Later, sure enough, the 2000 European Footballer of the Year candidate was announced. This tradition, organized by the French football magazine, has been held for 44 years and is regarded as one of the great honours in world football. As a result, France, the double winner of the World Cup and the European Nations Cup, had a total of 11 players selected, becoming the biggest winner.

In addition to the French, a total of six Argentine, six Italians, five Dutch, four Brazilians and three Portuguese were shortlisted, England and Spain each had two players, and China, which had just won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, also had one person selected, which greatly added glory to Asia, and that person was of course Zheng Zhi.

The most surprising thing is that Germany, a traditional football powerhouse, is the only one to be selected, Bayern Munich's goalkeeper Kahn.

At club level, Serie A is the most impressive: Lazio have five players selected, Milan duo, Juventus and Fiorentina have three players each, and Roma and Parma have two selected.

Rivaldo, the new European Footballer of the Year, will face a serious challenge. However, stars including Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, Vieri, Bierhoff and Mateus were not included in the squad due to injuries and other reasons.

The nomination was made by a group of 51 sports journalists from across Europe. Regardless of nationality, candidates are eligible to compete simply by playing in Europe. Each reporter selects the five best players on a scale of one to five, and the results will be announced on December 19.

Previously, it was analyzed that Ukrainian rocket Shevchenko, French midfielder Zinedine Zidane, Portuguese superstar Figo and Inter Milan's new nuclear Zheng Zhi will be the favorites for this year's European Footballer of the Year. The last five winners are Rivaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Samer and George Weah.

Here is the list of candidates/teams for this year's European Footballer of the Year:

France (11):

Nicolas Anelka/Paris Saint-Germain, Angoma/Valencia, Blanco/Inter, Desailly/Chelsea, Thierry/Henry/Arsenal, Didier Deschamps/Valencia, Zinedine Zidane/Real Madrid, Trezeguet/Juventus, Patrick Vieira/Arsenal, Wiltord/Arsenal, Barthez/Manchester United

Argentina (6):

Batistuta/Roma, Crespo/Lazio, Gallardo/Monaco, López/Lazio, Redondo/AC Milan, Veron/Lazio

Italy (6):

Philippe Inzaghi/Juventus, Maldini/AC Milan, Nesta/Lazio, Simeone/Monaco, Toldo/Fiorentina, Totti/Roma

Netherlands (5):

Bergkamp/Arsenal, Davies/Juventus, Kluivert/Barcelona, Zenden/Barcelona, Stam/Manchester United

Brazil (4):

Sonny Anderson/Lyon, Jardel/Galatasaray, Rivaldo/Barcelona, Carlos/Real Madrid

Portugal (3):

Figo/Real Madrid, Gomez/Fiorentina, Rui Costa/AC Milan

England (2):

David Beckham/Manchester United, Paul Scholes/Manchester United

Spain (2 people):

Raul/Real Madrid, Mendieta/Valencia

Cameroon (2):

Jeramy/Real Madrid

China (1 person):

Zheng Zhi/Inter Milan

Other countries:

Ryan Giggs/Manchester United/Wales, Recoba/Inter Milan/Uruguay, Kahn/Bayern Munich/Germany, Keane/Manchester United/Ireland, Milosevic/Parma/Yugoslavia, Nedved/Lazio/Czech Republic, Shevchenko/AC Milan/Ukraine, Zakhovic/Valencia/Slovenia

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Fans want their favorite star to be the European Footballer of the Year 2000. Just as at the end of the game, there is only one champion, and there is only one European Footballer of the Year. Looking at this list, who is the winner? Sport has taken a look at the players in each position:

Striker:

Shevchenko (Ukraine/AC Milan): You can't blame the government. If the Ukrainian team reaches the finals of the European Championship, then Shevchenko will definitely be in a good place right now. Just by looking at the performance during this period of time, you can know why he is a shooting machine. He has a lot of ways to score goals, and his skills are comprehensive, and he is known as the Ukrainian rocket. He was the top scorer in Serie A last season. AC Milan's forwards often take the European Footballer of the Year, such as Basten, Papin, Weah, etc. Maybe this time it's Shevchenko. There should be no reason not to choose him European Footballer of the Year.

Batistuta (Argentina/Roma): It's a success. He has been a candidate for European Footballer of the Year for 5 years in a row, perhaps because of the results of his club, which has influenced him, and he is always a little bit worse than European Footballer of the Year. BATTY EXPRESSED HIMSELF AS A SHOOTING MACHINE IN HIS OWN SPECIAL WAY, AND WITH BATIGOAL HE EXPRESSED HIMSELF AS THE KING OF WORLD STRIKERS. And Florence used statues to express their admiration for him. There are a lot of statistics to express his excellence, but it is a pity that he has been in Serie A for so many years and has never won the league championship. Maybe it's time to make up for it with the European Footballer of the Year.

Advance guard:

Zenden (Netherlands/Barcelona): In the left-sided midfield position, Zenden is arguably the best man. At the European Championships, his performances on the left flank surprised many connoisseurs. Leng squeezed Overmars to the right. Ao even sometimes sits on the bench. Cen Deng is characterized by his speed, and he always uses speed to tear apart the opponent's wing defense. It's like being in a no-man's land.

Totti (Italy/Roma): Baggio fans must hate him. It is his appearance that makes Baggio useless in the national team, otherwise I believe that Baggio will still shine in the European arena. Totti's assist added some strength to Italy's weak waist, and he was a very important piece for the Italian team at the European Championships, playing the role of threading the needle. Now he is the new favorite of Serie A and the new idol of Italian fans. In the first few rounds of the new season, he led the Roma team to excellent results. Don't be surprised if he becomes European Footballer of the Year.

Zinedine Zidane (France/Real Madrid): Named European Footballer of the Year in '98 for his outstanding performance at the World Cup. This year, the French team won the European Championship again, not to mention the selection of European Footballer by the French "Football" magazine, and it is not unreasonable to choose him again. Unpretentious footwork, unexpected passing, and fearless command. It would not be an exaggeration to call him the emperor of French football, as his results overshadowed Platini. It's a pity that he didn't have a good time at Real Madrid this time.

Figo (Portugal/Real Madrid): A sky-high price player, maybe only European footballer can have this price. Hopefully, it's worth the money, and he proved with his own performance that buying him is true, unlike the previous Inter Milan who bought who couldn't use whom, such as Ronaldo and Vieri. As long as he is on the pitch, Portugal's goals are almost always related to him, and what Gomez does is just get the ball into the back of the net. His characteristics are similar to Zidane's, except that he is in Portugal and Zidane is in France. If Figo is in the French team, I believe Figo will achieve a better performance than Zidane. There is no reason, it feels like this. If the French magazine is not biased, please choose him as the Footballer of the Year.

David Beckham (England/Manchester United): Brilliant right foot, a fresh move, eat all over the world. Fixed with right foot, fixed position, fixed internal spin, fixed free kick, fixed corner, fixed diagonal pass. It's the same old anyway, but his right foot is the starting point for most of United's goals. Now he has risen to captain England and is maturing day by day. If we can continue to maintain this form, maybe it will be better to pick him next year.

Zheng Zhi (China/Inter Milan): Honors: Olympic Champion, Asian Cup Winner, Asian Cup Player of the Year, Bundesliga Champion, German Cup Winner, Bundesliga Most Valuable Player, Champions Cup Winner, Champions Cup Player of the Year, Amazing Technique, Fantastic Elevator Ball Performance, Countless Magnificent Goals...... Maybe, no, no, maybe, he's the Ballon d'Or winner......

Fullback:

Carlos (Brazil/Real Madrid): The first left-back in world football today. His assists can be used as a left winger. The superb left-footed footwork is breathtaking, often with a left-footed free-kick to score the goal, and the technique is unique. However, it is unlikely that he will become European Footballer of the Year this year. After all, the position is the defender. The same goes for the following two defenders.

Blanco (France/Inter): An evergreen for France. With a wealth of experience, he plays the role of anchor in the back of the French team. He also often assists in scoring goals in the penalty area. It was a magic weapon for the French team to score a goal.

Desailly (France/Chelsea): Maybe it's because of his long legs, he always gets the ball or touches it half a beat faster than the opposing striker. An important figure in the defense of the French team. He is also the heart of Chelsea's defence. He's been in solid form.

Goalie:

Toldo (Italy/Fiorentina): His happiness is based on the pain of Gianluigi Buffon, who made a name for himself at the European Championship in place of the injured Buffon. He basically worked as a defender for the Italian team at the same time, and it was because of his strength that the Italian team's defense became a veritable chain defense. Especially against the Netherlands, he was like a god to win the Dutch team alone. If the goalkeeper could be selected as European Footballer of the Year, Toldo would undoubtedly be the best candidate.

It seems that the competition among the midfielders is the fiercest, and Zheng Zhi's voice is the highest.

Nine times out of ten, Zheng Zhi is going to win the award......

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Outside the gates of Inter Milan's training ground on Tuesday afternoon, an unexpected guest arrived.

When many Italian journalists waited at the gate of the training ground to see Gérard Ernaux, they almost all exclaimed at the same time.

"Hiss~"

"Gérard Ernaux!"

Everybody realized something.

Rumors, is it really going to be true?

Did Zheng Zhi win the Ballon d'Or against Frenchman Zidane? Otherwise, Ernaux should have gone to Madrid, Spain, instead of Milan, Italy. Only those who won the Ballon d'Or will be eligible to shoot for France Football magazine.

Gérard Ernaux, editor-in-chief of the magazine France Football, who personally photographs the winners every year when the Ballon d'Or is about to be presented, and the message is already evident here today.

"Ernaux,"

"Sure?"

Ernaux just smiled and didn't answer directly. Sometimes, it's more effective not to say the answer directly. He and his assistant walked into the gate of the training ground, leaving the reporters to speculate outside, and then frantically called the newspaper office, such a bombshell news must be released in a timely headline, although no definite answer could be obtained from Ernaux's mouth.

Subsequently, news media with official online websites reported the news that Zheng Zhi was about to win the Ballon d'Or (European Footballer of the Year), and the most powerful evidence was undoubtedly the appearance of Ernaux.

……

……

In the training ground, when Ernaux appeared, most people didn't realize what a photographer was doing at first, anyway, there would be so many photographers who were allowed to shoot in the training ground every day, so there was no fuss.

It wasn't until Ronaldo saw it that he immediately hugged Zheng Zhi.

"Zheng!"

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

Zheng Zhi looked confused, "Congratulations to me?" I'm not married, I don't have children, and I haven't won the lottery? ”

"Inexperienced, right?"

"Do you know who he is?" Ronaldo smiled and stretched out his right hand to Ernaux and took the initiative to introduce Ernaux.

"This is the editor-in-chief of the famous French football magazine, Gérard Ernaux."

"I'll never forget that day." Ronaldo's eyes flashed with a happy look, as if returning to the day he received the Golden Globe from Ernaux in 1997, "Mr. Gérard personally presented me with the Golden Globe. ”

When Ronaldo said this, Zheng Zhi certainly understood.

This is, it's going to win!

Duang！

My head went blank.

Finally, the teammates saw a nervous Zheng Zhi, who was not visible on the field.

His face was a little flushed, his eyes were a little wooden, and his body was stunned, as if he had been clicked on an acupoint. Teammates surrounded him from all sides, and everyone congratulated him.

"Mr. Zheng,"

"Indeed, as Ronnie said, you have been named European Footballer of the Year 2000 and we are here today to record a short video and invite you to the Ballon d'Or ceremony next Monday."

Zheng Zhi: ......

I still haven't reacted, the amount of information is too much, the brain is very confused, and even the heart is beating very fast!

The last time I was so excited, it was time to win the Asian Footballer of the Year.

Right now?

This almost conquered the world and won the honor.

"Zheng?"

"Zheng?"

After being called twice by Ernaux in a row, Zheng Zhi regained his senses slightly, but he was still very excited.

"Thank you,"

"Thank you."

There are no good lines to say this time, and they used to be confident. Nervous, he touched his eyebrows, "Thank you." ”

……

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