Chapter 255 Florence

In Italy, administrative regions are not divided by provinces, but by "regions." The Lombardy region, where Milan is located, has the most professional teams. Tuscany is second only to it, and the capital of this region is Florence. What makes Florence fans even more proud is that their city gave birth to the predecessor of modern football in 1500. The world knows it as the birthplace of the European Renaissance, but they may not know that it is also the birthplace of Italian classical football.

It seems that because of this, Florentine football is full of romantic, classical flavor, and is loved by many fans around the world. It was precisely because of this love that when in the summer of 2002, the former owner of Fiorentina, Cecchi Gori, announced that he would give up the struggle and accept the result, a club with more than seventy years of tradition officially went bankrupt and disappeared from Italian football. Countless Purple Lily fans wept bitterly for her tragic fate.

Zhang Jun still remembers how shocked he was when he saw the news of Fiorentina's bankruptcy on television. A legendary team was simply gone.

Now, three and a half years later, he stood outside the Stadio Artemio Franchi, looking up at the towering stadium, with his agent, Hua-jie, and dozens of reporters who had heard the news behind him.

When he came here for tourism on New Year's Day a year ago, he never thought he would come here again, and as a newly signed player. It was truly ironic.

Zhang Jun was pulled back to reality by the sound of camera shutters behind him. He let out a soft breath, and then walked towards the long iron gate of the stadium. Chairman Della Valle and coach Mondonico were waiting for him inside.

Once he stepped through this gate, he would be one of Florence.

※※※

Yang Pan searched all the channels his television could receive, but he couldn't find any reports about Zhang Jun attending a press conference in Florence. He angrily threw the remote control in his hand and called Kaka.

Just as the phone was picked up, he heard the sound of something falling to the ground inside. He laughed, "Kaka, are you fighting with someone?"

"I'm fighting with those bastards at the TV station! They'd rather show boring soap operas than broadcast any news about Zhang Jun in Florence!" Kaka said angrily. "By the way, what's up with your call?"

"Nothing. I just had a fight with the TV too. I wanted to ask if you had any unexpected discoveries, but it seems like I don't need to ask." Yang Pan looked at the photo of the three of them at the San Siro stadium hanging on the wall and smiled wryly. That photo was taken to imitate the style of the Dutch Three Musketeers.

"Yang Pan, do you think Zhang Jun will come back after his loan expires next season?"

"Don't be silly, Kaka. With Zhang Jun's temper, after experiencing so many unhappy things in Milan, he'd be a fool to come back. I asked him this question too, and he didn't answer at the time, but isn't the answer obvious?"

"But what if he can't find his form in Florence either?" Kaka was a little worried. There were already many examples of talented players with great potential gradually falling into decline while constantly drifting around. He didn't want Zhang Jun to become another such shooting star.

"Then he'll just have to sink. But I believe in him. I've been with him for more than ten years, and he's never let me down in football. Do you believe that, Kaka?"

Kaka was stunned for a moment. In terms of understanding, he didn't have the advantage of Yang Pan's decade-plus of friendship. He could only get to know Zhang Jun from the less than three years of high school they spent together.

As a striker, he had indeed rarely disappointed those who expected him to perform, otherwise the Dawn Football Team wouldn't have gone from being an unknown team to national champions.

"Yeah, I believe in him," Kaka said, looking at the photo of the three of them.

※※※

"I only have one goal here, and that is to help Fiorentina get promoted to Serie A at the end of this season," Zhang Jun said with a smile to the many reporters.

On January 2, 2006, Zhang Jun became a member of the Fiorentina team, and he would fight in purple until the end of the season. As time passed, many of these reporters in front of him would leave, and he would no longer be the focus of attention. In the next six months, the only thing that would stay with him would be football. This was also what Zhang Jun hoped for, to have fewer miscellaneous off-field matters.

Saying goodbye to the hustle and bustle of Milan and arriving in the tranquil Florence, Zhang Jun could finally fight for himself, instead of trying to satisfy those reporters and commentators.

※※※

Zhang Jun woke up in the morning sunlight. He sat on the bed and stretched, then jumped out of bed, walked to the window, and opened the curtains to look outside. He didn't see the reporters who had been waiting outside his door all night. This was something he wouldn't have encountered in Milan, especially in the past two months. "Serie B also has its advantages," he smiled contentedly.

He had just finished making breakfast and was sitting at the table ready to eat when his phone rang. Zhang Jun frowned. Who would call so early? He picked up the phone and saw that the screen showed a familiar number.

He smiled and pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Yang Pan? What's up with calling so early?"

"Just waking you up, kid! Don't leave a bad impression on everyone by being late for your first day of training with the team. Judging from your voice, you're not awake yet, are you?"

"Bullshit! I've already made breakfast..." Zhang Jun remembered that he hadn't been around these past few days and didn't know how Yang Pan had been managing his meals. "It's really fragrant, do you want to come and eat together?" He deliberately tempted Yang Pan.

"Forget it, by the time I drive over, you'll probably have finished lunch. I'll just eat instant noodles."

"Eating instant noodles all the time isn't good for your health. Breakfast is the source of energy for the day, you need to eat well, the nutritional balance needs to be coordinated, and the diet needs to be reasonable..."

"Damn it! Stop tempting me! Since you're already up, I won't bother you with your breakfast."

"Are you really just eating instant noodles? Do you have any eggs? Any bread? Any milk..." Zhang Jun laughed.

"Damn it! Just eat your food! Eat yourself to death!" Yang Pan hung up the phone to check if his instant noodles were ready.

Zhang Jun shook his head with a smile, put his phone aside, and ate his breakfast. It seemed that the distance didn't bring too many problems. At least this morning's conversation made him feel like Yang Pan was still by his side.

He also thought about meeting his new teammates at the training ground today, and he felt a little nervous. At yesterday's press conference, he only saw the club's chairman and the team's coach, but he didn't see any of the players.

Before coming to this team, Zhang Jun had specifically sought out Li Yan to learn more about them.

※※※

On the evening of August 1, 2002, just hours after the president of the Italian Football Federation, Carraro, announced that Fiorentina did not have the registration qualifications for Serie B, officials from the Florence city government said on television that they had already formed a new team. Because they could no longer use the name "Fiorentina," they named it "Fiorentina Viola," meaning "Florence Lily." The newly formed team had no players and no coaches. It was just an empty shell waiting for businessmen to inject funds to keep the team running.

Then, the current honorary chairman of the club, the largest shareholder, and the famous Italian "Shoe King," Diego Della Valle, officially acquired Fiorentina Viola, and brought in a coach, assistant coach, fitness coach, team doctor, physical therapist... including janitors. They then went to amateur leagues and Serie C leagues to search for players and formed a team to participate in the Italian Serie C2 league. The team continued to use Fiorentina's home stadium, the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and also continued to use the traditional purple jerseys and lily badge.

In May 2003, Della Valle became the team's sponsor and spent 2.5 million euros at a bankruptcy auction to regain the right to use the Fiorentina name and all the trophies that Fiorentina had previously won. The current Fiorentina was the Fiorentina with seventy-seven years of history, and they could finally remove the "Viola" from the end of their name.

Then, in just one year, the team was promoted from Serie C2 to Serie C1, and then the Italian Football Federation used the reason that "Fiorentina had made special contributions to Italian football" to directly promote the team from Serie C1 to Serie B. And the "Seven Sisters of Serie A," led by AC Milan, Juventus, Roma, and Lazio, also provided a lot of help to this new team - they loaned out some of their players who couldn't get playing time to Fiorentina.

Because of the Italian Football Federation and some Serie A teams' favoritism and care for Fiorentina, many Serie B teams were dissatisfied. Their reason was simple: if we were to be promoted from Serie C1 to Serie B, we would have to go through at least a year of hard work. Why could Fiorentina Viola easily obtain this qualification just because of the original club's reputation?

Because of this, Fiorentina was very ostracized in Serie B. Many teams were particularly enthusiastic when playing against them, and they often had injury-causing actions in the challenges, ruthlessly "beating a drowning dog" whenever they had the chance. This was one of the reasons why Fiorentina had been in Serie B for two seasons and still couldn't get promoted to Serie A. Of course, not having enough strength and not living up to the expectations of the Italian Football Federation was also a very important reason.

The team's players came from the second-tier lineups of Ancona, Reggina, Bologna, Catania, and other teams, as well as from amateur teams such as Alianese, Gubbio, and Montevarchi, hoping to enter the professional football world through Fiorentina. Although the level of the players varied, they all had one thing in common: they didn't care about salary - in fact, Fiorentina at the time was simply unable to pay wages - and fought with a passion and a spirit of impulsiveness. Even though they had just put on the purple jerseys, they felt honored to have the opportunity to wear this team's jersey that had a long history.

The team's current captain, Angelo di Livio, was a person that Zhang Jun respected very much. When the team was relegated from Serie A to Serie B, they needed to prove that the team had the ability to pass the Serie B registration qualification check. It was Di Livio who took the team's salary receipts to Milan to prove that the team's financial situation wasn't that bad, but the final result was still that the team was not qualified to participate in Serie B. When they were relegated to Serie C2 because of bankruptcy, everyone left, and only he stayed. This former Italian international would rather take a Serie C salary in the new team than go to other Serie A teams. He was respected by everyone on the team and was the team's true spiritual leader.

Zhang Jun respected him because of his loyalty, which reminded him of Gabriel Batistuta, the God of War who had announced his retirement at the beginning of last year. Similarly, when the team was relegated, many stars and former teammates left, but Batistuta stayed and, with his own strength, led Fiorentina back to Serie A a year later.

This situation was somewhat similar to his current situation. As the most famous player on the team, he was also highly expected by people, who hoped that he could lead the team to successful promotion like Batistuta, just like he said at yesterday's press conference.

Before Zhang Jun came, the team's new God of War was their number 9 center forward, Christian Riganò. He had excellent physical qualities and heading ability, and wearing the number 9 jersey, he did have some of his predecessor Batistuta's shadow. This current top scorer of the team was discovered by Della Valle in the Serie C1 team Lallanto. He had played for many amateur teams and semi-professional teams. At Fiorentina, he had now scored a total of forty-eight goals for the team, making him the team's top scorer. When he first arrived at Fiorentina, he was already twenty-eight years old, and now he was over thirty, truly a late bloomer.

Zhang Jun had never heard of this forward partner of his before, and later he asked Li Yan to find out that there was such a person. Since they would become partners in the future, Zhang Jun felt that it was necessary to have a good relationship with Riganò. After all, they were partners, not competitors.

As for the other teammates, he only knew their names, but he couldn't match the names to their faces, let alone understand them. He could only wait until this morning's training to have them introduced to him one by one.

※※※

Mondonico saw that Zhang Jun was a little nervous, so he patted Zhang Jun on the back, "Don't worry, they're all easy to get along with. This is Florence, and it's very different from the giant AC Milan. Go in and say hello to your teammates." He pointed to the dressing room door in front of them.

Zhang Jun nodded, and then gently pushed open the door. The twenty-plus teammates in the dressing room appeared before him, and when they heard the door open, they all turned to look at him. He hardly recognized any of them. Even the oldest member, Captain Di Livio, Zhang Jun couldn't name. He remembered what he looked like when he first entered the Milan dressing room, so he bowed to everyone in the room at the door, just like he did then, "H-hello everyone! I'm your new teammate, my name is Zhang Jun, I'm Chinese. I'm on loan from AC Milan to Fiorentina. I also really like this team, and I hope to get along well with everyone and work together to get Fiorentina promoted to Serie A!"

He had recited these words countless times last night, and today he was finally able to say them fluently. The result was not what he had hoped for, but it was also within his expectations: the response was not enthusiastic. Most people glanced at him and then turned back to their own business. Only a few people came up to greet him, including Captain Di Livio, while Christian Riganò, his future partner, was among those who ignored him.

Perhaps thinking that Zhang Jun would feel embarrassed, Di Livio grabbed Zhang Jun's hand and comforted him, "Don't worry, you just haven't gotten familiar with them yet. Once you're familiar with them, you'll see their fun side."

Zhang Jun smiled and didn't take the teammates' attitudes to heart, "Thank you, Captain. I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me. That's what I think too, we'll naturally understand each other over time."

"That's good. Also, don't call me Captain here, just call me Angelo. Let me introduce you to your teammates." He pulled Zhang Jun to a tall and strong man and said to Zhang Jun, "Christian Riganò, our number 9 center forward, top scorer. You can call him Christian, or you can call him 'Wild Bull', but don't call him 'New God of War', he hates it when people call him that."

Zhang Jun could imagine that Riganò would be a power forward, but he was still taken aback when he saw his figure. Judging from his bare upper body, he was almost all muscle. He was about one meter ninety-one tall and weighed about eighty-six kilograms. No wonder he was called "Wild Bull."

"Hello, I'm Zhang Jun, I hope you'll take care of me in the future." He extended his hand to shake hands with Riganò.

But unexpectedly, Riganò didn't appreciate it. He put his arms around his chest and didn't intend to shake hands with Zhang Jun, and looked at Zhang Jun with a disdainful look, "I heard that you came here because you couldn't make it in Milan, right?"

This should be considered a provocation, right? Zhang Jun thought. For a moment, he wanted to retort in a strong tone, which was his style in the past. But it was only for a moment, and he suppressed the anger in his heart and just shook his head and smiled wryly, "Things that are heard are always unreliable. As for whether I came here because I couldn't make it, wouldn't it be clear on the field, Mr. Christian?" He didn't take back his outstretched hand and stubbornly left it in front of Riganò.

The dressing room suddenly became quiet, and the atmosphere became a little awkward. Di Livio on the side had to use his authority as captain, "Christian, is this how you greet new teammates?" He didn't call Riganò "Wild Bull", but directly called him by his name, obviously dissatisfied with Riganò's attitude.

Even if Riganò scored more goals on the field, he wouldn't dare to have any objections to Di Livio. Although unwilling, he still extended his hand and shook hands with Zhang Jun, "Hello, I'm Christian Riganò. You can call me 'Christian', or you can call me 'Wild Bull'."

"Hello, Wild Bull." Zhang Jun felt that Riganò's hand was obviously using force. He didn't guard against it and was pinched painfully as a result. In front of so many people, he couldn't lose face and cry out, so he frowned, gritted his teeth, and replied.

"Don't take it to heart, Zhang. Wild Bull has a very straightforward temper, just like his style of play. He doesn't have any malice," Di Livio said with a smile, and then pulled Zhang Jun to meet the next teammate. Zhang Jun turned his head back and took another look at Riganò. He had put his arms around his chest again and was looking at him with the same expression as before.

This interesting person! Zhang Jun gently shook his hand that had been squeezed painfully and shook his head with a smile.

"This is Sebastian Cejas, our main goalkeeper. He transferred from Newell's Old Boys in Argentina last season."

"Hello, Cejas."

"Hello, call me Sebastian, Chinese boy."

"Eyke Bismark, from Ghana, defender."

"Hello, Eyke."

"Hello, Zhang."

"Luis Helguera, defensive midfielder. He's the brother of Ivan Helguera, who plays for Real Madrid." Di Livio added.

"Really? I'm a Real Madrid fan!" Zhang Jun excitedly asked the Spaniard in front of him who looked very much like Ivan Helguera.

Helguera scratched his head embarrassedly, "I'm far from Ivan. Hello, call me Luis."

"Hello, Luis. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhang Jun really didn't expect to meet someone here who had a blood relationship with a Real Madrid regular player.

"Manuele Guzzo, defender."

"Hello, Manuele!"

"Hello."

"Alessandro Lucarelli."

"Christian Maggio."

"Roberto Ripa."

"Marco Andreotti."

"Matthieu Bochu."

"Christian Manfredini, he's on loan from Lazio."

"The team's playmaker, Riccardo Maspero."

"Massimo Coccunioni, striker."

"Michele Cossato."

……

Di Livio introduced them one by one, and Zhang Jun went up to greet them one by one. He felt that the forwards were the ones who had the coldest attitude towards him, perhaps because he had come to steal their jobs.

Half an hour later, after he had finally introduced himself to everyone, Di Livio led Zhang Jun to a locker and said to him, "This locker is yours. You can put your clothes and shoes in here." It looked like it had been prepared a long time ago, because the locker contained his training clothes.

"Now, change your clothes and get ready for training." Di Livio took out the purple training clothes and handed them to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun took the jersey and saw the lily badge on it, and below it was the team's founding year: 1926. This year, it would be exactly eighty years.

※※※

Since there was a Serie B match in three days, Mondonico mainly conducted physical training for the players who had returned from vacation, striving to restore their physical fitness as much as possible. In Serie B, tactics are actually secondary, physical fitness and physique are the key.

Zhang Jun didn't adapt well at first. Such frequent physical training made him feel resistant. But he soon realized his current situation. If he wanted to succeed in Florence, he had to adapt to the style of Serie B. In his words, he had to change himself for this. With this in mind, he participated in the physical training with great enthusiasm, no matter how unwilling he was.

Mondonico said to his assistant Gianni Bortoletto with satisfaction, "Zhang's foundation is very good. Maybe he will be able to adapt to the style of Serie B soon."

"Are you still insisting on letting him start in the game on the seventh?" Bortoletto asked.

"No, I've changed my mind." Montolini remembered the scene in the dressing room. It seemed that some time and opportunity were needed to get the players to accept this forward from AC Milan. "Our opponent is Palermo, who was relegated from Serie A, and their strength is very good. I think it's a good opportunity to use them as a touchstone for Zhang. That game should show whether Zhang is suitable for Florence."

"Thanks to him, the team's influence in China has increased by who knows how many percentage points." The club's director, Fabrizio Lucchesi, walked into the stadium from outside. "I was just surrounded by ten Chinese reporters who insisted on hearing my opinion on Zhang. I understand why some teams are so keen on buying Asian players."

"What brings you here, Fabrizio?" Mondonico was a little surprised. As the director, Lucchesi didn't come to the training ground often.

"I'm here to see Zhang's performance. You can't always rely on written materials and statistical data to understand a new player. How is he, Mondonico, his performance?"

"Apart from being a little restrained at first because he wasn't familiar with his teammates, he's been performing normally so far. He can complete the training tasks I give him very well. I don't think this level of training will be a problem for him. The key is to see how he performs in the game. After all, Serie B is very different from Serie A."

"Well, I think everyone should be waiting for his performance in three days. Not just us and the reporters, but also them." Lucchesi pointed to the players training on the field.

※※※

After three days of training, Zhang Jun had been able to adapt to the team's training. This period of crazy physical training had indeed benefited him a lot. Because of the various mundane affairs that had entangled him in Milan in the last two months, his training wasn't very systematic, and his physical reserves were almost exhausted, so his physical strength wasn't very good. When he came to Florence, he was worried that his physical strength would drag down his performance. Now, after a period of cramming, he felt much better.

In tomorrow's home game against Palermo, he wouldn't be starting, but rather on the bench. Zhang Jun thought this was normal. The coach must be letting him adapt to the atmosphere of Serie B first, to see what Serie B is like from the sidelines, and what the difference is from Serie A. If he didn't figure these things out first and rushed up rashly, it would be a minor matter to make a fool of himself, but it would be a major matter to ruin his debut and affect the coach's and teammates' trust in him.

The current Zhang Jun didn't care about starting as soon as he came to Florence. He valued everything about being on the field more, including his physical and mental condition. He would rather be a substitute first, and when he came on the field, it would be when he was ready for everything.

Tomorrow, he would be facing a completely unfamiliar league. Could he survive and succeed in this league? Zhang Jun didn't know now, but he was sure of one thing: even if Serie B was a hell for him, he had to succeed here. Because he had no way back now.