(Third person pov)
"Victor Moses" announced the man into a microphone, Victor shook hands of people and accepted the medal.
"Henri Lansbury" the crowd cheered, Spain's supporters had already left, white and red painted the ground.
There were more than 8 thousand people present.
"Matthew Delevigne" as the announcer spoke, people cheered, the loudest. Matt smiled shyly, he shook hands.
"Well played Matthew, it was absolute delight to watch you play." said Jean Claude Juncker prime minister of Luxembourg.
"Thankyou sir" said Matt as he moved past people to join his teammates.
"Scott Sinclair"
"Jack Wilshere", there was a loud cheer again, making Jack grin as he shook hands with important people.
As the medal ceremony was completed, a trophy was presented to them. It looked similar to a Euros trophy, just smaller version of it.
"Woohoo" Gibbs lifted the trophy, everyone had the chance to hold it for few seconds before Hamilton placed it back on th podium.
"I can't believe it" mumbled Jack, wiping his eyes.
"Heh, you crying, for a U-17 cup? You'd die if we won the champions league or world cup." Said Matt with a laugh.
Shut up you bastard" said Jack making him laugh louder.
"Lets go mum is waiting" said Matt making Jack release him, they both walked towards the stands near the ground.
They both jumped the sideline barrier, "Finally you are here! Show me that medal" exclaimed Cara.
"Fine" he said handing her his medal.
"I'm so proud of you potato" said Eva kissing his cheeks and hugging him.
"Thankyou" mumbled Matt, he buried his face in her, he didn't know why but a tear escaped from his eye which he quickly wiped of.
"You forgetting your old aunty" said Pandora with a pout.
"Old? I only see my beautiful aunty here" said Matt hugging her.
She playfully ruffled his hair, "cheeky brat".
"Jack! Come here" said Eva making him stand straight.
"Yes aunty" he said and came close.
"Im so proud of you boy, you scored a hattrick! I clicked Many photos of you" she said hugging him.
Jack almost cried, his parents were busy with work and couldn't come here to support him, Eva's gentle hug reminded him of his mother.
"Thankyou aunty" said Jack as he moved away wiping his face.
"Why are you crying? Are you a crybaby" said Cara to Jack who looked a little flustered he looked at her but avoided her eyes at the same time.
Matt laughed looking at his friend, he was afraid of women, he always maintained distance with girls saying they're scary.
He told Matt the reason, "I kissed a girl on the cheek when I was 9, she asked me to do that! And when teacher saw it.. she said I did that forcefully", that incident made him loose all trust in women.
"Is it gold?" Asked Cara looking at the medal carefully.
"Nope, it's an alloy of bronze and what not, not valuable at all" said Matt knowing she's about to put that medal in her pocket, he knows he'll never seebthat thing again.
"Hey! Matthew! Can you please give me an autograph!" Said a young man, he was carrying a little girl that looked not more than 6 years old.
Both had similar dirty blonde hair, wearing yellow scarfs.
He handed Matt a poster of his wearing a Hufflepuf shirt, with a wnd in hand, it was a close-up poster shot done after scenes.
Behind them stood around 20 more people, wearing same yellow scarfs waving at him, or watching them.
The man bent down and put the girl down, "This is my sister Arya, she loved you as Cedric Driggory, she's your biggest fan, it's her birthday today" he said patting the back of little girl who looked shy and hesitant to approach Matt.
"Awe" cooed Pandora and Eva looking at her.
Matt got on his knees, "Hi Arya, you can call me Matt" he said gently with a smile.
She gave him a smile, "Hi Matt!" She squeaked.
"You're my biggest Fan?" He asked to which she nodded hurriedly.
"You're really the biggest?" He asked again
"YES!" she exclaimed forgetting her shyness for a moment.
"You don't look that big to me" replied Matt, she stood on her toes to appear bigger, her face focused as she looked at him to see how big she is.
He smiled at her, "Thankyou for being my biggest Fan Arya" he said out loud as he wrote her a message on the poster.
"Happy Birthday Arya" he said Handing her the poster, she held the poster close.
"Do you like Daphne?" He asked glancing at Cara who was wearing a disguise.
She immediately frowned, "NO, she bad' she said.
Matt laughed with this hand on his stomach, "Yes, she's a bad girl"
"Thankyou" she said as she goes back to her brother showing him her poster who just playfully ruffled her hair.
"Thanks for that Matthew, you made her day" said the boy as he pick her up again.
He signed few more autographs for the group, taking few pictures.
Jack too signed few England's shirts for fans he blushed whenever a girl asked to sign making Eva and Pandora smile.
"Stop pouting Cara" said Aunty to the sulking girl, nobody had asked for her autograph.
"That little girl called me bad" said Cara with a obvious fake crying.
"What do you want now?" Asked Aunty with a sigh.
She looked at Matt, "I want his shirt, I'm going to sell it when he becomes a big player" said with a smirk.
"Nope" he said immediately.
"I'll be framing this one for myself, you can get one of the others" he said with a wave of his hand.
"Matt, give her your shirt" said mom glaring at him.
"But I don't wanna" he mumbled, the glare didn't lessen, he sighed and took of his shirt, and gave it to Cara who smirked at him with victory sign.
Matt looked at his mom who switched 180 and now gave him sweet smile, "good boy".
"Lets go now, I'm famished" said Pandora, she looked around and saw only few people remaining inside.
"Oh, we can't. We'll have to return with the team" said Matt making her eyes widen.
"Ah, I forgot! We'll see you at the airport then".
Soon Matt and Jack were ushered into the bus the players talking, as Matt and Jack passed they were hit by socks, because they were 10 minutes late.
-----
(16th May 2006)
"U-17 England's Monumental 7-0 Victory over Spain" was the headline of Guardian, a photo of the England's team celebrating with the trophy
"2 Hattricks, crush Spain. Two stars emerges." A photo of Jack and Danny split in middle, both taken on the day of the final
"Return of English football, all UEFA records broken" there was a list of records broken by the English team.
"Why are you cutting them grandma" asked Matt to the elderly women who was cutting out the news from papers.
"Magic on football pitch" said one headline, his potrait wearing half England and half Hufflepuf shirt.
"I'm going to save them, show them to my great grandkids" she said with a sweet smile.
Matt shook her head, a dog barked was heard as a warning, a big german shepherd that could be mistaken for a wold darted towards Matt, he jumped on the couch Matt was sitting on.
"How are you girl" he asked patting the excited dog who licked his face.
"She missed you" chuckled grandma, they had adopted this baby few years ago.
"Woof" she barked nudging Matt to play.
"Alright, Bexie, we'll play later"
"Woooo" she cried, her ears droop, her head on his lap as he stroked her fur.
"Go Play, I'll make some chocolate cookies for you" said Grandma standing up, leaving the mess of newspapers behind her.
"When's Grandfather going to return?" Asked Matt now standing, Bexie standing beside him.
"In the evening, those old men and their talks last for hours" she said with a wave.
"Okay, now who wants to play ball" said Matt.
"Wooof"
He ran outside, Bexie ran behind him barking at him.
------
18 May 2006
"What's up mate?" Greeted Matt to Jack standing outside the academy building, it was their first day since winning the final.
"Nothing, just preparing myself for what's to come. School's going to be mental" said Jack with a shrug.
"Saw the match last night?" Asked Matt, his voice low.
"Don't talk about it"said Jack, the loss to Barcelona in Paris was hard to swallow.
"You know why boss called us today? " He asked to Matt, they both begin walking inside the academy.
"Don't know bro, Henri and gibbs just walked in though" said Matt.
"It's gotta be related to the tournament then? Maybe a paycheck?" Said Jack with some excitement.
"Don't get excited, we didn't get called last time" said Matt.
"You didn't win last time" said Jack almost instantly.
"Fair" said Matt.
"You read the papers, they called me next Shearer, mum's reading is again and again" said Jack with glee, trying to lighten the mood.
They walked into their dressing room, "That's good what about your dad" asked Matt.
"He bragged about me to his mates. He apologized" said Jack with a smile.
"Now that's great, let's go eat something good today!" Said Matt, he was genuinely happy for his friend.
Jack had to struggle through constant criticism from his father, he almost lost motivation to even play football.
"Morning Boss" said Jack and Matt, just outside their dressing room stood Arsene Wenger.
"Morning lads, Henri and Gibbs are in My office, follow me" he said moving towards end of the tunnel, his office was in the last room.
"Hey Henri, wassup Captain" greeted Jack, Matt nodded at them and they returned.
"Settle down, I want to inform you about your schedule change from tomorrow" said Wenger picking up his specs from the table and putting them on.
Matt didn't know what to say, he had seen Wenger do everything he could to win against them, but couldn't make the difference.
Both of them sat down on the chairs, "First and foremost, Congratulations and well done. You represented Arsenal on the international stage.
Henri and Gibbs, you showed exceptional mental temperament in high physicality games.
Jack and Matt, you broke records" there was a smile on his face as he praised them.
"Thanks boss" said them in unison, he rarely praised them, all of them had a smile as they looked at eachothers faces.
"I called you here to tell you that, from tomorrow, all four of you will train with the first team" said Wenger making all of their eyes widen.
"Are you sure coach. Us lot with first team?" Asked Jack, he couldn't believe his ears.
"Yes Jack, you heard me. Do you want me to reconsider?" He asked with a smile.
"No no no no" said Matt hurriedly.
"Here is the application for your schools, and your parents." He said Handing them envelopes.
Without these applications, they won't be allowed to miss school for training.
"No more school" said an excited Jack tapping Matt's back.
"That's not happening Jack, every alternate week you would have to attend school, that's compulsory" said Wenger making him down again.
"I expect you to maintain decipline and decorum with the first team players and don't disturb them while training." He said in a no nonsense tone, looking at every single one of them.
"And lastly, here's a gesture from the side of Arsenal academy" he said Handing them another set of Envelopes.
Jack couldn't wait he tore open the envelope then and there, much to Wenger's amusement.
"5000 Euros! It's a check for 5000 Euros" exclaimed Jack.
"Use it well. On the field in 5" he said kicking them out of the office.
He sighed, there was one more thing he hadn't told them. All four of them were getting offers from Manchester United, Newcastle, chelsea, Liverpool.
He was on the call with Sir Alex Ferguson himself just before the kids arrived.
'If I had known they would do that, I wouldn't have let them go' thought Wenger with a wry smile, he's getting headache because of these brats, maybe they could do what the seniors couldn't.
(Pov end)