Even though Wenger claimed after the game that Arsenal had lost to luck and that Chelsea had been lucky enough to force a draw at Highbury, Arsenal's players all knew that in a 90-minute game, if you were in a very passive situation for more than three minutes and were unable to cause any trouble for your opponent, then it meant that your risk of losing was very high.
It never took too long to score a goal. Ten seconds, ten seconds, or even less than ten seconds.
One objective fact had to be acknowledged and given enough attention: Chelsea was strong enough to be a member of Europe's top team.
Whether it was in England's top league or in the Champions League, this was reflected in their competitiveness.
To be able to withdraw from Highbury unscathed, from this result, Chelsea had won!
After all, Arsenal had taken advantage of the terrain and the people.
After the game, Qin Xiong showered and changed in the locker room. He was not in a particularly bad mood, just regretful. At the same time, he was thinking about how to break Chelsea's ultimate defensive tactics.
In fact, he knew that his thoughts might not have any meaning, but he could not help but think about it out of habit.
He put on his casual clothes early and looked like he would be the first to leave the locker room. Henry, with a towel around his waist, stopped him.
"Hey, are you going to attend the Ballon d 'Or awards ceremony?"
Qin Xiong was puzzled when he heard Henry's question. He turned around and asked, "What are you going to do? Relax? "
Henry shrugged and pointed to Vieira. "Me, him, you, and Reyes, we're all shortlisted for the Ballon d 'Or. You should receive an invitation."
Qin Xiong really did not think of such a thing, but it did exist. Freddy had mentioned it to him one day in the past, but he did not take it to heart. After all, Qin Xiong was just an insignificant character in the Ballon d 'Or. Freddy did not think that Qin Xiong would be the focus, so he just mentioned it casually.
Henry, on the other hand, should be considered one of the popular candidates. In fact, ever since he was nominated for the Golden Ball Award, he was considered a familiar face in the Golden Ball Award selection. However, it had always been difficult for him to win the final throne, but he had accumulated a considerable amount of popularity.
Reyes was considered a newcomer to the Ballon d 'Or. Qin Xiong was also a newcomer, but he had the capital of winning the Champions League. Henry and Vieira belonged to the national team and Arsenal's undefeated seasons.
Qin Xiong thought for a moment and said, "I probably won't go. I went back to Asia last week. I need more rest."
Harry nodded to show that he understood. After greeting Qin Xiong, he went to change his clothes.
Qin Xiong drove out of Highbury and parked the car on the street outside the stadium. Sylvia sat in the front passenger seat. She could tell that Qin Xiong was not in high spirits because he had not won the match in the end. This must have made him very depressed.
Qin Xiong smiled at her. Sylvia leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek. She still didn't say a word and gave him a gentle smile.
.....
The next morning, Qin Xiong and Sylvia went shopping together. The refrigerator in the apartment was very big, but Qin Xiong would only put very little things in it when he lived alone. Sylvia was in high spirits to make the house more lively.
How could food be good without abundant ingredients?
There were paparazzi who would follow Qin Xiong and Sylvia when they went out together. Qin Xiong was already used to it. As long as he was not harassed, nothing else mattered.
After returning home, they sat in the back garden to rest. Qin Xiong looked at the gray sky and wondered if Christmas would also be a cloudy day.
Sylvia walked out of the living room and handed his phone to him. "It must have rung for the second time," she said.
Qin Xiong looked at the caller ID. It was Snede calling.
"Hey, Wesley. I haven't contacted you in a long time. How have you been?"
"Uh, it's okay. Anyway, it's definitely not as good as last season."
"Well, I've been paying attention to the news from the Eredivisie. Ajax is indeed not as good as last season."
"It's useless to say this. I'm calling to ask you. Will you attend the Ballon d 'Or award ceremony?"
"I don't have a chance to receive the award. Why should I go? It's almost Christmas. There's no winter break in the Premier League. I don't want to overdo it. "
"Well, the Eredivisie is on winter break. I have time, so I plan to go and have some fun. If you change your mind, remember to call me."
"Okay, bye."
After hanging up the phone, Qin Xiong fell into deep thought.
There was a list of 50 people for the Ballon d 'Or.
After returning home last night, he learned about the situation from Freddy.
He was indeed shortlisted for the Ballon d 'Or.
But it did not mean that he would win the award.
Many young geniuses in the European football world were shortlisted.
For example, Ronaldo, Rooney, Kaka, Vicente, Rosicky …
Some were shortlisted because of their outstanding performance in the UEFA European Championship. Some were shortlisted because of their excellent performance in club competitions.
Ajax, who won the UEFA Champions League last season, had four players shortlisted.
Qin Xiong, Snede, Van Der Vaart, and Ibrahimovic.
Of course, two of the players already represented other clubs.
In the end, it was just to get familiar and accumulate some popularity. It might be difficult to squeeze into the top five or top ten, let alone the top three.
Freddy was focused on packaging Qin Xiong, hoping that Qin Xiong would appear more on the media platform and use the media resources to increase his popularity and influence.
But for a grand event like the Ballon d 'Or award ceremony, Qin Xiong's attendance was almost the same as not being there.
Because he was not popular, even if the press took a picture of him, it would be published in the headlines of the newspapers, or in the key football news reports. There would probably be no reporters who would waste their pen and ink to write about Qin Xiong. They would leave the headlines for the Ballon d 'Or winner, and the news content for the other top three or top five star players.
Arsenal did not have a game in the middle of next week, so Qin Xiong could put more energy into adjusting his fitness.
Qin Xiong was not confident about the upcoming New Year's demon schedule. The Premier League's fast pace and the intensity of the competition made him not know if he could hold on for the next month of high-intensity games.
Sylvia put in a lot of effort to decorate the apartment like a loving house, making the originally cold home style become a lot warmer. Besides training, Qin Xiong and Sylvia lived a warm and lingering life in the apartment, which made him feel very comfortable. And the restrained sex life also seemed to make him more energetic, especially when he began to explore some ways and accumulated more experience. He had a whole new lifestyle with Sylvia.
On December 13, the Ballon d 'Or award ceremony was broadcast live. Qin Xiong and Sylvia sat on the sofa at home and watched it.
Qin Xiong's mood was calm. He had no expectations, so it was impossible for him to be disappointed.
2004 was a football year with one dark horse after another.
The two most important competitions in Europe.
The Champions League title belonged to the Ajax youth team.
The European Championship title belonged to the legendary Greece of the Aegean Sea.
This made more guesses in the selection of the Ballon d 'Or.
Because there was no star player in the Champions League team and the European Championship team who could be selected as the Ballon d 'Or.
If there were already world-class or top-class star players in these two teams who played a very important role in helping the team win the title, then there was no doubt that the Ballon d 'Or.
In that case, the winner of the Ballon d 'Or would be almost without a doubt. It would definitely be that player.
Unfortunately, there was no such star player in Ajax or the Greek national team.
In the end, AC Milan's leading striker, Andriy Shevchenko, won the Ballon d 'Or by a relatively large margin.
Ronaldinho, who captivated the fans in Barcelona, won second place.
The midfield core, Deco, who represented Porto and Portugal in two important competitions, won third place.
Qin Xiong's heart was as calm as still water. He was not affected at all.
It was only when the media announced the final ranking of all the finalists the next day that Qin Xiong was surprised.
Fourth place went to Henry, who led Arsenal to an undefeated league title.
Fifth place went to the Greek national team captain, Zagorakis.
Sixth place went to the Brazilian striker, Adriano.
Seventh place went to the Czech Republic's midfield superstar, Nedved.
Eighth place went to … Qin Xiong.
Qin Xiong's score was 22 points, which was a very poor score. It was a world of difference from Andriy Shevchenko's 175 points.
And England's new golden boy, Rooney, was ranked behind Qin Xiong. The difference between the two was only two points.
It could be said that other than the Ballon d 'Or winner, the other players' scores were meaningless because history would only remember the Ballon d 'Or.
However, the Chinese football media deliberately ignored the huge gap in the selection score and listed Qin Xiong as the eighth best star player in European football!
It was even exaggerated to say that Qin Xiong was very close to winning the Ballon d 'Or …
Some fans jokingly called Qin Xiong Eight Qin …
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