That night, the Real Madrid players returned to Madrid by team bus.
They would spend two days training at Valdebebas before taking a flight to Italy, where they would face Inter Milan away from home.
Just before Madrid left, France Football announced the thirty-man shortlist for the 2020 Ballon d'Or.
Real Madrid had four players included: Luka Modrić, Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema, and Theodore Bjorn.
This was the first time in Theodore's career that he had been named on the Ballon d'Or shortlist.
He was incredibly excited!
After all, the Ballon d'Or was the highest individual honor a footballer could receive.
For Theodore to make the shortlist at eighteen was proof that his ability had been recognized on a global scale.
More importantly, in many prediction rankings, Theodore was placed extremely high, above all three of his Real Madrid teammates.
There was a real chance that he could win the award.
At present, Theodore's biggest competitors were Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo.
In terms of team honors, Lewandowski had the Champions League, the Bundesliga, and the DFB-Pokal.
In terms of individual honors, he had the Bundesliga Golden Boot and Champions League Golden Boot.
Cristiano had won Serie A and the Coppa Italia, but compared with Lewandowski, his individual honors were slightly lacking.
He had only won the Serie A Silver Boot.
As for Theodore, he had won the Europa League, the Premier League, the League Cup, and the FA Cup.
His individual honors were unprecedented: Europa League Golden Boot and assist leader, Premier League Golden Boot and assist leader, FA Cup Golden Boot and assist leader, League Cup Golden Boot and assist leader.
Unless something unexpected happened, the Ballon d'Or winner would likely be decided between Theodore and Lewandowski.
The Ballon d'Or ceremony would be held on the 4th of next month.
There were still roughly two weeks left.
For Theodore, the most urgent task was to keep his focus on the matches.
Whether or not he would win the Ballon d'Or was something he only needed to think about next month.
Still, after the media reported his inclusion on the shortlist, many friends sent congratulatory messages.
Reba, Princess Ingrid, and his former Aston Villa teammates all messaged him.
Theodore replied to their blessings one by one.
...
November 26 arrived.
On this day, Real Madrid traveled to the San Siro to challenge Inter Milan.
In this match, Zidane did not include Theodore in the starting lineup.
The reason was simple: Zidane was worried Theodore might get injured.
Recently, Real Madrid had been playing twice a week and dealing with consecutive away matches.
Before the previous match against Villarreal, Theodore had experienced discomfort in his leg.
So tonight, Zidane chose to put Theodore on the bench.
After the match began, Real Madrid's tactics were focused on sitting deep and defending.
This was the San Siro, Inter Milan's home ground. If Madrid attacked aggressively, Inter could hit them on the counter.
To be safe, Zidane chose to park the bus.
That caught Inter Milan off guard.
Conte had thought Real Madrid would trade attacks with them. He never expected Madrid to play so cautiously, which left Conte unsure of what to do.
During the forty-five minutes of the first half, Inter Milan worked extremely hard. Every player wanted revenge against Real Madrid.
After all, in the first meeting between the two teams, Inter had lost 6–1 at the Bernabéu.
Inter hoped they could crush Madrid at home.
But reality was cruel.
Because Madrid kept their three lines extremely compact, Inter's players did not get many good attacking chances.
On top of that, Lukaku and Lautaro were not in good form, meaning Inter could never find a clear opening in the first half.
The first half finished 0–0.
After the second half began, Inter Milan increased their attacking intensity.
Conte gradually sent on more attacking players, but Madrid's defense remained solid.
By the 70th minute, the score was still 0–0.
At that moment, Zidane finally brought out his trump card.
Theodore came on to replace Modrić.
Theodore was absolutely crucial to Real Madrid's attack. After he came on, Madrid's attacking level immediately rose.
In the 82nd minute, Theodore used a corner-kick opportunity to head the ball into the Nerazzurri's net.
Theodore's header allowed Real Madrid to take a 1–0 victory at the San Siro!
With that, Madrid had won all four of their group-stage matches, collecting twelve points.
They had qualified with two rounds to spare, and they had done so as group winners.
This was good news for Real Madrid.
It meant that throughout December, they could focus their energy on La Liga and no longer worry about fighting on two fronts.
After this match ended, Madrid's run of away fixtures finally concluded.
Three days later, Real Madrid returned to the Bernabéu, where their opponent was Alavés.
Alavés were currently 13th in La Liga. Zidane continued to rotate the squad for this match. After this game, Madrid would travel to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán to face Sevilla.
Sevilla were fifth in La Liga, and since Madrid would be playing away from home again, the difficulty of winning there was higher than against Alavés.
...
November 29.
At the Bernabéu, the clash between Real Madrid and Alavés began.
Theodore was not included in the starting lineup.
In fact, he was not even included in the matchday squad.
Zidane wanted Theodore to rest properly so he could face Sevilla at full strength.
The final result of the match was 3–0. Ødegaard, Vinícius, and Benzema all scored.
Theodore did not go to the stadium to watch his teammates play. Instead, he used the rest time to take his driving test.
If he did not get his license soon, the Lamborghini in his garage was going to gather dust.
Before, it had sat in the garage of his Birmingham villa.
After Theodore moved to Madrid, he brought the Lamborghini to his Madrid villa.
In a few days, Theodore's parents would be visiting, so Theodore wanted to drive that sports car and take them for a ride.
Fortunately, the Spanish driving test was not too difficult as Theodore passed on his first attempt.
...
Ever since Theodore joined Real Madrid, his father and mother had never had the chance to watch him play.
Now that Theodore had made the Ballon d'Or shortlist, he wanted to take his parents to the ceremony.
He also wanted them to watch a match.
His parents began preparing a week in advance.
Before his parents arrived, Theodore still had one important match to play.
An away fixture against Sevilla.
Sevilla were fifth in La Liga. As one of Spain's traditional strong sides, Sevilla hoped to hand Real Madrid their first defeat of the season.
...
December 2 arrived.
Sevilla hosted Real Madrid at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
After this match, Theodore would travel to Paris with his parents to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Before the match began, France Football, the organizer of the Ballon d'Or, had sent staff to film promotional material around Theodore.
Like Lewandowski, Theodore was one of the favorites to win the award.
Of course, for Theodore, all his attention still needed to be on the match.
Sevilla were a difficult opponent.
If Real Madrid lost away to Sevilla right before he attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony, it would be awkward.
...
At 7:20 p.m. local time, the starting players from Sevilla and Real Madrid arrived in the tunnel.
The atmosphere between the two teams was relaxed. The players chatted with one another.
Inside the broadcast booth, Rob Palmer began announcing the starting lineups.
"Welcome to the featured match of La Liga Round 12! Sevilla host Real Madrid at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán!"
"This season, Sevilla are currently fifth in La Liga, while Real Madrid have won eleven straight matches and sit top of the table!" Terry Gibson added. "Real Madrid have been Sevilla's nemesis. In the last twelve meetings between these two sides, Madrid have won eight, drawn one, and lost three."
"The starting lineups have been announced!" Palmer said. "For Sevilla, Julen Lopetegui has chosen a 4-3-3 formation."
Goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou.
Defenders: Jesús Navas, Jules Koundé, Diego Carlos, and Aleix Vidal.
Midfielders: Joan Jordán, Fernando, and Ivan Rakitić.
Forwards: Lucas Ocampos, Luuk de Jong, and Munir El Haddadi.
"As for Real Madrid, Zidane has also gone with a 4-3-3!"
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois.
Defenders: Lucas Vázquez, Raphaël Varane, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy.
Midfielders: Luka Modrić, Theodore Bjorn, and Toni Kroos.
Forwards: Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, and Vinícius Jr.
"The starting players from both sides have followed the referee onto the pitch!" Palmer continued.
"This stadium can hold forty-eight thousand fans. Judging from tonight's attendance, it is a full house!"
"Theodore is the last player to walk out of the tunnel. Recently, Theodore and Lewandowski have become the focal points of discussion for media and fans around the world as the Ballon d'Or approaches!"
At 7:30, the starting players took their positions.
Peep!
The referee blew his whistle. The battle officially began!
Sevilla, playing at home, immediately created danger in front of Real Madrid's goal.
In the middle of the pitch, Fernando threaded a sharp through ball that instantly tore through the first midfield line of Toni Kroos and Modrić.
In the blink of an eye, the ball arrived at Ocampos' feet.
The Argentine possessed the exquisite technique of a South American player and the strong physique of a European footballer.
Ocampos stood 187 centimeters tall, had decent pace, and was capable with both feet.
Out wide, he was met by Ferland Mendy's pressure. Ocampos did not panic.
He quickly performed several stepovers in front of Mendy before cutting inside.
Seeing this, Ferland Mendy leaned into Ocampos with his body. Unfortunately for him, when it came to physical duels, Ocampos was not afraid of Mendy.
Ocampos drove his body forward and knocked Mendy aside.
The next second, Ocampos chose to unleash a powerful shot!
The attempt came so suddenly that Real Madrid center-backs Nacho and Varane had no time to interfere.
The ball flew toward goal.
However, Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois was fully focused.
The moment Ocampos shot, Courtois began his save motion as he punched the ball away with one fist and kept his goal intact.
Although Ocampos' shot did not become a goal, it placed pressure on the Real Madrid players.
It also successfully lifted the mood of the Sevilla fans inside the stadium.
More than forty thousand Sevilla supporters shouted Ocampos' name together.
Over the past few seasons, Sevilla had found it extremely difficult to take points from Real Madrid.
Most of the fans were desperate for Sevilla's players to test Madrid tonight.
After Courtois pushed the ball away, the second ball was controlled by Theodore.
The Sevilla fans, who had been cheering just a second earlier, instantly fell silent.
Although this was Theodore's first time facing Sevilla as a Real Madrid player, the Sevilla supporters in the stadium were already aware of his ability.