Chapter 314: Shoulder to shoulder with a myth
Real Madrid, who has advanced to the next round, is preparing for the 12th round of La Liga against the "Bats Legion" Valencia, while a piece of news is detonating the entire Spanish football scene.
The cover of Spain's largest circulation newspaper, "As", is a big picture of the editor-in-chief of "France Football" magazine, Poupefenastier, appearing at the Madrid Barajas Airport.
The report indicates that reporters followed him to the Real Madrid training base and waited there for nearly three hours. Afterward, Poupefenastier drove to Wang Feng's mansion in La Finca, where he stayed for about two hours.
Everything became clear - Wang Feng won the 2006 Ballon d'Or! Only Wang Feng and Zidane from Real Madrid had the opportunity to compete for this highest honor. However, Zidane had retired long ago and was no longer in Madrid. It's unlikely that the editor of "France Football" would just go to Wang Feng's private residence for a casual chat.
This result was enough to shock the football world because in previous years, the dual awards were usually given to the best-performing players from the championship team.
But this year, with Zidane retired from the World Cup champion team France, although he could participate in the selection, his lack of achievements in the second half of the year deducted many points.
Henry had no remarkable achievements at Arsenal, and his performance in the World Cup was mediocre. He suffered an injury and missed the crucial championship matches for the French team, contributing very little.
Upon careful consideration, Wang Feng, who led the 66th-ranked Chinese team to eliminate Italy and reach the semifinals, was undoubtedly the best performer. His goal tally also far exceeded that of other stars.
Not to mention his miraculous save as a goalkeeper before, helping Inter Milan win their fifth Champions League trophy, keeping the San Siro trophy forever.
Counting his various achievements, it's not unreasonable to say that this is Wang Feng's year. Therefore, winning the Ballon d'Or is expected, but the phenomenon of breaking tradition has also boosted the morale of many small-country players.
Perhaps they will never be able to help their country lift the European Cup or the World Cup, but as long as they perform well enough, there is hope to compete for the dual awards, which greatly uplifts their spirits.
Seeing Poupefenastier with a smile on his face again, Wang Feng couldn't pretend to be surprised, but he was soon filled with excitement, understanding what this meant!
"I'm glad to see you again," Poupefenastier blinked, "I thought I would often visit Milan, but maybe Madrid will be the place I often come to in the future."
Wang Feng laughed, "Since you're here, you must come to my new home as a guest."
"Of course, it's our honor."
The two teams were very familiar with the process of taking photos and conducting interviews, and Real Madrid was not the first big club to encounter such situations. They had their professional reception process, which made the "France Football" team feel very comfortable.
According to later understanding, Real Madrid played a very important role in Wang Feng's award this time. The influence of the old powerhouse was astonishing, coupled with Inter Milan's president Moratti unexpectedly leveraging his influence.
Generally speaking, after club legends leave, their former club won't bother with the player's honor anymore because it's not worth the effort for them.
But Wang Feng made significant contributions to Inter Milan, and Moratti was very grateful to this Chinese superstar. This time, his full support could be considered a perfect ending to Wang Feng's Nerazzurri career.
Of course, the club's influence was only auxiliary. To truly sit in this position, one's own performance was indispensable, and Wang Feng's performance in the second half of this year was still dominant.
On November 27th, in the 12th round of La Liga, the Galacticos arrived in the "City of Sunshine" Valencia to challenge the Bats Legion.
Perhaps inspired by Wang Feng's award, the club's players and staff all showed very impressive performances, and the Chinese superstar himself was exceptionally active.
In the 17th minute of the match, he broke through two defenders in the frontcourt and scored the opening goal for the away team. Just 9 minutes later, he created another set-piece opportunity in the opponent's half.
This time, Wang Feng didn't choose to take the free kick himself but handed it to Guti, positioning himself at the edge of the penalty area.
When the ball was floated into the penalty area, Wang Feng leaped up and headed it towards the goal with force, piercing through Canizares' fingers once again.
2-0! Wang Feng scored his second goal of the match!
He rarely used headers to score, but no one could underestimate the attacking ability of the Chinese superstar; otherwise, they would pay a bloody price.
In the 65th minute of the second half, Guti assisted Raúl again to score a goal, completing his second assist of the match, while Valencia only managed to pull one goal back in the dying moments through Spanish forward Morientes, but everything was already irrelevant to the overall situation.
Real Madrid secured two consecutive victories, presenting a gift to Wang Feng for his award!
On the eve of the Ballon d'Or announcement, all media and fans nervously refreshed the official website, waiting for the final results to be released.
Although the winners were already leaked, it was just speculation. The official announcement had not been made yet, and both Real Madrid and Wang Feng remained tight-lipped during interviews. Everyone wanted to wait for the results to be confirmed.
They didn't have to wait long. At 9:21 PM, on an ordinary evening, the official website of "France Football" magazine was finally updated, announcing the winner of the Ballon d'Or - Wang Feng! He won this highest honor for the third time!
Prior to this, only legendary stars Platini, Barcelona's patriarch Cruyff, and Dutch superstar Van Basten had achieved this honor, and Wang Feng truly joined the ranks of legends.
Along with the announcement of the final winners, the specific scores were also released. Wang Feng ranked first with a huge advantage of 203 points, followed by Henry with only 94 points, Ronaldinho with 73 points in third place, and Zidane with 71 points in fourth.
It can be said that Wang Feng received the support of most judges and was undisputedly awarded the Ballon d'Or.
Poupefenastier, the editor-in-chief of "France Football", wrote in his commentary article, "In the past year, Wang Feng has still dominated the world football scene. He is the most dazzling figure in any competition."
"League champions and European Golden Boots, Champions League winners and top scorers, World Cup semifinalists and World Cup Golden Boots, World Cup Golden Ball."
"Nothing is more convincing than one heavyweight trophy after another. He is the best player in the world football in 2006, and the Ballon d'Or is well-deserved!"
In addition to the article, many photos were also posted on the official website, including Wang Feng holding the Ballon d'Or trophy at the Real Madrid training base and Poupefenastier and others visiting Wang Feng's new home.
More details and interview content will be published in the latest issue of "France Football" magazine after the award ceremony, including many judges' opinions and evaluations of the thirty candidates.
As for Wang Feng receiving the customized trophy engraved with his name, he would have to wait until early December to personally go to France to receive it. At that time, there would be another round of interviews and photos, which would also be included in the magazine.
Poupefenastier's evaluation of Wang Feng as the best player in the world football in 2006 sparked heated discussions. Some people felt that he was exaggerating because another heavyweight award had not been announced yet - the FIFA World Player.
Others believed that he was right. If the FIFA World Player award went to another player, it would cause a great controversy because no one could surpass Wang Feng's performance this year.
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