Chapter 1 Napoli Secures a Draw at Anfield

Securing a draw against Liverpool at their home ground and earning their first Champions League point was a good outcome for Napoli. The local Neapolitan media heavily covered the match, and Chen Hero, who scored the equalizing goal, once again became the headline focus.

Photos of him displaying his back tattoo and muscles at Anfield Stadium made the front pages of numerous Italian and Chinese media outlets.

《Chinese Hero Displays Might at Anfield!》

《Maradona's Spirit Descends! Chen Hero Leads Team to Precious Point!》

The Chinese media coverage was, of course, excessively flattering.

The Italian media also echoed the praise.

"...Chen Hero's performance was outstanding. He delivered a brilliant second half at Anfield. The only regret is that he couldn't seize more opportunities to extend the lead..."

"Twenty-one-year-old Chen Hero possesses an enviable physique. When he withstood Skrtel's challenge in the penalty area and sent the ball into Reina's goal, he seemed almost superhuman!"

"In the contest against his former teammate Skrtel, Chen Hero had the last laugh..."

Chen Hero deserved all the praise for helping the team secure a point away from home.

The Italian media had grown accustomed to showering him with accolades.

No one called him an unknown soldier anymore.

※※※

But Napoli, after all, was a Champions League newcomer. They lacked experience in competing on two fronts. After a brilliant forty-five minutes away from home, drawing with Liverpool, they were held to a draw at home by Udinese in the league.

Chen Hero didn't start this match; he only came on as a substitute for Zalayeta in the last fifteen minutes and failed to score.

The whole team looked tired, and he couldn't make much of an impact on his own.

Competing on two fronts was more than just about travel fatigue.

"Clearly, Napoli isn't used to battling on two fronts yet, especially simultaneously playing Champions League matches and domestic league games. They're still struggling to cope."

"Mazzarri admitted after the match that the players' performance wasn't good and was related to playing a Champions League away game in midweek... This may be the difference between Napoli and the big clubs. The big clubs have very deep benches and strong squads. They can easily rotate players and have enough experience to handle such situations without their performance varying too much..."

"Mazzarri has been rotating players, and he rotated half the starting lineup in this match. But the gap between the substitutes and the starters is still significant... Moreover, is rotation necessary enough for a team like Napoli? The difference in strength between the starting lineup and the substitutes is too large. Frequent rotation naturally means that the team can never have a mature and stable lineup and tactics. Eleven players perform well in one match, and then they're broken up in the next match. How can the team develop cohesion? Napoli's defense has serious problems right now, conceding goals in almost every match, which is related to Mazzarri's arrangements. Rotation is necessary for those big clubs, but for Napoli, a team with only one solid lineup, it's really just a waste..."

That's how the media is. The same result, a draw, but drawing with Liverpool away from home, the media praised Mazzarri and his players to the skies.

But being held to a draw by Udinese at home brought criticism.

Mazzarri felt the pressure.

He took over midway through last season when Napoli was in a state of disrepair, but no one paid much attention to Napoli, so their rise was relatively easy.

This season, Napoli was fourth in the league last season, had last season's top scorer, and made it to the Champions League group stage. Naturally, they became a target for many. There were countless people studying Napoli, and it would probably be difficult to achieve good results with just a surge of momentum.

And... the media was right. A team like Napoli didn't seem to have the qualifications to rotate players...

He had initially implemented rotation in the hope of allowing players to rest in turn while still preserving both fronts.

Now it seemed that he was just being wishful...

Napoli had no experience or habit of rotating players. Previously, Napoli only needed to focus on domestic matches. They were eliminated early in the UEFA Cup last season, so his rash implementation of rotation left the players unsure of what to do.

His starting lineup had just found a rhythm of playing together, and a rotation broke them up... That was indeed not good. Continuing like this meant that the substitutes couldn't find their rhythm, and the starters lost their form.

But if he didn't rotate, relying on just one lineup, how long could he last? What if he experienced a major collapse in the second half of the season?

It seemed that he had to make a decision... Should he focus on the Champions League? Or preserve the league?

In the first Champions League match, he discovered Napoli's mental potential. As a result, the team played very well, drawing with Liverpool at Anfield. It seemed that the team had potential in the Champions League. Mazzarri really wanted to lead Napoli to a breakthrough in the Champions League and make history.

But if it dragged down the league as a result, that wouldn't be good either, since the league was the foundation...

※※※

On September 23rd, Napoli would play Inter Milan away from home. This was the fifth round of the league. Then, on September 25th, Napoli would play Siena at home. This was the sixth round of the league. Then, on September 29th, Napoli would return home to face Lyon. This was the second match of the Champions League group stage.

Three matches in six days, an average of one match every two days, such intensity gave Mazzarri a headache.

The team definitely couldn't perform at their best in all three matches, and their stamina would be affected.

At this point, he had to make a choice. Should he give up the league to protect the Champions League? Or give up the Champions League to fight for the league?

Mazzarri studied the league schedule and the team's current ranking. The league had only started four rounds ago, and the team was in sixth place with two wins, one draw, and one loss, with seven points, in the upper-middle range.

The team's current situation was still good, after all, the gap from the top four in the league wasn't large.

The league had thirty-eight rounds, but what about the Champions League group stage? Only six matches.

Clearly, the margin for error in the Champions League group stage was much smaller than in the league. If you lost one match, you might lose a season's worth of Champions League matches. But even if you lost two consecutive matches in the league, it didn't necessarily mean that your team would end the season empty-handed.

With this analysis, the choice was actually easy to make.

Temporarily give up the league, but not permanently. At least temporarily give up the domestic league when there were Champions League matches. After the Champions League matches were over, then shift the focus back to the domestic league.

So, should he include the match against Inter Milan on the list of matches to give up?

Logically speaking, there were still six days between this match and the Champions League group stage match, so there was no need for a major rotation.

But after all, it was an away challenge against Inter Milan. The two teams had been in a constant war of words since last season, and the animosity was constantly escalating.

This away trip was definitely not a relaxed and romantic "Milan holiday."

Mazzarri was worried that the team would suffer a loss away from home—not afraid of losing the match, but afraid of key players getting injured. Because he could imagine that the match against Inter Milan would definitely be very intense.

With Mourinho's personality, his team's style would definitely be very tough. And Napoli wasn't weak either. When two strong teams clashed, someone was bound to get hurt...

Mazzarri hesitated.

※※※

Chen Hero didn't know that the head coach was going through such struggles before the match against Inter Milan. During this time, he had also become a popular figure in the media, and many reporters came to interview him.

Because the match between Napoli and Inter Milan was about to begin.

Last season's clash between Napoli and Inter Milan had attracted a lot of attention.

The war of words between the two sides before and after the match was as exciting as the match itself, making people cheer with satisfaction.

This encounter would naturally not be quiet either.

What's more, after the match last season, Chen Hero had made an agreement with Mourinho.

To "double kill" the defending league champion!

These words were terrifyingly arrogant.

At the time, many people felt that this was purely a momentary impulse, especially after seeing how Mourinho's team was performing in the new season. Many people simply didn't believe that Chen Hero could fulfill this agreement.

From defeating Bari 1:0 in the first round of the league to defeating Cagliari 2:1 away from home in the fourth round, Inter Milan maintained a perfect record in the domestic league, ranking first. In the Champions League group stage, they secured a draw against the powerful defending champion Barcelona at home, 0:0, not letting the invincible Barcelona score a single goal. This result was also commendable.

To double kill such a strong team? And at their home ground? Wasn't Chen Hero joking?

If you insisted on doing so, you would be out of your mind...

"No, I'm not joking. I'm still seriously considering this matter," Chen Hero said in an interview with reporters.

Someone sighed - okay, he's really lost his mind...

"I know Inter Milan is very strong, and their current form this season is also good, but why can't we win?" Chen Hero asked the reporter, leaving a group of reporters speechless.

Yeah, why did we have to say so confidently that they couldn't win?

"Inter Milan is strong..." A reporter tried to refute.

"We also beat the strong Inter Milan last season."

"This time they're at home... That's right, at home!" Someone in the reporters suddenly found confidence. "Since coaching Porto, he hasn't lost a league match at home! Home is a must-win for Mourinho's team!"

Chen Hero was a little surprised - this Mourinho was so awesome that he had never lost a match at home?

Seeing the surprised look on Chen Hero's face, the reporter was even happier. He said loudly: "From February 2002 to now, seven and a half years, one hundred and nineteen home matches unbeaten!"

The way he looked so proud, as if the person who created this great achievement wasn't José Mourinho, but himself...

Chen Hero found it funny to see that person so happy - this awesome person isn't you!

"Oh, that's amazing." Chen Hero applauded. A group of reporters looked at each other, not knowing what this meant. The only applause on the scene came from Chen Hero, which sounded less like congratulations and more like... sarcasm.

"But isn't a record created to be broken from the day it's born?"

After throwing down these words, Chen Hero turned around and walked away very chicly.

Leaving behind a group of reporters, looking at me, I look at him, and finally everyone looked at Chen Hero's back, not knowing what to say.