Chapter 161 Hero! Hero!

"Hero! Hero!" The entire San Paolo Stadium was erupting with cheers. For the first time, the fans in the West Stand had gained the upper hand, drowning out the boos from the ultras in the North and South Stands.

It wasn't just because Chen Hero's goal was especially beautiful and brilliant, but also because it was especially important.

His goal brought the aggregate score to 3:3. With the aggregate score tied, away goals were the tie-breaker. Napoli had two away goals, while Barcelona had none. If the score remained like this until the end, Barcelona would be eliminated!

How could the Napoli fans not be excited?

Amidst the deafening cheers and the commentator's excited shouts, Chen Hero landed, pushed Pique off him, and turned to run.

As he ran, he took off his jersey.

Even if it meant a yellow card, he had to celebrate by taking off his shirt this time! Because if he didn't, how could the message underneath be seen?

He ran to the camera, threw his jersey into the air, then grabbed the hem of the white t-shirt underneath with both hands, smoothed it out, and showed the words on the front to the camera.

He didn't know if Cassano would be able to see it, but he had to do it.

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Cassano was wheeled back to his hospital room after the surgery, still unconscious from the anesthesia.

Doctors and nurses were busy attaching electrodes and tubes to him, closely monitoring his condition.

His girlfriend, Carolina, turned on the television in the room.

"Um... Carolina, I think Antonio needs rest..." the doctor reminded her.

Carolina didn't stop. She turned on the TV and explained, "Antonio specifically told me to turn on the TV after his surgery. He wants to watch the Napoli vs. Barcelona game."

"But he's still unconscious..." the doctor said, puzzled.

"He told me, even if the anesthesia hasn't worn off, I should still do it. Even if he can't see it, he can hear it. Even if he can't hear it, his heart can feel it. That's what he said." As Carolina spoke, she tuned the channel to Sky Italia, which was broadcasting the Champions League match live.

As soon as the picture appeared on the screen, a huge roar erupted from the speakers. The sound startled the busy nurses and doctors.

"Hero! Hero! Hero—herogoooooooooooooooooL!!!" the Italian commentator screamed excitedly.

"Just eight minutes into the game, Napoli leads Barcelona 1-0!!"

The shout made everyone turn to look at the TV.

In Naples, everyone, young and old, male and female, was a fan of Napoli. So, in fact, they were all very concerned about the Napoli vs. Barcelona game, but because of work, they couldn't watch the live broadcast.

On the TV screen, Chen Hero was running wildly. As he ran, he took off his jersey and threw it into the air, then jumped in front of the camera, grabbed the hem of the white t-shirt underneath with both hands, tilted his head back, arched his body, and stood there, allowing the camera to focus on his body rather than his head.

There were a few sentences written on it in Italian.

"The vastness of life can only be felt through suffering, fate will never make you beg for mercy. Run forward, keep running, Antonio, run!"

He held that pose, unmoving, even when his teammates rushed up to hug him from behind. He still held onto the t-shirt with both hands, not opening his arms to maintain his balance.

He did this so that the people in front of the TV could see it more clearly.

The camera understood his intentions and kept filming the words on his chest, showing them clearly and making sure everyone could read them.

"Ah... Hero is using his goal to encourage Cassano, who is suffering from heart disease. What a touching scene... 'The vastness of life can only be felt through suffering... fate will never make you beg for mercy. Run forward... keep running... Antonio, run!' Cassano's career has really been full of hardships, just like Hero said. Before, his personality always made things difficult for him, and he couldn't show everyone his best self in many teams. He finally came to Napoli, his form recovered and stabilized, but he suddenly suffered a heart attack..."

The Italian commentator sighed.

In fact, everyone had discussed this topic before. They all said that Cassano's fate was truly ill-fated.

Due to his personality, the first ten years of his career were full of hardships. After transferring from Bari to Roma, he was pinned with the hopes of countless people and was known as the Italian genius. But after many seasons, he was still the "genius boy" in people's eyes, but he never grew up. He used to have a good relationship with Totti and Capello. But later, they turned against each other. He offended almost everyone.

He was selected for the Italian national team and participated in the 2004 European Cup. Before the competition, he was considered to be the most dazzling and most anticipated star in this European Cup. In fact, that was also the case. He shone brightly in the group stage of that European Cup. It could even be said that he was the only normal one in the entire Italian team. Unfortunately, his efforts failed to help the Italian national team advance to the quarter-finals. His tears at that European Championship were impressive.

His outstanding performance at the European Championship did not change his fate at the club. Subsequently, he fell out with the senior management and teammates of Roma. In January 2006, he refused to renew his contract and was sold to the giants Real Madrid.

From Roma to the giants Real Madrid, it seemed that this should be another step up. His career should be in a wonderful upward spiral. But even he himself admitted afterwards that choosing to transfer to Real Madrid was the worst choice he ever made in his life. In Madrid, not only did he not regain his form, but he also sank deeper and deeper into the quagmire.

In the end, Real Madrid sold him to Sampdoria in the form of a loan followed by a sale.

He had a wonderful start at Sampdoria. Under Mazzarri's training, he began to return to his peak. He performed very well and was once again selected for the Italian national team. He was successful on the field and in love. He found his love at Sampdoria and met Carolina, a player on the Italian women's handball team.

But with Mazzarri's departure, his personality problems recurred, and he became unhappy at Sampdoria.

At this time, he chose to follow his mentor's footsteps from Sampdoria and transferred to Napoli. On the first day he transferred to Napoli, news broke that he and Chen Hero had fought during team training, and then news broke that he had fought with the ultras at night. Starting his career in Napoli with a scandal didn't seem like a good sign.

Under such circumstances, he gradually integrated into Napoli and became an indispensable main player and one of the important attacking players in this team. In addition, after several years of dating with Carolina, their relationship also stabilized, and they were even discussing when to get married.

Everyone who still cared about him breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the "bad boy" of the year had truly matured, although it was a little late... But a prodigal who returns is more precious than gold, as long as he can turn back, it is good.

Who would have thought that at this time, heart disease would find him. He may face the blow of retiring early.

Antonio Cassano has always been considered the most talented genius in Italian football since his debut. Countless people praised him and were impressed by his talent. But at the same time, countless people scolded him, thinking that his personality would lead him to achieve nothing in his life. He is like a beautiful flower. If it blooms, it will surely amaze the world with its beauty. No one doubts this. But he has never really bloomed. Now that this flower is about to wither before it blooms, how can it not be regrettable?

"Yes, Hero is right. Run, Cassano, run! Never stop, everyone is still waiting for you to come back, 'bad boy'!"

Finally, the commentator called out affectionately.

Carolina in front of the TV was already in tears.

There were many people in the ward, including doctors and nurses, but no one said anything when they saw this scene. They stood silently for a while, and then the doctor turned to look at the nurses: "Continue working."

※※※

Chen Hero's words on his shirt moved many people. Cassano had said in an interview before that Chen Hero was his good friend and that his encouragement had kept him from giving up. Now seeing this scene, many people were even more moved by the friendship between the two.

The Napoli fans in the stands stood up collectively and applauded this scene, and also applauded the strong Cassano.

The Napoli players also shouted at the camera: "Antonio! Antonio! We're waiting for you!!"

They collectively dedicated this goal to Antonio Cassano, who had just undergone heart surgery.

However, what was not so pleasing was that when the Napoli players finished celebrating the goal and were running back, the referee of this game ran up and gave Chen Hero a yellow card.

Boos immediately rang out at the scene. The sound was so loud that people suspected that if the voices of the Napoli fans could be turned into bullets, this unromantic referee would have been riddled with holes long ago...

Even the commentator raised objections to the yellow card.

"I think the rules do say that taking off your shirt to celebrate will result in a yellow card, but you should also look at the specific situation. Can't such a touching scene move the referee's heart of stone?"

"This yellow card is simply a scandal! Who gives a yellow card at this time? This is completely like deliberately disgusting Napoli!"

"The referee on duty, Adele from Switzerland, is too rigid. A referee who doesn't know how to adapt is definitely not a good referee!"

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The Napoli players went to argue with the referee. They believed that giving Chen Hero a yellow card was too severe. It was obvious that he had made this move in order to dedicate the goal to Cassano and encourage him. In the referee's eyes, was such a kind act not as important as the cold refereeing code?

The teammates were arguing for Chen Hero, but Chen Hero went up and pulled them back one by one.

"Don't pay attention to the referee, brothers."

"But, Hero, the referee's penalty is too harsh, right?"

"Who cares about him, anyway, we have the advantage now!" Chen Hero shook his head, looking indifferent. He was a striker, and he rarely had the opportunity to commit fouls, so the possibility of getting a card was even lower. At worst, he would pay attention, and if he scored a goal in the future, he would no longer take off his shirt to celebrate. A yellow card didn't have much impact on him. But if his teammates got a yellow card for arguing for him, this game would be difficult to play, because they all had very heavy defensive tasks...

Hamsik suddenly interjected from the side: "I think Hero is right, we'd better not argue with the referee. Don't you understand? Why can we draw Real Madrid and Barcelona in a row? Our opponent is not the team on the field..."

His words awakened everyone, and everyone realized that their opponent was indeed not Barcelona, but... UEFA.

So one by one, they honestly ran back to their half of the field.

The Napoli players were under pressure and didn't dare to argue, but the Napoli fans in the stands didn't care so much. They used boos and curses to greet the referee's family, as well as Platini's family...

Amidst the huge boos, the Barcelona players were already standing in their positions, waiting for the kickoff.

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