July 7, Cherry Street, Sheffield city centre.
After a period of selection, Maher and Gilbert finally decided on an apartment in the center of the street.
This is a nine-story British-style building with convenient transportation, complete living facilities and a large gym on the first floor.
Their house is on the sixth floor, about 115 square meters, with two bedrooms, a living room and two bathrooms. It is modernly decorated and fully furnished.
It can be said that this meets all the requirements of Mahel and Gilbert.
They spend most of their time in the club and only come back to rest at noon and at night. It's fine as long as the accommodation is convenient and comfortable.
After settling everything, Maher and Gilbert lay down on the soft sofa to rest.
Jolson was there too, he had been helping out today.
"Thanks, Jolson."
Mahel thanked him and Gilbert waved back.
Jolson shook his head to indicate that it was nothing, then stood up and walked to the window, pointing to a place: "Do you see the Bramall Lane Stadium? You can see the top building from here."
"Is that Bramall Lane?"
Mahel came to the window in some surprise; he had not paid attention to the scenery outside just now.
Bramall Lane is the home ground of Sheffield United and can accommodate 30,000 fans at the same time.
On match days, the area is always bustling with people and filled with the red elements of Sheffield United.
"Yes, this is a stadium built in the city center."
Jolson smiled proudly, and then his eyes became a little emotional. "I played there for seven years and made 92 appearances."
Gilbert also came over at this time, with a look of longing in his eyes: "I hope I can complete my appearance there, too. It doesn't need to be too many, just ten times will be fine."
"Because of the 8k weekly salary?"
Maher turned his head and made a joke, then turned his gaze back, with a hint of heat in the corners of his eyes. Of course, he was also very much looking forward to playing in a big stadium.
That must be a completely different experience.
The huge crowds of fans shouted loud songs, and every confrontation and wonderful moment was greeted with cheers that resounded through the sky!
The emotions of tens of thousands of people gathered together, waiting for the goal that ignited their passion.
And finally, an explosion of hysteria.
"No matter what, you will have a chance."
Jolson left the window and picked up the keys from the tea table. "Let's go. I'll take you to the training base and familiarize you with the place in advance."
The two men withdrew their gazes, but the seeds had already been planted in their hearts that they must step onto Bramall Lane Stadium as soon as possible.
Before leaving, Maher suddenly called Gilbert, as if he remembered something: "Why don't you bring your sneakers and play a few games?"
Gilbert was stunned for a moment, then looked at Jolson next to him, "Is it okay?"
For people like them who deal with football every day, their feet will really itch if they don't play football for a day or two.
"of course can."
Jolson smiled and nodded. How could a professional team restrict players from playing football? "The team's assembly day is July 7th. Before that, you can requisition the first team's training ground at any time.
"If you want to practice more later, there is actually no limit. You can go to other pastures without training tasks."
Maher and Gilbert smiled at each other and started looking for their sneakers in their luggage.
"correct."
As soon as he reached the suitcase, Maher slapped his head and said, "I have been too busy these past two days. I haven't had time to buy sneakers."
How could he have forgotten about this? He had clearly been thinking about it for a long time.
"What should I do then?" Gilbert squatted in front of his suitcase and turned around to look.
"Want to buy it?"
Joelson suggested to the two, "There is a pedestrian street that sells sports goods two miles away."
"go!"
Maher waved his hand, and the three of them set off in a hurry and came to the pedestrian street. Half an hour later, they walked out of the pedestrian street, each of them holding at least four shoe boxes, and they walked in a rather awkward manner, like shoe merchants coming to the neighborhood to purchase goods.
Gilbert wanted to say that if he had known this would happen, he would have given Mahel a pair of his own shoes first.
Jolson also regretted saying that there was a specialty store nearby. He didn't realize that Maher was also a collector.
"Let's go faster."
Only Maher walked in front, looking refreshed, with a warm smile on his face, and urged the two of them from time to time.
It seems that he no longer has to worry about whether his sneakers will come apart or whether he has the money to buy new ones.
2:30 pm, Sheffield training base.
As there were not many people around, Jolson greeted the security guard and drove directly to the first-team training ground.
Maher and Gilbert got out of the car carrying their sneakers and looked around the new training base where they will stay for a year.
In terms of scale, Sheffield United's training base is certainly not comparable to Colney's training base, and its facilities are not complete either.
But fortunately, the environment is beautiful, with abundant greenery and a sense of tranquility.
"Yes, it's very close to where we live."
Maher closed his eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air, then walked into the training ground and stepped onto the grass.
Gilbert did more warm-up exercises. He first retracted his right foot that was about to step into the grass, awkwardly switched to his left foot, then touched the ground with his right hand and made the sign of the cross.
"What to practice?"
During the warm-up, Gilbert looked at Maher with curiosity and said, "I figured it out on the way here. When I get to the club, I must practice with you every day.
"I will follow your instructions completely. After all, the results of your extra training are obvious to all."
Maher thought for a moment, then glanced at Gilbert's innocent face with a sly smile, "Okay, I'll pass the ball and you'll head it. Then it'll be one-on-one, I'll attack and you'll defend."
Gilbert nodded and added self-righteously: "We'll rotate after a few groups, right?"
"Do not."
Maher overruled him, "No rotation."
Gilbert frowned and thought seriously for a while before saying, "Is it because if you concentrate on training a skill for a long time, you will improve faster?
"I see, you really have a way."
Mael glanced at him with a slightly evasive look and said nothing more.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The sound of the pass soon filled the entire training ground, but not many players were able to find the right spot for Gilbert to head the ball into the goal.
For most of the balls, he could only volley the ball sideways or jump up and hug the ball. The quality was really not high.
Half an hour later, Gilbert couldn't help it anymore and asked, "How about I pass it on for a while?"
"coming!"
In response he received Maher's shout and the whistling football.
There was no other way, he could only endure the boredom and keep going, using all his strength just to "catch" Maher's cross.
Gradually, Gilbert discovered that as long as he judged Maher's body posture and foot shape, he could roughly know where the final cross would land.
挨?
At a certain moment, his eyes suddenly flashed with some enlightenment, followed by some disbelief and fear.
It seems like he can judge the landing point?
"Stop being stunned."
Maher passed the ball again, and just as he was about to ask Gilbert what happened, a few familiar lines of words appeared in front of him.
[Skill: Cross Level 1]
[Proficiency: (29/100)]
[Effect: You gradually realize that as a winger, it is necessary to have a good cross. You start to train hard day and night, but the accuracy and quality are still far from enough.]
(End of this chapter)