Chapter 112 Challenge

After the match against Palermo, the media were all reporting on Arshavin's goal. Chen Hero's long shot from the center circle was the highlight of the goal, and of course, Arshavin's resolute advance was also key.

As for the feud between Chen Hero and the fans, the media mentioned it less.

First of all, Chen Hero did not make the slap celebration in this game, although the boos were still there.

Secondly, Lavezzi sat on the bench for the entire ninety minutes, and this news became the focus of the media.

Now, the conflict between Lavezzi and coach Mazzarri is well known throughout the city, and it is no secret. This is just like the disagreement between Chen Hero and Reja, which caused a lot of noise.

Lavezzi has never publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with Mazzarri. In public, he is still a silent person who works hard and is treated unfairly by the coach.

But anyone with normal intelligence knows that he and Mazzarri have a conflict.

There are always some well-informed reporters in the media circle who know the inside story that others don't. These people either have a good cooperative relationship with the club officials, or they have a good relationship with the players' agents.

This time, Lavezzi's agent Mazzoni wanted to put pressure on the club, so he revealed the conflict between Lavezzi and Mazzarri through the mouth of a reporter who had a good relationship with him.

"...It is said that now when the team is training, Lavezzi and Mazzarri ignore each other, and the two of them don't communicate at all!"

This is certainly a serious conflict, but when the Napoli players saw this sentence, they would also feel that it was too exaggerated. How could there be no words at all? It's just that there are fewer words...

But they can also see the conflict between the two.

Mazzarri doesn't like Lavezzi's willful appearance, and Lavezzi also believes that Mazzarri is on Chen Hero's side at all, and he has nothing to talk to such a person.

He has made up his mind to leave the club, so what else is there to worry about.

Lavezzi has nothing to worry about, and Mazzarri has nothing to worry about—in the games against Palermo and Fiorentina, Lavezzi didn't play, but the team won. In the game against Roma, Lavezzi was on the field, and Napoli was 2:3 behind. As soon as he was off the field, the team was 4:3. They can't win any game he plays, and the team runs smoothly without him.

What does this mean?

It shows that in this tactic, Lavezzi is no longer an indispensable figure. The team can still function without him!

If that's the case, what am I afraid of you doing?

This is Mazzarri's idea.

Lavezzi can be determined to leave, and Mazzarri can also be determined to put Lavezzi in the cold palace. Marino, who is caught in the middle, is having a hard time.

He is always asked by reporters: "Is it true that Mazzarri and Lavezzi have a conflict?" "Is it true that Lavezzi is going to transfer and leave?"

He always said: "They have no conflicts... We will not sell the team's top stars..."

It's not okay to always use this excuse.

So now reporters directly ask him: "What do you think of the conflict between Lavezzi and Mazzarri?" "Will you sell Lavezzi to Inter Milan?"

His answer is still: "We have no conflicts... We will never sell the team's top stars..."

The reporters also felt that Marino's answer was too perfunctory, so they simply ran to the team owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. Everyone knows that this club chairman is a famous loudmouth, maybe they can get some interesting news from him?

Unexpectedly, De Laurentiis' reaction this time was very depressing.

"My team will never sell players for money!"

Such an answer made people think—doesn't De Laurentiis want Lavezzi to leave? But isn't his personal relationship with Chen Hero very good? Does this mean that there is another conflict between him and Chen Hero?

That would be big news!

※※※

Chen Hero, who was lying down and got shot, was accepting the owner's banquet at De Laurentiis' luxurious manor at this time.

This was his first time visiting the club owner's home in Naples.

Compared with this movie mogul's fifty-acre luxury manor, Chen Hero's rented 210-square-meter "villa" is simply an ugly duckling—although Chen Hero was quite smug about finding a good house before.

Chen Hero and De Laurentiis had already had lunch and were strolling in the sunny garden.

The warm sunshine shone on them, making people almost forget that it was actually winter.

"It's been more than half a year since I came to Naples, how do you feel about this city?" De Laurentiis asked.

"To be honest, I haven't even had a good look at what the city looks like!" Chen Hero complained.

He was telling the truth. He either trains every day or returns home to continue training. For him, it is either competition or training. There is no rest time at all. Fortunately, the person next to him is the bodyguard Christine Cabrilla. This woman will not ask him to go shopping with her, chat with her, or do many romantic things with her. She just stays quietly by the side. At night at home, Chen Hero closes the bedroom door and goes to farm instances by himself, and Cabrilla has no complaints.

In addition, the relationship with the fans is tense, and Cabrilla doesn't allow Chen Hero to run around, unless necessary, it's best to stay at home. Even today, when he came to the banquet, Cabrilla followed him every step of the way, but she did not enjoy a delicious lunch with Chen Hero and others here, but drove away again.

De Laurentiis laughed.

"You..." He shook his head. "Do you know what I liked most yesterday? Seeing you throwing your clothes to the fans after the game."

Chen Hero shrugged: "I know what you mean, but I will never be able to reconcile with those extreme fans."

De Laurentiis nodded: "I know, I know. You are such a person, but, I just hope that you will have the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of Naples in the future. Have you heard a saying?"

"What?"

"See Naples and die. Don't live too tired, kid."

"There are too many enemies."

"Many enemies are created by yourself."

Chen Hero wanted to refute, but then he thought that this was his boss, so he should restrain himself...

Of course, De Laurentiis knew that Chen Hero, in his youthful and energetic state, would not listen to his words. But he didn't ask Chen Hero to listen, he just said it casually.

"Let's talk about the team, Hero. How do you feel about playing in Naples?"

"It was terrible at first, but it's getting better and better now."

"I think so too. Mazzarri told me that he wants the team to qualify for the UEFA Cup next season..."

"UEFA Cup?" Chen Hero frowned when he heard this.

"What?" De Laurentiis saw the change in Chen Hero's expression. He was in the movie business, so he naturally knew what the change in expression meant. "Don't you want to participate in the European war next season?"

"Of course I do, but I thought it was the Champions League," Chen Hero said.

De Laurentiis was stunned for a moment, then he laughed: "I should have guessed it. Ha, that's what you would say. What, are you not satisfied with the UEFA Cup?"

"I've played in the UEFA Cup for two consecutive seasons, boss..." Chen Hero looked distressed. "If I play in the UEFA Cup again, I'm really going to vomit."

"Hey, to be honest. When Mazzarri told me that he wanted to lead the team to win the UEFA Cup, I still felt a bit hopeful—we are currently ranked eighth. But if you talk about the Champions League..."

Chen Hero curled his lips: "Whether it can be done is one thing, and whether you want to do it is another thing, boss. If you don't dare to think about it, you can't do it even if you can. If you dare to think about it, you can do it even if you can't." He sounded like he was speaking tongue twisters.

De Laurentiis very humbly accepted Chen Hero's "criticism and education": "Ha, you're right, you're right!"

If the club manager Marino saw this scene, his jaw would definitely drop—in his impression, no one has been able to talk to Aurelio De Laurentiis like this without being reprimanded. "Who do you think you are, kid? How dare you talk to me like that?!"

"Then I'll also adjust my expectations a little bit. If we can really make it to the Champions League next season, I will definitely increase investment!"

※※※

The two people—mainly the elderly De Laurentiis—were tired from walking, so they sat down on a long chair by the garden path.

De Laurentiis leaned back in the chair and looked up at the blue sky. Naples in winter is too humid, and there are very few such good weather days. The fine beads of sweat on his forehead reflected the sunlight, as if there were countless small suns. He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air from his chest, and his whole body felt much more comfortable.

"Hero, do you know?" De Laurentiis, who was squinting slightly, suddenly said.

"Huh?" Chen Hero, who was sitting next to him, replied.

"The Champions League, Diego Maradona has never won this honor."

"Isn't that just right? Win the Champions League and create a new era!" Chen Hero said with a fist clenched and full of fighting spirit.

De Laurentiis grinned and said, "If the media heard what you said, I'm afraid it would set off another storm in Naples."

Chen Hero looked at the Bay of Naples and said to De Laurentiis, "Boss, I may not speak very well, because I haven't studied much, and I can't say nice things. But I understand the principles. I always feel that Naples is still living in the Maradona era of the last century. In my country, China, why do many fans like Naples? It's because of Maradona, not because of Naples. I think if you really want to make the team a top club, you have to get rid of Maradona's influence. When everyone likes this team because of Naples' current achievements, and then they know that there is a person named Maradona, that's right. Anyway, that's what I think."

The old man next to him didn't say a word, just stared at the Bay of Naples in front of him in a daze, no one knew what he was thinking.

De Laurentiis' manor is located on the hillside of Mount Vesuvius, where you can have a panoramic view of the beautiful Bay of Naples, a chaotic but colorful and vibrant city, and the Mediterranean Sea sparkling in the sun.

More than a hundred years ago, this place was the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Until now, the people here are still immersed in the glory of the former capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The capital is always the center of all desires intertwined in a region. The unavoidable problem is that people who live in civilian houses also think that they live in the heart of the world and control the fate and justice of the world.

The fans of Naples are the same. They are still living in the dream of the Maradona era and are unwilling to wake up. Whenever things go wrong, they will hide in the tavern, drinking and reminiscing about the past—thinking back then, when Diego was in Naples...

This infatuation with the past led to Naples' rapid decline after Diego left, and even fell into the abyss of bankruptcy and team dissolution.

The people of Naples are full of passion, year-round, which is the best environment for football to survive. But the people here are too passionate, which is especially reflected in their attitude towards Maradona. Maradona once hoped to leave Naples and go to Marseille in France, because the obsessive enthusiasm of the Neapolitans caused him too much anxiety in his life. But how could this city easily let go of Diego, who accumulated the obsession of a city.

In the end, Diego reached the peak of his career in the city of Naples, and also accelerated his decline in the never-ending enthusiasm of the Neapolitans, gradually becoming unable to extricate himself from the women and drugs offered by the Mafia bosses.

Diego Maradona is the god of Naples, and until now he still entrusts all the enthusiasm and hope of all Neapolitans.

From this point of view, Aurelio De Laurentiis suddenly felt that it was actually a good thing that Chen Hero had a falling out with the fans of Naples over Maradona as soon as he came to the team. At the very least, he doesn't have to inherit Maradona's mantle and take over all the hopes of all Neapolitans for the past, dissatisfaction with the present, and fantasy about the future.

He is just him, Chen Hero, who makes the fans of Naples boo him crazily. He will never become the god of this city, and he will never become the second Maradona.

Diego Maradona is unique, and Chen Hero is also unique.

After a long time, the old man suddenly opened his mouth. "You're right, Hero. We are still living in the glory of the past. Good memories are like drugs. Everyone knows that it's not a good thing, but they can't quit. So many years have passed, and no one can wake up all of Naples from the dream of the past."

He looked at Chen Hero.

In front of him, the young man's black eyes reflected the light of the sun.

"I want to try something so challenging."

He said.