Chapter 20 Chen Hero Dependence

Chen Hero still remembered what Advocaat had said when he told him to go home and rest. Advocaat himself obviously still remembered it too.

"Hero, Zenit Saint Petersburg is not your team alone. Don't think that without you, the team can't win!"

These words carried weight.

When Advocaat said this, he had no doubt in his mind. In his opinion, Zenit had excellent players like Tymoshchuk, Dominguez, Arshavin, and Kerzhakov. Wasn't it easy to beat Nuremberg at home?

But he was wrong.

Chen Hero stared at the TV screen in front of him, his eyes wide, almost popping out of their sockets, still unable to believe what he was seeing and hearing.

"Leon Benko! Leon Benko! Eighty-third minute! What an exciting game! Nuremberg has equalized the score on the road!"

The commentator roared.

Chen Hero had no intention of cheering for an "exciting game" because his team had been tied.

In the eighty-third minute, Zenit, who was originally leading 2:1, was tied by Nuremberg.

Petrovsky Stadium was silent, with only a few cheers from the visiting team's fans.

The TV broadcast quickly gave a close-up of Advocaat, the Dutch coach standing in the command area, his face ashen.

"In this game, Zenit's main striker, Chen Hero, did not even enter the team's roster due to a cold and fever, but no one would have thought that his absence would have any impact on the team. After all, Zenit has many talented and outstanding players. But the reality is so ironic, Zenit without Chen Hero was tied by its opponent at home!"

"In the game, Zenit got a lot of chances, but in the end they only scored two goals. Now Zenit, who has repeatedly wasted opportunities, has been punished!"

"Chen Hero's role is not only reflected in scoring goals. The key is that with him in the frontcourt, Zenit's offense has a direction. When the players pass the ball, they will have a goal, knowing what they should do. If he does not play, Zenit's offense looks like a headless fly. Although there are many shots, few are threatening. Zenit took twenty-seven shots before conceding the goal, but only scored two goals, while Nuremberg? Eleven shots, two goals..."

"Look at Advocaat's expression, he must be regretting not bringing Chen Hero, even if he was on the bench..."

Advocaat did regret not putting Chen Hero on the bench, but the thought flashed through his mind.

Now is not the time to regret this.

Faced with such a situation, he was powerless. He had used up all three substitution quotas, and all he could do was watch from the sidelines and see how his players could regain the lead with their own efforts...

In Hero's absence...it was a little difficult.

Damn it!

Why did he think of him again?

Advocaat was tragically aware of a fact—Chen Hero had caught a cold, and his team had caught "Chen Hero dependence"...

Chen Hero sneezed, and his team seemed to catch a cold as well.

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Chen Hero didn't know how he should feel at this time—his team was tied by their opponent, and the situation in the UEFA Cup group stage was not optimistic. But would the coach recognize his importance if the team was tied without him?

To be honest, although he knew that what the coach said was true, it was still a bit of a blow to be told to his face, "Don't think that without you, the team can't win!"

He longed to be valued by the team, to be valued by the coach, and to be valued by everyone.

He wanted to be recognized for his important role in the team.

Although he knew that Advocaat wanted him to go back and recuperate, he was still a little unhappy.

So when he saw the team being tied, he really didn't know what his feelings should be—well, it was quite complicated...

But fortunately, there was still one round left. In the last game against Everton, he would definitely play, and then for the team's qualification... he would fight!

Let you see how powerful my Hero is!

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In the end, Zenit was unable to score another goal against Nuremberg. The score was fixed at 2:2.

It was obvious that Chen Hero's teammates were very disappointed.

In a post-match interview, they all said that they were very sorry that they could not win the game at home.

Advocaat was "besieged" by reporters at the press conference. Of course, the topics revolved around only one person.

"Excuse me, Mr. Advocaat, is the draw in this game related to Chen Hero's absence?"

"Without Hero, the team's offensive methods lack changes. Did the team not make targeted arrangements before the game?"

"Will Hero's cold and fever affect his appearance in the game against Everton?"

"Has Zenit suffered from 'Hero dependence'?"

……

These questions made Advocaat's head ache, and at the same time he had to maintain his composure, so he could only smile bitterly.

"The draw was unexpected...From the scene, we had the upper hand. I regret that we did not win the game...Hero? He had a cold and fever before, and he has not trained with the team for three days. Considering his condition and physical condition, I did not arrange for him to play...No, I do not regret it. He must rest. He has been fighting continuously for a season, and he needs rest. We still have one game left. Playing Everton away from home is not an easy game, but we have confidence..."

"Excuse me, Mr. Advocaat, will Chen Hero play in the game against Everton?"

"...I think so..."

Advocaat finally succumbed. He did not say anything like "I don't know, it depends on his condition at the time" or "No comment". Instead, he directly said the answer, because he didn't want everyone to continue asking questions related to Chen Hero. This was a post-match press conference, not a press conference about Chen Hero.

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In fact, after the game, although Advocaat did not admit that something like "Hero dependence" really existed, the media had already analyzed it for him. Zenit was suffering from "Hero dependence"!

"...Before the game against Nuremberg, Chen Hero unfortunately caught a cold...He sneezed, and then Zenit Saint Petersburg shivered. Just like that, they were tied by Nuremberg at home..."

"I think Advocaat obviously underestimated Hero's role in the team. You must know that he is not just a center who can score goals...As long as he exists on the field, he is a threat to the opponent's defense. He can not only score goals himself, but also help other teammates attract the opponent's defense's attention...Once Hero is gone, Advocaat's team doesn't know how to attack. They have lost their direction!"

"Let's admit it, Zenit Saint Petersburg is now suffering from 'Hero dependence'! There's nothing shameful about that...Look at his data in the league. If it weren't for his twenty-seven goals, would Zenit be able to win the league title? I think it's unlikely..."

Advocaat looked at the articles in these newspapers and was speechless.

He was unwilling to admit it, but the fact slapped him mercilessly in the face.

This made him a little embarrassed in front of Hero.

But fortunately, his disciple gave him face...

The next day, during training, Chen Hero could feel that Advocaat was a little unnatural when facing him...He must have thought of the sentence "Don't think that without you, the team can't win."

Unexpectedly, it came true, and they really didn't win the game.

In fact, Chen Hero was also quite embarrassed...He now hoped that the team would win the game...

So Chen Hero did not show any "schadenfreude" expression in front of the coach—he looked grief-stricken, as if a loved one had died. He also didn't joke loudly with his teammates during training—he used to do this a lot. He was the team's happy fruit.

Advocaat was very satisfied with Chen Hero's performance, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

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After the training, Chen Hero was blocked by reporters, who wanted to hear Chen Hero's opinion on the team being tied by Nuremberg.

Of course, Chen Hero would not be stupid enough to say something like "If I had been there, it would have been easy to wipe out Nuremberg" to court a beating.

He expressed regret for the team's draw, and then said that the game against Everton was the decisive battle.

"I will definitely go all out. We will defeat Everton and qualify proudly!" Chen Hero issued a victory declaration very arrogantly.

The reporters cheered in their hearts: "Awesome, Hero! That's the kind of news we want! The more arrogant you are, the more we like it! Do you know that readers just like your arrogance!"

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The match between Zenit Saint Petersburg and Everton was on December 5, six days away from the match against Nuremberg.

Chen Hero's cold and fever occurred four days before the match against Nuremberg.

In fact, his cold was already cured, but because he had not trained with his teammates for several days—for fear of spreading his cold and also for his health, he stayed at home to recuperate—he did not appear on the roster for the match against Nuremberg.

But if there were no surprises, he would definitely appear on the roster for the match against Everton. Especially after watching today's game, many people have strengthened such an idea—without Chen Hero, Zenit is like losing its most powerful and heavy ax.

This northern giant bear is the person the team must still rely on, even if it means suffering from "Hero dependence."

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ps, because I was thinking about today's bonus chapter, I sped back all the way...My wife was so scared that she kept having nightmares while sleeping in the car...

Well, fortunately, I made it.

The bonus chapter for 3150 monthly tickets is here!