Chapter 1 A Grand Scene!!

"This is really a grand scene!!" Many members of the Chinese national team sitting in the stands exclaimed. Perhaps many of them would never have the opportunity to stand in such an arena in their lifetime. Zhang Jun, Yang Pan, Kedu, and Xiang Tao were truly enviable and objects of jealousy.

An Ke wanted to show off, but after careful consideration, he realized that he had never participated in a Champions League final since joining Bayern Munich, which was a real shame. He had to start by introducing the Veltins-Arena to his teammates to show off.

"Look! Look! This is the world-famous Veltins-Arena, costing a staggering one hundred million euros! It's a high-tech stadium, its turf can be freely retracted, very convenient..." He was rambling on when he suddenly heard someone shout, "They're coming out! Look, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan are walking out side by side!"

Immediately, everyone's attention was drawn to Zhang Jun and Yang Pan.

"Damn!" An Ke cursed, then got up and leaned forward to look down. Sure enough, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan were walking shoulder to shoulder out of the tunnel, heading onto the field to warm up.

※※※

Zhang Jun and Yang Pan happened to meet in the tunnel. Their timing was perfect, so they decided to walk together. There was no need to hide anymore at this point.

In the noisy stadium, Zhang Jun said to Yang Pan, "Alright, I'll see you on the field. I won't be holding back, so don't you dare cry if you lose."

Yang Pan laughed and said, "Who cries is not certain! Let's make it clear, once the game starts, we are no longer friends, but enemies."

Both understood each other's thoughts. They lightly bumped fists and then separated.

"Wow! Heroes cherish each other!!" Someone in the stands immediately shouted.

An Ke rolled his eyes at the person shouting.

Watching Zhang Jun and Yang Pan clash on the field, he felt a sense of loss. He had played for Bayern for three seasons and hadn't made it to a Champions League final. Being a spectator wasn't easy, and he believed Li Yongle felt the same way.

Thinking this, An Ke turned to look at Li Yongle and saw that he was indeed staring at the field, lost in thought.

Zhang Jun's opponent should have been him.

※※※

The warm-up was simple and ended quickly. The players from both sides left the field and returned to their respective locker rooms for final preparations.

The locker room was messy, with jackets and trousers thrown all over the floor. The players were rushing to change clothes while listening to Sabato pacing back and forth through the piles of clothes, making final instructions, sometimes just meaningless self-talk.

"This game is special..." Sabato started, but quickly thought that it might not be good to say that, as it might make the players nervous. So he changed his words, "Actually, it's just another game." Then he wondered if saying that would make the players not take the game seriously. After all, it was the Champions League final!

After thinking about it, nothing seemed right. Fortunately, the players treated the two sentences he just said as meaningless self-talk and didn't take them to heart.

He finally thought of Ren Yudi's words from yesterday. Those ten or twenty thousand bonuses weren't a small amount. Looking at the players who had already changed into all their gear and were looking up at him expectantly, he clicked his tongue. "Actually, nothing I say now will matter. We've come this far, you all have a goal in mind, and you all know what you want to do."

Everyone listened quietly. This was the pre-match mobilization, and Sabato was rarely without a string of curses. Maybe this game really was special?

"I've been repeating what I have to say for the past few days, and you must be tired of hearing it, right?" Sabato chuckled. "Then, for that damn bonus! For that damn honor! We must fucking win this game! AC Milan is nothing! We are the Kings of Europe!!"

※※※

The AC Milan locker room was very quiet. Everyone was quietly waiting for their coach to speak.

Van Basten was silent for a moment, then looked up and said to everyone, "We have achieved nothing in the domestic league this season, and now we only have the Champions League left. I hope everyone will show their full fighting spirit in this game. Fiorentina is a very strong team. We play them at least twice a year, and I believe everyone knows them very well. I just want to emphasize one point: this is our last game of the season, and this game is very important. We can only win, we cannot lose. How many seasons has Milan gone without honors and championships? As a Milanese, this is unacceptable. Defeat Fiorentina!"

Those players who had deep feelings for Milan were fired up. Van Basten was a Milanese, the most perfect coach in their minds, only a little unlucky. He ran into a Sabato and a Zhang Jun in a state of divine fury, as well as Fiorentina. If it had been a few years earlier, he would probably have created a second Milan dynasty, right?

Yang Pan had seen Van Basten's desolate back when Fiorentina swept through Italy with a frenzy. He was originally regarded as Milan's savior, taking over from the incompetent Ancelotti, wanting to create an era belonging to Milan, and then recalling Zhang Jun, whom he had always been optimistic about, to the team. Everything would be perfect. Later, it turned out that Zhang Jun was indeed a crucial figure in Van Basten's plan to revive the Milan dynasty. However, his final decision to stay in Fiorentina was initially taken lightly by Milan, because they still had Shevchenko and Gilardino. Later, everyone began to regret it and beat their chests.

Now, Fiorentina was ahead of Milan in almost every competition, making Van Basten very depressed, and also making the Milan executives very unhappy. Some time ago, some nosy media even claimed that the Milan executives were interested in poaching Sabato to coach, but although it was later proved to be a fake news, there was no smoke without fire, and Van Basten's life was indeed not easy.

Yang Pan understood how important this Champions League was to Milan and to Van Basten.

He hadn't won any honors for a long time, whether collective or individual. Zhang Jun had won the Chinese Footballer of the Year and Asian Footballer of the Year for the past two years, as well as the Italian Best Player and Best Foreign Aid. He was also the European Footballer of the Year. Now, Zhang Jun was only missing the World Footballer of the Year. Yang Pan only won a Chinese Footballer of the Year and an Asian Footballer of the Year at the beginning, and the other honors were out of his reach.

Before the game against Bayern, he had set a goal for himself: to defeat Zhang Jun on the field. Now was the best opportunity, and he must defeat Zhang Jun. Although the two were friends, he was first and foremost a professional player, a professional player with a persistent pursuit of honor.

What else is there to play football for if not for victory?

Yang Pan didn't shout loudly, he just clenched his fists silently.

※※※

When the two sides were waiting to enter the field in the tunnel, they had been strictly adhering to the boundaries: AC Milan players would not chat with Fiorentina players, and Fiorentina players would definitely not pay attention to the AC Milan players around them. Because they were direct competitors in the domestic league, the hostility between the two sides was very strong, let alone in such an important game?

The Fiorentina players seemed more nervous than the AC Milan players. After all, most of them were playing in such an important game for the first time, and they had no experience.

The only thing that could make the Milanese feel superior to the Fiorentina players was this moment, because many of their players had experience in participating in the Champions League final. Plus, the Milan club itself had this tradition, they were a powerhouse.

The players entering the field caused the first climax in the Veltins-Arena. Everyone was shouting the names of their supported teams and players. The atmosphere suddenly became heated, and although it was a relatively cool night, people still felt a heat wave coming towards them.

The captains of both sides stepped forward to toss the coin. Zhang Jun first shook hands with Ambrosini and then exchanged team flags. Then they tossed the coin, and the result was that Fiorentina got the right to kick off. It was a good start.

All procedures were completed, the players from both sides stood on their respective halves, and Zhang Jun and Van Persie stood in the center circle, stepping on the football waiting to kick off.

Everyone quieted down, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. For a time, the stadium was very quiet.

Perhaps the pre-match atmosphere was too heavy, and something had to happen to relax everyone. So a commotion suddenly broke out on one side of the field. Zhang Jun and Van Persie turned to look at the commotion.

They saw a white, fleshy body rushing towards the center circle at a very fast speed, and behind him were a group of stadium security guards and police!

Streaking!

This was the legendary streaking that was very common in European stadiums!

This person was extremely fast, and the cumbersome security guards couldn't catch up with him at all. He was about to rush in front of Zhang Jun and Van Persie, and he stretched out his foot to kick the ball. Zhang Jun looked up at the sky, then pulled the football behind him with his foot, letting the other party kick empty. At the same time, Van Persie stretched his foot forward, just tripping the other party's kicking foot, and the streaker immediately fell on his face, crashing to the ground in front! The security guards who followed immediately pounced on him, pressing him to the ground, while taking off their vests and putting them on the other person's body. Then, several people lifted this person up and walked towards the sidelines.

The streaker did not resist, but as he was being taken down, he turned to look at Zhang Jun and Van Persie, perhaps resenting these two for ruining his good deed.

Zhang Jun continued to look at the sky, ignoring the other party. Van Persie did look at that person, "I didn't expect a streaker to pop up at this time."

"Too bad it's a man," Zhang Jun said.

Then the two high-fived each other: "Happy cooperation!"

With the streaker's commotion, the atmosphere in the stadium relaxed a lot. While everyone was laughing, they also felt the coolness brought by the night wind.

After cleaning up the clothes and pants that the streaker had taken off on the field, the stadium returned to normal.

The referee didn't dare to delay any longer, fearing that a second streaker would break in.

With a whistle, the Champions League final of the 0910 season officially kicked off!

※※※

"Everyone, you must all focus your attention on this game for the entire game. This is a rare opportunity for you to learn, and I hope you can understand something useful to you from the highest level of competition between European clubs. This is not just watching the game, I will also explain it to you. No one can get distracted!" Qiu Suhui said, sitting behind the players.

His tone was a little stern, because the streaker incident had relaxed the players, and there were all kinds of jokes. If this continued, everyone's thoughts might be on the gossip outside the stadium. This was not his original intention, so he had to use a stern tone to bring everyone's thoughts back.

The effect was good, everyone stopped talking and began to concentrate on watching the game.

※※※

AC Milan is a team that insists on attacking, because they have a coach who is all-attack and all-defense, Van Basten. Fiorentina is also a team with a very strong attacking spirit, because they have a madman Sabato.

The collision of the two teams was favored by many people before the game, believing that this final must be very exciting. The passionate offensive and defensive exchanges between the two sides made the game very fast-paced, the audience cheered, and the commentators cheered that this was the most perfect Champions League final in the last five seasons! And so on…

But the reality and people's speculation always have some deviations.

The start of the game was quite dull. Both sides were testing each other, using probing attacks to understand what tactics the other side would use in this game.

After all, it was the final, and a cautious start was correct. Sabato was not a three-year-old child, so he would not start attacking to satisfy the audience's fantasies. He was a football coach, not a clown to make the audience laugh.

Zhang Jun ended Fiorentina's attack with a long shot. His shot was within the frame, but it was caught by Abbiati, causing no danger. After all, the distance was a bit far.

AC Milan's marking of him and Kedu was very strict. No matter what the situation, there would be at least one person next to him, never leaving.

It seemed that Van Basten had to be conservative and stabilize the defense first.

The game went on for ten minutes, and the two sides only had two shots in total, one for Fiorentina and one for AC Milan. Milan's shot was completed by their star forward Gilardino, but the ball was directly blasted into the sky, posing no threat to Frey's goal.

※※※

"So dull..." Someone complained in the stands of the Chinese team. "There hasn't been any exciting scene for a long time, and Kedu's technique can't be used at all under the marking defense." The person who said this was the team's always "bold and reckless" goalkeeper, An Ke. He also exaggeratedly yawned to increase his persuasiveness.

What he said was indeed good, and there was no problem with the interpretation of the game. Qiu Suhui could not blame him. He also felt that it would be better for the players to express their views on the game than for him to talk dryly, so he simply took this opportunity to let the players discuss it themselves.

"Li Yongle, what do you think?" He threw the question to the team's brain, the tactical core, Li Yongle.

Li Yongle was not in a hurry to answer this question, his eyes were still on the field. The two sides were fighting in midfield. "Well… I think this is the final, this arrangement is very normal. Van Basten doesn't want any accidents to happen at the beginning, it is better to have such a mediocre start, and then find opportunities as the game progresses. But I don't think this situation will last long, Fiorentina should be the first to be unable to stand this game rhythm."

Listening to these two people from European powerhouses expressing their views on the game, the others did not say anything, because compared to Li Yongle and An Ke, their experience and knowledge, and their understanding of the two teams on the field were too little.

"As for Kedu, I don't think AC Milan can keep an eye on him." Li Yongle thought of the game between Inter Milan and Fiorentina. Sometimes Mancini would ask him to take care of Kedu, and he found it very difficult to deal with. The difficulty of marking Kedu was no less than that of Zhang Jun, and it could even be said that it was more difficult than Zhang Jun. After all, Zhang Jun was just a striker, as long as you defend the moment he shoots, Kedu is a midfielder, his position is erratic, and the most annoying thing is his superb footwork, he always has a way to slip away from you. "I think they are making a very correct decision to keep an eye on Zhang Jun. But… I don't think much of AC Milan in this game."

An Ke interjected next to him: "That's because you are an Inter Milan player, right?"

Everyone laughed, and Li Yongle also laughed, noncommittal.

※※※

Responsible for defending Kedu was the famous tough guy defensive midfielder Gennaro Gattuso. At thirty-two years old, he showed no signs of aging, still running desperately on the field, fiercely intercepting any opponent who dared to break through in front of him. He used both hands and feet to deal with Kedu. If that didn't work, he would press his entire body on him, and finally foul.

At the beginning, Kedu did make him feel a bit miserable. However, Kedu quickly adapted to Gattuso's defense, which was just more physical contact and more ferocity than in the league.

As an attacking midfielder, it can be difficult to be watched, but he could reduce his touches and pass the ball more. On the contrary, the defending side would be very passive. To constantly disrupt his touches, he would have to foul constantly. If the number of fouls increased, there would naturally be a risk of getting a card. Two yellow cards and one red card were something no player wanted to face.

Kedu passed the ball directly to Van Persie, and Gattuso rushed up and missed. Van Persie, like Kedu, could also play as an attacking midfielder, so in this game, Sabato did not let Zhang Jun play as a deep-lying forward. Anyway, he would definitely face a very tight defense in any position, so he simply let Zhang Jun play up front as a center forward. Van Persie dragged back, both as a second striker and, when necessary, as an attacking midfielder, sharing the pressure on Kedu.

Precisely because he considered that AC Milan would definitely defend Kedu and Zhang Jun closely, Sabato did not send Pazzini on the field, but used the more versatile Van Persie.

Van Persie did not pass the ball, but suddenly accelerated and broke through with the ball, which was somewhat unexpected by the Milan defenders. His breakthrough caused a brief chaos in Milan's defense. Zhang Jun immediately opened up space to create opportunities for Van Persie. Even in this situation, Nesta, who was responsible for marking Zhang Jun, never left Zhang Jun's side.

Thirty-four-year-old Nesta was experienced, right in the final stage of the golden age of a central defender. He was the best candidate on Milan's defense line to mark Zhang Jun.

Nesta was on guard against Van Persie passing the ball to Zhang Jun, but Van Persie did not do so. After he disrupted Milan's defense, although it was only for a moment, he also found an opportunity. After faking a continuation of the breakthrough, he passed the ball to Kedu who was plugging in. Kedu still forced a shot under Gattuso's close interference, and the angle was very tricky, forcing Abbiati to use all his strength to save the ball.

At the same time as Kedu shot, Gattuso used a little force on his arm, causing him to lose his balance and fall aside. Van Persie watched very carefully, and he quickly raised his hand to signal to the referee that Gattuso had fouled and should give a penalty!

But the referee ignored him and insisted on letting Fiorentina take a corner kick.

Zhang Jun grabbed Van Persie and shook his head.

※※※

"Penalty!!" Someone in the Chinese team shouted. This time it was not An Ke, but Zhao Pengyu.

Li Yongle shook his head: "It is impossible to judge at this time, it is too sensitive. Watch, Fiorentina's counterattack has begun."

※※※

The corner kick was taken by Joaquin, and the ball he kicked had a good landing point, the near post!

Zhang Jun suddenly accelerated and rushed to the landing point. Nesta quickly followed behind him, but what can a central defender who is squeezed behind do? Interfere? Foul?

Zhang Jun jumped in the air, and there was no one in front of him who could interfere with the ball. Behind him, although there was Nesta, as well as so many Milan players and goalkeeper Abbiati, he was not afraid.

The whole person turned 180 degrees in the air, a powerful lion's head swing! (shizi shuatou, a type of header)

Nesta did not stop the ball, Yang Pan, who was standing at the front end post, did not stop the ball, and Abbiati did not even react—because this shot was too powerful and too fast!

The commentator was ready to cheer for the goal, and the Fiorentina fans could not restrain themselves and began to cheer. But they heard a "bang!" The football slammed hard on the crossbar!

The bounced ball went directly out of the baseline.

Zhang Jun, who had ran out of the baseline due to the momentum, looked back at the football hitting the crossbar and then bouncing out of the baseline. He turned around and kicked the advertising board in annoyance, venting his dissatisfaction. It seemed that the top of his head was a little too low. If he hit the top, it would be a rebound ball, and it would definitely go in without any surprises.

"Too bad! This shot was almost certain to go in! The crossbar blocked Fiorentina and saved AC Milan!! But the next game will definitely become good-looking!"