Chapter 12: The Golden Boy of Europe Award

Chapter 12: The Golden Boy of Europe Award

On December 8, 2012, Saturday, in Novara, Italy, the weather changed from rainy to sunny, with temperatures ranging from 3°C to 11°C.

After several days of rain, the sun finally shone at noon, dissipating the fog that covered the small town in northwest Italy.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, fans began to gather at the Piola stadium. Two hours later, Novara would face Padua at home.

The team had recently performed poorly, leading to a decline in attendance at the Piola stadium. Despite having a capacity for over 11,000 spectators, attendance barely reached 70%.

However, for fans like Ricci, loyal supporters of Novara, attending home games was a tradition, and he always brought his wife and children along to cheer for the team.

As a highly educated individual, Mr. Ricci understood that in difficult times like this, the team needed the support of fans more than ever.

Additionally, he was confident that the difficulty would be temporary and that the team would eventually recover.

This confidence was based on his knowledge of the player he referred to: Bruno. After spending much time with him, he knew how much effort Bruno put in and how he improved day by day.

However, for the match against Padua that day, Mr. Ricci still didn't have high expectations for his team, as the opponent was a strong team. Padua had won 5 of their last 10 league matches, drawn 4, and lost 1, currently occupying fourth place in the table, becoming one of the favorites to promote at the end of the season.

But Novara couldn't afford to lose again.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the match officially began, with Bruno once again in the starting lineup.

Despite recent media criticism towards Bruno, Novara's coach, Teslar, still had faith in him.

As a coach, Teslar understood that the team's recent poor form was not solely due to Bruno but rather to a general underperformance of the team. The lack of reliable players besides Bruno to take offensive responsibility when under pressure was a key issue.

However, Teslar also took responsibility for not finding effective solutions when the team was in difficulties.

Based on Bruno's actual performance, he didn't deserve so much criticism.

Of course, the true focus of recent media criticism towards Novara in Italy was the coach. Fortunately, Novara's management didn't make the mistake of firing him in critical times as they did last season; otherwise, he would probably have lost his job by now.

Novara's management chose to trust him, and he chose to trust Bruno. Although his position as a coach was in danger and criticism towards Bruno kept coming, Teslar still firmly believed that Bruno was the essential core of the team's attack, and this match would be no exception.

The match against Padua saw Novara lining up in a 4-4-2 formation, with Bruno occupying the number 10 position in the midfield diamond.

Padua defended well and paid special attention to Bruno, but still, Bruno remained active, creating several opportunities for his teammates, although none of them turned into goals.

Due to the solid performance in the midfield, attacks from the sides proved to be effective.

In the 23rd minute, Paraviscini sent a cross from the right side, finding Gonzalez, who scored the first goal for Novara, ending his goal drought of 8 matches and giving Novara the lead.

In the 35th minute, Novara scored again, this time with Farago making a run down the left and assisting French forward Lepiller to score.

Although Padua reduced the deficit two minutes later, Novara extended their lead again to two goals near the end of the first half. Once again, Gonzalez scored after a play from the side.

Finally, Novara defeated Padua at home by 3-1. Although Bruno didn't score, his performance was praised by everyone.

This victory not only ended Novara's embarrassing streak of six consecutive defeats but also lifted them to 15th place in the table, distancing them from the relegation zone.

A week later, on matchday 19 of Serie B, Novara challenged Bari away.

Bari had won 7, drawn 5, and lost 6 of their first 18 league matches, but due to the deduction of 7 points, they only had 19 points, occupying 14th place in the table, just ahead of Novara.

Novara had suffered a defeat against Varese last time they failed to overcome a team placed ahead of them in the table, leading to a streak of six consecutive defeats. Many feared that Novara would fall into the same situation again.

In the first half, both teams fought without scoring goals. However, at the start of the second half, Bruno assisted Buzigore to open the scoring for Novara in just 3 minutes.

Bruno's control in the midfield continued to influence Bari's defense. In the 58th minute, Novara's right-back assisted Vemuhameti to score the team's second goal.

Although Bari reduced the deficit in the 65th minute, Bruno penetrated the defense in the 75th minute, leading to a penalty for Novara, which was converted by Gonzalez.

Finally, Novara defeated Bari away by 3-1.

After getting two consecutive victories, Novara climbed to 12th place in the table.

On the afternoon of December 21, the famous Italian sports newspaper "Tuttosport" announced the final results of the voting for the 2012 Golden Boy of Europe Award. The prodigious forward of La Liga's Málaga, Isco, defeated AC Milan's prodigious forward El Shaarawy and Atlético Madrid's prodigious goalkeeper Courtois to win the award.

The result surprised many in Milan, as El Shaarawy had recently performed exceptionally. This season, he suddenly scored 16 goals, leading the Serie A top scorers chart with 14 goals.

However, only AC Milan-leaning media disagreed. For most media, Isco's award as Golden Boy of Europe this year was well-deserved.

This Spanish prodigy scored 5 goals and assisted 3 in 20 appearances for Málaga, helping the team to occupy fourth place in La Liga despite their financial troubles.

Coincidentally, in this season's Champions League, Milan, where El Shaarawy plays, and Málaga, where Isco plays, were in the same group. Ultimately, Málaga surpassed Milan by finishing first in the group after a draw and a victory in the two matches.

When the list of 40 players for the Golden Boy Award was announced in October, Italian media complained that Bruno was not on the list, arguing that his omission was because he didn't play in an elite league.

At that time, Bruno had impressed many Italian media with his excellent performances in Serie B, where he had scored 5 goals and provided 7 assists in 8 matches.

However, with Bruno and Novara's decline in Serie B, the media changed their focus and stopped mentioning his exclusion from the Golden Boy list.

For Bruno, the announcement of the Golden Boy Award went almost unnoticed, as the next day, Novara would have another important match in Serie B.

(End of chapter)