Chapter 465: The much-anticipated annual double award
After the highly anticipated century derby, football fans around the world were eagerly awaiting another event - the draw for the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
On December 5th, fate was decided for the thirty-two teams in South Africa. The hosts were grouped with France, Uruguay, and Mexico, and their future looked bleak.
China's team, in Group D, faced the previous World Cup's eliminator Germany, as well as European powerhouse Serbia and Africa's star Ghana. Overall, they were relatively fortunate, and advancing to the next stage should not be a problem.
In Group B, South Korea faced Argentina, Nigeria, and Greece. Japan, in Group E, was paired with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Cameroon. Australia, in Group F, encountered Italy, Paraguay, and Slovakia.
The last Asian team, North Korea, was in Group G with Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal, which was considered the "group of death."
As people eagerly analyzed the strength and potential advancement of each team, the next day, the official website of "France Football" magazine announced the winner of the 2009 Ballon d'Or - Wang Feng! This was his sixth Ballon d'Or!
Considering the astonishing performance of the Chinese superstar in the previous season, this result wasn't surprising. However, two aspects still attracted considerable attention from many fans.
Firstly, all 96 judges gave their first-place votes to Wang Feng, resulting in him achieving the first-ever unanimous decision in the history of the Ballon d'Or.
"We cannot ignore his incredible achievement of scoring a hundred goals in a season. Apart from him, no other player deserves to be the first choice!" one of the judges told "France Football" magazine during an interview.
Lionel Messi ranked second, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo. The worries of the Portuguese finally materialized, as despite helping Manchester United win three consecutive league titles last season, he couldn't surpass Messi's dominance.
Wesley Sneijder ranked fourth, followed by Raúl. After that, it was Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Samuel Eto'o, Kaká, and Zlatan Ibrahimovi?.
Except for Cristiano Ronaldo, all the top ten players either played in La Liga last season or were currently playing there. This fact couldn't help but make people marvel. Despite the English Premier League's efforts to compete for the top league title, they couldn't hide La Liga's brilliance. This was the best league in European football!
Another significant piece of news was that after several rounds of discussions, the Ballon d'Or decided to merge with the FIFA World Player of the Year award next year, creating a new award - the FIFA Ballon d'Or!
The editor-in-chief of "France Football" magazine wrote a column reviewing the history of the award. Since its inception in 1956, a total of 38 outstanding football players have received this honor.
From the first winner, English player Stanley Matthews, to the last winner, Chinese player Wang Feng, he briefly introduced each of them.
Some players have won it twice, some three times, but only Wang Feng has won it six times, standing out in history. "The Chinese superstar has left the most indelible mark in the history of the Ballon d'Or."
At the same time, the editor-in-chief also recounted the two most important reforms in the history of the Ballon d'Or. In 1995, the selection criteria were expanded to include players from football clubs belonging to the member countries of the European Football Association. George Weah, Ronaldo, and Wang Feng were beneficiaries of this reform.
In 2007, there was another innovation, expanding the Ballon d'Or selection criteria to include all professional football players worldwide, increasing the number of judges from 52 to 96, and updating the scoring system.
"The scoring system became more comprehensive and scientific, but the fact remains that the best players still emerge from European leagues. This is enough to show that both technically and operationally, European leagues are at the top level, and other continents should actively learn from their advanced aspects."
Starting next year, the Ballon d'Or will enter a new era, and both the upper and lower parts of "France Football" are full of expectations for this cooperation.
Just as Wang Feng was about to go to France to receive the Ballon d'Or trophy, in the 13th round of La Liga, Real Madrid almost had a mishap at home against Almeria.
When Granero opened the scoring, the home team gradually relaxed, only to be overtaken by two goals from their opponents. If it weren't for Sneijder's thrilling rescue at the last moment, a shocking upset might have occurred. The match ended 2-2, and the Galacticos only got one point, so their top spot wasn't secured before Barcelona snatched it back.
Three days later, in the final round of the Champions League group stage, they faced Marseille away, which was a crucial match for Real Madrid, directly affecting the situation in the knockout stage draw.
The timely return of the Chinese superstar provided strong firepower and confidence. In the 32nd minute, he forcefully broke through the side, causing chaos and then sending a low cross into the penalty area, where Higuaín seized the opportunity to score.
Just before halftime, Wang Feng caused a foul through a quick counterattack, giving Real Madrid a free kick from twenty meters in front of the goal. He personally took the kick and curved it like a scythe from hell, harvesting Marseille's hopes. It was 2-0!
In the second half, Marseille pressed aggressively soon after kickoff, causing chaos in the Real Madrid defense and resulting in a goal.
However, such sustained pressure couldn't last forever. After enduring the first twenty minutes, victory gradually tilted towards the Galacticos. In the 81st minute, they seized the opportunity for a quick counterattack, and Higuaín scored the goal to seal the victory.
The final score was set at 3-1. Real Madrid won four out of six group matches, drew one, lost one, and accumulated 13 points. Their competitors, AC Milan, won four, lost two, and had 12 points. The Galacticos secured the top position by a narrow one-point margin.
Next, in the 14th round of La Liga, they faced Valencia away. With Wang Feng's last-minute goal, they reversed the score to win 2-1.
After the match, the Real Madrid team flew to Yokohama, Japan, to participate in the Club World Cup. In the semifinals, they faced Atlante, the champions of the North American and Caribbean Football Confederation.
This team was hailed as the Barcelona of Mexico, but now the Galacticos outclassed Bar?a, easily defeating them 3-0, with Wang Feng scoring twice and providing an assist.
The final opponent was still a South American team, the University of La Plata Football Club from Argentina. Although not as famous as Boca Juniors, they were still a strong team in the Argentine league.
After a fierce battle lasting nearly 90 minutes, Wang Feng assisted Granero in scoring the winning goal, securing a 1-0 victory. This was also the first trophy Real Madrid won this season.
After lifting the trophy, Wang Feng bid farewell to the team and headed to Zurich, Switzerland. On December 22nd, the FIFA Annual Awards Ceremony was officially held.
The first award announced was the newly created "Puskás Award," given to the best goal of the year, which went to Wang Feng for his three consecutive breakthroughs and goal against Barcelona in the century showdown, shocking the world.
Poor Barcelona once again became the background, with the camera focusing on Messi. It was evident that the Argentine's face was twitching, but he still maintained a formulaic smile.
Subsequently, FIFA jointly introduced the annual best team with the International Association of Professional Football Players for the first time, led by Wang Feng and Messi, with multiple players from Real Madrid and Barcelona included.
The FIFA President's Award was given to Queen Rania of Jordan, the Fair Play Award was given to the English coach Bobby, China won the Football Development Award, and Brazilian star Marta was named FIFA Women's World Player for the fourth consecutive year.
Finally, the top award, FIFA World Player of the Year, was unsurprisingly awarded to Wang Feng, who scored 1,173 points, once again breaking the historical scoring record. The second-place candidate, Messi, only received 252 points.
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