Chapter 37 The Final Round

Although Chen Hero scored a goal in the thirty-seventh round of the league, Napoli's winning streak was brought to an end.

Because they were held to a draw by Catania on the road.

This result made the entire Napoli team and fans nervous. Fortunately, a piece of good news came afterward—Genoa was held to a 3-3 draw by Torino on the road.

The scores of both sides did not change.

But it still made Mazzarri very annoyed. He scolded everyone in the locker room after the game, saying that he was very dissatisfied with their performance.

"We were lucky this time, but can you expect us to be lucky every time? There is only one round left in the league, are you planning to rely on luck to get a Champions League spot? Now look back, if we had won Catania in this game, the gap between us and Genoa would have widened to four points! In that case, we would have already secured a place in the Champions League qualifiers. But in reality, we still have to fight in the final round, and we can't afford to make any mistakes! Who caused all this pressure? You did it yourselves!"

Mazzarri's scolding made everyone unable to lift their heads. After more than half a season of running-in, he had successfully established his authority within the team, especially by ruthlessly relegating Lavezzi to the bench, and finally simply driving him away!

For such a popular star in the eyes of the fans, he kicked him out without hesitation. This shows his ability and courage.

Reja might rely on Lavezzi, so he didn't dare to touch him. But Mazzarri didn't need him. He already had Chen Hero, a center who could score goals and fight especially well.

"Don't blame me for putting pressure on you now, because you asked for it! In the last round, our home game against Chievo, we must win!"

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Because they didn't win the game against Catania, the whole team didn't get a day off when they returned to the Volturno training base. Instead, they started training directly the next day.

There was only one round left in the league, which was related to the team's efforts for a season, and whether they could get a satisfactory result. This last week was really not a time to relax.

These days, many fans drove to the Volturno training base to watch the team's training and support the team with banners. The media also gathered here to report on Napoli's preparations every day in detail.

For a time, the Volturno training base was crowded with people and very lively.

This training base is a new training base, so it is about thirty kilometers away from the city of Naples, which is relatively far. Usually, not many fans come here. In addition to those fans who drive here, the most common people seen here are reporters.

But reporters are always a minority. Napoli is not a wealthy team, and the reporters who come here are generally local media from Naples. Unlike teams like the Milan duo and Juventus, the training base is always surrounded by fans and reporters from all over the world.

But seeing this scene around the training ground now, many Napoli club staff members are full of confidence in the future. They always feel that that scene is no longer an unattainable dream.

Some of the staff here are old employees who used to work at the old Napoli club. They experienced the glory of the Maradona era, and also experienced the decline of bankruptcy and dissolution. When De Laurentiis rebuilt the team, they returned to the club without hesitation and started all over again with Napoli.

Their feelings for Napoli are deeper than anyone else's. For them, they fell in love with Napoli not because of Maradona, but because they had been fans of Napoli since they were children, and their fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and grandmothers were also fans of Napoli. At that time, Napoli did not have Maradona, nor did it have Serie A titles or UEFA Cup titles, but it was still everyone's favorite team forever.

These people fit the definition of the "power that Napoli needs to rely on to revive" that Chen Hero said.

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Napoli's last league game was approaching day by day, and everyone was excitedly and nervously waiting for the final judgment.

They worked hard for a season... no, perhaps it should be said for half a season. The first half of the season was completely wasted in internal friction.

After working hard for half a season, what kind of result can they get in the end?

Logically speaking, even if they can't get fourth place in the league, this season is already considered very perfect for the people of Naples.

Because they have already completed the task of advancing to European competitions in advance. Even if they can't get a Champions League spot, the UEFA Cup is also good.

In fact, Mazzarri also had such worries—worried that the players would develop a sense of satisfaction at the last moment, thinking that it doesn't matter even if they don't get a Champions League spot.

So in this week, he tirelessly instilled the belief that "we must advance to the Champions League next season" into everyone, telling them that if they don't get a Champions League spot next season, this season will be a complete failure for everyone!

In fact, he doesn't have to worry. If they can enter the Champions League, who would want to go to the UEFA Cup? Professional players, who doesn't want to pursue higher honors?

Which is more attractive, the Champions League or the UEFA Cup?

Mazzarri only needs to use the Champions League to attract his players, and he can guarantee everyone's fighting power.

Isn't it just the last league game? They've been through a whole season, what's one more game?

Let's fight!

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Chen Hero's desire to win fourth place in the league is especially strong. Because it means he has the opportunity to participate in the European Champions League!

This event, which he could only watch from afar in the past, is his holy place.

Chen Hero believes that even the World Cup can't compare to the European Champions League in terms of the viewing experience, technical content, etc. The World Cup now only has influence left.

Being able to participate in the European Champions League means that he has taken another step closer to becoming a "Green Field Hero."

Moreover, in the European Champions League, he gains more experience and prestige from scoring goals and winning, and he levels up faster.

A real win-win situation!

He is so looking forward to next season's Champions League that he is treating this last league game as a Champions League qualifier.

In fact, that's right. This league game is related to whether the team can get the qualification for next season's Champions League qualifiers, isn't it also a qualifier?

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Perhaps it was the first time that the Chinese media attached so much importance to a game of a non-wealthy team, but this is not surprising at all. Because there is a Chinese player in the Napoli lineup.

Chen Hero has scored an astonishing twenty-three goals in his first season in Serie A. Such a result is quite difficult for a Chinese player.

Initially, when Chen Hero scored a goal, the Chinese media would get excited for a while, praising him excitedly and nauseatingly.

But when Chen Hero scored fifteen goals, twenty goals, the Chinese media calmed down. Because based on their understanding of Chen Hero—this is simply too normal! He is either in a slump, unable to score goals for several rounds in a row, or he can't stop scoring once he starts scoring, scoring goals like crazy.

Nevertheless, Chen Hero's ranking third in the scorer list is already a remarkable thing, making many Chinese fans and media excited.

China has been broadcasting Serie A for nearly twenty years, and only one Chinese player, Ma Mingyu, has ever played in Serie A. There has never been anyone who has even appeared on the scorer list.

Chinese fans can only envy their neighbor Japan. They have many players who have achieved success in the Italian league, the most successful being Hidetoshi Nakata.

They have even won the Serie A title. What about Chinese players?

Now, finally, a Chinese player has emerged who can rank third in the Serie A scorer list!

Many old fans were directly moved to tears...

They never thought that they would be able to see this scene in their lifetime!

Therefore, this last game, from the moment CCTV Sports Channel announced that it would broadcast it live, has attracted the attention of countless fans.

This is the first full season for a Chinese player in the Italian Serie A. Chen Hero, who was highly anticipated by everyone, did not disappoint. Twenty-three goals in a season, and now there is still hope to advance to the Champions League.

Next season's Champions League has another reason for Chinese fans to look forward to.

Similarly, CCTV is also very satisfied with this season. Since Chen Hero joined Napoli, CCTV has chosen to broadcast Napoli's games every league day, sometimes on the sports channel, and sometimes on the Fengyun Football channel.

But no matter which channel it is on, the ratings are very high.

Chen Hero's joining Napoli has instead driven the Serie A craze.

Originally, the broadcast of Serie A had declined in influence in China due to the decline in the league's level and outdated broadcasting methods.

But now that Chen Hero has arrived, the number of people in China paying attention to Serie A has also rapidly increased—don't say this is impossible, never underestimate the enthusiasm of Chinese fans, especially Chinese football fans.

Just like how one Yao Ming can turn many Chinese fans into Houston Rockets fans, let alone football. The grievances of Chinese fans are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

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Under the anticipation of everyone, Napoli's last league game finally arrived as scheduled.

The Stadio San Paolo was packed to capacity, because it was related to whether Napoli could participate in next season's Champions League.

The Stadio San Paolo had not hosted Champions League matches for many, many years, not even the qualifiers...

For Napoli fans, being able to see a Champions League match at their doorstep is almost like celebrating a festival.

Although the Maradona era was incomparably glorious for Napoli, it was ultimately a fleeting moment.

Starting from this last game of the season, from this day on, they will create a brand new glory of their own!