Chapter 1524 Chen Hero's Home

Chen Hero buried himself in hard training in the dungeon to improve himself and maintain his condition, preparing to give his "old friend" Barcelona another surprise.

At the same time, the media was still hyping up his goal count worldwide, and all previous doubts about him had become insignificant—this young man could score five hundred goals at a young age, one hundred and two goals in a single season, so how could sixty-two league goals in a season be unbelievable?

He truly had the ability, and it wasn't because he took any banned substances. Otherwise… he would have to take them every day of the season, his body would have collapsed long ago, and wouldn't all the anti-doping agencies be useless? They couldn't find a single abnormal urine sample in ten years?

So, there was only one explanation: Chen Hero had never taken any banned substances, just as he said.

He was innocent.

Not only did the English Anti-Doping Commission prove this, but also the Italian, Russian, UEFA… all proved it.

In the face of such tremendous achievements, no one made any discordant noises anymore.

Even if there were still people who were dissatisfied and hated Chen Hero to the bone, they had all learned to be smart. They didn't come out to confront Chen Hero head-on at this time, but instead avoided his sharp edge. If they had to jump out and question Chen Hero, Richard. Gill's fate was still in front of everyone.

And those reporters and media outlets that Chen Hero had sued would face long and torturous lawsuits and hefty compensation…

Chen Hero was never a gentleman. If you hit him, he would definitely beat you, and beat you even harder than you hit him. If you cursed him… he would still beat you, and he wouldn't show any mercy at all.

So, at this time, don't provoke Chen Hero.

Rarely, Chen Hero enjoyed a comfortable space provided by the media. No criticism, no controversy, no slander, only praise, a swarm of nauseating, overwhelming praise and flattery.

Chen Hero didn't think there was anything wrong with these praises and flattery. He just liked to hear people praise him, and he just didn't like people criticizing him. He would never pretentiously say something like "Your criticism is also the driving force for my progress"... Bullshit! If anyone criticized him, he would be unhappy, and if he was unhappy, someone would be unlucky. On the contrary, if you praised him, even if it was flattery, he could accept it with a shameless smile.

Who doesn't like to hear good things?

This is human nature, not unique to Chen Hero.

Everyone was praising him, he was in a good mood, and the efficiency of his preparations was even higher.

Martin O'Neill was also very happy.

It was the first time he had led the team into the Champions League final, and seeing Chen Hero's condition, there was still a good chance of competing with Barcelona…

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While the media was praising Chen Hero, they didn't forget that on May 22nd, there was also the most important game in European football this season, a decisive battle to determine who was the true king of Europe.

The UEFA Champions League final.

This year's Champions League final would be held in the distant north, in Russia's northern capital, St. Petersburg.

The host stadium was Zenit St. Petersburg's new home stadium, the Gazprom Arena, which was newly built less than two years ago.

For Chen Hero, this year's final was of extraordinary significance. Because he would return to the place where he debuted, back to the starting point of his career.

In St. Petersburg, there were still many Zenit fans who missed and talked about Chen Hero. Every achievement Chen Hero made was conveyed to the fans in St. Petersburg through the St. Petersburg media, so everyone could continue to pay attention to Chen Hero. Thanks to the developed information network, they didn't feel that Chen Hero was too far away from them.

This time, when Liverpool defeated AC Milan in the semi-finals to reach the final, the happiest people were the fans in St. Petersburg, in addition to the Liverpool fans and the Chinese fans.

Because after six years, they could finally see Chen Hero play football again at their doorstep. The last time was when Chen Hero was in Naples, representing Napoli in the Champions League group stage away game in St. Petersburg. At that time, Napoli and Zenit St. Petersburg were in the same group.

Unlike the last time, this time Zenit fans didn't have to make painful choices. They could wholeheartedly support Chen Hero and also support Liverpool. They wouldn't be like last time, hoping that Chen Hero would perform well, but not wanting Zenit to lose the game…

So when the tickets for the Champions League final went on sale online, nearly 10,000 tickets reserved for local fans were sold out.

These people were all Zenit St. Petersburg fans, and they were all here to support Chen Hero.

At that time in St. Petersburg, Barcelona would face a very difficult situation. They would find that even the neutral fans in the usual sense were cheering for Chen Hero. They would feel that Liverpool was playing at home, and they were an out-and-out away team…

Who told Chen Hero to have such a high status in the hearts of Zenit fans?

Chen Hero himself was also very clear about this, so after leading the team through AC Milan, he said in an interview that he was very eager to return to St. Petersburg to play the game, and not return as an enemy of Zenit.

Because he especially missed the days when he played for Zenit St. Petersburg. He had many good friends there, and many fans who supported him.

His remarks resonated with Zenit fans, who also expressed their welcome to Chen Hero to come home, and they would become Chen Hero's and Liverpool's strong backing in the game.

This was not good news for Barcelona.

However, when UEFA arranged the final venue, they didn't expect that Liverpool would definitely be able to reach the final, and they didn't expect that seven years after Chen Hero left the team, Zenit fans still loved him so much…

Wasn't his popularity very bad?

This stadium might be more favorable to Liverpool. Barcelona didn't have any opinion on this, because this matter was actually very ordinary. For example, those teams whose home stadium was the host venue for the final, and then they also reached the final. That was truly playing at home. Could the opponent ask UEFA to change the final venue?

Guardiola's answer showed the confidence that Barcelona, as a top club, should have.

"I don't care about the relationship between the final venue and him. Our opponent is Liverpool, not a certain person or a certain stadium."

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Four days before the final, the entire Liverpool team left their base camp and flew to St. Petersburg.

Because of the relationship between Chen Hero and Škrtel, Liverpool Football Club contacted Zenit St. Petersburg and made a request to rent Zenit's training base for pre-match preparation.

In fact, Barcelona also made this request.

But anyone could guess which team Zenit would agree to.

They rejected Barcelona's request, agreed to Liverpool, and didn't charge a penny, lending it to Liverpool for free.

Originally, the two sides didn't have such a good relationship, just because of the two players who came out of Zenit, Škrtel and Chen Hero, especially because of Chen Hero's reputation.

In this way, Liverpool could come to St. Petersburg four days in advance to adapt to the local weather, climate, and venue.

Barcelona was rebuffed when they tried to rent a venue at Zenit St. Petersburg, but they couldn't just wait until the day before the game to come over.

They quickly contacted CSKA Moscow.

In fact, it wasn't them who contacted them, but CSKA Moscow who took the initiative to contact them.

The grudges between CSKA Moscow and Zenit still existed after Chen Hero left, and they were deeply rooted.

Since Liverpool and Zenit were close, they, as Zenit's rivals, would naturally help Liverpool's rivals. What's more, their hatred for Chen Hero was still there. Barcelona, as Chen Hero's mortal enemy, would naturally do everything possible to help Barcelona. If Barcelona could defeat Liverpool in the Champions League final, defeat Chen Hero, and lift the Champions League trophy, they would be as happy as if they had won the championship themselves.

If Chen Hero knew their thoughts, Chen Hero would not be angry, but would probably disdainfully say that CSKA Moscow only had so much ambition…

In this way, CSKA Moscow took the initiative to offer to lend the training base to Barcelona for free.

Although it wasn't St. Petersburg, both Moscow and St. Petersburg were in Russia, and there would always be many things that were the same. What's more, Moscow and St. Petersburg were not far apart. It was better to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg than to fly from Barcelona to St. Petersburg at the last minute. At least, it could minimize the impact of the journey on the team.

Barcelona readily agreed.

Thus, the grudges between the two Russian domestic powerhouses continued to unfold in this form.

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When they arrived in St. Petersburg, the entire Liverpool team received a warm welcome at the airport.

Because there were still four days before the Champions League final, it was impossible for any Liverpool fans to come to the airport to pick them up at this time. They would all have to wait until the day of the game or the day before to come.

So, almost all of those who welcomed them here were Zenit St. Petersburg fans.

It was said that they were here to welcome Liverpool, but in fact, they were more here to welcome Chen Hero and Škrtel, and then welcome Liverpool by the way…

They lined up in several rows at the exit of the airport, holding up posters of Chen Hero—these posters were quite old, because they were printed with Chen Hero's appearance when he was playing for Zenit.

Many fans also came to the airport wearing Chen Hero's jersey when he was at Zenit.

If they weren't still holding Liverpool scarves and banners welcoming Liverpool, people would probably think they were welcoming Zenit's players.

Chen Hero and Škrtel walked at the front of the team. Seeing them two come out, Zenit fans let out a tsunami-like cheer.

Chen Hero just raised his hand, and before he had waved it, the cheers suddenly increased by another level.

"Hero!!"

"Hero—!! Welcome back to St. Petersburg! This is always your home!"

"Hero! No matter where you are, we will always support you!"

……

The Russian nation is a very xenophobic nation, so racial discrimination is very serious in this country, especially in football. Even world superstars like Roberto Carlos and Eto'o have been subjected to racial discrimination.

But Chen Hero can receive such heartfelt love and such a degree of welcome from so many Russian fans. It must be said that he is indeed different.

Chen Hero finally waved his hand, and the cheers were even louder, almost tearing off the roof of the tall airport terminal.

Chen Hero had a bright smile on his face, then turned his head and said to his head coach, Martin O'Neill, who was walking next to him, "Boss, are you still worried that we can't beat Barcelona?"

Having witnessed Chen Hero's popularity here, Martin O'Neill shook his head helplessly with a smile. He really had nothing to say.

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ps, In fact, I am the same as Hero, I like praise!