Fourth update.
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Qin Xiong received the Asian Footballer of the Year trophy from the hands of the AFC president, Harman.
After exchanging a few words with Harman, only Qin Xiong was left in the center of the stage.
Under the eyes of the crowd, Qin Xiong looked down at the trophy carefully, then looked up and looked at Freddy first.
Freddy kept nodding at Qin Xiong with a proud smile. Qin Xiong smiled and nodded at Freddy.
He looked at Sylvia again, and his eyes became soft. Sylvia said a few words to him silently.
Through the shape of her lips, Qin Xiong knew what she was saying.
"You're the best!"
Qin Xiong smiled faintly. Then, he restrained his smile and spoke in a solemn and serious manner.
"Without the coach, I wouldn't be standing here today. Without my teammates, I wouldn't be standing here today. Without my friends, I wouldn't be standing here today. Thank you to each and every one of them.
I think football is a sport that combines competition and transcendence. It's a competition between individuals, a competition between teams, and a struggle to transcend oneself.
Since the day I started to take football as my career, I've been thinking about transcending myself every day. Every time I step on the field, I'm prepared to defeat my opponent. No matter what difficulties I encounter, there's always a voice in my heart: Victory!
I think it's these factors that make me stand here. A lot of people are watching me, especially in China.
Someone told me that many children in China regard me as an idol.
I want to tell these children.
Football is not just about running and kicking the ball. When playing football, I will fall, you will fall. This is a setback. No matter how big or small it is, the impact on you is strong or light. You may be injured, feel pain, and feel depressed. There will be a lot of things that are the opposite of the beautiful fantasy.
This is part of football.
Another part of football is how you face it.
When you get up after a fall, when you believe in yourself when you are hurt, when you are depressed, when you endure pain and when you are strong enough to overcome all difficulties, you will feel your own strength and willpower firsthand. That will make you different and make you more optimistic and positive about life.
This is my football philosophy, past, present and future, and I will try to stick to it.
I hope that all of you who love football in the future can persevere with me.
The Asian Footballer of the Year award, this is mine.
If you have the ambition to become a professional football player, then one day in the future, maybe the one standing here will be you. Thank you. "
After Qin Xiong said the two words "thank you," there were firecrackers on the stage, and colorful ribbons flew in the air. The auditorium was in an uproar. When some people stood up and applauded, others also stood up.
Qin Xiong walked off the stage with the Asian Footballer of the Year trophy. The guests' eyes were still focused on him, as if they were paying attention to him.
The person sitting next to Freddy was the sponsor representative of Nike. He clapped and said to Freddy, "Who wrote this acceptance speech? Awesome! "
Freddy was also applauding. He smiled without turning his head and said, "There was no prepared acceptance speech for him in advance. I believe that he prepared it himself, or improvised on the spot. These are his heartfelt words, not something that was taught to him by anyone. "
"Really?! He is simply the perfect star! "
The sponsor representative of Nike sighed from the bottom of his heart.
It could be said that Qin Xiong's acceptance speech conveyed a kind of universal value.
This kind of value was a necessary means for a star to gain more attention and fame.
For example, advocating ecological protection, eliminating drugs, paying attention to children, and so on.
A star's speech conveyed a positive philosophy to the world, and it would make more people recognize and worship the star.
But there was also a difference.
Some stars were just talking, and when they were exposed by the media to be inconsistent with their words, they would be fiercely attacked by the outside world.
Stars like Qin Xiong, who had exemplary professionalism, never caused trouble off the field. This was the favorite star of the sponsors. At least they did not have to worry about Qin Xiong affecting the brand publicity because of his off-field negative events.
Qin Xiong sat back in his seat. The ceremony was not over yet.
Sylvia stuffed the Best Returnee Player Award in her hand into Qin Xiong's arms, as if she wanted to make Qin Xiong more dazzling with the two trophies in his hands. She held her head high and looked happy.
Qin Xiong's expression suddenly became somewhat heavy. That was because he was overly serious.
Because the last part of the annual AFC Asian Awards Ceremony was the draw ceremony for the top eight of the World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Through the fierce competition in the first stage of the eight groups, the top teams in each group formed the top eight teams.
These eight teams were: Japan, South Korea, China, North Korea, Bahrain, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia.
The officials of the football associations of the eight countries were present. This was the grand performance of what they were most concerned about.
In the division, Japan and South Korea were in different groups as the first group.
Everyone knew this before the game.
As football powerhouses in Asia, South Korea and Japan were divided into different groups, which meant that they almost locked in a place to qualify in each group.
The remaining 2.5 places would be competed for by the remaining six teams. In terms of the fate of the draw, it was relatively fair for Japan and South Korea to be separated. The AFC made this arrangement in the hope that the top teams in Asia could represent Asia in the World Cup and fight for glory for Asian football. If the chance was too high, or if several strong teams were grouped together, it would become a group of death. Then, even if the qualifiers were full of drama, the Asian team that went to the World Cup in the end might not be the strongest. Of course, this was not what the AFC wanted to see.
The reason why Qin Xiong looked dignified was that he did not know which opponents the China team would be grouped with.
The World Cup?
Of course, he wanted to go!
Winning the championship was naturally a pipe dream, but the temptation to show himself on the world's top stage and compete with masters was too strong.
When the draw ceremony was over, Qin Xiong's expression was still quite serious.
The China team was in the same group as South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan.
This was not a group that would make people feel relaxed. South Korea and Saudi Arabia were both participating teams in the last World Cup. Although the China team also went and the final ranking was higher than Saudi Arabia, it did not mean that the China team could now be on the same level as Saudi Arabia. It could only be said that the gap was not obvious. It was unknown who would win, and the strength of South Korea was deeply rooted in people's hearts since the 2002 World Cup.
The AFC Annual Awards Ceremony officially came to an end.
When he got up and was ready to leave, Qin Xiong saw the officials of the China Football Association gathered together to talk with a dignified expression.
Whether the grouping was good or not, in fact, could not be looked at alone. If only four teams were together, everyone could accept it calmly.
But looking at the grouping of Group B, the heavy mood of the China Football Association officials was understandable.
Japan, Iran, North Korea, Bahrain.
If Iran and China were switched, it was estimated that the officials of the China Football Association would be smiling.
Qin Xiong was invited to take photos with some of the AFC officials. He knew that this was a social event and could not refuse, so he took his two trophies to take photos with wave after wave of "big shots" as a souvenir.
In the interview area, a reporter also proposed to let Qin Xiong take a photo with Sylvia. Qin Xiong generously called Sylvia to his side. Sylvia held his arm and took a photo with him with a smile on her face.
Qin Xiong did not mind the outside world knowing that he had a woman. It was aboveboard and not illegal.
Before leaving Kuala Lumpur, Qin Xiong once again went shopping with Sylvia. He specially bought a few warm clothes for Sylvia, and then took her to London.
Sylvia asked for leave from school, and Freddy went to the Netherlands to pick up Georgia to go to London for Christmas at the end of the month.
In the cold and damp London, Arsenal was now the most watched team in Europe.
After the 56-game unbeaten record in the league was set, they were only two games away from AC Milan's 58-game unbeaten record in the five major European leagues.
In the Champions League group stage that just ended in the middle of the week, Arsenal sent an all-substitute lineup in the last round. Some of the young players played very dazzlingly, helping the team to bloodbath Rosenberg in Highbury with a score of 5: 1.
Arsenal, who won five games and drew one in the group stage, showed the stability and strength that the European powerhouses feared. In the Champions League knockout stage draw, it was afraid that no team would be willing to meet Arsenal.
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