Chapter 260 The Troublesome Legion Reports (Part 1)

"This is Zhang Jun's fourth goal in the three league matches since entering March! Having been selected for the Chinese national team, his form is exceptionally good, and Fiorentina has now risen to fourth place! Direct promotion doesn't seem far away!"

The goal-scoring Zhang Jun excitedly showed the number on his back to the fans at the stadium, who responded by chanting his name.

Watching this scene from the coach's seat, Mondonico said to his assistant coach Bottoreto, "As a forward, Zhang Jun knows exactly what to do to win trust. Score, score, and keep scoring. I'm already considering asking the club to negotiate with Milan to buy Zhang Jun outright."

Bottoreto pointed to the stands: "Milan has someone recording videos there every game. With Zhang in such good form, they probably won't let him go."

"They've already booked Bojinov, that kid. And they want Zhang Jun too? What are they going to do with so many forwards?" Mondonico felt his assistant had a point, and he muttered a curse under his breath.

"Actually, I'm worried about Zhang Jun's stamina. Both his body and his form are at a peak right now, but next he has two national team friendlies to play, and then the league. In the remaining month and a half, we have eight league matches to play. I'm worried Zhang won't be able to maintain his stamina." Bottoreto’s concerns were the most practical. Because the World Cup was scheduled to open on June 9th, the forty-two rounds of Serie B had to be completed before May 15th to make way for the World Cup. Therefore, many midweek matches were arranged, and the density of the games was very high, which would be a severe test for many players.

Especially those who had to participate in the World Cup. If they exhausted their energy in the league, how would they perform on the World Cup stage?

Mondonico looked at Zhang Jun running hard on the field: "The World Cup is not our concern. As long as he performs well for the club, that's all that matters."

In the end, in this match, Zhang Jun, Rigano, and Lucarelli each scored a goal, defeating Bari 3:1, only two points behind third-place Treviso, and five points behind second-place Torino.

With eight rounds left in the league, many Fiorentina fans were already looking forward to the moment when the team would return to Serie A.

For Zhang Jun, however, the national team matches were currently more important than Fiorentina's promotion. The opponents for the two friendlies had been confirmed. In the first match, they would challenge the Spanish national team at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain; in the second match, they would travel north to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, and play against Basten's Dutch national team at the Amsterdam Arena, Ajax's home ground.

It could be said that this trip was the toughest and most valuable series of friendlies the Chinese team had faced in recent years. This was naturally due to Qiu Suhui's connections in Europe.

Because the World Cup was imminent, all teams wanted to test their formations and personnel, so they would send out their strongest lineups. This was exactly what Qiu Suhui wanted. Because the new Chinese team had only been established for more than half a year, and had only played a few symbolic matches with teams in China and nearby, they had never really fought a real battle. He wanted to know how strong this Chinese team really was, so he had to play against top European teams. He was not afraid of losing, but he was afraid of not exposing problems. Therefore, he also recalled all the players playing in Europe, forming the strongest Chinese lineup at present.

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Dortmund, Germany, Westfalenstadion.

"Ailton breaks through the Dortmund defense!"

Schalke 04's Brazilian striker, "Ball Lightning" Ailton, used his speed to break through the Dortmund defense. Only the goalkeeper stood before him, a one-on-one opportunity!

The goalkeeper quickly attacked. Ailton wanted to catch the goalkeeper off guard and shot before he could adjust!

The goalkeeper reacted with remarkable agility, making the right judgment the moment Ailton shot, diving to the ground. As the ball arrived, so did his hand. With a slap, the football changed direction and rolled out of the goal along the post!

Ailton stomped his feet in frustration, while the Westfalenstadion erupted in cheers, with 80,000 fans chanting one name: "An! An! An!!"

"Another brilliant save from An. With the game already in injury time, he ensures that Dortmund's goal remains untouched! Dortmund is currently leading Schalke 04 1-0 at home!"

Qiu Suhui had once told An Ke that as long as he maintained his stability, the number one goalkeeper position for the Chinese team would definitely be his. An Ke subsequently continued to prove in matches that Qiu Suhui's trust was not only because he played abroad, but because he truly had the ability.

Passion, arrogance, boldness, decisiveness – every quality was what Qiu Suhui believed a perfect goalkeeper should possess.

"Hey, Captain! Don't let them break through like that again! Foul if you have to, take that kid down! The defense, keep your formation, stay focused!" An Ke jumped up from the ground and shouted at his teammates. No one blamed him for being disrespectful to his seniors, because they were used to being yelled at by An Ke like this. As a goalkeeper, the Dortmund players would be surprised if he didn't shout.

"An is very concerned about the defense's performance, because relying on the goalkeeper alone cannot stop Schalke 04's fierce attack. So far, he has not conceded a goal for three hundred consecutive minutes. For Dortmund's terrible defense, that's a miracle!"

"Listen to the cheers at the Westfalenstadion, look at the fans' attitude towards him. No wonder so many Dortmund fans staged a sit-in protest in front of the club's gate when rumors spread that he would transfer to Bayern Munich."

"Well, I'm thinking, if the Chinese team has a chance to play at the Westfalenstadion in the World Cup, as long as the opponent is not Germany, maybe this place will become the Chinese team's home."

Schalke 04 took a corner kick. An Ke jumped and caught the ball directly in the air. When he kicked the ball out, the referee blew the final whistle. Dortmund narrowly won against Schalke 04 at home, taking a solid step towards participating in the UEFA Cup next season.

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Anderlecht, Belgium.

This was an ordinary Belgian League match, but it was also a special one, referred to by the local Anderlecht media as the "Chinese Derby." This was because the home team, Anderlecht, had two Chinese players in their starting lineup: left-back Xiang Tao and defensive midfielder Wang Yu. And the starting forward for their opponent, Antwerp, was none other than their former national Olympic teammate – Wu Shangshan.

Having been bought out by Manchester United, he was loaned to Antwerp in Belgium. In two and a half years, he had experienced ups and downs with the team. At the end of his first season with the team, they were relegated to the second division. Just when many people were worried about his future, he relied on his own efforts and, together with his teammates, brought Antwerp back to the first division. Currently, the team is in the middle of the first division table, and he is in the top four on the scorer list.

In recent years, Manchester United has bought many forwards: Alan Smith, Saha, Rooney – all top players in the Premier League, but Ferguson is still not satisfied. He bought Wu Shangshan because he valued his excellent physical qualities and planned to have him take over from Van Nistelrooy. There are already reports that Manchester United will recall him to the team after the World Cup, officially making him a member of the first team.

He was also very active in this "Chinese Derby," threatening Anderlecht's goal many times. However, after being tackled out of bounds by Xiang Tao at the beginning of the game, he never tried to break through Xiang Tao again. Instead, Wang Yu in midfield struggled to defend him because he was slow to turn around.

Wu Shangshan's efforts paid off in the 27th minute of the second half. After receiving a wonderful pass from his teammate, he forcibly broke through Anderlecht's defense with his speed, then shot low, scoring his fifteenth goal in the Belgian League this season.

This goal gave the visiting team Antwerp the lead, but Anderlecht equalized the score at the beginning of the second half. The goal was not scored by the team's biggest star, Mbo Mpenza, but by a Chinese full-back.

Xiang Tao got the ball near midfield. Instead of passing, he dribbled straight forward. Wang Yu tacitly came up to block for him, allowing him to pass through midfield with ease. The Anderlecht fans did not complain about him, a defender, dribbling forward, but cheered loudly for him. Because they knew that Xiang Tao, as a full-back, actually had a very strong attacking awareness. You could often see him dribbling wildly down the left wing, then crossing from the byline, or cutting inside to shoot. Watching his speed and physique surpass one defender after another was really exhilarating. Some fans even called him "the Chinese Roberto Carlos."

This time was no exception. With Wang Yu's help, after passing the first person, he slammed the ball forward, then jumped up to avoid the second Antwerp player's sliding tackle. His speed was indeed very fast, which was why even Wu Shangshan dared not easily break through him.

By the time Xiang Tao caught up with the ball, the third defender was not far away from him, and was in a defensive stance, looking like he could only run headfirst into him and fall into the trap. But unexpectedly, Xiang Tao suddenly shot from long range!

Thirty meters away! And the angle was very skewed, yet he actually shot!

And the shot was very accurate. Judging from the arc, it would definitely land inside the goal frame!

The goalkeeper, who was positioned far forward, hurriedly retreated, jumped up, and raised his right hand high, trying to push the sudden shot away. But the football was a little faster than his hand, and drilled into the goal along the crossbar.

The ball… the ball went in? The ball actually went in!?

The ball went in!!

"Incredible goal! This is definitely an incredible goal!! Xiang has already performed many solo runs this season, but this one is absolutely earth-shattering! Listen to the cheers at the Vanden Stock Stadium!"

Tens of thousands of people chanted one name in unison, which sounded really great. Xiang Tao was feeling that way right now. But he didn't forget to make a face at Wu Shangshan on the opposite side. They were teammates in the national Olympics, and now they could meet again on the Belgian field, thousands of miles away from China. It was really not easy.

Wu Shangshan shook his head, watching Xiang Tao's excitement. In the national Olympics, it was difficult for him to break through this person's defense. Now, even his goal was not as beautiful as his. God, was he a defender or a forward?

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Kru faced a section of the stands and made a "shut up" gesture. Because there were several banners hanging there insulting him and his family. Those fans were not Southampton fans, but Chelsea fans.

Kru had endured the boos and insults from these people for as long as seventy minutes, starting from the moment he made his first appearance. If it weren't for the billboards and the police, he probably would have kicked his way in and started fighting with the fans.

So when he scored Chelsea's second goal with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, his celebration was not cheering, nor hugging his teammates, but rushing to that section of the stands, standing in front of the billboards, pressing his index finger to his lips, and showing off to the angry faces up close.

It's none of your damn business which national team I join or what nationality I choose! Fuck!

He lowered his index finger and stomped hard on the Carlsberg beer billboard in front of him, making a muffled sound.

The boos did not stop, but instead became louder.