Chapter 1 The Chinese Football Association

The news of Chen Yingxiong's expulsion from the national team and Duikovic's dismissal were like bombshells in China, causing a strong reaction. The media and fans attacked the Chinese Football Association like a storm.

However, the Chinese Football Association had long developed a face as thick as the Great Wall from being scolded for so many years, so they remained unmoved no matter how much they were cursed!

They refused to discuss Chen Yingxiong's ban by the Football Association. No one could find out what they were thinking when they made this decision.

Many fans angrily denounced the Chinese Football Association for having "shit for brains," but these fans without a voice could not threaten the Football Association at all.

The media's condemnation of the Football Association was relatively mild, after all, they still needed the Football Association to give them a bite to eat and report on the Chinese Olympic team's games. But many media outlets had already grown cold. After this incident, they all knew that the Chinese Olympic team's performance in this Olympic Games was not something to be expected.

While the country was still arguing over these trivial matters, Chen Yingxiong and his agent, Dekula, had already met in Milan, Italy.

They would transfer here to Naples, undergo a physical examination, and finally sign the official contract documents—the signing ceremony would be broadcast live to the news media. After the signing ceremony, he would meet with fans at Naples' Stadio San Paolo.

When Chen Yingxiong met Dekula, he was holding a copy of *La Gazzetta dello Sport*. It was all in Italian, which he couldn't understand at all. He bought it because it had his photo on it, and it was quite large. He guessed that it must be introducing him to all of Italy, and out of vanity, he bought the newspaper. Unfortunately, the staff at the airport bookstore obviously didn't recognize the man who was on the newspaper they were selling, so his expected "beauty screaming and pulling down her collar to let him sign on her chest" didn't happen.

"You can read Italian?" Dekula was a little surprised when he saw the newspaper in Chen Yingxiong's hand.

"I don't understand, but there's my picture on it." Chen Yingxiong shook the newspaper.

Dekula glanced at it. "Oh, *La Gazzetta dello Sport* has a pretty high opinion of you..."

Chen Yingxiong's eyes lit up when he heard his agent say that. "Really? What did they say? Translate it for me!"

As he said that, he stuffed the newspaper into Dekula's arms.

Dekula glanced at the newspaper and said to Chen Yingxiong, "They compared you to Maradona..."

"Damn! That's awesome! *La Gazzetta dello Sport* is indeed a talent scout!" Chen Yingxiong was overjoyed. To be compared to Maradona was such a great compliment. You should know that almost all of the Argentine national team's attackers were regarded as the second coming of Maradona, and although they didn't end up becoming the real second coming of Maradona, their talent was beyond doubt.

Could being compared to Maradona mean that his strength had already entered the ranks of world-class superstars?

Chen Yingxiong was indulging in a pipe dream when he heard Dekula continue unhurriedly, "...saying that your rebellious personality and impulsive, irritable temper are probably on par with Maradona's."

Chen Yingxiong could clearly feel a bucket of cold water being poured on his head...

"Damn you! Can't you just spit it out!" Chen Yingxiong complained grumpily.

Dekula ignored his complaints and returned the newspaper to him. "There are Chinese media comparing you to Maradona, do you want to hear it?"

"Are you talking about online media like Sina Sports?" Chen Yingxiong rolled his eyes.

"Oh, how did you know?"

"With their style, I can guess it with my ass! It's nothing more than...《Chen Yingxiong Lands in Serie A, Reopening the Legend of the King of Football!》, 《Seventeen Years Later, the Shadow of the King of Football Appears Again》, 《Giant Version of Maradona Arrives in Naples》...something like that, right?"

Dekula clapped his hands. "Close enough."

"So boring..." He was very happy that *La Gazzetta dello Sport* compared him to Maradona. But he found it boring when the Chinese media compared him to Maradona. He didn't feel that there was anything wrong with this double standard. Because... could the level of Chinese sports media be compared with that of a world-renowned sports media like *La Gazzetta dello Sport*? You should know that many Chinese sports media relied on plagiarizing and reprinting news from *La Gazzetta dello Sport* to make a living...

In fact, there have been many media outlets recently that have compared Chen Yingxiong to Maradona. There are Chinese, Russian, and Italian media.

It's just that everyone's focus is different. The Chinese media have high hopes for Chen Yingxiong, and even spared no effort to flatter him, saying that Chen Yingxiong is a genius whose development potential is on par with Maradona—they are not completely talking nonsense. Chen Yingxiong, who has just passed his twentieth birthday, has become the top scorer in the history of the Russian Premier League, and the top scorer in the history of the UEFA Cup after its reform. At the age of twenty, he has achieved such achievements, so his future is naturally highly anticipated.

The Russian and Italian media, represented by *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, focused more on Chen Yingxiong's personality and temperament, believing that this guy was somewhat similar to Maradona back then.

※※※

From the transfers of Chen Yingxiong and Arshavin, one can see the ambition of Napoli's owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis. In fact, De Laurentiis has never concealed his ambition. His second five-year plan is now known throughout Italy. There are many people who laugh at him for planning to become a giant in five years.

"I said long ago that Aurelio is a well-known loudmouth in Italian football. It's not normal for him not to come up with some shocking news one of these days."

"Become a giant in five years? Hahaha! This is the funniest joke I've heard this year! Haha!"

"As expected of an Italian film tycoon, he is very skilled at playing the hype game in the entertainment industry!"

……

What they don't know is that De Laurentiis privately explained it to Marino this way: "Just like in a football match, if you tell the players that our goal in this match is to draw, then the final result will most likely be a loss. But if you tell our players that we have to strive for victory in this match, then even if the opponent is strong, we will be able to achieve a good result in the end. This plan is inspiring, so of course it has to be bigger and more exaggerated. Otherwise, how can we make the players desperately think about that goal and work hard? Even if we don't become a giant in five years, I think it's not a problem to become a top team in Italy. Set the goal higher, and even if we don't achieve the goal in the end, we won't be too disappointed—because through hard work, we are already closer to the goal than expected."

He is not as "ignorant about football," "brainless," and "blindly conceited" as the outside world describes him. Otherwise, he would not have become an Italian film tycoon, and he would not have been able to bring Napoli back to the ranks of the Italian Serie A in just four years.

You should know that before him, countless club presidents had been replaced, but none of them had ever done it...

In this world, successful people may have various personality defects, or be megalomaniacs, or be neurotic lunatics, or be depressed patients, or be paranoid. But one thing is beyond doubt—they are not fools in the eyes of ordinary people.

When ordinary people laugh at the various personality defects of successful people, they forget that they are not even as good as such a person who is ridiculed by them wantonly.

Now, such a chairman who has made Napoli a laughingstock throughout Italy is sitting in his special car, and sitting face to face with him are Chen Yingxiong and his agent Dekula.

The two transferred at Milan's Linate Airport and flew to Naples Airport. As soon as they got off the plane, they got into the club chairman's special car.

The club chairman personally came to pick them up, which is a treatment that other Napoli players have not enjoyed... This shows how much this club chairman likes Chen Yingxiong.

De Laurentiis's love for Chen Yingxiong does not come entirely from his performance on the field, but from the resonance between the two people in terms of personality. In many ways, they have astonishing similarities in their views on things, and their styles of doing things and principles of dealing with things also have many tacit understandings.

Just like now.

"Some time ago, there were many controversies in Italy about Napoli's second five-year plan. They laughed at me for daydreaming. What do you think, Hero?" De Laurentiis looked at Chen Yingxiong.

Chen Yingxiong thought for a while: "Why not give it a try? I don't know how long it will take to become a giant, but I think even if we don't become a giant in five years, we probably won't be too far from a giant." This time, he didn't say anything particularly arrogant or foolish like "With me around, not to mention becoming a giant in five years, dominating the world of football in five years is not a problem." Perhaps he wanted to keep a good impression in front of his new boss...

De Laurentiis laughed and patted the manager Marino next to him: "Did you see that? Did you see that? Hahahaha!"

Marino really believed that there must be a band of brain waves of Chen Yingxiong and the boss that overlapped...

※※※

De Laurentiis directly asked the driver to drive the special car to the Saint Lucia Hospital in Naples, which is the designated hospital for Napoli players to undergo transfer physicals.

When Chen Yingxiong went for a physical examination, De Laurentiis and manager Marino waited outside.

News reporters had already gathered here, waiting with them for the results of the physical examination.

In fact, from Chen Yingxiong's past experience, everyone knew that this kid was as strong as a bear, and there shouldn't be any problems with his body. But wasn't it said that he was tackled to the ground by his teammate with a move that could almost break a person's leg when he was in the Olympic team some time ago?

Will this flying tackle bring any physical problems to him?

This needs to be carefully checked.

When Chen Yingxiong walked out with the doctor, everyone knew that the examination results were out.

Chen Yingxiong had a relaxed smile on his face, which told everyone the answer—everything is normal!

Sure enough, the doctor then announced: "We have conducted a detailed examination of Chen Yingxiong's body, and the result is encouraging—he has no injuries now, and there are no hidden dangers. His body can completely cope with the most intense football confrontation! Just like his nickname says, he is as strong as a bear!"

De Laurentiis stepped forward and shook Chen Yingxiong's hand: "Welcome, Hero!"

Flashes of light flashed, freezing this scene.