Artificial turf had decades of development history. This thing was created to overcome the pain points of natural grass.
After all, you couldn't expect countries in Northern Europe, where winter snow could bury people, to maintain natural grass pitches, right?
In 2001, FIFA specifically launched a "FIFA Recommended" certification for artificial turf pitches.
The certification testing process was wide-ranging, including but not limited to durability and wear resistance tests; turf shock absorption, deformation, stability, slip resistance, friction, and so on.
Currently, there were 1-star and 2-star levels.
1-star could only host FIFA preliminary competitions, while 2-star could host any FIFA final stage matches.
"Hey, Julien!"
Giroud was the first to greet Julien when he saw him enter the training ground.
His voice attracted others' attention and they all greeted Julien.
"Julien!"
"Our demolition expert is in position~"
The national team's chief assistant coach, Stéphan, came up and gave Julien a big hug. "Thanks for your hard work. Today many people haven't had enough rest, so it's just simple warm-up activities, mainly to familiarize ourselves with the artificial turf. Feel it out more, see how the ball's friction differs between artificial and natural turf. Don't let it affect your wing play, ha-ha."
Julien smiled. "No problem. A the Worst case, I'll just let Giroud go wrestle with those Nordic muscle men."
"Ha-ha-ha!" Everyone laughed at this comment.
Giroud scratched his head. Just hearing Julien say this already sounded tiring.
The first World Cup qualifier.
Julien took a quick look at the squad list.
Deschamps' selections were quite conservative, with far fewer young players compared to previous friendlies.
It was still a veteran-leading-youth setup.
Of course, the youngest was still Julien, who wouldn't turn eighteen for another two months.
In the afternoon's light warm-up, players chatted with each other. Many players were playing outside France and would exchange information about foreign situations with their national team teammates.
Giroud complained to Julien, "Playing at Arsenal isn't that easy."
Giroud's integration hadn't gone well.
The media environment in England was much harsher than in France, especially for a London club like Arsenal, which was at the center of public attention.
Giroud hadn't scored in the league so far.
The main issue was that Arsenal fans had high expectations for him, plus there was great pressure after Van Persie's departure.
Giroud not scoring and his inefficiency had led to heavy criticism.
But his diligent attitude and tactical value had won some recognition. Wenger had publicly supported him multiple times, emphasizing his "team contribution far exceeds the statistics."
For this situation, Julien could only offer simple comfort. Change could only come from Giroud finding his form again.
Giroud vented heavily to Julien about the English media: "Those reporters are like spies. No matter where you go, there are people watching you. I even suspect they know what underwear I wear every day."
Both burst into laughter.
Then Giroud complained even further, "Less than three months at Arsenal, and my house has been 'visited' twice. Fortunately, I just moved and didn't have much stuff, but it looks like I'll have to move again."
Chatting about these daily matters, Giroud suddenly said, "Oh right, Julien, I see the media saying your Bastia has defensive problems, especially at goalkeeper. Would your team be interested in loaning a keeper in the winter window? Arsenal's fourth-choice keeper, Damián Martínez—I think you could consider him."
'Martínez?'
Julien hadn't expected that Martínez was at Arsenal at this time.
Regarding this Argentine goalkeeper, Julien naturally knew him well. He was a prime example of late blooming.
It wasn't until winning the 2023 World Cup that he gradually appeared in fans' view.
Giroud continued his recommendation, "He trains pretty hard usually, and I have a good relationship with him. I just feel sorry seeing him waste time at Arsenal. He can't possibly get playing time at Arsenal. Even when Szczesny rests, there's still Fabianski. A loan to Bastia would actually give him more playing opportunities."
Julien nodded. "But these things aren't for me to decide. I'll ask about it later."
"Good."
Deschamps wasn't present during the afternoon warm-up.
It wasn't until the activity ended and they returned to the hotel that Stéphane brought the players to the hotel conference room.
Deschamps was there preparing tactical arrangements.
Time was tight, and tasks were heavy.
Deschamps simply greeted the players before starting: "Paatelainen—this is Finland's legendary striker who now leads Finland. From his limited past coaching games, he commonly uses 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 formations, relying on quick counterattacks and wing crosses. His performance against strong teams is actually better than against weak ones, because when you make them control the ball, they don't know how to play."
Deschamps went into minute detail.
That evening, Julien and Giroud were roommates again. The two were good friends afterall.
As Julien lay in bed resting, he was still thinking: How was Griezmann performing now?
He was also a very important point for the French team. With him there, the attack would be much smoother.
Or, could he change his playing style to be versatile between wing and center?
Julien knew that currently he played as a pure winger, but this definitely wouldn't work. To become the GOAT of Football, how could he play just one position?
He even thinks of being like Beckenbauer sometimes.
Countless images of brilliant genius players flashed through Julien's mind and he fell into a deep sleep.
Over the next two days, the French team intensively conducted joint training. The players had played together in previous friendlies, so they were fairly familiar with each other.
In terms of chemistry, it was much better than before.
Julien also felt much more comfortable playing in it. Although this French team's talent wasn't high, their immediate fighting power wasn't weak.
Julien felt that it wasn't impossible to take points from Spain.
As long as they could step on Spain and finish first in the group, they could go directly to the 2014 World Cup.
As for Spain? They were so strong that they'd definitely have no problem fighting for advancement in the playoffs, right?
September 7th, after six in the evening.
Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Over thirty thousand fans in attendance gasped in amazement. In just the third minute of the match, they witnessed the top-class talent of France's wing player Julien.
Diaby got the ball in midfield, took a turn to observe, then played a through pass to the right wing.
Julien, facing a double-team, didn't stop the ball. With one touch, he separated the ball from himself along the sideline, completing a one-two past the first defender. When the second defending player turned to chase, Julien flicked the ball through the gap between him and another defender, slipping through to complete his cut inside.
He had completely broken free on the wing!
The commentator exclaimed: "The magical moves from the French Mediterranean is being performed on the Baltic Sea!"
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