Chapter 1 Quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup

The UEFA Cup quarterfinal match between Zenit and Fiorentina was really without suspense. Fiorentina went all out, but unfortunately, they were too far behind at home, a full two goals, three away goals...

Although they took the lead in the seventeenth minute, with Montolivo scoring a goal through a direct free kick, bringing the aggregate score to 2:3.

But Zenit quickly equalized the score with their powerful attack. The scorer was not Chen Hero, but Arshavin.

Arshavin made a beautiful high-speed sprint on the wing, leaving all his opponents behind, and then scored with a low shot from a small angle.

The aggregate score became 4:2, and even though there were still sixty minutes left in the game, Fiorentina fans could feel that their hopes of advancing were drifting away.

The only regret was that Kerzhakov was injured in this game. He collided with Gamberini in a scramble, and the two were taken off the field at the same time. However, Gamberini walked off with the support of the team doctor, while Kerzhakov was carried off on a stretcher...

This was Zenit's only loss in this game.

For Advocaat, such a loss was acceptable. Although Kerzhakov was later examined and found to have a soft tissue contusion in his knee, requiring at least a month of rest...

But Kerzhakov was originally in the team to play a supporting role, and they didn't rely on him to score goals. Chen Hero was the spearhead of this team. If Chen Hero had to rest for at least a month, Advocaat would probably have burst into swearing on the spot.

Kerzhakov was injured, and at most he would just change the tactics. It wasn't like they hadn't played that way before. In the game against Everton, Lombaerts was sent off, Kerzhakov was replaced, and Zenit played with a single forward formation.

The single forward tactic is actually very easy to play. Chen Hero is alone at the front, and behind him are arranged three attacking midfielders who can break through, pass, and organize attacks, and also have scoring ability. And Zenit happens to have such attacking midfielders.

Arshavin can break through and shoot, Dominguez can dribble, pass, and shoot, and although Radko Šírl cannot break through or shoot, he can cross. For Zenit, who has a center forward like Chen Hero, good crossing players are very important.

For Advocaat, Kerzhakov's injury was not a big deal at all. Of course, on the surface, he still had to express regret and惋惜 (wanxi - pity).

For Kerzhakov, this was a heavy blow...

The doctor told him to rest for at least a month, which also meant that he would not be able to participate in the two legs of the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

Bayern Munich had already defeated Getafe in extra time and secured a place in the semi-finals. Zenit was going to encounter the strongest team in this UEFA Cup in the semi-finals. Kerzhakov even pessimistically believed that his UEFA Cup career this season was over.

Then he received a call from Chen Hero.

※※※

Kerzhakov had already received treatment, and he was bored at home watching TV, not knowing what to do. The doctor asked him to minimize his time on the ground, and even if he had to walk, it was best to use a crutch to avoid stress on his knee, which could aggravate the injury. In short, it was to rest, sit when you can lie down, and lie down when you can sit.

So he was now lying on the sofa, killing time by watching TV. At this time, the sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the sky was as blue as if it had been washed. If he wasn't injured, it would be almost the end of the team's morning training session. He should be training with his teammates on the training ground, and after the training, he would joke with Hero, Shava, Igor, and the others in the locker room, talking about which little chicks were hot...

Now he could only stay at home alone, unable to go anywhere. And the programs on TV were so boring—he hadn't watched TV in the morning for a long time, and he didn't expect the TV station's programs to be so boring.

Just as he was randomly pressing the TV remote control, aimlessly changing channels, the mobile phone he had placed beside him suddenly rang.

Hearing the phone ring, Kerzhakov seemed to have been injected with a stimulant, and he immediately sat up from the sofa, where he had been lazily curled up.

It was Chen Hero calling.

"Did you finish training?" he asked, quite surprised.

"Just got back to the locker room. I heard them talking about your injury. When will you be healed?" Chen Hero asked Kerzhakov directly.

"The doctor said at least a month..." Kerzhakov's frustrated voice was transmitted to Chen Hero via satellite signal.

"Ah, damn it!" Chen Hero reacted the same way as Kerzhakov when he heard the news.

This made Kerzhakov even more frustrated—even someone as carefree as Chen Hero thought this was a big deal, so it really must be a big deal!

"So you won't be able to play in the semi-finals?"

"Yeah..."

The two semi-final matches were scheduled for April 24th and May 1st. Resting for at least a month meant that Kerzhakov would have no chance to return until at least May 12th or 13th. Wouldn't that mean missing all two semi-final matches?

There was silence on the other end for a while, and then Chen Hero's voice sounded again: "It's okay, take good care of your injury, Aleksandr. Wait for the finals!"

The UEFA Cup final this season was on May 14th. If all went well, Kerzhakov would have a chance to make it to that game.

"Ah?" Kerzhakov didn't react. What? Wait to play in the finals? "Hey, Hero, there are two semi-final matches before the finals..."

"I know, after playing the two semi-final matches, it's the finals. You injured your knee, not your head, why are you so confused?"

Kerzhakov rolled his eyes when he heard Chen Hero say that: "You're the one who's confused! Our opponent in the semi-finals is Bayern Munich! You know that."

Chen Hero's unique laughter rang out on the other end of the phone. It wasn't quite "hearty," and it wasn't quite "obscene"... In short, it was a laughter that belonged entirely to Chen Hero, like his business card and logo. As long as you heard this voice, you knew that Chen Hero was not far away.

"Hahaha! I know, I'm telling you I'm happy about it!"

"You're crazy, you're still happy?" Kerzhakov rolled his eyes even more.

"Why not be happy? Think about it, there are so many teams participating in the UEFA Cup, but this one is the strongest, and we just happen to meet them. Don't you think that's good luck? Can I not be happy? I've been waiting for a long time, and finally I have the chance to meet them! They are the only team with Champions League level strength! I want to compete with this team and see what's so great about a team that can win the Champions League!"

"Facing such an opponent, it won't be easy to get to the finals..."

"Afraid of them? What a joke!" Chen Hero habitually cursed again. For him and those who knew him well, the swear words in Chen Hero's mouth were not insults, but pure verbal tics. When he said these swear words, he might not be cursing, he might just be trying to emphasize his tone...

"Anyway, you're someone who's resting at home, so don't worry about those things, just take good care of your injury and wait to play in the finals!"

Chen Hero said a few words of comfort to him and hung up the phone.

Kerzhakov held the phone in a daze.

He remembered something.

The last game of the UEFA Cup group stage, the game against Everton. Zenit was behind by one goal and also had one less player. He was substituted off, and before he left the field, Chen Hero also ran over to comfort him, who was in a bad mood because he was being substituted early.

He still remembered what this kid said.

"Don't worry, Aleksandr, go ahead and relax! I'll score a goal and celebrate with you first, wait on the sidelines!"

This didn't sound like comforting someone at all, but rather like making some kind of declaration. Full of confidence, even a bit... arrogant.

But then, he really scored!

Then he rushed over to hug and celebrate with him!

Some people are just so strange, you don't know why they have such strong confidence, even if they don't actually have the corresponding strength... This seems to be an innate ability. For example, he himself didn't have it.

Kerzhakov put the phone aside.

Okay, I'll wait to watch the show on TV, Hero!

※※※

For the entire Zenit team, Kerzhakov's injury was really not a big deal. Maybe Tekke should be happy? Because Kerzhakov's injury meant that he would have the opportunity to get more playing time. But, no way!

He soon discovered that Advocaat had already started practicing the 4231 formation in training...

Before the season, he clamored to leave, and it was Advocaat who persuaded him to stay, promising to give him more playing opportunities. So he stayed. Who would have thought that after the new season started, the Dutch coach would forget all about it! His situation hadn't changed at all.

Now the media was reporting that Zenit was trying to sell Chen Hero, who was unwilling to renew his contract with the club. He could only sneer at this kind of news—let you focus on cultivating him! In the end, the focus of cultivation was given to someone else, right?

Whether Kerzhakov left, stayed, was injured, or wasn't injured, made no difference to Tekke. On the other hand, if Chen Hero really left the team in the summer, it would be a major benefit to him!

This time he could really get more playing time!

However, the Turk obviously didn't know that in order to prevent Chen Hero from leaving the team and causing the team to be "powerless in attack," Advocaat had already set his sights on Pavel Pogrebnyak, the main striker of Tom Tomsk... With a height of one meter eighty-eight and a weight of ninety-one kilograms, excellent heading skills, excellent shooting skills, and more excellent footwork than Chen Hero, the Russian was obviously the best candidate to replace Chen Hero.

※※※

Time passed day by day. Both Zenit's president, Sasanija, and head coach Advocaat, had gradually prepared for Chen Hero's departure—he had rejected other clubs whose offers were not as high as Napoli's, which was completely about money. They didn't care whether the player himself wanted to go or not. Anyway, the club gave you this one choice, you could sign it or not. If you really wanted to leave Zenit, you had to sign it. Sasanija looked at the problem from the club's point of view. Of course, he wanted to make the club earn more money.

After Sasanija contacted Napoli several times, the other party was willing to give at most 13 million euros more. This price was still the highest among all the clubs interested in Chen Hero. The only problem was that they were only willing to pay 40% of the transfer fee upfront, and the remaining 60% would be paid off in twelve months.

This was of course not acceptable. Selling someone had to be clean and tidy. What if Napoli didn't pay the money in the end?

Sasanija didn't accept this proposal. Napoli insisted on paying in installments. In the end, both sides compromised. Sasanija accepted the installment payment model proposed by Napoli, but he put forward additional conditions. This additional condition was suddenly thought of after seeing Chen Hero's scoring momentum was so strong.

That was, if Chen Hero won the Serie A Golden Boot during his contract with Napoli, Napoli would have to pay an additional two million euros.

Napoli considered this request for two days and then agreed.

So the two sides agreed that, including the additional clauses, Chen Hero's transfer fee was worth a total of 15 million euros, to be paid in twelve months. The first payment was 40% of the fixed transfer fee, which was 40% of 12 million—4.8 million euros.

The price at the club level was settled, and then it was none of Sasanija's business. It was Napoli's turn to discuss personal treatment and other issues with Chen Hero.

If this level was also negotiated, the two sides could issue an official statement to inform the media and the public that the transfer transaction was established. Then, on July 1st, Chen Hero would officially transfer and join the team.

But would Chen Hero accept the roadmap arranged for him by the club?