Chapter 1 The Beginning

Kyle passed the ball to Klose—normally, with Mascherano on the field, he would have passed it to Mascherano, and then let the Argentinian decide how to attack, but now Klose was both an attacking midfielder and a defensive midfielder.

Klose received the ball. Kaká symbolically blocked him—he didn't have much stamina left. He knew that Pirlo and Gattuso were behind him, so he simply handed it over to them.

Facing Pirlo's defense, Klose supported himself with his left foot, and then, while running, raised his right foot and feinted twice over the ball, making Pirlo unsure of what to do. Then he suddenly poked the ball to the right and accelerated past!

Pirlo moved to catch up, but Klose suddenly braked hard, and then his body slammed into Pirlo, who didn't have time to retract his foot. As their bodies made contact, Klose's left arm bent slightly, and he very subtly poked his elbow into Pirlo's stomach.

Klose started again, but Pirlo could only clutch his stomach and kneel on the ground.

The referee felt something was strange, but he couldn't blow the whistle to stop the game, because the body contact between the two just now was within the normal range.

Klose took the opportunity to retaliate against Pirlo and dribbled straight towards Gattuso.

As he approached Gattuso, Gattuso was already prepared to lower his body to prevent him from breaking through, but Klose suddenly stopped abruptly! Then, before Gattuso could react, he immediately followed with a *la croceta* fake move!

The ball swung left and right on his right foot, and then suddenly slipped past Gattuso's left side!

Klose was about to break through, but Gattuso had no choice but to grab Klose around the waist with both hands, and threw him to the ground like in judo!

"Beep!!"

Both Arena AufSchalke and Fiorentina had only one voice: "Send him off!"

The Fiorentina fans angrily waved their fists, as if they wanted to rush onto the field and teach that Gattuso a lesson themselves.

The referee took out a card, but not a red card, but a yellow card. Gattuso received a yellow card, and now no one on AC Milan's defense line was without a card. They paid a considerable price for a Champions League title.

The football was about twenty-seven meters from the goal, slightly to the left.

Zhang Jun jogged all the way from the penalty area to the spot of the foul, then took the football from Joaquin, stomped hard on the grass pointed out by the referee, and carefully placed the ball on it, preventing it from rolling back and forth.

Yang Pan, Gilardino, Kaladze, Kaká, and Ambrosini formed a wall, blocking the near corner of the goal, while Abbiati guarded the far corner. Fiorentina and AC Milan players in the penalty area were entangled together.

AC Milan fans in the stands kept booing Zhang Jun to interfere with his free kick. The Fiorentina fans used songs to suppress the boos and cheer for Zhang Jun.

Sophie in the box nervously watched the field, and so did Ren Yudi next to her. In fact, no one in the entire box was relaxed. AC Milan was also very nervous.

Zhang Jun placed the football, and then began to back up, back up, and back up again. The distance he backed up for his run-up exceeded his usual five meters, and increased to eight meters. With such a long run-up, did he want to shoot with power? A hard shot?

Yang Pan looked at Zhang Jun in front of him, blocking his groin with one hand and the front of his neck with the other. He tilted his head slightly, also nervous about this ball.

…

"What is a free kick? It seems only a little more difficult than a penalty kick because no one is interfering with you. But in fact, it is the most difficult way to score. You are a striker, you have countless ways to score, are you sure you really want to learn free kicks?" This was the question Baggio asked him after he found Baggio and revealed his idea of learning free kicks from him.

He didn't really know why he had to learn free kicks, because, as Baggio said, a striker can have many ways to kick the ball into the goal. There was no need to work hard on free kicks, so most of those who played free kicks well were midfielders and defenders, and very few were strikers. Maybe it was just pure imitation of his idol, hoping that he could have the same way of playing as his idol. Or maybe he just wanted to please his idol and find more topics to get closer to Baggio.

"Hey, Zhang, you are the most talented player I have ever seen, in every aspect, including free kicks." This was what Baggio said, looking at Zhang Jun in surprise, after he was able to send the football into the upper corner of the goal from a distance of twenty-five meters very quickly.

…

Twenty-seven meters, a bit far, but it doesn't matter.

"This is a chance for Fiorentina to attack. They have now won a free kick in the frontcourt. Fiorentina has had many such opportunities in this game, but Zhang Jun has not seized them, not a single one! We are worried about Zhang Jun's form on free kicks. Recently, the number of goals he has scored from set pieces has decreased significantly. Maybe he is not in form. I think it would be more appropriate for Xiang Tao to take this free kick from this distance."

Xiang Tao ran up as expected. He looked at Zhang Jun: "Do you need my help?"

Zhang Jun looked at the wall, then looked at Xiang Tao, and then shook his head: "They all know that I'm taking this ball. Your feint is superfluous. No need. Go to the front of the penalty area and prepare for a follow-up shot. In case I don't score..."

Xiang Tao obediently ran to the edge of the penalty arc.

"Oh! It looks like Zhang Jun will take it!"

I am the captain, and I should be brave enough to take responsibility at critical moments. Of course, I will take this ball. Which of my teammates on the field can play a free kick better than me?

Milan's wall was still dawdling with the referee. The referee retreated, and they moved forward a step. The referee came up, and they immediately retreated obediently to their original positions.

The referee backed away, and Milan's wall moved forward half a step again, but at this time the referee didn't want to push and grind with them like this anymore. He raised his right arm high, and then put it down, and then blew the whistle.

Zhang Jun began to run!

But he didn't run straight at the football, but suddenly turned to the right, and then changed direction again, running from the right side of the football to the left side! He was going to shoot with his left foot, not the right foot that people had guessed before!

The long run-up distance made the Milan players, who were originally familiar with Zhang Jun's way of playing, a little at a loss. There was some disagreement as to whether the wall should jump or not, and when to jump.

As a result, Yang Pan and Kaká jumped, but Kaladze didn't jump, and Gilardino also jumped, but jumped too early.

The football went over the head of that Kaladze who didn't jump!

Yang Pan, who was next to Kaladze, jumped up and watched the football fly past him, wanting to head it, but he couldn't reach it!

As soon as Abbiati saw Zhang Jun's run-up, he knew that he must be shooting at the near corner, so he flew towards the near corner of the goal.

But he didn't expect the football to fly over the heads of the wall. The consequence of this was that the height of the football was very low, not the upper corner that Abbiati had imagined!

He was already in the air at this moment and could do nothing about the football. All he could do now was pray that the football would hit the goalpost, or shoot directly outside the frame.

God!

"Swish!" The sound of the football hitting the net.

"It's goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!!!" The commentator roared frantically, waving his arms.

Arena AufSchalke was boiling!

Fiorentina was boiling!

Those Chinese fans who stayed up all night in front of the TV were also boiling—of course, except for the die-hard Milan fans.

Sophie jumped up from her seat and shouted loudly without any ladylike demeanor: "Goooal!!"

Ren Yudi was not as excited as she was. He just lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly in front of his chest, shaking non-stop.

Sabato, who was so nervous that he didn't dare to sit down, suddenly hugged Dilivio next to him tightly, his fist still waving non-stop behind Dilivio.

The excited Zhang Jun kept tearing at his jersey, as if he wanted to tear it to pieces. He was still roaring non-stop in his mouth, roaring words that no one could understand. Fiorentina players rushed up and surrounded him tightly. They raised their right arms and roared with Zhang Jun.

"The eighty-sixth minute of the whole game! A magical moment. Zhang Jun used a direct free kick from twenty-seven meters to equalize the score for Fiorentina! No one thought he could score before! We are so stupid! For such a killer, one second of brilliance is enough, because he is a genius! Only mortals need to run and work hard for ninety minutes, a genius only needs one time!"

"Long live Zhang Jun! Long live Fiorentina!!" Arena AufSchalke and Florence had only this one voice!

The fireworks that Milan fans had lit earlier now looked still blooming lonely in a corner of the stands. No one remembered them anymore.

Kaká knelt on the field, helplessly watching the Fiorentina players celebrating the goal. It was quite cruel to have the score equalized by the opponent at this time.

The other Milan players were just as confused and helpless as he was.

Basten was very painful, very painful. He didn't even know how to describe the feelings in his heart at this moment. The player he was most optimistic about gave his team a blow.

※※※

After a brief celebration, the game quickly restarted. Both sides knew that there was very little time left. At this time, maybe going into overtime would be a good choice, but some people didn't think so.

"Why play overtime? Now our morale is good, our state is good, everything is good, why wait for a five-minute break before starting the game again? No overtime, no! Either solve the opponent within the remaining four minutes, or be solved by the opponent!" Sabato glared at Dilivio, who was trying to persuade him to play overtime.

"Hey! Zhang Jun! Hey! Klose! Hey! All of you! Listen to me: Attack! Attack! Run until you're exhausted and still fucking attack for me! Win this game, and we are the Kings of Europe!" He rushed to the sidelines and shouted to the players on the field.

Just four minutes, plus stoppage time—at most five minutes, there are still nine minutes. This time is enough for everything to happen, either to extend the score, or to be overtaken.

Everyone took out the last of their strength and fighting spirit, gritting their teeth and insisting until the end of the game, either defeating the opponent, or being defeated by the opponent. But they would never give up in advance!

Kaká suddenly made a through pass, and Yang Pan quickly cut in, but as soon as he received the ball, his body suddenly flew out!

Xiang Tao! It was him who rushed up and knocked out Yang Pan, who had already gained speed, using a foul to intercept Milan's attack. If Zhang Jun and Yang Pan were very dedicated and professional in playing football, then Xiang Tao was desperate in playing football. He didn't care whether the collision would affect his World Cup. At this moment, he only knew that if he didn't rush up, Yang Pan would most likely break through and threaten Frey's goal.

The two rolled on the ground, and the referee ran over and showed a yellow card to Xiang Tao, who was still on the ground. At this time, Yang Pan didn't have time to care about why the referee didn't show the other party a red card. He jumped up from the ground, and then quickly took the free kick and kicked it to Kaká.

Kaká took a long shot outside the penalty area, but Frey firmly grabbed the ball in his hands.

Milan fans sang "Milan, Milan" to cheer for the team, while Fiorentina fans shouted loudly: "Fuck you Milan Milan! Fuck your Milan Dynasty!! Long live Fiorentina! Long live Fiorentina!"

The tense atmosphere on the field spread to every corner of the stands. Even the very neutral Chinese team were clenching their fists one by one, their bodies trembling slightly, and they didn't dare to blink their eyes, for fear of missing a wonderful moment.

※※※

Klose got the ball in the middle. He didn't dribble the ball but passed it to Gasparoni, and then he ran forward, and then Gasparoni passed the ball back to him. The two did a one-two!

After receiving the ball, Klose took the ball to the middle and then accelerated and rushed up. He didn't choose to retreat or pass the ball, but aimed at the center of Milan's penalty area, planning to break through!

"Stop him!!" Milan fans shouted loudly.

Pirlo was on the left, and Gattuso was in front. The two had formed a pincer attack. It seemed that Klose had no way to escape.

Pirlo stretched his foot to poke the ball. Klose pulled the ball back to the inside with his left foot, letting Pirlo pounce into the air. Then he immediately turned around and blocked the dishonest Gattuso with his body.

"Damn it! Send another person up! Don't let him enter the penalty area!" Abbiati roared in front of the goal.

In front of Klose, the penalty line was close at hand, but it was difficult to move an inch to break through! In front of him, there were already two Milan players blocking him. But he still planned to break through.

His feet quickly crossed each other, making Gattuso want to stretch his foot but not dare to stretch his foot, and then he suddenly knocked the ball lightly under Gattuso's crotch. Then, Klose was about to jump over Gattuso!

As long as he could get around, he would be in the penalty area.

But Jankulovski, the Milan defender next to Gattuso, suddenly pressed towards Klose, knocking him out! Klose fell into the penalty area!

"Beep!" The whistle sounded again.

"Penalty kick!!"

"Bullshit penalty kick!" This time it was the Milan fans' turn to curse.

"Klose fell to the ground, Milan fouled! But this place... is it really a penalty kick? Let's take a look at the slow motion again..." The slow motion showed that although the football was in the penalty area, Jankulovski's collision was very timely, and the foul was outside the penalty area.

The referee on the field did not point to the penalty spot, but stood at the spot of the foul, raising his arm high, indicating that it was a free kick.

Sabato was quite dissatisfied with this: "The referee is blind! Blind! This should be a penalty kick!" He didn't care about the fact that the slow motion accurately told the audience that it was a free kick. In his opinion, all the unfavorable penalties were the referee's problem.

Basten paced back and forth on the sidelines, looking very nervous. He had just let Zhang Jun score a twenty-seven-meter free kick, and now he had given the opponent an eighteen-meter free kick. According to Zhang Jun's condition, this ball...

"Wall! Wall! Seven people go up to form it!" He roared loudly on the sidelines.

Sure enough, Zhang Jun picked up the football again, and then walked to the spot designated by the referee and placed the football steadily on the ground.

"This is Fiorentina's chance! Now the time has entered stoppage time! Can Zhang Jun use another free kick to kick Milan into hell? Let's wait and see..."

But this free kick was not taken by Zhang Jun, because he put the football on the ground, flashed to the edge of the arc, and gave it to Xiang Tao, who was backing up ten meters to run up. Seeing that it was not Zhang Jun who was taking the free kick, many people breathed a sigh of relief. In their serious opinion, Xiang Tao was far less threatening than Zhang Jun.

"It turned out to be Xiang Tao taking the free kick. I really can't figure out why Zhang Jun would give this opportunity to a defender!"

All of Milan's players retreated to the penalty area, and all of Fiorentina's players, except for center back Bonera and goalkeeper Frey, also rushed to the frontcourt.

Sophie was so nervous that she covered her eyes and dared not look at the field again.

And Sabato, who had always been strong, had to turn his back to the stadium at this time, tightly grasping the roof of the bench and muttering something.

Everyone was nervously watching the field.

But there were also many people like Sophie and Sabato, who lowered their heads and dared not look. Whether they were from Milan or Fiorentina.

"If Xiang Tao takes the free kick, we must not jump, we must not!" Yang Pan reminded his teammates loudly, "We would rather let the football hit us than jump up or dodge!"

The referee retreated out of the penalty area, and then looked at the wall and Xiang Tao, who was taking the free kick. Then he blew the whistle to decide the fate.

Xiang Tao began to run. He ran as usual, heading for the football.

The ten-meter run-up distance was just a moment. Xiang Tao ran to the front of the football, swung his leg! A push!

A push?

Yes, Xiang Tao passed it horizontally!

Who did he pass it to?

Zhang Jun!

"Damn it!" Nesta rushed towards Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun swung his leg in place, he was going to shoot directly!

He must not be allowed to shoot! With this thought in mind, Nesta rushed over sideways, trying to block Zhang Jun's shot with his body.

At the same time, Yang Pan in the wall also turned around and rushed to the left side of Zhang Jun. He almost instinctively rushed to that place, just like he believed that Zhang Jun would definitely head in his cross, he believed that Nesta would never be able to stop Zhang Jun—because Zhang Jun would not shoot directly at all!

Sure enough, Zhang Jun suddenly stopped abruptly. His right foot, which was swung down, stepped on the football and did not shoot it out. Nesta pounced into the air, and the whole person slid past Zhang Jun's feet! Then Zhang Jun pushed the football forward lightly, passed Nesta, and rushed into the penalty area!

The direction he rushed in was exactly where Yang Pan was.

Zhang Jun discovered Yang Pan, who had just turned around, at the first time. The distance between the two was very close, and there was no way to retreat or avoid!

※※※

"Show us success in Florence!"

"Even if you take the championship from Milan with your own hands?"

"If you have the ability, then try it!"

※※※

I have waited for this moment for a long time, Zhang Jun! Yang Pan stared at Zhang Jun.

Me too, Yang Pan.

Let's try it...

Let's try it!

Yang Pan opened his arms, intending to block Zhang Jun.

But Zhang Jun gently lifted the football to the right with his right foot, and then his body leaned against Yang Pan's body on the left. Yang Pan's body swayed from the impact, but he persisted and did not fall down. Instead, he desperately pressed towards Zhang Jun. He would not admit defeat, he would never admit defeat!

Zhang Jun grabbed Yang Pan's clothes with one hand, supported his entire body with his left foot, leaned on Yang Pan's body, swung his right foot, and volleyed directly!

With Yang Pan blocked behind him, there was no way!

A figure rushed over, intending to block with his foot. Unfortunately, he was one step too late!

"Kaká didn't stop him!"

Abbiati flew towards the football, but facing Zhang Jun's powerful shot from close range, his reaction was still slow.

The football slammed hard on the underside of the crossbar, and then bounced in! Bounced into the goal!

Yang Pan's body leaned back with the football, and finally fell to the ground. Zhang Jun also fell on top of him.

Both of them clearly saw the football... go in!

Yang Pan moved his gaze from the goal to the dark blue night sky, his mind was blank.

Zhang Jun struggled to get up from the ground. It was such a simple process of getting up, but he fell three times before barely standing up from the ground. Then he opened his arms and ran frantically towards the sidelines, roaring angrily!

But as soon as he ran out of Milan's penalty area, he was dragged down from behind by Klose, and then pressed under him.

More teammates rushed up, jumped up, and pressed down.

"We won, right? We are the European champions, right? Right?!"

"Yes, yes, we are the fucking European champions!"

※※※

"Goal! Goal! Goal!" The roar coming from the TV made the entire city of Florence boil. All the bars, all the families, the municipal square, the banks of the Arno River, every corner, erupted with huge roars.

Beer was sprinkled into the sky, car horns were honked non-stop, and countless arms were waving.

Like here, Arena AufSchalke was the world of Fiorentina fans. They lit the fireworks they had prepared for a long time, waved them in their hands, and shouted loudly: "Long live! We are the Kings of Europe! We step the world under our feet! We are invincible!"

Sophie, who was covering her eyes, heard a whistle, and then after a while... maybe it was very long, maybe it was very short, she heard the cheers of the whole stadium. She felt that the whole stadium was trembling and shaking. Then Ren Yudi suddenly pulled her hand away and shouted excitedly at her: "Look! Look! Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun! We are leading! 3:2 we are leading!"

Sophie stared at Zhang Jun, who was being pressed under his teammates—she couldn't actually see him, but she saw a hand, with a dazzling red mark on the wrist. She didn't cry this time, although she was still biting her lip tightly, she didn't cry. She should be happy at this time, how could she cry?

Turning her head to look at Ren Yudi, his excited smiling face was like a student. Where was the majesty of a chairman?

At the same time as hearing the cheers from the stadium, Sabato's knees softened and he knelt on the ground. He lowered his head and was unable to describe his mood. Dilivio hugged him from behind and shouted loudly in his ear: "Look! We are bound to win! We are bound to win! It's that kid Zhang Jun, we are the Kings of Europe! Genuine! We really did it!"

"The Kings of Europe, it's hard to imagine..." Sabato murmured.

"It's really unbelievable! Unbelievable!" In the noisy stadium, the live commentator roared desperately, so that his voice could be clearly transmitted to the ears of everyone in front of the TV. "What a magical moment! Chasing two goals in the last six minutes, Fiorentina completed a great reversal! And the one who achieved this miracle is their captain, the top scorer of this Champions League, the great striker Zhang Jun!! His hat-trick dominated this game, and his two fatal goals instantly plunged Milan from heaven to hell! This is fate, from the moment Milan mistakenly let go of Zhang Jun, fate! If Fiorentina finally wins this game and wins the first European Champions trophy in their club's history, Zhang Jun is the well-deserved hero of Fiorentina!"

Bosque did not interrupt the commentator's excited performance. He watched the excited Fiorentina players on the field with a smile.

He said before that this game needed a hero to shift people's attention from the constant disputes and disputes back to football itself.

At this time, Zhang Jun came out of nowhere.

What a hero!