Free Web NovelChapter 511: Chapter 103: Bayern’s Internal Strife! Surpassing Ronaldo! Dortmund’s Strategic Opportunity! The Greatest Sponsorship Contract in History
This finally made them realize just how difficult it was!
Zhao Yifan was undoubtedly the closest to making a Bundesliga appearance, but so far, he had only made it to the bench in the DFB-Pokal, without ever getting to play.
They had spent two years giving it their all, and this was as far as they had managed to get.
One could only imagine that reaching Wang Shuo’s level was next to impossible!
The award ceremony began with the host giving an introduction to the history of the European Golden Boot Award.
Next, a highlight reel of Wang Shuo’s goals from the 09/10 Bundesliga season was played.
This was also the first time Wang Shuo had seen a highlight reel of his 36 goals from the previous season.
It was surprisingly long.
As Klopp, who was sitting next to Wang Shuo, watched, he reached out and gently patted Wang Shuo’s shoulder.
Finally, there was a carefully prepared short film showcasing Wang Shuo’s past experiences in football.
What was particularly impressive was that ESM had even contacted their partner media in China, specifically traveling to Wang Shuo’s hometown of Lingshan State to interview numerous people, visiting the Huairun Football School in Hu City, and even obtaining many old clips of Wang Shuo’s matches and training sessions in China.
Some of them, Wang Shuo himself had even forgotten.
For an occasion like today, Wang Shuo’s girlfriend, Lina Gerk, was not present. Instead, Shen Qinghe and Thomas Essien were there.
This was the first time Shen Qinghe had seen this side of Wang Shuo’s past.
She was learning for the first time that the place where Wang Shuo grew up was so impoverished and underdeveloped.
She couldn’t imagine the life of a boy who first touched a football at ten years old, who had to leave his home, family, and friends in his early teens to play in Hu City, nor the effort and sweat he must have poured into it.
Nor could she fathom the pain and frustration of a 17-year-old forced to leave his home again, travel all the way to Germany, endure constant rejection, and be turned down by 18 different teams.
In the past, all of this had only existed in written descriptions.
Perhaps just as a single, brief sentence.
She couldn’t feel it.
But now, she was seeing it.
"His journey to get here... it’s been so incredibly hard!" Thomas Essien was also moved by the short film.
Because a long stretch of it covered a time he had experienced alongside Wang Shuo.
When the short film ended, the venue erupted in thunderous applause.
The host then invited two ESM executives, along with Dortmund’s Chairman Laubal and head coach Klopp, to the stage.
Each of them would say a few words, sharing their assessment and hopes for Wang Shuo.
Laubal, representing all the Dortmund fans, thanked Wang Shuo for his contributions to the team.
"Thank you, Wang Shuo. He is the best player in the world."
"For us at Dortmund, he is indispensable. He is inextricably linked to my life, our training, and our matches."
"We are proud that Dortmund has a player like him!"
Klopp spoke the longest, recounting Wang Shuo’s journey from Mainz to Dortmund.
He had personally experienced all of it.
He shared many moments that outsiders would never know about, such as Wang Shuo’s halftime speech during his first match as captain.
"In that moment, I truly regretted it. ’Why did I give the captain’s armband to a guy like him?’"
When Klopp mentioned his frustration at having his thunder stolen, the entire audience roared with laughter.
"But very quickly, I became proud of my decision, because he proved he could do an excellent job!"
"He is a player who can inject motivation and bring strength to the team!"
Since it was during the international break for national team training, many of the international players were not in Dortmund.
But the injured captain, Sebastian Kael, still came to the event and went on stage to speak.
"I believe every player would want a teammate like Wang Shuo. He’s the best player in the world, he always gives his all in training and in matches, and he’s very humble and gets along with everyone."
Kael stated, "I believe he will become a great player!"
Finally, Sommer and Wang Shuo went up on stage one after the other.
Wang Shuo accepted the heavy Golden Boot Award from Sommer’s hands.
This European Golden Boot Award was modeled after the design of Adidas’s famous Predator series of football boots. The iconic Adidas three stripes were even visible on its surface.
The Golden Boot itself consisted of two parts: a rectangular base made of high-quality stone, with a golden football boot mounted on top.
Like the European Golden Ball Award, the golden boot itself was made of brass and plated with a layer of gold.
As a result, the entire trophy felt quite heavy in his hands.
When Wang Shuo raised the Golden Boot Award, the crowd broke into thunderous applause.
The surrounding reporters and journalists were snapping photos nonstop.
"Thank you very much to ESM! Thank you to all the media!"
"I’m extremely fortunate to become the youngest-ever winner of the European Golden Boot Award!"
Before Wang Shuo, the youngest winner of the European Golden Boot Award was Ronaldo, who was only 21 years old when he won it in 1997.
After him was Michael Owen, who won it in 2001 at the age of 22.
George Best was seven months older than Owen when he won.
Next was Oleg Blokhin, at 23 years old.
Cristiano Ronaldo was also 23, but he was eight months older than Blokhin when he won.
Of course, there was actually a watershed moment in all of this.
Before the 96/97 season, the European Golden Boot Award was decided based purely on the number of goals scored.
This meant all leagues were treated equally; one goal was simply one goal.
That’s why, at the time, most of the players who won the Golden Boot Award came from smaller leagues.
