Chapter 45 After the Hat-trick

After Chen Hero completed his hat-trick, the game had completely lost all suspense. No one harbored any illusions about Bayern Munich anymore. They absolutely couldn't turn the tables under such circumstances.

Even the referee thought so, so he didn't even add the minimum three minutes of injury time, blowing the final whistle right as the ninetieth minute arrived.

"The game is over! St. Petersburg Zenit thrashed Bayern Munich 4-0 at home! They advance to the finals with their heads held high!"

"Manchester, here we come!!" Hilgayevski roared excitedly. "Cheer to your heart's content! This is a night for Russian football, a night for St. Petersburg football!"

"This is the most memorable moment in the history of St. Petersburg Zenit Club—their first time reaching the finals of a European competition!"

Zenit's home stadium, Petrovsky Stadium, became an ocean of joy at this moment.

Everyone jumped up from their seats, raising their arms and shouting. Many were even moved to tears, hugging whoever was next to them without caring who they were. Some passionately embraced the women beside them and kissed them, only to be shocked afterward. But the women weren't shy and quickly returned an even more passionate kiss.

Who knows how many couples will be born on this joyous night, and how many hotel rooms will be fully booked…

Zenit's fans were celebrating wildly in the stands, and Zenit's players were celebrating wildly on the field.

Chen Hero took off his jersey and hugged his teammates to celebrate the team's victory and advancement to the finals.

The camera lens followed him closely, no matter where he went or what he did. Being able to enjoy such treatment showed that he was the best player in this game.

In fact, Chen Hero had gotten so many Man of the Match awards that he was tired of them. In this season's Russian league, he was the Man of the Match in every league game, and he firmly occupied a spot in the forward line of the Team of the Week in every round.

In this game, he scored a hat-trick, not only completing a hat-trick against Kahn, but also helping the team completely crush Bayern Munich, thus advancing to the finals. It could even be said that it was his goal in the fourth minute that opened the door to victory for the team.

If they hadn't scored so quickly, Bayern Munich wouldn't have collapsed so easily. With their strength, once they gained control of the game, Zenit would have had little chance even at home.

And Chen Hero's goal told all Zenit players—Bayern Munich wasn't scary, they could also panic, and they could also perform very amateurishly.

Everyone's hearts were at ease.

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While the St. Petersburg Zenit players were wildly celebrating their victory, the Bayern Munich players had already left the field with their heads down and returned to the locker room. This night was an unforgettable and shameful night for them.

When they confidently set foot on the land of St. Petersburg, they never thought that they would leave as losers.

This is truly a difficult land to conquer… The French came, and they returned in defeat. Now the Germans have also come, and they have suffered the same crushing defeat.

It wasn't just Hilgayevski, a local St. Petersburg commentator, who was excited about St. Petersburg's advancement to the finals, but also Yuri Petrov, a commentator for Russian National Television.

However, his focus was slightly different from Hilgayevski's.

While everyone was cheering for St. Petersburg Zenit, he set his sights on the defeated Bayern Munich players.

"The Germans have failed again, and they have left with their tails between their legs! Great St. Petersburg! Great Leningrad!"

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, few people mentioned this name anymore. But today, when Yuri Petrov shouted this name again, it brought tears to the eyes of many old St. Petersburg residents, even old Russians. Because that name represented the most difficult, darkest, and most tragic, but also the most glorious, most unyielding, and greatest period in the three-hundred-year history of St. Petersburg.

During the Soviet era, the city of St. Petersburg was renamed "Leningrad" as a tribute to the cradle of the October Revolution.

During World War II, the city endured eight hundred and eighty-two days of German siege. When Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, he vowed to "erase the city of Petersburg from the map."

The result? The Battle of Leningrad, which was originally scheduled to end on September 1, 1941, lasted until the end of January 1944. Leningrad paid the price of more than one and a half million deaths, three thousand two hundred buildings destroyed, the city unrecognizable, and the streets turned into rubble, not only defending its city, but also holding down the main force of the German Northern Army Group, creating conditions for victories on other battlefields, and finally successfully launching a counterattack, driving the German army back two hundred kilometers. Thus, they won the victory of the Battle of Leningrad.

Hitler didn't erase this heroic city from the map; instead, he brought about his own destruction. From this battle, his Third Reich began to gradually move toward its demise.

"It's not that St. Petersburg fears defeat, but that defeat fears St. Petersburg!!" Petrov modified the famous saying of Soviet Marshal Zhukov, and it was surprisingly appropriate.

During the Battle of Leningrad, Zhukov replaced Marshal Voroshilov, who was ineffective in command, as the commander-in-chief of the Battle of Leningrad. His slogan was "It's not that Leningrad fears death, but that death fears Leningrad." This sentence inspired countless soldiers and workers in Leningrad during the defense of the city and became their creed in fighting against the Germans, hunger, and cold.

Now, Petrov's slight modification of this sentence appropriately illustrated the tenacity and bravery of St. Petersburg Zenit.

"From now on… let us counterattack all the way to—Manchester!!"

"U—ra—!"

"U—ra—!!"

The St. Petersburg Zenit fans on the scene happened to erupt in huge cheers at this moment, as if responding enthusiastically to Petrov's call.

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The next day on the streets of St. Petersburg, any newspapers related to the game yesterday were snapped up as soon as they came out. Everyone scrambled to read these newspapers, reliving that exciting night.

Stimulated by the victory, the St. Petersburg media gave full play to their creativity and literary talent.

The newspaper that had previously published "This is the Second Battle of Leningrad," calling on everyone to focus on the game itself, finally had its moment. The previous reports had been ignored, but now it was different. The newspapers were snapped up as soon as they were placed on newsstands and book stalls.

The newspaper specially produced a visually impactful and imaginative front page in the style of the former Soviet Union.

They drew a propaganda poster in the style of the former Soviet Union, showing St. Petersburg Zenit players flexing their muscles and clenching their fists, waving them towards the sky. The most eye-catching figure in the center was, of course, the number one contributor to the hat-trick, Chen Hero. Their eyes were wide with anger, their expressions resolute, and they were full of power, just like the righteous figures of the past. Behind them was the red flag fluttering in the wind. Chinese people wouldn't find this front page unfamiliar either, because China's early propaganda posters were also like this, with the elder brother and younger brother of socialism sharing the same style…

Below the propaganda poster was an eye-catching headline:

Warmly celebrate the victory of the Second Battle of Leningrad!

Subtitle:

Long live the invincible St. Petersburg Zenit! Long live! Long, long live!

All the media were enthusiastically praising this great victory.

"Although we have become accustomed to Zenit creating miracles, I still didn't expect that they could actually crush Bayern Munich 4-0 at home! Such a great achievement can be completely compared to the Battle of Leningrad back then!"

"Russian football has truly risen! In 2005, Moscow CSKA from the capital brought back the UEFA Cup. Can Zenit do it this time?"

"At this moment, please put aside the disputes between Moscow and St. Petersburg and cheer together for this great victory! St. Petersburg Zenit has done something that many top clubs can't do—defeat Bayern Munich 4-0!"

Everyone was talking about topics related to the game. They were excitedly chatting about Chen Hero's hat-trick and his "**". The sentence that Chen Hero said in an interview after the game was also regarded as a classic by them and was repeatedly quoted—

"See, I told you I was right? I feel sorry for Bayern Munich. Unfortunately, they met us in the semi-finals…"

In Munich, Germany, there was wailing.

Many German media used words like "shame" and "disgrace" to describe Bayern Munich's crushing defeat.

"…The idea of losing 0-4 to St. Petersburg Zenit was something I would never have believed would happen before the game. But the cruel reality slapped me in the face!"

"Bayern Munich's dream of winning the treble this season has been shattered. Everyone thought it would be easy for them to win the UEFA Cup. Who would have thought… Now it seems that perhaps this mentality has harmed them…"

"For Kahn, there is no more painful way to say goodbye to European competitions… In the second half of the game, the 'Lion King' didn't even roar at his defense once. I think he may have lost confidence in this game?"

"…Hopefully this game will allow Klinsmann to take a good look at what the team he is about to take over is like! Even if such a team wins the league title in advance, it cannot cover up their incompetence last night!"

Even Bayern Munich's coach, Hitzfeld, admitted that it was a shameful defeat.

"…We conceded a goal at the beginning of the game, which put us in a very disadvantageous position… But that's not an excuse. Our players didn't have the confidence and fighting spirit to win this game. That's the key! Bayern Munich can't not lose, but they must never lose in this way! This is a disgrace!"

The old coach seemed very agitated in the post-match interview.

He had originally thought of leading the team to win the treble, so that even if he left, he would leave Bayern Munich with a wealth of assets and create a glorious season. When he coached Bayern Munich in the past, he also created the great achievement of winning the treble. At that time, Bayern Munich won the European Champions Cup.

Who would have thought that he would be defeated in the semi-finals? What made him feel even more ashamed than losing the semi-final was that his team had been scored four goals by the opponent!

He would probably remember this game for many years to come, remember the number 99 hero who scored a hat-trick in the game and made the "Lion King" Kahn pick up the ball three times from the net.

This game will become an unforgettable part of many people's memories, but some people will enjoy talking about it, while others will not want to mention it again, as the past is too painful to recall…

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ps, the first update of the day, please give me some recommendation votes~