Chapter 127

When Sun Jihai saw Chen Hero kick the football directly into the stands, he became even more worried. He felt that Chen Hero was becoming restless, which would seriously affect his performance.

Could this be the end of the Chinese players' performance in the UEFA Cup final? Was it really impossible to move forward any further?

Thinking of this, Sun Jihai felt regretful.

Just then, Chen Hero scored in his favorite way...

"Goal, a goal?" The English commentator was a little incredulous at first, then, unwilling, he finally found a problem: "This ball... there's a suspected foul, right?"

"Foul your mother!" In desperation, Sun Jihai couldn't help but blurt out a curse. Regardless of whether Chen Hero's goal was a foul or not, at this time, of course, he had to stand firmly with his compatriot.

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The English commentator had a reason to say it was a foul, because they believed that Chen Hero committed a charging foul when he broke free from Weir's defense, and also a charging foul when he contested the header in the air. If it weren't for two consecutive charging fouls, how could he have gotten to that spot?

But judging from the referee's whistle and gestures, he did not agree with the English commentator's statement.

He pointed to the center circle—the goal was good!

Yuri Petrov didn't care whether the goal was a foul or not. He had already raised his arms high when the football flew into the goal, standing up from his seat.

"Goal—scored—!! Zenit leads Rangers 1:0! The deadlock was finally broken in the seventy-fourth minute! The goal scorer is... Chen Hero! He scored his twelfth goal in this UEFA Cup, surpassing the legendary English striker Alan Shearer! He single-handedly completed the exclusive single-season goal record since the UEFA Cup's reform!"

"He is now the real number one scorer in the UEFA Cup!!"

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Chen Hero, who scored the goal, didn't even look at the referee's gestures to confirm whether he had scored. He opened his arms and rushed to the warm-up area for both teams. While running, he pointed to Kerzhakov, signaling him to come and celebrate the goal together.

Immediately afterwards, he rushed up and gave Kerzhakov a warm hug, a bear hug, a real bear hug.

More teammates rushed up and surrounded them.

Together, they cheered and celebrated the goal.

"Leading!!"

Once they took the lead, the game became easier. In fact, everyone was not just cheering for the goal, but also happy that the next game would be easier.

Chen Hero has this ability. He is good at scoring the first goal in a deadlock, helping the team open up the situation. Any team always likes to be in the lead. After taking the lead, you will have more choices, you can choose to continue attacking, or you can defend and counterattack. You will also have a clear advantage in mentality. Therefore, the ability to break the deadlock and help the team take the lead is very powerful.

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Seeing that the referee ruled the goal valid, the English commentator had no choice but to admit that Chen Hero had surpassed Alan Shearer and created a new UEFA Cup record.

"Chen Hero scored his twelfth goal in the UEFA Cup this season. With this goal, he surpassed Alan Shearer and created the record for the most goals in a single season since the UEFA Cup was reformed..."

Sun Jihai waved his fist hard. To be able to make the proud English lower their heads, you are not simple, Hero!

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Sharapova stood up from her seat, raising her arms and cheering as much as she could.

She was not afraid of being photographed. So what if she was photographed? Did she have to hide when she came to watch her boyfriend's game?

Not a few people stood up with her. In the box and in the stands, those who supported Zenit were doing the same thing - standing up, raising their arms and cheering.

"Hero—!!" Someone took the lead.

Followed by three drawn-out "Uras," which is a traditional Russian characteristic.

"U—ra—!! U—ra—! U—ra—!!!"

Such shouts quickly spread to every corner of the stadium. For a time, you could only hear this one voice here. In addition to this, any sound that dared to emerge would be cruelly suppressed!

The Chinese reporters looked around and listened to the overwhelming sound, and many of them couldn't help but burst into tears.

A Chinese player scored in the UEFA Cup final, which was a joyous event. But the sense of pride that this goal brought to these Chinese reporters was not as great as hearing such cheers—listen to such cheers!

All of them felt their hairs stand on end and goosebumps all over their bodies.

A Chinese player can be so loved by the fans. This treatment was obtained on the premise that his previous transfer had caused many fans to protest and oppose.

They thought, even Sun Jihai, Yang Chen... those players who play abroad, probably rarely have such treatment, right?

Not knowing who took the lead, someone took the lead and shouted: "Long live Hero!"

Then more Chinese reporters joined the shouting team.

"Long live Hero!"

"Long live Hero!!"

"Hero—Long live—!!!"

The shouts of "Long live Hero" quickly swept through the entire City of Manchester Stadium. At this moment, the atmosphere was so warm that it could melt steel!

In such shouts, Chen Hero and his teammates ran back to the court. Listening to the cheers, he raised his arm, with a clenched fist at the top.

Then he lowered his fist and hammered it on the Saint Petersburg Zenit team emblem on his chest.

He was thanking the fans and the Saint Petersburg Zenit team in this way.

Leaving for a transfer is to pursue a bigger stage, but before I leave, I can still do my best to bring you joy and glory!

Thank you!

Saying goodbye with a championship is the best farewell gift!

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Seeing his action, many Zenit fans even cried.

How much they wished Chen Hero would not leave, and stay in Zenit to create glory. But they also knew rationally that compared with the European Big Five leagues, the remote and bitter Russian Super League was indeed not attractive.

Even Arshavin, a local star personally cultivated by Zenit, wanted to leave the team and play football in Europe, so what position and qualification do we have to accuse a foreigner who constantly scores goals for the team's victory and championship?

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When the game restarted, Zenit's victory seemed irreversible.

Glasgow Rangers originally thought that after seventy minutes, Zenit's physical fitness was just at a critical point, the offensive weakened, and it was a great opportunity for them to counterattack. Who would have thought that the other party would score a goal at this critical moment...

It was like a person shouting loudly, intending to make a move, but being stabbed by his opponent and losing his breath, all his previous efforts were wasted...

What to do after falling behind?

For a while, the Rangers players were a little confused. Continue to attack? But at this time, Zenit's morale is very strong, and the offensive is also very strong. What if they lose the ball? There is still hope for a one-goal deficit, but a two-goal deficit at this time would be completely hopeless!

Smith had recovered from the pain of the goal. He loudly reminded the team that they should first stabilize their defense and then look for opportunities to counterattack. At least survive Zenit's offensive for this period, right?

In this way, the game situation changed again. Rangers, who originally planned to break through Zenit's defense in one go, had no choice but to retreat and re-enter the defensive position. And Zenit, who previously looked shaky and precarious, suddenly rejuvenated, sweeping away the previous decline on the field, playing vigorously, and having the posture to celebrate another goal.

Kerzhakov was brought on after the goal. He replaced Dominguez and partnered with Chen Hero as a striker. Zenit's formation changed back to 442. Now the frontcourt has height and speed.

Zenit can safely play defensive counterattack.

Glasgow Rangers coach Smith replaced fullback Papac with Spanish forward Novo (Nacho_Novo), and then replaced defensive midfielder Hemdani with McColloch (Lee_mcCulloch). Rangers changed the formation to a more aggressive 433, which was a desperate attempt.

Just one goal behind can still give them hope.

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But in the eighty-third minute, their hope was shattered.

Kerzhakov received Arshavin's pass near the baseline and crossed it to the center. Chen Hero attracted a large number of Rangers defenders in the front, and they all went to defend this tall center forward. But they forgot to pay attention to the gap behind them.

As a result, Denisov, who was inserted from the back, easily swept the football into the goal.

Zenit extended the score to 2:0!

"2:0! Saint Petersburg Zenit locked the victory! Taking a two-goal lead in the eighty-third minute means that the result of Glasgow Rangers wanting to reverse the situation is very slim!"

"We can cheer for victory! Let's sing our song! Cheer for Saint Petersburg Zenit! Cheer for Russia!"

A joyful atmosphere suddenly filled the air.

When Denisov and his teammates embraced each other to celebrate the goal, the Zenit fans in the stands hugged the shoulders of their surrounding companions and shouted in unison: "We are called Zenit! We are called Zenit! We are called Zenit! Oooooo! We are called Zenit! Remember this name, we are called Zenit!!"

Saint Petersburg Zenit left its name forever in the history of the UEFA Cup, they proudly repeated their name.

After shouting slogans, many fans sang their fan song. This song will definitely make many people of Chen Hero's father's generation feel familiar, because this song is the popular "Katyusha" in China!

Even the lyrics were not changed, and it became the fan song of Zenit fans.

The familiar melody and singing stirred in the hearts of every Zenit player.

They are no strangers to this song. They have heard it countless times in past games. But at this moment, when this song was sung at the City of Manchester Stadium, the venue for the UEFA Cup final, it still made them so excited that they couldn't control themselves.

"Young soldiers stationed on the frontier, miss the distant girl in their hearts! Fight bravely to defend the motherland, Katyusha's love will always belong to him!! Hey! Fight bravely to defend the motherland, Katyusha's love will always belong to him!!"

When the referee blew the whistle to end the game, the excited players even sang along with those fans.

The entire stadium has become a choral meeting of former Soviet songs.

During the Cold War, Britain was worried about the Soviet invasion. Unexpectedly, decades after the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia invaded Britain in another form and flaunted its power on British soil!

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ps, I don't even ask for monthly tickets anymore, your monthly tickets are still so powerful, I'm under a lot of pressure...

There are only ten chapters left in the manuscript...

But thank you for your monthly tickets!