Fame with a ball

As the saying goes, what you are afraid of will come. Capello just started to worry that Juventus's striker is not enough, God made a joke with him again: in the 13th round of the league match against Lazio, Quagliarella accidentally sprained He broke his foot, and the team doctor diagnosed him as having injured his ankle, and he needs to recuperate for at least a month.

Quagliarella injured his foot in a way no one could have imagined, as he slipped on his home field's freshly watered lawn.Just in the 80th minute of the game, near the end, Quagliarella assisted a goal for his teammate Vucinic, the goal was scored, and then he got too excited and started running on the pitch, running and running Then...the foot twisted.

When he slipped and fell to the ground holding his foot and screaming for pain, the teammates around him thought it was Quagliarella's new way to celebrate the goal, and they even wanted to lift him up and throw him. to the sky.It wasn't until the experienced team doctor saw something was wrong, quickly told the fourth official to suspend the game, and then ran to the field to diagnose Quagliarella, and everyone discovered that he had really injured himself.

Quagliarella's injury made him, Capello, even the entire Juventus team and the reporters and fans feel dumbfounded, because it was too dramatic.But it is undeniable that his injury has made the Juventus striker, which is not very optimistic, even worse.

Even many media have seen the problem of Juventus's striker. The French "L'Equipe" wrote: "Juventus' defense is the best in the world, and it makes almost all the team's coaches feel uncomfortable when facing them. Headlines, a fact I don't think many clubs would deny. But ironically, compared to their defence, their attack is woefully weak."

"As a century-old giant, Juventus's striker has dim starlight. It doesn't even have a world-class superstar. It’s a huge investment every year! Now that Quagliarella is injured, Capello is facing an even more unavailable situation. Unfortunately, Juventus will go to Catalonia and Barcelona in ten days. In the last game of the game, will Juventus be lucky enough to qualify? This is probably really a mystery."

The well-known Italian newspaper "Turin Sports" also made a news report with the title "Juventus striker suffers from injuries" and said: "The three Serie A champions have different battles in the Champions League group stage. At the end of the fifth group match, it was confirmed that the group will qualify first. Unfortunately, Inter Milan was defeated. It is currently ranked third in the group and has a three-point gap with the second in the group. However, Quagliarella's injury and Lin Zhigao's unhealed injury have cast a shadow over their future. If the current stalemate could have been thought of earlier, I don't know if Capello would want to do it before the start of the season. Recruiting? But it is conceivable that Juventus will definitely have a foot in the winter transfer period that will come soon."

"Turin Sports Daily" is worthy of being a local newspaper in Turin, and it has a very accurate grasp of Capello's ideas. Capello did submit a plan to buy new players to the club yesterday.

In his plan, according to the game tactics he designed for Juventus, it is proposed that Juventus need to buy 2-3 more players, mainly to supplement the striker line. Of course, if the defense line can usher in a world-class player. It's even better.

Paul Pogba is the only defensive player that Capello mentioned in his plan. He is a defensive midfielder, a French black, with superb skills and a calm mind. He is one of the few rookies in world football who uses his head One of those young players who plays football, not talent.

Capello's favorite strikers include Montpellier's Olivier, Florence's Jovetic, Naples' Lavezzi, Bologna's Ramirez, Real Madrid's Higuain, etc. wait.It's not that Capello is bound to win these players, he is just expressing an attitude to the club, that is-if you want Juventus to have a brilliant record, then you can't give me a team that can't attack, add fresh Blood, it's a must.

The club's response to Capello is that they will carefully consider Capello's plan, and then add one or two players to him during the winter transfer period, but before the winter transfer, they hope that Capello I can go to the youth academy to see more. It would be even better if I can give priority to the selection of native Italians in the Juventus youth academy.After all, the Juventus locker room has always been dominated by Italian players.

The club's general manager Marotta's proposal was agreed by Capello, so the two sides took a step back. Capello first inspected Juventus' youth training camp. If there were no players he was satisfied with, Maro Tower then looked for other players for him.

……

Lin Zhigao recovered from his injuries very quickly. The redness and swelling on his calf, which looked so scary a few days ago, was completely healed within three days.

This made teammate Quagliarella very jealous. You know, Lin Zhigao's leg injury was kicked firmly by the Marseille defender, and Quagliarella slipped by himself.According to the general situation, it should be that Lin Zhigao's injury is relatively serious, and Quagliarella's is relatively minor, right?

But the reality is so dramatic. Lin Zhigao, who was injured by a malicious foul, appeared on the training ground alive and kicking after less than a week of recuperation.And what about Quagliarella?I can only sit on the sidelines of the training ground or stay in my own home, secretly cursing the workers who watered the field on the day of the game: How did you make the lawn so slippery? !

Lin Zhigao's recovery made Capello greatly relieved. He really has no one to use now. At this moment, Capello doesn't care about the various plans he made for Lin Zhigao before, whether it is the league or the Champions League. , he is ready to reuse Lin Zhigao—anyway, now he can see that this Chinese boy who is less than 20 years old has a perverted physique that is comparable to whites and blacks, and even worse, no matter how you train him, how Let him play the game, as long as he rests for one night, he will still be alive and kicking the next day.

In addition, his skills are improving rapidly, and his team awareness is also good. Since he joined Juventus, he has always followed the rules and has not been affected by frequent nightclubs or anything. Is there any player in the world who is more pleasing to the head coach than this kind of player? what?

In the 12th round of Serie A on December 3, when the media was still hyping the news that Juventus had no strikers, Capello sent Lin Zhigao to the field.

At this time, Lin Zhigao's leg injury is no longer serious, but it may be a conditioned reflex, and his right calf will occasionally have a nervous throbbing pain, which affects Lin Zhigao's performance. He did not score in this game, but Persisting in running for 90 minutes and actively assisting and passing the ball for his teammates still conquered all the media present.

At the press conference after the game, a reporter asked Capello: "Is Lin Zhigao already the absolute main force of Juventus?" Capello replied in the affirmative at that time.And in the next day's newspaper, most of the praises were given to Lin Zhigao's game the day before yesterday. For a young player who is only 19 years old this year, he has been the main offensive force within a few months after joining a giant like Juventus. Flag, no one could ask for more from him.

Bad news has a habit of coming in droves, and it seems the good news does too.

For Lin Zhigao, something better than becoming the main force of the team and being able to play games often happened soon-in the new issue of the "European Golden Boy Award" special issue of "Turin Sports", he became One of the popular candidates to win the award in 2012, and the support rate is also ranked in the top five in Europe.

……

The European Golden Boy Award, formerly known as the "European Best Rookie Award", was founded by the Italian "Turin Sports News", and votes are sent to more than 30 important European media every year. An award for the best young player of the year selected by them.From the perspective of award criteria and qualifications, the European Golden Boy Award is like a smaller version of the European Golden Globe Award.

The European Golden Boy Award is one of the highest honors for U21 young players. Since its establishment in 03, a total of 9 European football players have been born, and most of them have grown into football superstars, such as van der Vaart, Rooney, Messi, Fabregas, Aguero, Anderson and more.The Golden Boy Award winners after 09, Pato, Balotelli, and Gotze are also favored by fans and reporters.

In this year's selection of the European Golden Boy Award, as early as October, "Turin Sports News" combined with many European media to draw up a list of 10 candidates, including 40 from Serie A, 6 from Premier League, and 8 from La Liga. , 8 from the Bundesliga, 2 from the Ligue 5, and 11 from other leagues.

These 40 young players are all playing for European clubs, and Neymar, who is still playing in Brazil and is currently the new star in world football, is not eligible for this year's European Golden Boy Award because he does not play for European clubs .Neymar was born in 1992. He is 20 years old this year. If he does not come to Europe to play next year, even if he can achieve brilliant results in the future, he will miss the European Golden Boy Award, because the European Golden Boy The award is only awarded to players under the age of 21.

The European Golden Boy Award is a selection standard that also pays attention to the personal honor and collective honor of the candidate players.Generally, only four things are looked at, which are club honors, personal honors, and national team honors. If the player is in a wealthy club, then there is also the halo bonus of the wealthy club.

Although there are 40 candidates on the list, there are only a few popular candidates every year, two or three, at most five.Last year's favorites were De Gea, Gotze and Thiago. Among them, De Gea and Gotze had the most intense competition. Finally, Gotze from Bundesliga Dortmund won the European Golden Boy Award in 2011, and Because De Gea was born in 90, he failed to win the award last year, and this year he is too old to participate in the selection of the European Golden Boy Award.

From the submission of the shortlist of candidates in October to the awarding of the awards in January of the next year, during the nearly three months, "Turin Sports" will periodically investigate the approval ratings of the candidates, make rankings, and publish them in the newspaper superior.Until now at the beginning of December, there is only one month left before the final selection, and this year's Golden Boy Awards have been announced. The top five in media support are: Lin Zhigao, Wilshere, Hazard , Thiago, and Phil Jones.

Jack Wilshere, the double main force of Arsenal and the England national team, has a steady playing style and a great general demeanor.

Eden Hazard, the ace of the Ligue 10 club Lille, the core of the midfield, once won the best player in Ligue 11 in the [-]-[-] season.Hazard has a name that is more familiar to Chinese fans, that is Hazard. In fact, Hazard and Hazard are the same person. The difference in name is due to the difference between English and French transliteration, and Hazard is French transliteration, he is also French and plays football in France, so this translation is the most accurate.

Barcelona genius Thiago Alcantara, last year's favorite to win the award, the core midfielder of the Spanish national team, has won the European Youth Championship, and is also the main rotation of the Barcelona club.

Lin Zhigao, the only Asian player with the highest approval rating in the history of the European Golden Boy Award, was praised by the European media as a "genius born out of nowhere", the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot Award in the 11-12 season, the Premier League He holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season, helped the team win the FA Cup, almost single-handedly led the team into the Champions League, and is also the absolute main force of the Chinese national team.

Phil Jones, a rookie for Manchester United, is brave and confident.Currently being praised by the media as the new "John Terry".

In addition to the top five, Stephen Al Shawila, who ranks sixth in approval rating, is also very popular, almost surpassing Phil Jones.Shavila is a player of AC Milan and is also known as one of the best players in Italy in the 92nd session, but there is a reason why he has never surpassed Phil Jones to occupy the top five in the popularity list-this guy He loves to stick to the ball too much, and he refuses to pass the football to others easily.

Lin Zhigao and the six of them almost attracted 80% of the votes from the European media, while No.7 was left far behind.Among them, Hazard and Thiago were the favorites to win the award last year, and they were both born in 91. That is to say, this year is their last chance to win the Golden Boy Award.

Although the final selection has not yet been carried out, the European media has already made a list for this year's European Golden Boy Awards, marking the honors of the most popular candidates to see who has a better chance of winning the award .

Except for Wilshere, the other five have all won heavyweight championships.Judging from whether they are selected for the national team, except for Shavila who has not been selected for the Italian national team, the rest are considered international players. (Savira played for Italy U21) Judging by the main force and playing time, Hazard and Wilshere are the main players of their respective clubs. Although Lin Zhigao has played very few league games so far, his Champions League start is undoubtedly more important. , while Shavila and Thiago are the main rotation players of Milan and Barcelona respectively.

Judging from their respective media exposure and attention, the attention of Ligue [-] has never been high, and Hazard is slightly inferior in this regard.The rest of Lin Zhigao and the other five are either in Italy, England, or Spain. The media in these three places are all well-known, and they will use their news to "pollute" the eyes of people all over Europe from time to time.

Although it is said that the selection of the Golden Boy Award generally has the halo bonus of the giants, such as Wilshere at Arsenal, Phil Jones at Manchester United, Shalawi at AC Milan, Thiago at Barcelona, ​​and Lin Zhigao at Juventus, but if If the popular candidates are all from the top clubs, this halo bonus will be useless. The ratings of the major media will instead focus on whether the candidates can perform well in different clubs.

In this small item, Lin Zhigao has been added. He has become the main force of the team first from the Premier League and then to Serie A.In fact, last year's De Gea was more popular than Gotze in the early stage. He has better skills and is also the absolute main force of the team. He has changed more than one club. Unfortunately, Gotze won more championships later, and the media are more optimistic. Gotze's potential, so the Golden Boy Award was taken away by Gotze.If it weren't for De Gea's overage this year, most of the current votes would have been taken away by De Gea again.

Lin Zhigao did not expect that he would be selected for the European Golden Boy Award, nor did he expect that his approval rate would be quite considerable. Among the current candidates, although his approval rate cannot be said to be the highest, it has risen. But it is the fastest.

So when an Italian reporter interviewed him and told him all this, Lin Zhigao expressed his surprise very sincerely, but soon, he expressed ambitiously that he was bound to win this award.

The reporter complained inwardly: Strange, don't all Asians like to say modestly, "I can't do it, others are better than me"?While asking Lin Zhigao: "Why do you think you will definitely win the Golden Boy Award?"

What Lin Zhigao thought in his mind was of course "Idiot, that's because I'm the best!" After doing the math, among the several candidates, he can gather the club's main position, the national team's main position, individual honors and collective honors. He is the only one who has the bonus of a wealthy family and has stayed in different leagues in these major categories. The others either lack personal honor or collective honor.

Excessive arrogance is not good, but Lin Zhigao can't learn the strange look of being humble to death. He just builds on the foundation of strength and is very confident in himself.

However, think about this kind of thing for yourself, or is it okay to tell it to your friends, or tell it to the reporters?Who knows what they'll make of all this tomorrow!Reporters are the best at talking nonsense and scribbling, so Lin Zhigao just shrugged and said casually, "Because I have great confidence in myself."

The reporter was embarrassed: "That's the only way?"

Lin Zhigao looked at him: "It's strange, I don't even have the confidence and idea that I will definitely win the award?"

reporter:"……"

……

After the reporter interviewed Lin Zhigao, he didn't make much news in the newspaper, such as "Lin Zhigao is proud and conceited and looks down on other candidates", probably because Lin Zhigao didn't say anything to him at all. If he can't say it, let him not make up any eye-catching news.

However, Lin Zhigao realized a very cute truth from this point, that is: it is best to talk nonsense to reporters.Tell them the truth, not only will they not publish it in the newspapers, but they will misinterpret and smear it.And talk nonsense to them?Not only can you disgust them, but you can also avoid the danger of your own reputation being damaged, how wonderful!

Unlike Lin Zhigao who is very confident in himself, Chinese domestic media generally do not report much hope for Lin Zhigao's award. Most reporters are on the sidelines about the selection of the European Golden Boy Award and will not hype it up.

It's not that they don't believe that Lin Zhigao has the ability to win the award, but a long-accumulated morbid psychology: the moon in foreign countries is always rounder than that in China, so the Chinese must not be able to compete with foreigners for international awards. what are they...

This strange state of mind has affected the Chinese people for decades since the reform and opening up, and it seems that it will not be able to change much in a short period of time.Only when China is completely prosperous and powerful, and Chinese people gain more and more status in the world, and Chinese people go abroad to gain respect and even envy, will they fully understand: In fact, we are no worse than Western society.

……

When I saw John again, he was waiting outside the gate of the training ground. Lin Zhigao had seen the Lamborghini sports car he drove several times, so when he saw him again, a thought flashed in Lin Zhigao's mind: Yes, be It's time to catch up.

He felt awkward at first, but soon calmed down, apologized to Iaquinta, his teammate who had planned to have dinner with him, and strode over to get into John's car.

John travels, often in a stretched limousine, and then he is accompanied by a driver who looks like an invisible man.But today, unexpectedly, he sat in the driver's seat himself.

"Where's your secretary and the driver?" Lin Zhigao pretended that he was normal, and he didn't feel awkward at all.

"Didn't you always feel uncomfortable before? When I brought them to dinner with you." John smiled slightly, and then started the car. "So today I'm giving them a day off."

Lin Zhigao also smiled: "I just feel that they don't say a word at all, but just stand there with a blank expression - it feels like there are two artificial cameras standing beside them, which makes me feel very uncomfortable."

"If they don't have this kind of self-cultivation, I won't pay them such a high salary. By the way, what do you want for dinner?"

"French food? I've just left Marseilles and I'm missing it."

While turning the steering wheel, John made a regretful expression: "Next time you should tell me that you want to eat French food a day in advance."

"Why? Could it be that the French restaurants in Turin are closed today?"

John curled his mouth: "Because of that, I have time to buy ingredients."

Lin Zhigao opened his eyes slightly: "Although I have known for a long time that your cooking skills are very good, but when a normal person mentions eating French food, they probably want to go to a French restaurant, right?"

John shrugged: "Their cooking is not as good as mine."

"Shenma is called a model of how to get out of the living room and into the kitchen, I finally know." Lin Zhigao couldn't help muttering in Chinese.

John glanced over with gentle eyes: "What are you talking about?"

Lin Zhigao's expression immediately became serious: "I'm using a very old Chinese saying to praise you."

John's mouth twitched.For some reason, he always felt that the more serious he said he was praising your Lin Zhigao, the less good things he said... This was an intuitive reaction.

At Lin Zhigao's request, the two chose a French restaurant for dinner. From ordering to starting the meal, Lin Zhigao and John talked about irrelevant topics. For example, John talked about his recent business. As a shareholder, Lin Zhigao talked about next week's game or something.

After the dessert was served, John took a sip of the red wine and slowly changed his expression, which was a sign that he was going to have a long talk.

Guilty, Lin Zhigao quickly said before he could speak: "I want to apologize to you first."

John glanced at him, puzzled.

"I, uh..." Lin Zhigao scratched his head and said, "Well, before I apologize, I want to ask Lapo if he said anything to you about Sebastian?"

"That's exactly what I was going to talk to you about. The text I sent you earlier—"

"Wait, listen to me first!" Lin Zhigao couldn't wait to interrupt John: "I read your text messages, and I accept your apology. To be honest, you are a bit unkind. How old is your son, and you are hiding it from me! Don't you consider me a friend? However, if you feel guilty about it, I will also feel uneasy."

After a pause, he continued: "Actually, what I want to say is that I have never asked about your family situation, and I have never been able to visit your home. Of course, it is impossible for you to take the initiative to mention to me that you are married and have a family. A son who is not much younger than me, isn’t he? Although I am a little angry at your unintentional concealment, but I am too careless and careless. I can’t take it for granted that you have never been married just because I didn’t ask you— —Think about it, you are almost 40 years old! There are really not many men at this age who have never been married, and I probably have a brain cramp for thinking like that."

"...Actually, I'm only 36 years old this year."

"There is no difference between being 36 and being almost 40." Lin Zhigao waved his hand, and before John could intervene, he continued, "So about the fact that I didn't know your marital status and lost my temper because of it and ignored you, Let's leave it alone and let's not talk about it, okay?"

John narrowed his eyes slightly: "Are you trying to say that we are clear?"

"At first I thought you owed me a little bit, but..." Lin Zhigao felt that it would be embarrassing for him to say the following words, but for the sake of honesty, he still said: "I don't know if it's because I haven't had a girlfriend Because of this, I feel that I was too strange in the past few days."

"strangeness?"

"After I came to Italy, I didn't have many friends. I don't mean the kind of ordinary friends who eat and drink together, I mean the kind who can talk. When I was in London, I had Robin and Bossroyd. I was in a bad mood. Now, I can go to their houses to eat and drink, and let them relieve me. And Warnock, he was my first manager, and he was the best for me, just like my father was for me. But After coming to Turin, I haven’t made many close friends, only you. Maybe it’s because I’m too lonely living alone in Turin. I think I was a little... oh, a little too dependent on you a while ago. "

John lowered his expression, looked up at Lin Zhigao, very focused.

"I will tell you to help you if I have anything, and I will take out all my troubles like taking out garbage. I will be very unhappy knowing that you have something to hide from me, and I will even be angry with you and refuse to answer your phone—— I don't know why I became so naive, as if I just want to monopolize you as a friend. This is not normal, really, I feel that this is very abnormal. So I think it is a person in a foreign country Living abroad makes me feel so lonely, and here there is no one but you, John, so I cling to you like a koala clings to a tree."

"Why do you think this kind of friendship is abnormal?" John spoke very slowly, without anger, but without a smile, and it could even be said that the expression on his face became a little subtle.

Not knowing if his monologue frightened John, Lin Zhigao subconsciously licked his lower lip and said, "Normal friendship between men is not like this. We will help each other, talk occasionally, but never... Only women who are friends will stay together like this all day long and are often jealous of each other."

"Friendship between men is not all rough expressions. We are human, and we all have delicate and sensitive feelings." John's expression returned to calm, he stretched out his hand, and shook Lin Zhigao's hand on the table, Said: "You are not very old - no, don't rush to refute, I am not saying that you are young and immature, you are very strong, and you can adapt to the environment quickly. What I want to say is that you are only 19 You are still in adolescence at the age of [-], and people of your age are particularly prone to sentimentality due to physical development. This is not a fault, nor is it a disease, nor is it impossible. Why do you need to worry about emotional agitation? How about criticizing yourself? Besides, I don’t care about your dependence on me, being trusted by others is actually a very happy thing.”

"You... don't you feel burdened? Don't you think my thoughts and feelings are abnormal?"

"Everyone has 'The Sorrows of Young Werther,' Lin, and it's a perfectly normal thing."

John's expression was very calm, without any surprise or impatience caused by Lin Zhigao's words, and it could even be said to be somewhat gentle.His attitude and tone greatly soothed Lin Zhigao's heart, but it also made him fall into contradictory choices again, so Lin Zhigao didn't notice at all that when John was comforting him, the hands of the two of them are held together.

"Okay." After an unknown period of time, Lin Zhigao finally figured it out. He let out a long breath and showed a big smile: "John, it is my honor to have you as a friend."

John smiled at him.

"Whether I call it puberty troubles or something else, living alone is quite boring." Lin Zhigao began to mutter again: "So I think I should go to nightclubs and bars with Iaquinta and the others more. , and then make a serious girlfriend—"

"Lin." John called him suddenly.

"what?"

"I've been saying something just now, I wanted to say it to you, but you always interrupted me."

Lin Zhigao laughed a few times, and quickly added: "Then you talk now, I will listen carefully and never interrupt you."

"My son, Sebastian, is 15 years old this year. I was married to his mother when I was 19 years old, but we divorced ten years ago." John smiled slightly: "So, I definitely didn't mean to Conceal the fact that you and I are married."