Chapter 1 “Zhang Jun! Zhang Jun!! Zhang Jun!!!"

Thousands of fans stomped their feet while chanting the hero's name. He had just scored a goal, and the game was only seventeen minutes in.

Rotterdam Excelsior were stunned by the early goal and couldn't recover for a long time. Then Herve crossed from the left, and Zhang Jun stopped the ball with his chest and passed it out again. Yang Pan rushed up, gently poked his toe, dribbled past a defender, and then shot hard!

The football rushed into the net, and the goalkeeper didn't move! 2:0! Volendam were already leading 2:0 in the first half!

Before the end of the first half, Rotterdam Excelsior took advantage of a mistake by the home team to pull back a goal, which made Adriaanse nervous. During the half-time break, he excitedly roared at the players: "This is the final battle! Win them and kick them back to the First Division!"

Before the start of the second half, the Volendam players formed a circle. Holwijn shouted loudly in the noisy stadium, "Remember how we drew with Eindhoven! Remember how we defeated Feyenoord! We have the ability to stay in the Eredivisie! Defeat them, for ourselves!"

The fans were shouting, singing, and stomping their feet madly. This should be the craziest home game Zhang Jun had ever seen, and his blood was boiling. The relegation battle was for the right to survive. He turned his head to look at Yang Pan beside him and found that Yang Pan, like him, had his face twisted almost out of shape by excitement and tension.

This was destined to be a crazy game. Relegation teams often burst out with surprising energy at crucial moments. Rotterdam Excelsior wanted to avoid relegation, and so did Volendam.

Zhang Jun received the ball outside the penalty area and turned around, playing a one-two with Bajes. Like an eel, he slipped into the penalty area, then skillfully hooked past an opposing defender and pushed a shot!

The goalkeeper's fingertips touched the football, but the football still went into the far corner! Goal! 3:1! Zhang Jun scored twice!

Zhang Jun was very excited after scoring the goal. He ran to the bench and unexpectedly hugged Ochou.

"Ochou, good luck!"

In the remaining game, Bajes and Kozeer each scored a goal, finally locking the score at 5:1. Volendam ruthlessly kicked Rotterdam Excelsior into the playoffs in their own home stadium. Whether they can continue to stay in the Eredivisie depends on their fate.

When the referee blew the final whistle, the fans who couldn't restrain themselves rushed into the stadium from all directions. They held the players on their heads and cheered loudly. Adriaanse was not "spared" either. He was thrown up by the players on the bench, caught, thrown up again, and caught again.

Zhang Jun saw Yang Pan not far away dancing with excitement in the crowd of fans. He really felt like he was in a dream. Maybe these people would let go, and he would fall to the ground, then get up and find himself still in his dorm at US University.

But... "Hey! My jersey!" Zhang Jun suddenly felt a chill on his upper body. His jersey had been stripped off by the crazy fans. Seeing someone trying to pull off his shorts, he ran left and right in fright towards the locker room.

This wasn't a dream...

Volendam successfully avoided relegation in the last round, and they also rose to fourteenth place with this victory. On the other side, although Ajax defeated their opponent at home, Eindhoven won 1:0 against Roosendaal on the road, winning the Dutch Eredivisie title for the 0203 season with a three-point advantage. As a result, in order to avoid having nothing this season, Ajax only had a cup title left to fight for. And their opponent was Volendam, whom they had already faced three times.

The final will be held at the Philips Stadium in a week.

Adriaanse handed over training to Strell, while he himself was busy dealing with contract renewals with the players. In fact, there weren't many people who needed to renew their contracts. After being promoted to the Eredivisie, the team had already renewed contracts with many people. He was now mainly negotiating with Kozeer, hoping to extend the loan contract for another year. After all, Kozeer's role in the team was unparalleled, and Kozeer agreed to consider it, on the condition that Volendam could qualify for next season's UEFA Cup. Because Ajax's qualification to directly participate in the Champions League was lost with the loss of the league title, and besides, Kozeer might not be able to play if he returned to Ajax, so it would be better to participate in European competitions with Volendam. However, Volendam must defeat his parent team, Ajax.

But, in general, Adriaanse was still very confident about Kozeer's renewal. As for the other two absolute main players, Adriaanse didn't even want to think about it. Based on their excellent performance in the Netherlands, they were definitely going to leave.

Milan occupies an important position in the hearts of all women, and it is equally important in the hearts of all people who love football. Milan, centered on the Duomo, is a modern metropolis that dominates Italy's economic and industrial development, and it is also a fashion capital on par with Paris and New York--this alone can be favored by all women in the world--almost all well-known brands originate from Milan, or use Milan as their base of development, and of course, shopping tourism is the most fun part of this city. Milan is also the gourmet capital of Italy, and its Italian cuisine is always surprisingly innovative, developing new materials and cooking methods with the trend to satisfy the appetites of all gourmets.

But for men, the most attractive thing is probably the two clubs in Milan: AC Milan and Inter Milan. As Italian giants, both in Milan, they add something other than tenderness to the city: passion, masculinity. Inter Milan, which split from AC Milan, always has fierce derbies and fanatical fans when the two clubs meet for various reasons... In the city of Milan, the war between sea water and fire has lasted for nearly a hundred years, and it will continue.

Hua Fang was waiting for the owner of this place, AC Milan's manager Galliani, in the hotel room. After nearly half a year of investigation and selection, Hua Fang chose this world-famous football club as the second stop of Zhang Jun and Yang Pan's careers. Being able to play for AC Milan would allow them to quickly become world-class stars with the world reputation of the Milan club. At that time, all kinds of commercial contracts would follow, bringing in wealth and fame, and she, the agent, would also establish her position among football agents, and of course, high returns would be indispensable.

After a knock on the door, the door was opened, and a fat bald man walked in. This person was Mr. Galliani, the manager of this world-class club. Mr. Ferrio, the Milan scout who brought the two parties together, came with him.

Hua Fang didn't speak Italian, and Galliani's English wasn't very good either. In this way, Mr. Ferrio, who understood both English and Italian, naturally became the translator.

After a simple greeting, the two sides went straight to the topic.

"Ms. Hua, we have carefully watched the videotapes you gave us. The Milan technical department believes that these two are very good players, and the chairman is also very interested in them." Galliani said in his slow, somewhat arrogant tone, while Hua Fang listened quietly to the translation.

"We have also consulted coach Ancelotti, and he believes that Zhang Jun and Yang Pan have great potential." Galliani spoke very slowly when he said the names of the two Chinese players, obviously he was not used to pronouncing these two Chinese names. But Hua Fang believed that in the near future, the other party would often have them on his lips.

"However, the Italian Professional Football League will pass a new transfer system this summer." Why say "will"? Because Galliani is the head of the Professional League, he naturally knows these things very well. "This system will mainly target non-EU players like Zhang Jun and Yang Pan. A Serie A team is only allowed to introduce one non-EU player per season, and domestic transfers are not subject to this rule. So although Milan is very interested in them, I'm afraid it can only..." Galliani spread his hands.

Hua Fang listened to Mr. Ferrio's translation with an impassive expression, but her mind was thinking very quickly about countermeasures. It was true that she had not expected this situation. The Italian Serie A league had created the reputation of "Little World Cup" because of its relaxed policy on the introduction of foreign and non-EU players. But it was precisely because of this relaxed policy that Italian young players were unable to play more high-level games for a period of time, and important positions in many teams were occupied by foreign players. In the long run, this would seriously affect the future development of Italian football, so the Italian Professional Football League promulgated this new transfer policy.

Hua Fang couldn't be sure if Galliani was lying to her, because she had never heard of any news about this policy before. She knew that Galliani was the chairman of the league and knew inside information, but he also had the ability to fabricate inside information. Galliani's cunning and Moggi's (Juventus' manager) shrewdness were well-known, and she had to be wary.

"But I haven't heard of this news, sir," Hua Fang said.

"I can understand, Ms. Hua. The league is still discussing the details of the policy internally, but it is certain that it will pass. We have not disclosed it to the outside world. This new policy will be announced in a week, that is, after the last round of Serie A, and will be implemented in this summer's transfer market."

It didn't seem like a lie, Hua Fang thought in her heart. Could it be that Zhang Jun and Yang Pan's Serie A road would be disrupted by this sudden new policy? Damn new policy, hurting others without benefiting oneself!

Calm down! Hua Fang had to calm down! She said to herself, and then sorted out all of Galliani's words, hoping to find information that could be used.

First, determine the other party's attitude. It was true that Milan was interested in the two, otherwise they wouldn't have spent half a year contacting her. Since this was the case, the other party should have no reason to give up easily. There were many young and promising players with potential in football now, but there were not many with such loose contracts. If Milan wanted them, they wouldn't need to pay any liquidated damages. In the end, it seemed that the key to the problem was still this suddenly appearing new transfer policy.

What way could she bypass it?

A Serie A team is only allowed to introduce one non-EU player per season, and domestic transfers are not subject to this rule...

Domestic transfers are not subject to this rule!

Hua Fang suddenly remembered the relationship between Adriano, the Brazilian forward currently at Parma, and Inter Milan, as far as she knew. Parma and Inter Milan jointly owned Adriano, each accounting for 50%. In this way, when Adriano's contract with Parma expires or he decides to transfer, Inter Milan will always have the priority to get him... joint ownership...

Hua Fang showed her signature smile and said to Galliani: "Sir, I know that your club is interested in Zhang Jun and Yang Pan, but introducing two young people who have only participated in one season of professional league will take a lot of risk. So can we take such a method? The Milan club does not directly introduce the two, but two other Serie A teams that have a good relationship with Milan introduce them separately, and then Milan shares their ownership with the two clubs. In this way, the two will be trained in other teams and adapt to Serie A. At the same time, when the season ends, if Milan wants to introduce them again, it will be a domestic transfer and will not be restricted by that rule. And joint ownership makes it difficult for other teams to intervene in your transaction. What do you think?"

After saying these words, Hua Fang took a sip of coffee very elegantly, waiting for Ferrio to translate the words. Then Galliani fell into a long thought. Hua Fang knew that doing this was very troublesome. She went around a big circle, and it was not certain whether she could find two clubs willing to use their precious non-EU places to introduce Chinese players, because Zhang Jun and Yang Pan did not have any Chinese corporate background. The Milan club transferred its own risks to other clubs. Would anyone be willing to take this risk? However, Hua Fang believed that Zhang Jun and Yang Pan were definitely worth the risk for those managers to take. Now the ball was passed to Galliani's feet. Did he have the courage?

After a long time, Galliani raised his head and said to Hua Fang: "Ms. Hua Fang, although your proposal is a solution, there are still risks in it. It is not easy to find two teams willing to buy them. The financial situation of Serie A teams is not very good now, and managers are extra cautious about every transaction. Milan is indeed interested in these two, but it is too complicated. You know we have our own youth training system. Mr. Baresi is a very excellent youth football coach."

Hua Fang's heart sank, but she quickly regained her composure and continued to maintain her smile: "Sir, I think you have misunderstood me. Zhang Jun and Yang Pan are not ordinary young players. They are fully capable of becoming world-class stars--of course, this depends on the environment to become a superstar. We Chinese have an old saying: 'Thousand-mile horses are common, but Bole is not always available.' Bole is the person in ancient legends who is best at discovering thousand-mile horses. I think you should understand that Zhang Jun and Yang Pan are thousand-mile horses." Hua Fang said this with a basis. In fact, since the Milan youth training system cultivated Maldini and Albertini, Costacurta, there have been few world-class stars. Abbiati was once the main goalkeeper of the Italian national team under the age of 21, but now he has been squeezed to the bench by the Brazilian Dida, who has performed excellently and stably. In the defensive midfielder position, since Albertini, Milan has no local stars that can be called world-class. Now Pirlo, who is performing well, was transferred from Inter Milan. Inter Milan did not recognize the talent, allowing Milan to pick up a big bargain. In fact, Galliani still has a way in terms of talent discovery. The Ukrainian Shevchenko, the Brazilian Dida, and Pirlo and Kaka who are still in negotiations, they were all personally selected by Galliani. The only failure may be Rivaldo, the World Footballer of the Year.

Perhaps it was the saying of thousand-mile horses and Bole that touched him, or perhaps it was Hua Fang's confidence in Zhang and Yang that surprised him. In any case, after another long thought, Galliani raised his head: "Okay, Ms. Hua Fang, we will conduct in-depth research on your proposal. In a week, we will notify you of the final result."

"I believe in Milan's vision." Hua Fang stretched out her jade-like hand and shook hands with Galliani gently.

It was already night when she sent the two away. Hua Fang returned to the room and felt very tired. She originally planned to go shopping on Milan's famous Via Monte Napoleone, but now she was not in the mood. Perhaps that blow was really a bit big, and she still couldn't fully recover from it. Her maneuvering with Galliani exhausted her.

Hua Fang lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. That failure was a complete defeat. It was no exaggeration to describe it as being abandoned by everyone. That young man with a frosty face... The phone rang. Hua Fang picked it up and saw a very familiar number. She hesitated for a moment, but still answered the call.

"喂，有咩嘢事啊？" (Hey, what's the matter?) Her voice was as cold as ice.

"呵呵，冇咩嘢事喇。只係我哋好耐无联系喇，倾倾计啦！" (Hehe, it's nothing. It's just that we haven't contacted each other for a long time, let's chat!) A woman's voice.

Hua Fang frowned: "对唔住，如果冇咩嘢事的话，我收线喇。" (Sorry, if there's nothing, I'll hang up.)

The other side became a little anxious: "哎--咪收线住，收线住，其实呢个，嘿嘿！其实我哋有嘢要要大小姐帮手……" (Hey--don't hang up, don't hang up! Actually, hehe! Actually we have something we want Miss to help with...)

"唔好再叫我做大小姐，我同华家已经无晒关系喇，我亦不係你哋嘅大小姐。" (Don't call me Miss anymore, I have nothing to do with the Hua family, and I am not your Miss.)

The other side was stunned: "何必咁样呢？当初大家都係有难言之隐嘛，将你送出去亦净係想吡你散散心。你睇你依咖唔係几好咩？做着果两条靓仔的经纪，名利双收。" (Why be like this? Everyone had unspeakable secrets back then, sending you out was just to let you relax. Look at you, aren't you doing pretty well now? Being the agent of those two handsome guys, reaping both fame and fortune.)

"我嘅成就唔关你哋事，唔好搅晒上你哋度。" (My achievements have nothing to do with you, don't attribute everything to yourselves.)

The other party obviously did not expect Hua Fang to be so unsentimental. She did not speak for a while, but Hua Fang took the initiative: "我知你哋有咩嘢事，梗係家长不吡你哋零用，就跑到我度嘈，係咪？" (I know what's going on with you, it must be that your parents didn't give you pocket money, so you ran to me to cry, right?)

The person on the other end of the phone clearly felt the sarcasm in Hua Fang's tone. She said angrily: "华扬！你唔好虾得就虾，我话晒都係你嘅大姨妈，你识唔识得尊重长辈咩？" (Hua Yang! Don't bully people too much, I'm still your aunt, don't you know how to respect your elders?)

"好笑喇，我早就已经不係华家嘅人，你係大姨妈又好，舅父仔又好，都无关我事啦，唔通仲要我讲多次？" (It's funny, I'm no longer a member of the Hua family, whether you are an aunt or an uncle, it has nothing to do with me. Do I have to say it again?)

"你……你既然口口声声话你脱离华家，咁点解仲要姓华啊？你梗係仲想来zhan有我哋华家嘅身家，是咪？" (You... since you keep saying that you are separated from the Hua family, then why do you still have the surname Hua? You must still want to come and zhan have our Hua family's property, right?)

"天底下姓华嘅又唔净係得你哋一家人，我点解就唔能姓华啊？至于d身家，就一早已经唔係你哋华家d钱喇。" (There aren't just you Hua family members in the world, why can't I have the surname Hua? As for the property, that's not been your Hua family's money for a long time.) Hua Fang deliberately emphasized the four words "your Hua family". "你哋只不过係他嘅猎物啫，无资格系我面前讲钱，你哋呢班败家仔！好喇，难得你流夜打电话比我，睇在你咁辛苦嘅份上，我就唔怪你打搅我嘅休息。但係我希望你以后唔好再打呢d骚扰电话吡我，拜拜。" (You are just his prey, you are not qualified to talk about money in front of me, you spendthrifts! Okay, it's rare that you called me in the middle of the night, considering how hard you worked, I won't blame you for disturbing my rest. But I hope you don't make these harassing calls to me again in the future. Goodbye.)

With a "snap!", the phone closed, and Hua Fang lay down on the bed again, letting out a long breath. Everything about the Hua family, her past memories and glory, that unbearable past, all left her with this sigh, blown out of the window by the wind, and scattered without a trace in the Milan night sky, fourteen stories high.