Capítulo 216: The Golden Boy Award Ceremony
David Silva did not waste the opportunity Lin gave him. He calmly scored the penalty, helping the team take a 1-0 lead.
After scoring, David Silva finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension in his heart eased significantly.
"David, well done!"
Lin ran over to high-five him in celebration, and David Silva took the initiative to give him a hug.
"Thank you, Lin!"
"You're welcome. We're teammates, so we should look out for each other, right?"
Lin smiled and patted his shoulder, saying it casually.
David Silva nodded heavily, saying no more. Actions speak louder than words, and if he was going to repay the favor, he wouldn't just stop at words.
After the game resumed, the players of Viktoria Plzen noticed that the opposing number 21 suddenly seemed like a different person. Previously a bit afraid of physical confrontations, he suddenly wasn't scared anymore.
And after David Silva overcame his psychological barriers, his impact on the field began to show.
In the 42nd minute, David Silva and Lin performed a brilliant combination play in the attacking third, completing 2-on-1, 2-on-2, and even 2-on-3 plays. Finally, Lin scored with a delicate push shot from about 8 meters out.
In this attack, the two practically passed through the opponent's defense, making fools of all the defenders.
Seeing this play and the goal, the Manchester City fans at the scene were ecstatic. This kind of intricate passing and cutting play that was typically only seen in Barcelona was replicated by their own team. This was the kind of attack they dreamed of! They hoped for more of such plays and goals.
It seemed the crowd's wishes were heard because, in the second half, Lin and David Silva once again completed a similar brilliant combination. Despite Viktoria Plzen being prepared, they still couldn't handle these two high-IQ top stars from Manchester City.
In the 67th minute, Manchester City extended their lead, with Lin scoring again and David Silva assisting. All three goals so far were connected to them!
Seeing this goal, Pellegrini was very satisfied and couldn't help but stand up and applaud the players.
"With David back, Lin should be freed up. We won't fear any defensive lineups from other teams in the future!"
Pellegrini was full of confidence, ready to lead the team to great things.
However, just as he was feeling triumphant, some changes happened on the field.
Even after trailing by three goals, Viktoria Plzen didn't give up on attacking. Instead, they used Manchester City's complacency to seize two counterattack opportunities, scoring twice and reducing Manchester City's lead to one goal.
Now, the home fans at Manchester City started to get nervous.
What's going on with this team? They lost all four of their previous games, fell behind by three goals in this match, and then suddenly exploded? Will our team lose their lead at home and get overturned by the opponent?
Of course, such a scenario was unlikely.
In the 82nd minute, Lin broke through the middle, drawing the attention of several opposing players, and then passed the ball to Negredo. Negredo volleyed without stopping the ball, scoring and re-establishing Manchester City's lead.
Ultimately, Manchester City defeated their opponents 4-2 at home, achieving five consecutive wins in the Champions League group stage, accumulating 15 points, and extending their goal difference to 12.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, under temperatures of minus seven or eight degrees, Bayern Munich withstood the opponent's attack and defeated them 3-1.
After this round, Bayern also gained two goal differences and secured their advancement one round early.
As a result, the gap in goal difference and points between the two teams didn't widen. Manchester City still held a three-point and two-goal advantage.
However, this slight lead seemed unsafe in front of Bayern. As long as Bayern could beat Manchester City by two goals at home, they would take the first place in the group!
After the fifth round of the Champions League, the situation in each group was almost clear.
In Group A, Manchester United won 5-0 against Leverkusen, securing 11 points and advancing one round early. The other qualifying spot would be decided between Shakhtar Donetsk and Leverkusen. Although Shakhtar had one more point than Leverkusen, they would face Manchester United in their last game, while Leverkusen's opponent was the weakest in the group, Real Sociedad. Thus, the outside world favored Leverkusen more, although Manchester United, having already qualified, might not play at full strength.
In Group B, Real Madrid won 4-1 at home against Galatasaray, securing their advancement and locking in first place in the group. Among the remaining three teams, Juventus, with 6 points, had the advantage. As long as they could beat Galatasaray in their last match, they would secure second place in the group. However, considering Juventus' poor performance in the Champions League this season, many doubted their ability to conquer Galatasaray's daunting home field.
In Group C, Paris Saint-Germain advanced one round early, and the last qualifying spot would be decided between Olympiacos and Benfica.
In Group E, this group, initially thought to be Chelsea's happy group, turned out to be Chelsea's group of sorrow. In this round, Chelsea was once again defeated by Basel, with Mourinho's team suffering a double defeat home and away. This surprising result left many shocked; no one expected Chelsea to be overpowered by a non-top-five league team in the group stage. Notably, the player who scored against Chelsea in this round was a 21-year-old young star named Mohamed Salah. In the two matches against Chelsea, Salah scored two goals and wreaked havoc on Chelsea's defense. This caught Mourinho's interest, and he even planned to make an offer to Basel during the winter break to bring the Egyptian to Stamford Bridge. Although they lost, Chelsea's points would still be higher than one of Werder Bremen or Basel after their next direct competition, ensuring Chelsea's advancement with 9 points one round early. However, whether they could secure first place in Group E depended on the results of the next match.
Group F, known as the group of death, remained highly complex after five rounds. Arsenal, with 4 wins and 1 loss, temporarily led the group with 12 points, while Dortmund and Napoli each had 9 points, ranking second and third. Although Arsenal had a 3-point lead, they had not yet secured advancement. Next, Arsenal would face Napoli. If they lost and Napoli won by a margin of 3 goals, and Dortmund also won, Arsenal would be eliminated. Dortmund, facing a winless Marseille, needed to win to secure their advancement and potentially first place in the group with their 4-goal advantage. For Napoli, they not only had to beat Arsenal but also needed to win by a significant margin to avoid elimination, even with 12 points. If Napoli were eliminated with 12 points, they would become the unluckiest team in Champions League history, as no team had ever been eliminated with such a high point tally before.
Compared to Group F, Group G was at the other extreme. While Napoli might set a record for the highest points eliminated, Zenit from Group G might set a record for the lowest points advancing. After five rounds, Atletico Madrid, with 4 wins and 1 draw, had already secured advancement two rounds early. Zenit, with only 6 points, and Porto, with 5 points, along with Vienna, with 2 points, remained in contention. In the final round, if Atletico defeated Porto and Zenit lost to Vienna, Zenit could still advance with 6 points, the lowest in history.
In Group H, Barcelona's situation was similar to Chelsea's. Although they unexpectedly lost to Ajax, they secured advancement with 10 points. AC Milan fans were infuriated by this result. If Barcelona hadn't faltered and beaten Ajax, AC Milan would have secured advancement one round early. Now, after beating Barcelona, Ajax had 7 points, and AC Milan had 8 points. The two teams would face off directly in the next match, and if AC Milan lost, they would be eliminated. Conversely, if AC Milan won and Barcelona lost in the last round, they could snatch first place in the group from Barcelona.
After reviewing the points and standings of each group, fans engaged in heated discussions.
"Manchester City won all five matches, scoring the highest 15 points among the 32 teams, yet they still haven't secured first place in their group. On the other hand, PSG, Real Madrid, and Atletico, with fewer points than Manchester City, have all secured first place in their groups. Where's the justice in that!"
"Be content, look at Group F. Fans of those three teams must be on edge, as all three have a chance of being eliminated in the last round. At least Manchester City has already secured advancement."
"Group F and Group G are two extremes. Zenit can advance with 6 points, while Napoli could be eliminated with 12 points. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"Barcelona is so annoying! They bully AC Milan every year, and now they deliberately lost to Ajax to knock out AC Milan?"
"Maybe they didn't lose on purpose, maybe they just played poorly?"
"Come on, with Messi, Neymar, Xavi, and Iniesta, you're telling me they played poorly?"
"It's a conspiracy, a definite conspiracy!"
Besides discussing team points and advancement situations, many fans focused more on individual player statistics.
"Lin scored two goals and provided an assist in this match, bringing his total to 7 goals, just one behind the top scorers!"
"If he hadn't given up that penalty, he would have tied with Ronaldo and Ibrahim
ovic!"
"It's fine, not taking penalties means no one can criticize him for it. With Lin's current scoring efficiency, I believe he'll score in the next match too!"
"Counting this match, Lin has scored in five consecutive Champions League matches, right?"
"Yes, Lin's efficiency and consistency are astonishing. If he scores in the next match, he'll become the first player in the reformed Champions League to score in all six group stage matches!"
"Applause, it feels like we're witnessing history again!"
"Ever since Lin appeared on the field, records have been continuously broken by him!"
"I call him Lin 'Record-Breaker' Quan!"
"By the way, Messi and Ronaldo were both silent this round!"
"Yeah, neither of them scored, giving Lin a chance to close the gap. But what's up with Zlatan? He scored again?"
"8 goals in 5 matches without any penalties. Zlatan is just too strong!"
"Hehe, no matter how strong he is, he still gets overshadowed by Ronaldo in the national team!"
"Stop bragging, let's see PSG face Real Madrid in the knockout stage. We'll show you what cruelty means!"
"Talk is cheap. Get to the quarterfinals first. Don't get eliminated in the first knockout stage and make a laughingstock of yourselves!"
...
Shortly after the fifth round of the Champions League ended, Turin's "Tuttosport," responsible for selecting this year's European Golden Boy Award, finally announced the winner.
Lin, the number 10 player from Manchester City, won overwhelmingly in the media and expert votes, defeating other young talents such as Juventus' Pogba, Schalke's Draxler, Real Madrid's Varane, and Liverpool's Coutinho, becoming the 11th player to be named European Golden Boy.
Although the European Golden Boy Award doesn't carry the same weight as the Ballon d'Or, it's the highest recognition for players under 21.
Many professional media participated in this year's selection, including France's "L'Équipe," Spain's "Marca," Germany's "Bild," England's "The Times," Holland's "De Telegraaf," Spain's "Mundo Deportivo," and France's "France Football," among other mainstream European media.
Experts from these media outlets scored the players based on their performances throughout the season in league, cup, and national team matches. Because of its strong professionalism, the results of the selection are highly authoritative.
Among previous Golden Boy winners, except for a few who didn't live up to expectations, most have made names for themselves in football. This list includes names like Messi, Rooney, Fabregas, and Aguero. Notably, Ronaldo did not win the Golden Boy Award. He had the misfortune of facing an in-form Rooney in 2004 and the emergence of Messi in 2005, and his performances in those two seasons weren't particularly outstanding, so he missed out on the award.
Lin wasn't surprised by the Golden Boy Award. However, his family, friends, and even his teammates, congratulated him when they heard the news.
Morata: "Lin, you're awesome (screaming)!"
David Silva: "Amazing, this must be the youngest Golden Boy, right?"
Reus: "Congratulations, it's a pity I'm too old, or I'd compete with you!"
Lin: "Come on, the Ballon d'Or doesn't have an age limit. You can go for it!"
Reus: "(╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻"
Seeing the emoji Reus sent, Lin laughed.
After replying to Reus, De Bruyne messaged him.
"Hey, can you win the Golden Boy Award multiple times? You're not even 18 yet. You could win it this year and next year too!"
Lin hadn't considered this: "Probably not, but who knows? Maybe the organizers didn't anticipate a player like me, hehe!"
De Bruyne sent a speechless emoji: I just asked casually, and you're already bragging?
"Work hard and aim for a different trophy next year!"
"The Ballon d'Or? That's really tough!"
"Difficulty makes it more precious. Go for it, young man!"
Lin was about to reply when a call came in. Seeing the caller ID, he realized it was Guardiola.
"Well done, son, I'm proud of you!"
Guardiola called specifically to congratulate him because Lin won an honor he never achieved.
In his playing days, Guardiola didn't receive notable personal accolades. There was no Golden Boy Award back then, and he wasn't qualified for the Ballon d'Or. Also, being a defensive midfielder, he wasn't the most attention-grabbing player, so even after retiring, he wasn't highly rated by the public. Only those who truly watched him play knew his value.
"Tsk tsk, verbal praise? That's insincere!"
"Of course not, Serra and I have prepared a gift for you. We'll give it to you when you have a break during Christmas!"
"Uh, Guardiola, I need to remind you, there's no winter break in the Premier League. I'll be playing during Christmas!"
"Alright, I'll sympathize with you in my heart!"
"Thanks, because you're so 'sincere,' I'll go easy in our next match at the Allianz Arena!"
"Hehe, cheeky boy, playing mind games? I've already found a way to stop you!"
"Really? What is it?"
"You'll see when you get here!"
Then he hung up.
Hearing the dial tone from the other end, Lin spat. Guardiola accused Lin of playing mind games, but wasn't he doing the same?
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