Chapter 152: Turning Twenty

Chapter 152: Turning Twenty

The moment Bruno scored against Albania, the entire Estádio da Luz erupted. Sixty thousand home fans cheered so loudly it felt like an earthquake had hit the stadium. With Cristiano Ronaldo absent due to injury, all eyes were on Bruno, and he didn't disappoint.

In the first half, Bruno's performance was average, hampered by a lack of cohesion with his teammates. However, in the second half, he took control of the game. After Portugal conceded a goal, Bruno turned the game around with a goal and an assist, plus orchestrating another goal, playing a part in all three of Portugal's goals.

Portuguese fans, thoroughly pleased, celebrated Bruno's national team debut goal with great enthusiasm. Those watching on TV noticed that the broadcast cut to a shot of the stands where fans held up a sign saying "Happy Birthday, Bruno!" Zooming in, it was revealed that the person holding the sign was a young girl.

If Bruno had seen the sign, he would have recognized the girl as his girlfriend, Ana. A top student herself, Ana had been accepted into the University of Lisbon, one of Portugal's most prestigious universities, located in the capital, much like Tsinghua and Peking Universities in China. This was one reason why Bruno had previously dissuaded Ana from dropping out of university to join him in Italy.

At that moment, while being adored by sixty thousand fans, Bruno was unaware that the girl celebrating his birthday in a corner of the stands was Ana. Nor did Ana know about Bruno's new girlfriend, as he had kept that relationship from the public eye.

... The final score of the game was 3-1, with Portugal securing a home victory over Albania. In another group match that ended earlier, Denmark had beaten Armenia 2-1. Portugal, thanks to their goal difference, topped their group, ahead of Denmark and the idle Serbia, with Armenia and Albania filling out the ranks.

After the match, Coach Santos, alongside the game's captain Nani and the standout Bruno, attended the post-match press conference. Bruno, again, received a lot of attention from the media, somewhat overshadowing Coach Santos and Nani.

Santos was unaffected by the media focus, pleased with his first game in charge of Portugal, which had ended in a resounding victory. Nani was also in high spirits, having contributed significantly to the game with a goal and an assist, both linked to Bruno.

Returning to the hotel, Bruno received an unexpected gift—a birthday cake from a Portuguese Football Federation official, representing the federation's greetings.

The post-match meal turned into a birthday celebration for Bruno, complete with teammates playfully smearing his face with cream. As the celebration continued into the early hours of September 8th, Bruno officially turned twenty.

... On September 8th, the Portuguese media was filled with reports of Bruno's impressive debut. There was much discussion about what might have been had Paulo Bento not stubbornly left Bruno out of the World Cup squad in Brazil. Some speculated that with Bruno, Portugal could have advanced past the group stage, and maybe even reached the semi-finals, like Germany did eight years earlier. However, no one publicly claimed that Portugal could have won the World Cup with him.

Nonetheless, Bruno was now a sensation in Portugal. Although he had helped Portugal win the U-20 World Cup and the Toulon Tournament, those were junior events with low visibility. His performances in Italy, while noted by professionals, hadn't caught much public attention until now. But with his pivotal role in winning a European Championship qualifier, his status in Portuguese football was firmly established.

... While Portugal celebrated Bruno, he was already on a plane from Lisbon to Milan. With only one match scheduled for this international break, the national team disbanded after the game. Now an adult at twenty, Bruno didn't return home to Porto but was quietly picked up by Vanessa at Milan airport.

After a delightful night in Milan, Bruno caught a fast train to Udine the next morning. Udinese's schedule was packed with both Serie A matches and Champions League games, marking a daunting start to the season, including a match against Juventus in Turin.

Despite historical underperformance at Juventus's home ground, Udinese had managed a win there last season and intended to repeat that performance. Although coach Guidolin rotated the squad due to the upcoming Champions League match, he did not sideline key players like Bruno and Dinatale, showing his intent not to yield easily in this crucial match.