Football System: Penalty Zone Hero

Chapter 1: The End of the Hero

Chen Yingxiong fell heavily on the lawn, stirring up a lot of grass debris.

His huge body fell like this, and it felt like the ground was shaking.

There was a burst of laughter from the sidelines.

"He's just big, it's just for show!"

Above his head, his opponent snorted, a little annoyed. He was training well but was suddenly called to participate in such a weird competition, competing for headers with a guy he had never heard of... The coaches were really crazy! He was a defender of the CSKA Moscow youth team, why did he come here to play such a boring game with a big stupid guy?

Feeling his opponent's disdain and irritability, Chen Yingxiong did not fall to the ground and feel sorry for himself. Instead, he grabbed a handful of grass and climbed up from the ground.

"Come again!" he shouted to the sidelines.

The player on the wing looked helplessly at the coaches on the sidelines, and someone in the crowd waved for him to continue.

He had to take a step back and kick the ball back into the penalty area.

Chen Yingxiong jumped again, but this time he did not judge the landing point well, and the football was headed away by his opponent in advance.

The coaches of CSKA Moscow watched this special "competition" from the sidelines. They gathered together, whispering. Some of them kept shaking their heads.

This situation is not unfamiliar to Chen Yingxiong. He has seen it many times in the past half month. Since he and his father embarked on the self-promotion journey to Europe, such scenes have gone from being unfamiliar to being normal, and he had experienced countless such cold stares and ridicule in the process.

But no matter what, he never thought of giving up.

He just thought, if this one doesn't work, let's go to the next one.

This is potentially their last chance. They had very little money left and they needed to save money for return flights. They couldn't walk all the way back to China, right?

They had visited almost all the teams in Moscow, with CSKA Moscow being the last one.

If he wanted to continue playing professional football, he had to succeed.

But the situation has not changed from before...

He also clearly remembers how the coaches at Lokomotiv Moscow rejected him.

No matter what his father said, the bearded coach always shook his head with a look of disdain on his face.

"No, no... Your son is good for nothing except his physique... Maybe he can play in the second division or something, but you can't just go to play in Russia like this..."

"Does he have any experience playing professional football in China? Has he been selected for any national team? No, that's it. Can you tell me what reasons make you so confident that CSKA Moscow will open its doors to you? Do you know what kind of team CSKA Moscow is?"

The arrogant coach said these words in a mocking tone.

Faced with such a question, his father had no way to refute it and could only repeat one sentence. "He is tall... He is strong... He is good at heading the ball..."

The coach laughed. "Yes, yes. In the eyes of his father, his son is always the best… I am also a father of three children, I can understand this feeling. Even if he is a good-for-nothing waste… Uh, sorry, I mean even if he is mediocre, he is still the best… Ha!"

Chen Yingxiong was watching from the side, and he really wanted to rush up and punch the old man. He hated it the most when others talked to him in such a condescending manner. 

'Fuck! What's so cool about a coach of CSKA Moscow? It's not Real Madrid or Barcelona! What's more, the object of his disdain was not only himself but also his father!'

He once doubted his father's emotions, just like any child. When he was beaten by his father, he would doubt whether he was his father's biological son, if so why was he so fierce to him?

That awkward feeling continued until his father brought him to Europe. He spent more than half a month with his father. This period was the longest time he spent alone with Chen Tao. During this time, his father accompanied him, carrying a large travel bag, holding an electronic dictionary in one hand and a map in the other. He begged and pleaded, hoping that those high-ranking clubs would give his son a chance to try out.

What to do if you don't speak the language? Use an electronic dictionary to translate what you want to say the next day, then memorize it. Then speak it out with a thick accent. In the past half month, his father's English level had improved by leaps and bounds, which shows how much effort he had put into this...

'The same contempt I received was also suffered by my father. The same cold treatment I faced was also faced by my father. When I was humiliated, my father must have felt bad too.'

'In addition, my father had to comfort me when I failed in the trials again and again, while also taking care of my daily life. Most of the money used to come to Europe was secretly borrowed without my mother's knowledge. If the plan fails, the task of repaying the debt will still fall on my father's shoulders. It was more than 100,000 yuan!'

Chen Yingxiong respected such a father more than ever before.

He would not allow anyone to speak to his father in a disrespectful tone, even if that person was older than his father!

But his father held his hand tightly, and he knew what that meant. His father couldn't stop him with his strength, but his father wanted him to calm down and not be impulsive.

Three months ago, he had impulsively beat up his teammate who had plotted against him and sent him to the hospital, thus ended his professional career which had not yet begun.

This time, at the critical moment, his father did not want him to repeat the same mistake. If he beat up the old man and vented his anger, his hope would be shattered. Everything he and his father had experienced in the past half month, all the contempt and ridicule they had suffered, would become meaningless. So at this time, Chen Yingxiong had to endure it!

He looked at the father in front of him, bowing his head and begging for mercy, hoping to give his son a chance to try out, while the coach kept his chin up, glancing at him with a sarcastic smile on his face. He clenched his fists tighter and tighter until his knuckles turned white.

"My son is a genius... He has talent, he can do it, give him a chance... He is good at heading, really good at heading..."

Every word of his father's plea was like a heavy hammer hitting Chen Yingxiong's heart.

If he had not been impulsive and had endured it, perhaps his father would not have been so humble today - Chen Yingxiong later realized that it was impossible. Because staying in China, you had to be humble many times: after signing a professional contract, you have to be humble and give money to play in the game and you have to be humble and give money to play in the team. After becoming a main player, you have to be humble and give money to join the national team... There would always be times when you had to be humble and act like a grandson.

Finally, the coach agreed to the father's request with an amused smile on his face.

"You said your son is good at heading. So I'll give your son a chance to prove that he is really good at heading!"

Then, Chen Yingxiong was competing against the entire defence line of the CSKA Moscow youth team.

Someone would pass the ball to him on the wing, and all he had to do was jump in front of the goal and compete with the defenders for headers.

This was not a fair competition at all.

At first, his father was quite happy, thinking that his sincerity had finally moved the other party. But now he also looked at the field with a serious and anxious expression.

Four defenders against one Chen Yingxiong, how could that be called a competition? This was a humiliation!

They had never encountered such deliberate humiliation before!

Most people would have walked away long ago when faced with such deliberate harassment. But Chen Yingxiong gritted his teeth and competed with those semi-professional defenders who had received better training than him. He never thought of giving up. At least, he would not give up before scoring a goal against the opponent!

Chen Tao bit his lip tightly off the court, watching his son fighting with the opponent on the court. He didn't know whether what he did was right or not. He brought his son to Europe, but he didn't get the result he hoped for, just a lot of contempt.

Just like now, he originally hoped to give his son a chance, but he didn't expect that the other party was just making fun of them.

'Will my son hate me for this?'

 …

Some of the CSKA Moscow coaches on the sidelines shook their heads.

This kid's physical fitness was indeed good, but his level was mediocre. You want to enter CSKA Moscow with this level of skill? That's a daydream.

They really didn't know why he was so obsessed with CSKA.

Of course, they didn't know. For Chen Tao and his son, who were not familiar with Russian football, they would naturally go for whoever was more famous...

CSKA Moscow was a well-known and powerful club in Russia, making it attractive to Chen Yingxiong and Chen Tao.

It was the decision of the team's assistant coach Nikolay Latysh to teach Chen Yingxiong a lesson. Some coaches couldn't stand it and wanted to remind Latysh to end this meaningless "competition" early.

The purpose of teaching the other party a lesson has been achieved, and continuing to play was just a waste of time.

…

Chen Yingxiong on the field fell to the ground again, this time he was knocked to the ground by two people working together.

The July sun was very strong and dazzling, and the grass was a little hot.

There was no wind at all, and the air seemed to be burning. It was painful to breathe it in, but he was unaware of it. He lay on the ground, his whole body soaked with sweat.

Sweat flowed down his cheeks to his chin, then dripped onto the grass and quickly evaporated.

Maybe that annoying old man was right, my strength is not enough to qualify for CSKA... But I just can't accept it! You insulted my father like this, but there is no punishment. I can't accept it!

Why did my father and I come here? To be turned away by others? To be laughed at and ridiculed by others? To see others look at us and give us the cold shoulder?

Maybe my ability doesn't meet your requirements, but I also have self-esteem!

"I'm sorry...your son doesn't meet our requirements..."

"Let's go! We don't need any new people here!"

"I think it might be more suitable for your son to play basketball. Well, no, basketball is not suitable either. Just go home. 

"You are just mediocre and don't meet our requirements. That's it. Thank you. Goodbye."

"Why don't you train your son to be a table tennis star? Aren't you Chinese all very good at playing table tennis? Ha!"

"We are a professional football club. Do you know what a professional football club means?"

"Your son is a genius? Ha... I'm sorry for my rudeness, but this is indeed the funniest joke I have ever heard! Hahahaha..."

…

Latysh also felt that it was boring to continue playing like this, so he planned to end the test and ask the father and son to leave. He gave them a chance, but they didn't show their due strength. It wasn't their fault for not giving them a chance. He didn't think it was wrong to send a whole defence line to deal with one person.

Chen Tao was watching his son fall to the ground again from the sidelines, feeling a little anxious. He didn't want his son to stand up again, because that would mean he would have to continue to accept such humiliation.

But it was not as he wished. His son, Chen Yingxiong, got up from the ground without any hesitation!

…

CSKA coach Oleg Malyukov, who was acting as a temporary referee, looked down the field and asked assistant coach Latysh for advice on whether to end this "test".

At this moment, he saw from the corner of his eye that the Chinese man lying on the ground was slowly getting up...

Unexpectedly, the Chinese man stood up again, and Latysh changed his mind - since he wanted to continue to be humiliated like this, then he would fulfil his wish. This is what happens when you underestimate CSKA, kid. I hope you remember this and don't do such idiotic things in the future!

He waved at Mayukov.

"Keep going."