"The winner of the 2012-2013 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award is..." Platini said, turning the trophy in his hands.

"Zhou Yi!"

Everyone could see the newly engraved name on the back of the trophy: zhou_yi.

"Zhou Yi!" The CCTV commentator shouted excitedly. "Zhou Yi! He has created history for Chinese players, and even Asian players! He has won the Best Player in Europe Award! In this award that can be compared to the Ballon d'Or, a Chinese player has become the first! Well deserved! Well deserved! If he is not the best, then who else is qualified to be the best?!"

The CCTV commentator's tone was a bit strong, but in this situation, what he said was correct. With Zhou Yi's performance in the past season, if he couldn't be the best, then others probably wouldn't be qualified.

"The European Sports Media Alliance has made a correct and authoritative choice, they voted for Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi conquered everyone with his near-perfect performance last season! He is the number one contributor to Dortmund winning the league title and the Champions League!"

Online, there was also a burst of cheers.

Chinese fans expressed their joy and excitement.

"Zhou Yi is awesome! Number one in Asia!"

"Don't talk about the best in Asian history, even if Cha Bum-kun, Hidetoshi Nakata, and Park Ji-sung come together, Zhou Yi is still the best Asian player ever!"

"Amazing! Too amazing!"

"Damn, I'm so excited, I actually cried when the name was announced!"

"Handsome, handsome, handsome!! Zhou Yi is so handsome!"

...

In the media center, those Chinese media reporters who could not enter the venue to report on the ceremony watched the live broadcast through the big screen. At the moment the result was announced, cheers and applause erupted in the media center, just like when China successfully bid for the Olympics.

In the media center, there were not only them, but also reporters from other countries. At this time, no one complained that the Chinese reporters were too noisy. They also applauded and gave the Chinese colleagues a thumbs up with a smile. This was for the Chinese reporters, and also for Zhou Yi.

They could understand that emotion. In the world of football, a player can often represent a country, and when the player wins the highest honor, the country naturally shares the glory. In the field of football, patriotism is a universal value.

When George Weah won the World Footballer of the Year, the entire Liberia celebrated as if they had been liberated. In peaceful times, football has a very, very great impact on a nation and a country.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a world-class star, but he will also do his best on the field to help the Portuguese national team advance to the World Cup. Messi is a world-class star, but he will also fight to the point of vomiting for the honor of the Argentine national team.

Similarly, Portuguese fans will regard Cristiano Ronaldo as their national hero, and Argentine fans... well, if Messi can help the Argentine national team win the World Cup, Argentine fans will also regard Messi as a national hero.

Okay, Messi and Argentine fans are a special case, but for most countries, an excellent player is a national hero, and this is not an exaggeration.

This is the power of football. Although it has nothing to do with politics, it can play a political role.

※※※

On the scene, when Zhou Yi heard his name, he was stunned for a moment. It was Pedro Pinto, the BBC host next to him, who nudged him: "Congratulations, Zhou Yi!"

Zhou Yi quickly returned to normal, realizing that he had really won the award. He then walked towards Platini, who had already raised the trophy and handed it to him.

"This is what you deserve, Zhou Yi. This is the best reward for your outstanding performance in the past season." The UEFA president smiled and placed the trophy in Zhou Yi's hands.

Everyone in the audience stood up and applauded, offering their congratulations to Zhou Yi. Even Zhou Yi's competitors, Messi and Ribery, were clapping beside him. In fact, they had nothing to be unconvinced about losing to Zhou Yi. With two heavyweight championships in hand, the absolute core of Dortmund, and such achievements at a young age, Zhou Yi's honor was full of gold.

If Iniesta could win the award last year, then it was not surprising that Zhou Yi won the award this year. This is the reward and recognition of this professional European sports media for hard-working midfielders. Football is not just about forwards stealing the show.

Zhou Yi took it, it was heavy, this is the weight of the world's top honor...

Zhou Yi put the trophy under his arm, freed a hand to shake hands with Platini, he was not used to giving a cheek kiss to a big man...

Then he shook hands with Kicker's editor-in-chief, Holzschuh.

Then he put the trophy on the table and began to deliver his acceptance speech.

The people who had stood up to applaud sat down one after another, like a rising and falling tide. Zhou Yi saw his father, still standing in front of his seat, clapping vigorously and constantly giving him a thumbs up.

So Zhou Yi also gave him a thumbs up and said, "Thank you to my parents, they came all the way from distant China. This is their first time going abroad and leaving their hometown. To witness their son's glorious moment, they came from thousands of miles away. So first of all, I want to thank them, thank them for their support. My father is my football mentor, and my mother taught me to do my best no matter what I do. Thank you!"

Applause rang out again, this time for Zhou Yi's parents. The TV broadcast also gave them a close-up.

Zhou Jianliang in the lens was still standing, giving his son a thumbs up with both hands, pursing his lips tightly, his emotions were very excited. And Li Cuiyun next to him was sitting on the chair, wiping her tears with her hands.

Her son was able to have such a glorious moment, and the first people he mentioned were them. She was very touched. She also felt guilty, because in fact, on the road of her son pursuing his football dream, she was not as good as her son said. She did not help him, but instead became an obstacle to him... If she had insisted on her son giving up playing football, would there be one less European Best Player in the world?

※※※

After thanking his parents, Zhou Yi then thanked the Borussia Dortmund club, thanked the coach Klopp, and thanked his teammates: "...I am a midfielder, and my job on the field is more to pass the ball to others, so if my teammates don't turn my passes into goals, then my passes are meaningless. So I want to thank them, it is their goals that have made me who I am today. I feel like I am representing the whole team to receive this award. This award does not belong to me alone, but to our team..."

"I also want to thank the fans who support me, whether they are Dortmund fans or Chinese fans, it is their support that gives me the courage to go further and further on this road." He paused and switched to Chinese: "I know that at this time, there must be many Chinese fans and friends staying up late in front of the TV... So, hi, everyone, this is greetings and thanks from Monaco. Thank you for your support, you will always be my strong backing!"

As he spoke, Zhou Yi also raised his arm and waved at the camera.

※※※

"Ahhh, so dreamy!"

"What a surprise, I didn't expect Zhou Yi to play this trick!"

"Zhou Yi spoke in Chinese! He said it specifically for us!"

"The people on the scene are confused, it feels so good that only we can understand... Hahaha!"

"Thank you Zhou Yi! We will always be your strong backing!"

"The power of 1.4 billion people is with you, you are the best, Zhou Yi!"

...

On the Chinese Internet, Zhou Yi's sudden thank you in Chinese also ignited the emotions of the fans.

In the media center, the Chinese reporters who saw this scene also laughed: "This kid Zhou Yi really knows how to behave!"

"This can be regarded as an unexpected gift to Chinese fans, right?"

Foreign colleagues who did not understand Chinese asked them what Zhou Yi was saying.

They explained with a smile: "Zhou Yi is thanking the Chinese fans in his native language, saying that they are his strong backing."

"Amazing." The foreign reporters who understood gave Zhou Yi another thumbs up. "No wonder Zhou Yi has such good popularity, and you rarely hear negative news about him..."

The Chinese reporters also felt that Zhou Yi was amazing, and felt like they were being praised, feeling sweet in their hearts.

"Of course! In our country, Zhou Yi is a national hero! Although we now have many players playing in Europe, and they are all performing very well, Zhou Yi still has the best reputation!" The Chinese reporter said with his chest out.

※※※

Because Zhou Yi had been speaking in English, the CCTV simultaneous translation had been translating, but suddenly Zhou Yi switched to Chinese, and the translator on CCTV hadn't reacted yet. When he wanted to continue translating, he realized that it seemed he shouldn't translate...

The CCTV commentators couldn't help laughing.

After saying this sentence, Zhou Yi switched back to English, and the simultaneous translation finally had work to do again...

"...There are so many people to thank, everyone who has helped me on my road to growth. If I thank them one by one, I guess everyone will have to leave here tomorrow morning..."

There was a burst of laughter in the audience.

"Of course, maybe the most unwilling person is not you all, but my coach Klopp, because I have to play the Super Cup in Prague tomorrow night..."

There was another burst of laughter. Zhou Yi was using his own way to complain about UEFA's practice of holding the Super Cup and the draw ceremony separately. He was able to express his opinions without angering people. This is the special power of humor.

"So I'm sorry I can't express my gratitude here one by one, but you know I'm very grateful to you! Finally, I also want to thank Franck and Leo." He turned to look at Ribery and Messi. "They are two very outstanding and well-known players, and I am honored to stand with them. Thank you."

Zhou Yi's thanks were a bit unexpected to the two. Such things do not often happen at the UEFA Best Player in Europe or FIFA Ballon d'Or awards ceremony. Generally speaking, unless there are teammates on the stage, the winning player will have verbal thanks. At most, they will just shake hands, and it is enough to show their demeanor. It is a bit unexpected to directly thank competitors.

Especially between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, if Messi wins the award, he certainly wouldn't mention Cristiano Ronaldo, and vice versa.

So Zhou Yi's actions were a bit unexpected, and a look of astonishment clearly appeared on Messi's face, while Ribery couldn't be seen because his face had been injured.

However, the two quickly applauded and gave Zhou Yi a thumbs up again, praising him.

Being able to thank competitors at this time is, in any case, a display of good manners.