When playing football, you should call it GOAT.

Chapter 159 Damn, Genius

After the match, Roy approached Henry, who was adjusting his socks, took off his blue and black jersey and handed it to him: "Thierry, want to change?"

Henry looked up at him, then ripped off his soaking wet red and white jersey: "Take it."

The jerseys were still dripping wet when the two players exchanged them.

“The atmosphere at Highbury is really exciting,” Roy said, draping Henry’s jersey over his shoulder. “I almost thought you guys were going to turn the game around.”

"You deserved the victory, but it won't be so easy next time."

"I am waiting."

Roy reached out his hand.

Henry stared at the hand for two seconds, then finally grasped it.

The two bumped shoulders briefly, and flashbulbs immediately went off all around them.

A reporter shouted, "Look over here! Thierry, say a few words!"

Henry let go of her hand and turned to leave. Roy shrugged into the microphone: "He's had a tough day."

Roy walked toward Vieira and Pires, who were packing their gear.

Vieira caught a glimpse of him approaching out of the corner of his eye and immediately turned around, pretending to adjust his socks.

Pires bent down to tie his shoelaces, his movements noticeably slowing down.

"Patrick, Robert."

He spoke first, his voice calm.

Vieira looked up at him, said nothing, and simply nodded.

Pires stopped what he was doing and forced a smile: "Not bad."

Roy shrugged: "You guys are the toughest team to beat."

Vieira scoffed, "What's the point of saying this now?"

He zipped up his backpack and said curtly, "Since you kicked us out, then take the championship back."

Pires chimed in from the side: "If we lose to Porto or Deportivo, we might as well make it to the final."

Roy smiled and said, "If it were just one game, today would be the final."

Vieira finally looked him in the eye, and after a two-second silence, extended her hand: "Good luck."

Pires patted Roy on the shoulder: "Deportivo and Porto haven't played yet, but I guess Porto will be the one to reach the final."

"Manchester United have already learned their lesson. Deco, that guy, looks unassuming, but he's incredibly cunning. Mourinho's teams never go head-to-head; they're like a pack of vipers, waiting for you to let your guard down before suddenly biting you. Porto's defense is like an iron barrel, and their counter-attacks are fast and ruthless. Deco is their fang; seemingly quiet on the surface, but in the blink of an eye, he can kill you with a single pass. Mourinho's greatest strength is breaking the game down, leaving you powerless. If you really face them in the final, you'd better be prepared for a tough battle."

Roy nodded, and as he turned to leave, he heard Vieira whisper behind him, "Don't let us lose for nothing."

When Roy pushed open the locker room door, it was unusually quiet inside.

Even Evra, who is usually the most boisterous, couldn't hear anything; he was all too familiar with these guys' pranks.

Suddenly, with a "bang," the icy champagne was poured over my face.

Evra stood shirtless in the doorway, with a comical Arsenal player Cole's jersey tied around his waist, looking like an apron.

He held champagne bottles in both hands, spraying and shouting, "This is our hero!"

Champagne dripped down Roy's hair, soaking his jersey.

In the corner, Giuly was tilting his head, holding his phone between his fingers, and talking to his wife in French: "Tell Diego that Daddy loves him."

A little boy's excited shouts came from the other end of the phone, and Juli smiled and moved the phone away a bit.

Suddenly his expression turned strange, and he turned to look at Roy, who was soaking wet: "Hey, Diego said you promised to buy him that overpriced remote control car?"

Roy wiped the champagne off his face.

"Ah! It's that 1:8 scale nitro-powered remote-controlled car from Tamiya!"

He turned to Giuly and smiled, “Last month at the toy store in Nice, the little guy stared wide-eyed at that red Ferrari Enzo model.”

Giuly raised an eyebrow: "That's a 300-euro thing!"

"I keep my word. I'll take him shopping when we get back to Monaco."

He shouted into Giuly's phone, "Did you hear that, Diego? We're going this weekend!"

Juli shook his head helplessly: "It's over, now you're going to be his number one idol."

"He (Roy) has always been my number one idol!"

Juli deliberately put on a stern face and said sourly into the phone, "Oh? Then what about Dad?"

A burst of laughter erupted in the locker room.

Roy had just said, "You'll always be number one in his heart," when Diego's innocent, childlike voice came through the phone: "It would be even better if Uncle Roy could be my dad!"

The locker room fell silent for a second, then erupted into even louder laughter.

"Uh, that's not what I meant."

But the next second he straightened up, tossed his wet hair, and flashed his signature roguish grin: "But you know, nobody doesn't love Roy."

"vomit--"

A series of exaggerated retching sounds suddenly filled the locker room.

Rothen immediately took off his smelly socks and threw them at him: "Shut your stinky mouth!"

Marcelo Gallardo cursed "cabrón" (bastard) in Spanish, while Squillaci yelled "t'es con ou quoi" (you're out of your mind) in French.

Even the usually silent Rome couldn't help but mutter "vaffanculo (to hell with you)" in Italian.

Roy laughed as he dodged the flying debris, shouting into Giuly's phone, "Diego, see that? These people are just jealous of my charm!"

A little boy's giggles came from the other end of the phone. Juli rolled her eyes and hung up: "It's over, you've completely corrupted my son."

Reporter: "Coach Wenger, how would you rate the team's performance today?"

Wenger: "We actually played quite well, scoring two goals in the first half and showing good form. But the problem was that after taking a 2-0 lead, we didn't completely dominate Monaco, giving them a chance to breathe. The 1-3 defeat in the first leg put too much pressure on the players, which affected their performance."

Reporter: "Do you think the team was a bit conservative when they were leading?"

Wenger: "Indeed, when we were leading 2-0, we even started thinking about avoiding cards because we were worried that suspensions for key players would affect the final. This mentality may have made us lose our edge to continue applying pressure."

Reporter: "How did Monaco perform?"

Wenger: "They played exceptionally well, especially Bernardi's goal, which completely changed the course of the game. And Roy's performance in both legs was flawless, proving that he is already one of the world's top strikers. Considering he is only 19 years old, it's really hard to imagine where his ceiling is."

Reporter: "What do you think about the rumors that Roy might transfer to the Premier League?"

Wenger smiled: "I don't want to see him come to the Premier League—unless it's to Arsenal. If he doesn't come here, it's best for him to stay in Ligue 1 or go to another league." Reporter: "After being eliminated from the Champions League, what are the team's next goals?"

Wenger: "We will continue to work hard and try to break the unbeaten league record. Although it is a pity to be eliminated from the Champions League, we will learn from this defeat and come back strong next season. This team is still young and has a bright future."

After the press conference, Deschamps and Jean Petit walked out of the interview area one after the other.

Jean Petit: "Deschamps, I really didn't expect us to actually make it to the final. I've been with this team for so many years, from player to coach to sporting director, I've seen so many ups and downs. But today this team has created a miracle."

Deschamps: "Yes, we did it. But there's the final next, and we have to give it our all."

Jean Petit: "I know, I know, but to be honest, who could have predicted this at the beginning of the season? We were not favored, and even making it out of the group stage would have been a success. But now, we have eliminated Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and then beat Arsenal. It's like a dream."

Deschamps: "Mr. Petit, we need to stay calm. The final is more important, so I've decided to abandon our unbeaten league record and rest our key players to ensure they are in top form."

Jean Petit: "Are you sure? An unbeaten season is a remarkable achievement."

Deschamps: "The Champions League final is our goal. The league title is already ours, and the unbeaten record is just icing on the cake. I don't want to risk injuring or fatigued players."

Jean Petit: "You're right. I'm just... so excited. This team, these young men, they've made history."

Deschamps: "Yes, but history isn't over yet. We still have one last game to win on May 26th."

The corridor lights were dim. Petit had just been blushing in front of the camera, her voice booming: "From the first day Roy arrived, I knew that kid was a gift from God to Monaco!"

But as soon as they turned the corner, the old teaching assistant slowed down.

Deschamps turned to look at him and saw that Pettit had his head down and his shoulders were trembling slightly.

“Mr. Petit?” Deschamps asked softly.

Petit didn't look up, he just waved his hand.

The emergency exit indicator light at the end of the corridor glowed green, illuminating his deeply wrinkled face, where tears were streaming down his nose.

He wiped his face haphazardly, muttering in a hoarse voice, "Damn it... this kid."

Deschamps didn't say anything, he just patted his old partner on the back.

Deschamps knew what Petit was thinking: a year and a half ago, Roy, the young upstart who had been abandoned by Real Madrid's youth academy, was brought to the Stade Louis II by Monaco for only 300,000 euros.

At the time, everyone thought it was just a regular youth training transfer, until the day of the medical examination.

The team doctor's hands were trembling as he held the report: "This kid's explosiveness and flexibility... I've never seen such data in my 30 years of practice."

On the second day of the intra-squad scrimmage, the 18-year-old made his first touch of the ball and sent the starting center-back Squillaci sprawling to his knees, silencing the entire training ground instantly.

Petit rushed to the sidelines, grabbed Deschamps' arm, and trembled as he exclaimed, "We've struck gold!"

The rest of Europe knows what happened next—he scored a world-class goal as a substitute in his Ligue 1 debut and won the top scorer title in just half a season; by the end of the Champions League semi-final, he had already scored a staggering 16 goals. That youth academy player, who cost 300,000 euros, is now worth over 50 million euros.

"Thinking about it now," Petit said with a laugh, wiping away his tears, "those Real Madrid scouts should go see an eye doctor."

He pulled out a crumpled handkerchief and blew his nose. "Three hundred thousand? This is practically a heist of the century!"

Roy's signature loud laughter echoed from the end of the corridor. Deschamps looked at his old partner's red nose and suddenly remembered that afternoon that changed everything.

As Roy swept past all the defenders like a whirlwind, Petit jumped around like a child on the sidelines, repeatedly muttering the same phrase: "I knew it. I knew it."

Petit took a deep breath, took off his glasses, and wiped them with the corner of his clothes.

He heard the players' celebratory laughter in the distance, and smiled with red eyes: "That little rascal... he's definitely capable of doing something even more amazing."

After discussing with his assistant coach Jean Petit, Deschamps decided to adjust the upcoming league schedule.

为了全力备战欧冠决赛，他们决定在5月9日对马赛、5月12日对斯特拉斯堡以及5月15日对雷恩的三场法甲比赛中，主要派替补球员上场，让主力球员轮休调整状态。

We'll let the key players get back on the field for the final match against Bordeaux on May 21st to get them into match form.

After that, the team will undergo four days of closed training to fully prepare for the Champions League final.

Excerpt from "Seven Years of Miracles" - Interview with Henry
(Compiled by author Duruk)

Duluk: "Thierry, after that Champions League semi-final on May 5, 2004, the media always said it was 'the beginning of the Arsenal dynasty's twilight.' But for you personally, what did that night at Highbury really leave behind?"

Henry: "Dusk? Ha. The lights were blinding that night. We had just won the Premier League title unbeaten, and all of England was chanting 'Invincible.' On the other side, Deschamps, equally unbeaten, had them trained like a fine machine. That kid Roy turned our defense upside down."

"The most frustrating thing is that we lost to the eventual Champions League winners! Of course, it's not shameful. But every time I watch the replay, I can't help but think—if we had been drawn into the other half of the bracket and avoided Monaco, we could at least have fallen in the final!"

"Do you know what the most ironic thing is? That season we went 38 games unbeaten in the Premier League, but fell in the Champions League semi-finals. Meanwhile, Monaco won the Ligue 1 title eight games early and eventually lifted the Champions League trophy. Football is sometimes just that unreasonable."

Duluk: "When you first noticed Roy in 2003, what qualities made you realize, 'This kid is different'? Was it a particular technique, or his competitive spirit?"

Henry: "The first time I noticed Roy? That goes back to the 2003 FA Cup against Manchester United. It was the fifth round of the FA Cup, and we eliminated Manchester United. After the game, Ferguson hit Beckham in the eyebrow with a shoe in the dressing room. After the game, a British journalist came up to me and asked: 'Do you know that Monaco has found a new Henry?' That's when I learned that there was such a person."

"I laughed at the time. These reporters, they see some French kid who can run and shoot and they try to associate me with him. How many goals had Roy scored in Ligue 1 back then? He hadn't even scored for the national team yet."

"When I met him at the Clairefontaine training ground, my first impression was completely different. This kid was following Zidane around like a little lamb. Who would have thought he would be so fierce on the field?"

“But there’s one detail I remember very clearly—he got the number 11 jersey as soon as he arrived. Keep in mind that Wiltord was still wearing that number back then! I thought to myself, this kid should know the rules, right? But guess what? The way he looked at Wiltord was like, ‘This number should have been mine.’”

"What's the most amazing thing is that he hadn't even played his first game for the national team yet! But he had that self-righteous attitude. Tsk tsk. I told myself at the time: Thierry, this is not a good kid, this is a wolf cub in sheep's clothing."

Duluk: "If you had to choose one moment from Roy's career, what would it be?"

Henry: "If I had to pick one moment, would it be the 2004 European Championship? The 04 World Cup? No, I would choose the night of the 06 Champions League semi-final. You might say that Roy played better in those games, but Thierry Henry played just as well. And in that game, we were opponents, and I was kept out of the final. I will never forget it."

Duluk: "Thierry, talk about Roy, Ronaldo, and Messi. You've faced Ronaldo more than once in the Premier League, and you were teammates with Messi at Barcelona. What do you think of these three talents?"

Henry: "Roy? He's completely different from the other two."

Duluk: "What's the difference?"

Henry: "Messi, his left foot is like it's under a spell. The ball seems to be attached to his foot. When a defender pounces, he just flicks and cuts them off, leaving them completely disoriented. That delicate touch, that rhythm of changing direction, is something no one else can imitate."

"As for Ronaldo? He charges like a rocket. You know he's going to accelerate and change direction, but you just can't stop him. His explosiveness is terrifying. He can shake off the defense in one step, and he jumps higher than anyone else when heading the ball. It's purely a crushing physical talent."

"To be honest, when Roy first started out, he was just a kid who relied on speed. I admit he was faster than me, but back then his technique wasn't that refined. He relied on explosive power to get past people, and his heading ability was about the same as mine."

"But then you see, this guy is like a completely different person. His passing suddenly becomes accurate, he can deliver those through balls that glide along the grass; his free kicks have also improved, the curve around the wall looks like it was drawn; and the most terrifying thing is his heading."

“One day I watched him play, and the angle and power of that header immediately reminded me of Van Basten or Bierhoff. The scariest thing about this kid isn’t his talent, but that he’s always evolving—you think that’s his limit? No, he’ll definitely come up with something new next season.”

"Messi is an elf, Ronaldo is a machine, and Roy? He's like a monster cobbled together from a football lab—all the top skills are maxed out."

Duruk: "If you had to choose a teammate from the French national team, would it be Platini, Zidane, or Roy?"

Henry: "Listen, I've never been friends with that kid. He ruined Arsenal's Champions League dream, and I hold grudges. But if you ask 'whether you want to be teammates with a madman like that,' we've won a lot of titles together, you have to admit that."

"I might not like him off the field, but once he's on the field? I'll choose him. This might offend Zidane, but the truth is—Roy is Roy. On the field, you can always trust that bastard."

The last words before the door closed drifted in.

"Damn, genius."

(End of this chapter)