God of Green

When the news that Jiang Xiaolin won the 2008 European Golden Boy Award reached China, both the media and the fans were excited.

Fans enthusiastically discussed Jiang Xiaolin's winning in the comment section of news pages of various websites, forums, blogs, QQ groups, etc.

"Although it was expected, Jiang Xiaolin is still very excited to win the award."

"Yes! The European Golden Boy Award is known as the European Golden Ball Award for those under 21 years old, which is also a strong contender for the real Golden Ball Award in the future. I didn't expect that a Chinese player would also win this award one day."

"The key is that Jiang Xiaolin is only 17 years old, and he has already suppressed those 20-year-old and 21-year-old geniuses. Give Jiang Xiaolin a few more years, with his terrifying speed of improvement, I think there is really no problem in winning the European Golden Ball Award."

"I guess Jiang Xiaolin will definitely transfer after this season."

"Well, Alkmaar will definitely not be able to keep him!"

"Look forward to the day when Jiang Xiaolin joins the top five leagues!"

"Look forward to Jiang Xiaolin conquering the Champions League!"

In the Netherlands, Jiang Xiaolin started to receive various calls after reading the newspaper photos sent by his agent Baker for a while.

First, Baker called to say that "Torino Sports Daily" wanted to interview him, and Jiang Xiaolin naturally agreed readily.

Then there were congratulatory calls from various relatives and friends he knew.

Of course, it was mainly from Europe, and it would definitely be a little later in China.

After answering more than ten calls in a row, Jiang Xiaolin finally got a free moment, and took the opportunity to call his mother to tell her the good news.

With his son's great success in football, Jiang Liantao no longer had to worry about the living problems of the mother and son. Her niece also helped to look after the small supermarket, so Jiang Liantao had a lot of time to supplement her football knowledge.

Not only did the family have a TV, but they also bought two computers, one for Jiang Liantao and one for Jiang Xueling. Jiang Liantao had already learned how to use the computer to surf the Internet.

The last time Jiang Xiaolin was selected as one of the 40 candidates for the Golden Boy Award, Jiang Liantao checked the relevant information of the European Golden Boy Award on the Internet, and naturally knew the importance of this European Golden Ball Award under 21 years old.

Now Jiang Liantao was very happy to hear his son call to say that he had won the award.

Jiang Xiaolin spent the day constantly making and receiving calls.

In the afternoon, the editor-in-chief of Turin Sports Daily led a reporter and a photographer to Alkmaar and interviewed Jiang Xiaolin.

However, although he accepted the interview with Turin Sports Daily, Jiang Xiaolin did not receive the European Golden Boy Award trophy.

It was a Golden Ball model similar to the European Golden Ball Award, slightly smaller than the real European Golden Ball Award. It needs to be awarded at another time and the awarding location is not fixed. Today, only the votes and winners are announced.

After the interview, the editor-in-chief of Turin Sports Daily discussed with Jiang Xiaolin, Baker, and the Alkmaar Club and decided to hold the award ceremony on December 16, when Alkmaar played against Udinese at home in the last round of the UEFA Cup group stage.

Because the most recent home game was that one, and Alkmaar and Udinese had already qualified in advance, no one had the pressure to qualify, and fans and players could cheer and congratulate Jiang Xiaolin at the European Golden Boy Award ceremony.

However, there are still several days before that. Alkmaar will first play a league match against the Dutch Eredivisie giant Feyenoord.

Feyenoord is in a bad situation this season and ranks 11th in the standings.

However, Alkmaar still dares not be careless. Because Feyenoord is the first team in the Dutch Eredivisie to win the European Champions Cup, it has a deep foundation.

Moreover, this time Alkmaar is playing away, and it is really hard to say whether it can beat Feyenoord!

Although Alkmaar has won 12 consecutive games, it is still not sure of winning away against Feyenoord, and the whole team must go all out.

A few days after resuming daily training, on December 13, with the referee's whistle, the 15th round of the 2008/2009 Dutch Eredivisie match between Feyenoord and Alkmaar officially started at the Feyenoord Stadium.

Because Feyenoord's performance this season is not good, the stadium that can accommodate more than 50,000 people is not full, and the attendance rate is only about 30,000 people, about 70 to 80 percent.

However, this is already higher than other league games, because this game is against the top team Alkmaar, which is a strong match.

Moreover, Jiang Xiaolin, who just won the European Golden Boy Award, is also in the team, which also attracted many neutral fans to watch the game.

After the game started, Feyenoord and Alkmaar fought against each other.

Although thisAlthough the ranking of the season is not good, Feyenoord is not afraid of Alkmaar, the top team that has won 12 consecutive league games.

After all, this is their home court, and Feyenoord is also one of the three major giants in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Although they have fallen a little recently, their pride is still there, and they are not allowed to be as cowardly as other lower-level teams and play defensive counterattacks.

So, this game was played quite unrestrainedly, and all the fans were very excited.

It’s just that the losing side was a little depressed after the game, but the winning side and neutral fans felt very happy.

It may be that Alkmaar’s ranking and Jiang Xiaolin’s fame have inspired Feyenoord’s somewhat sluggish morale and state this season. In this game, they actually played very well with the cheers of the home fans.

Especially the Korean player Lee Chunxiu in Feyenoord’s lineup was quite active in this game.

As close neighbors in East Asia, South Korea and China have a competitive relationship in many aspects.

In football, the Chinese team has not defeated South Korea for many years, and has even been labeled as having Koreaphobia.

Korean players are very proud and proud when facing Chinese players.

But what makes them depressed is that the top star in Asia is not a Korean, but a Chinese Jiang Xiaolin.

Moreover, Jiang Xiaolin is from the mountainous area of ​​Qianzhou in the southwest, and is a long way from South Korea, so there is not even a little bit of relationship, which makes Koreans who are good at attributing various historical celebrities to their names feel very depressed.

Therefore, after standing on the same field today for the two teams, Li Tianxiu worked very hard to show a good performance and prove that he, a Korean player studying in the Netherlands, is no worse than Jiang Xiaolin from China.

In the 3rd minute, Li Tianxiu unexpectedly passed Alkmaar's full-back Pocognoli with a clever fried meatball on the front side, cut into the penalty area and shot.

The quality of the ball was also good, hitting the goal frame, but the angle was not good, and it was finally saved by Sergio Romero.

Although the ball did not go in, Li Tianxiu's breakthrough into the penalty area and shot still made tens of thousands of Feyenoord fans in the stands applaud him.

Li Tianxiu was a little proud of himself in addition to regret.

Because Jiang Xiaolin has not had a shot yet, and he has already had a threatening shot that hit the goal frame.

As a result, when he went to see Jiang Xiaolin, he found that Jiang Xiaolin didn't look at him at all, and he was a little unhappy.

In fact, he didn't realize that his mentality had actually put himself at a disadvantage, as if he was trying to perform well and begging for Jiang Xiaolin's attention and likes.

Just like the media of the two countries, the Korean media hyped the concept of the Asian Derby before the game.

The Chinese media almost didn't mention it. Because in the eyes of the Chinese media, the level of Li Tianxiu and Jiang Xiaolin is too far apart, and they can't be compared at all, let alone the Derby.

Jiang Xiaolin, who has won the European Golden Boy Award and is now ranked first in the Dutch Eredivisie scorer list, is not even benchmarking ordinary European players, but world superstars and super shooters in major leagues.

Li Tianxiu, a weakling who has not scored a goal in the Dutch Eredivisie this season, is naturally not taken seriously by the Chinese media and Jiang Xiaolin himself.

If Li Tianxiu scored this goal, Jiang Xiaolin might really look at him differently. But since the goal did not score, Jiang Xiaolin naturally would not look at him.

Next, it is Alkmaar's turn to show off.

Although Feyenoord has won the Champions League and has a deep foundation, it is only history after all, and does not represent today's strength and results.

The result of 11th place in the standings is a reflection of Feyenoord's current true strength.

Even though Feyenoord is playing at home in this game, and the strong dialogue has also aroused their fighting spirit and ambition, in terms of real strength, they are still not comparable to Alkmaar, who is at the top of the standings.

What's more, Jiang Xiaolin started the game.

He is almost all-round, he can be a tactical center in the penalty area, and he can also withdraw from the penalty area to shoot from a distance. Moreover, after the epiphany in the League Cup, his speed and decisiveness in handling the ball have improved a lot.

In this case, Feyenoord and Alkmaar's offensive is simply asking for trouble.

In the 7th minute, Alkmaar played a wave of exquisite passing and cutting in the positional battle, tearing open Feyenoord's defense.

Finally, Jiang Xiaolin used his full speed and off-ball running to run a gap in the penalty area, and Hamdaoyi, who was holding the ball, also transferred the ball to him in time.

Although Hamdaoyi's pass was not perfect and was a little far from Jiang Xiaolin, Jiang Xiaolin decisively made a flying shovel shot, and finally grabbed it.Before the opponent's defender Van Bronckhorst cleared the ball, he poked the ball into the goal with his toes.

Although goalkeeper Dali made a save, he was still a hair's breadth away from Jiang Xiaolin's shovel shot in the penalty area and failed to stop Jiang Xiaolin's goal.

In the 7th minute, Alkmaar, playing away, took the lead 1-0 with Jiang Xiaolin's goal.

Feyenoord, playing at home, was naturally unwilling to lose, and increased its offensive strength after the game resumed.

Especially forward Li Tianxiu, his speed and passing are remarkable, but unfortunately he lacked the final touch.

In the 13th minute, Li Tianxiu ran out of space at the top of the penalty area, and his teammate passed the ball to him. He shot the ball hard without stopping, but the ball flew out of the bottom line.

If the ball hit the goal frame, it would actually be a big threat.

However, Li Tianxiu's shooting skills were really touching. In the end, the ball missed the post by a long distance. Goalkeeper Romero was too lazy to save it and just stood there and watched the ball fly out of the baseline.

Next, the two sides fought fiercely in the midfield.

Although Alkmaar ranked first and Feyenoord ranked only 11th in the standings, in fact, except for Jiang Xiaolin's position, Alkmaar's other positions were not very obvious compared to Feyenoord.

Alkmaar's 12 consecutive league wins this season are more dependent on Jiang Xiaolin's numerous goals.

Without Jiang Xiaolin, Alkmaar would definitely not have won 12 consecutive league games, and it is hard to say whether it can occupy the first place in the standings.

Therefore, when the two sides fought in the midfield, Alkmaar's lead was not large, and Feyenoord occasionally got the ball to launch an attack.

However, like Li Tianxiu, the shooting skills of other players were also far from Jiang Xiaolin. Even if they had the chance to shoot, it was difficult for them to make threatening shots, let alone score a goal.

In the 17th minute, they made another threatening breakthrough from the side and passed the ball into the penalty area, which was grabbed by Feyenoord striker Roy Makaay for the first header.

Unfortunately, under the interference of central defender Ragnar Klavan, Makaay's header in the penalty area was powerful but not sharp, and was directly held in his arms by goalkeeper Romero.

After landing from the air, Makaay grabbed his scalp with both hands, looking very annoyed.

The Feyenoord home fans in the stands sighed loudly.

Obviously, everyone was ready to celebrate just now, but unexpectedly, although Makaay hit the ball and hit it within the range of the goal frame, he didn't expect it to hit Romero directly.

Feyenoord missed a great chance to score.

On the Alkmaar side, although the other players were just as bad as Feyenoord and were equally poor at shooting, Jiang Xiaolin alone was enough to send the ball into the opponent's goal.

In the 27th minute, Feyenoord's frontcourt attack made a pass error, and David Mendes intercepted the ball midway, and then passed it to Moussa Dembele in the wing.

The moment Mendes intercepted the ball, Jiang Xiaolin felt the opportunity to counterattack and immediately turned and rushed towards the opponent's penalty area.

Because it was a counterattack, Feyenoord did not have many defensive players left behind.

At the moment when Jiang Xiaolin used his speed to counter-offside, Moussa Dembele kicked the ball into the frontcourt with a long air window.

Although most of the time, the backcourt passes of his teammates could not match Jiang Xiaolin's speed and position, and could not form a perfect counterattack, but Dembele's long pass in the air was very good, just matching Jiang Xiaolin's speed and position.

Jiang Xiaolin did not even need to stop to wait for the ball. He stretched out his foot and used his perfect stopping technique to unload the ball while running, and then dribbled the ball to the top of the penalty area.