Chapter 550: Best of the 21st century
After experiencing the century derby, Real Madrid's journey in the Spanish King's Cup also began, with the first round of the fourth round challenging the Ponferradina Club from the Spanish Segunda Division.
This is a small club located in the city of Ponferrada in the northern province of León, Spain. Ponferrada is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, with a river flowing through the city.
The team's home ground, Ponferradina Stadium, is not large, accommodating only about 8,000 spectators, but the proportion of die-hard fans is quite considerable.
In this game, Wang Feng did not get a chance to play. With goals from Jose and Carleto, the Galacticos defeated their opponents 2-0.
Originally, Ancelotti didn't even plan to bring on the main players, but due to the tight schedule, the whole team had to take a plane to Japan immediately after the match to participate in the Club World Cup.
Although this was the Galacticos' fifth consecutive year participating in the tournament, they were still warmly welcomed by Japanese fans in Yokohama, and Wang Feng continued to enjoy his immense popularity.
Starting from the semifinals, Real Madrid's first opponent was the newly crowned AFC Champions League champion, Al-Sadd Club from the Qatar Stars League.
In the 9th minute of the match, Wang Feng received a through ball from Granero inside the penalty area and calmly slotted it home near the penalty spot.
Just 7 minutes later, Altintop broke through near the baseline and passed the ball back in a triangle to Wang Feng near the front of the penalty area. Without adjusting, he struck the ball directly, piercing the opponent's goal once again.
After that, Morata and Albiol each contributed brilliant goals, helping the Galacticos take a commanding 4-0 lead in the first half.
At this point, the outcome of the match was already beyond doubt. The game simply continued until the referee blew the final whistle, sending Real Madrid into the Club World Cup final, where their opponents would be the newly crowned Copa Libertadores champion, Santos.
With the departure of Neymar, this team's strength had greatly declined. The Galacticos easily maintained their dominance in the match, launching attacks almost effortlessly.
In the 19th minute, Di Maria dribbled past the edge of the penalty area to attract defenders before passing to Wang Feng, who struck the ball powerfully with his right foot, directly scoring against Santos, giving Real Madrid the lead.
In the 38th minute, it was Wang Feng's turn to dribble the ball, shaking off two defending players before passing to Alonso, who finished calmly to extend the lead.
In the second half, Di Maria unleashed a spectacular long-range shot, sealing the game at 3-0, as the Galacticos continued to reign as Club World Cup champions!
Just as the world marveled at Real Madrid's dominance on a global scale, another explosive piece of news swept through the football world: the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) recently selected the best players and top scorers of the 21st century, with Wang Feng winning both prestigious awards.
The Best Scorer award mainly counted goals scored, including goals for the national team, Olympic team, club in the Club World Cup, continental cup competitions, and domestic league and cup competitions.
Between 2001 and 2010, Wang Feng scored a total of 270 goals, including 79 for the national team and 191 for Inter Milan and Real Madrid. This data was overwhelming, as the second-ranked player, van Nistelrooy, only had 86 goals, less than a third of Wang Feng's total.
This didn't even include goals scored in domestic league and cup competitions, making Wang Feng's data even more astonishing.
The Best Player award was determined by calculating scores based on over thirty different statistical categories over the span of ten years, and Wang Feng still maintained a significant lead.
In fact, since 2003, Wang Feng had monopolized the title of annual Best Player according to the IFFHS, and this summary of the past decade naturally produced no other result.
"Any voting award is prone to debate, only data is irrefutable," the head of the association wrote in an article on the IFFHS website. "Through detailed and precise data analysis, we were surprised to find that awarding Wang Feng the title of the best player of the 21st century is by no means exaggerated."
In fact, they were being conservative. Looking at the history of modern football, with the same weight adjustments, Wang Feng's data scored far higher than anyone else's, including legends like Pelé, Maradona, and Beckenbauer.
Considering the significant impact early-era players had in other aspects, the IFFHS omitted this information, simply stating that Wang Feng was the best player of the 21st century, and asserting that no one would be able to challenge his status for the entire century.
Once this selection result spread, all fans and media alike were amazed.
"The 21st century belongs to Wang Feng!" wrote Félix Díaz, editor-in-chief of Marca, in a personal article, stating that over the past decade, Wang Feng's achievements and statistics had far surpassed those of any other player.
Moreover, these achievements seemed unlikely to be replicated by any other player. Messi and Ronaldo couldn't match up, and the rising star Neymar was even further behind.
"There is no doubt that Wang Feng will become the greatest player of the 21st century. As time passes, when people look back at this wonderful history at the end of the century, they will surely express such sentiments."
As the protagonist, the Chinese superstar later shared on social media platforms like Instagram the two Century's Best commemorative trophies he received from the IFFHS, and thanked the staff for their hard work in compiling and analyzing the data.
"To be honest, I'm also surprised to achieve such beautiful data on the field, but all of this wouldn't have been possible without the help of the coaches and teammates, whether in the national team or the club. I feel very lucky to have everyone's support," he said.
"I will continue to work hard in the future, striving not to let down the expectations of the team and the fans."
Three days after returning from Japan to Madrid, Real Madrid welcomed Sevilla at home for the 16th round of La Liga.
The players' fatigue and jet lag seriously affected their condition, and Wang Feng was not as excited as before. In the end, the match ended in a dull 0-0 draw with both sides shaking hands.
The fans who came to the Bernabéu to watch the game expressed their understanding one after another. Before the match, the club displayed the Club World Cup trophy to everyone, which made the trip worthwhile.
In another match, Barcelona defeated Barakaldo 4-0, slightly narrowing the gap with Real Madrid. Messi still failed to score; although he initiated many attacks, he consistently fell short of finding the net.
Valencia, on the other hand, defeated Malaga 2-0 at home, securing their third position in the standings. Soldado once again scored twice, increasing his total goals this season to 11.
Next up was the second leg of the King's Cup against Ponferradina. Wang Feng played for 45 minutes, contributing one goal and one assist, and in the end, Real Madrid won 4-0, advancing to the fifth round with a total score of 6-0 over two legs.
Apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona smoothly advancing to the next round, several La Liga teams were upset. Atletico Madrid lost 1-3 to Alaves, while Real Betis suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Cordoba after a goalless draw.
Villarreal also lost 1-3 to Mirandés, prompting the club to announce the dismissal of coach Gallejo, making him the second coach to lose his job this season in La Liga.
Follow current novels on (f)reew𝒆bnovel