Chapter 438: Chapter 437: First Experience with the Golden Ball Award
Included but not limited to the right to use the VIP box during every Lisbon Athletic home game and a certain number of VIP tickets for major matches, among other benefits.
Lisbon Athletic and Rolfe both had every reason to sue Eric Rovai and were sure to win.
This lawsuit directly led to several clubs who had been "extorted" by Eric Rovai to also make their move, with multiple clubs and players suing Eric Rovai.
The most spectacular of these was with the Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain, who had the hottest dispute with Eric Rovai.
They really wanted Rolfe and had given Eric Rovai a lot of benefits in private.
But now that Rolfe had dismissed Eric Rovai, Paris Saint-Germain’s investment had obviously gone down the drain. They not only wanted to recover the benefits given to Eric Rovai but also demanded compensation.
Because of Rolfe’s absence, the team’s performance this season and future planning were clearly in difficulty.
Eric Rovai’s life was prematurely met with a "tide of lawsuits," and it was inevitable that he would declare bankruptcy before these cases were over.
Being unable to pay the compensation, he was most likely to end up in jail.
Paris Saint-Germain, sticking to the principle that "sincerity is the only killer move," contacted Rolfe’s current agent Hugo, thinking they had no chance.
However, Hugo stated that next summer, everything was possible.
Hugo’s move was because Rolfe indeed had a fondness for Paris Saint-Germain, and if the timing was right, this could be a deal that satisfied everyone.
Paris Saint-Germain was overjoyed to tears and regarded Hugo as a strategic partner for the team.
This allowed Hugo the possibility to extend his reach into France.
As a result, Fleet Street suffered three consecutive defeats.
Lisbon Athletic completed a "media wave push Q"!
...
On November 5th, the eleventh round of the Primeira Liga kicked off.
Rolfe finally returned to the first team and started in the game.
Lisbon Athletic also unveiled their ultimate lineup for this season:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Drogba
Rolfe, Deng Kai, Kaka
Matthaus, Guardiola
Pepe, Vidic, Barzagli
Schmeichel
In the end, Lisbon Athletic turned on full firepower, blooming from multiple points.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Drogba, Kaka, Rolfe, and Deng Kai all scored goals, thrashing Sargeiros five to zero!
A few days later, the draw ceremony for the 2002 South Korea-Japan World Cup group stage was grandly held.
The thirty-two strongest teams returned to their places.
The powerful French team was grouped with Senegal, Uruguay, and Denmark.
Considering these three teams were not weak, France’s draw was not very lucky.
The Portuguese were most interested in Portugal’s draw, which was with South Korea, Poland, and the United States, a very favourable draw indeed.
Argentina and England were set for a showdown, with Nigeria and Sweden considered mere companions in the race.
The strong Italian team was grouped with Ecuador, Croatia, and Mexico, also having very good luck with the draw.
But there was one team with better luck than all of them, that being the highly anticipated Brazilian team.
Brazil’s opponents included Turkey, Costa Rica, and... China!
At that moment, Chinese fans were as thrilled as if it were the Chinese New Year.
In their view, the only team the national squad couldn’t beat was Brazil.
Defeating Turkey and Costa Rica to advance from the group stage as the runner-up was satisfying enough.
Soon after the groups were drawn, the grand ceremony for the Ballon d’Or took place.
This provided the new fans, attracted by the World Cup, with a ranking of the players’ strengths.
If you supported a country at the World Cup based on this list, you would most likely not be disappointed.
And among friends, you’d appear quite knowledgeable about soccer.
Several names on the thirty-man shortlist for this Ballon d’Or were quite unexpected.
At the red carpet ceremony, the host excitedly announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, soccer fans around the world. The player slowly approaching in our sight is none other than Cristiano Ronaldo, who became the thirtieth in the Ballon d’Or this year with zero votes."
"He plays for the Lisbon Club in the Portuguese Super League and was last year’s European Bronze Boot winner. His biggest reason for making this list is his haul of six championship trophies this summer with his club and the Portuguese national youth team, including the European Union Cup!"
"This season, his performance in the league and the Champions League is still outstanding, with five goals in six Champions League matches. Eight goals in eleven league games! He’s one of the most efficient forwards in Europe!"
"Only two factors held him back from ranking higher. One is that the Portuguese Super League is not as prestigious as the top five leagues. The other is that his teammate, Deng Kai, is so exceptional that people wonder if Ronaldo can still perform well without him."
Ronaldo will never forget this day.
At sixteen years old, he broke the record for being the youngest to walk on this red carpet.
Although, half an hour later, this record would be refreshed by another youngster six months his junior.
But this glory would forever belong to Ronaldo.
At that moment, he had a bold idea.
He wanted to win the Ballon d’Or!
The young Ronaldo had never considered this before.
Up until now, he had only wanted to become the strongest striker for the Madeira national U11 youth team, the strongest striker for the Lisbon U15s, the strongest striker for the Portugal U16s, and the strongest striker for the main Lisbon team.
But next, he aspired to be the best striker in the world!
Similarly, Deng Kai and other higher-ranked players were waiting backstage for their appearance.
Deng Kai looked ahead at the few players in front of him, indicating that they were ranked lower and would make their entrance before him.
This was quite different from what Deng Kai had in mind.
Especially... Owen!
"Approaching us now is Barcelona’s absolute core and Brazil’s midfield maestro, Rivaldo! He doesn’t smile much, but being an eighteen-time Ballon d’Or winner, ranking eighteenth is just average."
"Oh! Approaching now is Michael Owen, ranked eleventh in the Ballon d’Or this year! He led Liverpool to become double champions last season. Although it was only cup victories, coupled with his prior performance with the England national team, this ranking is well deserved."
"It’s a pity. Had they managed to defeat Lisbon Club in the European Union Cup final, Liverpool might now be the champions of five titles. As the team’s top striker, Owen could even have been in contention for the Ballon d’Or!"
"One misstep leads to many. But we believe, next year’s Owen will have another shot at the Ballon d’Or, as the Three Lions are hot favorites to win the World Cup in South Korea and Japan!"
Ultimately, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Deng Kai calmly walked down the red carpet.
The top five were not part of the red carpet segment.
So after Deng Kai, there were only four remaining players.
Therefore, Deng Kai ranked tenth in this year’s Ballon d’Or!
