Chapter 1 Yang Pan's Goal

Yang Pan's powerful and swift long shot not only gave Volendam the lead within the first twenty minutes of the game, but also effectively dampened the opponent's morale. The opponent failed to mount any effective attacks within the next fifteen minutes after the restart. They seemed to fear Yang Pan's long shots, and their back line dared not press forward. Relying on numerical superiority, they suppressed the attacking duo of Yang Pan and O'chu, not giving Yang Pan any room to accelerate. Naturally, Yang Pan's threat was greatly reduced. However, by sacrificing their attack to defend, Go Ahead Eagles also greatly reduced their own scoring opportunities. No more goals were scored in the first half, and the score of 1-0 remained until halftime.

During the halftime break, Adriaanse was very satisfied with the team's performance. Although the opponent was the runner-up in the Eerste Divisie (First Division), after Volendam had trained in the Eredivisie (Premier League) for several rounds, they were more than capable of dealing with their former Eerste Divisie opponents.

However, Adriaanse was not one to settle for 1-0. The lead had to be extended in the second half. The team needed a resounding victory to boost morale.

Yang Pan was still accepting congratulations from his teammates, while Zhang Jun sat alone on the side. He was thinking about what Qiu Suhui had told him – that he would be substituted in the second half. This meant that he had to score three goals on his own within forty-five minutes, or else…

"Zhang Jun."

Zhang Jun looked up.

"How's your preparation? It's your turn in the second half," Adriaanse said to him.

Zhang Jun looked down at the bracelet on his wrist: "No problem!"

"Good. After you come on in the second half, cooperate with Yang Pan. Because you scored the equalizing goal in the last game, the opponent will definitely be closely watching you. Run more, create space, and create opportunities for your teammates. In particular, Yang Pan's long shots are very threatening, so create more opportunities for him."

Zhang Jun was a little discouraged. His task was to create opportunities for others. Indeed, Yang Pan had been very active from the start of the game and had quickly scored his first goal in the Netherlands. No wonder the coach valued him so much in this game.

Shouldn't the arrowhead figure score goals? Why take on so many miscellaneous tasks? Zhang Jun couldn't figure it out.

Zhang Jun said nothing, just nodded silently.

Adriaanse was still talking about how we should do this and that in the second half, but Zhang Jun didn't hear a word of it. All he knew was that he had to run and create space. Was this the greatest role of a striker? He was a little frustrated, wondering if he could still fulfill his promise to Sophie.

Yang Pan patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder: "It's time to go on."

Zhang Jun stood on the sidelines, waiting for a dead ball. What Qiu Suhui had told him earlier was exactly the same as what Adriaanse had said. The opponent will be closely watching you, run more, create space, and create opportunities for your teammates to insert themselves into the attack…

Finally, Qiu Suhui whispered in his ear: "What I just said was what the coach asked me to convey to you, just a reminder. Now, this is what I want to say to you. After you go on, always remember that you are a striker, always be ready to shoot and score. Don't miss any opportunity!" Qiu Suhui gave him a thumbs up. "In training, seriously complete every requirement of the coach. In the game, just play to your heart's content!"

The opponent's defender brought down Yang Pan, who was about to force a breakthrough. The referee blew his whistle and gave him a yellow card. If he hadn't blocked him, Yang Pan would probably have broken through and blasted the opponent's goal with his terrifying power shot. Some fans booed, thinking that a yellow card was too lenient! In their opinion, he should have been sent off with a straight red card.

When the fourth official raised the electronic display board to signal number 21 on and number 9 off, there was a burst of warm applause from the stands. They applauded O'chu, but even more were cheering for Zhang Jun, the greatest contributor to the draw against Eindhoven in the last game, that kind big boy.

Only then did Zhang Jun feel that he hadn't been abandoned. He hugged O'chu, and O'chu said in his ear: "Hey, Bruce (the English name he gave Zhang Jun because of Zhang Jun's martial arts performance), help me score a few more goals!" Then he patted Zhang Jun's vest and walked back to the bench. He now seemed to be able to treat being substituted in the middle of a game with a normal attitude, and would also get used to being brought on only during injury time in the future.

Zhang Jun quickly ran onto the field. Yang Pan was waiting for him.

Yang Pan and Zhang Jun slapped hands: "I will pass the ball to you."

Zhang Jun saw Yang Pan wink at him. He smiled.

The game continued. Bayes quickly took the free kick, and Volendam launched a new round of attack. Since the beginning of the second half, Volendam had been constantly pressing the opponent's attack. However, because the opponent had strengthened their marking of Yang Pan and tightened their defense, Volendam had been unable to open up the situation. The opponent seemed to want to decide the outcome in the last twenty minutes, but Adriaanse certainly didn't want that. This game not only had to be won, but more importantly, it had to be won beautifully. He substituted Zhang Jun because Zhang Jun had scored a goal in the last game, and would definitely be the focus of the opponent's attention. He alone could attract two or three defenders, so other players would definitely have a chance, it just depended on how they grasped it.

Adriaanse's wishful thinking was ringing, but Zhang Jun had only been on the field for five minutes, and his first touch of the ball startled him. Zhang Jun was active on the left side of the penalty area. Yang Pan passed the ball to him. With his back to the opponent's goal, according to Adriaanse's idea, he should have passed the ball to Bayes. Bayes faced the goal and had more options than him. However, with his back to the opponent's defender, Zhang Jun still forcibly turned around and shot, and even shot the ball through the defender's legs! And surprisingly, he shot very cunningly. The goalkeeper made a desperate save to push the ball out of the baseline!

Corner kick!

Adriaanse looked at Qiu Suhui next to him, who was smiling at the field.

"Was that your request? Qiu."

"Hehe, yes, coach. I don't think it's good to suppress Zhang Jun's shooting desire. I saw from training that Zhang Jun's recent shooting desire is very strong, and he might be able to score some unexpected goals in the game. So, I told him to seize every scoring opportunity."

"Well, since you've already told him, then I'll see what kind of goals he can score."

The corner kick was taken. Zhang Jun fought for the header. He jumped high in the air and overpowered the defender marking him with a powerful header! The shot was a bit too straight. The opponent's goalkeeper jumped up and pushed the ball out with both hands. Another corner kick!

The second corner kick was taken again. Having seen Zhang Jun's powerful header, the opponent had already sent two people to double-team him. Zhang Jun didn't get the ball again. The ball was headed out by the opponent's defender.

Adriaanse and Qiu Suhui saw that Zhang Jun's header was actually saved by the goalkeeper. At first, they thought it was a sure goal and were excitedly about to stand up and celebrate, but the goalkeeper miraculously saved it, which made them feel a little regretful.

Qiu Suhui said to Adriaanse with some regret: "It would have been better if it was a little more off to the side..."

"Hehe, it's already very good, it gave me a surprise. It seems that I was a little wrong about how to use him at first. He is a natural scorer..."

While the mentor and disciple were communicating, Volendam launched another attack.

After receiving the pass from Battele, Kozeel dribbled past an opposing midfielder, then passed to Hevel on the left wing. Hevel and Bayes then did a one-two, using speed to break through the side defender and cross from the baseline. But the pass was a bit behind. Zhang Jun couldn't reach it even if he turned around, so he had to let Yang Pan, who had already cut inside, have it.

Yang Pan cut inside at high speed, and the fans got excited again. They shouted Yang Pan's name, hoping that he could score another goal with that powerful shot.

But although Yang Pan arrived half a step earlier than the opposing defender, he didn't shoot. Instead, he swung his right foot, making a shooting motion. The opposing defender immediately stretched out his leg to block his shooting path. Yang Pan's leg swung down, but he didn't shoot. Instead, he pushed the ball to the left. The ball slid to Zhang Jun's feet – a beautiful pass!

Zhang Jun didn't decline. Yang Pan said he would definitely pass the ball to him, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly. He leaned against a defender behind him, then swept his right leg. The ball shot into the goal through the gap between the goalkeeper and the defender!

Goal!

Goal!!

Zhang Jun scored again!

"Zhang Jun!!!!!" The commentator on the scene shouted loudly, and the fans shouted the name with him.

Everyone from the Volendam fans to the players were very excited. It was great that Zhang Jun scored as soon as he came on.

Li Yan jumped up, not expecting that the two Chinese players would score in their second game. The news this week would be easy to write.

While everyone was celebrating Zhang Jun's goal, Qiu Suhui stared at Yang Pan's figure in a trance.

Yang Pan's pass can be said to have been very unexpected. Anyone who had seen Yang Pan's long shot in the first half would have thought that he would shoot the ball into the goal so simply. But Yang Pan added an extra step, faking a shot and making a real pass, handing the ball to Zhang Jun, and then Zhang Jun leaned against the defender and swept the shot successfully. However, Qiu Suhui didn't think this goal needed to be so troublesome at all.

Passing to Zhang Jun did add a sense of tacit cooperation to this goal, but it also increased the risk of failure. Zhang Jun's angle at the time was not suitable for shooting. The fact that the ball still went in was entirely due to the role of his own shooting instinct. Yang Pan is an excellent player, and he should understand this, so why did he still do this?

After Zhang Jun waited for his teammates to come up and hug him, he went to clap hands with Yang Pan on the side: "Good pass! Hehe!"

Yang Pan shook his head and smiled: "You shot well, shooting directly without even stopping the ball, and shooting it in between the goalkeeper and the defender. Kid, your shooting skills are getting more and more refined!"

"Hehe!" Zhang Jun started giggling again.

"Ah, there are still two goals to go to reach your goal, right?"

"Yes."

"Then hurry up, I will pass the ball to you until you score a hat-trick!" Yang Pan smiled at Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun felt that Yang Pan's smile was so gentle. At first, he had been jealous of Yang Pan, although it was only for a moment, it made him very regretful. Yang Pan would rather his performance in this game be dull, but also assist him, so as to send that birthday gift to Sophie. Yang Pan is his brother, a brother who can be trusted for a lifetime. What's the difference between brothers? His starting is equal to my starting, right? His scoring is equal to my scoring, right?

Go Ahead Eagles should probably always remember this day. They made two future superstars. They were not victims, they, like the six thousand fans on the scene, were witnesses.

In the sixty-seventh minute, Hevel dribbled the ball into the penalty area and suddenly passed it diagonally to the outside of the penalty area. Yang Pan had retreated from the penalty area to the outside. He swung his right leg, and the fans on the scene shouted his name as if they had taken stimulants, asking him to score another one. The Go Ahead Eagles defender blocked his head with his hands, using his body to block this terrifying shot.

But Yang Pan unexpectedly did not shoot directly again. Instead, he flicked his right ankle and directly rolled a curved shot, and the ball fell into the penalty area!

Zhang Jun rushed out of the crowd, a diving header!

The goalkeeper and defender didn't react in time. There was still a Zhang Jun lurking at the far post!

The ball went into the net!

Scored again! Only three minutes since the last goal!

Zhang Jun waved his fist and roared, and the Veronica Stadium roared with him. 3:0!

"goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAL!!!! Zhang Jun!!!!!!"

Yang Pan held out a finger to him: "There's one more! There's one more!"

"Two now!" Li Yan looked at the field in surprise. "How many more goals is he going to score? A hat-trick? Oh my god!"

Qiu Suhui and his coach high-fived each other. He had said the right thing to Zhang Jun before substituting him. Seize every opportunity, then shoot, score, win... Football should be like this, a passionate victory!

In the seventy-fifth minute, Bayes received the pass from Kozeel in the middle, swayed past a defender, and then took a long shot! This shot was a bit hasty, with insufficient power and problems with the route selection. But…

"When attacking, you should shoot as much as possible, because the chances of success are more than you think."

This was said by Qiu Suhui, that assistant to Van Gaal.

…

The ball hit the back of the defender and bounced in the opposite direction! The goalkeeper was caught off guard and watched helplessly as the ball flew into his goal for the fourth time! 4:0!

Bayes looked very excited after scoring. Although the team was already leading by a large margin, this goal was his first goal in official league and cup matches, so it was no wonder he was so excited that he ran in the wrong direction and almost ran to the opponent's bench to hug and celebrate with the opposing coach. If that were the case, the headline of tomorrow's newspaper would definitely be him.

Yang Pan was a little anxious. At this time, Zhang Jun was not in a hurry, but he became anxious instead. There were fifteen minutes left in the game, but Zhang Jun was still one goal short.

A mistake by Go Ahead Eagles resulted in a corner kick. Yang Pan warned himself, be more patient, be more patient. The opponent had already lost their composure. As long as he was patient, he would be able to find an opportunity to pass to Zhang Jun.

The corner kick was taken, and Louis Link got the header, but it didn't pose much of a threat to the opponent's goal.

Five minutes passed. The fans were already very satisfied. Since being promoted to the Eredivisie, they had never seen such a satisfying game. They sang improvised songs to praise Zhang Jun and Yang Pan.

"...We have two Chinese people, they know kung fu, their fists and feet are swift! They beat the opponent until they pissed their pants! Lalala... We have two Chinese people, they are as fast as the wind, they score goals every game! Volendam is invincible! Lalalala..."

In such a noisy environment, it was impossible for Zhang Jun and Yang Pan to understand the fans' croaking songs, but the other teammates understood and kept laughing, but they didn't want to tell the two parties involved.

In the eightieth minute, Yang Pan finally found an opportunity. He dribbled the ball into the penalty area, and after attracting two defenders, he passed the ball to Zhang Jun.

The angle was not very good when Zhang Jun received the ball, it was a bit small, but Yang Pan believed that even if it was only one degree, Zhang Jun would be able to shoot the ball in. Zhang Jun still protected the ball at his feet in the face of the defenders and goalkeeper's block. He swung his left foot lightly. The goalkeeper and defender both thought he would definitely shoot, so they both reacted accordingly. But Zhang Jun's movement was a feint. He used the heel of his left foot to knock the ball in front of him towards the back of the goal!

Yang Pan saw that Zhang Jun had passed the ball back! He didn't expect that Zhang Jun wouldn't shoot. That angle was more than enough for Zhang Jun's feet. But Zhang Jun passed the ball! Yang Pan didn't have time to think about why, and reflexively stretched out his right foot. The ball hit his foot and bounced into the goal...

Goal!

5:0!

Zhang Jun shouted and rushed towards Yang Pan, hugging the dumbfounded Yang Pan in his arms: "Two goals! Haha!"

The other teammates came over to congratulate him, but Yang Pan was still dumbfounded: "Hey, why didn't you shoot..."

"I've figured it out. We're brothers. Your goal is my goal, hehe!"

"Idiot...idiot! What about Sophie's birthday gift? Is your gift also my gift?"

"This...I didn't think of that..."

Yang Pan was dumbfounded. "Forget it, it's already in, there's still time..." Yang Pan looked up. The electronic display showed that there were ten minutes left in the game, or thirteen minutes at most including injury time. With Volendam's current momentum, it wouldn't be difficult to score another goal, but it would be a little difficult to let Zhang Jun score another goal.

"Zhang Jun has two goals and one assist. Yang Pan has two goals and two assists..." Li Yan muttered while writing in his notebook, "A perfect answer! Even the members of the national team may not be able to do it. What kind of sensation will these reports cause when they are sent back to China? Hehe, I'm looking forward to it!"

Yang Pan's performance became more active in the final stage. Zhang Jun was also working hard to find space. Their excellent performance in this game also made their teammates clear that the two of them were in good shape today, so they passed the ball to them when they had the ball. But Go Ahead Eagles seemed determined not to concede another goal before the end of the game, and tightened their defense, leaving little space for attack. The space for Yang Pan's speed advantage was reduced, and simply passing the ball to Zhang Jun...looking at so many people in the penalty area, he might not be able to receive it, and even if he barely received it, he might not be able to form an effective shot, and even if he barely shot, he might not be able to score.

Volendam started controlling the ball in Go Ahead Eagles' half. They passed the ball back and forth slowly. Anyway, they were leading 5:0, so there was no problem in dragging it out until the end of the game.

But Yang Pan didn't think so.

The fourth official raised the sign for injury time: two minutes.

Yang Pan received the pass from Bayes. He didn't pass it to captain Horvitch who had cut inside, but instead knocked the ball forward and dribbled the ball forward!

Go Ahead Eagles didn't expect Volendam to want to score in the final moments, so they rushed over to defend Yang Pan, and three defenders swarmed over at once. When Bayes saw that there was space around him, he quickly reached out and shouted to Yang Pan for the ball—he still wanted to score one. But Yang Pan ignored him, or rather, Yang Pan didn't hear him. He only had the three defenders in front of him in his mind now.

The three people formed a good position of mutual protection, making it impossible for him to get past one without getting past the second and third. However, he didn't intend to get past them anyway...

Yang Pan sank his waist and moved his feet quickly in small steps, and his upper body swayed with the movement of his lower body. The opponent was confused by Yang Pan's movements. He thought Yang Pan was going to break through to the inside, so he quickly stretched out his foot to block him.

Yang Pan arched his body, accelerated, and gently knocked the ball to the inside, past!

The first defender was passed, and the second immediately came up to fill the position. Yang Pan didn't look up and directly hooked the ball. The opponent stretched out his foot, and Yang Pan's foot happened to hit his calf.

Yang Pan fell heavily to the ground, and the referee's whistle sounded at the same time—he pointed to the penalty spot, penalty!

In the eighty-eighth minute of the game, Yang Pan's breakthrough won Volendam a penalty!

Veronica was like a happy gathering today. There were five goals, and finally there was a penalty. Go Ahead Eagles' gift was really heavy.

Horvitch wanted to take the ball. The penalty kicks in the team were assigned to him. But this time, Yang Pan didn't let go. Horvitch and other teammates were a little surprised and didn't understand what was going on.

Yang Pan explained to everyone in not very fluent Dutch: "Please let Zhang Jun take this penalty, captain. In a few days, it will be the birthday of Zhang Jun's girlfriend in China. He promised her to give her a birthday gift with a hat-trick, and he is still one goal short."

Kozeel was the first to react: "Did you deliberately create this penalty? No wonder you always pass the ball to Zhang Jun, so that's why."

Bayes smiled: "When did Zhang have a girlfriend? Hehe, I can't tell!"

Horvitch couldn't argue with Zhang Jun after hearing this reason. It was for love. He smiled: "Hehe, okay, let Zhang Jun take this penalty." He retreated and stood outside the penalty area.

Everyone retreated, waiting for Zhang Jun to take the penalty.

Yang Pan handed the ball to Zhang Jun: "Remember when we were freshmen? Don't waste it this time, hehe!" He patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder and retreated. The entire penalty area was only Zhang Jun, the opposing goalkeeper, and the referee.

Adriaanse and Qiu Suhui didn't know the real reason. They only thought that Zhang Jun was one goal short of a hat-trick, so his teammates took the initiative to let him take it.

Zhang Jun put the ball on the penalty spot, then took two steps back, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.

"Sophie, happy birthday..."

"Beep!"

Zhang Jun took a deep breath, ran up, swung his leg, and shot!

The goalkeeper guessed the wrong direction. He pounced to the left, but the ball rolled into the goal from where he had just stood!

Goal!

"gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooAL!!!!!!!! Zhang Jun!!!!!!" This was already the third time the commentator had shouted this tongue-twisting name.

Zhang Jun stood on the spot and waved his fist. Yang Pan was the first to jump on his back and roar at the stands, it seemed that he had quickly adapted to the atmosphere of professional games.

"Hat...hat-trick!" Although Li Yan had vaguely expected this ending when Zhang Jun was standing on the penalty spot, he still felt a little unbelievable when this ending really appeared in front of him. Chinese players scored a hat-trick, and scored a hat-trick in a foreign league! Things that the Chinese national team players who went abroad to study had not done were done by two unknown young people, and they did it so beautifully! "Wang Hua! What did I say? This is definitely an interview that can change my life! A smooth career, a salary increase..."

"I...know...know, please...please don't pull my...my...collar...cough cough!"

"Ah? Oh, sorry!" Li Yan quickly let go of the hand that was grabbing Wang Hua's collar. But he was still a little excited, "Did you see that? We are witnessing history!"

"Witnessing history? Are you so confident in them?" Wang Hua was a little skeptical.

"I must have confidence, so that I can shape them into heroes of national football. If even I don't have confidence in them, I might as well go back to China and write about domestic football!" Li Yan murmured.

6:0! Volendam won a big victory over Go Ahead Eagles in the second round of the KNVB Cup. This goal had already announced the end of the game, and the remaining time was completely garbage time. Adriaanse replaced Yang Pan. He had played almost the entire game. It was the first time he had played the entire game. Adriaanse took his physical fitness into consideration and replaced him, after all, there was still a league game coming up, and the test of three games was over.

But no matter what... Adriaanse glanced at Yang Pan who was panting on the bench, and then turned his attention to the field. Zhang Jun was still striving for scoring opportunities... No matter what, the two of them had taken this first step in a down-to-earth manner. Adriaanse was most gratified by this.

I hope they have good luck!