Chapter 165 Old Friends Meet

In the first half, Napoli took a one-goal lead thanks to Hamsik's long-range shot. Regardless of what was happening on the field, Davydov maintained a calm expression in front of the camera, earning him the admiration of many commentators—look at the mental fortitude of this coach, so impressive!

But in reality, Davydov was constantly considering why things were like this and what to do about it.

After thinking it over, he realized the problem still lay with him—he had shown too much weakness before the game, which conveyed to the players a signal that even the coach himself lacked confidence. If the coach was shrinking back, how could the players have any confidence?

So, in the end, he had conveyed the wrong message to the players.

His low profile was meant to avoid putting too much pressure on the players while also lowering the opponent's vigilance. Who would have thought that none of these effects materialized? The players were indeed relaxed, but they were too relaxed. And Napoli didn't become arrogant or underestimate them because of his low profile.

It seemed he would have to wind up the whole team tightly during halftime.

Only being one goal behind was better than he had imagined. This meant they could launch a counterattack in the second half. As long as they could force a draw, he would have completed his predetermined task before the game.

During the fifteen-minute halftime break, Davydov passionately sprayed his saliva for fifteen minutes, telling his players that there was nothing to fear from Napoli and that they shouldn't be intimidated by the atmosphere of their home stadium.

He kept repeating: "Remember, you are Zenit Saint Petersburg, you are the Blue-White-Blues who once won the UEFA Cup! You shouldn't fear any opponent! We thrashed Bayern Munich 4-0 at home!!"

Anyukov secretly rolled his eyes below.

What he said was right. Zenit Saint Petersburg did overturn the then-powerful Bayern Munich on the road and ultimately won the UEFA Cup. But they also had to consider who was on that Zenit Saint Petersburg team that did it, right?

Hero, Arshavin, and Tymoshchuk, the three heroes of that victory, were no longer with the team...

Davydov then focused on Pogrebnyak, the high center forward who had been bought as Chen Hero's replacement. Pogrebnyak's performance at Zenit had been quite good. Although he only played half a season last year, he scored nine goals. This season, he had already scored fifteen goals, currently ranking third on the league's top scorer list. If the whole team wasn't underperforming, Zenit shouldn't have been in their current situation...

"Pavel! Pavel! You must fully utilize your role as a center forward. Yes, your task is to score goals... You should be more active! You need to know that you are a center forward who is in no way inferior to Hero!"

Of course, he knew that compared to Chen Hero, Pogrebnyak was still a bit lacking, but besides arousing this player's fighting spirit, did he have any better options now?

Denisov lowered his head. He had been with Pogrebnyak for more than a year, and their relationship was pretty good... But no matter how good their relationship was, it wouldn't be as good as his relationship with Chen Hero. Poor Pogrebnyak, being compared to that monster Hero would put a lot of pressure on him—had anyone in Russian football ever scored twenty-one goals in eleven league games and then just taken the league's top scorer award like that?

Pogrebnyak was already doing very well, but because he was brought in as Chen Hero's replacement, people would always compare him to Chen Hero, and then... shake their heads and sigh—that giant bear was irreplaceable!

Pogrebnyak was also used to being compared to Chen Hero. In fact, before coming to Zenit Saint Petersburg, he had already admired Chen Hero's reputation for a long time. That person was arrogant, but he was indeed capable. So he had said more than once that he was not Chen Hero's replacement, he was Pavel Pogrebnyak.

Having the opportunity to face Chen Hero head-on was clearly an opportunity for him to prove himself—if he could defeat Chen Hero in the game, wouldn't he be able to get rid of the image of himself appearing as Chen Hero's replacement in other people's minds?

He clenched his fist.

※※※

Davydov thought that with his understanding of Chen Hero, he had a way to contain Chen Hero.

But he soon realized that his understanding of Chen Hero was outdated...

"Hero is now dribbling forward... He suddenly changes direction! Beautiful!"

While dribbling, Chen Hero suddenly performed a backheel pass when facing Denisov's defense. His right foot kicked the ball from behind him to the left. This was completely unexpected by Denisov. He didn't react, and Chen Hero took the opportunity to stop suddenly, turn, and get past the dumbfounded Denisov!

The dumbfounded weren't just Denisov, but also Zenit coach Davydov on the sidelines. He stood on the sidelines, his expression clearly one of disbelief!

"Wow! Hero's backheel pass is really beautiful! Let's see... Even Zenit's coach Davydov is stunned!"

"Davydov finally has a change of expression... I almost thought he had facial paralysis!"

When Denisov reacted and wanted to chase Chen Hero again, his foot slipped, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground. He could only watch helplessly as Chen Hero moved to the center and then... took a long shot!

The football was drawn into a straight line and rushed towards the goal guarded by goalkeeper Malafeev.

Malafeev had tensed up all his muscles almost as soon as Chen Hero unexpectedly passed Denisov, preparing to save the shot.

So he jumped out at the same time as Chen Hero kicked the ball.

He reached the football, but he didn't stop it. The football hit the upper edge of his palm, changed direction, and bounced into the goal!

"Boom—!" The Stadio San Paolo erupted again!

"Chen Hero! Chen Hero! He ruthlessly and mercilessly attacked his old club! A very beautiful dribble plus his signature long shot! Wow—it's really wonderful!"

The commentator shouted loudly.

After scoring the goal, Chen Hero didn't celebrate wildly. He just waved his fist and turned to walk back.

Denisov got up from the ground and looked at Chen Hero's back.

He already felt that they were people from two different worlds...

※※※

Davydov absolutely did not expect Chen Hero to use such a way to break through and then complete a high-quality long shot. Two goals behind, this game was basically unplayable...

His face was full of surprise and it hadn't disappeared since Chen Hero dribbled past his player.

At this time, he suddenly realized that his previous arrangements... might really be outdated.

※※※

"Hero has scored his third goal in this Champions League! Three goals in three games! His goal efficiency is amazingly high!"

"What a beautiful goal! Zenit Saint Petersburg has finally tasted the pain of their own player scoring against them!"

"I wonder what Sansanya will think after seeing this scene..." The Russian commentator did not forget to ridicule Zenit's manager. In fact, Chen Hero's transfer can't really be blamed on Sansanya, it was Chen Hero who was determined to leave...

Even if Sansanya met his request for a weekly salary of 100,000 euros, Chen Hero probably wouldn't have agreed to renew his contract.

Now the facts prove that Chen Hero was right to be determined to leave. He has a broader stage in Naples, and Naples has more development prospects than Zenit Saint Petersburg. Just look at the score difference between these two teams in this game... and it will be clear at a glance.

In fact, no one is wrong, only the fans of Zenit Saint Petersburg will sigh with emotion.

※※※

Seven minutes after Chen Hero scored, Napoli scored another goal. This time the scorer was De Jong. A score of 3:0 could already seal the victory.

Although Zenit's Portuguese midfielder, Dennis, scored a consolation goal for the team at the last moment, he could not save the defeat.

Napoli defeated Zenit Saint Petersburg 3:1 at their home stadium. They remained undefeated in three group matches and continued to lead the Group E standings.

On the other side, Liverpool lost to Lyon 1:2 at their home stadium. The terrifying and sacred Anfield seemed unable to protect the Red Army. In this season's Champions League, they have not won at their home stadium yet.

In this way, Lyon continued to rank second in the group, Liverpool ranked third, and Zenit Saint Petersburg, with two losses and one draw, ranked last. Napoli was at the top. This situation was something that many people did not expect after the group draw was released.

No one expected that Napoli would rank first in the group with two wins, one draw, and seven points. It seemed that qualifying for the group stage was not a problem...

After the game, Chen Hero and Denisov exchanged jerseys.

He put his arm around Denisov's shoulder and comforted him: "Okay, don't look so sad. I'll take you to the best nightclub in Naples tonight! The best girls there are yours to choose!"

Denisov squeezed out a smile from the corner of his mouth: "You said it. Don't blame me for being impolite!"

"I'm afraid you'll be polite with me!"

After speaking, he patted Denisov on the shoulder and ran to find Anyukov.

Denisov looked at his back. The giant bear tattoo on it was still ferocious and eye-catching. He was the one who took him to get this tattoo, and later it became this guy's symbol.

Thinking back to when he was at Zenit Saint Petersburg, he was still his junior... He was first selected for the first team roster, lived in the same room with him, and seemed incredibly curious about the city of Saint Petersburg. He listened to him bragging about the rich and colorful nightlife, and his eyes widened.

He was completely like a little brother who had never seen the world.

It had only been a few years... The little brother of the past was already the Golden Boot winner in Serie A, scored three goals in three games in the Champions League, and was a hot striker all over Europe. His reputation in Naples was growing more and more prominent.

The small Saint Petersburg could not accommodate him after all.

He clicked his tongue.

A hand was placed on his shoulder.

It was Arshavin.

"You seem to be feeling a lot?" he asked.

Denisov tilted his head: "I was thinking, ah, people's fates are really different... When he entered the team, you were already the best player in Russia. In the games he played, even the commentators didn't know where he came from. And now? Even your reputation can't compare to his."

Arshavin laughed. "He's a genius. There's meat to eat if you follow him."

Denisov smiled slyly: "I only know that if you follow him, you can play with girls!"

"I support you in milking him dry tonight."

"I represent the entire Zenit team to play him poor!"

Denisov declared with great enthusiasm.

But in the depths of his heart, a voice sighed.