The final match of the 2012 calendar year was played at the Vicente Calderón.
Matchday 17 of La Liga. Atlético Madrid welcomed Celta Vigo to their fortress.
Fresh off dismantling Barcelona in the previous game, Atlético were flying high. With the home crowd roaring in unison, wave after wave of attacks crashed toward the Celta Vigo goal.
In the 17th minute, Shane delivered a perfect assist for Raúl García to open the scoring.
In the 30th minute, Shane unleashed a powerful long-range strike from the edge of the box, ripping through Celta's defense.
By the time the first half ended, the game was already decided.
In the second half, Antoine Griezmann produced a brilliant piece of dribbling before finishing off the move.
Three-nil.
The entire Vicente Calderón was rocking with pure joy.
After the third goal, Diego Simeone began making substitutions. In the 80th minute, Shane was brought off to a thunderous standing ovation from the entire stadium.
As he walked toward the touchline, global broadcasters used the moment to recap the incredible rise of the young American international. A player who, in the space of a single year, had gone from complete unknown to one of the most feared talents on the planet.
"One year ago, most of you had probably never even heard the name Shane Carter. Today, he's a global phenomenon. The speed of his development is unbelievable. There's no record in football history of anyone reaching 'best in the world' conversations in just twelve months."
In the Spanish commentary box, Mario's voice was thick with emotion.
"Since his debut for Atlético back in January, Matchday 18 of last season against Málaga, his performances have been on a constant upward curve."
"He dragged Atlético from 8th place all the way to 3rd in the league. He won the Europa League. Then he became the heart of the Spanish national team, leading them to the European Championship as their central playmaker. He scored 10 goals in that tournament and was named Player of the Euros."
"After the summer, he's carried Atlético on another incredible run. He destroyed both Real Madrid and Barcelona in their own stadiums. He's put this team right in the title race."
"Look at his numbers for the entire 2012 calendar year. 28 goals and 31 assists in La Liga, plus 10 goals and 8 assists at the European Championship. That's 38 goals and 39 assists in total from an 18-year-old kid. Can you even process those numbers?"
"The FIFA Ballon d'Or shortlist has just been announced. Shane Carter, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Who's going to win the Golden Ball? It's still too close to call."
Bathed in the roar of the crowd, Shane raised both hands and applauded the fans as he crossed the touchline.
The 2012 season was officially over.
The short winter break between late December and early January was the time for awards and recognition. The biggest prize of all was, of course, the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Thanks to his incredible stats, 38 goals and 39 assists, plus the Europa League title with Atlético and the European Championship with Spain, Shane had earned his place in the final three.
Most experts had predicted he would make the podium. His performances had simply been too brilliant to ignore.
But actually winning it? Very few gave him strong odds.
The main problem was how the award worked.
Before the merger of the old France Football Ballon d'Or and FIFA's World Player of the Year, many considered the original Ballon d'Or to be the purer award. It was voted on exclusively by respected football journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked countries. They each picked their top five players and awarded points, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1. The highest total won.
The old FIFA World Player of the Year, however, was decided by national team coaches, captains, and the FIFPro players' union. Coaches and captains carried 80% of the vote. With over 200 FIFA member nations, even coaches from tiny countries had the same voting power as Spain's or Brazil's manager. Many of those coaches and captains came from amateur or semi-pro backgrounds and often based their votes on reputation rather than detailed analysis of the current season.
This flaw frequently led to different winners under the two systems.
But once they merged into a single award, the weaknesses of the FIFA voting system infected the Ballon d'Or itself.
The 2010 edition was the clearest proof.
Almost every serious analyst agreed that Wesley Sneijder should have won. He had won the Champions League, Serie A, and Coppa Italia with Inter, and led the Netherlands to the World Cup final.
Instead, Lionel Messi won the award.
Sneijder didn't even finish in the top three. Iniesta and Xavi took second and third.
When the detailed voting was eventually released, it showed that among journalists, Iniesta had actually finished first, followed by Sneijder and Xavi. Messi only won because of the massive number of reputation-based votes from coaches and captains around the world.
So in this year's race, where would Shane land?
No one could be sure.
Shane reached the sideline and looked up at the towering stands of the Vicente Calderón.
2012 had been an insane year in his young career. In the space of twelve months, he had gone from an unknown academy prospect to one of the best players on the planet.
This was the year he reached absolute supremacy.
He exchanged a high-five with Mario Suárez, who was coming on as a substitute, shared a quick hug with Simeone, and greeted the rest of the technical staff.
The cameras stayed glued to him.
38 goals. 39 assists.
And this was only the beginning. The very first full season of his professional career.
For most players, those numbers would represent the peak of a lifetime.
For Shane Carter, it was just the starting point.
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