Chapter 57: Asian Footballer of the Year

The reason why the Sports Channel of China Television conducted a special interview with Dai Zhiwei, and did so with considerable fanfare, was because two days prior, the Asian Football Confederation had announced the nominees for the 2015 Asian Footballer of the Year. The final shortlist included Dai Zhiwei from Guangzhou Evergrande, Khalil, the forward from Dubai Al Ahli, and Omar, the Emirati rising star. Compared to other awards to be revealed that evening—such as Asian Female Footballer of the Year, Best Team, Best Coach, and the Asian Diamond Award—Dai Zhiwei’s chances of winning were the highest. In fact, after the AFC Champions League champion was decided, most bookmakers even closed betting on the Asian Footballer of the Year. Dai Zhiwei’s advantage was evident.

Let’s first look at Dai Zhiwei’s competitors. Omar is currently one of the hottest stars in Asia, nicknamed the “Gulf Messi.” He is the dual core of the UAE national team and Al Ain, and has performed superbly in this year’s Asian Cup, AFC Champions League, and World Cup qualifiers, helping the UAE to secure third place in the Asian Cup.

Khalil is Dai Zhiwei’s direct rival. Purely from statistics, as the second most important player in the UAE national team, Khalil scored the fastest goal in Asian Cup history, netting after just 14 seconds against Bahrain. He finished with four goals, earning the Silver Boot and helping his team to third place. Additionally, Khalil scored seven goals in this year’s AFC Champions League, second only to Dai Zhiwei, and in the Asian World Cup Qualifiers, he exploded with five goals in his last two matches, currently ranking second on the scorers’ list with ten goals.

However, compared to Dai Zhiwei, Khalil’s data was completely overshadowed.

Dai Zhiwei had helped his team secure five consecutive Chinese Super League titles and an AFC Champions League trophy. Although he missed the Asian Cup at the start of the year, his performance in the national team’s World Cup qualifiers was outstanding. In the AFC Champions League, he scored a crucial goal in the first leg of the semifinals.

Therefore, for Dai Zhiwei, winning Asian Footballer of the Year was merely a matter of waiting a few more days.

As expected, at 8 PM on November 29th, the annual AFC Awards Ceremony officially commenced.

During the final award—the presentation of Asian Footballer of the Year—the three nominees, Dai Zhiwei, Khalil, and Omar, all walked on stage to receive crystal trophies from AFC President Salman. The three then lined up on stage, waiting for the host to announce the name.

“How silly! Just like kindergarten children lining up to get fruit snacks,” Dai Zhiwei murmured to himself. Tonight, he was dressed in a high-end, custom suit sponsored by the new brand, Joybird.

The deep blue suit and light purple shirt complemented Dai Zhiwei’s tall stature and handsome appearance, making him far more appealing than the effeminate young idols back home.

The host took out a letter from the envelope and, with deliberate suspense, announced, “The 2015 Asian Footballer of the Year is—”

“Dai Zhiwei!”

“Ha!” Dai Zhiwei exhaled gently—a habitual gesture when nervous—then his lips curled into a smile.

Khalil and Omar, standing beside Dai Zhiwei, both shook his hand and congratulated him.

Before the announcement, Khalil and Omar already knew they would not win Asian Footballer of the Year. They were genuinely convinced by Dai Zhiwei’s performances on the pitch, so there was no disappointment in their demeanor.

When Dai Zhiwei received the 2015 Asian Footballer of the Year trophy from AFC President Salman, he looked quite shy.

After thanking Salman, Dai Zhiwei continued to exchange a few private words with him—compared to most players back home, Dai Zhiwei’s English proficiency was exceptional.

During their conversation, Salman also gave Dai Zhiwei high praise for his performance throughout the year.

After taking the trophy, it was time for Dai Zhiwei’s acceptance speech.

Stepping up to the microphone, Dai Zhiwei held the trophy in one hand, adjusted the microphone’s height with the other, and said, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I am very happy to win this award, and it is a recognition of my performance throughout the year. First, I want to thank my parents; they are the most important people in my life. Second, I want to thank my boss Xu Jiayin, head coach Cannavaro, and my teammates. Together, we have spent the best times of my life and understood the true meaning of being champions. Lastly, I want to thank the supporters of Chinese football. Please believe that the future of Chinese football will only get better!”

Yet at the end of his speech, Dai Zhiwei revealed his youthful, audacious side: “Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I promise I won’t let you feel your vote was wasted. I hope that next year at this time, the year after, and every year after, I’ll be standing here, holding the trophy and saying thank you to everyone!”

With the announcement of the Asian Footballer of the Year, the 2015 AFC Awards Ceremony concluded smoothly. AFC President Salman and other high-ranking officials, along with the award winners, went on stage for group photos with the players.

Undoubtedly, Dai Zhiwei and Salman stood at the center of the crowd.

In the official post-award interview, Dai Zhiwei remarked, “Being named Asian Footballer of the Year this year is hugely significant. For me, to win this award in my first professional season is a kind of motivation—it tells me I shouldn’t stop here.”

Asked about his football idol, the newly crowned Asian Footballer replied, “Haha, actually, I don’t have an idol. My idol is a group—the fans of Chinese football, because they are stronger than anyone else…”

Recalling the bleak history of Chinese football honors, everyone laughed after hearing Dai Zhiwei’s words, and this year’s AFC Awards Ceremony ended in laughter.

After Dai Zhiwei was crowned Asian Footballer of the Year, the outside world began to dub him “Asia’s Messi,” and at twenty-one, he broke the record for the youngest recipient of the award.

The “youngest” record set by Dai Zhiwei may stand for many years. For comparison, consider the most prestigious individual honor in world football—the Ballon d’Or.

In 1997, Ronaldo lifted the Ballon d’Or at twenty-one, still the youngest recipient to this day. In 2001, England’s golden boy Owen claimed the Ballon d’Or at twenty-one, the same age as Dai Zhiwei when he became Asia’s golden ball. Messi was twenty-two and six months old when he won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009.

Of course, Asian Footballer of the Year cannot compare with the European Ballon d’Or, but it is enough to reflect Dai Zhiwei’s excellence.

As soon as the top three finalists for Asian Footballer of the Year were announced, Dai Zhiwei was already being compared to Messi.

At the time, the AFC official website commented: “During Spain’s five-year triple crown, the ‘peerless duo’ swept all the Ballon d’Ors, while Son Heung-min and Dai Zhiwei are Asia’s Ronaldo and Messi.”

Son Heung-min exudes Ronaldo’s confidence and dominance, while Dai Zhiwei’s style resembles Messi: fast, skilled at dribbling, agile in changes of direction.

Just as Ronaldo and Messi have dazzled the world stage, the rivalry between Son Heung-min and Dai Zhiwei will endure for years to come.

However, Dai Zhiwei had little time to bask in the public’s praise for his award. The day after receiving the trophy, he was back in training.

To prepare for the Club World Cup, Guangzhou Evergrande began training on November 30th. While other teams were on vacation, Evergrande’s players were sweating it out.

The team was about to head to Japan for the Club World Cup, marking Evergrande’s second participation in the tournament. Team captain Zheng Zhi said, “Everyone has played the Club World Cup once; it’s a rare opportunity. It’s not a friendly or a warm-up, but a formal match. We’re representing China, even Asia. A few days ago, I went to India, and the heads of the island football association and South Korea’s football association encouraged me. We’re preparing very seriously. The first match is extremely important—we have to face Barcelona, get through the first round, and Mexico won’t be easy; they’re very strong. But we hope to win and start our second Club World Cup journey well.”

After returning to the team, Dai Zhiwei trained with the main squad for only three days before flying with them on a China Southern Airlines flight to Osaka to prepare for the Club World Cup opener on December 13th.

Yesterday afternoon, Evergrande played a warm-up match against the Southern Guangdong representative team, who were preparing for the Provincial-Hong Kong Cup, at the Olympic Sports Center. The starting trident of Goulart, Elkeson, and Zheng Long each scored a goal, and Evergrande comfortably won 3–1.

In the final warm-up before the Club World Cup, Cannavaro’s starting lineup followed his usual selections from the past six months, only substituting Li Shuai for Zeng Cheng, who was injured in the ankle during the AFC Champions League final. Dai Zhiwei, Zhang Linpeng, and Kim Young-Gwon rested.

In the second half, Cannavaro rotated heavily, substituting all but Mei Fang and Paulinho, resulting in fewer chances created.

Judging from Robinho and Alan’s form in the second half, it was unlikely either would make the starting eleven.

Yesterday was Alan’s first public appearance since his comeback. He covered a lot of ground, ran actively, and his breakthroughs showed speed, but he still hadn’t rediscovered his touch in front of goal.

After the match, Alan said, “It felt good, given the long injury lay-off. Today’s match was very important for me personally. I hope I can gradually regain my form in the upcoming games.”

Looking ahead to the Club World Cup, the newly crowned Asian Footballer of the Year hopes the team can go further: “We want to win the first match at the Club World Cup. Of course, it won’t be easy. The American teams are very strong, but we hope to perform well at the tournament.”