After the team was dismissed, major news outlets began publishing their stories, most of them focusing on the match.
The German media was also hoping a Bundesliga player could win the award.
Why?
The European Golden Boy Award had been given out five times to date. Aside from one instance where it went to Van der Vaart of Eredivisie's Ajax, the remaining four awards were split evenly between the Premier League and La Liga, with each league taking two.
Ironically, Italy, home to the award's founding publication, *Torino Sports Daily*, had yet to produce a winner.
Of course, this was also because Italy hadn't produced any dazzling new talents in recent years.
Pato and Balotelli were both considered strong contenders for the award.
However, both young players had run into some issues in the new season.
As it stood, Arsenal's Walcott, Manchester United's Anderson, and Barça's Boyan seemed the most likely candidates.
Atletico Madrid's Aguero?
He'd already won it last year.
