Chapter 1 The Beginning

Liverpool and Barcelona were meeting for the first time in a Champions League final. In the fifty-eight-year history of the European Cup, Liverpool had never faced Barcelona in the final. The last time they played each other in the Champions League was in the 2007-2008 season, when Liverpool defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the away leg of the round of sixteen, and lost 0-1 at home, ultimately eliminating the then-defending champions with more away goals.

In fact, they hadn't played each other many times in the entire history of the Champions League.

So they were relatively new opponents.

But there was no shortage of talking points between these two teams.

Because Liverpool had Chen Hero.

In the week leading up to the game, the media began to hype up the grudges of this match.

Actually, it was mainly the grudge between Chen Hero and Barcelona.

The other Liverpool players were fine, they didn't have any issues with Barcelona.

The media was best at listing data and digging through old papers, and then telling everyone what had happened in the past clashes between these two teams.

Especially what had happened when Chen Hero and Barcelona had faced each other in the past.

"...Chen Hero and Barcelona have only played each other three times, but they have left a very deep impression. So much so that we often have the illusion that Chen Hero and Barcelona are old rivals..."

"Chen Hero and Barcelona are actually old rivals, because although they have only faced each other directly three times, their competition has never stopped. It is mainly the competition between Chen Hero and Messi. Even if two of the best shooters don't meet, there will inevitably be a fierce battle. Their competition on the scorer list and in breaking records is all-round..."

"...What impressed me the most was the Champions League top scorer battle in the 2010-2011 season. Messi scored six more goals than Chen Hero because he played six more group stage games, so he was far ahead of Chen Hero on the scorer list. But from the knockout stage, Chen Hero suddenly exerted his strength and led Napoli all the way to the Champions League final. He scored thirteen goals in seven knockout games! In the end, he beat Messi's twelve goals and became the Champions League top scorer that season... That was the greatest comeback I have ever seen! Since then, the competition between Messi and Chen Hero for the best shooter has become more and more fierce."

"Messi had just won the Champions League top scorer with eighteen goals, and two seasons later, Chen Hero broke his record with twenty goals. Messi had just broken Gerd Muller's single-season record of sixty-seven goals with seventy-six goals, and a season later, Chen Hero made Messi's record history with a single-season performance of eighty-seven goals. Now he has raised his single-season goal record to an astonishing one hundred and two goals!"

In addition to the relationship of mutual competition, there is also a relationship of mutual hatred.

"...The story between Hero and Barcelona can't be finished in three days and three nights. Just talking about their hatred is enough for us to talk about for several issues... Today, I will tell you about the beginning of all the grievances—when Napoli and Barcelona played in the Champions League quarter-finals, Alves used a very obvious dive to deceive the referee and get Chen Hero sent off with a red card. If Chen Hero had left helplessly, then maybe there would have been another story... But Hero made a move that shocked the world—he elbowed Butzkes, who came up to provoke him, and fractured the poor Catalan's nose! Barcelona fans still can't forgive Chen Hero to this day, and call him 'The Butcher'..."

"The grievances between the two teams are mainly between Barcelona and Chen Hero. Chen Hero is the most unpopular person in Barcelona. If there is anyone in this world who will definitely not go to Barcelona, then it is definitely Chen Hero... Given the grievances and feuds between him and Barcelona, I have reason to believe that this Champions League final will be very good! Because a game with Barcelona and Chen Hero is never boring!"

"Judging from the past record of the two sides—I am not talking about the record between Barcelona and Liverpool, I am talking about Barcelona and Hero—Hero can become Barcelona's nemesis. Although he has only played against them three times, Hero has scored in all three games. He scored six goals in three games. Among the current players, he is the second-highest scorer against Barcelona. The most is Fernando Torres, who scored eight goals, but he has played against Barcelona much more than Hero. He has played against Barcelona a total of twelve times, and Hero only three times. In terms of efficiency, Hero is number one."

...

The media constantly listed data and recounted the past history of clashes, just to stir up the atmosphere of the final, so that everyone could follow in their footsteps little by little, mobilize their emotions, and then wait for the final to begin!

They were skilled at doing this. Now fans all over the world were looking forward to the start of this peak showdown in the football world.

Barcelona's power remained, Liverpool was rising strongly, and Messi and Chen Hero, the top players in the world of football, were in direct dialogue. Who would win? Everyone cared.

In China, various topics related to the Champions League final had already flooded the Internet. China Central Television, which had obtained the broadcasting rights for the Champions League, was treating this final like the World Cup final. From the day Liverpool arrived in St. Petersburg, they sent a setting team to St. Petersburg to follow the filming and interviews, and sent back first-hand information about Liverpool and Chen Hero's preparations to China, where editors cut them into films and broadcast them, so that Chinese fans could learn about Chen Hero and Liverpool's latest preparations in sports news and Champions Europe.

In addition, the Champions Europe, which was originally scheduled to be broadcast on the day of the match, was also adjusted to four days earlier, with one episode per day. However, the topics mainly focused on Liverpool and Chen Hero, telling everyone how the team had reached the final step by step, especially Chen Hero's performance, which was displayed in the largest space, so that everyone joked that "Champions Europe" should be renamed "Champions Chen Hero" or "Champions Liverpool" to be more appropriate.

After all kinds of hype by the media, everyone's expectations for this final had reached its highest point.

After four seasons, Chen Hero met Barcelona again. What kind of sparks would be sparked?

※※※

St. Petersburg is a city at a high latitude, and there is usually a phenomenon of polar day in summer, that is, twenty-four hours a day, the sky is not completely dark. Even in the early morning, it is like six or seven in the afternoon in ordinary areas, and you can read without turning on the lights.

The hotel rooms where Liverpool players stayed had very thick curtains. When they were drawn, the room was no different from night.

The only problem was that the air in the room was not very good.

But this was not a big problem.

On the day of the match, Chen Hero would sleep more than usual and get up late. He usually got up at eight o'clock, but on match day he had to get up at nine o'clock.

This was why Chen Hero was in a bad mood all day when he was woken up by his teammates at five or six o'clock on the day of the FA Cup final.

It wasn't that Chen Hero wanted to sleep in on purpose, but it was just like that. Even Chen Hero himself couldn't explain when he started doing this.

Anyway, on the day of the game, he got up late, as if the game required a lot of physical strength and energy, so his body needed more sleep and rest. This may be a side effect of his vitality on the court...

After all, energy is always conserved. He has put in so much, it is impossible not to replenish it. Even batteries have to be charged and discharged.

Sleeping was when Chen Hero recharged.

Therefore, he must sleep well on the day of the match.

After the FA Cup incident, Liverpool's coaches also learned about Chen Hero's habit. The teammates in the reserve team did not expect that their unintentional actions would cause Chen Hero such a big trouble, and they were almost rising to the point of being "public enemy of England".

So now there is an unwritten rule within the Liverpool team, that is, do not disturb Chen Hero's sleep on match day. He can sleep as long as he wants, even until noon. Anyway, everyone is not worried about Chen Hero's self-discipline.

Although this person likes to play, he will never disappoint when it is time to be serious.

When Chen Hero got up, Skrtel, who was in the same room, also got up and was washing in the bathroom, making a哗哗 sound.

Chen Hero walked to the window and suddenly pulled open the heavy curtains. The room, which had previously needed to be lit, suddenly became bright.

"The morning in St. Petersburg..." He stood in front of the window, hands on his hips, wearing only a pair of underwear, looking at the street scene outside and sighed.

"What? Are you going to write a poem or sing a song?" Skrtel walked out of the bathroom, wiping the water from his face.

Chen Hero didn't turn his head back and ignored him. He just stood by the window, motionless.

After about half a minute, suddenly a "A—choo!"

Chen Hero rubbed his nose: "Damn! Finally got it out, so good!"

Skrtel behind him rolled his eyes and flicked a middle finger at him, before returning to the bathroom to wash.

Chen Hero shivered. Although it was summer, it was May, the mornings in St. Petersburg at this high latitude were still quite cold.

Chen Hero put on his clothes, and Skrtel also came out of the bathroom after washing up. The two of them stood by the window together, looking at the once familiar scenery outside.

It was indeed very familiar, because this hotel was the one they often stayed in when they played for Zenit St. Petersburg, so the scenery outside the window was naturally exactly the same.

"That's St. Isaac's Cathedral, that's the Bronze Horseman of Peter the Great, that's the Winter Palace... Oh, it's so nostalgic..." Skrtel said suddenly.

Chen Hero's focus was completely different from his: "That's the Oriental Restaurant, right? Also, the direction you're pointing to is clearly the Northern Pearl Nightclub. The Winter Palace is in the direction of Katyusha... Well, it's really nostalgic." He nodded.

"You're so lewd... Hero, you've ruined such a good atmosphere!" Skrtel pretended to be heartbroken.

Chen Hero glared at him: "The leader has prepared everything. He said he's going to do something big. Don't go then."

"Who cares about you! I'm going!" Skrtel snorted, but he immediately lowered his voice, "But what if we lose the game..."

Chen Hero interrupted him: "It's impossible to lose. We will definitely win."

"You're so confident, Hero? The opponent is Barcelona!"

"So what about Barcelona? Let me tell you, Martin, they are afraid of me, so afraid that they can't!" Chen Hero grinned and laughed嘿嘿嘿.