"Self-respect and self-love are essential to gain others’ respect and admiration, and the same goes for fans."
The old man squinted his eyes slightly, listening to Lu Yang while gesturing for Lu Yang and his companion to sit down, his face full of smiles.
After Lu Yang finished speaking, the old man asked, "So where is your hometown?"
Lu Yang looked towards the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, where lay the East.
"China!" Lu Yang said firmly.
"Good!" The old man’s voice suddenly grew louder, startling Tang Yuqin.
"This must be the famous European actress Sofia; your new movie is great." The old man appropriately greeted Sofia, not neglecting anyone.
"It’s my honor that my work is recognized by you." Sofia behaved very coyly, losing the aura of a big sister in the entertainment circle.
She knew how to present herself in different situations.
She had interacted with several high officials and even leaders from various European countries, and thus had developed a way of dealing with such people.
Of course, to Sofia, this old man had another identity.
That is... a senior from Lu Yang’s side!
Even though he had just met Lu Yang, there’s no doubt these heroes are seniors to all of the younger generation from the East.
Whether a woman is decent depends on how well she can handle various situations once she’s taken out.
This kind of "family gathering" is also something Sofia needs to adapt to.
"Alright, alright, I’m just here to watch some football, don’t make it too grand." The old man said, "By the way, Xiaolu, last time you mentioned the Italian Football Association hoped to host some matches in our country, how’s that progressing?"
Lu Yang said, "This matter appears to be mainly followed up by CCTV, and some domestic clubs are also actively participating. But on the Football Association’s side, it seems..."
The old man’s eyebrows furrowed.
Are those useless bunch causing trouble again?
This is just idleness causing trouble.
"Xiaochen." The old man waved, and a person who looked like a secretary came over, "Follow up on this matter, I hope a match can be played in our country this year... Of course, not the kind that drains people’s resources, but a normal, proper, mutually beneficial, and win-win business cooperation."
The secretary nodded, then took out his phone and walked outside.
Let’s not talk about having the National Team qualify for the World Cup, establishing a youth training system, or striving to be the top in Asia for now, at least let the domestic fans watch a high-level football match or two, that’s the minimum, right?
Otherwise, waiting for the National Team to rise might make countless fans from the eighties, nineties, and thousands endure too long, not to mention the old man who is already in his eighties.
This conversation wasn’t really about many official matters; instead, it was more about mundane daily topics like Lu Yang’s recovery and his prospects for next season.
Even the president of the Italian Football Association, Martivini, and the president of the German Football Association, upon hearing of the old man’s visit, wanted to pay a visit but were refused.
The old man was only here to watch a game.
For this reason, the German Football Association arranged a super safe and luxurious suite.
The tickets Lu Yang had prepared for the old man, in turn, became unnecessary.
This is a good thing, after all, the old man is very old, and although he appears to be an ordinary person, if you truly take him as average, then you are truly ordinary.
...
July 28th.
The day before the European Youth Championship final.
The Torino Sports Paper announced the latest ranking for this year’s Golden Boy Award.
Among them, Spanish star Enriquez once again secured the top spot, beating the transfer record creator under twenty-two, Mancini.
English star Mancini ranks second.
Apparently, this European Youth Championship significantly influenced their rankings.
Polish star Pavovsky’s age was just at the evaluation limit, placing fifth.
German star Melcan jumped from eighteenth to seventh!
This is related to him leading his team into the top four of the European Youth Championship!
However, in this list, the highest-ranked young player from the Italian team in the European Youth Championship final, Sevajos, is only ninth.
Moving up a few places from before, but not by much.
Because, although Sevajos scored three goals cumulatively this year and was involved in several goal orchestrations, making him one of the main contributors to Italy reaching this point.
But compared to Lu Yang, who scored six goals and assisted three times in three games, or Morici, who scored two goals and assisted six times in three games, he is undoubtedly not the real core.
To be fair, Morici with Lu Yang’s presence has a dominant midfield that is second to none.
He has basically locked down the top assister position in advance.
But even with Morici’s incredible performance, he only leapt from obscurity to over forty places in the Golden Boy Award ranking.
Lagging more than a dozen places behind Canyes.
Lam is holding onto past glories, hovering around seventieth place with little change. His performance in this year’s European Youth Championship wasn’t outstanding, and he might be facing his own bottleneck, which is apparent to everyone.
While undoubtedly Italy National Youth Team’s biggest contributor, Lu Yang, only ranks twenty-fifth on this list.
To be fair, a list cannot suddenly adjust a player from over ninety to top ten just based on a few recent spectacular matches.
Lu Yang’s ranking jumped from over a hundred straight into the top thirty, which is already a leap forward.
But Italian fans are still not satisfied.
Is Mancini that strong?
Then why, in terms of goals or assists, or team performance, has Mancini consistently been overshadowed by Lu Yang?