"it is good!"

Knowing that Griezmann hadn't been suspended like in his previous life, Gaio stopped paying attention to the matter.

This has little to do with him.

He needs to prepare well for the match against Spain.

It's okay to lose a friendly match.

But we can't lose the World Cup qualifiers!

While the French team lost a friendly match on home soil, the Spanish team achieved a resounding victory in Minsk.

Spain will play Belarus away from home.

Alba's offside goal was ruled valid in the first half, and Pedro added another. In the second half, Pedro scored two more goals to complete his hat-trick, and Spain ultimately defeated Belarus 4-0 away from home.

They achieved two consecutive victories in the group stage.

Thus.

Spain and France both have six points.

The direct qualification spots for Group I.

It's obvious that the match will be decided directly between the French and Spanish teams.

Neither Finland, Belarus, nor Georgia posed a threat to the strength of the Spanish and French teams.

Time flies.

While the French team was flying to Madrid.

Varane sent Gaio a text message.

The four players, including M'Vila, were suspended for periods ranging from eight to fifteen months.

(End of this chapter)