Chapter 534: Brand new prize
In the first direct encounter of the new season, Real Madrid lost to Barcelona, ??although it was on penalties, although it was the somewhat redundant Spanish Super Cup, but a loss is a loss, and there is no excuse.
On the flight back from Barcelona, everyone on the Galacticos seemed very discouraged, especially Iguaín, who missed the penalty, and Modric, who was heavily criticized after the game.
The Croatian started in all the matches of this series, but his performance can only be described as disastrous, with the lowest invisible rating throughout the game. Many people online have begun to call him the "biggest flop" in La Liga.
"This is the cost of arrogance!" Many media commented that the transfer work of the Galacticos this summer could only be described as a failure.
But Wang Feng didn't think so. He believed that the team's level had not dropped much compared to last season. Di María and Khedira could fully support both offense and defense. Although Modric had not found his best form yet, his attitude was very positive.
The biggest reason for losing to Barcelona is still Messi. The Argentine seems to be unstoppable, like his goal in the 78th minute, continuously shaking and disrupting the entire defensive line in the frontcourt, even dodging past the Chinese superstar who came forward to defend.
His elegant dribbling even deceived Wang Feng's sharp senses! This situation was the first time it had happened to Wang Feng, so afterwards, he kept thinking back to the scene and borrowed videotapes to study it specifically, finally discovering the traces of the fake movement.
Wang Feng didn't know how long Messi could maintain this state, but the competition in the upcoming league matches was bound to be very intense.
The new head coach, Ancelotti, was also pondering the reasons for the defeat. Unlike Benítez's stubborn character, he was more willing to communicate with the players.
After returning to Madrid, he needed to focus on comforting Iguaín and Modric, and also discuss with Wang Feng how to maximize his threat to counter Messi at this time. The only one who could compete with Messi at this time was the Chinese superstar.
After adjusting their mood, the Real Madrid team took another plane to Monaco to prepare for the UEFA Super Cup match. Their opponent was Porto from the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
The day before the match, UEFA held the annual awards ceremony as usual and drew the matchups for the UEFA Champions League group stage of the new season.
This year, the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and the individual awards for the four positions were officially canceled and merged into a brand new award—the European Best Player Award! This approach undoubtedly greatly increased the value of this newly released trophy. Some even asserted that it could rival the FIFA Ballon d'Or, or even be more professional than the Ballon d'Or because it would focus more on the player's performance in the current season rather than their fame.
However, these were all stories for later, because for now, in terms of performance or reputation, it seemed that only one person was eligible for the award, that is, the giant who led his team to achieve five consecutive achievements and won the European Golden Boot ten times in a row.
The clues from the first round of voting results announced by UEFA also showed that Wang Feng was far ahead of Ronaldo and Messi, the top three candidates.
The new European Best Player selection method is completely different from before. Fifty-three sports journalists from fifty-three countries and regions in Europe form the jury, and there are two rounds of voting in total.
First, three on-site candidates are selected before the award ceremony. The first choice gets 5 points, the second choice gets 3 points, and the third choice gets 1 point.
In this round of voting, Wang Feng received 259 points, which means that almost all the judges listed him as their first choice.
Next, there will be a second round of on-site voting at the award ceremony, and judging by this trend, there is no suspense.
When the Chinese superstar appeared at the Palace of Westminster, countless fans and media were agitated, screams accompanied by continuous flashes of light, and the organizers had to reinforce the surrounding security and remind him to enter quickly, otherwise it would be uncontrollable!
After entering the hall, the stars all greeted Wang Feng one after another, faintly implying that they were clustering around him in the center. This was not surprising, after all, his achievements so far were enough to make people look up to him.
UEFA President Platini briefly reviewed the highlights of the past season, naturally mentioning the historic achievements of Real Madrid, as well as the performances of the three candidates.
Soon, the voting results were delivered to the hands of the Frenchman, and he opened the envelope with a smile under the gaze of the audience. "Indeed, it is the expected choice. I believe the final result should not be unexpected."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole audience showed a knowing smile, and Platini no longer kept them in suspense: "The winner of the 2010-2011 European Best Player is—Wang Feng!"
Thunderous applause resounded through the entire hall in an instant, and under the congratulations of everyone, the Chinese superstar walked up to the stage to receive the award, receiving the heavy trophy from the hands of the UEFA President.
Its shape was quite peculiar, with a black base supporting a silver athlete's torso structure. The arms were raised in a gesture of lifting, but only a small section was shown, looking like two forks.
Many netizens commented that the shape of this trophy was very much like "big underpants," heavy in weight but ugly in design.
"I am honored to be the first player to receive this award. Thanks to all the judges for their recognition, thanks to all my teammates for their support, thanks to all the fans for their love. This honor also belongs to you."
Wang Feng continued his usual style, gracefully receiving this brand new award.
Next, the draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage was conducted in order of pots one to four. Real Madrid, as the top seed, was placed in Group D, while in Pot 2, AC Milan and Valencia were both strong competitors.
As for Pot 3, Ajax, Bayer Leverkusen, and Manchester City were also formidable. In Pot 4, Borussia Dortmund and Dinamo Zagreb from the Croatian league seemed to have the potential to be dark horses.
As the ceremony went on, Real Madrid seemed to have a somewhat mixed feeling about the draw. They avoided tough opponents like Lyon in Pot 2, but encountered Ajax, a strong team from the Eredivisie, in Pot 3, and in Pot 4, they faced Dinamo Zagreb from the Croatian league.
Overall, it was a relatively upper-middle draw. Barcelona was in Group H with AC Milan, Viktoria Plzeň from the Czech league, and BATE Borisov from the Belarusian league.
Valencia was paired with Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen, and Genk in Group E. Villarreal was the most unlucky, as their three opponents were Bayern Munich, Napoli, and Manchester City, making it almost impossible for them to advance to the knockout stage.
On the evening of August 26th, at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, Real Madrid officially started their clash with Porto.
Ancelotti continued with the 4-4-2 formation from the Spanish Super Cup, with Casillas in goal.
The back four consisted of Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, and Carvajal.
In midfield were Khedira, Alonso, Modric, and Di María.
The forward line was still led by Wang Feng partnering with Iguaín.
Compared to the century derby against Barcelona, the Galacticos were much more relaxed in this game. They smoothly controlled the situation on the field and completely dominated Porto.
In the first half, after Alonso broke through to the front and passed directly behind, Wang Feng successfully avoided the offside trap and scored with a clever shot inside the penalty area, opening the scoring for Real Madrid.
In the second half, after Di María forcefully dribbled down the wing and crossed, the Chinese superstar cleverly left the ball, and Marcelo, who had joined from the back, shot from 8 meters in front of the goal, sealing the victory.
In the end, the Galacticos defeated the strong Portuguese team 2:0 and lifted the first trophy of the new season.
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