Chapter 1 After the Spring Festival

For a full seven days after the Spring Festival, the Chinese people were celebrating, but for professional players playing abroad, they didn't have the right to rest for seven days, unless they didn't want to play football anymore.

After New Year's Eve, Zhang Jun and the others participated in training as usual. At most, their teammates would cup their fists in salute to the three Chinese players during training and say "Happy New Year."

In the first round of the league after the New Year, Fiorentina didn't play very well. On February 17th, in the twenty-sixth round of the league, they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Lazio, and Zhang Jun didn't score. Some analysts believed that this might be related to the fact that the three Chinese main players were not focused on the field due to the Spring Festival.

However, Kroul's performance was normal. In fact, Sabato deliberately preserved his strength for the upcoming Champions League Round of 16 match.

Long before the Spring Festival, the draw results for the Champions League Round of 16 had been announced. Fiorentina was very unfortunate (or fortunate?) to have encountered Barcelona, which was at its zenith in European football.

But at that time, Zhang Jun didn't take this matter to heart. His mind was full of the Spring Festival and reuniting with his family.

Now that the Spring Festival was over, he should also think carefully about how to deal with this tricky enemy.

Three consecutive La Liga titles, last season's Champions League title, last season's Spanish King's Cup title, they completed the treble last season, causing their opponent Real Madrid to lose face. At the same time, they also had last year's FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, La Liga's top scorer Eto'o, Argentina's new Maradona Messi, Portugal's star midfielder Deco, Barcelona's soul Puyol, and the terrifying French striker—Henry, who had just transferred from Arsenal last season and was now the team's second-highest scorer, only two goals behind Eto'o.

This was a very terrifying lineup. Anyone in Barcelona's squad had great strength and a resounding reputation.

On the other hand, Fiorentina, apart from Zhang Jun, the European Footballer of the Year and the Bronze Ball Award winner for the FIFA World Player of the Year, the reputation of their other players couldn't compare with that of Barcelona's players.

Kroul only had a good reputation in Italy and lacked an opportunity to fully demonstrate himself on the world stage. Since Joaquin went to Italy, apart from the local media in Betis still paying attention to him, many Spanish media had already regarded him as a has-been. They believed that for Spanish players who went to Italy, it was only a matter of time before they became useless.

The Catalans were very satisfied with this result. They believed that Barcelona's current state meant that progressing easily wouldn't be a problem. Fiorentina's performance in the previous round of the league also made people worry about the future of this team, and they couldn't pose any threat to the invincible Barcelona in Europe today.

They seemed to have forgotten Real Madrid last year.

※※※

"We really have a connection with Spain. Last year's Champions League Round of 16 was against Real Madrid from Spain. This year we're facing Barcelona again." After training, while showering and changing clothes in the locker room, Xiang Tao suddenly said.

"And we have two Spaniards in our team." Mascherano shrugged.

"How about this, Xiang, you can consider playing football in Spain in the future. You've even passed the language barrier. How about we converse in Spanish now?" Joaquin joked with Xiang Tao.

Xiang Tao rolled his eyes, and then said in the tone of answering a reporter's question, "Ah, the Spanish sunshine is very tempting, and the 'three-point beauties' are also very tempting, but I am now a Fiorentina player. Before my contract expires, I will only consider playing for Fiorentina."

Everyone laughed.

Moreno was looking forward to this Champions League very much. He used to be at Monaco, and it was his goal that eliminated Real Madrid, causing Raul to shed tears that night. Now, he wanted to personally eliminate Barcelona and repay the debt of gratitude from that year. What's more, he used to be a Real Madrid player. Once a Real Madrid player, always an enemy of Barcelona.

"We have a connection with Spain, but Barcelona isn't very friendly to us..." Frey sighed.

His words caused the locker room to quiet down temporarily. They all knew what was going on. Just like last year, there was a war of words before the game between the two sides. But what was different from last year was that this time, it wasn't the madman Sabato who launched the attack first, but the other side's star striker Eto'o.

"Fiorentina? I heard they were the Serie A champions last season? I don't watch Serie A games very much, but what I do know is that the level of Serie A is declining very seriously now. They are no longer the best league in the world. La Liga is." This was what Eto'o said in an interview with reporters after scoring two goals in the previous round of the league and helping Barcelona win 3-0 against Sevilla.

The above remarks aroused strong criticism from the entire Italian media, but what made Fiorentina even more embarrassed was yet to come.

"I only know that Zhang Jun in their team was the European Footballer of the Year last year, but he lost to Ronaldinho and me (Eto'o was the Silver Ball Award winner for the FIFA World Player of the Year). I think we have a very good chance of winning. The first leg is our home game, and we will decide the outcome in this game. Fiorentina will be wearing white jerseys, right? That's great, I always treat teams wearing white jerseys as Real Madrid to beat up."

After speaking, he ignored the stunned reporters and turned to walk back to the locker room.

When these remarks reached Florence, the Florentine media almost collectively clamored to show that African kid how good they were. But what made them very puzzled was that Sabato, who usually had a bad temper, didn't react at all to Eto'o's provocation this time. When interviewed by reporters, he even deliberately changed the subject, just unwilling to talk about Eto'o's words.

Some Italian media were already scolding Sabato for only being able to be tough at home, and being a spineless coward.

Only the Fiorentina players knew what was going on.

Time rewind three days...

"Damn it! That bastard black guy! Son of a bitch! When I was going wild, he was still in his father's pants!" A loud roar suddenly erupted from the sidelines of the training ground, startling the players on the field.

Di Livio's eyebrows were almost twisted into "ten past eleven." Fortunately, there were no reporters present, otherwise Sabato's above remarks would have been enough for him to go to jail, because it involved racial discrimination—this was no small crime.

"It's okay, everyone continue training." Di Livio waved his hand, but it didn't seem to be of much use. The players were all very curious. Although their bodies were training, their minds were on the sidelines. You could tell from the way they were twisting their heads while running.

But Sabato's high-pitched voice continued to come: "Still want to beat us up, good, good, kid, you come! Damn it, if I don't beat you back to your African hometown, I won't be the coach of Fiorentina! Trash! Bah! What are you looking at! Continue training! Damn it! If you look again, I won't let you play!"

His roar was much more useful than Di Livio's persuasion. A group of curious players shrank their necks one by one and trained honestly, no longer daring to turn their heads to look at Sabato, who had suddenly flared up.

Only after the training did someone find out that the head coach had suddenly become furious because he had seen the results of Eto'o's remarks in the newspaper. At that time, he tore the newspaper to pieces.

"Tsk tsk, the boss really has guts!"

"Yeah, yeah, if it were me, I wouldn't dare to scold like that, at most I would scold 'Damn you, go to hell' or something..."

The players also expressed their "indignation." They said it in a joking mood, all expecting to see Sabato's big head appear on the front page of the newspaper the next day, but they didn't see it.

Sabato, who had finished scolding, unexpectedly didn't make any response. Then, after training the next day, Sabato gathered everyone together.

"I think everyone knows about that black monkey's remarks. You all know I'm very angry. But I hope you put this matter aside for the time being. None of us are allowed to talk about this matter. Just prepare for the game with peace of mind." Sabato said with a calm face, as if he hadn't scolded so viciously yesterday.

Xiang Tao was puzzled: "But, boss, this is not in your style..."

"Damn! I just said you're not allowed to talk about this matter before the game. Don't worry, we're going to their home stadium first in the two legs, and we'll give that bunch of grandsons a good show then. Eto'o is the first person who dares to point his finger at us and scold us, and he will be the last." Sabato chuckled, causing a chill to run down the spines of the surrounding players.

※※※

The matter was suppressed by Sabato like this. Although he had to scold Eto'o and Barcelona ten times a day to vent his anger, at least he didn't scold them publicly.

For example, if a certain player made a mistake during training, Sabato would scold like this: "Damn it! Didn't you eat lunch? Why are you as weak as that black monkey?! Cheer me up!"

"Black monkey" had replaced all the usual swear words within the Fiorentina team, becoming the most vicious curse. If Sabato uttered this word, then it meant that he was very unhappy now, and was really angry.

Back in the locker room, Moreno shook his head: "There's no way, Eto'o is just that kind of person, young and impulsive. He still only has resentment and hatred for Real Madrid because Real Madrid abandoned him in the first place." He and Eto'o were both from Real Madrid, and he was somewhat familiar with Eto'o.

Everyone knew what kind of character Eto'o had. For a person who could openly shout out at the championship celebration: "Bastard Real Madrid, cowards, come and pay tribute to the champion!" you really shouldn't have too much expectation that he could say anything nice.

Of course, Figo also shouted that back in the day. Figo was the first one to shout this sentence, but after going to Real Madrid, Figo was very good at handling things, and quickly put this matter behind him, and got along quite well with the Real Madrid players.

But Eto'o has always been unable to forget Real Madrid's "abandonment of him after messing with him," not only choosing to join Real Madrid's arch-rival Barcelona, but also repeatedly declaring in public that he treats all teams wearing white as Real Madrid to kick. So, those La Liga teams with white jerseys, whether home or away, were to be pitied.

"Eto'o is a genius, very talented. It was Real Madrid who brought him from Cameroon to Europe..." Moreno continued, but there were quite a few people in the Fiorentina team who didn't know much about the grievances between the two, so they all listened quietly as if they were listening to a story.

"But, Real Madrid's team is full of superstars, all of whom were famous figures in the football world at that time. A kid who had just come from Africa simply didn't have the opportunity to represent Real Madrid's first team in matches, so the club loaned him out. He desperately performed outside, scoring goals, constantly scoring goals, just hoping to have the opportunity to return to Real Madrid's first team, but our chairman..." Speaking of this, Moreno smiled bitterly, because he was also a victim of the "Zidane + Pavon policy." "He bought more well-known stars one after another, making Eto'o's heart grow colder and colder. Think about it, a team's front line has Raul, Ronaldo, and Owen, three of the best strikers in the world, how can there be room for other people? When choosing between Eto'o and Ronaldo, the chairman chose the latter, and Eto'o completely gave up on Real Madrid."

After being said so by Moreno, those who were originally disgusted in their hearts were not so disgusted with Eto'o anymore. Donadel even thought of his relationship with AC Milan, and Joaquin was also silent, because he had been so close to Real Madrid, but now he was far away in Italy, and was considered by the domestic media to be doomed sooner or later.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, which was not the effect he wanted, Moreno smiled again: "Actually, I don't think there's anything bad about Eto'o going to Barcelona. Because to be honest, I don't think his personality is very compatible with Real Madrid. A person like him is bound to cause trouble in Real Madrid's locker room sooner or later."

"Why do you say that?" Xiang Tao asked.

"Because Real Madrid's temperament and Eto'o's personality are completely incompatible. Real Madrid emphasizes a kind of composure and calmness... um, a noble aura. They rarely argue with the referee, and except for Barcelona, they hardly have any verbal conflicts with their opponents. But Eto'o is a very free person, his personality is prominent, and he is unruly, which happens to violate Real Madrid's tradition. But Barcelona coincides with Eto'o in this regard, so his going to Barcelona is definitely better than staying in Real Madrid. I think the chairman also took this into consideration."

Zhang Jun agreed with this point, because the Catalans have always wanted to get rid of the Spanish government's rule and embark on the path of independence and autonomy, so their performance is often very extreme and emotional, and therefore they and Real Madrid, whose temperament is completely opposite, will become deadly enemies. In addition to those historical allusions, this temperament reason is also very important.

This is the same as the Madrid derby, Real Madrid represents the nobility, then Atletico Madrid represents the common people.

"It's normal for a player to choose a place that suits him. Real Madrid is not suitable for Eto'o, so he chose Barcelona. That's it." Moreno finished speaking.

Xiang Tao muttered in a low voice: "Even if it's because of personality, you shouldn't say that kind of nonsensical thing, right?"

Kroul said expressionlessly next to him: "Then you go teach him a lesson."

Xiang Tao suddenly raised his head: "Damn! I'll teach him a lesson if I have to! Am I afraid of him? What does his grievance with Real Madrid have to do with us? What do you mean seeing white and thinking it's Real Madrid to beat up?! If he beats me, I'll beat him, fair and reasonable! Damn!"

"Okay then, let's go to Camp Nou on the 23rd and kick Barcelona's ass!" Zhang Jun laughed loudly.

Everyone laughed. Although they were about to face the red-hot Barcelona, they didn't have the slightest fear, because the current Fiorentina had nothing to fear.

Zhang Jun looked at his teammates, and a strange thought suddenly popped into his head: they were like Liangshan in Water Margin, gathering together, roaring in the mountains, not even afraid of the emperor.

What if they're the best team in Europe? What if they're the FIFA World Player of the Year? What if they're the top scorer in La Liga? If they provoke us, we'll destroy them all the same!

After being a professional player for so many years, Zhang Jun felt very good for the first time.

※※※

When Zhang Jun returned home, he found Sophie discussing things with the elders. He went over to inquire, and it turned out they were talking about the return date. After being out for so long, the parents all wanted to go home.

Although the days when the family was happy and gathered together for dinner every night were very happy, Zhang Jun still believed that he shouldn't keep the elders any longer. First of all, Sophie's father had to go to work, and secondly, there were elderly people in Sophie's family, so they couldn't stay any longer. Moreover, Zhang Jun's mother had to take the time to go back to her hometown. These were all things that had to be completed in February, and now it was almost the end of February.

Sophie wanted to stay, girls were attached to their homes. But the elders insisted on not staying any longer, and she couldn't keep them.

"Okay then, I'll make a call to book the tickets." Sophie said with a pout, and she took out her phone and dialed the ticket booking number.

"Mom, Uncle and Aunt, when are you leaving? I and Sophie will ask for leave to see you off then." Zhang Jun asked the three elders while Sophie was on the phone.

"Hehe, let's make it the day after tomorrow, sooner or later you have to go to Spain in two days." Zhang Jun's mother said with a smile. They all knew that Zhang Jun was going to play an away game.

"Sophie, book the tickets for the 20th." Zhang Jun turned his head and said to Sophie.

"Okay, miss, do you have any tickets to Beijing, China on the 21st?" Sophie nodded, but soon her brows furrowed, "No? Sold out?" While asking, she turned her head to look at the others.

"Ask her what day is available." Zhang Jun instructed.

"Then miss, may I ask what day can I book tickets for now?"

"Oh, there are tickets available on the 23rd... what? The 23rd?!" Sophie's sudden exclamation must have made the lady on the other end of the line have black lines on her head—how could a lady with such a nice voice be so mentally abnormal?

Zhang Jun was also stunned when he heard this date: there were only tickets available on the 23rd, and he would be playing in Barcelona at that time, how could he see them off?

Sophie obviously also knew Zhang Jun's difficulty, so she continued to ask: "Miss... apart from the 23rd, are there any other days recently that I can book tickets for?"

The lady on the other end of the line said in a normal tone: "Sorry, miss. Tickets are tight recently, and there are only tickets available on the 23rd."

"Then don't go to Beijing, what about flights to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore?"

"There is a flight to Hong Kong on the 22nd in the afternoon. Would you like to book it?"

The afternoon of the 22nd, Sophie knew that Zhang Jun would already be in Barcelona at that time.

Seeing the troubled expression on Sophie's face, her mother asked, "What's wrong? Feifei." Sophie had been talking to the other party in Italian, so her parents couldn't understand at all.

"Mom, they said there are only tickets available on the 23rd." Sophie covered the phone and said to her mother.

Zhang Jun's mother could hear it, and she knew that that day was the match day, and if they booked the tickets for that day, Zhang Jun wouldn't be able to see them off, and wouldn't be able to fulfill his filial piety.

She smiled: "It's okay, just book it for that day."

"But, Mom..." Zhang Jun had something to say, but was interrupted by his mother waving her hand.

"Hehe, we're not children anymore, what are you worried about with the three of us together? You go to the match with peace of mind, you don't have to consider anything else. If you can't go, let Sophie see us off." The mother patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder in comfort, her face full of pride. Her son had become one of the most famous football stars in the world, flying around the world for matches, watched by tens of thousands of people, and worshiped by countless people. She, as his mother, also felt very proud.

Zhang Jun knew that since his mother had said so, then that was all he could do, so he let Sophie book the tickets to Beijing for the 23rd. But in his heart, he also added a reason to defeat Barcelona: his mother was proud of him, and if he still lost the match, it would make his mother lose face.

※※※

After Zhang Jun said goodbye to Sophie and his mother, uncle, and aunt at home, he and the whole team boarded the flight to Barcelona. Ever since Ren Yu Di, the big boss, took the position of club chairman, he had been very generous to his team, and all away games that were far away were flown by chartered plane. In Serie A, there weren't many teams with the money to charter a plane for every away game, not even a team like Juventus, because they had a Moggi who was good at careful calculations, so they couldn't waste money in such a flamboyant way.

What greeted them at the airport in Barcelona was not flowers and applause, but countless flashes of light and those ill-intentioned Catalan media.

Because of Sabato's unusual low profile, while the Italian media was ashamed of Fiorentina, the Catalan media even believed that Sabato was an outwardly strong but inwardly weak coward. Of course, the reason why they dared to think so was also because of Barcelona's current absolutely strong strength. They believed that Sabato might be able to be arrogant in front of other people, but when facing Barcelona, who were now sweeping La Liga and the European arena, he could only behave like a man with his tail between his legs.

Moreover, Barcelona's arrangements were also very interesting. They didn't arrange for this highly-anticipated team to leave the airport quietly through a special channel, but let them emerge from the exit like ordinary passengers. Naturally, they wanted them to be embarrassed by the reporters guarding there.

Sure enough, Gasparoni, who came out first, was startled by the flashes of light that suddenly lit up. He couldn't help but cover his eyes and turn his head to the side.

Then, as more players appeared in the reporters' field of vision, countless microphones, along with countless questions, were extended in front of the players' mouths. Of course, the two people with the most microphones in front of them were Fiorentina's coach Sabato and captain Zhang Jun.

"Mr. Sabato, can you comment on your opponents? I heard that Eto'o made some unfriendly remarks some time ago, and we hope to hear your response." A reporter asked this embarrassing question with ill intentions.

Of course, this kind of embarrassment was only at the level of making ordinary people embarrassed. For Sabato, who had a face as thick as a city wall and had never known how to write the words "shameless" and "ashamed" since he was born, it was completely ineffective.

Sabato had deliberately been low-key before because he didn't want too many media to get involved and disturb the team's normal training. Deep down, he still regarded Barcelona as a very important opponent. He wouldn't really think that this low profile could deceive the other side's coach Rijkaard. Now that the match was about to begin, this low profile was useless.

Sabato grinned broadly: "Who is Eto'o?" He turned his head and looked at Xiang Tao, "Have you heard of this name?"

Xiang Tao shook his head very tacitly, with a confused look on his face.

Then Sabato continued to laugh: "Well, Barcelona is a very beautiful city, very beautiful, and I think I will list it as one of my vacation destinations." He didn't mention anything about the Barcelona club, and humiliated the reporter who asked the question well, and the resentment in his heart was finally vented. And Xiang Tao nodded secretly behind him, this is the boss's style... How can you endure revenge? You have to be vengeful.

On the other side, there were also reporters deliberately trying to embarrass Zhang Jun: "Can we talk about the FIFA World Player of the Year award?" In last year's FIFA World Player of the Year award, two Barcelona players entered the final top three, one Golden Ball Award and one Silver Ball Award. This made them very proud, and they wanted to hang it on their lips and show it off at every turn. And Zhang Jun happened to lose to the two Barcelona players, finishing third.

Zhang Jun didn't want to pay attention to this kind of person, but he saw the smile on the reporter's face, which was a gloating smile. This made him really angry.

"I don't think I'm qualified to comment, after all, I'm only third. But you should ask Eto'o, I heard he's always been very dissatisfied with only getting second place." Zhang Jun wasn't talking nonsense, in the days after the FIFA World Player of the Year award, the media reported that Eto'o was very dissatisfied with the result of only getting second place, and the words vaguely meant: I should be the Golden Ball winner. Of course, Eto'o quickly came out to deny the rumors, saying that this was an irresponsible report by the Madrid media, and it was a despicable means of deliberately destroying the internal unity of the Barcelona team...

Of course, Zhang Jun wouldn't believe that Eto'o was really stupid enough to say the above, but that matter was publicized through the media with added embellishments, making it known to everyone. He now wanted to use this to embarrass the other party.

After speaking, ignoring the strange expression on the other party's face, he pulled his suitcase and walked straight out of the passage.

Subsequently, no Fiorentina player accepted any more interviews from the media.

The next day, there was only one headline in the Catalan newspapers: Arrogant Florentines!

※※※

Barcelona's home stadium, Camp Nou, is one of the most famous stadiums in the world, and is also called the football palace by many people. Of course, there are many other stadiums in the world that are called "football palaces." Since the 9899 season, after all the standing seats were changed to seating, this stadium can accommodate more than 90,000 spectators to watch the game live.

This is a very remarkable stadium. In the entire Spain, only Real Madrid's Bernabeu can be compared with it. Countless classic matches have also been staged here, the most impressive of which was the match in the 9899 season when Manchester United reversed Bayern Munich 2:1 in the final moments to achieve the treble.

The fans here are also fanatical. Whenever there is a Barcelona home game, this huge stadium is always packed. Any team that comes here to play a game must first face the huge pressure from the home fans, because the effect of the five-story stands in terms of visual impact is amazing.

This is the holy place in the hearts of Barcelona fans all over the world, and it is the source of the passion of the Catalans. Whenever there is a home game, there is only one voice here, and that is "Barca."

Now, Fiorentina from central Italy will challenge the red-hot Barcelona in this terrifying stadium, and they have aroused the dissatisfaction and hatred of all Catalans before the match. The Fiorentines who have come from afar seem to not know how serious the consequences of offending Barcelona are. In the entire city of Barcelona, if you dare to say that you are from Florence, then no matter what your identity, you will be subjected to contempt.

Many Catalan media even listed Fiorentina as Barcelona's biggest enemy after Real Madrid, because in more than a hundred years, the only team that has been able to openly and directly insult the Barcelona club like this, apart from Real Madrid, is Fiorentina.

"Barcelona does not accept draws! Even if Fiorentina's idiot coach and captain kneel down and beg us, we will never accept any result other than victory! A big win! Barca wants a big win!"

Eto'o certainly knew about the comments from Fiorentina, because not only the Catalan media, but even the Madrid media gloated and put the sentence "Who is Eto'o" on the conspicuous front page, and then added fuel to the fire and ridiculed it in the text.

At this time, the media on both sides did not forget to tear down each other's stage.

Eto'o was quite angry, quite angry. In the recent two seasons, he and his team have hardly encountered any opponents in La Liga. Last season, even Europe succumbed to his feet. He was quite surprised that the people from Fiorentina dared to say such a thing, and he was not prepared at all, so that when he heard Sabato's words, his first reaction was: Does this person have a problem with his brain? He hasn't even heard of me, so what is he coaching?

Later, when he realized that this was an insult to him, he was furious and vowed to show the ignorant and shameless Fiorentina a good show in the match.

Even Ronaldinho, who has always had a good temper, couldn't help but be offended by the arrogant attitude of the visiting team. Although he did not publicly express any opinions, the Barcelona players could see that the smile on Little Luo's face was much less during training the day before the match.

Only Rijkaard in the whole team could remain calm. He knew that this must be the other party's trick. Now is not the time to argue with Fiorentina, in fact, ten Rijkaards could not argue with one Sabato, this is a consensus in the whole of Europe. If we talk about verbal skills, the most powerful one now is the coach of Fiorentina.

Rijkaard comforted his players on the one hand, and studied Fiorentina on the other hand, carefully formulating countermeasures.

To this end, he studied all of Fiorentina's matches in the Champions League. Fiorentina is a team that attaches great importance to offense. In the Champions League last season, they dared to fight against Real Madrid at Real Madrid's home stadium. So Rijkaard determined that this time, they would still fight against themselves.

Rijkaard was not afraid of fighting, he couldn't wait for the other party to fight. Because Barcelona is also an attacking team, if they don't attack, they don't even know how to play football. This is Camp Nou, Barcelona's home stadium, they have nothing to fear, attack if you want to attack.

※※※

Forty minutes before the start of the match, Camp Nou was already full, and the noise could be heard from the road far away.

In the visiting team's locker room, Sabato was making the final arrangements. Some things, it was time to make clear now.

"Who can tell me, what are the characteristics of Italian football?"

A group of people looked at each other, not knowing what the coach was suddenly asking such a question for at this time.

Seeing that no one answered, Sabato directly said the answer: "A bunch of idiots! Defense! Isn't it defense that made Italian football famous in the world? Our defense has a tradition."

"Oh—" A group of people pretended to suddenly realize.

"But what does this have to do with our match today?" Xiang Tao asked after "oh-ing." Some good teammates applauded Xiang Tao in their hearts: "Well done! Let's see what he says! He's still calling us idiots, I don't know who's the idiot at this time!"

"That's why I said you're an idiot!" Sabato scolded, "You can't even see my obvious intentions, I really don't know who was cooperating with me so tacitly at the airport? Why am I mentioning this, because we're playing defensive counterattack today..."

"Wow!" The locker room suddenly became lively, and everyone couldn't believe their ears. They didn't hear it wrong, did they? The mad coach who always regarded offense as his life was going to take the initiative to play defensive counterattack.

"Bo... Boss, this is not in your style..." Xiang Tao was so scared that he stuttered.

Looking at the reaction of the players below, Sabato smiled triumphantly: "I knew you would have this expression. Did you think I would arrange to attack Barcelona?"

Many people nodded.

"Neurotic!" Sabato scolded again, "Attacking Barcelona at Camp Nou, do I want to die? Do you think there are too many matches this season, and you want to be eliminated from the Champions League and go home early?"

Everyone shook their heads like rattles.

"What has Barcelona relied on to dominate Europe for the past two seasons? It is their sharp offense, and that kind of indomitable and invincible momentum. This is their home stadium, and they will definitely use offensive tactics without hesitation. If we attack them, then we will fall into their rhythm, and we will have to follow those damn grandsons throughout the match. This is something I cannot tolerate. Rijkaard will definitely not think that I will change tactics at this time and play defensive counterattack. He must have studied our match videos and know our match habits. Then now, let's give him a good surprise."

Sabato drew two black lines on the tactical board, extending all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt penalty area.

"Zhang Jun, Gasparoni, and Joaquin are all people with speed, and our defensive counterattack relies on your speed. And Kroul immediately takes over the responsibility of organizing the offense after the defensive counterattack is restricted, and is responsible for organizing the frontcourt. Moreno's header will also provide more diverse offensive options for everyone, how to play depends on yourselves."

"In the backcourt, we use chain defense to completely block Ronaldinho and Deco's midfield passes, and defend Eto'o, Henry, and Messi on the defensive line. All three of them are world-renowned forwards, and I know this is a bit difficult for you defenders..."

"Who said so?" Xiang Tao shouted, "I'm not afraid! Let all three of them come! I'll stop them all!"

Even Keir frowned and said to Sabato: "Boss, we know you're using a trick to provoke us, but you shouldn't provoke our defenders. Although we usually concede a lot of goals, we guarantee that Barcelona's forwards won't score a single goal in this match!"

Sabato smiled triumphantly again: "Hehe, you have guts, saying such a thing at Camp Nou. If you had said this at the airport yesterday, it would have been even more lively today."

"Remember, our defense is not a chivalrous duel relying on individual abilities, but a tenacious fight of teamwork. As long as the football has not returned to our feet for a moment, you are not allowed to give up for a moment! Entangle them and force them into a dead end! Similarly, for the midfielders and forwards, I hope you all participate in the defense in this match. If the ball is lost in the frontcourt, then counter-press on the spot and extend the defensive pressure from our penalty area all the way to their penalty area. So, Zhang Jun and Kroul, you have to work harder in this match today."

Zhang Jun nodded, and Kroul didn't say anything—usually, this meant that he agreed.

Sabato looked at his watch, it was almost time.

"You must all remember that this is Barcelona's home stadium. From officials to fans, they must all firmly believe that their team will win the final victory and hope to see us fail like villains. But we are not here to satisfy their boring wishes. We are here to defeat them and make them speechless. What I want is the result, the process doesn't matter, even if we use despicable means, as long as we can win the game, even if they scold us for being despicable, shameless, vulgar, and lacking sportsmanship after the match, it doesn't matter, because—that is the best compliment to us! The insults of the opponent are praise for us! We are here to be despicable villains! We are here to destroy the good mood of the Catalans! Defeat them! Defeat Barca! Kick their balls to pieces! Let the people here see that we Fiorentina! Are crazy! And we have the qualifications to be crazy! End Barcelona's myth! End Barcelona's dynasty dream! The next dynasty belongs to us Fiorentina! We... are invincible! Long live! Fiorentina!!!"

Sabato roared wildly like a madman, and the players were also infected by his crazy emotions, and each one shouted along with him: "We are invincible! We are invincible! Defeat Barcelona!! Fuck them! Kick their balls!!"

Then this group of red-eyed lunatics rushed out of the locker room one by one with murderous intent.

※※※

"Welcome to Camp Nou! This is the third match of the Champions League Round of 16, between the defending champion Barcelona and Fiorentina! The meeting of two offensive teams is destined to be a wonderful match!"

The Barca fans are very