Team Spirit

Chapter 272 The Ballon d'Or, a Challenge to Become the Greatest Player in Football History
After the match, the remaining Arsenal fans were extremely agitated, angrily criticizing the team's inaction in front of the cameras:

"We lost a lot of excellent players, but we didn't bring in the corresponding talent."

"We mortgaged the team's future to build this stadium."

"The stadium was built for the owners, not for the fans. This is about economics, not football."

"People often say that Wenger is good at developing young players, but please, the young players he developed in his era were all geniuses at the time, and their transfer fees were also considerable. And now, do you see us bringing in any expensive talents?"

"Putting everything else aside, can we afford the young players in Dartford's team next door? Is the club willing to spend the money to buy them?"

Fans continue to criticize the team's player recruitment.

I thought everything would be alright once the stadium was repaired, but...

A reporter even jokingly asked Wenger for his opinion on Dartford's decision to bring on new players later in the season.

Wenger, his face grim, maintained a semblance of composure: "If it were me, I would have done the same. It's a perfectly normal adjustment."

"This phenomenon is indeed a disgrace to us."

"We need to strengthen our squad during the winter transfer window, although this will be another challenge for management."

Various media outlets have also raised their overall ratings of the Green Guns.

Because so far, Green Gunners have already played against the four strongest teams in the Premier League at this stage.

Apart from Liverpool's initial draw, they won all three other matches.

This ability to dominate is even stronger than that of Manchester United and Chelsea, who are currently ranked first and second in the Premier League standings.

Sky Sports: "We can win tough battles! The only thing the Celtics lack right now is a little bit of consistency and experience!"

The Times: "Datford may be back in the ranks of the elite teams, their rise is at least two years faster than expected!"

The Echo: "Major betting platforms have lowered the odds of Dartford qualifying for the Champions League."

"We have adjusted Dartford's season goal from qualifying for European competition to qualifying for the Champions League, and they have earned everyone's respect with three tough wins."

Transfermarkt: "Youngsters in charge! Dartford's young players are seeing their market value increase far outpaces the average for players of their age group!"

Young players are already in the process of constantly increasing in value.

Apart from a very few flops who became famous at a young age and were overhyped, most players appreciate in value.

The value has increased too much in Ketford.

A year or two ago, the value of this group of players in their team was generally one or two million euros.

But now, the price has generally risen to over ten million euros.

This price range can buy many well-known and practical players.

Of course, even though everyone is shocked, they still don't think that the grand spectacle of the "400 million euro Green Gun lineup" from two years ago will reappear.

After all, the Green Generation 1 myth is too terrifying; such a miracle can only happen once.

If Green Generation II can produce two or three players of the caliber of Green Generation I, that would be considered a great success.

……

November 17th, Premier League Round 13.

Dartford will play away against Middlesbrough.

The Green Gunners were all out of sorts, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.

After the match, Lu Kai was surrounded by the media.

Because two major awards are coming soon.

Reporter: "Lu Kai, the shortlist of 50 candidates for the FIFA World Player of the Year has been released, and your name is first. Does this mean you will win?"

Reporter: "Lu Kai, the voting for the Golden Globe Award's 30-person shortlist has closed. Are you confident of winning?"

Reporter: "Lu Kai, there are rumors that your biggest competitor this year is Kaká from AC Milan. Do you think he is qualified to be compared with you?"

Reporter: "Barcelona fans are furious that retired Zidane is included in the evaluation. They believe that since he is no longer here, he should not be a burden on public resources. What do you think?"

Lu Kai was just wondering how to get away when a reporter reminded him, and he pushed Zidane out of the way, successfully retreating back into the team bus.

Zidane, "trapped" in a difficult situation, could only reply with a sense of resentment: "First of all, I'm still alive."

"Secondly, public resources cannot be defined by Barcelona alone. I know they are fighting for Ronaldinho and hope he can achieve a better ranking."

"But I also have my own fans. Although I don't support them going to war with anyone, I firmly defend their idols' right to be treated fairly."

"As for Kaka and Lu, they are both excellent players. I don't know Kaka very well, so it's not convenient for me to comment too much."

"But through my interactions with Lu over the past few months, I must say that he is far more outstanding than I imagined."

Reporter: "Much better? Better than you?"

Zidane laughed and said, "It is indeed an embarrassing thing, after all, I have been playing football for more than ten years, but this kid has come close to me in a much shorter time."

"I wouldn't dare say he has completely surpassed me in football, but I believe that day will come soon."

"But that's not all that makes him great. He's great in many ways besides on the field, and that's what I find most incredible about him."

"The locker room, coaching staff, tactical arrangements, training and medicine, player trades, youth training development, stadium and fan organization, team business operations, football rules, refereeing rules, modern sports medicine and related content, etc."

"This is incredible."

"In terms of competition alone, he may be the number one at present, one of the top three in the last ten years, and one of the top ten in history."

"But if we consider his contribution to the development of football and his status in the football world, I think he is already the greatest in history at this stage."

Zidane's words were shocking.

Zidane has such high regard for Lu Kai after only four months at Green Gunners?
In response, anti-China elements stated:

"Zidane is now receiving the salary offered by Lu Kai, so of course he has to speak up for the boss."

"Exactly, even though I hate my boss, I can only praise him in front of the media."

"Zidane winked during the interview; he wasn't telling the truth!"

However, those who know Zidane have come forward to say:

"Zidane is not a man who will bow his head; he has a very strong sense of pride."

"Zidane has enough wealth and is a senior figure in football; he wouldn't boast to Lu Kai for those reasons."

"Actually, these things can be verified. Lu has indeed achieved success in many aspects without realizing it."

The related discussions have continued, drawing attention across Europe.

Against this backdrop, Dartford hosted Ajax at home.

In this match, Phil finally made his comeback.

Dartford ultimately defeated Ajax 2-1 thanks to goals from Ribery and Modric.

The match wasn't particularly exciting, and it was quite difficult.

Because Ajax has a very strong squad.

The forwards include Perez, Ryan Babel, Huntelaar, Rosales, and Tom Moore.

Midfielders: Sneijder, Davies, Gabri.

The defense includes Stam, Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Heitinga, and others.

Although some of them are substitutes, this shows that Ajax's system is indeed of high quality.

A team like that could probably make it to the knockout stage in the Champions League.

But that might not be the case in the Europa League.

This year, only the group winner is guaranteed qualification. Dartford currently holds a commanding lead with three wins out of three matches.

They only need to avoid defeat in the final round to advance.

As he left the Green Penguin Stadium, Sneijder turned and looked at the crown on the penguin's head.

How long has it been? Has Lu Kai already become so unattainable?
In 2002, during the European Under-21 Championship, Sneijder was still a super talent who could be compared to Lu Kai and whose future was many times brighter than Lu Kai's.

Four and a half years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Sneijder has transformed from a "youth training prodigy" into a true star player in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Unsurprisingly, he has achieved impressive statistics this season, with 18 goals and 10 assists, making him a highly sought-after core player by top clubs.

However, he is still far from being shortlisted for the Golden Globe Award.

And Lu Kai... has already won two Golden Globe Awards.

If I had played in the European Under-21 Championship and then followed Lu Kai to Green Gunners, I might already have won several "Dutch Footballer of the Year" awards.

……

November 25th, the 14th round of the English Premier League.

Dartford defeated Manchester City 2-0 at home.

On November 27, the Golden Globe Awards ceremony was held on Canal+ television in Paris, France.

They read out the players' names from back to front according to their ranking, with Ashley Young being the first.

They also specifically emphasized that Ashley Young was the only player among the thirty finalists who did not receive any votes.

Because of his "dirty" performance at the World Cup, many fans who dislike him call him "Dirty Zero Yang".

The remaining players are Eto'o, Carrick, Villa, Zambrotta, Ferdinand, Luca Toni, Terry, Juninho Pernambucano, and Ashley Cole.

The players ranked 20th to 11th are Podolski, Ribery, Lampard, Vieira, Gattuso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gilardino, Lehmann, Klose, and Pirlo.

The tenth to sixth places are Drogba, Shevchenko, Buffon, Ronaldinho, and Beckham.

This also shows that the main criteria for this year's Ballon d'Or are the World Cup and the Champions League.

Fifth place, Fabio Cannavaro. He's almost a representative of the Italian team in this position, embodying European respect for Italy's unwavering spirit after the Calciopoli scandal.

Fourth place: Thierry Henry. This is a microcosm of him and the French team: excellent, but always just one step away from being the best.

The third place goes to the shocking Zidane, who only played for half a year!

In the final selection, Kaka and Lu Kai were neck and neck, with Kaka ultimately winning the grand prize by a margin of less than ten points, breaking Lu Kai's three-peat in the Ballon d'Or.

Before the Ballon d'Or ceremony, the organizers stated clearly: "Lucai led England to victory in the World Cup and also performed well in the Champions League."

"Kaka won the Champions League with AC Milan, and his individual performance in the World Cup was also outstanding."

"They are the best players in the world over the past year."

“If Lu Kai had never won the Golden Globe before, if he hadn’t won last year, or even if this wasn’t Lu Kai’s third time in the final competition, he might have won.”

"But we always believe that a three-peat is a special moment. We think that Lu Kai was good enough to win the award in the past year, but not enough to win a three-peat of the Ballon d'Or."

"Kaka's performance in his first appearance in the final competition was enough to earn him a Ballon d'Or."

"Therefore, this year's Ballon d'Or belongs to Kaká."

"We also hope that Lu Kai can achieve even more brilliant results and accomplishments in the future to win his first three-peat of the Ballon d'Or!"

Surprisingly, the Golden Globes weren't criticized after the awards ceremony.

However, surprisingly, even the Ballon d'Or winner Kaká was not discussed.

Because of this move by the Ballon d'Or, the award has actually been upgraded, with a special "Three-Time Ballon d'Or Winner" title established above it.

Lu Kai is the only player who has touched upon or rather unveiled this new honor.

This has aroused great curiosity among fans around the world about the award and Lu Kai.

When will he be able to win this super honor?

France Football: "The Ballon d'Or winner is not as good as the second-best? Zhu Xi, a member of the Ballon d'Or selection committee, personally admitted it!"

Sky Sports: "Lu Kai redefines the Ballon d'Or! Sets the ultimate goal of a three-peat!"

The Times: "If Kaka is aiming for the Ballon d'Or, then Lu Kai is aiming for the King of Football award!"

The New York Times: "When Lu Kai wins the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, that may be the time when we call him the King of Football."

Dongqiudi: "Among all Ballon d'Or winners, Kaka was the luckiest! He encountered the greatest Ballon d'Or runner-up in history!"

Kicker: "Normally, the runner-up in the Ballon d'Or is the winner. But for Lu Kai, the runner-up in the Ballon d'Or is the King of Football Award!"

This was also called by fans the most reasonable Ballon d'Or award in history.

In a subsequent interview, the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner Kaká himself stated, "In fact, people know that in recent years, the Ballon d'Or selection has placed more emphasis on the player's ability and performance."

"They are more realistic, respect the game, respect the data, and respect the players and fans."

"Therefore, even a second before the award ceremony, I still believed that Lu Kai should have won this year. That was obvious. I thought he did better than me, even if the honors and achievements he received were not as good as his own last year."

“I will never think that I have surpassed Lu Kai just because I won the Golden Globe, because he has opened up a new field and he is at the next level.”

"Ronaldo and Zidane are top players in that class, and Figo and Rivaldo may have entered that field as well."

"Former stars like Van Basten, Platini, Cruyff, Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan, Beckenbauer, and Di Stefano are also here."

Kaka's words further confirmed this.

A clear distinction has emerged between stars like Shevchenko, Nedved, Owen, and Kaká, who have only won the highest honor once, and stars who have won the highest honor multiple times.

This is more in line with the fans' perception.

Because they are all Ballon d'Or winners, but people feel that some are significantly stronger, while others are about equal.

Soon, the "My Love Diary in Asen Green: The Birth of a Football King" chapter was updated.

In the documentary, Lu Kai endorsed the "three-time champion" concept proposed by the Golden Globe Awards: "The Golden Globe Awards made the right decision."

"As is well known, according to the Western method of determining fame, Zhongguo, where I am located, has a civilization of five thousand years."

"Therefore, we are used to looking at problems with a holistic and long-term perspective."

"The world's best for one year and the world's best for several consecutive years are clearly not the same concept, but there is no distinction between them in the English vocabulary or system."

"This makes it impossible for you to explain why, among the same wealthy families, some are more noble and others are less well-established."

"Because of the efforts of many generations, it should not be surpassed by one generation, or rather, that is not realistic."

"As an award, the Golden Globe is seeking positive change and trying to explain more phenomena that exist but cannot be explained. This is a positive sign that they are doing the right thing."

"I will continue to strive for the Ballon d'Or. When we, the Guo people, see that there is still a road ahead, we will not be afraid of any challenges, because we are moving forward faster than anyone else."

"Of course, I also want to congratulate Kaka. He deserves this Ballon d'Or. He was no worse than anyone else in the past year."

“Even before this new honors category was introduced, I believed he was a player who could have won an award alongside me this year.”

"He is the real Ballon d'Or winner, just like I was a couple of years ago, like Shevchenko, Nedved, and Owen."

Lu Kai's high EQ remarks affirmed the Golden Globe Award and Kaká.

Without even realizing it, he has already surpassed the Golden Globe Awards committee and Mr. Golden Globe.

This also made many players who had previously finished second in the Ballon d'Or feel honored, after all, they were considered to be "on par" with Lu Kai!
Following this discussion, Lu Kai's status as the world's number one player has become even more secure.

All the questions are now down to one: When will Lu Kai be crowned the greatest footballer of all time?

(End of this chapter)