Chapter 35 Thirty-Five Goals

Thirty-five goals tied the Serie A record for goals in a single season. Thirty-six and thirty-five were only one goal apart, but that one goal was often the hardest to surpass. It wasn't as simple as adding a number in mathematics.

During halftime, Zhang Jun was the star of the locker room, the star of the stands, and the star of the broadcast booth. Even the opposing team's locker room was talking about his thirty-five goals.

Li Yan was chatting with Caliani, who had come to watch the game, in the stands. Both were relaxed. Before Zhang Jun's goal, the game had been frustrating and worrying. But when Zhang Jun scored, it was as if a spell had been cast, and everyone became relaxed, no longer worrying about this or that.

Caliani kept praising Zhang Jun's achievements, while Li Yan seemed very proud, because the person being praised was their Chinese forward, a Chinese player.

Zhang Jun changed into clean clothes and returned to his seat to listen to Sabato's tactics for the second half.

In the first half, he had been fouled so much that his once-clean jersey was covered in a mixture of mud and sweat, looking dirty and feeling uncomfortable.

The celebration of his goal was over, and now everyone was quiet, listening to Sabato.

This was their last half of a league game this season. Although they were leading 1-0, they had to be careful when facing Chievo's destructive tactics, lest they make a mistake at the last moment.

"Chievo will continue to use fouling tactics in the second half. The team should try to pass the ball quickly and avoid holding onto it. We only need to score one more goal to end this damn game!" Sabato punched the tactical board.

※※※

During halftime, Chievo's chairman was still congratulating Ren Yudi, praising him for having an excellent team. Ren Yudi politely exchanged a few words. Then he made an excuse to leave the box, as he wanted to see the players in the team's locker room. As club chairman, he had never entered the locker room before the end of a match.

He wasn't going to cheer anyone on. Fiorentina didn't need that kind of verbal encouragement—Sabato usually provided enough of that. He just wanted to go down and congratulate Zhang Jun.

The chairman's arrival made the atmosphere in the locker room different. Most of the players couldn't smile, because many people said that the unremarkable boss in front of them was related to the Italian Mafia, but of course, that was just a rumor…

Only Zhang Jun could talk and laugh with Ren Yudi normally. After politely greeting him, the other players remained silent.

Talking in that atmosphere was awkward and uncomfortable. So, after asking Sabato for permission, Zhang Jun walked out with Ren Yudi.

As soon as the two of them left, the locker room became lively again. "Hey, Xiang. Are our big boss and the captain really high school classmates?" someone asked.

"Yeah, everyone on earth knows that by now, right?"

"But why are their temperaments so different? One is approachable, and the other makes people feel… uncomfortable."

"How would I know? I wasn't their high school classmate. I can only say that different experiences lead to different changes." As he said this, Xiang Tao glanced at Kru, who hadn't changed at all since Ren Yudi came in. Although Ren Yudi had helped him and Youyou in Canada, he still couldn't feel any affection for this gloomy boss.

Kru actually ignored the boss's existence, which made Xiang Tao give him a thumbs up in his heart.

※※※

Ren Yudi and Zhang Jun stood in the hallway, where there were no reporters to disturb them, only a few stadium staff passing by.

"Do you want to sit in my box for a while? Sophie is there."

Zhang Jun shook his head. "I know, but there's not much time, so I won't go. Besides, going at this time… hehe, it doesn't seem right."

Ren Yudi laughed. "The whole world knows about our relationship, what are you afraid of?"

"Damn, what kind of relationship are you talking about?"

"What kind of relationship do you think we have?" Ren Yudi smiled lewdly.

"Fuck…"

Ren Yudi was pleased with himself. "Okay, I'm just kidding. I came to congratulate you. Thirty-five goals, amazing!"

Zhang Jun waved his hand. "Forget about that. If you want to congratulate me, give me more goal bonuses."

"Ahem! I saw that those idiots from Chievo used fouling tactics against you in the first half, and they'll probably use injury tactics in the second half. You have to be careful, the World Cup is coming up soon, don't get injured at this time."

Zhang Jun nodded. "I understand, don't worry."

Ren Yudi thought that he was telling him not to worry because he definitely wouldn't get injured. But Zhang Jun continued, "Whether it's fouling tactics or injury tactics, they can't stop me from scoring. Thirty-five is not enough. Either I don't do anything, or if I do, I have to do it the best. I want to erect a monument in Serie A, a monument that later generations will strive to surpass."

Ren Yudi opened his mouth wide, looking at the confident Zhang Jun.

※※※

As halftime was coming to an end, Zhang Jun pushed open the door and returned to the locker room. He didn't return to his seat, but stood at the door, clapped his hands, and shouted loudly, "Okay, brothers! It's time, let's go on the field!"

This was supposed to be said by Sabato, but Zhang Jun stole his line. Sabato had no choice but to wave his hand and repeat it according to Zhang Jun's intentions. But his tone and words were very different from Zhang Jun's. "Okay, have you rested enough? Get your asses on the field! Teach those bastards a lesson and let them know who's in charge here. Anyone who hinders us will not have a good end!"

※※※

Zhang Jun didn't understand how Ren Yudi could tell that Chievo would definitely use injury tactics in the second half, but the course of the game was indeed much as he had said.

It was still fouling tactics, but the movements were much rougher than in the first half. It was no longer as simple as destroying the ball. Some of the movements were clearly meant to injure people. It seemed that the referee's weakness in the first half had made Chievo think they had an opportunity, so they became more and more brazen.

Boos constantly rang out over the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and they were getting louder and louder. Chievo didn't care, as long as the referee didn't blow the whistle, they would continue to do so.

Fiorentina's players wouldn't allow it, so the tempers of both sides rose, and physical collisions and minor frictions occurred frequently. The commentators were saying that the referee had made the game very ugly.

Sophie in the stands frowned throughout the game, afraid that Zhang Jun would get injured in this game. Qiu Suhui, who was watching the game broadcast in China, felt the same way.

Seeing Chievo's players push Zhang Jun down again, the referee whistled and signaled a free kick in the attacking half, but did not issue a yellow card. Sophie couldn't help but blurt out a curse.

After cursing, she remembered that Chievo's chairman was next to her, and she quickly stuck out her tongue apologetically. Ren Yudi turned to her and said, "It's okay, that old bastard doesn't understand Chinese, you can curse as much as you want."

Sophie was amused by Ren Yudi. She wanted to chat with him, but suddenly heard the sound in the Stadio Artemio Franchi increase tenfold, but this time it wasn't boos, but… cheers!

Kru passed the ball to Zhang Jun, who was surging forward in the midfield. Chievo's midfielder, Landolina, came up to use a tactical foul to pull Zhang Jun down in the center circle, so he wouldn't get a card. But he was a little slow and watched as Zhang Jun pushed Kru's pass forward and then accelerated forward!

The hand he stretched out only caught a wisp of wind, he missed!

Facing the second defender, Mantovani of Chievo, Zhang Jun swayed his upper body and lowered his right shoulder, making the opponent think he was going to break through on the right side, and quickly shifted his center of gravity. At this time, Zhang Jun hooked the ball to the left with his right foot, cleverly dodging past Mantovani's inside!

The hooked-over ball was a little too far, making Chievo's center back, Nattsolas, think he had a chance to intercept the ball, but he didn't expect Zhang Jun to accelerate suddenly, step on the ball, and do a standard Marseille turn in front of him!

He shook past the third Chievo player!

"Stop him! Don't let him into the penalty area! Damn it!" Chievo's goalkeeper, Passarini, shouted loudly, and then quickly adjusted his position.

The fourth Chievo defender rushed up, intending to block Zhang Jun's shot. Zhang Jun wouldn't be stupid enough to wait for the opponent to get close, he shot directly!

Passarini flew to the side, but didn't touch the ball. The ball bypassed his hand and the post, and flew directly out of the baseline.

A huge sigh sounded again in the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

"What the hell!" Ren Yudi suddenly stood up from his seat, waved his fist, and cursed loudly. Then he suddenly remembered that Sophie was next to him, and it was always not good to swear in front of a lady, so he quickly smiled apologetically.

Sophie misunderstood and shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay, that old bastard doesn't understand Chinese, you can curse as much as you want."

※※※

"Damn it! What a pity!" Sabato grabbed a handful of his messy hair and complained. Zhang Jun's sudden burst of power had caused Chievo to collapse completely, because they hadn't expected Zhang Jun to break through the first line of defense so quickly.

"The dribbling was really wonderful! Especially that Zhang Jun would actually do a Marseille turn, he successfully deceived Chievo's entire defense! It's a pity that the last shot didn't go in, if it did, it would definitely be the best goal of the round!" The commentators were all feeling sorry for Zhang Jun.

But Zhang Jun himself didn't feel that way. He was gradually finding a way to deal with Chievo's tactics. It was normal for one shot not to go in, he still had plenty of chances.

He said he would erect a monument, and he would definitely not break his promise.

Before letting later generations strive to surpass him, he had to strive himself first.

※※※

Zhang Jun took the ball again, this time he didn't pass the ball, nor did he go wide, but chose to force his way through the central area in front of the penalty area.

He swiped his foot, then accelerated suddenly. Mantovani followed him back, but didn't see Zhang Jun following, instead he stopped abruptly and turned to the other side. He hooked his foot again and was about to force his way into the penalty area!

How could he let him in just like that?

Mantovani, who had already lost his position, reached out his foot and tripped Zhang Jun, who was dribbling the ball. A huge boo sounded again in the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and the referee showed Mantovani the third yellow card of the game for Chievo.

Zhang Jun took the free kick himself. The ball successfully bypassed the wall, but the angle was a little too straight, and it was caught steadily by Chievo's goalkeeper, Passarini.

※※※

Fiorentina wasn't the only team that could score goals, Pazzini was also a good scorer. However, because Zhang Jun was too popular, Fiorentina's other forwards were almost drowned out by his brilliance, so opponents only knew that Fiorentina's scoring threat was Zhang Jun, and everyone else was ignored.

While Chievo was using fouling and injury tactics against Zhang Jun at all costs, they gradually ignored Pazzini's existence.

When Kru had the ball alone, facing two players surrounding him, and there were always two Chievo defenders waiting next to Zhang Jun, who was in front of him, how many Chievo players were left to defend the other Fiorentina players?

The answer was… almost none. If Fiorentina's ball was at the feet of other players, then Chievo's players would adjust their positions and select players based on who had the ball.

If Kru had the ball, then two people would definitely need to go up to limit him, and at the same time, they would have to prevent him from passing to Zhang Jun. Because the tacit understanding between these two was now well-known throughout Italy and even Europe. During the halftime break, the Chievo team had argued for a long time about whether Zhang Jun's goal in the first half was a lucky rebound or whether Kru had deliberately used the crossbar to pass to Zhang Jun.

If other players had the ball, then basically one person would mark one person.

Now that Kru had the ball, two people were double-teaming him. There were still two people next to Zhang Jun, which meant that the defense of the other people was very weak.

Kru used his butt to push against the players behind him, while putting the ball between his feet so that the people next to him couldn't intercept the ball.

Then he looked at his position. He didn't pass to Zhang Jun behind him, but instead passed the ball to Joaquin with a horizontal pass.

Joaquin carried the ball forward, and Kru also turned and inserted forward. At this time, the person defending him became one, and the other retreated to support the defenders.

Joaquin didn't go to the bottom, but instead chose to pass horizontally to the front of the penalty area.

Did he want to pass to Kru again? That's what Chievo's players thought, but Kru stepped over the ball without touching it at all!

Who did the ball leak to?

Gasbarroni had moved to the center. He received the ball, but didn't shoot, but instead made a through pass.

When the ball was passed to the center, in addition to a defender stepping forward to block any possible shots, there was also a defender immediately marking Zhang Jun, for fear that he would rebound or that Kru would pass the ball to him.

He didn't expect Kru not to shoot, but instead just swung his leg, causing the defender who came up to block him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. At the same time, Gasbarroni wasn't passing to Zhang Jun, but to Pazzini on the other side.

Pazzini, who had almost been forgotten, received the ball without anyone marking him!

Then he suddenly kicked the ball without hesitation!

All the Chievo players, including the defenders and the goalkeeper, had been attracted by Fiorentina's series of passing organization at the beginning. Their habitual thinking all believed that the final blow would definitely be completed by Zhang Jun, but they didn't expect it to be Pazzini!

From Joaquin's pass, all were one-touch passes. Gasbarroni didn't stop the ball and passed it directly to Pazzini, and Pazzini didn't stop the ball and shot directly. This high-speed pull made Chievo's defense meaningless. Passarini tried hard to save, but only grazed the ball, and still couldn't change the fact that the ball eventually went into the goal.

Passarini angrily punched the goalpost. Pazzini, on the other hand, rushed to the sidelines with his hands raised to celebrate his goal.

"Fiorentina leads Chievo 2-0! No one expected that everyone thought Zhang Jun would shoot, but it was Pazzini! The third striker of the Italian national team."

Although Zhang Jun didn't score this time, he was sincerely happy for Pazzini. If his forward teammates couldn't score a few goals in a season, then it meant that he wasn't a qualified forward either. The two sides were partners, not a relationship where one served the other.

※※※

The celebration quickly passed, and the game continued.

Chievo, who had conceded two goals, was a little discouraged. It seemed that they would not be able to fulfill their pre-game promise of "not letting Fiorentina successfully defend the title." This would definitely disappoint Inter Milan. Although they were already beating Sampdoria 4-1 at home at this time. But even if they scored ten more goals, they couldn't help them win the league title, because Fiorentina was leading Chievo 2-0.

And more importantly, Chievo's focus throughout the game was on how to disrupt Fiorentina's attack, but they forgot how they were going to attack. Now they could only be passively beaten, but they couldn't fight back.

Single-mindedly defending, even using fouling tactics, was still defending. Could they not concede goals if they were besieged by a team like Fiorentina for dozens of minutes?

The Fiorentina fans had already started singing and dancing. Although there were less than twenty minutes left before the end of the game, they had already determined that the league title this season would definitely belong to Fiorentina!

Sabato sat steadily on the coach's bench. He wasn't yelling anymore, but instead congratulating the members of the coaching staff. Although Chievo had created a lot of trouble for them at the beginning, it now seemed that everything was over. During the halftime break, he had said that as long as they led by two goals, they would win this game.

The league title trophy, he, Sabato, was going to lift it for the second time!

But there was still one person on the field who hadn't given up on the game at all, and he was still working hard. These remaining twenty minutes were garbage time in most people's eyes, but for him, they were the last twenty minutes to realize his dream, and they were extremely precious.

※※※

After Fiorentina scored two goals, Chievo seemed to suddenly understand. They finally stopped focusing on how to use fouls to contain Fiorentina's defense, and instead began to concentrate on actively seeking goals.

On the contrary, Fiorentina, who was leading by two goals, began to relax little by little, from the coach to the players, and lost the sharpness they had before scoring goals. Perhaps at this time, they were thinking more about how to lift the trophy and how to celebrate the defense of the league title after the game.

With about ten minutes left in the game, Chievo seized on a passing error by Fiorentina in the backcourt, intercepted the ball in the attacking half, and immediately launched a counterattack.

Fiorentina's defense couldn't organize an effective defense in a few seconds, and was completely torn apart by a straight pass from Chievo.

Amauri received a through pass from his teammate, pushed the ball into the penalty area, and adjusted his direction. Then, he kicked the ball!

Frey didn't save his quick shot, and the ball bounced on the ground before going into Fiorentina's goal!

1:2! Chievo pulled one back!

Only the voices of Chievo's fans were heard in the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and everyone else chose to be silent.

When this news was passed to Inter Milan, the whole team was invigorated. They scored another goal against Sampdoria, and they were leading the opponent 5:1. Even if Chievo could tie Fiorentina, they would still have a chance to play a play-off with Fiorentina to decide the ownership of the title. Of course, it would be best if Chievo could come back from behind.

※※※

Sabato was roaring on the sidelines, his voice even louder than the cheers of Chievo's fans.

"Get nervous! What the hell are you doing? It's too early to celebrate now! Run! Run! Run until you cramp!!"

He was like a slave owner holding a whip, driving eleven slaves to run forward desperately.

Finally, he kicked away the water bottle at his feet.

Sabato's roar was like a stimulant, urging Fiorentina's players to get nervous again and put the game first.

Now Fiorentina was only leading by one goal, and Chievo's morale was boosted. The situation could be reversed in an instant. If they lost three points, or even the title, in this almost certain victory, no one would be able to forgive them.

The two sides began to engage in a tug-of-war on the field, going back and forth, which was quite lively. Sometimes Fiorentina threatened Chievo's goal, and sometimes Chievo made Frey break out in a cold sweat.

Kru was dribbling the ball in the attacking half. Now Chievo's marking of him and Zhang Jun was a little relaxed, perhaps because they were thinking about scoring goals, so they invested less troops in defense. In short, Kru was now free to move around. A defender was equal to zero for him.

He feinted to the left, then hooked to the right, and then stepped on the ball with his heel to stop suddenly!

The defender had long lost his balance in Kru's series of feints, and now he simply fell to the ground.

Kru didn't make a straight pass, but instead gently lifted the ball and passed it to the left, where Gasbarroni was surging forward at high speed. He stepped on the ball to increase his speed, surpassed Chievo's side back, and then crossed the ball!

Zhang Jun jumped high in front of Mantovani, and made a powerful header!

The ball bounced in front of the goal, but Passarini made a brilliant save. He flew to the side and knocked the ball over the crossbar.

The cheers in the Stadio Artemio Franchi instantly turned into sighs.

Zhang Jun shook his hands fiercely, feeling extremely annoyed. As the game progressed, time was running out, and he was a little anxious.

When the corner kick was taken, Zhang Jun was called for a foul for pushing a man while jumping, and the attack ended in vain.

※※※

Li Yan shook his head while watching in the stands. He said to Caliani next to him, "This won't do. If Zhang Jun gets anxious and loses his composure, then goals will stay away from him."

Caliani disagreed. "I feel the opposite. I think this is a manifestation of Zhang Jun's competitiveness. It is this spirit that has supported him to score thirty-five goals in a season. If a striker doesn't even have this desire, then he can only be a near-first-class player. Those strikers who can become superstars are all because they have a strong desire to score goals."

Li Yan rolled his eyes at Caliani. "Why do you always have to argue with me?"

※※※

It was the eighty-seventh minute of the game. The score was still 2:1, with Fiorentina leading. Chievo had little hope, but they were still insisting on attacking.

The commentators on Sky TV were already awarding Fiorentina the title in advance. "There's no suspense in the game. No matter what the result is at the San Siro, the outcome of Fiorentina's victory is unlikely to be changed. They will win the Serie A title for two consecutive years, which is a remarkable achievement. And Zhang Jun has also become the Serie A top scorer for three consecutive seasons, which is also a remarkable achievement, and even more remarkable is that he has scored thirty-five league goals this season! He has tied the historical record, and he is the only person to do so in more than fifty years."

Zhang Jun moved to the left, Kru ran towards the center, and Joaquin passed the ball to the center. Kru was about to go forward to receive the ball, but was disrupted by the opponent's defensive midfielder in advance, and he kicked the ball towards the midfield with a big foot. Chievo was going to launch a counterattack!

Joaquin immediately turned around and quickly retreated to defend, and so did Gasbarroni on the left.

Only Zhang Jun and Kru didn't move in front, maintaining the distance from Chievo's last defender, so they wouldn't fall into the offside trap.

Xiang Tao appeared in the distance in the midfield - this should have been Mascherano's territory.

He jumped high, although he was only one meter eighty-three, his amazing jumping ability allowed him to always top the ball in the header competition. This time was no exception. He jumped obviously half a head higher than Chievo's midfielder, Landolina.

Using the strength of his waist and abdomen, plus the momentum of his sprint, the ball was fiercely headed back by Xiang Tao, the direction was Kru!

Chievo had originally switched from defense to attack very quickly, hoping to seize Fiorentina's mistake. But they didn't expect that the ball had just crossed the midfield and was headed back. They had gone up too quickly and couldn't come back. At this time, there were only three people in their backcourt plus the goalkeeper - one goalkeeper, two center backs.

Kru didn't mean to turn around to receive the ball and then break through. He continued to run back, but when the ball came over, he flicked it with his right foot, casually sending the ball behind him, and the ball was accurately passed to the direction where Zhang Jun was - he was unguarded at this time!

The first reaction of Chievo's defenders wasn't to chase Zhang Jun, but to raise their hands to signal to the linesman that Zhang Jun was offside. But the linesman didn't pay attention to them, and the referee didn't blow the whistle. At this time, Zhang Jun had already received the ball!

Zhang Jun stepped the ball forward from Kru's wonderful pass, and then ran along with it. When he ran up, those defenders who were still at least five meters away from him were almost definitely unable to stop him.

Now he was on the left corner of the large penalty area, with only one goalkeeper and a huge goal in front of him.

Chievo's goalkeeper, Passarini, reacted very quickly. When Kru passed the ball to Zhang Jun, he began to abandon the goal and attack, rushing towards Zhang Jun. He hoped to block Zhang Jun's shooting angle and resolve Fiorentina's attack.

Passarini's attacking speed was very fast. In the final stage of the game, the goalkeeper was probably the only one who had the physical strength to sprint at full strength.

Zhang Jun just adjusted the ball slightly. Before he even looked up, he had already seen the goalkeeper's shadow on the ground. He didn't hesitate. As a striker, he had faced this situation countless times, and he already knew what he should do.

So, he swung his right leg and leaned his body to the left. This was the prelude to shooting.

Passarini wouldn't not know this, so he lunged his body and slid towards the ball under Zhang Jun's feet. He wanted to block the ball before Zhang Jun shot, he couldn't catch it directly, but blocking it with his body was also fine.

Passarini's body was very strong, and he was slightly fat, which meant that even if he fell, the width of his body would be enough to form a wall in front of the striker. He was confident that he could save Zhang Jun's shot.

When Kru tapped the ball to Zhang Jun, there was only one sound in the Stadio Artemio Franchi: hysterical screams. All Fiorentina fans were shouting frantically: "Goal! Goal! Goal!!"

Zhang Jun swung his leg!

Passarini's eyes were fixed on the ball, he wanted to see which direction the ball was flying. But he found that the ball was not flying to the left, nor was it flying to the right, but flying up!

A very light chip shot! The ball passed over the goalkeeper, flew high, exceeded the height of the crossbar, and fell towards the goal.

All sounds disappeared.

This was an incredibly beautiful arc.

The ball left his foot, and Zhang Jun had already turned and ran towards the unguarded corner flag, and then he opened his arms.

Ren Yudi didn't know when he had already stood up. He raised his hands high and clenched his fists tightly.

Sophie was next to him, covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide open, staring at the ball in the air.

Chievo's coach, Pillon, opened his mouth wide and looked at the ball in the air. He kept praying in his heart: this ball must not go in!

Sabato rushed to the sidelines, waving his hands non-stop: "Go in! Go in! Go in for me!"

The first Chievo center back, Mantovani, who raised his hand to signal that Zhang Jun was offside, was trying to run towards the goal, trying to kick the ball out on the goal line.

Maybe at this time, as long as a gust of wind blew over the Stadio Artemio Franchi, the ball would float out of the goal. But at this moment, the Stadio Artemio Franchi was as solidified as the crowd in the stands.

The referee put the whistle in his mouth, ready to blow it at any time, whether it was a goal whistle or a goal kick whistle.

In fact, the time the ball was in the air might not even be four seconds, but it felt as if forty minutes had passed.

When Mantovani lunged towards the goal about five meters away from the goal, the ball had already crossed the lower edge of the crossbar, and then landed on the ground inside the goal line in front of Mantovani's right toe.

The thirty-sixth one!

The referee took a deep breath and blew an extremely loud whistle, and at the same time, he waved his arm towards the center circle as powerfully as a traffic policeman - the goal was valid!

Fiorentina led Chievo 3:1!

"Gooooooooooooooooooal!!!!" As if afraid that his roar wouldn't be shocking enough, the commentator added more than a dozen short "goals" behind it, like a machine gun, until all the bullets were fired and his voice became smaller and smaller before stopping. But after only taking a breath, he broke out again: "Hooray! Zhang Jun! Hooray! Even I have to cheer with Fiorentina's fans like this. This is Zhang Jun's thirty-sixth league goal of the season! What does this mean? What does this mean? This is the first one in Serie A in eighty years! The striker with the most goals in a single season in eighty years, the best scorer in eighty years!"

After scoring, Zhang Jun ran and jumped onto the advertising boards behind the goal, and then he stood on it, opened his arms, and greeted the cheers of the fans. At the same time, his teammates rushed to the advertising boards, all lying on the ground, making a gesture of worshiping the king.

At the same time, all the fans in the audience pressed their hands down, lowered their heads, and shouted loudly: "Salute to His Majesty the King!"

There was only this one sound in the entire Stadio Artemio Franchi, which could be heard clearly even in the broadcasting studio far away in China. Wang Jianxiang, who was responsible for commenting on this game, seemed to have returned to the time when he had just debuted, roaring "Bierhoff! Bierhoff! He scored the golden goal of this European Championship!" and interrupting Han Qiaosheng's commentary. Now he was also roaring, so that his partner, Director Zhang Lu, could only shut up. There was only his venting voice in the small studio: "Zhang Jun! Zhang Jun! Zhang Jun!! Thirty-sixth league goal! Historical moment! He created history! He created a legend! He is a living legend!!! Thirty-eight rounds of league games, thirty-six goals, broke through the goals of all Serie A teams, stepped on the solid Italian defense and swept the entire Serie A... He did it, he really did it!"

※※※

The news that Zhang Jun had scored thirty-six goals spread throughout Italy in an instant. Some games even cut in Zhang Jun's goal video directly during dead balls, so that viewers in front of the TV and on-site viewers could see how the historical thirty-sixth goal was born.

Yang Pan looked up, Kaka looked up, Basten looked up, Li Yongle and Adriano also looked up. When he saw the ball fall into the empty goal, Adriano said to Li Yongle next to him: "...It's so sad to be a striker in the same era as him."

Li Yongle looked at his teammates.

"Including me." Adriano smiled wryly.

"Including me too." Li Yongle smiled.

※※※

Sophie didn't scream, didn't jump up and hug anyone, she just stood in her seat, silently watching Zhang Jun under the crowd and shedding tears.

A handkerchief was handed to Sophie, and Ren Yudi said: "You still haven't changed, you can't help but shed tears when you get excited. Zhang Jun is still the same, he likes the feeling of scoring goals, he likes football."

Sophie took the handkerchief and wiped her tears slightly. "Aren't you the same? You like football."

"Yes, I like football, hehe. I've always liked it." Ren Yudi had told countless lies in recent years, and he had deceived many people. But only today was this sentence spoken from the bottom of his heart, with a proud tone and no flickering in his eyes. Yes, he just liked football, was there anything else to hide?

※※※

Di Livio knelt on the sidelines, looked up at the sky, and raised his arms to pray to God. Thank God for giving Fiorentina such a genius, thank God for letting him come to Fiorentina in the last few years of his career, thank God for giving Fiorentina so many excellent players, thank God...

What was Sabato doing? He didn't thank God, he was busy hugging everyone on the coaching bench and on the bench. At this time, thanking God was not as good as thanking all those who supported his work and supported the entire team.

Caliani congratulated Li Yan in the stands: "It must be very happy to see your compatriots create history, right?"

Li Yan nodded, "That's true, excitement is real, but it's not as crazy as you think. Because I expected this day to come. As a person who watched Zhang Jun grow up, I wouldn't be surprised by what kind of achievements he will make in the future."

"I'm a little envious of you. Your country has produced such an excellent striker, and the third striker of our Italian team has to be his substitute. You must have ideas for this year's World Cup."

"Yes, definitely. But what exactly, it depends on Zhang Jun and Yang Pan and the others." Li Yan leaned on the railing, looking at the Fiorentina players who were still celebrating wildly in the field, and murmured: "Actually, everything we see today will pass, the past will become history, history will slowly become a story in the writer's pen, and the story that is widely spread will become a legend, and the legend will one day become a myth. These are not important, what is important is that we are here at this moment, witnessing the birth of a legend with our own eyes. We are just ordinary people, but it is not in vain to be able to encounter a historical event and witness a legend once in this life."

Caliani didn't speak, and accompanied Li Yan to quietly admire the birth of a legend.

※※※

This was a goal in the final moments of the game, so not long after the two sides restarted the game, the referee blew the final whistle. Then he reached out to ask for the ball and held it in his hand. After entering the referee's locker room, he put the ball directly in his bag and took it home to collect. Many years later, when the ball was taken out for auction again, it was auctioned for 200,000 euros, which was a sky-high price. But these are all things that happened later, so don't mention them now.

The awards ceremony was the same as last year. They were the champions of Italy, and they also thought they were the kings of the world. The atmosphere of singing "We Are the Champions" in the whole stadium was really great.

After the game, Zhang Jun became the focus of the media, not only the Italian media and the Chinese media, but even other European media were paying attention to this best scorer in Serie A history for eighty years.

On the second day after the end of the 0910 season of the Italian Serie A, Zhang Jun was in the limelight for a while, and he became the most famous and glorious star on the planet.

And Caliani's *Milan Sports News* and Li Yan's *Titan Sports* tacitly named the article that specifically reported Zhang Jun breaking the record and creating a new record:

A Living Legend.

This was a very remarkable and great honor for an active player, and Zhang Jun deserved it.