Chapter 15 A Goal in Fifteen Minutes

In the end, Chen Hero only scored one goal in the game. One goal in fifteen minutes was already quite good, but Chen Hero was still not very satisfied. Because he had only scored one goal in each of the last two games—look at that, look at that, how annoying is that mentality? If other forwards could score a goal in each of two consecutive games, it would already be considered an excellent form, but for him, it couldn't satisfy him.

It seemed he was so used to scoring twice that he wasn't used to scoring only once.

This is truly—it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality…

However, thanks to his goal, the team did achieve a very good result—they defeated Vladivostok Luch-Energiya 1-0 away from home, successfully taking away three points that were not originally planned.

Chen Hero left Vladivostok with regret, following the team to Moscow, where he would meet up with his teammates who stayed in St. Petersburg, and then fly to Manchester together.

The team held their training sessions in Manchester before the UEFA Cup final.

They had already arranged a training ground—they would borrow Manchester City's Carrington Training Centre for these few days.

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When they met up with their teammates in Moscow, everyone congratulated Chen Hero for scoring another goal, now eighteen goals in ten games.

Everyone knew that Chen Hero was going to secure the top scorer title in eleven league rounds, but they no longer found it incredible. From the moment Chen Hero started scoring goals like crazy, everyone understood that this kid was serious.

With his goal-scoring ability, it wasn't impossible for him to do it…

In Moscow, Chen Hero met Kerzhakov.

Perhaps due to the effect of defeating Bayern Munich, Kerzhakov finally recovered from his injury before the final. He recovered a week earlier than the doctors expected. This surprised the doctors.

Only Kerzhakov knew why.

Chen Hero and his teammates worked so hard to send him to the final, how could he let their good intentions down? So he had to make it to the final!

With this belief, he successfully recovered ahead of schedule and made it to the final in Manchester.

Arshavin also returned, ending his automatic suspension and being able to participate in the final.

It can be said that Zenit St. Petersburg now had a strong team, high morale, and were determined to win the final.

In fact, after defeating Bayern Munich, they had become the number one favorite to win the championship. Even Glasgow Rangers, who had the "benefit of half a home game," were not as popular as Zenit.

Everyone felt that with Zenit St. Petersburg's current state and morale, defeating Glasgow Rangers and lifting the UEFA Cup trophy would not be difficult.

And the Russian domestic wild teams were very much looking forward to this game. Although there had been a dispute between Moscow and St. Petersburg before, they were united at this time. Because Zenit St. Petersburg represented the honor of Russian football when they went out, and if they could win the UEFA Cup, it would be like a shot in the arm, which could greatly boost domestic football in Russia. Especially when the European Cup was about to begin, the outstanding performance in the UEFA Cup would also have a positive impact on the Russian national team.

After all, there were many national team players in this Zenit team. Such as Kerzhakov, Arshavin, Malafeev and others.

When they took a plane from Moscow to Manchester, the Russian media gathered at Moscow Domodedovo Airport, sending off Zenit and wishing them to bring back another European championship for Russian football.

This time, even those media who had previously reported that Chen Hero had taken banned drugs came to bless Chen Hero to score more goals.

But Chen Hero didn't have a good face for them. Wearing sunglasses and listening to music, he ignored the media and acted cool in front of the Moscow media. Only in front of the St. Petersburg media and the Chinese media would he smile and accept interviews.

"Are you confident in winning the championship?" a Chinese reporter asked.

Chen Hero joked: "Your question is really nonsense. We're not here to play. If we don't win the championship, I'll swim back to St. Petersburg from the sea!"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Although it was just a joke, it also showed that Chen Hero was now full of confidence—but then again, when have you ever seen him lack confidence? He only seems to have an overabundance of confidence, and never seems to lose it…

The young man, not yet twenty years old, has seemed to have a smooth sailing since entering the professional football field. It is normal for him to be full of confidence. If he still doesn't have confidence, it would be abnormal, which can only show that Chen Hero is a good-for-nothing—if you don't have confidence in a favorable situation, when will you have confidence?

Everyone has discussed Chen Hero's personality many times, and it is still a classic topic of debate. There are many people who like him, and there are also quite a few who hate him.

But these can't change his personality. He is still the same as before. Those who hate him have to contact him and pay attention to him. I'm really worried that these people will become psychologically distorted and perverted in the long run…

"Let's talk about the domestic league. You have scored eighteen goals now, eighteen goals in ten games. This goal efficiency is quite high, but we all know that you scored twenty-seven goals last season to win the top scorer. And your opponent Pavlyuchenko also scored more than twenty goals. So for you this season, there is only one game left. Twenty-seven goals are obviously unlikely. How many goals do you think you need to score to win the top scorer?" A reporter from Zenit St. Petersburg became concerned about Chen Hero's goals.

Chen Hero tilted his head and thought: "At least score... two more, right? Twenty goals, I think it should be enough, right?"

Now he ranks first in the league's top scorer list, with eighteen goals. Pavlyuchenko, who ranks second, has only scored eight goals, a full ten goals behind him. The third-ranked CSKA Moscow forward Love, scored seven goals. They are too far away from Chen Hero. Is a ten-goal lead not enough to ensure him the league title?

In fact, it was Chen Hero's arrival in the Russian Super League that set off a bloody storm for the competition for the top scorer.

Originally, everyone was very harmonious before. Scoring fourteen to eighteen goals in a season was enough for a forward to win the top scorer.

Who would have thought that since Chen Hero came, he directly raised the threshold for the top scorer to more than twenty goals, making everyone now feel that if they score less than twenty goals, they may not be able to win the top scorer!

So as long as there is a chance, they desperately pursue goals…

Now Chen Hero himself has also "tasted the bitter fruit." He has scored eighteen goals now. If it was in the previous two years, this number of goals would definitely win the top scorer, but now, no one knows…

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Flying from Moscow to Manchester, this was Chen Hero's second time on British soil. Last time he went to Liverpool, this time he came to Manchester. The three major football towns in England have been trod by him twice.

Last time he made the Liverpool media exclaim "The Bear is coming," what kind of memory will he leave for the city of Manchester this time?

Just like getting on the plane, from the moment he got off the plane, Chen Hero was "besieged" by many media. When he came to England last time, he was just an unknown person, but now he has become a rapidly rising star in European football.

Everyone is paying attention to this big man who is not yet twenty years old.

The hat-trick against Bayern Munich made him famous in one battle. Originally, many clubs were planning to introduce him, but he had already negotiated a contract with Napoli in advance and was already a Napoli player. However, some clubs still did not give up on this. They are continuing to observe Chen Hero, waiting for the right time to strike.

This UEFA Cup final is obviously an excellent opportunity to observe Chen Hero up close.

Chen Hero has become the focus of media reports, not only because he staged a hat-trick in the game against Bayern Munich, completely destroying the Bundesliga giants, but also because he is now very likely to create a new record—he has scored eleven goals in this UEFA Cup, the first goal was scored in the group stage against Larissa, and then he scored a goal in the game against Everton. One-sixteenth of the final, he scored a goal against Villarreal at home. In the second leg of the Round of 16, he scored a valuable away goal for Zenit. After returning to the home court, he scored twice again, helping the team squeeze out Marseille with the advantage of away goals in the same total score. In the quarter-finals against Fiorentina, he scored a goal away from home. Then in the two semi-finals against Bayern Munich at home and away, he scored a total of four goals, including a hat-trick when he returned to the home court. Up to now, he has scored a total of eleven goals.

He has already equaled the UEFA Cup record previously set by English legendary center forward Shearer—the record for the most goals scored in a single season by the top scorer since the UEFA Cup was reformed, which is eleven goals.

If he can still score in the final, he will leave the legendary figure Shearer behind, stand alone at the top, and create a brand new record for future generations to worship.

Moreover, this may be a record that no one has ever achieved before or since in the UEFA Cup. Because after the 2008-2009 season, the UEFA Cup will withdraw from the stage of history, and will be replaced by UEFA's newly launched "Europa League".

In other words, Chen Hero is very likely to become the top scorer in the history of the UEFA Cup, and no one can surpass his record—because the UEFA Cup is gone, where can future generations surpass it?

Creating history and creating new records, the media are paying attention to whether this is possible.

Can Chen Hero score in the final? Judging from his current state, it seems that there is no suspense.

But the finals of major cup competitions should be listed separately. There are many stars who performed well in previous games and scored goals like cutting melons and vegetables, but in the finals, they performed mediocrely and empty-handed. This is related to their own state, and it is also related to the team's tactics.

When it comes to the finals, the head coach will always be habitually conservative. At this time, defense is the first priority, and offense is not important. If you want to win the championship, you should first ensure that your team does not lose the game. Under this guidance, forwards are naturally not valued.

So the role of many forwards in the finals is more like containment, rather than scoring goals.

They don't know if Advocaat will arrange it this way…