I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Chapter 380: Chapter 42: Competing News, A New Legend

The national derby concluded, and after the match, Florentino came to the dressing room. He smiled and congratulated the players on their victory over Barcelona and informed Chen Zhong of a piece of news: on December 6, at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the Golden Boy Award ceremony would be held before the match against Almeria.

”Congratulations, Chen!”

”You have become the seventh recipient of the Golden Boy Award since its establishment.”

”Of course, compared to the Golden Boy Award, I hope you can win another award.” Florentino privately shook Chen Zhong’s hand and said with a smile, ”You will become a legendary player in the history of football, not just Asia, as the first Asian player to win both the Golden Boy Award and the Ballon d’Or.”

Since 1956, when French Football magazine established the Ballon d’Or, this annual award has almost always been dominated by players from Europe and South America.

In the 1990s, African players also joined the competition for this honor.

For Asian players, even being shortlisted is already an immense honor.

And now, Chen Zhong, as the ”Light of Asia,” has become a banner, and winning the Golden Boy Award has become an indelible historical milestone for Asian football.

Some even advocate in Asia that their football is no less than European football now.

Chen Zhong did not discuss this award with others, only mentioning it briefly in a phone call with his parents at night before going to sleep. As someone focused on football, he wasn’t aware of what this 7-year-old award meant for his country and Asia.

The day after Florentino informed Chen Zhong of his win.

The renowned sports media ”Torino Sports Newspaper” announced the 2009 ”European Golden Boy Award” results.

Real Madrid’s captain Chen Zhong stood out from 40 candidates, becoming the 7th genius player to win this prestigious award. This news enveloped the entire Madrid in a joyous atmosphere. Although it’s only the Golden Boy Award, not the Ballon d’Or, the locals were delighted nonetheless with their child’s ”certificate,” no matter how small.

Moreover, wasn’t their ”Messi” also a Golden Boy Award winner?

Doesn’t this also signify that Chen Zhong has the world’s top football talent?

In his home country, Chen Zhong’s winning of the Golden Boy Award sparked a wave across Asia, with countless Asian media outlets declaring, ”Asians are no inferior to Europeans.”

During that time, many believed that Asian players struggled to establish themselves in Europe due to ”natural” disadvantages, that Asians were better at non-contact sports requiring smaller skills.

The emergence of Chen Zhong and more Asian players in Europe rendered those views ”dispelled without effort.”

Asians can succeed in Europe, Asians can stand out among European talents, and some have even started envisioning Asians winning the European Ballon d’Or.

Even the Koreans and Japanese couldn’t help but fantasize, with many of Chen’s ”fans” in these countries surprisingly from the female demographic.

Korea: Our research shows that Chen has our bloodline; he should be Korean.

Japan: As expected, Captain Tsubasa doesn’t lie. Powerful Chinese football has finally produced a world-class player.

Many young Asian players idolize or aim to emulate Chen Zhong, such as Son Heung-min from Korea and Kubo Takefusa from Japan.

Chinese media analyzed Chen Zhong’s inclusion in the Golden Boy Award and the significance of its value at length with the domestic public, even prompting Central Television to unprecedentedly allocate some time to report on the news.

This marked Chen Zhong’s second appearance on Central TV’s morning news, motivating numerous parents with talented but hesitant children to encourage them to try playing football, leading to a flourishing emergence of soccer talents across the nation, with school soccer thriving vigorously.

Various provinces and cities held numerous school cup and unified cup tournaments. While there were some lackluster ”like champion” events, many real competitions allowed local and even European academies to discover talented prospects.

Of course, there were skeptics who doubted that such a ”minor award” was worthy of such grand celebration since the ”European Golden Boy Award” is an Italian media ”Torino Sports Newspaper” initiative started in 2003.

Compared to the now-defunct ”Little Ballon d’Or,” it seemed of little reference value.

Having anticipated skeptics, netizens quickly found the criteria in relevant reports to refute criticisms.

The ”European Golden Boy Award” targets young players under 21 playing for European clubs.

The selection process mimics French Football’s Ballon d’Or, with over 30 European sports media outlets voting to determine the award based on the number of votes.

For 2009, ”Torino Sports Newspaper,” responsible for this award, announced a 40-player candidacy.

The list included promising young talents like Santon, Balotelli, Jovetic, Paloski, Marin, Kjaer, and Mueller.