Chapter 171 We Are the Champions (Final Chapter)
On January 3, 2016, the 2015 FIFA Golden Globe Awards were announced. Brazilian star Neymar from Barcelona won the award, and the second place was AC Milan star Al. Salavi and Zhang Yang only ranked third because of their absence for most of the season and Manchester City's poor record.
Some media began to advocate that the era of Zhang Yang and Manchester City is over.
Zhang Yang and Manchester City immediately slapped all the skeptics in the face with their performance.
In the 2015/2016 season, Manchester City came to the end in the FA Cup, the Premier League, and the Champions League, winning the championship trophy, and they won the Triple Crown again! If it hadn't been for being abandoned early in the League Cup because of strategic considerations, otherwise, Manchester City could have become the four champions.
Subsequently, after the start of the 2016/2017 season, Manchester City won the championship in the English Charity Shield, the European Super Cup and the World Club World Cup. They are well-deserved six championships, which is also the sixth championships once again after the 2009/2010 season.
In January 2017, Zhang Yang once again became the winner of the FIFA FIFA Golden Globe Award. The second place was Zhang Yang's teammate Balotel in Manchester City, and Barcelona star Neymar ranked third.
At the end of this season, Manchester City successfully defended their title in the Premier League. However, in the Champions League, they stopped in the semi-finals. This season's Champions League championship competition was between Bayern Munich and Dortmund. Finally, in this Bundesliga civil war, Bayern Munich defeated Dortmund 2-1. Mond, climb to the top of Europe.
For Chinese fans, the most important news this year is that under the leadership of Zhang Yang, the Chinese team qualified for the play-offs in the top ten of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Chinese team's opponent in the play-offs is Colombia from South America.
Almost everyone is not optimistic that the Chinese team can cross Colombia. However, under the unfavorable factors of being tied by the opponent and getting an away goal at home, the Chinese team defeated Colombia 2-1 in the second round, and Zhang Yang won all three of the Chinese team's two rounds. Goal!
The Chinese team got the ticket to the final round of the 2018 World Cup in Russia without being favored!
After 16 years, the Chinese team will appear on the World Cup again!
When the whistle at the end of the 3-1 Colombian game of the Chinese team's away game sounded, the whole land of China was boiling, and many fans cried with joy.
Duan Xuan, the old commentator of CCTV, also choked: The Chinese team is out! They are qualified! They entered the 2018 World Cup in Russia! They completed an almost impossible task! Congratulations to them! Congratulations to them! Congratulations, guys! Congratulations to Zhang Yang! Congratulations to our captain Zhang Yang! Congratulations to him! Thank him!
At the same time, the camera is aimed at Zhang Yang.
Duan Xuan continued to choke and said, "We must thank him and express our gratitude to him!" Zhang Yang! He is 31 years old this year. As the greatest player in football today, he is a well-deserved first star! Let's open his honor book, Ligue 1 champion, French Cup champion, Serie A champion, Italian Cup champion, five Premier League championship trophies, three Champions League championship trophies, as well as FIFA World Cup champion, FA Cup champion, League Cup champion, Super Cup champion. He has won countless championships! Won the FIFA Golden Globe Award five times! Such a great player can't show his football talent on the stage of the World Cup until he is 31 years old! This is Zhang Yang's misfortune. This is what Chinese football owes him, but this is Zhang Yang's luck. We are lucky to see him lead the Chinese team to the World Cup without regrets! Really, there is no regret in death!"
Duan Xuan was completely emotional. He didn't know what he was talking about.
In the news broadcast that night, it took nearly five minutes to report the news that the Chinese team entered the 2018 World Cup. Mr. Xi sent a congratulatory message and said in particular that he would like to thank Zhang Yang. As a fan, thank you.
In January 2018, the 2017 FIFA FIFA Golden Globe Award was won by Brazilian star Neymar. Zhang Yang ranked second, and Bayern Munich player Götze ranked third.
2017/2018 season, later, the media gave this season a special name: the last season of Lao Zhangyang!
Zhang Yang, a veteran who is about to turn 32 years old, has played his craziest state this season.
In the 2018/2018 Premier League, Zhang Yang scored 31 goals! Premier League golden boots, Premier League champion!
In the 2017/2018 FA Cup, Zhang Yang scored six goals to help the team win the FA Cup!
In the 2017/2018 English League Cup, Zhang Yang scored three goals and the team won the League Cup!
In the 2018/2018 Champions League, Zhang Yang scored eleven goals, the Champions League Golden Boot, and Manchester City stood on the top of Europe for the fifth time in ten years!
After the end of the club's competition, everyone's eyes were focused on Russia, the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The Chinese team was divided into Group C, and Italy, France and New Zealand were in the same group as the Chinese team. This is a difficult group for the Chinese team. In addition to facing New Zealand, the Chinese team has an advantage, and their future is really worrying against Italy and France.
In the first game against Italy, the Chinese team lost 5-2. Despite the loss, the Chinese team led by Zhang Yang won the respect of Italy. The Chinese team did not give up until the last moment of the game. Still fighting endlessly. Zhang Yang scored the first goal in the history of the World Cup for the Chinese team! In Italy, Balotheli and Al. Salavi made contributions in the first and second half.
In the second game against France, this game is related to the survival of the Chinese team. In the end, in this game, the Chinese team tenaciously drew the powerful French team by 2 to 2. The French team once led by 1-0. Zhang Yang first used a direct free kick to help the Chinese team equalize a goal, and then sent a penalty created by his teammates. Two to two, the Chinese team retained the last hope of qualifying.
Facing the last opponent in the group stage and the weakest opponent, New Zealand, the Chinese team showed a 'strong team style', 3-1! The Chinese team defeated New Zealand, and Zhang Yang staged a hat-trick in the game!
And on another field, the French team lost ero to Italy. In this way, the Chinese team reached the last 16 as the second place in the group. The whole country is jubilant.
After the group stage, Zhang Yang scored six goals in this World Cup. The 32-year-old veteran led the scorer list, so that a group of young people could only look up.
The Chinese team's opponent in the eighth match is the defending champion Brazil.
The match between China and Brazil is considered to be the most tragic match in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In the eleventh minute of the game, Casemyro, who played for Real Madrid, took the lead for Brazil. Brazil 1:0 China.
In the twenty-third minute of the game, Ganso scored with a direct free kick, Brazil 2:0 China!
At this time, almost everyone thought that the Chinese team would not only lose, but also be a fiasco. However, under the leadership of Zhang Yang, the Chinese team began a tenacious battle.
In the 33rd minute of the game, Zhang Yang completely relied on his personal skills. After a series of Brazilian players, he made a wonderful shot and broke through the Brazilian goal, and the Chinese team scored a goal! China 1:2 Brazil!
In the forty-third minute of the game, the Chinese team got the opportunity to set the ball in the front court, and Zhang Yang's direct free kick and scored directly! Zhang Yang scored twice, and the Chinese team equalized the score! China 2:2 Brazil!
Before the end of the first half of the game, the Chinese team actually equalized the score. At this moment, countless fans around the world couldn't believe their eyes.
"The Chinese people, led by their captain Zhang Yang, showed their tenacity to the world!"
In the sixty-third minute of the game, Neymar scored with a low shot after receiving a pass from Oscar. The Brazilian team surpassed the score again, Brazil 3:2 China!
In the 71st minute of the game, after Zhang Yang received a pass from his teammate from the side, a very beautiful lion shook his head and scored a header! Three to three! Zhang Yang staged a hat-trick, and the Chinese team tenaciously equalized the score again, China 3:3 Brazil!
In the 83rd minute of the game, Oscar's amazing world wave helped the Brazilian team surpass the score again, Brazil 4:3 China!
After the goal, the Brazilians celebrated crazily. This game, even for six-star Brazil, seemed so difficult. They did not expect that the Chinese team would be so difficult to deal with before the game.
However, just five minutes later, a scene that shocked the world happened. A corner kick opportunity for the Chinese team. After the corner kick entered the penalty area, it caused chaos in the Brazilian team's penalty area. In the jungle penalty area, in the narrow penalty area, three Brazilian players were shaken away, and then the Brazilian goalkeeper. Hit the football into the goal!
"God, it's incredible! The fourth one! The fourth one! Zhang Yang scored again! This is a pearl-like beautiful goal! What an incredible goal! Zhang Yang scored a samba-flavored goal that Brazilians would envy and worship!"
Zhang Yang staged a good show of seniors, China 4:4 Brazil!
At this moment, the whole audience was cheering, and even Brazilian fans had to applaud for his goal and his perfect performance in this game and this World Cup.
In the injury time, Neymar scored his second goal in the game, helping Brazil surpass the score again and set the score at 5-4!
Brazil 5:4 China!
This game is also regarded by Brazilians as the most difficult game in this World Cup!
At the end of the game, the applause in the stands lasted for a long time, which was dedicated to publicity!
Brazilian fans also stood up and applauded for Zhang Yang.
Before the start of this World Cup, Zhang Yang said that this was his first and last World Cup. In this World Cup, he has only one goal, which is to enjoy the game and enjoy the feeling of the World Cup!
"This is the World Cup. He said that he wanted to enjoy the feeling of the World Cup. He really did it. He left nine goals for the World Cup and four games that fans around the world can often recall. The stage of the World Cup is no longer because of the lack of the greatest of this era. The figure of the player looks dim." - "FIFA Official Website"
After the World Cup, Zhang Yang disappeared from people's sight. He said he wanted to enjoy the holiday.
On July 27, 2018, a piece of news exploded. On the Cook Islands, a pocket island known as the "wedding mecca" in the South Pacific, a large number of reporters and fans suddenly flooded in.
Zhang Yang will hold a wedding here, and he will be with his girlfriend Emma who has been in love for ten years. Watson entered the palace of marriage together here.
The wedding was broadcast live to fans around the world. More than 300 million fans from more than 80 countries and regions around the world watched the wedding live broadcast.
In the words of French Football, the wedding is as much attention as the Champions League final.
On January 7, 2019, Zhang Yang won the FIFA Golden Globe Award again, which was also the sixth time he won the highest honor of a male football player.
Three days later, Zhang Yang and Emma. Watson's first child was born a boy. Zhang Yang named his child Zhang Man, a somewhat feminine name, to commemorate his years in Manchester City.
In the 2018/2019 season, Manchester City won the Premier League championship. They suspended the quarterfinals in the Champions League.
At the end of the season, Zhang Yang announced that he would retire at the end of the next season!
As soon as the news was announced, it immediately became the focus of global media attention. Countless fans called and emailed Manchester City Club and went to Zhang Yang's personal website to retain him.
The next day, Zhang Yang updated on Twitter: In his 14-year career, he has achieved a lot of glory, enjoyed the happiness brought by football, and was also very happy to bring joy to the fans. However, he also lost a lot of things. He really wanted to spend more time to spend more time with his family, and his physical condition was not suitable for continuing to play. I don't want to wait until I retire. I'm very lonely, helpless, and without the company of the champion. Now, it's the season to leave. Next season, I will enjoy football to my heart's content, hoping to use the championship to see myself off. I love you and will always love you.
After this tweet was sent, all the retained words became blessings and thanks.
On August 15, 2019, Manchester City defeated its rival Manchester United in the Charity Shield and won the first trophy of the season.
During the interview after the game, Zhang Yang joked happily, "Now, I can rest assured that I don't have to worry about not having a championship at the end of the season."
The next day, his teammates protested collectively in the Manchester City Evening News: the captain underestimates us. We want to win the championship and get more championships. Manchester City thank you, captain!
The young men want to see off the old captain with the championship. They made such a declaration and worked hard like that!
In March 2020, Manchester City defeated Portsmouth 3-1 in the League Cup final and won the second championship trophy of the season.
May 9, 2020. In the 37th round of the league, Manchester City defeated West Ham United 2-0 at home, and Zhang Yang made a pass and a shot in the game. He scored 21 goals in the league this season! For a 34-year-old striker, this is a terrible goal data!
After winning this game, Manchester City won the Premier League title of the 2019/2020 season one round ahead of schedule!
This is their third championship trophy this season.
A few days later, they beat Chelsea ero in the FA Cup final.
This is their fourth championship trophy this season!
On May 23, 2020, in the 2019/2020 Champions League final, Manchester City 3-1 Barcelona, Zhang Yang scored his seventh goal in the Champions League this season! They also won the Champions League this season.
This is the fifth championship trophy they won this season!
This game is also the last game for Zhang Yang on behalf of Manchester City, and also the last game of Zhang Yang's career. Zhang Yang has said that he will not hold a special retirement competition. Therefore, this game is a farewell performance.
At the end of the game, all the fans stood up. Even the Barcelona fans who had been having a bad relationship with Zhang Yang stood up, and the whole audience applauded.
On this night, they bid farewell to the greatest football star of the 21st century.
After the award ceremony, the Manchester City Club arranged a special farewell for Zhang Yang. All the players held or held at least one trophy in their hands, and then they put the trophy on the final field and formed a circle. Only one exit is left
Zhang Yang stood in the castle surrounded by the champion. He raised his right arm high, like a king. With his move, the audience was full of joy. At this time, Barcelona fans have already left, and they will never cheer that they are the king. The whole stadium is already an ocean of Manchester City fans.
Zhang Yang came out of the only exit of the castle besieged by the championship trophy, and he came out.
"Like a king, in front of him are countless trophies, which is the trophy he leads his soldiers and comrades-in-arms to fight in all directions! Now, the king is going to retire. He is going to stay away from the battlefield and the smoke. He is going to enjoy a peaceful life. He came out of the castle. He waved to his subjects to pay tribute to them! They also responded to him. Then, the king, under the gaze of everyone, walked forward, walked forward, and disappeared in the deep corridor..."
On May 23, 2020, Zhang Yang retired.
When he walked into the player's corridor without hesitation in cheering and thanks, and sobbing, the camera caught the tears in the eyes of the King of Manchester City, and he was already crying.
Football players have to die twice, once, when they retire, once, when their hearts stop beating...
The next day, the Manchester City Evening News, which has been supporting Zhang Yang for more than ten years, has only one photo and one title on the front page.
The photo is the back of Zhang Yang disappearing in the player's corridor.
The title is: Long live the King of Balls! Goodbye, our king, you have always been here!
(the end of the book)