novelraw Chapter 862 - 597: The Five Major Leagues Wrap Up! For the Champions League Final, Must Tang Long Practice Abstinence?
Chapter 862 - 597: The Five Major Leagues Wrap Up! For the Champions League Final, Must Tang Long Practice Abstinence?
As the 38th round of the Premier League concluded, the curtain fell on the 2016 - 2017 season of the five major leagues.
In La Liga, thanks to C Luo's brace, Real Madrid barely held onto a one-point lead until the end, defeating Barça to clinch this season's La Liga championship.
In Serie A, Juventus remains undoubtedly the Apennine overlord.
Their championship was unquestionable, leaving Inter Milan, AC Milan, Rome, Napoli, Lazio, and other teams far behind.
Bayern in the Bundesliga was as steady as ever, leading Leipzig by 15 points — worth noting since the Bundesliga has only 34 rounds.
Paris Saint-Germain's downfall was unexpected, as this season's Ligue 1 championship was snatched by Monaco; surely Nasser is infuriated.
In the Premier League, not only Manchester's sky, but the whole of England turned blue!
Manchester City successfully defended their title, achieving two consecutive Premier League wins.
Across the English Peninsula, Manchester City in recent years is increasingly taking on the trend of Serie A's Juventus and Bundesliga's Bayern.
This season, from the 1st round to the last of the league, all 38 rounds were a long marathon where they always maintained the lead, never falling from the top real-time ranking.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham—all challengers were swept aside by Manchester City.
Some say if this scorching form continues, Manchester City might usher in their own Blue Moon dynasty era.
On this massive warship of Blue Moon, two individuals played a crucial role.
One is the Spanish coach Guardiola.
After replacing Pellegrini and taking charge at Manchester City, Coach Guardiola systematically transformed the team, perfectly transplanting the possession tactics he popularized in Spain and the Bundesliga onto the new Premier League nobility.
Originally, Manchester City was focused on ball possession; after Guardiola's arrival, the team's footwork and team coordination matured, with their pass-and-control play reaching a state of perfection reminiscent of the Dream Three Barcelona.
The other pivotal figure was the Chinese player, Tang Long.
He played in 36 out of 38 league matches, scoring 57 goals, a tally that makes even the small Premier League Golden Boot hard to satisfy his appetite. Yes, he ascended to the throne of the European Golden Boot!
This Golden Boot carries profound and pioneering significance.
For the Manchester City Club, this was their first European Golden Boot in their 137-year history.
For the entire Premier League, this was the second time a Premier League player claimed this honor since the 2007 - 2008 season when Manchester United's C Luo won the European Golden Boot.
For Tang Long personally, he broke Messi's 50-goal Golden Boot record from the 2012 - 2013 season!
And he further raised this record by a whopping 7 goals!
High mountains inspire reverence and leave one awestruck!
However, it's somewhat regrettable that, throughout modern football's history over a century, Tang Long is not the youngest recipient of the European Golden Boot.
The youngest player ever to win the European Golden Boot was Wim Kieft.
Wim Kieft was born in 1962 and started at Ajax's youth academy. He joined Ajax's first team at 17, became the main striker at 18. At age 19, he scored 32 goals in 32 Eredivisie matches, helping Ajax clinch the league title alongside winning the Eredivisie Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot.
The day after Tang Long secured the European Golden Boot, the renowned British media, The Guardian, went to the Netherlands to interview the retired player Kieft.
When The Guardian stated that Kieft and Tang Long were the outstanding young talents of their respective eras, the now 55-year-old, gray-haired Dutchman blushed and quickly waved his hand, saying:
"Please don't say that, I'm far from matching Tang; we are not even in the same league as players."
"Although I won the European Golden Boot a year earlier than him, I achieved mine in the Eredivisie, while Tang got his in the Premier League, two leagues that are not on the same level, and the Eredivisie emphasizes offensive play, with no match in defensive strength to the Premier League."
"Furthermore, looking over my career, it's hard to compare with Tang."
In fact, Kieft's words were not false humility.
Although he won the Eredivisie championship, Eredivisie Golden Boot, and European Golden Boot, he also won the treble at Eindhoven, yet based on Eredivisie's platform, when he came to Serie A, his performances weren't as expected, differing greatly from Tang Long's stellar performances at Inter Milan.
At any time, the five major European leagues are the greatest stage for players to showcase themselves, an acknowledgment everyone holds.
Speaking of Tang Long, the retired Dutch forward's eyes were filled with admiration.
"Why do you keep mentioning the European Golden Boot? In my view, Tang had a perfect season, also breaking another record in terms of the number of goals."
"If I remember correctly, the single-season goal record across the five major leagues was held by Messi in the 2012 - 2013 season, with a total of 73 goals. Tang Long has now surpassed him. I believe, for a long time in the future, apart from Tang himself, no one can break this record again."
Kieft's words were not false.
Even if we disregard Tang Long's goals in the League Cup and the FA Cup, with 57 goals in the league and having scored 20 goals by the time the Champions League had not ended, totaling 77 goals, surpassing Messi's 73 goals.