Lin Becomes a Surprise Contender?

On January 13, 2014, the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony was held at the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland. Unlike previous years, this year's Ballon d'Or was filled with controversy.

FIFA initially set the voting deadline for the Ballon d'Or on November 15. However, five days after the voting closed, FIFA suddenly announced an extension of the deadline to November 29, allowing those who had already voted to modify their choices. This change in the rules after the fact was unprecedented and immediately raised questions.

Some people even speculated that FIFA had changed the rules specifically to favor Cristiano Ronaldo. The reasoning was simple: the day before FIFA's announcement, Ronaldo had delivered a stunning performance in the World Cup qualifying playoff against Sweden, scoring a hat trick and leading Portugal to the World Cup finals. Extending the voting period and allowing changes in previously cast votes seemed clearly advantageous to Ronaldo's chances.

Before this, there had also been another significant event in the football world—the Blatter vs. Ronaldo incident.

At the end of October, FIFA President Sepp Blatter stated at an Oxford Forum that he preferred Messi, implying that Ronaldo was more concerned with his appearance than with his performance on the field. This comment caused an uproar, deeply angering Ronaldo and offending Real Madrid.

Ronaldo publicly announced that he would boycott all FIFA events, including the Ballon d'Or ceremony. Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez also called Blatter, demanding a public apology to Ronaldo. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's fans, along with legends from Real Madrid and Portugal, fiercely criticized Blatter, insisting that he apologize. Some even suggested that there was a bias in FIFA's Ballon d'Or voting process, as Blatter's open preference for Messi cast doubt on the award's fairness, especially given past controversies like the one between Messi and Sneijder.

As the situation escalated and various conspiracy theories emerged, Blatter faced enormous pressure and was forced to apologize to Ronaldo on Twitter, expressing a desire to make peace. However, Ronaldo firmly rejected this overture.

Many believed that FIFA's sudden rule change was an attempt to appease Ronaldo and Real Madrid. Extending the voting deadline was already questionable, but allowing changes to previously cast votes was seen as going too far.

Naturally, this move sparked outrage from Ribéry, who had been widely considered the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or. In a year without major international tournaments, Ribéry, as the core of the Champions League-winning team, seemed a strong candidate for the award. However, FIFA's actions significantly reduced Ribéry's chances of winning.

As a result, the betting odds saw Ribéry's chances drop to second place behind Ronaldo, with Lin surprisingly rising in popularity and nearly overtaking Ribéry.

Although Ribéry's chances were diminished, Lin suddenly emerged as a strong contender. FIFA's rule change, intended to benefit Ronaldo, also ended up boosting Lin's chances. During the period when Ronaldo was making headlines, Lin was also performing exceptionally well in both the Premier League and the Champions League, significantly increasing his likelihood of winning the award. Lin's outstanding performances led him to surpass Messi, who had missed several matches due to injury, and he secured a spot among the final three Ballon d'Or contenders.

When comparing Ronaldo and Lin's stats for 2013, Lin's performance was not inferior. At the national team level, Lin led Spain as their key player, achieving 17 consecutive victories and winning the Confederations Cup with a perfect record. At the club level, he led Werder Bremen to win the German Cup and claimed the Bundesliga Golden Boot. In the Premier League, he helped Manchester City maintain an unbeaten streak, and he topped the Premier League's scoring chart by a wide margin. In the Champions League, Lin scored in six consecutive games, breaking the tournament's record and catching up to Ronaldo in total goals, making them joint top scorers.

In comparison, Lin only lagged slightly behind Ronaldo in terms of global recognition, while surpassing him in other areas. Consequently, after FIFA changed the voting rules, Ronaldo's vote tally increased significantly, but so did Lin's, as many voters were swayed by his achievements.

While Ribéry's lead was reduced, it wasn't certain that Ronaldo would surpass him. The final outcome would only be revealed during the ceremony.

Thus, despite the controversies surrounding this year's Ballon d'Or, it was one of the most closely contested in recent years. Although the betting odds slightly favored Ronaldo, his lead over Ribéry and Lin was narrow, meaning all three had a legitimate shot at winning.

This uncertainty resulted in an exceptionally high television viewership for the ceremony. In Spain, the UK, Portugal, Germany, and France, ratings reached record highs, breaking previous records for the Ballon d'Or ceremony. In Asia, Lin's inclusion as a finalist significantly boosted interest, leading to widespread discussions and high engagement on social media platforms like Weibo and forums. Fans stayed up late, eagerly awaiting the final results.

FIFA was keenly aware of the heightened interest in this year's event and took great care in organizing the ceremony. They invited numerous football legends to participate in the event.

Zidane and Ballack were the first to take the stage, revealing the 2013 FIFA/FIFPro World XI. The eleven players were:

- Goalkeeper: Neuer

- Defenders: Lahm, Ramos, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves

- Midfielders: Iniesta, Xavi, Ribéry

- Forwards: Ronaldo, Lin, Messi

The award recipients all went on stage, and after receiving their accolades, they posed for a group photo.

The front three—Ronaldo, Lin, and Messi—stood together. Ronaldo, being the tallest, stood out, especially when compared to Messi, who was the shortest, even slightly shorter than Lin. Standing between them, Messi seemed a bit uncomfortable.

As someone who had been adversely affected by FIFA's rule change, Messi didn't make it into the top three finalists this year. Meanwhile, the two players beside him had both been nominated, which made Messi feel slightly awkward.

To make matters worse, just as the photo was about to be taken, Ronaldo subtly stood on his toes, making himself appear even taller. Already the tallest of the three, Ronaldo's move made him seem even more imposing in the final shot. Compared to him, Lin and Messi looked almost like dwarfs.

Noticing Ronaldo's move, both Lin and Messi exchanged surprised looks, with Messi instinctively stepping closer to Lin, unwilling to be overshadowed by Ronaldo. Lin, on the other hand, couldn't help but find the situation amusing. "Cristiano really is a bit vain, always wanting to be the standout," he thought.

While the rest of the lineup was debatable, the forward trio was undoubtedly one of the strongest and most expensive in history.

Among the other awards, the Best Coach award went to the retired Jupp Heynckes, a result that came as no surprise and was widely accepted.

The Puskás Award was given to Lin for his stunning overhead kick against Chelsea, beating out Zlatan Ibrahimović and Neymar. Without even realizing it, Lin had become the first player to win the Puskás Award two years in a row, setting another record.

Finally, the main event arrived. After presenting the FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur to Pelé, the football legend stayed on stage. He was there not just to receive an award but also as the special guest to announce the winner of the most prestigious prize—the Ballon d'Or.

The female host handed Pelé the envelope containing the winner's name. Pelé opened it, took a quick glance, and then teased the audience: "Wow, what a surprising result!"

As soon as he said this, the room buzzed with whispers. A surprising result? Could it mean the winner wasn't Ronaldo? Cameras immediately focused on the Portuguese star, who sat up straight, his face tense.

Ronaldo had initially refused to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony, only agreeing after being persuaded by Florentino Pérez. But if he had come all the way to Zurich and didn't win the award, what would have been the point? Was it just to make amends with Blatter? But he hadn't even decided whether he would forgive Blatter yet!

Having successfully piqued everyone's curiosity, Pelé slowly opened the envelope. "The winner of the 2013 Ballon d'Or is…"

The cameras zoomed in on Ronaldo, Ribéry, and Lin, showing all three in the same frame. Ronaldo looked serious, Ribéry seemed a bit anxious, and Lin, in contrast, appeared completely relaxed. He was still chatting and laughing with Guardiola, seemingly unconcerned about the outcome.

"This guy, he sure is calm!" thought Messi, who, being an outsider this time, felt less pressure than usual. But he was surprised by how composed Lin was, especially since this was his first time as a finalist. When Messi had first made the final three, he had been a nervous wreck. Lin's composure left Messi in awe. "This guy really has nerves of steel," he mused.

...

"Pep, why don't you just jump ship and come to City with Kroos?" Lin joked half-seriously to Guardiola.

Although Guardiola had two and a half years left on his contract with Bayern, their recent actions showed a lack of respect for him. The players he had asked for weren't signed, and the club was stingy with transfer funds. Then, during the winter break, they sold off a player Guardiola had explicitly said he couldn't afford to lose. Such actions would be disrespectful to any coach, let alone one of Guardiola's stature.

Guardiola wasn't keen on discussing this topic, so he changed the subject. "You've still got the mind to joke around at a time like this? Don

't you care whether you win or not?"

Lin shrugged nonchalantly. "If I win, great; if I don't, it's not the end of the world. Besides, I'm just here to make up the numbers. The winner will either be Ribéry or Ronaldo, definitely not me!"

Guardiola nodded slightly, pleased that Lin was realistic and didn't harbor any unrealistic expectations. After all, Lin was still young, and with his current form, winning the Ballon d'Or was only a matter of time.

But compared to Lin, Guardiola was more worried about Ribéry. Ribéry didn't have the overwhelming personal talent of the "Super Duo" or Lin. Bayern might not win the Champions League every year, and France's national team wasn't particularly impressive in major tournaments. This might be Ribéry's only chance to win the Ballon d'Or in his career. It meant everything to him. If he didn't win, it could deal a serious blow to his morale, perhaps even causing him to lose his form. With Bayern already down a key midfielder, if Ribéry's confidence took a hit, Bayern's second half of the season could be in jeopardy.

"The winner of the 2013 Ballon d'Or is… Cristiano Ronaldo!"

Upon hearing Pelé announce the result, Ronaldo first lowered his head. When he looked up again, he couldn't hide his smile. He kissed his girlfriend, Irina Shayk, and walked to the stage, shaking hands with Blatter, Pelé, and the other presenters. Blatter handed the trophy to Ronaldo personally, symbolizing the end of their previous feud.

This was Ronaldo's second Ballon d'Or, following his first win in 2008, breaking Messi's four-year dominance of the award. In the battle for individual honors between the "Super Duo," Ronaldo had finally closed the gap, no longer trailing four to one in Ballon d'Or wins.

Last year, when Messi set the record for most goals in a calendar year and won his fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or, some of his fans began to argue that there was no "Super Duo." They claimed that Messi was in a league of his own and that Ronaldo, with only one Ballon d'Or, didn't deserve to be compared to him. This view gained traction within the football community, adding immense pressure on Ronaldo. Now, that pressure had eased somewhat.

As he delivered his acceptance speech, Ronaldo was moved to tears, repeatedly wiping his eyes before thanking his club and national teammates, his family, and those who had voted for him. His emotional response was met with applause from the audience, but not everyone was clapping. 

Ribéry's face turned ashen as soon as Pelé announced Ronaldo as the winner. He sat motionless, as if turned to stone. 

Someone had stolen his trophy!

After the ceremony, Ribéry told reporters he refused to accept the result and never would. 

"I feel I deserved this award, but there were too many external factors involved!"

Ribéry's comments quickly put FIFA in the hot seat, and the criticism online grew louder. French national team coach Didier Deschamps publicly supported Ribéry, saying the result was unfair to him. Many French fans were also outraged, protesting outside the offices of "France Football" magazine. They demanded that the magazine, which was French, should end its partnership with FIFA and return to selecting the award independently.

Faced with mounting criticism, FIFA tried to ignore the uproar, hoping the controversy would die down. However, a French journalist soon uncovered a major scandal.

The journalist interviewed several people who had voted for the Ballon d'Or, and they claimed that their votes didn't match the final results. They suspected their votes had been tampered with.

For example, the coach of the Fiji national team, Juan Carlos Buzzetti, found that the votes attributed to him by FIFA were for Ronaldo, Ribéry, and Lewandowski. However, Buzzetti revealed that he was a fan of Messi and Lin and had always voted for Messi as his first choice. But when he checked FIFA's published results, Messi's name wasn't there.

"Lewandowski? I never voted for him because I didn't think he was on the same level as the top three players," Buzzetti said angrily when interviewed.

After Buzzetti spoke out, many other voters also came forward, claiming that FIFA's published results didn't match their actual votes. As these revelations came to light, the public's outcry against FIFA grew louder, and it became impossible for FIFA to continue ignoring the controversy.

FIFA quickly sent a spokesperson to explain, suggesting that the discrepancies might be due to national football associations voting on behalf of their coaches and captains. While the coaches and captains were the official voters, some football associations might have cast the votes instead, leading to discrepancies in the voting order and even the names selected.

This explanation seemed reasonable, and some fans began to believe FIFA's story. However, things took another turn when a journalist from "France Football," one of the award's co-organizers, revealed that Ribéry had actually been the top scorer in the internal voting.

This revelation reignited the public's outrage, with French fans expressing their anger, and Ribéry himself continuing to speak out against FIFA on social media and in interviews.

To dispel doubts, FIFA and "France Football" eventually released the official voting results for the top three candidates. Cristiano Ronaldo received 1,305 points, Ribéry 1,127, and Lin Quan 1,265 points, only 40 points behind Ronaldo.

"Wow, Lin almost snatched the Ballon d'Or from Ronaldo!" 

"What a shame! If we'd known it would be this close, we should have rallied more support for Lin, got him some more votes!"

"Who could have guessed Lin would get so many votes?" 

"Ronaldo barely scraped by—get that man a new pair of pants!"