Chapter 134 Revenge

Chen Hero’s goal quickly equalized the score, which was an extremely morale-boosting and inspiring goal for the Napoli players.

For the Fiorentina players, it was like a bucket of cold water being poured over their heads in the freezing winter…

They were cold from head to toe, and their hearts were chilled through!

After this, there was a fundamental reversal in the performance of both teams.

Even playing away from home, Napoli was like a pack of wolves, chasing and intercepting Fiorentina. Once Fiorentina collapsed from exhaustion, they would pounce on them and tear them apart.

Fiorentina, on the other hand, seemed a bit dispirited—they were stunned by Chen Hero’s goal. Including the time they spent celebrating, they had only been in the lead for a little over a minute before being tied. This was really discouraging.

How does it feel when you finally take the lead, only to find that your opponent catches up to you very easily?

※※※

Napoli’s offensive was like a storm. Without Lavezzi, their attack was even smoother.

Although Vitale was not as capable or famous as Lavezzi, the most important thing was that he was obedient and willing to follow the coach’s tactical arrangements.

In the eightieth minute, he passed a ground ball from the wing. Chen Hero, with his back to the goal in the penalty area, received the ball. Then, he used his physical advantage to protect the ball at his feet.

The player defending him, Melo, was playing as a makeshift center-back in this game. He had previously played as a defensive midfielder, a tough and fierce "beast waist."

Perhaps because he was used to playing as a defensive midfielder, when he saw Chen Hero protecting the ball with his back to the goal, he didn't have any other thoughts in his mind other than—tackle him!

When he brought Chen Hero down in the penalty area, he also heard the referee’s whistle.

“Penalty! Oh! Look at what Melo has done! This tackle from behind is definitely a penalty… Now it depends on whether the referee will impose an additional penalty… Red card! Yes, the referee is holding a red card in his hand, and he is waving for Melo to come over…”

The Fiorentina players surrounded the referee. They were not questioning the penalty decision. They had nothing to say about this penalty. They hoped that the referee could put the red card back and replace it with a yellow card.

On the other side, the Napoli players hugged each other to celebrate. They had already begun to celebrate the goal in advance.

The collective plea of the Fiorentina players did not ultimately change Melo’s fate. He was sent off the field with a red card and also gave Napoli a penalty.

For Fiorentina, this was simply adding insult to injury!

Hamsik took the penalty, and despite the huge noise and boos from the Franchi Stadium, he calmly shot the ball into the lower left corner of the goal. Frey, on the other hand, dived to the opposite side…

“Goal! Napoli has completed another reversal! They have taken a 2:1 lead away from home! Although Hamsik scored this goal, we must not forget that Chen Hero created this penalty! When he got the ball in the penalty area, the opponent seemed to have no better way to deal with it other than fouling…”

In the process of creating this penalty, Chen Hero's footwork played a certain role. He is now enjoying the benefits brought to him after improving his footwork.

And this is just a very elementary improvement. He still has huge room for upgrading and potential. As his footwork gets better and better, his threat on the court will become greater and greater. Everyone can look forward to Chen Hero at that time…

After the goal, Hamsik and Chen Hero embraced, which also shows Chen Hero's current status in the team. Hamsik is the team's number one star and has a high popularity and prestige in the locker room. Although young, he is already the core of Napoli.

Getting his support almost means that Chen Hero's road in the locker room will be smooth from now on—if Lavezzi leaves again, then almost no one can compete with Chen Hero.

Watching the scene of Hamsik and Chen Hero embracing, many Napoli reporters sighed inwardly—it seems that Lavezzi's days in Napoli will not be too long… They can start following up on his transfer rumors now, maybe they can dig up something in advance?

※※※

In the end, with a goal from Chen Hero and a penalty from Hamsik, Napoli took away three points on the road. They defeated Fiorentina 2:1.

In two consecutive comebacks, Chen Hero has played a very crucial role.

After this game, those voices saying that Chen Hero's form fluctuated suddenly decreased by more than half. Of course, there were also die-hards who insisted that two games could not explain anything at all. Hadn't he also scored in two consecutive rounds before? But what was the result? Didn't he fall into a slump again?

So… “Don’t be deceived by his five goals in these two games! I bet he will fall into a goal drought in the next game, and it will be more than just one or two games! I admit that Chen Hero has talent, but his personality flaws make it difficult for him to maintain his form stably…”

You can still hear similar voices from newspapers, stands, TV, and radio.

The number of people who like Chen Hero is slowly increasing, but the number of people who hate him has not decreased at all.

This is Chen Hero, a contradictory mixture that people extremely love and extremely hate, like ice and fire, two completely different qualities, perfectly integrated in him…

When Chen Hero returned to Naples with the team, he heard those comments from the reporters’ mouths.

"What? They said that? Oh, I'm so happy." Chen Hero said at the airport, shaking his head. "I'm very happy that even at this time, there are still clueless people who come up and ask me to slap them in the face." He grinned, looking at his big mouth, which looked like a bear opening its mouth to eat food.

※※※

When Lavezzi returned to the team and started training again, his expression was still very unnatural.

Although there were still voices in the media publicizing that Chen Hero was just a short-term fluke and he would inevitably fall into a slump.

But Lavezzi was the one who trained with him every day, and he could tell how he was doing just from training.

He felt that it was too difficult to expect Chen Hero to suddenly fall into a slump in a short period of time…

Did he really have to become a winger and be a supporting role for this guy he didn't like at all?

It's not that he is unwilling to be a supporting role. He feels that he has no problem being a supporting role for people like Hamsik. Even passing the ball to Zalayeta, he doesn't think there is anything wrong with it. It’s just for this person… for this arrogant person, it makes him feel uncomfortable all over.

Almost from the beginning when he saw Chen Hero in the media, he felt uncomfortable with this person. At first, he thought it was just because Chen Hero insulted his idol, but when Chen Hero explained this matter, the discomfort in his heart did not diminish much. He then realized that his hostility towards this person seemed to be innate.

He doesn't like this person's arrogance, his self-righteousness, and even his loud laughter in the locker room. He obviously doesn't understand Italian and can't speak it, but he has to come up and act familiar, which makes him very uncomfortable. In Chen Hero, there is no trait that can make him feel comfortable or recognized.

He and himself are completely from two different worlds, and there is no possibility of having a common language in this life.

Now he has to be a supporting role for such a person he dislikes so much, he cannot accept it.

Mazzarri felt that he should have a good talk with Lavezzi. After all, Lavezzi has the ability. His speed and dribbling are what Napoli needs. If he can cooperate with Chen Hero and Arshavin to create a trident that belongs to Napoli, Napoli's strength can reach another level.

In any case, as the team's coach, he still has to work hard.

Resolve the conflict between these two players, and at the same time let Lavezzi change to playing as a winger and attacking midfielder, instead of a striker…

He still has illusions about Lavezzi, thinking that Lavezzi should at least seriously consider his suggestion, after all, this is beneficial to his career. In the current environment of modern football, no one can conquer the world with just one skill. Lavezzi has the potential to become a superstar, but in Mazzarri's observation, this person's football IQ is very lacking…

He plans to focus on cultivating Lavezzi's football IQ.

To this end, he hopes this will be a constructive and friendly meeting.

But he was disappointed.

"I have a personal grievance with him." Lavezzi directly rejected Mazzarri's suggestion.

"I'm not used to and don't like playing as a winger or attacking midfielder."

"No, I don't accept this arrangement."

"Coach, you can let me be a center forward. I guarantee that I won't be worse than that person. I am confident in my ability…"

Mazzarri really doesn't know how to persuade this stubborn person. If Lavezzi doesn't cooperate, Napoli will almost have to walk on one leg in the second half of the season…

This will inevitably affect the team's performance—the team's current performance is bad enough, if something goes wrong in the second half of the season… He also wants this team to at least get a place in the European competition next season, whether it's the UEFA Cup or the Champions League. At least they have to be able to participate in European competitions.

The boss has formulated a second five-year plan. If a team wants to become a giant, what are they talking about if they can't even play in European competitions? Daydreaming.

So his pressure is not light at all.

But at this critical moment, Lavezzi is having an emotional outburst.

"I hope you consider it carefully, Ezequiel." In the end, Mazzarri still gave Lavezzi a chance. He felt that Lavezzi might have just been punished by the team and was still angry. These words were said in a fit of pique and should not be taken seriously.

"This is what I said after careful consideration, coach."

After Lavezzi finished speaking, he turned and left.

Leaving only Mazzarri in the office, his brows furrowed so tightly that water was about to drip out.