Old Folks and Young People Had a Generation Gap

During the rare break in the season, the senior players had all gone off to enjoy their holidays, but Chen Anno remained at the training base to work out.

Laura, the blonde beauty he had met at the nightclub that night, called Chen Anno several times to ask him out, but he politely turned her down every time.

At first, Chen Anno had assumed Laura and the others were hostesses working at the nightclub. It was only later, through their conversations, that he learned the beauties who had come that night were all colleagues of Neymar's girlfriend—minor actresses in Brazil.

Neymar's current girlfriend was Bruna Marquezine, a well-known Brazilian actress who had won the Best Child Actress award at the eighth Melhores do Ano when she was eight years old.

Good grief! Only then did Chen Anno realize that his girlfriend had introduced her friends to the party, yet Neymar still dared to have women in both arms.

Chen Anno had no choice but to admire him. Neymar played even wilder than he had imagined. As expected, people in the entertainment industry really knew how to have fun.

Of course, Chen Anno understood Laura's intentions. He might usually have been an honest kid, but that did not mean he was clueless about such twists and turns.

Back when Chen Fuqing was still alive, he often told Chen Anno what kind of people would flock to him once he became famous, even giving him countless examples of celebrity and footballer gossip.

Chen Anno was very confident in his looks, but not confident enough to think that someone would be unable to forget him after meeting him only once.

She simply wanted to use his status as Sao Paulo's rising star, along with the aura of once being mentioned in the same breath as Neymar, to stir up some dating rumors.

More importantly, though, Chen Anno simply did not feel anything for her. To put it plainly, there was no spark. If there had been, he actually would not have cared much about any of that.

Training was a dull affair, especially training alone. Fortunately, during the two years Chen Anno had spent back in China, he had grown completely accustomed to training by himself.

Every day, he followed the personalized training program set by the coaching staff, and Chen Anno found it quite fulfilling.

As he felt his body growing stronger by the day, he could not help but marvel at how different it was with professional guidance. He could clearly feel himself improving.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, July 1 arrived.

Today was the day of the Confederations Cup final, and Chen Anno had received a ticket from Neymar early on.

Eight o'clock in the evening, Rio de Janeiro time. Maracana Stadium.

It would also be the venue for next year's World Cup final, so tonight's Confederations Cup match was a warm-up for it.

The Brazil national team faced European champions Spain in the final.

This was undoubtedly a clash of titans. Spain had been unstoppable in recent years: European champions in 2008, World Cup champions in 2010, and European champions again in 2012.

Even with Brazil playing at home, they still could not claim they had an absolute guarantee of defeating Spain.

But once the match began, the way things unfolded was always surprising.

Just ninety seconds after kickoff, Brazil broke through the goal guarded by Casillas.

On the left side of the penalty area, Oscar combined with Hulk. The latter lofted a high ball into the box, where Neymar controlled it with his chest and caused chaos. Fred pounced on the loose ball and fired it into the net.

Brazil took a 1:0 lead.

This match was absolutely Neymar's coming-of-age battle for the national team. His work in the final third left Spain's defense in complete disarray.

If Brazil's forwards had not been so poor at finishing, they would have put the match to bed long ago.

Watching chance after chance go to waste, Chen Anno in the stands nearly wanted to put on a kit and take the field himself.

After failing to score despite sustained pressure, Brazil nearly allowed Spain to seize an opportunity on the counterattack. If David Luiz had not cleared the ball off the goal line, Brazil would have been pegged back.

Finally, just before the end of the first half, Brazil combined again in front of the penalty area. Neymar then drove into the box with the ball and scored at the near post.

Brazil led 2:0.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author instead—it may have just been renamed!

A yellow whirlwind swept through Maracana Stadium. Every Brazilian fan sang and danced, already celebrating victory in advance.

The sides switched ends for the second half. Although Spain made substitutions, the Matadors seemed to have lost themselves at the Maracana and could never produce any effective attacking moves.

Only two minutes into the second half, Brazil won the ball back in midfield and immediately launched a counterattack.

From Hulk's pass, Neymar let the ball run through as though he had eyes in the back of his head, leaving it for Fred behind him.

After squandering several chances, Fred finally put this one away and completed his brace.

Brazil led 3:0.

In the 55th minute, Spain earned a penalty during an attack. Unfortunately, the Real Madrid captain sent it wide, wasting a golden chance to pull one back.

Then, in the 68th minute, Neymar embarked on a solo run from midfield, carrying the ball straight toward Spain's penalty area. Just as he neared the top of the arc, he was brought down by his Barcelona teammate Pique.

The referee immediately showed Pique a red card. Spain, already behind, were now down a man, and their defeat was all but sealed.

In the end, Brazil defeated Spain 3:0 to win this Confederations Cup.

This Confederations Cup belonged to hosts Brazil, but even more so to Neymar. He scored four goals and provided two assists in five matches, earning Man of the Match honors four times.

Neymar's performance was simply flawless. With this, he had completely established his place in the national team.

"Anno, I believe that one day, you and Neymar will bring us even more trophies. Believe me, you're absolutely no worse than Neymar!"

Vizoli, seated beside Chen Anno, saw the envious look in the young man's eyes and patted him on the shoulder.

That's right! I definitely will!

Next year's World Cup? Would he have a chance to make the national team?

At that moment, Chen Anno's heart stirred. He could not wait for the upcoming league season to begin.

He would use his performances on the pitch to make the national team's head coach notice him!

From this match, Chen Anno could see that Brazil still had many shortcomings in attack. He definitely had a chance.

He did not want to miss the World Cup being held on Brazilian soil. It was the perfect opportunity for him to make a name for himself across the country—and even the world.

At that moment, the young man's heart was filled with resolve!

So when São Paulo's senior players returned from their break, they found Chen Anno working even harder than before.

"Where did the kid get rattled?" Lucio was completely baffled.

"No idea. Wasn't it just the holiday break recently? What could have stirred him up?" Veteran captain Ceni was equally puzzled.

"Hehe... I think I can guess a little," Guofulu spoke up from the side. "It should be because of the Confederations Cup a few days ago."

"What does that have to do with the Confederations Cup?" The two veterans did not understand.

"Neymar!" Aloisio rolled his eyes, feeling that these two old guys truly had a generation gap with the younger players.

"Think about it. Anno used to be called one of the 'Sao Paulo State Twin Stars' alongside Neymar. Now Neymar has not only transferred to Barcelona, but he has also shone brilliantly for the national team. Anno is competitive by nature. Seeing Neymar win a trophy in front of football fans across the country, how could he not feel anxious?"

So that was it!

Only then did the two veterans suddenly understand. When they looked at Chen Anno again, there was a hint of admiration in their eyes.

Geniuses were common. Hardworking geniuses were rare. Geniuses who were both hardworking and fiercely competitive were rarer still.

How could someone like Chen Anno not have a dazzling future?