Tens of thousands of fans at Meazza Stadium were left stunned by that goal. They never could have imagined that Lin Feng would deliver an assist in such an unbelievable way.
"Lin Feng!! He came on as a substitute and immediately helped his team take the lead!"
"Although Adriano scored the goal, most of the credit should go to Lin Feng!"
In the China Central Television studio, Teacher Huang was so excited he practically wanted to praise Lin Feng to the heavens.
"A pass full of imagination, creativity that leaves one in awe!"
"This 17-year-old Chinese Youngster showed us his unparalleled talent in that attack!"
"I think Inter Milan Fans can finally rest easy now. The expensive signing they made was absolutely worth every penny!"
It was not just the domestic commentators. Even the Italian commentators gave Lin Feng's assist the highest praise.
"Lin, great pass! You really didn't lie to me!"
After the ball went in, Adriano was especially excited.
He knew that he had been out of form in the past two matches, so he had been quite anxious, worried that reporters, the media, and even the coaches and teammates would blame him afterward.
Now, though, with this goal, he no longer had to worry.
Besides, Lin Feng, a friend he had only recently met, had truly kept his promise and delivered a crucial assist. That was another reason Adriano was so happy.
Adriano charged over enthusiastically and gave Lin Feng a huge bear hug.
Trapped tightly in those powerful, black-bear-like arms, Lin Feng felt as if he were about to be strangled to death.
"Lin, great pass!"
"That ball just now was beautiful!"
Mihajlović, Zanetti, and the other teammates also came forward to congratulate them.
Adriano's goal had spared them a Penalty Shootout and allowed them to clinch the title early.
Although a title from this kind of friendly tournament did not carry much weight, having one was still better than having none.
Besides, beating a top team like Juventus was a huge boost to Inter Milan's morale.
Nedvěd, who had tracked back all the way from midfield to his own penalty area, stood inside the box with his hands on his hips, staring regretfully at Lin Feng's back.
That guy really had not given him even the slightest chance. He had given everything he had, yet still failed to stop him.
Vieira, the main culprit behind Juventus conceding that goal, was feeling a little panicked at that moment.
He lowered his head, not daring to look at his teammates' faces. All he could think about was Lin Feng's header assist after cutting the ball.
That move involuntarily reminded him of an old senior he had met while playing for Arsenal—Ice Prince Bergkamp.
That guy often pulled off similarly baffling moves on the pitch.
Thinking of this, Vieira felt a little regretful.
He realized that he should not have underestimated Lin Feng because of his age, but it was clearly too late for regrets. There was no medicine for regret in this world.
A few minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.
In the end, thanks to Adriano's goal, Inter Milan narrowly defeated Juventus 1-0 and claimed their fourth consecutive Tim Cup title.
With his outstanding performances in the two matches, Lin Feng earned the recognition of quite a few Inter Milan Fans. Even his teammates at the club showed a clear change in attitude toward him.
Adriano in particular had already treated Lin Feng as a sworn brother. Their relationship was so close that whenever he went out for some nighttime fun, he wished he could take Lin Feng along.
"Lin, there are plenty of hot girls here tonight. A lot of them came specifically for you. Are you really not going to take a look?"
Word had already spread through the circle that Inter Milan had a young, handsome new player, and his outstanding Tim Cup performances had earned him considerable fame.
Europe was relatively open-minded, so it was hardly strange for girls to take an interest in a fresh-faced young man from abroad like him.
After all, once Kaka joined AC Milan, the girls wanting to date him could probably have lined up all the way from Milan to Rome.
But Lin Feng had no interest in any of that. He had only just joined the team. If he immediately went out partying with Adebayor, it would definitely leave a terrible impression on the club and its fans.
Besides, there were countless examples in the Football World of players whose wild private lives had caused their form to decline before they eventually faded away. He had no intention of following in their footsteps.
"No, I'm staying behind to train. You go on your own. Remember to come back early. If the coach catches you, you won't get off easy."
After turning down Adebayor's invitation, Lin Feng stayed alone on the training ground, practicing football's various basics over and over.
Only by building a solid foundation could his body develop muscle memory, allowing him to use those abilities more naturally in matches.
At the edge of the pitch, Mancini, who had just discussed the summer signings with the club's sporting director, passed by and saw Lin Feng training alone beneath the setting sun.
Mancini exchanged a glance with the sporting director, and both nodded approvingly.
In their eyes, it was an extremely rare quality for someone Lin Feng's age to resist all the outside temptations and praise, and diligently hone his football skills.
The Football World never lacked young geniuses, but very few of those geniuses ever truly fulfilled their potential.
Most of the rest had fallen short for one reason or another.
But after seeing Lin Feng training alone, they believed that he would definitely fulfill his potential and grow into a true superstar.
That summer, the transfer frenzy in the Football World did not slow down after Lin Feng joined Inter Milan. Instead, it became even more lively.
The overseas moves of the China Youth Team youngsters, which had captured the hearts of countless domestic fans, also made progress.
On July 12, the day after Lin Feng officially joined Inter Milan, La Liga giants Barcelona announced a highly anticipated transfer.
Barcelona offered 5.5 million Euro to take Dalian Shide's young center-back Feng Xiaoting.
At the recently concluded Youth World Cup, Feng Xiaoting had performed brilliantly, helping his teammates win the Chinese team's first-ever Youth World Cup title.
He himself had also been selected among the Youth World Cup's ten rising stars and in its Best XI, alongside teammates such as Chen Tao and Lin Feng.
Barcelona had decided to sign him precisely because they saw his potential and distinctive style of play.
This transfer also raised the number of domestic players joining top European giants from a lone one to three!
The moment the news was announced, it drew the attention of countless people.
Countless fans were thrilled, spreading the word everywhere and wishing they could share the good news with every friend and relative they had.
"Ahhh, Little Feng really joined Barcelona! When the rumors first came out, I thought someone was spreading fake news!"
"That's incredible! He actually joined Barcelona! Now we have Chinese players in all the Big Five Leagues!"
"Lin Feng in Serie A, Little Feng in La Liga, King Dong in the Premier League—I'm already looking forward to the teams they play for meeting in the Champions League and giving us a Chinese Derby!"
The fans felt unbelievably happy. When had the Big Five Leagues ever had so many Chinese players before?
Now, the China Youth Team youngsters were all heading overseas, being snapped up by major giants.
It left many fans with a happy problem: they were finding that they no longer had enough time to watch everything.
Back when there were only a few Chinese players abroad, they only needed to follow those few matches.
But as more and more players went overseas, whenever those teams played at the same time in the future, they would not be able to keep up.
For Chinese football, this was an unprecedented golden age!
"Little Feng's transfer is done, but what about Chen Tao? He's one of our China Youth Team's three biggest Youth World Cup stars! A top giant should sign him too, right?"
After their excitement, everyone began looking forward to Chen Tao's transfer as well.
He was also one of the ten rising stars, so where would he end up?
I think I caught something. My fever has hit 39 degrees Celsius, and I can barely keep going.
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