Chapter 171: Ballon d'Or — Give It Your All, Champions League Flames Reignite
Xia Qi and John Terry fought each other on the pitch with such intensity it seemed they would never yield, as if each wanted the other to kneel and beg for mercy on the spot! Yet after the match, the two developed a grudging mutual respect; they swapped shirts and even agreed to meet up at a bar…
After the game, in a London nightclub, Arsenal and Chelsea players who had been so fierce on the pitch were now drinking freely together.
They sat in a circle, raising glasses as if trying to reclaim the pride lost on the field with a single gulp.
Once the drinks went down, the conversation only grew livelier: from brilliant on-field plays to secret training tips to bizarre personal stories — boasting and teasing flowed without end.
Terry's face was as red as a monkey's bottom, his eyes slitted, his voice pitched high as he animatedly gestured about his heroic moments on the pitch.
Mario Balotelli smiled like a flower, his head bobbing like a rattle; he burped occasionally and never stopped bragging about his skills.
No one else stayed quiet — faces flushed like warriors of legend, laughter booming as each rushed to recount their highlight moments.
For a while the bar was raucous, laughter and shouts filling the air.
The end of drinking usually meant girls… when the women arrived, the number of drinking brothers dwindled, and before long Xia Qi was left sitting alone at the table…
This kind of life also led many players to quickly fall from grace in those neon lights and intoxicating nights…
…
The London derby excitement faded quickly, but Xia Qi's heat did not cool one bit.
The reason: France Football published the 23-man shortlist for the 2013 Ballon d'Or on its website.
At club level, Bayern were the biggest winners with six players nominated; Barça followed with four. La Liga had six nominees in total, and the Premier League also had six, indirectly confirming its reputation as the world's top league.
Serie A, however, appeared in decline — only Juventus's Andrea Pirlo made the list; it fared worse than Ligue 1.
At national-team level, Germany was indisputably the biggest winner with five players shortlisted; betting firms even bumped up Germany's odds for winning the World Cup in Brazil.
What really made Xia Qi stand out was a Mirror report saying that in the final shortlist a month later, Xia Qi would edge out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Quoted from the Mirror:
After Lionel Messi's record-setting four consecutive wins, this year's FIFA Ballon d'Or finally has fresh intrigue.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are no longer the unquestioned favorites — the World Player award may see a new face.
Xia Qi, the "key man" who won last season's Champions League and Premier League, holds the advantage, and his performance this season has been outstanding.
Due to injury, Messi fell into a slump in the latter half of last season, greatly reducing his chance of another repeat.
Cristiano's form this year is indeed excellent with brilliant personal stats, but both his club and national-team results are less impressive.
Neymar, who helped Brazil win this year's Confederations Cup, is a dark horse.
Remember, the FIFA Ballon d'Or is a FIFA prize, and the Confederations Cup was FIFA's biggest tournament of the year; Neymar's accolade there has become his trump card.
He also joined Barcelona this summer and, in the recently concluded Spanish derby, contributed a goal and an assist to beat Real Madrid, proving himself again.
However, Messi and Cristiano are perennial nominees. Xia Qi's hot form last season and this season could still be upset by a dark horse like Neymar — if that happened, the Ballon d'Or's credibility would plunge.
Therefore, the final shortlist should be Xia Qi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi, with Xia Qi's probability of winning at least forty-five percent…
If Xia Qi ultimately won the Ballon d'Or, he would be the second Premier League player to win it after Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. Xia Qi's profile carries extra market value, and the British media know how to create stars; these days Xia Qi's popularity is sky-high!
Xia Qi's "campaign" team, however, did not slack off; they gathered at his house.
"Cristiano's been on fire recently. We can't be careless — we need to prevent voters forming a lasting impression of him. Portugal are about to play Sweden in a two-legged playoff; if Portugal eliminate Sweden and Cristiano performs brilliantly, he could stage a comeback."
"Messi might be easier to deal with — his recent drop in form has cost him points…"
"What about Ribéry at Bayern and Neymar at Barça?"
"They both lack truly convincing trophies to show; the Bundesliga and Confederations Cup don't carry as much weight…"
"If you beat Bayern next Thursday, Ribéry will be almost out of the running…"
"Our advantage lies in sporting honors. Our weakness is brand endorsements — the club and the FA."
"Arsenal and Real Madrid can't be compared. The FA officials are more interested in vacations and bikinis — that's our hard truth. We can't change it…"
"Brand endorsements are our biggest disadvantage. Sorry, Xia Qi, this is my failure at work…"
"Anna, don't say that. Our cooperation has been pleasant so far. I just think you're still young and don't want to waste time on ads…"
"This is our biggest headache. Don't underestimate those sponsors — their influence is beyond imagination…"
"We have a Chinese proverb: better late than never. I'll do the work on the pitch; you handle the off-pitch matters. We'll give our all and be able to look ourselves in the eye."
Stimulated by the Ballon d'Or, the nominees were like pumped-up athletes, giving everything in their next matches.
Xia Qi's biggest rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, in La Liga Round 18 saw Real Madrid thrash Rayo Vallecano 7–1.
Cristiano opened the scoring in the 6th minute; in the 18th Gareth Bale scored the second, and Cristiano added a free-kick in the 36th to complete a brace.
In the second half Toni Kroos scored a long-range goal and Real began to massacre the opponent.
Cristiano then netted Real's fifth and sixth goals before being substituted. Frustrated and feeling he could still score, Cristiano waved his arms angrily as he left the field…
After the Ballon d'Or shortlist release Lionel Messi's form recovered; he scored a brace against Mallorca to lead his team to a 2–0 win.
Franck Ribéry had a goal and an assist in the Bundesliga to help Bayern to victory.
And Xia Qi, in Premier League Round 20, with his teammates' help put on another show — headers and volleys combined into a hat-trick as Arsenal thumped Cardiff 5–0.
The Mirror: "This week the Ballon d'Or nominees nearly all produced excellent performances. Best among them were Cristiano with a haul of four goals, Xia Qi next, Messi and Ribéry close behind. However, league strengths vary, so goals don't tell the whole story. Wednesday's Champions League knockout matches are the real big test."
The Mirror's view was echoed by many players.
Arsenal's Round of 16 opponent in the Champions League was their old rival Bayern Munich.
Beating them would be extremely difficult. Even though Arsenal had twice beaten Bayern last season, no one was complacent.
…
Two days before the Champions League match.
At dawn, around six o'clock, Xia Qi got up for his usual morning jog.
London, with the drizzle just stopped, was fresh and pleasant; even his stride felt stronger.
"Come on, Xia Qi!"
"Thanks!"
"Xia, are we the kings of Munich?"
"That little village is nothing to fight over — we are the kings of Europe."
Munich is hardly a little village, but the remark sounded even bolder the way he said it.
In the Colney area, Xia Qi was a household name; many knew his morning-run habit and greeted him when they met.
Back home, after a shower, Xia Qi headed to a barber appointment.
Barber Tony gave him a "bomber" haircut: short on the sides and about three centimeters on top, styled with wax into strong lines for a three-dimensional, well-shaped look.
Finally he shaved off his beard; a handsome young man was ready.
"Go get it, Xia! Arsenal will win!"
"Arsenal will win!"
After a fist bump with Tony, Xia Qi took his suitcase and checked in at the training base.
At nine a.m. Xia Qi arrived at the Colney training ground on time.
He didn't head to the dressing room but boarded the early team bus.
"Morning, boss!"
"Morning. Nice haircut!"
"Are you going to score with your head today?"
"I heard Munich doesn't ban aerials…"
"Poor Munich people…"
On the bus Kevin De Bruyne was already there and waved him over.
"Hey! Nice haircut."
"This is a bomber. You know what to do, right?"
Kevin made an OK sign to Xia Qi.
Soon Mario Balotelli and other teammates boarded. After Pat Rice called the roll, the squad set off for the airport.
As the bus left the Colney training ground, departing fans sang the Arsenal anthem.
To the chorus, Xia Qi leaned on the window and made a heart sign for them.
On the bus the players joked and laughed, tacitly avoiding talk about the match and instead gossiping about life.
On the plane, however, the mood turned quiet.
Most slept; small groups played FIFA on handhelds — can you really not tire of it?
Xia Qi put on headphones, listened to music, and read an e-book — Chen Da's Zhetian had him hooked…
The two-hour flight passed quickly.
The arrival hall at Munich International Airport was crowded with media and Arsenal fans.
Fans held flowers, banners and posters — many for Xia Qi, a fair number for Kevin De Bruyne, and relatively few for the local man Serge Gnabry.
Their arrival caused a commotion; photographers pushed toward Arsène Wenger.
"Facing Pep Guardiola's Bayern, what are Arsenal's chances?"
"Of course we must win. Are we coming to lose?"
Wenger, ever reserved, answered in a tone of firm certainty — the fans cheered hugely.
"Can you predict the score?"
"Ask Xia Qi — he even got a bomber haircut to score goals…"
Xia Qi was swarmed by fans, busy signing and taking photos, and barely had time for the reporters.
Still, journalists found a moment to press him.
"Last season you scored six goals over the two legs; Lahm said he's found a way to deal with you."
"What a coincidence — I've also found a way to deal with him." Xia Qi then pointed at his bomber haircut.
"You mean headers? Bayern's defense lacks height."
"Sorry, you know too much." Boom! Xia Qi mock-fired a shot at the reporter.
The reporters and surrounding fans laughed together.
…
Wenger made lofty promises of victory but was inwardly cautious; he arrived early. Because the match was on Thursday, he needed to rent training grounds for Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.
Like with that "traitor" Tottenham, Munich's TSV 1860 enthusiastically offered Arsenal use of their facilities.
Wenger politely declined because TSV 1860's facilities were too poor — their pitch was worse than some Championship grounds.
Wenger chose SpVgg Unterhaching instead. By category Unterhaching is a German third-division club, a level below 1860.
But Unterhaching is effectively a satellite club of Bayern Munich: Bayern each season pays seven-figure marks as compensation for youth development output.
From Bayern's perspective, Unterhaching's players are their own; they would never let their children train on an injury-prone surface.
Therefore, without question, the third-division Unterhaching's infrastructure far surpassed TSV 1860's.
Because Unterhaching is affiliated with Bayern, Wenger ordered closed training. Proud as he is, Pep Guardiola disdainfully refused to snoop on Arsenal's preparations.
Training on Tuesday afternoon is skipped here.
But back at the hotel from ten p.m. until six the next morning there was a din outside: horns, cheers, singing… and even at midnight solicitors knocking on doors offering services.
A five-star hotel should never suffer such lax management; the hotel was a victim too.
Pep Guardiola disdained the whole affair, but Bayern fans had already done the job for him.
All day Wednesday Arsenal's training was lackluster. Just when Xia Qi and others worried about the coming night, the bus drove them back to the TSV 1860 area.
In fact Wenger had prepared all along: the group that could beat off aggressive fans wasn't the police but another set of supporters.
TSV 1860's fans raised a protective umbrella over the Arsenal players and ensured they had a safe night.
On Wednesday night Xia Qi and the others finally slept soundly.
Why TSV 1860's fans were so willing to help? Because they held a blood feud against Bayern.
The history between the two clubs need not be repeated here, but Allianz Arena was originally 1860's ground; Bayern came, they once shared the stadium, and then Bayern took it for themselves.
That was 1860's ancestral home!
An unbearable humiliation!
The hatred between the two clubs was deep and bitter…
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10