Chapter 1 The Result is Full of Surprises

The result of the match was full of surprises, even Mazzarri admitted during the post-match press conference that he hadn't expected Napoli to take a victory away from home: "We originally thought that getting a draw would be a good result, and if we also scored an away goal, that would be perfect. Winning at the Bernabéu? That's just fantastic. Fortunately, we did it..."

Mazzarri didn't act arrogantly after winning, which greatly improved many people's opinion of him.

However, just because he wasn't arrogant didn't mean that there weren't arrogant people in Napoli.

Among the Napoli players who were interviewed after the match, two became the darlings of the media: Cassano and Chen Hero. Both of them scored in the match. Cassano also had the label of "former Real Madrid player," so scoring against his former club was quite the selling point.

What about Chen Hero?

Both of Napoli's goals were related to him, but that wasn't the only reason why he became the focus of media attention.

It was because of his big mouth after the match.

One reporter asked him: "How excited are you to play against Real Madrid, who have superstars like Ronaldo, Kaka, and Raul, and to win at their home stadium?" It was hard to tell if this was praising Chen Hero or indirectly expressing his admiration for Real Madrid…

Chen Hero was very dissatisfied with the reporter's question, so he curled his lips and said with feigned disdain: "I'm pretty excited. I'm happy as long as I win every game. I don't care if the opponent is Real Madrid or who they have…"

"Uh…" His answer left the reporters speechless—they knew Chen Hero was arrogant and嚣张 (xiāo zhāng, unbridled), but they didn't expect him to be this arrogant…

This was in the tunnel at the Bernabéu, on Real Madrid's turf. Even putting that aside, what kind of team was Real Madrid? They were recognized by FIFA as the best team of the last century. This team had countless honors, even surpassing Italian powerhouses like AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus.

Almost no players could refuse a call from Real Madrid—except for Catalan players from Barcelona…

Many people, upon hearing that Real Madrid was interested in them, would excitedly say, "I've always liked Real Madrid!" "I've been supporting Real Madrid since I was a kid!" "My biggest dream is to wear the white jersey and play for Real Madrid!" Things like that.

Who had ever seen a player who, after defeating Real Madrid, so disdainfully said that he didn't care who the opponent was?

If someone could score a goal at the Bernabéu stadium and defeat Real Madrid, they would definitely excitedly say something like "This is a dream night!"

But Chen Hero was so calm.

"But the opponent you defeated is, after all, Real Madrid…" a reporter reminded him, the name itself meant enough.

It was one of the most resounding names in European football, one of the greatest names.

"Yeah, but I'm more concerned about us taking a win and two away goals, which I think greatly increases our chances of advancing to the quarterfinals…" Chen Hero replied. No matter how the reporter reminded him of the importance of the opponent, he didn't mention Real Madrid at all. He just didn't like the media's ubiquitous admiration for Real Madrid, as if the name was really something special.

If they were really something special, why hadn't they reached the Champions League quarterfinals for five consecutive years? And now there was a very good chance they would be blocked from the quarterfinals for six consecutive years…

After answering a few questions from Chinese reporters, Chen Hero turned and left, he still had to get on the bus.

Leaving a group of reporters to discuss Chen Hero's answers.

"Okay, I've seen Hero's arrogance again…" An Italian reporter spread his hands, expressing helplessness.

The Madrid reporters were obviously more angry, because they felt that Real Madrid was being disrespected. Losing the match already made them feel bad, and then being ridiculed by the opponent after the match was unbearable.

"Who does he think he is?" A Spanish reporter waved his fist at Chen Hero's back.

"Compared to Ronaldo, Kaka, and Raul, he's nothing! What right does he have to be so嚣张 (xiāo zhāng, unbridled) in front of Real Madrid?"

"Hey, Real Madrid has seen a lot of arrogant idiots like that in their history, but in the end, their endings weren't very good!"

The Chinese reporters who came to interview Chen Hero were probably the most conflicted, because some of them were reporters directly stationed in Madrid by various media outlets. These reporters were themselves supporters of Real Madrid, and they were usually responsible for providing various news and information about Real Madrid to their magazines, newspapers, and websites.

But in this match, their beloved Real Madrid lost, and their compatriot Chen Hero fully demonstrated his disdain for the name Real Madrid after the match.

On one side was their favorite team, on the other was their country's football idol, which side should they stand on?

※※※

The next day, when Napoli flew back to their base camp, there were two completely different voices in Spain.

The Madrid media were saddened, frustrated, and angry about Real Madrid's defeat. As expected, speculating about Pellegrini's successor became a recurring program for the Madrid media.

At the same time, criticisms of Kaka resurfaced, and some even believed that Real Madrid should find a new home for Kaka this summer.

Another figure that the Madrid media focused on criticizing was Napoli's Chen Hero.

They wrote vividly about Chen Hero's disdainful attitude during the post-match interview, making Real Madrid fans want to punch Chen Hero in the nose.

Some Madrid media even used cartoons to ridicule and uglify Chen Hero.

Real Madrid's response was that Raul stood up to represent all the players, expressing confidence in the second leg of the match, and at the same time begging the fans to stand by the team at all times and cheer for the team in the second leg.

In contrast, a different voice came from Barcelona, the capital of the Catalonia region, which was home to Real Madrid's arch-rival team.

Who was the happiest about Real Madrid's defeat? Of course, it was the people of Barcelona!

The Barcelona media hyped up the match and ridiculed Real Madrid as much as they could.

"...They actually lost to Napoli at their home stadium! Hahahaha!"

"Before the match, Real Madrid players said that it was a matter of course for them to defeat Napoli, and that there was no suspense in this match… What was the result? The cruel reality slapped them in the face!"

"In yesterday's match, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has the highest transfer value in the world, performed terribly. Why is such a player the highest value in the world? Only because our Messi is not for sale! Otherwise, how could that diving-prone guy be the world's highest-valued player?"

"I think we can already announce in advance that Real Madrid will not be able to enter the Champions League quarterfinals for six consecutive years, haha!"

"Napoli is indeed a team that has Maradona. In terms of hatred for Real Madrid, they are in the same vein as our Barcelona!"

Maradona was the god of Napoli, and before Maradona went to play for Napoli, he played for Barcelona for three seasons. Therefore, the Barcelona media were very friendly to Napoli, feeling that the two teams had a common language.

Napoli's victory over Real Madrid made them feel as if their own team had defeated Real Madrid. They celebrated Real Madrid's home defeat with great joy.

Why were they able to laugh at their arch-rival so easily? Because in the Champions League round of 16 match the day before, Barcelona defeated Stuttgart 2:0 away from home. The German team was completely helpless against an opponent like Barcelona, they didn't know how to win at all. They stubbornly resisted for sixty minutes, and were always defending, but ultimately failed to hold on.

Winning by two goals away from home, and with two away goals, made Barcelona supporters believe that the team's entry into the quarterfinals was a certainty. Returning to the Camp Nou for the second leg, it depended on what mood the Barcelona players were in. If they were in a good mood, they might save some face for Stuttgart, but if they were in a bad mood, it would be a massacre.

The two powerhouses of La Liga were always fighting and competing in every field that could be compared.

Last season, Barcelona won the treble, but before they could be happy for a few days, Real Madrid attracted everyone's attention with two consecutive world-shattering transfers, successfully pushing the news of Barcelona's treble victory off the front page headlines of the media.

This made the people of Barcelona very unhappy, so this year, seeing that Real Madrid was about to continue their "dream of the round of eight" in the Champions League, the media, as supporters of Barcelona, of course wanted to help their opponents publicize it in a big way.

※※※

In Spain, the two major clubs were fighting each other, comparing with each other.

But these had nothing to do with Napoli.

Even if the Barcelona media expressed their goodwill towards Napoli, they didn't really intend to become relatives or establish a relationship with Napoli.

Supporting Real Madrid's opponent was just to disgust Real Madrid.

Moreover, Maradona's three seasons in Barcelona were not happy, and he had already fallen out with the club when he left Barcelona, so there was no real friendship between the two sides.

After Napoli returned home, they were warmly welcomed by the fans. Defeating Real Madrid away from home was definitely a great achievement. Not to mention whether it would help them advance, the victory in this match alone was of great significance.

"Napoli! Napoli! We are the invincible Napoli!" When the entire Napoli team returned to the club's training base by bus, enthusiastic Napoli fans followed along the way in their cars, they also leaned their bodies out of the speeding car windows, waving their fists and singing loudly.

"Napoli! Napoli! We want everyone to remember our name!"

"Napoli! Napoli! We are Napoli from the South! We defeated the Northerners, and we will make Europe afraid!"

From the faces of these fans, Chen Hero could easily see their pride and confidence.

What arrogant and囂張 (xiāo zhāng, unbridled) lyrics… But, ha! Damn it, they were Napoli fans!

※※※

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Book number: 2159742.

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