Chapter 673 Personal Honor Grand Slam
When Mourinho went to UEFA headquarters to attend the draw ceremony for the Champions League knockout round, Bruno, who was still in Manchester, also received another big award in 2018.
At noon on December 17, local time in the UK, Bruno received the European Golden Boot Award for the 2017-2018 season at his home in Manchester.
This is the second consecutive season that he has won the European Golden Boot Award. In the previous 2016-2017 season, Bruno scored 38 goals in 36 Premier League rounds, surpassing Yosi with 37 goals, and won the European Golden Boot Award for the first time in history.
In the just-concluded 2017-2018 season, Bruno scored 41 goals in 38 Premier League rounds, leading the second place Yosi by 7 goals and defending the European Golden Boot Award.
Bruno also became the fourth player to defend the European Golden Boot Award after the European Golden Boot Award entered the points system era. Before him, Arsenal legend Henry won the European Golden Boot for two consecutive years in the 2003-2004 season and the 2004-2005 season. Later, Yosi won the European Golden Boot in the 2011-2012 season and the 2012-2013 season, and Ronaldo won the European Golden Boot for two consecutive seasons in the 2013-2014 season and the 2014-2015 season.
However, the one who won the European Golden Boot the most times in the points system era was Bruno's national team teammate Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo won the European Golden Boot four times in the 2007-2008 season, the 2010-2011 season, the 2013-2014 season, and the 2014-2015 season.
In the 2015-2016 season, Bruno almost won the first European Golden Boot of his career. He scored 39 goals in 38 Serie A matches for Udinese that season, losing to Suarez who played for Barcelona by 1 goal.
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After receiving the European Golden Boot, Bruno achieved a true Grand Slam in his personal honors in 2018. Premier League top scorer, Premier League assists, PFA Player of the Season, PFA Young Player of the Season, PFA Team of the Season, FWA Player of the Season, Premier League Official Player of the Season, Premier League Official Young Player of the Season, Premier League Official Team of the Season, Premier League Official Player of the Month (3 times), Champions League Best Midfielder, Champions League Best Player, Champions League Assists, Champions League Final MVP, UEFA Best Team, UEFA Best Player, UEFA Best Midfielder, World Cup Top Scorer, World Cup Assists, World Cup Golden Ball, World Cup Final MVP, IFFHS World Best Men's Football International Scorer, IFFHS World Best Men's Football Player, FIFA Team of the Year, FIFA Midfielder of the Year, FIFA Player of the Year (World Footballer of the Year), European Golden Ball.
Not only that, Bruno was also shortlisted for the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards Best Male Athlete, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, but both lost to Swiss tennis king Roger Federer, and this is the fifth time Federer has won this award in his career.
However, the actual selection cycle of the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards is 2017, but the selection and award will be held in early 2018.
The real 2018 Best Male Athlete Award will be held at the 2019 Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony. According to the selection procedure, the candidate list will be announced in mid-January next year and then awarded in mid-February.
According to the odds offered by major bookmakers, Bruno is a popular candidate and also a popular winner. His biggest competitors will be his national team teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Serbian tennis king Djokovic.
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On the night of receiving the European Golden Boot Award, Bruno led Manchester United on the team's exclusive plane to the UAE in the Middle East.
The 2018 Club World Cup has been held in the UAE on December 12.
This year's Club World Cup has a total of 7 teams participating, including the champion teams from the six continental football associations and the host country, the Arab Gulf League champion team of the UAE.
As the Champions League champion, Manchester United will participate from the semi-finals.
In the matches that have been played, the host Al Ain and the AFC Champions League champion Kashima Antlers have reached the semi-finals and will compete with the Copa Libertadores champion River Plate and the Champions League champion Manchester United for tickets to the final.
According to the draw, Manchester United's opponent in the semi-finals is the Japanese team Kashima Antlers, while the host Al Ain will play against River Plate.
The semi-final between Manchester United and Kashima Antlers will be held on the evening of December 19th, local time in the UAE. If they can enter the final, they will compete with the winner of the other semi-final on the evening of December 22nd for the final championship.
This is Bruno's second time to participate in the Club World Cup. As early as 2015, he had participated in a Club World Cup with Udinese. At that time, he helped Udinese defeat the AFC Champions League champion Changzhou Hengtai and the Copa Libertadores champion River Plate, and finally won the Club World Cup.
Bruno, who performed a hat trick in the two games, once became the top scorer in the history of the Club World Cup.
However, with Real Madrid participating in the Club World Cup twice in the past two years, Ronaldo has surpassed Bruno with 7 goals and became the all-time top scorer of the Club World Cup.
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On the evening of December 19, Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In the second match of the 2018 Club World Cup semi-finals, Manchester United faced Kashima Antlers.
The Asian Champions League champion Kashima Antlers kicked off first.
Manchester United continued to line up a 4-3-3 formation in this game. The goalkeeper is Romero, the back line is Ashley Young, Lindelof, Smalling and Cancelo, the midfield is Mata, Fred and Bruno, and Lingard, Harry Kane and Mahrez are the front trident.
Obviously, Mourinho has made a large rotation of Manchester United's lineup. On the one hand, it is because the opponent's strength is limited and Manchester United does not need to play with all the main players; on the other hand, Mourinho does not want Manchester United to be involved in the Club World Cup and consume too much energy.
Many Manchester United fans at the scene have put up flags and banners to welcome Bruno, which shows the expectations and attention of Middle Eastern fans for him.
At the beginning of the game, Kashima Antlers took the initiative to defend and counterattack. Manchester United successfully controlled the situation on the field, and Bruno also frequently ran in and out, constantly looking for opportunities.
In the fourth minute, Bruno finally ran into a gap, and Mata understood and sent the ball through the gap between the opponent's central defender and full-back, and landed in the penalty area behind the defense line.
Bruno cut into the gap at the fastest speed, took the lead to stop the ball, and faced the opponent's goalkeeper directly. With a calm push, the ball hit the goal behind him from under the opponent's goalkeeper's crotch.
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"GOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!"
"Manchester United scored the first goal just four minutes after the start!"
"Bruno, Bruno, who just received the European Golden Boot Award, once again showed the strength of the European Golden Boot!"
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More than 40,000 fans at the scene jumped up from their seats, screaming wildly.
At this moment, even the few fans of Kashima Antlers turned into Bruno's fans and cheered for his outstanding performance.
1:0, Manchester United scored the first goal just four minutes after the start.
"Bruno's goal should be thanked to Mata's assist. Mata's pass accurately tore through Kashima Antlers' defense, and Bruno's exquisite running position also reached the most threatening area just in time."
"This is a tacit cooperation between two Manchester United offensive players, from Bruno and Mata!"
Bruno also slid on his knees to celebrate on the sidelines, and then stood up and took the initiative to hug Mata who flew over.
The teammates around him also came forward to celebrate.
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Kashima Antlers' strength is indeed not as good as Manchester United, but no one expected that the start of the game could be so smooth, which could definitely be a big win.
After scoring the first goal, Manchester United played more patiently and the players were more motivated.
Fifteen minutes later, the team created another opportunity.
Bruno got the ball on the right, suddenly cut inside, took away the opponent's defensive player, and then passed it to the right side, giving it to Cancelo who was on the side. When the latter made a cross from the bottom, he was cleared by the opponent's central defender with a header.
Bruno felt good and took the initiative to take the corner kick.
The corner kick landed precisely in the penalty area. Lindelof headed the ball to the front of the penalty area. Harry Kane made a powerful shot and scored another goal for Manchester United, 2:0.
Two goals in a row made Manchester United full of confidence, and the passing and controlling advantage in the game became more obvious.
In the 33rd minute, Bruno's attack on the right failed. Mata moved to the left with a big foot. Ashley Young passed it to Lingard. Manchester United's happy boy passed it to the penalty area. Mata followed up and shot into the goal, 3:0!
Unstoppable!
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Manchester United played a very fierce and threatening offensive in the first half, completely suppressing Kashima Antlers in the half and giving them a heavy beating.
Mourinho praised the team's performance during the halftime break, especially Bruno's goal after the opening, and gave it a high evaluation, and also encouraged the team to keep up the good work.
"We want to score more goals, not only win, but win beautifully!"
Kashima Antlers also realized that Manchester United had found their form and rhythm, and replaced two players at halftime, hoping to block Manchester United's attack and stabilize the team's rhythm.
But their defense only lasted ten minutes.
In the 57th minute of the second half, Mata passed the ball to Cancelo on the right, who then passed it to Bruno in the right rib gap.
After Bruno got the ball, he turned inside and passed it diagonally behind him with his left foot. Lingard quickly rushed into the penalty area and volleyed directly, and the ball went into the net again, 4:0!
The team launched a continuous offensive, and Mourinho and the coaching staff were also very excited, but they still replaced Bruno in the 60th minute and replaced Herrera.
After Bruno left the field, Manchester United's offensive continued.
In the 88th minute, Harry Kane was fouled by his opponent in the penalty area and was pushed down by the opponent. The referee did not hesitate to award a penalty kick, and the Manchester United center forward took the penalty kick and scored, changing the score to 5:0.
With a five-goal victory, Manchester United won a hearty victory.