Chapter 1 After the Quarterfinals

After the FA Cup quarterfinal, Chen Hero returned to the first team, while the reserves remained the same, daily training, going to play in the reserve league on match days.

The date for the FA Cup semi-final was April 11th, and Liverpool's opponent in the semi-final was also freshly announced—Tottenham Hotspur.

The reserve team players had stopped thinking about the promises Chen Hero had made to them during the game. They were all adults, and none of them were naive fools. They all felt that this was just Chen Hero's way of boosting team morale, a very normal motivational tactic.

Besides, they didn't think they were the heroes behind the team's ultimate comeback against Aston Villa. All the media said that the game was because of Chen Hero. Without Chen Hero, based on their performance in the game, they might not even have made it past the fourth round of the FA Cup...

They thought the media made sense.

Without Hero, no one would pay attention to them, and they wouldn't have made it this far. So, this honor should belong to Hero, and it had nothing to do with them. Even if they weren't part of the semi-final and final, they had already accepted that fact.

Now that Liverpool's opponent in the semi-final was a team like Tottenham Hotspur, O'Neill would definitely not give the reserves such an opportunity.

Anyone with a normal brain wouldn't really believe that O'Neill would let the reserves play in the semi-final, against a team like Tottenham Hotspur.

And he wouldn't put Chen Hero on the bench either. How could the team's head coach allow players to do such willful things?

If the game was lost because of Chen Hero's absence, no one could be responsible, not even Hero himself.

So, they heard it and forgot it, just treating it as Hero's comforting words. Anyway, they were already happy enough to fight alongside Hero.

But these reserve team players didn't know that Chen Hero was arguing with Martin O'Neill about this matter at this time.

※※※

After training, Chen Hero took the initiative to find O'Neill and wanted to talk to him alone.

O'Neill didn't know what he wanted to do, but it was certainly a good thing that he was willing to take the initiative to talk to him—in the past, it was always O'Neill who invited Chen Hero.

Chen Hero followed O'Neill back to the head coach's office. After O'Neill sat down, he signaled Chen Hero to sit as well.

Chen Hero didn't obediently sit down. He walked to O'Neill's desk, looked at the head coach in the chair, and said, "Boss, I have a request. I hope you can fulfill it..."

O'Neill was very surprised to hear Chen Hero say this. In his memory, Chen Hero almost never "requested" anything from him.

"If it's asking for leave, I don't think I have any objections..." O'Neill said. "As long as it doesn't delay the upcoming games..."

"No, it's not asking for leave. Can I ask you a question in advance, what do you think of the FA Cup, boss? Are you planning to stop here, or are you planning to reach the final and then stop, or are you aiming for the championship?"

O'Neill didn't expect Chen Hero to ask him about this question.

"I haven't thought about it yet... But I think it should be to strive for the championship, right? What's wrong, Hero?"

"Then can I request that you don't use first-team players to replace reserve team players in the semi-final and final?"

Chen Hero finally made his request, but Martin O'Neill thought he was joking. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "This joke isn't funny, Hero."

Chen Hero shook his head and said very seriously: "No, I'm not joking. I really hope so. I hope you still insist on using the reserve team plus me in the FA Cup semi-final and final."

Martin O'Neill sat upright in his chair, his body straight, his head slightly raised. This was a gesture of respect for Chen Hero, but his face had an expression like he was looking at an alien.

After a long while, he reacted, then shook his head and said: "I can't agree to your request, Hero, it's too crazy! Tottenham is not a team that can be easily dealt with. If we use the reserve team, I'm afraid we will lose the opportunity to compete for the FA Cup championship..."

Being rejected by the head coach was within Chen Hero's expectations, but he had to insist on his request: "I don't think we will lose the game if we use the reserve team, boss. We have already proved this in the game against Aston Villa. Who says the reserve team is not as good as the first team? If the other party underestimates us because we send out the reserve team, we have a high chance of defeating them!"

"What if the other party doesn't underestimate us?"

"Then we can also defeat them, just the chances are a little smaller."

"How much smaller?"

"If they underestimate us, we have an 80% chance of defeating Tottenham. If they don't underestimate us... 60% maybe."

Hearing Chen Hero's words, Martin O'Neill almost couldn't help but roll his eyes—the opponent is Tottenham! And you make them sound so vulnerable!

You use the reserve team against Tottenham, and you can still guarantee a 60% win rate. Do you really think Tottenham is a pushover?

"Are you sure, Hero?"

Seeing Martin O'Neill's disbelieving expression, Chen Hero curled his lips: "Of course, as long as I play my best."

O'Neill felt that he had nothing to say. He could only shake his head: "No, Hero, I can't agree to your request. Your request is too risky..."

"Why? Didn't we agree before that the League Cup and FA Cup would be handed over to the reserve team?"

"That was for the general League Cup and FA Cup, not a semi-final like this. Frankly speaking, I don't think the reserve team has the strength and experience, nor the mental fortitude to handle such a big occasion..."

"I have the opposite view, boss."

In order to fulfill his promise, Chen Hero was really going all out today. He directly interrupted O'Neill's words and then said. "I don't think our reserve team is that weak. Didn't Shankly say that Merseyside has two of the best teams, Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves? I think he's right!"

Chen Hero suddenly quoting Bill Shankly's famous saying surprised Martin O'Neill. As a football person who has been in England for a long time, how could he not know Bill Shankly? He had also heard Bill Shankly's words, but he didn't expect Chen Hero to use them here...

"That was before, Hero, times are different..."

"No, I have confidence, boss, I have confidence! I have confidence to break into the final with the reserve team, and even lift the championship trophy in the end! As long as you give me the order, I will work hard with them!" Chen Hero rushed up eagerly, put his hands on the table, leaned down and stared at Martin O'Neill, his eyes unblinking.

O'Neill felt very strange, why Chen Hero was so persistent on this issue, even if he had developed feelings because he had been with the reserve team players for a long time, it shouldn't be so intense...

"Because I promised them, I promised them that I would appear with them on the semi-final stage!" Chen Hero replied decisively, surprising Martin O'Neill again—he had really been too surprised today...

He understood what Chen Hero said when the team formed a circle after scoring a goal, and he also understood why Liverpool's performance had completely changed after that—to have Chen Hero say such things to those reserve team players... Those reserve team players felt valued and respected, and would naturally burst out with great fighting power.

Seeing that Martin O'Neill was just surprised but unmoved and unwilling to let go, Chen Hero had no choice but to use his trump card: "I also promised them, boss, if you don't agree to my terms, then I won't play in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham."

O'Neill was so shocked that his mouth hung open—this was the most shocked he had been today.

"Are you kidding me, Hero?" He stood up straight from his chair.

"No, not kidding, boss, I'm serious, and you know I'm serious, I really will do it. I said I want to be with them, either to play on the field together, or to sit in the stands as spectators together."

"You... you're messing around!" O'Neill held back for a long time, and finally said something serious.

Unexpectedly, Chen Hero nodded: "Yes, I'm just messing around, boss. But to let me abandon them in the semi-final, to kick away those reserve team players who helped us reach the semi-final and make them completely miss this game, I can't do it!"

Martin O'Neill was speechless, because his previous approach was indeed too unkind, using people up and then throwing them aside.

"Why should we let them contribute when we're fighting, and then it's our turn to play when it's time to reap the fruits of victory? I can't figure out this question, boss. If you say it's because you're worried about the imbalance of strength, then I want to prove this—even if Liverpool uses the reserve team, they have the opportunity and ability to win the championship! Boss, they were in charge of this event from the beginning, why change them at the end? Didn't you see the disgust in their hearts for this decision? Just like the League Cup, the honor of the League Cup clearly should have been theirs, but whether it was the award ceremony or the celebration ceremony, they were nowhere to be seen... They were forgotten by all of us just like that, is this normal, boss?"

Chen Hero's series of questions left Martin O'Neill speechless.

"They are all members of the Liverpool club, but just because they are from the reserve team, should they suffer such unfair treatment, boss? I just want to give this back to them, to give back the opportunity that we snatched from them, so that they can also stand on the podium with dignity and enjoy the cheers! So I beg you to agree to my request, let me participate in the FA Cup semi-final with them, and if we make it to the final, then participate in the final... I have confidence to bring a championship back to the team! So we will definitely not lose the championship just because the players on the field are from the reserve team!"

Martin O'Neill didn't know when he had been forced back into the chair by Chen Hero's aura. He was now leaning on the back of the chair, looking up at Chen Hero in a daze.

After a long while, he reacted, and he sighed: "Okay, I agree to your request, Hero. You want to give the reserve team players an honor, no problem, but you have to know the risks involved in doing so. If we lose, you should know how much pressure you will bring to yourself and the reserve team players. Of course, I hope you are helping them, but I don't want it to end up hurting them instead."

Hearing O'Neill agree to his request, Chen Hero was very happy: "Of course not, boss! Just try to win the game! This is what I do best!"

He gave O'Neill a thumbs up.