Chapter 511: Lawrence Award
For Wang Feng, it was a great disappointment to be eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Since joining Real Madrid, he has continuously won championships in the league and the Champions League, but has only won one cup championship.
But with every loss comes a gain. Ending the Copa del Rey campaign early allows the players to focus more and be undistracted. Following this, they achieved victories in the next three league matches against Mallorca, Osasuna, and Real Sociedad.
With this, Real Madrid completed a nine-game winning streak. After 22 rounds, they had 18 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, totaling 56 points, ranking second. Barcelona continued to top the table with 19 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, totaling 59 points. The point difference between the two teams narrowed from 5 points to 3 points, reigniting Real Madrid's hopes for the title.
As for the top scorer, Wang Feng contributed 33 goals, firmly holding the top spot, while Messi ranked second with 26 goals.
After the match against Real Sociedad, the Chinese superstar asked for leave from the club and went to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to attend the 2010 Lawrence World Sports Awards ceremony.
Soon, this news was exposed by Real Madrid's accompanying reporters and quickly spread across Europe. Many people were very puzzled as to why the Chinese superstar would specially attend the awards ceremony.
The Lawrence Awards were established in 2000 by Daimler and Richemont and have been supported by global partners Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen. It is one of the most influential awards in the world of sports and a global sports awards ceremony.
However, it has always been unrelated to football and focuses more on individual athlete performance. Therefore, rarely are nominated footballers present. For example, Wang Feng himself has been a nominee for the Sportsman of the Year award since 2002, but has never attended the ceremony or won the award.
This time, the Chinese superstar specifically asked for leave from the club to attend. Could it be that he had a great chance of becoming the first footballer to win this prestigious award?
For a while, the media speculated, and everyone's attention was focused on the upcoming awards ceremony.
When Wang Feng appeared at Abu Dhabi International Airport, there were already hundreds of die-hard fans surrounding the exit to greet him. Many locals in West Asia are very fond of the Chinese superstar. Discrimination melted away at this moment, and everyone was Asian.
After signing autographs for the few fans at the forefront, Wang Feng, escorted by bodyguards, left the scene and headed to the hotel where he would do some styling and rest briefly, awaiting the evening awards ceremony.
He did receive a strong invitation from the Lawrence jury to attend. In fact, this time, not only him but also Barcelona's Messi and Iniesta were nominated for the Sportsman of the Year award. However, the latter two knew they had no chance of winning and did not attend.
Usually, those who attend the FIFA awards ceremony are football stars or related professionals. However, Lawrence is evidently more inclusive. On the red carpet, Wang Feng saw top athletes from various fields, such as the American basketball player Kobe Bryant, the Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal, and the German racing driver Sebastian Vettel.
Of course, there were also famous singers and celebrities from around the world. Although many people were unfamiliar with the Chinese superstar, there were still some relatively well-known figures like Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johansson.
But as football is the world's number one sport, and Wang Feng is the most popular star in football, his appearance quickly became the focus of the entire event.
A group of people surrounded him, asking for autographs and photos. Nadal, taking full advantage of his athleticism, was the first to rush to him, smiling widely and showing his white teeth.
"I finally see the idol!" the Spaniard exclaimed excitedly. "Wang, I am your loyal fan of you and Real Madrid. You have made me more passionate about football!"
Wang Feng smiled as he took the clothes and pen handed to him, signing while saying, "Thank you. It's my honor to be the idol of someone who has won so many Grand Slam championships. I think you could try football after retiring. Maybe you'll perform excellently as well."
Nadal became even more excited. "I do have that idea. One day, when I stop playing tennis, I'll play football on the pitch, haha."
There were also some small episodes when interacting with other people. Scarlett, wearing a shoulderless gown, directly pulled down her strap and hoped that Wang Feng would sign on the inside.
This move caused laughter all around, and the Chinese superstar did not expect Western celebrities to be so open. He could only sign it briefly with a forced smile.
At eight o'clock in the evening, the awards ceremony officially began. The hosts were the famous actors Matthew Fox and Olivia Williams.
The first award announced was the Best Team award. Both Real Madrid, the four-time consecutive champions, and the Chinese national football team, which won its first championship, were nominated. In the end, the Chinese team unsurprisingly won the award.
The second award was the Best Newcomer, and German young talent Thomas Mueller, who performed well in the World Cup, was nominated. He competed against several golf and athletics newcomers without any doubt and lost. The eventual winner was golfing legend Martin Kaymer.
After a brief song and dance performance, the awards ceremony continued. The Best Comeback award went to Italian motorcyclist Valentino Rossi, the Disabled Athlete award went to German skier Verena Bentele, and the Best Action Sports Athlete award went to American surfer Kelly Slater.
With all five individual awards announced, Fox announced that there would be three additional awards at this year's Lawrence. The first was the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to the French football king, Zinedine Zidane.
The Best Sporting Lifestyle award went to the European Ryder Cup team, and the Sports for Good award went to the founder of the Beirut Marathon, May El-Khalil from Lebanon.
Finally, the Best Female Athlete award, for the third consecutive time, was won by the skiing star Lindsey Vonn, who won both the World Cup and the Winter Olympics downhill gold medals. She defeated three tennis stars, Williams, Clijsters, and Wozniacki, as well as two athletics stars, Vlasic and Ennis, becoming the second ice and snow sports athlete to win the Lawrence after Kostelic.
As for the final and most anticipated award, the Best Male Athlete, there were five candidates competing with Wang Feng: Kobe Bryant, Messi, Iniesta, Nadal, and Vettel.
Among them, Nadal was the most competitive. He won the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open championships last year, completing a Grand Slam, and ranked first in the ATP rankings.
When Edwin Moses, the chairman of the Lawrence Foundation, appeared with an envelope, everyone's hearts tightened. Who would win the award? Could the glamorous Wang Feng break the norm and become the first team sportsman to win this honor?
Moses intriguingly introduced the achievements of each candidate in 2010. When it came to Wang Feng, he naturally mentioned leading the Chinese team to win the first World Cup championship and his remarkable tally of 15 goals in a single tournament.
Seeing the whispers in the audience gradually growing louder, the American finally tore open the envelope and pulled out the card with the name of the winner written on it. After scanning the scene, he said firmly, "The winner of the 2010 Lawrence Sportsman of the Year is... the Chinese footballer Wang Feng!"
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