On December 5, 2008, the 2008 European Golden Boy Award was announced, and Yang Fan, a Chinese player who played for the English Premier League giants Manchester United, was elected with an absolute lead. ”

On this morning in early December 2008, many Chinese who got up to work in the morning routinely turned on the TV to watch the morning news. This immediately drew a cheer. As Yang Fan's performance became better and better, and with the emergence of this top star, the enthusiasm of domestic fans was rekindled, and some people who had no love for football before also began to care about the sport.

"Golden Boy Award, what kind of award is this?" someone asked.

The European Golden Boy Award is hosted by the Italian newspaper Torino Sport, and the voters are from major European media journalists, and the candidates are limited to those under 21 years old. That is, the best young player in the year. Someone explained. Don't say it, this explanation is about to catch up with professional standards.

In terms of votes, Yang Fan is far ahead with 210 votes, and in second place is his Manchester United team-mate Andersson with 79 votes, Anderson is only three votes more than Arsenal's England young international Theo Walcott, who is third with 76 votes, and Atletico Madrid's Argentine star Sergio Aguero is fourth with 59 votes. From the votes, we can see that the difference between the second and fourth votes is not large, and Yang Fan is almost unbeatable. In 2008, it was a season for Yang Fan, he won the Golden Boot in the Bundesliga, and helped Wolfsburg win the League Cup, and the team also reached this season's Champions League, and in the summer transfer market, Yang Fan transferred to the Premier League giants Manchester United at a sky-high price of 35 million pounds, and the value of 35 million pounds also made Yang Fan the king of the summer transfer market! Yang Fan's performance is still eye-catching when he comes to Manchester United, and he currently leads the scorer list in the Premier League with 15 goals, and is likely to win the Golden Boot in his first season in the Premier League!"

In addition, it is worth mentioning that this is the second time that Yang Fan has won the Golden Boy Award after winning the award in 2007, which is the first time in the history of the Golden Boy Award that anyone has been able to win the award twice. Considering the 21-year-old age limit for this award, it is unlikely that anyone will be able to win this award for a second time, even in the very short time to come. ”

The news early in the morning made the Chinese fans feel very good, on the subway, in the bus, many people are discussing this topic, at this time, discussing football is no longer a need to cover up, and it is no longer a scandal. Of course, this is only limited to discussing Yang Fan, if you mention the national football team or the Football Association, it is a different scene.

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On 6 December 2008, in the 16th round of the 2007/2008 Premier League season, Manchester United played Sunderland at home.

Before the start of the competition, Torino Sport presented Yang Fan with the award of the 2008 European Golden Boy Award.

Yang Fan received the trophy from Paulo, the editor-in-chief of Torino Sport, and then lifted the trophy up, and at this moment, the Old Trafford stadium resounded with deafening cheers. The match against Sunderland was not a highlight, but the stands were almost full, and Manchester United fans came to see Yang Fan receive the Golden Boy Award. They used such a way to express their support and love for Yang Fan.

Tens of thousands of fans stood up and cheered and applauded Yang Fan.

Yang Fan lifted the trophy three times in a row, and the stands also shouted his name in unison three times in a row.

Emma Roberts was also applauding in the grandstand box at Old Trafford, her little face full of excitement and she was proud of Yang Fan. At this moment, immersive, seeing these tens of thousands of people cheering for a person, applauding a person, and being proud of him, this kind of scene is really spectacular, this is an atmosphere that can make people feel shocked from the bottom of their hearts!

When Yang Fan played for Wolfsburg, Emma had gone to the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg to watch the game, and was already shocked by the scene of the 20,000 people applauding Yang Fan in unison, but at this moment, at Old Trafford, which is several times more spectacular than the Volkswagen Arena, this shock is even better!

In this Premier League match, the final score was 1-0, Manchester United beat Sunderland by one goal at home, for Yang Fan, the only regret is that he was not able to score. He didn't look very lucky in today's game, as a shot hit the post and bounced off the woodwork again before the goalkeeper held the ball on the goal line.

However, although he was unable to score, Yang Fan was still the best player of the game, and the goal scored by Cristiano Ronaldo was that after Yang Fan's shot was saved, he knocked the football to the middle with his own heel, and Ronaldo easily scored an empty goal.

At the end of the game, the cheers above Old Trafford shook the sky, and the fans were not happy to lose points because the team won by just one goal.

The league has reached 16 rounds, and with the halfway point of the season, everyone can see that Manchester United is driving faster and faster like a sports car.

Even in the competition for the scorer list, Yang Fan is now leading everyone with fifteen goals. Behind him was Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka, with the Frenchman tally 10 goals, followed by the three players who scored eight goals: Robinho, Defoe, Robin van Persie and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It can be said that Yang Fan is a standout in the Premier League scorer list, far ahead of many chasers.

The next day, George Gordon, a die-hard supporter of Yang Fan, wrote in his column: "Manchester United is in good shape! Yang Fan is in good shape! No one thought that Manchester United, who had a bad start to the season, would now be able to lead the standings, and this was all after Yang Fan returned from injury and ban, and the Chinese star told everyone with a goal after goal, how crazy he was this season, how great he was! Now, the whole of England is talking about a topic: who can stop Manchester United? Who can stop Yang Fan? Although they have not yet experienced the test of the devil's schedule during the Christmas period, the United team is at their best, even if they have to travel to Japan for the Club World Cup in the devil's schedule, return to the league with two games a week and face Chelsea, but now the team definitely has the strength and confidence to face the next competition. Yang Fan's form is really good, he is not only able to score goals now, he is also the most dangerous one even if he occasionally does not score on the pitch, and that was the case in today's game against Sunderland. Cristiano Ronaldo may be unhappy to hear me say this, but in fact, Yang Fan's importance in the Manchester United team is getting higher and higher! In some games, his watch is completely better than Cristiano Ronaldo, and since his return from injury, Yang Fan's stability is shocking, and in this regard, he is doing better than Cristiano Ronaldo!"

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As George Gordon himself said, he shouted for Yang Fan like this, and even stepped on Cristiano Ronaldo to sing praises to Yang Fan, which really made Cristiano Ronaldo very unhappy. The Portuguese increasingly feels that his position in the team is being challenged. He had to do something.

After the match against Sunderland, the Champions League group stage day is in midweek, and Manchester United travel to play away to Celtic giants in the Soviet Super League.

Yang Fan was still in the ban period of the Champions League, so he could not play in this game, so he did not go with the team. It stands to reason that even if he does not enter the game list, he will go to the away away with the team, but this time, Yang Fan took a special leave and did not go with the team, and he wanted to stay in Manchester to accompany Emma. Emma rarely adjusted her working hours this time and rushed to accompany him, Yang Fan was naturally extremely happy, and he also cherished the rare time between the two of them. For Yang Fan's request for leave, Ferguson still gave approval, anyway, this kid is in the ban period and can't play, so it is better to stay in Manchester and avoid fatigue.

Yang Fan and his girlfriend Emma watched Manchester United's Champions League group stage match against Celtic in front of the TV. The final score was 1-1 with Celtic scoring first and Cristiano Ronaldo equalising with a direct free-kick.

After the goal, Cristiano Ronaldo was particularly excited, running dozens of meters, yelling to celebrate the goal, and constantly pointing to the number and name on the back of his shirt, asking the fans for cheers and applause.

"Sassy guys. Yang Fan flattened his mouth, but seemed to have forgotten selectively, and he also liked this celebration after the goal to ask the fans for cheers and applause.

"Do you have a conflict?" asked Emma.

"Uh-I can't say it's a contradiction. Yang Fan thought for a while and said, "It's a competitive relationship, so it's more accurate to describe the relationship between the two of us." ”

"Let's put it this way, Ronaldo was the original No1 of this team, and now, I'm here, I want to be this No1 too, you see, that's how it is, there can only be one No1, that's the problem. ”

"Do you not even say anything when you meet, as if you are enemies?" said Emma, who seemed to be gossiping.

"How come?" Yang Fan said in surprise, "We can still get along well in private, last time I held a family party, Ronaldo also brought his girlfriend here, although our relationship is not very good in normal times, but it is definitely not stiff." ”

"I don't understand. Emma waved her little fist, "If there was someone who had such a relationship with me, I wouldn't give her a good look." ”

Yang Fan 'uh' and shrugged, this is a little woman.

"What? what are you trying to say?" asked Emma.

"Nothing. ”

Say. ”

"What I'm trying to say is, I'm going to eat you. Yang Fan said, a hungry tiger pounced, pressed Emma under him, and started a new round of fighting...... This is the tactic he has figured out now, if he wants Emma to be obedient, then he will toss her without a little strength, and she will be honest when she is exhausted.

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After the match against Celtic, Manchester United will face Tottenham Hotspur in the 17th round of league fixtures at the weekend, and then the whole team will depart for Tokyo, Japan for the 2008 Club World Cup.

However, before that, several of Manchester United's stars will depart for Paris, France, for the 2008 European Ballon d'Or ceremony.

A little over a month ago, France Football magazine officially announced the list of candidates for the 2008 Ballon d'Or. There are 12 selections in the Premier League, while Spain, who won the European Championships, contributed seven players to the list.

Kaka, winner of the 2007 European Ballon d'Or, continues to be selected and is the only player from AC Milan. However, it seems no secret that this year's favourites are Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, who led the Reds to last season's Champions League title, along with Rooney, Van der Sar and Nemanja Vidic, as well as Yang Fan.

According to the Spanish media, Messi from Barcelona and Casillas, who is already the captain of the Spanish team, will be the biggest contender for Cristiano Ronaldo, with only 30 people on this year's list, 20 fewer than in previous years, and the reduction of the list has also made many stars miss this highest honor in Europe. In addition to the Ballon d'Or winners Andriy Shevchenko and Cannavaro a few years ago, Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho were also excluded from the list. In an interview with French TV TF1, Ronaldinho also admitted frankly: "It's normal to be unqualified, I didn't play many games last season.

This year's 30 nominees come from 16 countries, with three each from England and the Netherlands in addition to Spain. In addition, 6 people are from countries other than Europe, South America and Africa occupy a total of 5 seats, Yang Fan has become the only seedling in Asia, becoming the only Asian player selected for the European Ballon d'Or squad!

Because 2008 is the year of the European Cup, generally speaking, in a year with continental competitions, the outstanding players in the tournament, especially the stars from the champion team, are more likely to be favored by the judges, and often at this time, the competition between the best players in the European Cup or the World Cup and the best players in the Champions League and the five major leagues will compete for the European Ballon d'Or of the year.

In the list of 30 players for the 2008 European Ballon d'Or, there is a phenomenon that has attracted everyone's attention: among these 30 players, seven players are post-85 players! This is another big change in international football after the post-80s generation seized power. When the post-75 stars are still contributing residual heat, and when the post-80s stars are dominating, the post-85 stars are ready to seize power.

This can be seen from the body of this year's European Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who last season, when Kaka won the European Ballon d'Or, whether it was Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi, they were just the role of accompanying the prince to study, but, just one season later, Cristiano Ronaldo shocked everyone with his excellent performance, and he also became the hottest candidate this year.

In addition, Yang Fan, who transferred to Manchester United this summer, and Argentine star Messi of Barcelona, these two are also shining stars among the post-85 stars.

In everyone's opinion, Manchester United's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo will be the most vocal player in this year's European Ballon d'Or, and it is even believed that this year's European Ballon d'Or has been booked for a long time.

Cristiano Ronaldo not only led United to the league and Champions League double last season, but also scored 42 goals in all competitions, including 31 in the league and 10 in the cups. At the same time, it combines the four major titles of league, Champions League champion, Premier League Golden Boot, and Champions League Golden Boot, and even Ronaldo at his peak is difficult to compare. If the Portuguese wins the Ballon d'Or, he will also make history, with those 42 goals that have brought him the league title and the Champions League, as well as the European Golden Boot. Ronaldo's 47 goals were impressive, but the Brazilian's Barcelona were slumped in the league and Champions League that season, and when Denis Law won the Ballon d'Or, United lost both domestically and in Europe. Therefore, in the history of the Ballon d'Or, no one has ever been able to combine 40 goals in a single season, a domestic league title and a Champions League title, and this time Cristiano Ronaldo will also become the first person in the history of the Ballon d'Or.

The progress of the Portuguese player in recent seasons is obvious to all, and in terms of team and individual honors, Cristiano Ronaldo has also won awards in recent years. In 2003/2004 he won the Sir Busby Player of the Year award and was named in the 2004 European Championship Team of the Year, in 2004/2005 he was named Young Player of the Year by the International Professional Footballers' Association, and in 2005/2006 he defended the Young Player of the Year award from the International Professional Footballers' Association, won the Portuguese Sporting Personality Award, and was also shortlisted in the Premier League Team of the Season by the Professional Footballers' League. In the 2006/2007 season, Cristiano Ronaldo once again defended the Young Player of the Year award by the International Professional Footballers' Association, and also won the Player of the Year award by the Football Journalists' Association, the Premier League Player of the Year, the 2007 Portugal Footballer of the Year, the second place in the Ballon d'Or, and Cristiano Ronaldo was also named in the English Professional Footballers' League Team of the Season. FIFA Team of the Year and Team of the Year by the International Players Professional Association.

Therefore, if Cristiano Ronaldo finally wins the European Ballon d'Or, it will not be a surprise at all. “

As one of the main selection bodies of the European Ballon d'Or, France Football sent such a report and evaluation to Cristiano Ronaldo, which is a high-profile treatment. Of course, if you consider that this is an article in the latest issue of France Football's "Football Youth Storm", perhaps it doesn't seem so abrupt.

In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo, who was born in 1985, in the view of "French Football", there are several post-85 stars who have led the youth storm in European football this year.