Team Spirit

Chapter 274 FIFA King of Football, Three Baldy Hands
Bild: "Datford advance with a perfect group stage record, directly qualifying for the Europa League Round of 16!"

Kicker: "Green Gunners thrashed Leverkusen 4-0, with Lu Kai leading the team back to the Europa League. Four European competitions, four advancements, two titles – he can be called a European competition expert!"

The Echo: "Ajax suffers a blunder, losing and failing to finish second in their group, heading home! Bayer Leverkusen pulls off a miraculous comeback, advancing to the Europa League play-offs!"

Sky Sports: "In four UEFA Cup matches, Lu Kai led the scoring charts with three goals and three assists, followed by Duff with three goals and two assists, and Ribery with four goals and zero assists. They dominated the top three spots in the scoring charts, forming an invincible attacking trio!"

Giroud: They're a trident? Then what am I, the center?
Dzeko: We can only be the handles of halberds!

Mandzukic: I'll be a substitute; you guys fight for this honor.

Dartford's qualification for the Europa League is definitely good news for fans, and such news often stays in the news for a week.

But I'm sorry, I couldn't even last a day this time.

because……

Barcelona eliminated from Champions League!

They qualified for the Europa League play-offs as the third-placed team in their group!

There was an uproar around the world.

After all, this is Barcelona.

Despite being relegated from the Europa League two years ago, no one has ever considered them a team that should be playing in the UEFA Cup.

After all, Barcelona's main rival is always Real Madrid, and Real Madrid has been a regular in the Champions League semi-finals in recent years.

AS: "Barcelona has no right to challenge Real Madrid; Europa League teams should focus on the playoffs!"

Marca: "Messi, whom Barcelona is heavily promoting, is far less good than Valbuena. Kaká has surpassed Ronaldinho to become the first pursuer behind Lu Kai!"

Real Madrid mocked them relentlessly.

Mundo Deportivo: "Ronaldinho is plagued by injury and will miss crucial matches. Messi alone cannot carry the team, no matter how talented he is!"

Diario Sport: "Ronaldinho and Messi are not to be underestimated, Toure and Amorin are all mistakes, Dartford has brought Basara to their level! Never buy Green Gun players again!"

Barcelona quickly shifted the blame.

However, some fair media outlets spoke the truth.

Bild: "Amorim and Toure performed admirably, while Messi is excellent but lacks consistency and is not yet a top-tier player."

Gazzetta dello Sport: "Barcelona's management is pressuring Rijkaard to win the UEFA Cup to save face, or he will be kicked out!"

Italian media are also paying close attention to Barcelona's situation, after all, Barcelona profited greatly from the dissolution of Juventus.

But Barcelona fans now say that it was Thuram and Zambrotta who brought Juventus's relegation luck to Barcelona.

He is an ominous player.

They also criticized Serie A, saying it was of low quality and that top Serie A players dragged down the team after coming to Barcelona.

News of Barcelona's Champions League exit typically lasts longer.

Unfortunately, this time, no one paid attention after just one day.

because……

On December 19th, the FIFA World Player of the Year award ceremony was held in grand style.

These days, the FIFA World Player of the Year award is far more prestigious than the Ballon d'Or.

Therefore, the Ballon d'Or must be better in terms of competitiveness and professionalism in order to be comparable to the FIFA World Player of the Year.

When they reach a point of equal standing, the prestige of the Ballon d'Or will naturally decline.

After all, everyone needs to make a living.

I'm not eating now not because I don't want to, but because I don't have the ability to at the moment.

Lu Kai has frequently participated in the two major awards in recent years and is very familiar with them.

More than 400 media outlets are present today, covering more than 180 regions around the world.

From the red carpet ceremony onwards, the scale and level of the event were extremely high.

This clearly foreshadows something extraordinary about to happen.

"The player now walking on the red carpet is Adriano, the 30th nominee for this year's FIFA World Player of the Year!"

Ad made a dazzling entrance after being introduced by the host.

His ranking has dropped significantly compared to last year.

Especially Kaká, who was pinned down by him, later came out on top and won the Ballon d'Or.

Even so, Adriano still received at least one vote.

This means that Ashley Young, the last nominee for the Ballon d'Or, is the only player to receive zero points this year.

Making it onto these lists is usually a compliment, but being last on one of them is a bit embarrassing.

"Dirty Zero Yang" will have to bear this title for a long time to come.

The next names are Lahm, Lehmann, Thuram, Nesta, Cech, Essien, Vieira, Gattuso, and Ferdinand.

Cech's inclusion on this list is partly due to his outstanding performance over the past year.

On the other hand, it is also related to his experience.

His intermittent amnesia has improved and he is currently actively recovering, a spirit that moved the judges.

After all, the evaluation methods for the FIFA World Player of the Year are inherently more diverse.

However, Mourinho has always had doubts about Cech's situation. Considering that Cech might not be able to return until next season, Mourinho has already had his team contact some young goalkeepers.

Of course, they will first try to bring in Van der Sar, the Green Gunner, during the winter transfer window.

The players ranked eleventh to twentieth are Lampard, Ballack, Klose, Gerrard, Shevchenko, Deco, Figo, Riquelme, Ribery, and Eto'o.

Tenth place, Buffon.

Ninth place, Terry.

Eighth place, Pirlo.

Seventh place: Drogba.

Sixth place, Ronaldinho.

As always, non-Barcelona supporters continue to believe that Ronaldinho's ranking is inflated, and the number of people holding this view is growing.

Even the usually cheerful Ronaldinho couldn't quite manage a smile this time.

Looking at Lu Kai, whose ranking was still not revealed, Xiao Luo felt bitter and unwilling.

I thought that with hard work and determination, I could easily surpass Lu Kai, but I didn't expect... I still couldn't catch up?
How could this be?
Fifth place: Fabio Cannavaro.

Fourth place... Kaka!
This ranking has sparked heated discussions.

Kaká, the well-deserved Ballon d'Or winner, only ranks fourth in the FIFA World Player of the Year list?

But that's the difference between the two awards.

The Ballon d'Or is more accurate in reflecting the competition, while the FIFA World Player of the Year award represents the opinion of the majority.

Kaka is still too young.

Kaka: I'm 24.

Lu Kai: I'm 21.

Third place: Zidane!
After a six-month hiatus from football, Zidane achieved two third-place finishes in the annual competition, setting a new record for the most successful retired player.

No one has reached his level of skill when they retire.

The second place goes to Thierry Henry, who, along with Zinedine Zidane, led the French team to the World Cup runner-up position.

Last season, he became the new three-time runner-up. The team lost the Community Shield to Chelsea.

They lost to AC Milan in the Champions League final.

They lost to England in the World Cup final.

But being able to get the runner-up position is a symbol of strength in itself, not to mention his consistently outstanding individual statistics.

This also marks the umpteenth time in Henry's career that he has ranked second in both major awards.

He is actually a "Golden Ball" level player.

But he has never been able to win a top prize to prove himself.

He is almost the strongest player in both major awards, and is better than many of the award winners.

"Now, I announce that the winner of this year's FIFA World Player of the Year award is... Lu Kai!"

The scene was filled with flashing lights, the sound of firecrackers, and changing music.

The big screen displayed a compilation of Lu Kai's goals from the past year.

Much later, after the goal highlights had finished playing, Lu Kai took the stage to give his acceptance speech: "This must be the longest goal highlights in the history of the FIFA World Player of the Year."

"Last year was an incredible year."

"My club team has gone through many hardships and has grown, but it has not won enough honors."

"Fortunately, I was somewhat compensated for it with the England team, lifting the World Cup trophy with my teammates."

"This year, I reached the peak of my career in terms of goals, but if I could, I would like to use those goals to win a championship trophy."

"Because my celebration alone is far less important than celebrating with my teammates."

"This season, we have transformed, we have gained confidence, and we are now striving for more honors."

"We hope everyone will pay more attention to us, to Dartford, and to the England team. Thank you!"

Lu Kai cheered on his teammates.

These words ignited the passion of Green Gunners fans watching on television.

When the eldest brother received the FIFA World Player of the Year award, his biggest wish was actually to win with everyone.

The world's number one player doesn't mind that everyone is bad at the game and is willing to lead everyone to get rich. What reason do you have not to follow along and work hard?

Mandzukic was greatly encouraged: "After watching the awards ceremony, I'm going to practice for two hours. I'm the weakest center on the team."

Aubameyang rolled his eyes. Of course you're worse than Giroud and Dzeko, but Mandzukic's physical strength is above average in the entire Premier League.

Mertens: "I need to practice more too, and I want to attend award ceremonies like this in the future!"

Chen Tao: "I hope to see more East Asian faces there, preferably Chinese faces."

Thiago Silva: "It's very difficult for defenders like us, I don't even want to think about it."

Bonucci: "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

Modric took out his notebook and added a point for Bonucci.

If you're good at Chinese, you'll have no worries in the locker room.

Marta won the title of FIFA Women's World Player of the Year this year, having previously placed second and third.

Han Rui and Ma Xiaoxu of the Chinese women's football team ranked seventh and eighth respectively.

The Fair Play Award was given to fans at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

So much so that in the future, when many of the older players boasted about themselves, they would say that they had received this award, which sounded quite impressive.

A quick check revealed that they were all popular awards.

This year's FIFA Zhu Xi Special Award was presented to Facchetti, the Inter Milan's Zhu Xi, who passed away suddenly in September. His widow and son went on stage to accept the award, and the entire audience observed a minute's silence.

The Best Manager award went to England manager Stanley, who beat AC Milan manager Ancelotti.

Stanley still dared not take credit, and after taking the stage, he thanked Lu Kai, Alfred, and "my high-ranking father" respectively.

At the same time, he humbly described himself as: "I don't really know much about football. Many people here are more professional and knowledgeable than me."

This attitude earned laughter and applause from the audience.

Even Ancelotti had to admit defeat and applaud his rival: "Stanley has the air of a great coach; he's still too modest."

The reason people act this way is mainly because Mourinho was too arrogant when he won the award a few years ago.

He acted like he was number one and everyone else was an idiot.

With comparison comes preference.

Stanley became a household name both within and outside the industry, becoming another top coach after Alfred!
He was also regarded as Alfred's last disciple.

Of course, Alfred has many disciples, including Ten Hag, Southgate, Guardiola, and Zidane.

However, no results have been achieved yet.

Ten Hag once coached Real Madrid and enjoyed a period of great success, but he failed to truly prove himself and was eventually dismissed. However, in terms of achievements, he did lead the team to a Copa del Rey victory.

This championship-winning coach currently serves as the head coach of Dartford's U19 youth academy, leading unremarkable players below this age, such as Ramsey, Henderson, Perisic, Gundogan, Walker, and even first-team players like Aubameyang, Al-Nison, Smalling, and Joe Hart, in the youth league.

In less than half a season, the team had already taken a commanding lead in its league, becoming a renowned "prodigy class" in the Premier League.

Ten Hag has transformed from a Real Madrid disappointment into a "Dutch version of Wenger + Ferguson," once again attracting the attention of major clubs.

Who knows, he might be able to coach another strong team next season.

Whenever Guardiola sees Ten Hag showing off recruitment emails in his inbox during team meetings, he can't help but lament that the world is just a makeshift operation.

People like Ten Hach always seem to get good offers.

Even mediocre individuals like Southgate are being considered by the FA and are expected to become officials.

On the contrary, he and Zidane, two professionals with considerable tactical insight, have been slow to gain recognition from the outside world.

To be fair, even if he and Zidane were to coach a top club now, they might not be able to manage it. It would require cooperation from all parties, as well as favorable timing, location, and people.

But coaching a top team in one of the top five European leagues, maintaining the team's performance, or even making the team steadily improve, is something they can easily do.

It's a pity that such a gem has been obscured.

Whenever the Qi brothers mentioned these things, they felt their ambitions were unfulfilled and tried to drown their sorrows in alcohol.

To fit the idiom "a pearl covered in dust," and given the worsening Mediterranean condition, they decided to shave their heads together.

When they arrived at the club the next day, they found that Ten Hag had also shaved his head.

For a moment, the three hard-boiled eggs made Lu Kai, who was in a meeting, unable to open his eyes.

The media jokingly referred to them as the "three bald hands" of the Green Guns, in contrast to the three musketeers of Arsenal, the Red Guns.

……

Sky Sports: "The Ballon d'Or is still within reach, but the World Player of the Year title has already been won! Congratulations to Lu Kai on winning the first-ever three-peat in the FIFA World Player of the Year award!"

Previously, only Ronaldo had won this honor for two consecutive years, and he won it a total of three times in his career, but he failed to achieve a three-peat.

BBC: "Lu Kai crowned FIFA World Player of the Year! With the World Cup trophy, he truly deserves the title."

Bild: "Lu Kai has surpassed Zidane in the number of times he has won the highest honor, equaling Ronaldo's record. Will he hold the top spot alone next year?"

"Both Kaka's Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year rankings are reasonable, as their selection mechanisms differ and provide honors to more players!" (La Gazzetta dello Sport)

Dongqiudi: "This is Lu Kai! Warmest congratulations to Lu Kai on his three-time FIFA World Player of the Year!"

Gazzetta dello Sport: "Kaka generously congratulated Lu Kai on winning the award, and once again emphasized that Lu Kai's dominance on the field is in a class of its own!"

(End of this chapter)