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Chapter 137 - Chapter 137: Ballon d'Or 50-Player Shortlist

The media were heating things up ahead of El Clásico.

"Eto'o Breaks Away, Leading the La Liga Scoring Chart! Real Madrid Toothless in Attack, Su Hang Facing a Goal Drought!"

"Ronaldinho, Eto'o, and Messi in Top Form! Real Madrid Slumping, Only One Goal in Their Last Match!"

"Barcelona Ends Internal Struggles This Season, United in Their Push for La Liga and Champions League Glory! Since Su Hang Became Captain, Real Madrid in Constant Turmoil, Always on the Brink of Collapse!"

"Ballon d'Or Round Four Shortlist Announced: Ronaldinho and Eto'o Included, Media Predict Both Will Finish Top Ten!"

"Ronaldinho Favored to Win the Ballon d'Or! Last Season, He Led Brazil to the Confederations Cup! At Club Level, He Scored 30 Goals Across Competitions for Barcelona—And Remember, He's a Midfielder!"

"Ronaldinho's Biggest Ballon d'Or Rivals Come From the Premier League! Lampard Guided Chelsea to the Title with Just One League Defeat! Gerrard Inspired Liverpool's Istanbul Miracle to Lift the Champions League Trophy!"

Ronaldinho was the clear favorite for this year's Ballon d'Or.

It wasn't just his talent and numbers—his entertaining style of play made him hugely popular. With Ronaldo out of form, Brazil's massive fanbase had rallied behind Ronaldinho. This looked like the year he would cement his legendary status.

Eto'o, meanwhile, was also widely tipped to finish in the top ten.

But while Barcelona's quality stood out, Real Madrid had them beat in sheer numbers.

With the announcement of the fifth and final batch of nominees, the full 50-player Ballon d'Or shortlist was revealed.

Juventus dominated the list with an incredible nine players—practically a Serie A version of the Galácticos: Buffon, Cannavaro, Ibrahimović, Camoranesi, Nedvěd, Thuram, Trezeguet, Emerson, and Vieira!

Chelsea, fresh off their Premier League triumph, had seven players named: Lampard, Čech, Drogba, Essien, Makélélé, Terry, and Robben.

Right alongside them were last season's La Liga champions, Real Madrid: Ronaldo, Beckham, Zidane, Figo, Raúl, Roberto Carlos, and… Su Hang!

In truth, apart from Ronaldo and Zidane, the others wouldn't normally have made the cut. But Su Hang had sparked a chemistry within Madrid, transforming the team in the second half of the season and stealing the La Liga crown from Barcelona.

With Madrid's players already global stars, their stats alone were enough to secure places on the list.

Close behind came AC Milan with five players: Shevchenko, Dida, Kaká, Maldini, and Pirlo.

Barcelona matched Milan with five: alongside Ronaldinho and Eto'o, Deco, Van Bommel, and Xavi made the list.

Liverpool managed just three—Gerrard, Carragher, and Luis García.

Other big names included Cristiano Ronaldo, Adriano, Diego Forlán, Henry, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, Makaay, Park Ji-Sung, and Juninho.

This marked the third straight year Cristiano Ronaldo had made the Ballon d'Or 50-player shortlist.

It was also the first Ballon d'Or nomination for rising stars like Su Hang and Rooney.

They weren't necessarily the best young players in the world, but the platforms of Manchester United and Real Madrid had propelled them to fame faster, drawing greater attention.

...

November 19th.

A titanic clash.

The Galácticos hosting at the Bernabéu.

The first El Clásico of the season was about to begin.

Before kickoff, Real Madrid announced their starting XI:

Ronaldo, Raúl

Zidane, Figo, Beckham

García

Roberto Carlos, Helguera, Sergio Ramos, Cicinho

Casillas

=

For reasons of team balance and recent form, Su Hang started on the bench.

Salgado had lost out to Cicinho for the right-back spot, with the Brazilian in better form recently.

On the bench, Madrid still had firepower—Baptista, Robinho, and Guti among them.

It was one of the rare occasions in the past two seasons where Real Madrid had a fully fit squad. The Madridistas' confidence was sky-high.

Barcelona's lineup was equally strong:

Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi

Deco, Edmílson, Xavi

Van Bronckhorst, Márquez, Puyol, Oleguer

Valdés

=

Barcelona's core players were clearly the younger side. Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, and Xavi were all a level or two younger than Madrid's veterans Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, and Beckham.

Barça fans were confident of a home victory.

The whistle blew, and the match kicked off.

Both sides immediately raised the intensity, showing their determination to win.

In the 15th minute, Barcelona struck first.

Young right winger Lionel Messi dazzled with feints to beat Roberto Carlos before sending in a diagonal ball. Eto'o burst into the box, controlled it, and fired from a tight angle.

The shot deflected off Casillas' leg and bounced into the net.

Barcelona led 1-0.

That was Eto'o's 11th goal of the season—after just 12 rounds of La Liga. Nearly a goal a game—a terrifying level of efficiency.

The goal gave Barcelona a surge of confidence.

In the 21st minute, Messi again broke down the right and whipped in a cross. Luckily, Helguera was in position to clear; otherwise, Eto'o would have been in again.

In the 29th minute, Figo rolled back the years. Dribbling through the middle, he tore through Barcelona's defense and slipped in a through ball.

But Puyol, fully focused, slid in to cut it out before Ronaldo could latch onto it.

The 33rd minute. Ronaldinho lit up the left flank, weaving past defenders before laying it back. Deco's long-range strike smacked the post—just a centimeter away from glory.

In the 41st minute, Deco delivered a free kick. Márquez rose highest to head at goal, but Ramos' interference forced it over the bar.

Throughout the first half, Barcelona pinned Real Madrid back.

Ronaldinho and Messi both put on brilliant displays.

At halftime, Barça fans swarmed online:

"Is this it? This is all Madrid has? No wonder they're third in the league!"

"This is the difference between first and third—Barcelona are playing Madrid like they're kids!"

"So what if seven Madrid players made the Ballon d'Or shortlist? Just empty fame!"

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