Chapter 1 The Difference

The biggest difference between the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award and the FIFA Ballon d'Or isn't media voting, but live voting.

For the FIFA Ballon d'Or, votes are collected in advance, and the top three nominees are invited to the award ceremony. There's no second round of voting on the spot; the awards are simply presented based on the rankings. This often leads to media outlets prematurely announcing the winner, as the results are already known. The live announcement merely creates suspense and hype, without affecting the final outcome.

UEFA, however, distinguishes itself from FIFA even in the voting process. Their voting is divided into two rounds. In the preliminary round, each media outlet with voting rights lists their top five players from the previous season in order of merit. The top three advance to the final round, where a live vote determines the winner.

This gives voters time to reconsider and adds variability to the final result.

A first-place ranking in the preliminary round doesn't guarantee victory.

For example, in last year's UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo ranked first in the preliminary round, but Andrés Iniesta ultimately won the award.

The specific voting process involves a media representative from each UEFA member country, designated by the European Sports Media group. For instance, *Marca* represents Spain.

With fifty-three UEFA member countries, there are fifty-three media representatives voting.

Before the official voting begins, the big screen displays highlight reels of the three candidates' performances from the past season. These are beautifully produced, showcasing each player's unique strengths.

For Messi and Ribéry, it's all about breakthroughs and goals, while for Zhou Yi, it's goals and assists. Of course, footage of Zhou Yi lifting the league title and Champions League trophy is also included. These are his most important achievements from last season, and the main reason he can stand here and compete with two other world-class stars.

Without the aura of championship titles, it would have been difficult for him to be here, no matter how good his individual performances were.

After the videos, the hosts, BBC's Pedro Pinto and Miss Switzerland Melanie Winiger, invite the three candidates to the stage.

Amidst applause and music, Zhou Yi rises, buttons his suit jacket, squeezes past Watzke and Zorc, and walks onto the stage.

His rivals, Ribéry and Messi, approach from different directions.

The three meet just below the stage, and Zhou Yi gestures politely, allowing the others to go first.

Messi hesitates but steps forward. Ribéry pats Zhou Yi on the shoulder and nudges him forward from behind, and together they walk onto the stage.

They are rivals in domestic leagues and the Champions League, but off the field, they have no animosity.

The three stand in a line on stage, with Messi on the far left, Ribéry in the middle, and Zhou Yi on the far right.

Zhou Yi is standing next to the male host, Pedro Pinto.

Between Pinto and the female host, Melanie Winiger, is a small table, clearly meant for displaying the trophy.

The UEFA Best Player in Europe Award trophy is a silver figure of a player in a jersey, raising his arms. In China, some fans have nicknamed it "Silver Underpants."

After all three candidates are on stage, the host invites Mr. Hotzschu, the rotating chairman of the European Sports Media group and editor-in-chief of the German magazine *Kicker*, to start the live voting.

Hotzschu, with his full head of silver hair, takes the stage with a smile. He has reason to be happy: German football triumphed in European football last season, with two Bundesliga teams in the Champions League final. And now, two players playing for Bundesliga teams are in the final running for the UEFA Best Player Award. All of this demonstrates the current strength of the Bundesliga.

After taking the stage, Hotzschu announces the start of voting.

Music fills the venue as each voting representative in the media section makes their choice on the voting machine in front of them.

The selections are hidden, creating tension for everyone waiting.

Especially Chinese fans watching on television.

"...Live voting has begun, and we don't know if Zhou Yi will ultimately win. According to the preliminary data, Zhou Yi ranked first, but that doesn't guarantee his victory. Last year, Cristiano Ronaldo was first in the preliminary round but lost to Iniesta in the final..." The CCTV commentator drones on, his words further intensifying the tension among Chinese fans.

The television camera pans across the faces of the three players.

The camera focuses on Zhou Yi, who wears a faint smile.

He certainly looks like the one with the highest hopes of winning...

Of the three, Ribéry seems the least enthusiastic, perhaps believing he has the lowest chance of winning.

Looking at the championships won last season, he was completely overshadowed by Zhou Yi.

Although he has a title—the German Cup—it pales in comparison to the other two, more important titles. Without the crucial league title and Champions League trophy, Ribéry doesn't think he can ultimately win. This makes him dispirited.

What about Messi? He seems somewhat nervous.

The situation is more nuanced when it comes to his chances of winning.

Messi naturally wants to win. When it comes to skill, he is arguably the best player in the world right now. Perhaps only Cristiano Ronaldo and his fans would disagree.

In the past season, Messi's Barcelona won the Spanish league title, but they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Real Madrid. They also suffered a humiliating defeat in the Champions League, losing 0-7 on aggregate to Bayern Munich. These failures cast a shadow over Messi's individual achievements.

However, in terms of individual statistics, Messi's performance was outstanding. In last season's La Liga, Messi scored a staggering forty-six goals, becoming the league's top scorer. He scored twelve more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo, who ranked second. And he played two fewer games than the Portuguese player, averaging a goal every fifty-eight minutes – a terrifying efficiency.

He was not only the La Liga top scorer, but also the European Golden Shoe winner.

In the FIFA Ballon d'Or vote six months ago, Messi won. That was for a calendar year, and in 2012, Messi's individual performances were indeed outstanding, scoring ninety-one goals in all competitions! Such a feat is unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated.

In the first half of the 2012-2013 season, he scored twenty-six goals in seventeen league games, breaking the La Liga record for goals scored in the first half of the season before it was even over.

There is no question that Messi was the most potent attacking force in Europe last season.

Goals are, of course, the most exciting part of a football match and the greatest affirmation for an attacking player.

So, with such terrifying goal-scoring statistics, even if Messi only won one title—the La Liga title—he is still a strong contender for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.

These impressive statistics are the main reason Chinese media outlets aren't confident that Zhou Yi will win. Who knows whether the judges and journalists will favor Messi more? In recent years, both the media and fans have almost worshipped Messi.

Messi's individual statistics are impressive, but Messi himself knows that the number of titles won is also an important metric, especially the Champions League title. His Champions League performance last season was only average. Eight goals weren't enough to help Barcelona win the championship. That's his weakness.

So, Messi is conflicted. On the one hand, he hopes to win, but on the other hand, he doesn't think his chances are high.

Of course, thinking about his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, he's already much better off. At least he can make it into the top three, while Cristiano Ronaldo historically missed out. The Portuguese player must be very disappointed and angry right now…

※※※

The live voting ends quickly. The judges didn't spend too much time considering who to vote for; many probably had their minds made up before voting.

However, the winner of the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award isn't announced immediately.

The host, Pedro Pinto, says with a smile, "The results are in, but none of us know them. Who knows? The person engraving the trophy knows. He is engraving the name of the Best Player onto the trophy. The results will be revealed with the trophy! Please wait patiently for a moment..."

He's managing expectations.

During last year's UEFA Best Player in Europe Award ceremony, the trophy engraving process took a little longer than expected. Everyone thought Cristiano Ronaldo had won because his name was the longest and contained the most letters compared to Messi and Iniesta...

But in the end, Iniesta won—the engraver wasn't fast enough…

Perhaps having learned from last year's lesson, the staff are quite efficient this time. Soon, a hostess in a tight-fitting white dress walks gracefully out of the tunnel, carrying the silver UEFA Best Player in Europe Award trophy. After placing the trophy on the table, she quietly leaves.

The female host, Melanie Winiger, invites UEFA President Michel Platini to the stage to announce the winner and present the trophy.

Platini walks onto the stage amidst applause, goes behind the trophy, and the male host holds the microphone to his mouth. Platini raises the trophy with both hands, glances at it, and then turns it halfway, so the back of the trophy faces the audience and camera. At the same time, he says, "The winner of the 2012-2013 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award is..."

As the trophy turns around, everyone sees the name engraved on it.

zhou_yi.

"Zhou Yi!"