Chapter 13 Teasing

Chen Hero was still on the plane flying back to Naples from Lyon when he was teased by his teammates.

They saw Chen Hero and shouted, "Antonella Cannavale! Antonella Cannavale! Antonella Cannavale!"

Before the game, this woman had publicly stated that if Naples could win on the road, she would become Chen Hero's trophy, at his disposal. Just imagine, a delicate beauty lying in bed at your disposal… What a thrilling scene that would be!

They were all just cheering him on.

"Hey, Hero, what are you going to do with your trophy?" A teammate asked.

Chen Hero shook his head: "I haven't thought about it!"

The cabin burst into laughter.

He really hadn't thought about it. When he heard the news before the game, he was quite shocked. But he always felt that this couldn't be true, because… well, even if foreign girls are open, they can't be this open, right?

Now that Naples had really won the game, would the beauty who was well-known in the province of Naples really fulfill her promise and become his trophy, at his disposal?

To be honest, Chen Hero was still looking forward to it when he thought of this…

After all, the other party was a great beauty!

Although Chen Hero didn't watch TV often, this Cannavale really had high popularity in the Naples area. There were advertising posters of her on the streets, and her sexy photos often appeared in magazines and newspapers. She was the new goddess in the hearts of many Neapolitans.

Now that this goddess had become his trophy, just thinking about it could cause a physiological reaction…

※※※

After getting off the plane, Chen Hero received a call, but it wasn't from the Naples goddess, but from his agent, Dekura.

"I have good news for you, Hero."

"What good news? Have you signed me another endorsement?"

"No, this time it has nothing to do with endorsements, it has to do with awards."

"I won an award? That's impossible. I don't have a chance for the FIFA World Player of the Year or the European Ballon d'Or." Chen Hero was a little surprised.

Just after the Champions League game, the major awards in the world of football were released, and various awards ceremonies were held. This was the premier event in the world of football in December.

Chen Hero had been on the fifty-man shortlist for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, but he was eventually eliminated. After all, in addition to being young and scoring goals, he had no other achievements to show off. He didn't even have a championship. It was already very difficult to be among the top fifty nominees.

However, the world football experts were very optimistic about Chen Hero's future. As long as he could continue this development curve, he would definitely stand on that stage in the future.

After all, a striker who can score goals is always easier to win awards than players in other positions. In non-major competition years, as long as a striker scores enough goals, he can win the FIFA World Player of the Year award, even if he hasn't won a single championship… In fact, even in World Cup years, as long as you can score goals and are famous enough, even if you don't win the World Cup, it's enough to win you the Ballon d'Or.

In the FIFA World Player of the Year award, Chen Hero was only among the top fifty. He was in the top twenty for the European Ballon d'Or, but he still missed out on this historic award because he lacked convincing performances. The difference in the rankings was due to the different selection mechanisms of the two awards.

The FIFA World Player of the Year is voted on by the head coaches and captains of national teams around the world, but because of the different levels of football development in each country, their professional knowledge also varies. Obviously, the head coaches and captains of European powerhouses have more say in who is the most outstanding in the world of football, but what professional qualities can you expect from the coaches of countries like Tonga? They can only vote based on reputation. The names that the media hypes the most, the names that they are most familiar with, are naturally the best in the world. Chen Hero was still an unknown in the world of football. Many people had never heard of his name, so he didn't even make the top twenty in the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

The European Ballon d'Or is voted on by senior sports journalists from the fifty-two UEFA member countries and the French magazine *L'Équipe*. As football journalists, their professionalism is naturally much higher than that of national team head coaches and captains, and the criteria for selection are not just reputation. They analyze from a professional perspective, and Chen Hero, in their eyes, obviously has more potential for development, so he ranked in the top twenty. But it was only potential, so he was only in the top twenty.

"It's not the FIFA World Player of the Year, nor the European Ballon d'Or, but… the European Golden Boy Award."

Chen Hero was stunned for a moment, then patted his forehead. He remembered that this was an award that had once made him feel resentful.

The European Golden Boy Award is only awarded to players aged twenty-one and under who play for European clubs. It was founded by *Tuttosport* in 2003 and sends out ballots to more than thirty well-known European sports media every year. The European Golden Boy Award is the most authoritative young player award in European football. The winner can even be called the "Young Footballer of the Year", representing the future of football. The winners of the first five editions have almost all grown into first-class stars and even superstars in the world of football today.

Van der Vaart, Rooney, Messi, Fabregas, Aguero, and Anderson are all former winners.

But when Chen Hero mentioned this European Golden Boy Award, he was filled with anger.

Why?

Because in theory, he should have won the award last year, instead of that Brazilian midfielder from Manchester United, Anderson…

His performance in the first half of last year was simply brilliant. Not only did he help Zenit Saint Petersburg win the UEFA Cup, but he also became the best scorer since the UEFA Cup was reformed. At the same time, he only used eleven league rounds to become the best scorer in the Russian Premier League. With such a performance, everyone believed that the 2008 European Golden Boy Award was undoubtedly his.

Who would have thought that his performance would decline sharply after he transferred to Naples in the second half of the year? Plagued by the new environment and new tactics, his performance was unsatisfactory.

This also greatly reduced his image in the eyes of the judges. Some media even believed that Chen Hero was just a shooting star in a lower-level league who could dominate for a while because others didn't understand him. When he came to the top European leagues, he would probably be unable to do anything.

Therefore, that year's European Golden Boy Award went to Manchester United's Anderson.

But Anderson's performance was far worse than Chen Hero's. He had only joined Manchester United at a high price, attracting a lot of attention.

So this made Chen Hero very indignant. He felt that even if he only relied on his performance in the first half of the year, he was enough to win the European Golden Boy Award. The Golden Boy Award, after all, is for young players, and it is understandable and normal for their performance to fluctuate. Was it necessary to be so strict in demanding a full year's performance?

He knew very well the weight of the European Golden Boy Award. All the players who had won this award would embark on a smooth path in the future. He also wanted to use an award to prove his ability, to show off…

But unfortunately, last year, this award was not his.

This year, it was finally given to him. Because his performance was impossible to ignore—a sudden outbreak in the first half of the year, scoring twenty-one goals in the second half of the season, helping Naples win a Champions League spot, and also winning the Serie A top scorer. He defeated established superstars like Ibrahimovic!

Although his performance in the second half of the year was slightly worse than his crazy performance in the first half of the year, it was still outstanding—he is still the top scorer in the Champions League, and he is also ranked second in the Serie A scorer list. His so-called "slightly worse" is compared to his own crazy performance in the first half of the year. Looking at his peers in European football, he is still a leader among them.

His outstanding performance throughout the year allowed him to successfully win the European Golden Boy Award, which was voted by more than thirty senior European sports media.

※※※

Winning the European Golden Boy Award, although it was late, but… this is always good news, right?

After hanging up Dekura's phone, Chen Hero thought.

The phone rang again.

This time it was an unknown number.

The voice after picking it up was quite pleasant.

"Hello, my hero."

Chen Hero was stunned for a moment. Such a bold greeting, who was this?

"Uh, I'm sorry I don't have your name, may I ask who you are?"

"I'm your trophy, sweetheart!"

The voice was so sweet that Chen Hero's knees went weak and he almost staggered…

Chen Hero regained his footing under the strange gazes of his teammates. He knew who was calling.

A happy laugh rang out on the other end: "Hahaha! Do you know who I am now, Hero?"

The voice returned to normal, it seemed that she was deliberately teasing him just now…

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cannavale."

"Congratulations on winning the European Golden Boy Award, Hero!"

Chen Hero was a little surprised: "Has it been reported in the media?" He wondered if he should buy a newspaper to see how the media evaluated his winning the European Golden Boy Award.

Cannavale said: "There is no news in the media yet, but I think it will be soon. As for how I know… You know, I have always been very interested in you, and I happen to have media friends, so…"

Chen Hero understood that she had found out in advance from someone who knew the inside story.

"So, in order to congratulate you on winning the European Golden Boy Award, shouldn't we celebrate together?"

Here it comes!

Chen Hero's heart skipped a beat. He had been wondering whether the other party would fulfill what she had said before, but he didn't expect her to be so proactive.

This made him a little unsure of what to do.

Seeing that Chen Hero didn't answer, Cannavale chuckled: "I've always heard that Hero is a master of love, how come it's not quite the same as what I've heard?"

This was an aggressive tactic, but it was quite effective. Because Chen Hero thought, it's just a woman, no matter how powerful, she's just going to eat me, what's there to be afraid of? And speaking of which, it's not certain who will eat who…

"Just kidding, I'm just uh… You tell me a time."

Chen Hero wouldn't be so stupid as to not take advantage of a girl. Since the other party took the initiative to invite him, there was no reason for him to back down.