Chapter 31 We are the Champions!

"Hero! Almost simultaneously, just as Pavlyuchenko scored, he also scored! Did they agree on this? You score one, and I'll immediately return the favor! Chen Hero scored his twenty-fifth goal of the season, an incredible number! It represents a piece of history! The air raid siren is sounding again over Petrovsky Stadium; that Tu-95 heavy bomber is back! Zenit St. Petersburg has secured the victory and the league title with this goal..."

Rodionov took off his headphones.

There was no point in continuing to inquire about the match; although the second half had just begun, FC Moscow would definitely be unable to stop Zenit.

Because they could no longer stop that big guy...

Due to his arrogance, he had let him go, and now that person was personally snatching the championship that should have belonged to them.

What could he say?

After hearing the fans' boos, Cherchesov also realized what had happened. His originally upright spine suddenly bent, and he leaned weakly against the back of his chair as if all his energy had been drained.

For him, this season was over. Although there was one league match left, it was no longer of great significance.

His team had lost the league title.

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At Petrovsky Stadium, it had long since turned into a sea of ​​joy.

Although the match was still ongoing, all the Zenit St. Petersburg fans did not obediently stay in their seats but stood up, jumping, singing, and dancing.

They had waited twenty-three years for this moment!

League champions!

"Blue-White-Blue! Blue-White-Blue! Victory belongs to Blue-White-Blue! Glory belongs to Blue-White-Blue! The championship also belongs to Blue-White-Blue!"

The television broadcast gave close-ups of Chen Hero whenever possible, and Hilgayevski continued to introduce Chen Hero endlessly—although everyone was already familiar with him.

"...Chen Hero's goal just now was his twenty-fifth goal of the season! He has tied Oleg Veretennikov's single-season goal record! There is still one match and thirty minutes left in the season, so he still has the chance to create a new record!"

Oleg Veretennikov is the all-time top scorer in the Russian Premier League, not some nobody. Being able to be compared with this all-time top scorer, Chen Hero is also very remarkable.

"Keep in mind this is only his second season, and this season is his first full season... A nineteen-year-old striker, in the second season of his career, ties Veretennikov's record. What an incredible performance!"

"Now, thinking back to his debut for Zenit's first team... It seems that from that moment on, it was destined that this Zenit number 99 player was not an ordinary person..."

While Hilgayevski was constantly reminiscing about and praising Chen Hero, the match came to an end.

The Zenit St. Petersburg fans in the stands had already begun to set off fireworks.

The singing had not stopped since Chen Hero scored.

Hilgayevski also temporarily stopped praising Chen Hero and shifted his attention to the topic of the league title.

"This is Zenit St. Petersburg's first domestic top-league title in twenty-three years! It is also the second top-league championship trophy since Zenit St. Petersburg was founded! It's right before our eyes!"

"St. Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia, finally has the glory that matches its status once again!"

"The referee is looking at his watch, three minutes of stoppage time... If you ask me, this stoppage time is meaningless. FC Moscow simply has no desire to attack, and our players' minds are not on the match either. Why not just blow the whistle to end the match!"

Hilgayevski was right. It wasn't really "playing" anymore. Zenit was controlling the ball, but everyone wasn't running forward anymore; they were just passing the ball back and forth in the mid and backfield. Anyukov had raised his arms in celebration more than once.

And the FC Moscow players, seeing that Zenit was controlling the ball, didn't bother to try and take it back.

Both teams' players were basically just standing on the field; the referee really didn't need to continue stoppage time.

On the sidelines, Zenit's coaches and substitutes were also standing by the field, waiting for the whistle to blow so they could rush in and cheer and celebrate the league title they had in hand.

Everyone's face was filled with unconcealable excitement.

They had waited too long for this moment!

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"Ah... the referee blew the whistle to end the match! The match is over! We are the champions! We are the league champions!!" Hilgayevski shouted at the top of his lungs.

Even so, his voice was drowned out by the fans' roars...

The players on the bench rushed onto the field, while the Zenit players on the field raised their arms and cheered.

Chen Hero and Kerzhakov hugged each other tightly.

They were the closest, so of course, they got together.

"Congratulations to Zenit St. Petersburg, they are the champions of the 2007 Russian Premier League season! For them, this is an unparalleled season!"

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While Zenit St. Petersburg was celebrating their victory and championship in their home stadium, the match at Luzhniki Stadium also ended. The Spartak Moscow players lowered their heads one after another, helplessly accepting this reality. Some fans cried in the stands—after working hard for a whole season, only to have the championship taken away by someone else, the blow was too heavy...

Cherchesov rose from his seat. At this time, he had regained his composure, and he walked towards the disheartened Spartak players in the center of the field.

He comforted these players one by one.

When he walked to Pavlyuchenko, he paused for a moment, looked at the Russian international who was dazed with disappointment.

"Don't be discouraged, Roman. We at least have one honor left to pursue."

He was talking about the league's top scorer award. Before the match, he had said that the team would fully support Pavlyuchenko in the competition for the top scorer. But at that time, he still had a glimmer of hope, still had a trace of longing for the league title. Now that the league title was completely gone, his last bit of luck had vanished, and now he could finally truly fulfill his promise and fully support Pavlyuchenko in the competition for the league's top scorer. Of course, he knew what was happening in St. Petersburg. Chen Hero scored the goal that sealed Zenit's victory, completely killing the suspense of the league title.

But he couldn't tell Pavlyuchenko now, at least not by him.

Having just lost the league title, it would be too much of a blow to also know that he was three goals behind Chen Hero...

A glimmer of light flashed in Pavlyuchenko's eyes, but it quickly dimmed. "Did he score?"

"I don't know, Roman. I haven't received any news from there." The fifty-three-year-old Cherchesov lied without batting an eye, so that outsiders couldn't see any flaws at all.

Of course, he knew that Pavlyuchenko would ask others, but he shouldn't be the one to play the bad guy...

Pavlyuchenko didn't ask anyone. He simply nodded, "I think that second goal must have been scored by him."

"Not necessarily..." Cherchesov was startled and quickly comforted Pavlyuchenko.

But Pavlyuchenko smiled at him, "Don't worry, coach. I will fight to the very end."

The smile was a bit forced, but it was still a smile.

Cherchesov breathed a slight sigh of relief, patted him on the shoulder, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Pavlyuchenko looked at the big screen in the stadium, which showed the score of the match, 3:0. Spartak Moscow, playing at home, had won. His name was next to the second goal. He had scored one goal in this match, bringing his goal total to twenty-two.

But he knew that Chen Hero would not give up easily. In the past two matches that were not played simultaneously, if he scored in his match, Chen Hero would immediately respond in his subsequent match. And if Chen Hero scored first, he would also score in his subsequent match.

Their 2007 season could basically be summarized like this.

In the scorer rankings, sometimes he was above Chen Hero, and sometimes Chen Hero was above him.

If you didn't consider the results, he was really a good opponent...

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Zenit St. Petersburg's celebration didn't last too long because the award ceremony would have to wait until the last round of the league—since it wasn't clear before the match which team would ultimately win the championship, they simply didn't bring the trophy to the stadium.

After a short celebration, the players returned to the locker room. Although the fans were still singing loudly in the stands outside...

"Champions! Champions! We are the champions!!"

Back in the locker room, everyone was still very excited. They cheered, sang, and jumped around.

"AHAHAHA! We finally won the league title!"

"I'm also a member of a championship team now!"

"We have to celebrate properly!" Denisov put his arms around Anyukov and Kerzhakov's shoulders.

"For victory!"

"For the championship!" The two echoed him.

Chen Hero jumped out, "For a new record!"

"New record?" The others didn't react.

"The single-season goal record. I've only scored twenty-five goals, not broken the record yet!"

"You've 'only' scored twenty-five... Do you want to leave any hope for others, damn Hero?" Kerzhakov looked helpless.

They were both strikers, but why was there such a big gap?

Chen Hero smiled.

He knew that although he and Kerzhakov had a decent relationship in private, they were ultimately competitors. In order to avoid provoking the other party too much, he rarely talked about his goal count in front of Kerzhakov. This time, he was really stimulated by Pavlyuchenko and wanted to create a record that was enough for future generations to only remember him—he was unwilling to share his glory with his enemy.

Anyukov patted Chen Hero hard on the back, "Don't worry! Spartak supports Pavlyuchenko with all their might, and we all support you too!"

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The ownership of the 2007 Russian Premier League championship had been decided, and the relegated teams had also been basically determined.

For the spectators, the only suspense was not even the ownership of the league's top scorer, but how many goals Chen Hero, with his crazy scoring rate, could score...

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ps, monthly tickets, monthly tickets, double monthly tickets ah ah ah ah!

You must all still be listless after just finishing the long National Day holiday and returning to work and school, right?

It's okay, let Chen Hero's exhilarating goals and never-say-die fighting spirit give everyone an energy boost!

When life bullies you... watch Chen Hero! No energy at work? Watch Chen Hero! Not performing well in studies? Watch Chen Hero! Irregular menstruation, excessive leucorrhea, insomnia, dizziness, colds, fever, back pain, crowded buses, bitter work... watch Chen Hero!