Chapter 1 Chen Hero Admits His Mistake

Chen Hero had to admit that his definition of the Bernabéu Stadium as "lukewarm water" was wrong. Because after the game started, this stadium was not gentle at all, like a volcano, spewing passion outward at any moment.

The Bernabéu Stadium, which can accommodate more than 80,000 fans, showed amazing momentum and energy to the visiting team, Napoli.

Especially the south stand of the Bernabéu, where Real Madrid's most hardcore fans gather.

Moreover, Real Madrid fans have a very special way of cheering. There is a fan leader in the stands holding a loudspeaker, who directs others and leads them to shout slogans.

The reason they were so excited was… Real Madrid was in the lead!

Twenty-five minutes into the game, Higuaín, who started the game, scored the first goal for the team, taking the lead.

This goal completely ignited the passion of Real Madrid fans.

So the Bernabéu Stadium became like what Chen Hero is seeing now…

※※※

Real Madrid's strength is indeed higher than Napoli's, and this goal proves it. It should be noted that Napoli has been sticking to defensive counterattacks since the beginning of the game, and they did not excitedly attack Real Madrid head-on.

Despite this, they still conceded a goal. It has to be said that Real Madrid's strength is really strong. Maybe they can't beat Barcelona, ​​but they have a 90% chance of winning against other teams.

On the other hand, it also exposed the continued existence of problems in Napoli's defense. Although they had a streak of three consecutive games without conceding a goal in the league, they have now changed their main goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper and the defense line still need to cooperate, need to run-in, and find tacit understanding.

Mazzarri didn't pin his hopes on the team's defense anyway. It is almost impossible to not concede a goal at the Bernabéu.

He just hoped to concede fewer goals, so that there would be opportunities in the second half.

So after conceding the goal, he walked out of the coaching bench, comforted the players, and told them to continue defending and not to rush to equalize the score. As long as the score remains the same in the first half, there are forty-five minutes left for Napoli in the second half.

So from the perspective of the situation on the field, Napoli continues to shrink its defense, only occasionally counterattacking, and the scene seems very passive.

In order to completely consolidate the defense, Arshavin and Cassano, who were originally playing counterattacks in the front, were ordered to return to participate in the defense, leaving only Chen Hero, isolated and helpless, and unable to contribute any threatening offense.

"Real Madrid has the advantage at their home stadium. Facing Real Madrid's offensive, Napoli can only shrink their defense, and can't even launch a counterattack…"

"I told you, as long as Real Madrid performs normally, what 'Dream Eight Curse' is just nonsense! Look at their performance in this game! Napoli has to pray that they won't lose too badly!"

The commentator of Marca Radio said triumphantly.

Anyone watching the game would admit that he was right. Real Madrid played very well in the first half. The players were full of fighting spirit and… they were not underestimating the enemy.

If Real Madrid fans still have any dissatisfaction, it is that—their idol, Raúl González, is still sitting on the bench and has not started.

The Champions League arena is Raúl's stage, but now the King of the Champions League can only be a spectator on the bench.

Real Madrid fans are no longer worried about whether they will lose this game.

What they are considering is whether Raúl can play, and whether he can score a goal?

With this relaxed mood, the first half of the game ended.

※※※

The Chinese commentator He Ping was very disappointed with the first half. Because in the process of commentating on the game, he didn't have many opportunities to mention Chen Hero's name.

This left him with no chance to be emotional.

Napoli's counterattacks were too few, and Chen Hero's role in the few counterattack opportunities was not significant.

“…He lacks support! He needs support! But in order to consolidate the defense, Mazzarri withdrew Arshavin and Cassano to the backcourt. Even if the football is kicked to the frontcourt, they are worried about losing the ball and do not have enough players to press forward, leaving Chen Hero alone… He is not the kind of player who can stop the ball himself, then turn around, dribble the ball, overcome all obstacles, and complete Maradona's masterpiece in the World Cup. He is a pure center forward who needs the support of the midfield and backfield…”

He complained, feeling that Mazzarri's tactics were too conservative.

"At the Bernabéu, you can't defend!"

※※※

Chen Hero did not have any outstanding performance in the first half, and he had few opportunities to show the Bernabéu audience his style as the "Serie A Top Scorer".

But he didn't complain, because this was arranged in advance. In the various possibilities listed by Mazzarri for the players, conceding a goal in the first half was the first thing he talked about. Mazzarri told everyone that if the team concedes a goal in the first half, they must immediately unite and shrink their defense, with the primary goal of not conceding more goals.

In this way, the support he received would naturally be less. However, Mazzarri also promised him that the team would definitely invest more troops in the counterattack in the second half, and he would not feel that he was fighting alone at that time.

In the visiting team's locker room, Mazzarri was talking about this matter.

"I am very satisfied with your performance in the first half, because we only conceded one goal, which is nothing. I think for us, conceding only one goal is not a big deal at all, don't you think?"

The players responded loudly to him: "Yes!"

Mazzarri is good at mobilizing the emotions of the players, which may be his "racial talent" as a personalized coach?

"In the second half, we will invest more troops in the attack, and the situation where we were suppressed and unable to fight back in the first half will no longer occur… I know you can't wait any longer, Hero."

Seeing Chen Hero eager to try, Mazzarri made a gesture to him to be calm.

Everyone turned their heads to look at Chen Hero, and a burst of laughter rang out in the locker room.

Perhaps only these carefree players of Napoli can still laugh after falling behind Real Madrid by one goal at the Bernabéu…

"In the second half, when we counterattack, we must have more players participating in it, and we must press forward more boldly. Guys, you all know that the Bernabéu Stadium is a football mecca, a big stage that countless people dream of. Now we will have the opportunity to show our proudest attack on this big stage, so don't hold back!"

※※※

Napoli felt good during the halftime break, and Real Madrid also felt very good.

Although they were only leading by one goal, the players were full of confidence and believed that Napoli would be completely unable to threaten their goal in the second half, and would only be slaughtered by them.

Marcelo even joked to Casillas: "Igor, I think you'd better put on more clothes in the second half, lest your body freeze!"

His words aroused laughter from everyone.

In the first half, the Napoli players who were highlighted by Pellegrini as being threatening did not perform well, and Napoli's entire team's offense was not threatening at all. Therefore, the Real Madrid players basically believed that Napoli was nothing more than that.

Everyone was laughing, but Kaká wasn't. He felt very strange. Napoli is a team that can defeat AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus in the Serie A league. Their offense has left a very deep impression on him. Why was their performance so weak in the first half?

Could it be that they were really frightened by Real Madrid's reputation? Frightened by the atmosphere of the Bernabéu?

It doesn't seem like it… Napoli shouldn't be a team that can be easily frightened…

Kaká couldn't figure it out.

But his question was soon answered in the second half.

※※※

"This is Napoli's counterattack… De Jong is in control of the ball, he's looking for Hamsik…"

Not long after the second half started, Real Madrid's attack had a passing error, and the ball was passed directly to Napoli captain Paolo Cannavaro's feet. Cannavaro didn't control the ball either, but passed the ball to De Jong.

De Jong then passed it to Hamsik. At this time, Napoli's counterattack took shape—Arshavin and Cassano were rushing forward on the wing. In addition, Maggio was speeding up from the right.

This situation surprised the Real Madrid players. According to their experience in the first half, they were still slowly returning to defense, only the central defenders strengthened their close marking of Chen Hero. Who would have thought that Napoli would suddenly launch a fierce offensive!

Because of insufficient preparation, Real Madrid's return speed was obviously very slow, while Napoli's counterattack speed was quite fast!

A burst of exclamations and boos suddenly rang out from the stands of the Bernabéu Stadium.

The fans also felt the danger!

The commentator quickly adjusted his tone and shouted rapidly: "Hamsik receives the ball! He takes the ball forward, and then quickly passes it to Maggio on the right wing!"

The Real Madrid players realized that something was wrong at this time—the Napoli at this moment is completely different from the Napoli in the first half!

"What the hell!" Casillas got ready in front of the goal, waiting in full battle array.

Marcelo, who joked with him to put on more clothes during the halftime break, was now desperately running back from the frontcourt, his goal was Maggio in control of the ball.

When he finally caught up with Maggio, Maggio passed the ball out…

This time he passed it to Arshavin.

After receiving the ball, Arshavin did not break through directly, but wanted to dribble the ball very much.

Because it was a counterattack after being intercepted, and Real Madrid's return was a bit slow, there were only two central defenders, Pepe and Albiol, in front of Arshavin, and all other places were empty!

For Real Madrid, this is a very dangerous situation!

And Chen Hero, who was pulling the run for Arshavin and suppressing the central defender next to him, brightened his eyes!

This is really a great opportunity to test how well he has practiced off-ball movement in actual combat!

※※※

ps, The first day of work after New Year's Day, Lin Hai will accompany you with three chapters of Forbidden Zone of Heroes!

There will be three updates tomorrow!

There have been three updates for four consecutive days, please ask everyone for monthly tickets!