Chapter 196 The Saint Paolo Erupts

"Arshavin crosses it in—!"

The football soared into the air, flying towards AC Milan's penalty area.

Because it was a counterattack, there weren't many people here. Besides the goalkeeper Dida, Napoli only had Chen Hero participating in the attack, while AC Milan had two defenders, center-back Kaladze and Maldini.

Kaladze had already been shaken off by Chen Hero's sudden acceleration and insertion, so the only person who could really pose a threat to him now was Maldini.

This was a contest between Chen Hero and the legendary first person in Serie A for twenty years!

The two jumped almost simultaneously, their judgments on the landing point were very accurate.

Maldini, in front, had the advantage of occupying the position. He was likely to head the ball out before Chen Hero. He didn't even need to head it too far, he just needed to lightly brush the ball backward, which would be enough to change the direction of the football, causing Chen Hero behind him to miss.

Anyway, there wasn't a single Napoli player within tens of meters. This was a real counterattack. Hamsik's long diagonal pass from the backcourt gave a lead, Arshavin started from the wing, relying on his speed to shake off Beckham, and then dribbled the ball for a long distance before crossing it in.

This process was very short. Apart from him and Chen Hero, not a single Napoli player had crossed the halfway line—Napoli's mentality was now that the attacking matters were all left to Arshavin and Chen Hero, these two old friends. The others were strictly forbidden from going up to support them. This was to avoid AC Milan launching a counterattack if they lost the ball.

Maldini jumping up with a backward lean was a bit challenging, but considering that he only needed to interfere with Chen Hero, this defense couldn't be called difficult.

But Dida's face changed in front of the goal.

Because he saw that Chen Hero jumped much higher than Maldini!

He shouted: "Paolo—!"

Almost at the same time as he opened his mouth, a huge shout erupted from the Stadio San Paolo. Whether it was the AC Milan fans or the Napoli fans, they couldn't restrain the shock in their hearts when they saw this scene. All of it turned into sound and burst out.

The sound came suddenly, like a storm, drowning out Dida's exclamation.

Chen Hero jumped forward during his sprint, he jumped quite high!

This "quite high" happened to have a reference object that allowed everyone to see very intuitively how high he jumped—Maldini's head, who jumped up with a backward lean, only reached Chen Hero's chest…

Usually when two people compete for a header, the difference is only between one head and half a head, some are even just a hair's breadth away.

How could the difference be so big like now?

When many people saw this scene, a sense of sorrow suddenly arose in the depths of their hearts—the legend also has a day when he grows old…

※※※

Maldini suddenly felt a shadow above his head. He looked up and back, and saw Chen Hero's face! The way he gritted his teeth looked like he was smiling at himself…

Chen Hero lowered his head and headed the ball with the top of his forehead, the two facing each other directly.

Chen Hero had his eyes open when he headed the ball, and he also saw Maldini's somewhat surprised expression, then he smiled.

Just like a bear showing a smile to its food.

The two people's meeting was only a moment.

Because Maldini was leaning backward, he directly bumped into Chen Hero, while Chen Hero leaned forward, heading the football that should have been headed away by Maldini towards the goal!

Near the penalty spot, he headed the football towards the front post of the goal. Dida jumped out, his fingertips brushed the football, but he still couldn't change the flight path of this powerful header. The football flew straight into the goal!

"Locking the victory! Napoli has locked the victory! Chen Hero scored twice in the game!!"

"Beautiful! Beautiful header! Chen Hero has overwhelming advantages in the air!"

The Milan commentator was a little helpless: "Paolo is really old…"

※※※

When the football flew into the goal, Chen Hero and Maldini in the air also fell to the ground at the same time.

The difference was that Maldini fell directly on his back, while Chen Hero was lying on top of him.

But Maldini didn't feel any violent impact or pressure. He didn't even feel that there was a person who was 1.9 meters tall and weighed more than ninety kilograms on him…

When Chen Hero landed, his limbs landed first. His elbows bent to cushion the falling force and his own gravity. In the end, he supported his body and didn't directly press on Maldini's body.

Then he jumped up from above Maldini and ran to celebrate the goal.

Maldini sat up from the ground, looked at Chen Hero's back, and sighed.

It's really impossible not to admit that you're getting old…

※※※

"Chen Hero defeated Maldini! He scored a goal for the team to lock the victory! With less than ten minutes left in the game, AC Milan, who is two goals behind, has basically lost hope of winning!"

Liu Jianhong's commentary made many Chinese Milan fans grit their teeth with hatred. Chen Hero's Napoli defeated AC Milan. They couldn't directly scold Chen Hero, who was very popular in China, so they had to vent their resentment on the commentator.

For a time, the online crusade against Liu Jianhong set off a new climax.

Zhang Lu, on the other hand, gave the audience a detailed analysis of the goal.

"This goal… Hero jumped really high. He jumped up while rushing forward, and Maldini? He jumped up while retreating. The way the two people jumped directly determined the final result. But even so, the gap between the two people shouldn't be so big. No matter what, Maldini is a veteran defender, so this is really caused by the decline of his own physical fitness… In front of the young and strong Chen Hero, the forty-year-old Paolo Maldini is really old… But that's how football is, a new generation replaces the old…"

In fact, Zhang Lu was also sighing in his heart.

When CCTV first broadcast Serie A, he was a Serie A broadcast guest. In a flash, nearly twenty years have passed. He is still sitting in this position, but many people around him have changed. And those who could carry his memory disappeared one by one from the TV screen in front of him. After the end of this season, Maldini will also retire.

He didn't know how long he could stay in this position. At first, he thought so. He felt that he had been in one position for twenty years, which was long enough. Now CCTV has also won the broadcasting rights for the Champions League, and he sometimes has to commentate on the Champions League games. As he got older, his energy was very poor when he stayed up late. He once wanted to leave this job.

However, the appearance of one person made him change his mind.

He wanted to continue commentating and witness a Chinese player's struggle in Serie A.

This season, we say goodbye to Maldini, this season, we welcome Chen Hero.

An era has ended, and an era has begun.

※※※

Chen Hero was surrounded by his teammates, his goal helped the team lock in the victory. Now everyone doesn't have to worry anymore. A two-goal lead allows them to play calmly until the end of the game.

The mixed echo of cheers and boos rang out again in the stands.

If you listen carefully, you seem to be able to feel that the cheers are a little louder.

In fact, starting from the game against Roma, the cheers dedicated to Chen Hero have gradually increased in every game. Those who are stubbornly resisting are those organized fans, and many "unorganized and undisciplined" fans have begun to reflect on their previous blind obedience. They feel that their approach is too unfair to a player who is desperately helping the team score goals. Even if he had said very excessive things to Maradona, he had also explained that it was a distortion of the media. Is it necessary to target him alone and hate him for so long?

So in every game, more people join the team cheering for Chen Hero.

This is a split within the fans. Those more neutral fans use their cheers to confront the boos of the extreme fans.

The Napoli fan group, which had always been very united, actually split because of an individualistic and stubborn foreign aid. I'm afraid this is something that many people didn't expect at the beginning.

The city of Naples once wanted to melt that arrogant guy and completely bury him in the anger of the whole city.

But unexpectedly, Chen Hero is like a rock in a latrine, smelly and hard. Not only has he not been digested, but he has become a rock placed in the hearts of all Neapolitans, causing the city of Naples to split.

It is not yet known whether this city can ultimately change Chen Hero, but Chen Hero is gradually changing this city.

※※※

In the end, Napoli gave AC Milan another 3:1 at their home stadium, which couldn't help but make people think of that game last season. Moreover, this game caused AC Milan's ranking to drop from fifth to sixth, further away from the Champions League qualification. Could it be that Napoli is really going to become AC Milan's nightmare?

They came to seek revenge confidently, but they didn't expect to have new hatred added.

The people of Napoli seemed very excited. They defeated the strong enemy AC Milan at home, won a valuable three points, and were one step closer to their European war goal.

Chen Hero was also happy, because he took two goals in the competition with Maldini, and he felt that it was a very memorable thing.

For this reason, after the game, he specially found Maldini and hoped to exchange jerseys with him.

Maldini, who lost the game, was in a bad mood, but in front of Chen Hero, he still maintained sufficient demeanor. After listening to Chen Hero's request, he very readily took off his jersey and handed it to Chen Hero.

After the two exchanged jerseys, they should have left like this. Maldini suddenly said: "Interested in playing for Milan, young man?"

Chen Hero was stunned for a moment.

Seeing the other party's confused expression, Maldini thought that the other party didn't understand, and asked again in English.

Chen Hero smiled: "Thank you for your kindness, but I won't leave here now."

Maldini felt strange. Wasn't his relationship with the fans very bad? The Italian media were speculating that Chen Hero might only stay in this team for one season before transferring to another team because of his relationship with the fans. No one can withstand such huge boos at home for several seasons.

"I thought your relationship with the home fans would make you…"

Chen Hero shook his head: "I haven't conquered here yet!"

He grinned, smiling very happily, like a child who had found a new toy.

After speaking, he raised the AC Milan number three jersey in his hand and said to Maldini: "Thank you for your jersey, Maldini. I will take good care of it!"

He turned and left.

Leaving Maldini looking at his back with a complicated look.

What he said just now brought a great shock to this old general who was about to retire.

In his more than twenty years of his career, he has cooperated with countless players and has also played against countless players. It can be said that he has seen almost thousands of players of all kinds.

But in his impression, he doesn't seem to be able to find someone as arrogant as him… No, wait, maybe there is one?

In Maldini's eyes, Chen Hero's back seemed to overlap with another back wearing a blue Napoli jersey. That back was very short, and a conspicuous "10" was printed on the back.