Chapter 510: Chapter 510
"The winner of the 2015 European Golden Boy Award, Tang!"
With the host’s excited shout at the awards ceremony, the spotlight turned onto Tang Long sitting in the audience.
Sitting beside him were Manchester United’s Martial, Atletico Madrid’s Correa, and Barça’s Munir, who all applauded and cast envious glances toward Tang Long.
Dressed in a suit and tie, Tang Long slowly stood up, buttoned the bottom button of his suit jacket, and confidently waved to the audience as he walked onto the stage.
Two people presented the award to him, one was Regini, the editor-in-chief of the Turin Sports Newspaper, and the other was the famous Italian striker Vieri.
Regini is a die-hard Juventus fan, and the Turin Sports Newspaper is the mouthpiece of the Juventus Club.
So, for him to witness Tang Long receiving this award in person was even more painful than being killed!
Regini’s face was sullen, and the smile he forced was indescribably awkward, which amusingly affected the audience in the stands below.
Perhaps it was Juventus being repeatedly defeated by Tang Long that made Regini, a Juventus fan, lose face, that he didn’t even follow the usual protocol to present the Golden Boy Award trophy to Tang Long himself. Instead, he shook hands with him politely and invited the other guest, Vieri, to present the award to Tang Long.
Although this action was unconventional, Vieri was delighted.
He couldn’t wait for the opportunity to personally hand over the trophy to Tang Long!
During his playing career, he was Inter’s main striker, and even after retiring, he remained a die-hard Inter fan.
Vieri is all too familiar with Tang Long!
Although Tang Long only played for Inter Milan for one season, his spectacular performances are still vivid. The two championship trophies of the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Europa League he brought to Inter Milan are forever enshrined in the club’s honor hall, engraved on the historical honor plaque.
Though he served only a season for Inter, he is still a legendary figure for the team.
"Congratulations, Tang, you are destined for a great future!"
Vieri gave Tang Long a strong hug, then handed over the weighty Golden Boy Award with both hands to Tang Long.
"Will you return to Inter in the future?" Vieri whispered in Tang Long’s ear.
"Who can say about the future." Tang Long replied with a smile, keeping it ambiguous.
Tang Long raised the trophy high, flashing a confident smile at the cameras!
This moment ignited the passion of Chinese fans thousands of miles away who were watching the live broadcast!
The live stream was flooded with a barrage of comments, occupying the entire screen as all Chinese fans felt proud and honored of Tang Long.
-[15 Premier League matches, 9 goals, 13 assists, 6 Champions League group stage matches, 4 goals, 9 assists, I am willing to call Tang Long the greatest Golden Boy Award winner ever!]
-[In 2005, 18-year-old Messi also won the Golden Boy Award, and his stats are nothing compared to our Tang Long!]
-[Not just Messi, look at the winners over the years, Van der Vaart, Agüero, Fabregas, Balotelli, Pato, which player could match Tang Long’s stats at 19?]
-[If he continues playing , Tang Long might even win the Golden Ball Award this season!] Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on noveⅼfire.net
-[It’s hard to say, we still have to see Manchester City’s overall number of championships.]
-[Tang Long has already become the first Chinese player to win the UEFA Europa League and the Coppa Italia. I believe he will also be the first to win the Premier League and Champions League titles, and even become the first Chinese to win the Golden Ball Award!]
-[Absolutely possible, just think, he’s only 19, he has more than 10 years of professional career ahead to create his own legend!]
-[Support Tang Long, he is the representative of Chinese football, a flag of Chinese football that never fades in Europe!]
-[Long’s smile is so imposing, Chinese people playing in Europe shouldn’t be timid, they should show the same confidence and composure as Long!]
-[From now on, when commentators announce Manchester City’s matches, don’t call him Little Tang, call him Long!]
-[Support Long, go Long!!!]
Messages in various football fan WeChat groups were also buzzing non-stop, not only in Manchester City’s fan group, but also in those of Inter, Bayern, Liverpool, Barça, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and countless thumbs-up emojis kept appearing and flooding the screen.
Many Chinese fans expressed their wish to form groups to go to Manchester City to watch Tang Long’s matches and witness the style of this European Golden Boy Award winner at the Etihad Stadium live!
During his acceptance speech afterward, Tang Long didn’t forget to tease the Turin Sports Newspaper’s editor-in-chief Regini.
He deliberately turned the microphone towards Regini.
"I am very grateful to the Turin Sports Newspaper for their generosity, allowing Editor-in-Chief Regini to present this important award to me, a former Inter Milan player. You are truly selfless!"
Regini was completely caught off guard by Tang Long’s remark, and he was stunned.
Vieri, however, looked down and clutched his leg to hold back laughter, occasionally glancing at Regini to observe his embarrassed expression.
The audience was silent for a moment.
However, three seconds later, the whole hall erupted in thunderous laughter!
The applause also roared like a tide and lasted for a long time!
The European awards ceremonies are somewhat different from those in China; they don’t have as many formal words, often joking around is normal, and if you can make everyone laugh, it is considered your talent, gaining you even more respect.