Chapter 1 Florence Leads Barcelona

Florence led Barcelona 1-0, a score that hadn't changed in the fifteen minutes since the start of the second half. Barcelona was still behind, and fueled by the cheers and boos of their home fans, they hadn't given up trying to equalize and then surpass the score.

"Fifteen minutes... Barcelona has had six shots. What a high frequency of shots! It's a pity for them, they ran into us," Sabato murmured on the sidelines.

The Florence defenders were truly stepping up in this match. Facing Barcelona's tidal wave of attacks, they stubbornly guarded the goal behind them. Svensson, who had come on in the second half, had become an insurmountable barrier in the air for Barcelona after his initial adjustment.

His headed clearances even made Barcelona temporarily abandon their plan to pass the ball into Florence's penalty area from the air.

During this period, Florence was very embarrassed. Frey had to use both his hands and feet to block Barcelona's ubiquitous shots, while also enduring huge boos from the home fans.

However, this embarrassing effort was still greatly rewarding, that is, they have not conceded a goal so far. Barcelona's offense has encountered its biggest crisis this season.

Each minute that passed increased his hope.

Florence lacked Xiang Tao, so they lacked speed on the defense. However, Sabato compressed the defense line, greatly shortening the distance between them and the midfield, and the distance to the goal, leaving Barcelona's forwards little space. So Eto'o, Henry, and Messi had speed, but no room to sprint.

That's why Florence was able to defend against Barcelona's attack.

No matter how good a forward is, he can't calmly score when facing endless defense. Yes, endless.

Florence's defense now gave Barcelona players on the field this feeling, as if their defenders were inexhaustible. They had clearly shaken off two people, but just as they were about to kick, someone else would appear in front of the ball.

This was naturally the "catenaccio" defense that the Italians were so proud of. The Spanish defenders were very bad, so the forwards playing in La Liga rarely encountered such a defensive lineup, and they were all a little at a loss.

Florence's defense was like a chain, tightly binding the Barcelona lion, so that it could only roar with its mouth open, but could not do anything.

Every time Barcelona attacked, the colleague next to Li Yan was particularly excited, but the final result was always Li Yan's smirk. His guess was correct. Sabato really had a way to deal with Barcelona. This catenaccio defense alone made Barcelona suffer unspeakably, not to mention the dagger they had been hiding.

This dagger was hidden in the darkness, and maybe it would suddenly appear in Barcelona's vitals, and then… the game would be over.

Ronaldinho, as the World Footballer of the Year, also had no way to deal with Florence's relentless defense. Although he was the World Footballer of the Year, he was not a god who could change the entire game by himself, and even if he was, he couldn't do it in every game. So, in this game, he was in a depressed mood and couldn't become a god.

He was still trying to get rid of Florence's defense. To be honest, his technique could get rid of two opponents at the same time without any problem, but after he got rid of two at the same time, another one came, and after barely getting rid of them again, the two he had just shaken off appeared in front of him again... He had a sense of frustration, even if he was exhausted, he couldn't completely shake off these annoying followers.

"Haha! Let the incompetent Spaniards see our Italian defense!" Sabato said proudly.

At this time, perhaps the most surprised people were not the Barcelona people, but the Italians who were watching the game. Because Florence always insisted on raising the banner of offense in Serie A, almost all Italians believed that Florence's coach Sabato was a non-traditional Italian coach who wouldn't play defense. Unexpectedly, in the European arena, he used the traditional Italian "catenaccio" to tightly entangle Barcelona, and judging from his tactical arrangements and the team's execution, it was by no means a team that didn't know how to play defense, and his performance was quite sophisticated.

How should I put it? Maybe this is the football gene of the Italians. Even the most fanatical offensive coach still has the idea of defense in the deepest part of his heart, which is an indelible mark on his soul.

Italian media once ridiculed Spain's defenders as kindergarten level, and now they must be proud to let these kindergarten kids see the real master-level defense.

But the Spaniards didn't appreciate it. Every time Florence successfully defended Barcelona's attack, the Camp Nou would be filled with huge boos.

Sabato turned a deaf ear to the boos and enjoyed watching the situation on the field. Florence's several counterattacks were very threatening, which also showed that although they had been defending for a long time, they had not lost their offense, and had the ability to threaten the opponent's goal at any time, as long as they gave the frontcourt a chance, an excellent opportunity.

D'Allivo, on the other hand, seemed very anxious, standing on the sidelines and nervously watching the field, fearing that Barcelona's attack would lead to a goal, or that his defense would make mistakes that shouldn't have happened.

Once Barcelona equalized the score, the initiative of the game would return to them, and this goal would not be easy for Florence to score.

Rijkaard also saw clearly from the sidelines. He had played in Serie A, so he naturally knew the power of this catenaccio defense. He knew that if Barcelona didn't attack across the board and throw everything at it, it would be difficult to break this defense. Because as time went by, the defending side would become more and more confident, while the attacking side would become more and more impatient, and many usually excellent opportunities would not be able to be grasped.

Maybe… he had to take a risk. As long as he could seize one opportunity in a limited time and equalize the score, then he could return to the current tactics again.

Rijkaard glanced at the Florence coaching bench next to him. The head coach Antonio Sabato sat firmly on the coaching bench, but his assistant seemed a little anxious.

The performance of these two people was quite confusing. As head coach and assistant coach, shouldn't they communicate often? Why was one calm and the other anxious?

In fact, Rijkaard couldn't be blamed for thinking this way. Due to certain differences in the football philosophies of D'Allivo and Sabato, the two people's attitudes towards the same thing were also very different, even completely opposite. So, when they were in Serie A, many coaches guessed why the two people had such performances during the game, and they were dizzy with guesses, resulting in frequent blunders.

Of course, this was not a deliberate conspiracy between the two people, but their unintentional performance made their opponents think too much.

Rijkaard decided to ignore the performance of the opposing head coach and assistant coach. He stood on the sidelines and made a gesture, telling the Barcelona players on the field to attack fiercely! Strive to score a goal as quickly as possible and bring the game back on track.

Barcelona suddenly increased their attacking intensity, which greatly increased the pressure on Florence's defense. With strong support from the backcourt, Barcelona's frontcourt attack could choose more methods.

Ronaldinho faced Florence's defense and passed the ball to Xavi, who was not far behind him, in an unbelievable way. Then he let Xavi pass the ball to the wing, and then from the wing to the center. A series of passes made Barcelona fans cheer, and also made Florence's defense exhausted, revealing a small gap.

Deco raised his foot to pretend to shoot, and Mascherano rushed over in a panic, but Deco just pulled back, and then passed the ball to the gap. Henry suddenly stepped in to receive the ball, and then without adjusting, and without giving the Florence defenders time to rush up, he raised his foot and shot!

The ball flew quickly along the grass towards Florence's goal.

Frey pounced on the ball, and his fingers slightly touched the ball. Because Henry shot suddenly, he didn't have enough time to prepare, so he could only hit the ball out.

The ball changed its trajectory slightly, but still flew towards the goal. Cheers had already sounded at Camp Nou.

But what made them lose face happened in an instant - after the ball was touched by Frey, it bounced twice on the grass, and then hit the goalpost, and bounced back. Frey was just about to get up to make a second save, and when he saw the ball rolling towards him, he naturally put the ball into his arms without hesitation.

"Luck! Shit luck!" Many Barcelona supporters must have been cursing in their hearts.

"Luck! Great! God is on Florence's side!" The commentator didn't see it that way. One of the reasons why a strong team is strong and can succeed is luck is essential.

Rijkaard watched the ball pass Frey's defense, and clenched his fists in front of his chest, ready to jump up and cheer at any time. But then he saw the ball hit the goalpost and bounce back, allowing Frey to catch it.

His fists suddenly turned into palms, and then he covered his head and sighed regretfully.

Then, Messi once again dribbled the ball horizontally in front of the penalty area, and then suddenly shot, bypassing Frey's hands, but flew out past the goalpost. It also made many Florentines break out in a cold sweat.

Rijkaard was very nervous now, because he was attacking like this, but he had given up on the defense. Fortunately, his team's offensive was strong enough to completely suppress Florence's attack. Even Zhang Jun, a player who never returns to defense, appeared in front of his own penalty area. But if they couldn't score another goal, it would be difficult to say what would happen after the team's momentum waned.

Watching the shots that only brushed past the goal, Rijkaard was anxious. It would be bad for him to drag it on any longer.

Similarly, on the Florence side, Barcelona's strong offensive pressure made the defenders and goalkeepers feel a little overwhelmed. The catenaccio defense was very demanding on endurance. After the crazy pressing in the first half of the second half, which didn't care about physical strength, the Florence defenders were now in a low physical state. If they continued to be bombarded by the opponent, the defensive system might collapse.

Sabato naturally saw this too. His original intention was to make his players defend frantically in order to force out all the opponent's troops. Now it seemed that he had succeeded.

Since he had succeeded, he couldn't easily let go of this opportunity. Although Rijkaard was a passionate coach, he would also appear cautious many times. If he couldn't score another goal, he would definitely let his defenders retreat and let the game return to the stalemate stage just now, and he would definitely find that Florence's physical strength was being consumed very quickly after the high-intensity pressing.

Rijkaard couldn't wait any longer, and Sabato couldn't wait either. Since Barcelona still had dreams until now, they might as well just cut off this dream.

He stood up from his seat.

Zhang Jun saw Sabato's actions, and he knew what to do.

All the other Florence players saw it, and they all knew what to do.

Now, let's poison the dagger. The sharp blade was about to be unsheathed.

Rafael Márquez, a Mexican, thirty-one years old, can play as a center back and a defensive midfielder. Previously, he had played as a defensive midfielder more often than as a center back for Barcelona, but in today's game, Rijkaard put Márquez in the center back position because he needed to field three forwards.

Thirty-one years old is the golden age for a defender. He has outstanding experience and sophisticated defense. Márquez is also like this. Last season, he reached the peak of his personal career with Barcelona. Now this season, his condition has been very good.

The whole team attacked, fully implementing the head coach's tactical thinking of total attack and total defense... Of course, it is total attack now. But he still dragged behind, because for safety reasons, he did not go up to participate in the attack, although his ability to assist in the attack was not weak.

He has been staying at the back of the team, carefully staring at Florence's forward Zhang Jun. Even though Zhang Jun was still participating in the defense in front of his own penalty area at this time.

Messi once again dribbled the ball past the clumsy Svensson, but in the next second he was knocked away by Keirr. The referee ignored his cries on the ground, because it was a reasonable collision. He could only blame Messi for being too short and thin.

Keirr did not pass the ball to any of the midfielders. He kicked the ball forward with great force. The ball was in the air, flying towards Barcelona's frontcourt. Just as the Chinese commentator was complaining loudly that Keirr's blind pass had ruined Florence's hard-won counterattack opportunity because he could only watch the TV broadcast and could not see the situation on the field, an ear-piercing boo came from the Camp Nou.

Márquez's eyes flashed. How did Zhang Jun, who was still slowly running towards the center circle just now, suddenly rush up, almost in front of him - and he was behind the center circle in his own half.

Rijkaard had specifically gone to Florence's official website to investigate the personal information of each Florence player, including their height, weight, 100-meter speed, playing position, habits, hobbies, etc.... The information said that Zhang Jun's 100-meter speed was only 12.3 seconds, but seeing Zhang Jun almost instantly sprint the distance of a center circle, Rijkaard had only one thought in his heart: The damn Florentines must not have honestly written the real information of their players!

In fact, the Florentines did not lie to him, but if there was information about the 30-meter acceleration run in the information, Rijkaard would definitely not think so, because according to the unofficial statistics in the team, it only takes Zhang Jun 2.7 seconds from starting to crossing the line in the 30-meter run, averaging more than 11 meters per second. That was still Zhang Jun's easy test in training. If it was a tense and fierce game, this number might be even smaller.

Of course, the faster you run in the front, the slower you will naturally run in the back... So 12.3 seconds is not a problem.

But in a football game, the beginning often determines the end.

Márquez reacted. Zhang Jun was going to receive the opponent's long pass, and Keirr was not blindly kicking forward, but a purposeful long pass!

"Defend!!" While shouting, he quickly retreated, trying to delay Zhang Jun from getting the ball. At the same time, Puyol had led all the Barcelona defenders back at full speed.

This was an excellent opportunity that Florence had been waiting for for twenty minutes, an opportunity that might not appear even once in a game!

Zhang Jun was quite fast. Although he had passed the sprint distance, his speed was still very fast in the eyes of the slow-moving defenders. But he seemed to be rushing too hard, because the ball was falling behind him.

"Good job!" Rijkaard couldn't help but shout in his heart. What luck, it seemed that God was on their side today. Zhang Jun may have rushed ahead in order to chase the ball earlier... But then again, he was the first person he had ever seen who could run faster than the ball.

Márquez also saw this scene, of course. He expected Zhang Jun to turn around and control the ball again. In that case, he would immediately stick to him, tightly entangle the opponent, and wait until Puyol and his teammates all rushed back, and Florence's fast break would no longer be a threat.

He secretly rejoiced in his heart that his decision to stay behind alone was so correct.

Now, it was the moment for him, Márquez, to show his brilliance!

Come on, Chinese kid!

Zhang Jun looked back at the ball, but he had no intention of stopping and turning around. He continued to run forward, but his speed was slightly slower. Because he had to wait for the ball.

At the same time, Márquez stabilized his body, no longer retreated, and even intentionally moved forward a little, planning to rush up and entangle the opponent with his hands and feet as soon as the opponent stopped and turned around. If that didn't work, then he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself and foul to stop him.

Zhang Jun continued to run, and Márquez watched the ball fall very close behind him, and then blocked by Zhang Jun's body. He couldn't see what happened behind him. But soon he was surprised to find that the ball actually flew up again from behind Zhang Jun! Flying straight behind him!

How did he pick up the ball? Márquez was stunned, and Zhang Jun passed him like a gust of wind.

The boos at Camp Nou turned into exclamations, because Zhang Jun had just showed them a magical skill. Yes, while running, he calmly kicked the ball forward with the heel of his right foot, which was normally swinging back, and then he went around from one side. This... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as a "divine skill"!

The commentator could only open his mouth for a long time without making a sound.

The only imperfection was that Zhang Jun had kicked it too far this time, a little too close to the penalty area, and Valdés had abandoned the goal and attacked.

But Zhang Jun started again, pushing his body's explosive power to the extreme, and caught up again in the blink of an eye. Then, before Valdés could retract his legs, he stretched out his foot and poked the ball, and the ball rolled past between Valdés's legs that he didn't have time to close.

With this series of accelerated dribbling, Zhang Jun was like a maglev train, drawing a stunning trajectory, instantly shaking off Márquez and Valdés, and the common feature of the two was that they were stunned in place after being shaken off - because Zhang Jun was too fast.

Zhang Jun, who had poked past Valdés, accelerated and caught up with the ball, and then powerfully shot the ball into the empty goal!

※※※

Camp Nou was once again dead silent, with only the arrogant cheers of the Florentines.

Rijkaard's face was ashen. The thing he had been worried about had still happened. Yes, football games require taking risks, and offense requires taking even greater risks.

But this doesn't mean that you can face it calmly when the risk really comes.

Barcelona were 0:2 behind at their home stadium! This was a score that many people found unbelievable and a little frustrating. Before the game, the Catalan media were shouting to let the arrogant Florentines taste the taste of defeat. Now it seemed that they themselves were very likely to taste the taste of defeat.

"A great goal! A great Zhang Jun! A great Florence! The European king of last season has fallen at the feet of the new rich Florence. There are still twenty-three minutes left in the game, and Barcelona are surprisingly 0:2 behind! From the looks of it, although Barcelona's number of shots throughout the game is far more than Florence's, Florence's counterattack efficiency is much higher than Barcelona's. They have only had six shots so far, and five of them have hit the goal frame, resulting in two goals. Sabato's defensive counterattack tactics are used with great skill, making Rijkaard suffer unspeakably."

"Yes, Taylor. Zhang Jun has shown us what speed is on the football field? This is speed! This is speed! He almost instantly shook off the Barcelona defenders. It's too wonderful! Watching Florence play football is a real enjoyment!"

When he saw Zhang Jun kick the ball into the empty goal, Sabato jumped high and gave D'Allivo a warm hug. When he successfully angered his opponent and decided to unexpectedly play a defensive counterattack at the Camp Nou, he had expected this situation. The level of Spanish defenders is only kindergarten level, and Florence, in addition to having the traditional defensive ideas and tactics of the Italians, also has an offense that is at the top level in Europe.

Therefore, using one's own strengths to attack the other's weaknesses, it would be strange if they didn't lead.

They don't need defensive counterattacks in Serie A, because there are many teams in Italy that are better at defending than Florence. But in Europe, especially when facing Spanish teams, Florence's defense is enough for them to drink a pot.

※※※

Eto'o kicked the ball that was passed to his feet with force. It was really shameful! He had kicked off three times at his home stadium, including before the game. Even in La Liga, very few teams can do this, let alone Barcelona, which is now in its prime?

Because he would feel pain in his lower abdomen from time to time, he was intentionally reducing the number of shots he took now. He didn't tell anyone, he just wanted to use goals to wash away this shame.

Even if it hurts, he will wait until he finishes this game and scores a goal before letting him leave the field.

He was not willing to lose to Florence like this, to lose to the Florence who was so arrogant before the game!

Barcelona, who were two goals behind, simply gave up their previous tactics and attacked with all their strength. Anyway, losing two goals is losing, and losing four goals is still losing, so they might as well try to score more goals at their home stadium, so that they can at least explain it to the fans.

Sabato remained unmoved and did not get carried away because he was now leading by two goals. He still insisted on letting the team play defensive counterattacks, and while defending Barcelona's attacks, he would occasionally use speed to harass Barcelona's defense.

In this game, the speed of Zhang Jun, Gasparoni, and Joaquín was fully displayed. In modern football, speed is becoming more and more important. This game gave everyone a very good lesson.

※※※

Eto'o was determined to score, but he didn't have many opportunities, because Cruz, like a maggot on a bone, was following him closely. He was clearly an attacking midfielder, but he almost retreated into the penalty area when defending.

The reason why Cruz's defense is said to be bad is because big games require not only personal skills, but also overall coordination in defense. But if it is a one-on-one in a small area, Cruz's defense cannot be said to be bad. In addition, his hidden small movements gave Eto'o the feeling of returning to the first half. He wanted to go crazy again, but he didn't dare - just now when he turned over to grab the ball from Cruz, he only pushed Cruz a little with his hand, and this kid immediately fell to the ground exaggeratedly, covering his chest and curling up in pain, as if he had hit him in the chest with an elbow. The result was naturally that the referee judged Eto'o's foul and gave Florence a free kick in the backcourt. If he went crazy again, he might be the one to leave the field. This opponent was too good at acting. He finally understood why Messi hated this person so much. He simply had no sportsmanship!

Cruz would never be satisfied with just dealing with the opponent like this. He was like a wolf, tracking the opponent and looking for the most suitable opportunity.

He would always give Eto'o a little something intentionally or unintentionally, not heavy, but making him very uncomfortable. For example, if both sides had an equal chance to get the ball, Cruz would not only grab the ball, but also take the opportunity to push his knee against Cruz's thigh. When fighting for a header, his hand would be stuck on Eto'o's neck, making it impossible for him to exert force. Even if the referee saw it, he would at most give a verbal warning and would not take out a card at all. When running, his arm would swing on Eto'o's face.

Of course, he would occasionally do something harsh, such as when clearing the ball. With his ability to kick wherever he pointed, he deliberately kicked the ball hard towards Eto'o's lower abdomen. As a result, Eto'o covered his lower abdomen and knelt down. The referee couldn't pursue it - who told you, Eto'o, to be standing in front of Cruz, and the opponent happened to be clearing the ball with a big kick?

Cruz's small movements caused considerable dissatisfaction among Barcelona's players. They frequently complained to the referee, but every time Cruz had an innocent expression on his face, and they had no real evidence at all. Everything on the field happened in the blink of an eye. How could their players' naked eyes see so clearly? Every time they could only suffer in silence.

Zhang Jun asked Cruz to restrain himself a little. If he continued to do this, the referee would definitely notice him. Although Florence could win, they didn't want to lose two main players in the next round. Cruz nodded, indicating his understanding and agreement. However, his revenge on Eto'o only reduced the number of times, but the quality did not decrease. At the same time, he became more cautious and more hidden. He would not let Eto'o leave the field because of his small movements. That would not be a small movement, but a foul, which would be discovered by the referee. He wanted to let Eto'o continue to stay on the field and torture him until the end of the game.

Unless you replace him, he will continue to accept Cruz's judgment on the field.

※※※

Barcelona's attacking opportunity, Xavi passed the ball to Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho passed to Deco, and then Deco suddenly took a long shot outside the penalty area.

Deco's long shot is known for hitting the opponent's defender and then deflecting into the net. But this time his shot was blocked head-on by Svensson. And very coincidentally, the ball that was blocked by Svensson happened to bounce in front of Henry. This was Barcelona's opportunity!

Henry pushed the ball forward, avoiding Keirr who was defending him! He was almost one-on-one with Frey!

As teammates in the French national team, Frey knew Henry's strength very well. He moved quickly to try to block Henry's shooting angle, but unfortunately he was now facing the goal directly. Henry's shooting angle was very large, and he had more choices. It was almost impossible for Frey to completely block the angle. Moreover, Henry was already in the penalty area, and it seemed a little too short for him to attack.

This was a good opportunity for Barcelona! The best opportunity in the whole game!

There were no Florence players next to Henry. He swung his left foot, intending to push the ball into the corner.

But what he didn't expect happened...

Just as he swung his left leg up, preparing to shoot, Eto'o suddenly stepped in from the side, and then poked the ball ahead of Henry!

Although this shot was very sudden, because Eto'o was separated by a Henry, and it was quite hasty, so the power and angle were not good. It hit Frey's chest directly, allowing Frey to hug it!

Camp Nou was in an uproar!

Henry, in his unstoppable momentum, also kicked Eto'o hard on the foot, and the two fell to the ground at the same time.

Frey hugged the ball, stood in front of the two of them, and then shrugged and spread his hands, as if he thought these two people were really interesting. They were on the same team and still had to fight. If Eto'o hadn't snatched this shot, Henry might have really scored. Frey was very unsure at the time.

Now it was good, he should really thank Eto'o for muddying the waters.

An angry Henry punched the grass hard, while Eto'o got up from the ground as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Jun saw the conflict between Eto'o and Henry in front. He thought of Morientes' words in his heart. Real Madrid should really thank Barcelona for wanting such a troublesome person... He dared to steal a shooting opportunity that belonged to his teammates. What else could he not do?

Sabato was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt - of course, he was deliberately doing this for the TV broadcast, for the Barcelona fans to see.

And the Barcelona fans did not express anything this time, neither cheering nor booing, because everything that had just happened was too embarrassing for them, and they didn't know what kind of reaction they should make.

Rijkaard sat on the coaching bench with a gloomy face, his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the field. No one knew what he was thinking in his heart, but it must not be anything good for Eto'o.

Eto'o had a previous record of rushing up and kicking the ball into the goal when his teammates had created a shooting opportunity and were preparing to shoot. However, he scored that time, so there was not much trouble. At most, the teammate who had the opportunity stolen stood helplessly in front of the goal, spreading his hands and not going up to participate in the celebration.

But this time was different. First of all, Barcelona were two goals behind at home. Any goal seemed very precious, and he stole the shooting opportunity that should have belonged to Henry. Secondly, in order to compete with Henry for time, he did not adjust his shooting position well. The angle and power were poor, and he did not score a goal, which was equivalent to wasting an opportunity in vain, and this opportunity should not have been wasted.

Even the commentators at ESPN were complaining that Eto'o's selfish impulse had buried Barcelona's hope of equalizing the score - they no longer believed that Barcelona could defeat Florence, who were in such good shape.

In the following five minutes, Henry did not pass a single ball to Eto'o, and Eto'o did not try to cooperate with Henry on the front line. The Barcelona front line, which was originally composed of three star players, was now a mess, with no tacit understanding at all.

After Eto'o kicked another high shot due to the pain in his lower abdomen, Rijkaard finally couldn't help it and replaced Eto'o, who was performing poorly and had too many distractions, with a defensive midfielder in midfield, switching to a 442 formation.

When Eto'o was replaced, his face was quite dissatisfied. He didn't even raise his hand to applaud the fans to thank them. He walked straight back to the bench, then took the towel handed over by his teammate and sulked there alone.

No one went up to comfort him, because everyone was a little dissatisfied with his selfish impulse just now.

※※※

Xiang Tao saw Eto'o leave the field in the locker room, and then whistled. Although he didn't injure the opponent, at least the opponent didn't have any outstanding performance, and there was also a very clumsy performance. He felt a little more balanced in his heart.

And Svensson, who replaced him, also performed quite steadily, not giving Barcelona many decent opportunities. He, as a spectator off the field, felt much more at ease. He now only needed to count the time, and then go out and celebrate the victory with his teammates later.

※※※

Rijkaard's behavior of replacing him with a defensive midfielder was considered by many people to be giving up on this game.

In fact, this was not the case. Replacing him with a defensive midfielder was to completely free Xavi and allow him to devote all his energy to the attack. Not only did it not weaken the attack, but it greatly strengthened the attacking ability.

He was now completely going all out.

Zhang Jun returned to his penalty area again to participate in the defense. He had scored two goals in this game, and had been named the best player of the game by the commentators.

Li Yan was in a very good mood now. He proudly glanced at the silent colleague next to him. He hadn't said a word since Zhang Jun scored that beautiful goal.

Barcelona had never given up on the attack. This was a respectable point. Some teams might have reserved their strength in this situation. But Barcelona was still putting pressure on Florence's defense. After replacing Eto'o, who was destroying the team's unity and rhythm of cooperation, the team now had only one thought: score goals! Before the final whistle blew, keep scoring goals. The outcome would be decided at that time.

Faced with Barcelona's crazy attacking momentum, Sabato also became a little anxious. He stood on the sidelines, pacing back and forth, and waving his hands towards the field from time to time, shouting loudly.

What he shouted was not: "Defend!"

But: "Counterattack! Give me a counterattack! Damn it! Don't shrink back in the penalty area, drive them back! Drive them back home!"

Cruz, after Eto'o left the field, could finally play normally. He was also participating in the defense, but he never forgot his job - to attack.

Barcelona was attacking fiercely now, and they needed to use appropriate counterattacks to suppress their arrogance, so Sabato kept telling the team to counterattack, and the players also hoped so.

The defense used the catenaccio defense again to intercept Barcelona's ball, and then passed it to Cruz, who was running forward. Cruz did not hesitate to dribble forward. His dribbling speed was not fast, so it gave the Barcelona defenders a chance to return to defense, and also gave his forwards a chance to move forward.

Zhang Jun did not worry at all that Cruz's ball would be stolen. His slow dribbling meant that he was very confident in his ball control skills. Did someone want to come up and steal it?

Okay, I'll dribble past you!

Cruz used a change of direction to dribble past Xavi, and then broke through the center circle. He was now in Barcelona's half. It only took Florence a short seven seconds from receiving the ball to reaching the opponent's half. If it was a pass, it might be even faster.

Seeing Cruz easily dribble past Xavi, the Brazilian Motta, who had been replaced to serve as a defensive midfielder, did not dare to rush up anymore. He followed Cruz, and looked like a wingman for Cruz's dribbling.

Cruz was dribbling while observing the situation. Barcelona's retreat was still fast - of course, mainly because he was dribbling slowly. But they had not yet had time to retreat to the penalty area to defend firmly and turn Florence's counterattack into a positional battle, so now was the opportunity he could take advantage of.

Zhang Jun was rushing forward alone, running to the left, while Gasparoni and Joaquín were moving forward on both wings. He had many offensive options. As long as he wanted, he could even dribble past all the defenders who dared to block him and then attack the goal directly.

Zhang Jun was running while looking back at Cruz's dribbling, and Cruz naturally noticed this.

Zhang Jun had already scored two goals. Why not create an opportunity for him to score a hat-trick? Although it might be a better opportunity to pass to Joaquín on the right, even if they didn't score this time, they would not lose anything. It would be better to do someone a favor.

He made up his mind and did it. With a feint, he made Motta think that he was going to break through from the right, and his center of gravity shifted along with it. And Cruz very quickly used his right foot to flick the ball, and the ball flew over the heads of the Barcelona defenders towards the left side of the penalty area. That happened to be the direction Zhang Jun was running.

Puyol naturally noticed this, so he rushed over quickly, hoping to squeeze Zhang Jun out. But after a collision, Zhang Jun did not move at all. Puyol, on the other hand, felt a strong counter-impact force, which made him stagger. At the same time, Cruz's pass landed perfectly in front of Zhang Jun. He adjusted his steps, and without waiting for the ball to land, he directly took a left-footed volley!

The ball had a clear downward trajectory in the air. The height itself was not high, and after a downward trajectory, it landed in front of Valdés in a strange way, and then bounced off the near post and drilled into the goal behind him!

The third goal! It came so easily and casually!

"gooooooooooooooooooooooooal！！！！hat！hat！hat！hattrick！！” The commentator excitedly shouted "hat" three times.

This time, without waiting for Zhang Jun to make a "shut up" gesture, there was no sound from the home team fans at Camp Nou. And he was too lazy to care about so much, just held his hand to his mouth and kissed the engagement ring on his hand. This hat-trick was dedicated to Sophie, and also to his mother.

"At Barcelona's home stadium, he scored a hat-trick and led the home team by three goals. Let us cheer for Zhang Jun and cheer for Florence! This game is over. Barcelona has lost completely! Florence's three counterattacks have killed Barcelona!"

In the city of Florence, there was only one voice at this time. "Long live Zhang Jun! Long live Florence!!"