Chapter 1 Chen Hero

Chen Hero thought he had misheard what Decula said to him on the phone.

He asked again: "Who did you say is looking for me?"

"The Chinese Football Association." Decula told Chen Hero in very standard Mandarin.

The phone call quality was also very good, without any static.

So there was no situation where he couldn't hear clearly.

Chen Hero heard clearly this time. It was indeed "The Chinese Football Association."

He held the phone for a long time without speaking, which made Decula think the signal had been interrupted. After saying hello several times, Chen Hero said, "Stop saying hello, I'm on the line."

He didn't speak because he didn't know what to say in the face of this news.

He didn't understand why the Football Association would look for him, and what was the matter that they were looking for him about?

Ever since Liverpool's first visit to China, after he slapped the Chinese Football Association in the face during the game, his relationship with the Chinese Football Association had completely broken down. Since then, the Football Association had not looked for him again, and he naturally would not look for the Football Association. Both sides acted as if the other did not exist.

Especially on the Football Association's side, Chen Hero's performance on the European arena was so outstanding, every weekend the front page headlines of sports media in various countries were his photos and name. If he had any particularly outstanding performance, such as breaking a hundred goals in a single season, or reaching five hundred goals in his career, or helping the team win the European Champions Cup... then it would be overwhelming.

Even in China, Chen Hero's name could always be seen in major media outlets.

But the Chinese Football Association could really close their eyes and pretend they didn't see it. As if in the world of the Chinese Football Association, there was no such person as Chen Hero at all.

Not only the two of them, but even ordinary fans and the media had become accustomed to their attitude of ignoring each other. They never thought that one day they would have an intersection.

But the Chinese Football Association actually came to him...

"What's going on?" he asked.

"They called me, hoping to have a face-to-face talk with you. If they get your consent, they will send someone to Liverpool to meet with you."

Chen Hero was even more confused. Listening to Decula's account, the Chinese Football Association seemed to be adopting a very low profile.

He had never seen the Chinese Football Association be so humble. When they looked for him before, they were always arrogant, acting like bosses.

They are in charge of the development of football in China and can be said to hold the power of life and death over football in China.

So they never regarded themselves as ordinary people. They always looked down on people in the Chinese football industry, as if they were afraid of having a nosebleed.

Chen Hero didn't understand why they suddenly had such a low profile towards him now...

"Did they tell you what they wanted to see me about?"

"No."

"Did you ask?"

"I asked, but they said they must see you in person before they would say anything."

Chen Hero was even more suspicious. What was with this secrecy?

"Do you want to meet, Hero?"

Chen Hero originally wanted to say "I don't have time." He really didn't have time. He had to lead a group of new recruits in training in the reserve team, the time was tight and the task was heavy.

But he suddenly had a thought—would refusing the other party give them the impression that he was afraid to meet the Football Association?

What a joke!

What did he have to be afraid of meeting them? As long as they had the face to come, he would dare to meet them!

So in the end, the words Chen Hero said became: "Let them come, I want to see what new tricks they want to play!"

※※※

A day later, Chen Hero met with two Football Association officials in a coffee shop.

He was unwilling to bring people from the Football Association to his home. The people who could enter his home were friends who had been recognized by him, and not just anyone could come in.

But what surprised him was that the Football Association representatives who came to see him this time were actually Deng Wenjun and Zhao Wei, the current leaders of the Football Association.

These are the highest-ranking officials in the Chinese Football Association at present...

Due to some historical reasons, the management structure of the Chinese Football Association is relatively special. Although after a series of reforms, the "Football Management Center" has been abolished in China, the Football Association is still under the direct leadership of the General Administration of Sport.

The candidates for chairman and vice chairman of the Football Association are not elected, but directly appointed by the General Administration of Sport. Since its establishment, the Chinese Football Association has not held many general assemblies for elections.

So even if the special phenomenon of "one team, two brands" has been abolished, it has not changed the essence of the Chinese Football Association.

This is also normal. As far as the General Administration of Sport is concerned, they are responsible for sports affairs throughout China, so how could they let football be beyond their control?

The real people in charge of the Football Association are several vice chairmen. Among them, the "executive vice chairman" is the head of the Football Association. Sometimes the executive vice chairman will also serve as a high-ranking Party official, which is the true meaning of the top leader. At other times, another vice chairman will serve as a high-ranking Party official to avoid a situation where one person dominates the Football Association and turns it into someone's one-man show.

The two vice chairmen nominally have overlapping areas of management, but there are different divisions of labor in specific work. According to the current division of responsibilities of the Chinese Football Association, the men's national team and the Olympic team, and the women's national team, these three can be regarded as jointly managed by the two.

In addition to the two heads of the family, the Chinese Football Association also has three vice chairmen. They are in charge of three different fields: foreign affairs, business development, and the league. However, although these three are all vice chairmen, their power and status are far inferior to Deng Wenjun and Zhao Wei.

From the power structure of the Chinese Football Association, one can know what kind of lineup the Chinese Football Association sent to meet Chen Hero.

It's no wonder Chen Hero was so surprised—the two heads of the Chinese Football Association actually came!

Although Deng Wenjun and Zhao Wei had only taken office recently, they were also leaders of the Football Association.

This was something he had not expected.

It could be regarded as a high-standard treatment.

On the Football Association's side, there were these two heads of the family, while on Chen Hero's side, his agent Decula accompanied him.

The four people met in the coffee shop, and Chen Hero was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with them. They were all nonsense, which was nothing but a waste of time. He didn't want to build any relationship with the Football Association.

So as soon as he sat down, Chen Hero asked the two top leaders of the Football Association what they had come to see him for from so far away.

"I don't think you're here to have a cup of coffee, are you?"

※※※

Deng Wenjun and Zhao Wei looked at each other, and both saw bitterness in each other's eyes.

The sins committed by the previous leaders were now falling on their heads.

Chen Hero was indeed as rumored, an uninhibited guy. They had been in office for more than a year, and it was the first time they had seen a player speak to the two top leaders of the Football Association like this. If it were those domestic players, wouldn't they all be obediently and humbly greeting the leaders? If they expressed a little concern, the other party would be grateful.

How could they ever be like Chen Hero, as if he was very impatient to talk to them?

Deng Wenjun spoke first: "We are here on behalf of the Chinese Football Association to apologize to you, Hero..."

As soon as he said those words, Chen Hero was stunned.

Apologize to me?

The Football Association?

What's going on these days? Why am I always having auditory hallucinations...

Seeing the expression on Chen Hero's face, the two knew that Chen Hero was frightened and didn't believe it.

This time it was Zhao Wei's turn to take action: "It's true, Hero. We are indeed here on behalf of the Chinese Football Association to apologize to you..."

"Wait a minute..." Chen Hero raised his hand to interrupt him. "What's going on? The sun didn't come out from the west today. I'm still on Earth, why is the Chinese Football Association apologizing to me?"

The two leaders really wanted to curse: Isn't this what you asked for!

Yes, this was Chen Hero's request, but so many years had passed that Chen Hero himself had forgotten about it.

Fortunately, he quickly reacted—he seemed to have indeed asked the Football Association to apologize to him before, and not only the Football Association, but also the General Administration of Sport.

But it wasn't an apology face-to-face like this, but a public apology.

As for the purpose of asking them to apologize...

Chen Hero smiled as he thought of this. He looked at the two people in front of him and smiled very happily. The smile was very meaningful. If the two leaders had seen Chen Hero's Champions League final and European Super Cup, they would definitely be familiar with it—this was the smile Chen Hero had when he walked up to the embarrassed and unhappy Platini on the stage.

"You want me to join the Chinese national team?"

Decula, who was next to him, turned his head to look at Chen Hero after hearing these words, then lowered his eyelids again, without any change in expression on his face.

The two Football Association leaders, whose purpose had been revealed, were a little embarrassed.

They had originally thought of using the apology to restore the image of the Football Association in Chen Hero's heart, soften his attitude, and then naturally bring up this purpose. Being too hasty would seem too utilitarian and would backfire.

Who knew that Chen Hero had already guessed the purpose of their trip and had said it for them.

Now that it had been said, there was nothing to hide.

They nodded.

Chinese football is getting worse every year, and the league is also a false prosperity, built on the basis of continuous money burning, which will eventually be unsustainable. The promotion of campus football is subject to various restrictions and is not optimistic. As the face of Chinese football, the national team's record is even worse. Not to mention the absence from the 2014 World Cup, in the 2015 Asian Cup held in Australia, the Chinese team lost all three group matches and was eliminated early, which aroused anger from domestic media and fans. All the blame was put on the Chinese Football Association, which put them under great pressure.

They urgently hoped that a hero could stand up to reshape the image of the national team and give the Chinese fans some comfort...

So they turned to Chen Hero.

But in fact, there was an even more important reason that Chen Hero could never have imagined, and they would never tell Chen Hero...