The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 150 - 52: Half-Season Champion! A Golden Boy Award Blunder? Tell Me, Is There Anything He Can’t Do?
Bayern came from behind to beat Hoffenheim!
That was the latest news Wang Shuo and the others got from Zeliko Buvac when they returned to the locker room.
At Allianz Arena, Hoffenheim had been the first to score, finding the net in the 50th minute.
But then Lahm scored the equalizer for Bayern.
And in the final moments of the match, Luca Tony completed the comeback for Bayern.
A starved camel is still bigger than a horse!
Wang Shuo was now experiencing the truth of that gap firsthand.
Bayern was having a pretty bad season, right?
But even so, they could still crush anyone they faced.
After 16 rounds, Mainz now had 11 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses, for a total of 35 points.
Bayern had 10 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, giving them 34 points.
Hoffenheim had 10 wins, 1 draw, and 5 losses, with 31 points.
Also on 31 points was Bayer Leverkusen, in 4th place due to an inferior goal difference.
Interestingly, the Pharmacy also had a record of 10 wins, 1 draw, and 5 losses.
This was the current top four in the Bundesliga.
In reality, looking purely at the stats, Bayern’s situation was much healthier and more stable.
This meant Bayern’s foundation was much stronger.
Teams like Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, who either won or lost, were a bit too aggressive.
Mainz’s defense was currently solid, having conceded only 20 goals in 16 matches.
In the Bundesliga, that was second only to Schalke 04’s 15 goals and Dortmund’s 18.
But they had only scored 30 goals.
Comparing just the top four, Mainz was the team that had conceded the fewest goals but also scored the fewest.
In contrast, Hoffenheim, with 41 goals, led the entire Bundesliga in scoring.
"Alright, everyone, spirits up! We need to win our final away game against Bochum!"
The captain, Nowitzki, shouted encouragingly.
Everyone was instantly re-energized.
As long as they beat Bochum, Mainz would be the Bundesliga’s half-season champions!
A newly promoted team winning the half-season title... just thinking about it was thrilling!
It had only happened once before in Bundesliga history: Kaiserslautern in the ’97/’98 season.
Rehhagel’s team ultimately created the legend of a newly promoted team winning the Bundesliga title.
But that was Kaiserslautern, one of Germany’s traditional powerhouses.
And Mainz?
For the past hundred years, they had always been a second-rate team in Germany.
Whether in terms of club heritage, investment, or current strength, there was simply no comparison.
At the very least, Kaiserslautern didn’t have to sell players during the winter break, right?
So, for the Mainz players, winning the half-season title would already be the greatest victory!
...
Just as the players were starting to pack their things, the locker room door was pushed open from the outside by Klopp.
The burly Uncle Mustache strode in with a powerful, confident gait, an irrepressible smile on his face.
’Isn’t it just about holding onto the top spot? Does he have to be *this* happy?’
Everyone was already used to their coach’s style and went back to packing their belongings.
Klopp, however, took long strides over to Wang Shuo and clapped him firmly on both shoulders. "Wang, Massimo Frankie is here!"
After saying this, he burst out laughing.
Wang Shuo was startled by Klopp’s sudden, eccentric behavior.
"So he’s here. What does that have to do with me?" Wang Shuo blurted out.
’That really hurt. Does this unpredictable Uncle Mustache really not know how strong he is? My fragile little body can’t take a hit like that! If I get injured, who’s going to score goals for you? And what would the media report? The first player ever clapped to death by his own coach...’
The others also found it amusing.
’And here we thought something major had happened.’
"Boss, who’s Massimo Frankie?" Foyelner asked with a smile.
He didn’t know the name either.
"The editor of the international football department at Torino Sports Daily and the co-founder of the European Golden Boy Award."
As soon as Klopp finished speaking, everyone in the locker room stopped what they were doing, their faces filled with disbelief.
Immediately after, they all turned to look at Wang Shuo with a mixture of envy and joy.
But they found that Wang Shuo, who was usually so calm and rational, was also completely stunned.
"Are you dumbstruck with joy?"
Klopp laughed, wrapped his two iron arms around Wang Shuo in a huge hug, and shouted repeatedly.
"The 2008 European Golden Boy Award is yours!"
Squeezed so tightly by Klopp and hearing those words, Wang Shuo was instantly jolted back to his senses.
A wave of ecstasy washed over him.
’I won the European Golden Boy Award?’
But in the next moment, Wang Shuo was certain.
He believed Klopp wouldn’t lie about something like this.
’I really won it!’
Over the past few weeks, Wang Shuo had seen a lot of news reports.
Not just in Germany, but also many reports back home, all analyzing the situation.
Some said Wang Shuo deserved the award.
Based on his performance in the Bundesliga, winning it should be no problem.
But others argued that Wang Shuo’s claim lacked prestige.
For example, Anderson from Manchester United had, at the very least, a Champions League title and had played in the final.
What?
He only played for one minute.
That’s still an appearance.
His name is engraved on the trophy.
Then there was Walcott from Arsenal. The Little Tiger’s reputation was huge, and his performance wasn’t bad either.
But the most weighty argument, and the one that garnered the most agreement, was age.
This was Anderson’s last year of eligibility for the award, while Walcott would have another chance next year.
And Wang Shuo?
Born in ’90, he could easily wait until after Anderson and Walcott had won before getting his turn.
All sorts of arguments were flying around, one after another.
No one knew which were true and which were false.
