Chapter 63: Goal Shortage? What is a Goal Shortage?

"...Mr. Gasaev, is your team ready for the match against Zenit this weekend?" 

"Yes, we are ready. We take this game very seriously. Zenit is not an opponent that can be easily defeated..."

A TV broadcast showed an interview with CSKA Moscow's head coach, Valery Gasaev.

The match between CSKA Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg had been confirmed as a nationally televised event, and the match was attracting significant attention.

Before the game, news programs increasingly focused on the two teams, creating an atmosphere of impending war.

"Mr. Gasaev, have you found a way to deal with Chen Yingxiong?" a reporter asked.

Chen Yingxiong, who was on the phone with his father, was drawn to these words on the TV and turned his attention to the screen.

"I think... this is no longer a secret, right?" Gasaev laughed.

The reporters' laughter was clearly audible on the TV.

Laugh at your sister! Chen Yingxiong cursed inwardly.

But he continued his conversation with his father. "...It's cold here in Russia. It even snowed yesterday. I wanted to go out and play, but I ended up freezing..."

It was normal for people from Sichuan to have never seen snow. When Chen Yingxiong first saw the snow, he wanted to rush out and play, but he ended up freezing and retreating back inside.

"I also took a lot of photos of the snowy scene! It's so beautiful. I tell you, Dad, you and Mom should really come to St. Petersburg to have some fun... Oh, it's not cold, it's cold outside, but there's heating and air conditioning in the house, so why would it be cold? Oh, by the way, Dad. We have another league game tomorrow. Guess who our opponent will be this time?"

While Chen Tao was preparing to close his store, he was talking to his son on the phone.

"Oh, come on! Which one is it?" 

"CSKA Moscow! Hehe!" Chen Yingxiong laughed excitedly.

Chen Tao was stunned for a moment, then reacted. "Do you still remember it?" 

"Why wouldn't I remember? Of course I remember! I'm telling you, Dad, I still remember that account, and I finally found a chance to settle it."

"Ahem..." Chen Tao started coughing. "You..." 

"Don't worry, Dad. The revenge is limited to football."

Chen Tao was speechless.

After Chen Yingxiong hung up the phone, he continued to stare at the TV screen.

Now on the screen was Zenit's head coach, Advocaat. The news program was broadcasting the pre-match press conference between the two teams.

The topic still revolved around Chen Yingxiong.

Who was to blame for his sudden rise and subsequent silence, which had captivated the media's attention?

"Now many teams have claimed that they have found a way to deal with Hero. What do you think about this?" 

"No comment," Advocaat said, shaking his head.

"So will you still put Hero in the starting lineup? Tekke has made a quick comeback, will he play in tomorrow's game?" "I won't reveal the team's starting lineup," Advocaat said cautiously. "You will get the list an hour before the game."

Of course, his answer disappointed the reporters.

But Chen Yingxiong smiled.

Advocaat had just announced the team's starting lineup. As promised, Chen Yingxiong's name was on the list, while Tekke was on the bench.

There was no longer any suspense.

That CSKA coach better watch out!

In recent days, more and more reporters had been coming to the training ground, even more than during the previous match between Zenit and Spartak Moscow.

CSKA Moscow was currently leading the league and had a strong chance of winning the league title, while Zenit St. Petersburg boasted star players like Arshavin.

The confrontation between the two teams was highly anticipated.

Chen Yingxiong also participated in media interviews. Despite his public spat with the St. Petersburg media during a previous game, they had quickly reconciled. Chen Yingxiong craved fame, and the media loved a player who could always stir up some drama. Who would want to report on good boys who went home to spend time with their families after training every day?

Of course, some of the media's questions still annoyed Chen Yingxiong. For example:

"Excuse me, Yingxiong, will you start in the match against CSKA Moscow?" "You haven't been to nightclubs recently. Is it related to your consecutive lack of goals?"

Chen Yingxiong cursed inwardly. Damn it, they're asking about my nightlife!

Despite his recent goal drought, Chen Yingxiong remained tough in front of the media.

He frowned. "Whether I score a goal or not has nothing to do with whether I go to nightclubs or not. Nightclubs are my personal hobby, and scoring goals is my job. Can you distinguish between work time and personal time?"

His rhetorical question left the reporters speechless.

Chen Yingxiong had a dream where he couldn't score a goal in the match against CSKA Moscow, no matter how hard he tried. He attempted a new long-range shot, but the ball soared into the sky. A plane then crashed into the stadium.

When he woke up, he vividly remembered the feeling of anxiety he had experienced in the dream. As the first half was about to end without a goal, he felt intense frustration. The fans in the stands were jeering at him. The resentment and anger burned within him like a flame, eventually consuming him.

He then transformed into a fiery inferno and razed the entire Dynamo Moscow Stadium to the ground.

Then, under the sky illuminated red by the flames, he raised his head and laughed loudly."You won't let me score a goal? I'll make sure you can't even play the game! Ahahahahahahaha!"

Beneath his feet were people screaming and running away. He looked down at this group of pathetic ants and laughed out loud again.

And then...then he woke up.

"What the hell is this mess..." Chen Yingxiong shook his head.

He looked at the clock by the bed. It was almost time to get up.

Chen Yingxiong was too lazy to sleep, so he got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

This dream was too unlucky, so he decided to wash it away.

His roommate Denisov was still tossing and turning in bed, mumbling a few words in his sleep from time to time.

...

In Moscow's winter, the nights were particularly long.

When Chen Yingxiong finished washing up and stood in front of the window, the world outside the glass window was still pitch black. You have to know that it was already past eight o'clock at this time - eight o'clock in the morning, not eight o'clock in the evening.

The street lights were still on, illuminating every street, and the lights in the buildings in the distance were also on.

The city was gradually waking up.

Under the light, Chen Yingxiong found something floating past his window.

He climbed up and took a closer look, and found that it was... snowflakes!

It's snowing!

He looked down again...he was wondering why the light from the street lamp was so bright, it turned out that it was reflected by the snow on the ground!

The snow had accumulated, which meant it had been snowing for quite some time.

Are we going to have a snow fight today?

Chen Yingxiong frowned. Although he had seen snow before, he had never played a game in the snow. St. Petersburg was further north than Moscow. So far, it had snowed twice, and the second snow had been particularly heavy. It was so heavy that the team had trained in the indoor training ground.

Playing a game in such weather was filled with too many unknowns that he had not realised before.

For example, the condition of the venue, whether it would be too cold and make your limbs stiff...

But there was one thing he was sure of. Even if it rained hail from the sky, he would get his revenge in this game!

The Dynamo Stadium, home of CSKA Moscow, was just ahead.

He hoped they hadn't forgotten him yet.

...

"...This is the second snowfall in Moscow this year. It started snowing last night and continued until this morning. It looks like it will continue to snow…Today's game will be played in the snow 100%…"

On the bus to the stadium, the radio was playing a program from a local TV station, and the host talked about today's game and the weather. But his tone was not startled, and looking at the teammates around him, they also seemed calm about the weather.

It seems that Russians were used to playing football in the snow and ice.

The sky outside the car window was a little gray. Even though it was afternoon, it was no different from night... But speaking of it, the days in Moscow were short in winter. It got bright around nine in the morning and dark after four in the afternoon...

Chen Yingxiong was not used to spending the winter like this. When it got dark, he always thought it was very late, but it was only four or five in the afternoon.

This messed up his biological clock a bit, but luckily he had adapted to it now, otherwise he would definitely be feeling hungry now...

Although it was snowing heavily, Chen Yingxiong still saw many fans along the way. They were either driving or walking to the stadium.

Among these people there are also some fans who were lightly dressed and holding bottles of wine in their hands.

They were wearing red CSKA Moscow jerseys and when they saw the Zenit car approaching, they sang loudly and gave the car the middle finger.

Judging from the fans' reaction, this game was definitely not friendly.

But this had nothing to do with Chen Yingxiong. Nobody knew that he had come here today to cause trouble for CSKA Moscow and to mess things up.

Fortunately, the snow today was not too heavy and the snow on the road was not deep enough to seriously affect the driving of cars, so they arrived at the competition venue smoothly.

After getting off the air-conditioned bus, Chen Yingxiong shrank his neck because he was cold.

Although the weather was very cold, there were still many reporters waiting at the parking lot. They were also wrapped up tightly, but when they saw the players getting off the bus, they regained their energy and rushed over.

Advocaat, Arshavin, and... Chen Yingxiong became the focus of media attention.

Advocaat was the head coach of the team, and Arshavin was the team's top star, so it was natural that they were pursued by the media. Chen Yingxiong meanwhile was pursued by the media because of his ups and downs in performance.

"You haven't scored in four consecutive league games. Are you experiencing a drought?"

Chen Yingxiong grinned at them. "Goal shortage? What is a goal shortage?"