Chapter 161 It's a Stage for Goalkeepers

Since Anke had sworn in his grandfather's name, how could he let the other side score this goal?

Mascherano pushed a shot towards the center, and although Anke's body fell to the right, he simply collapsed on the spot. His legs remained in the middle, so the ball was successfully blocked by Anke's feet.

"Ah! Anke has also saved Fiorentina's shot!"

The Allianz Arena erupted in huge cheers. After saving the shot, Anke made a muscle-flexing gesture towards Mascherano. This was both a provocation and a mockery.

Next, Frey was unable to stop Bayern's forward, Santa Cruz, from scoring. The score was tied at 1-1 after two rounds.

"The penalty shootout is a stage for goalkeepers to perform. After two rounds, we have seen both goalkeepers save a shot each. This is a rare occurrence in penalty shootouts. Perhaps the two goalkeepers are secretly competing. Neither wants to lose to the other."

The third player, Klose, was under much scrutiny because of his superb footwork. People wanted to see how he would face Anke and send the ball into the goal.

Anke also dared not neglect his duty and waited in full battle readiness.

Klose's eyes kept aiming at the right side of the goal, Anke's left side. Anke also noticed this, and he was now unsure of what to do. Ever since he was tricked by Zhang Jun the first time, he had a headache trying to predict which way the ball would fly. The direction Klose was looking at should be the direction he was going to shoot, but Klose was a cunning person. He might be deliberately tricking me into diving in that direction... So should I dive or not?

There was no time for him to hesitate. With a whistle from the referee, Klose took two steps and kicked the ball.

Sure enough, it flew to the right, but Anke's timing was half a beat too slow. His fingertips tried to deflect the ball, but he could not change the reality of the ball continuing to fly into the goal.

"Damn it!" Anke punched the ground again. Klose slowly ran back expressionlessly, without cheering or celebrating. It was as if putting the ball into the goal was a matter of course, something that could be done easily.

The third Bayern Munich player, Schweinsteiger, the main midfielder of the German national team, placed the ball on the penalty spot and prepared to take the shot.

Frey still adopted the defensive posture that most goalkeepers would take. His eyes were steady, and his expression was calm.

Schweinsteiger paused during his run-up, as if he was hesitating. As a result, the ball he shot was weak and powerless, and the angle was too straight!

Frey simply lunged forward and caught the ball firmly with both hands!

"Oh oh oh!! Another save! Frey has saved Bayern Munich's shot again!!" the commentator shouted excitedly.

This time it was the Fiorentina fans' turn to cheer wildly.

"He's fucking awesome!" Sabato jumped up from the sidelines.

Frey also excitedly waved his fists at the Bayern fans in the stands while holding the ball.

After the third round of the penalty shootout, the home team, Bayern Munich, trailed the visiting team, Fiorentina, 1-2. This was truly a terrible result for them. The Bayern fans thought they had Anke, so they would have more than a 70% chance of winning the penalty shootout. They didn't expect the previously low-key Frey to suddenly erupt, turning this penalty shootout from Anke's solo performance into a one-on-one between two goalkeepers.

Damn! Is he challenging me? Or is he showing off to me? Anke stared at Frey, who was retreating from the goal. Frey also noticed Anke was looking at him. He turned his head and looked at Anke with an expressionless gaze, but Anke could see sparks inside—sparks of unwillingness to be outdone. Hehe, interesting. Anke grinned.

In the fourth round, Fiorentina kicked first. Their player was the Spaniard, Joaquín.

This time, Anke, standing in front of the goal, spread his hands out, perpendicular to his body, like a demon with huge wings spread out. He coldly watched Joaquín, who was preparing.

After Joaquín slowly placed the ball, he looked up and saw Anke's posture. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. In the first three rounds, Anke stood on the goal line like a bamboo pole, and the pressure he exerted was not so great. Now, when he spread his arms out in a cross shape in front of the goal, Joaquín felt that the entire goal was almost completely covered by him.

Anke's defensive area had increased, and he had to find a way to get around those hands. He looked at the two upper corners of the goal, which were theoretically dead corners. No goalkeeper could save a ball in those two positions during a penalty shootout.

He decided to shoot there.

Run-up, kick, the ball flew towards the upper left corner of the goal, following the trajectory Joaquín had imagined. Although Anke guessed the right direction, he really couldn't save this tricky shot.

Is it over like this?

No!

Although the ball successfully bypassed Anke's hand, Joaquín, in his pursuit of the angle, failed to control the ball's arc successfully. The result of pursuing the angle too much was... the ball not only bypassed Anke's hand, but also successfully bypassed the goal... it went wide!

"He didn't score! Joaquín was too focused on the angle! This gives Bayern Munich a chance to counterattack! As long as they can score the next goal, the score will be tied at 2-2! Everything will return to the starting point, and the fifth penalty will become crucial! If Frey can save Bayern's ball again, then they can successfully advance as long as they stop Bayern's shot in the final round..."

"How could it be so easy? Save it again! What a joke!" Anke said dismissively, picking his ears. He didn't even look at his opponent—Frey's performance.

Bayern's fourth player was Lucio, a center-back from Brazil. Although he was a center-back, his shooting skills were not inferior to any forward. When he was at Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, he often staged long-distance runs to score goals and scored directly from free kicks. Penalties were not difficult for him at all.

The referee signaled with a whistle that Lucio could kick the ball. He began his run-up, and unlike others who ran up quickly, Lucio ran up slowly, even a little like he was taking a stroll. But Frey dared not be careless. He knew the player's explosiveness; the slowness now was to prepare for the explosion later.

Frey saw Lucio's body suddenly tilt slightly to the left. This was a body habit of pushing to the right corner. The moment Lucio's foot made contact with the ball, he dived to the right without hesitation. But at that moment, Lucio, who had been leisurely strolling, suddenly exerted force and powerfully blasted the ball!

The ball did not fly to the left, nor did it fly to the right, but flew straight into the center of the goal!

Frey knew he had been tricked, but he was powerless and could only watch the ball slam into the net behind him.

"Lucio has kicked the ball in! Bayern still has hope!"

This time it was Frey's turn to vent his anger on the ground.

Lucio, who had scored the goal under pressure, seemed to be relieved and roared.

The fourth round of the penalty shootout ended with Bayern Munich tied 2-2 with Fiorentina.

Anke's eyes were full of mockery as he looked at Frey, which made Frey very unhappy. But after all, he had lost to Lucio, and he could only lower his head and slowly walk to the end line, then coldly watch how Anke would save Pazzini's penalty.

Pazzini was the most physically fit of the five penalty takers and should be the safest. As a forward, his shooting skills were beyond doubt, and his personal psychological qualities were also quite good. He had a record of taking penalties in the league, and he had not missed any.

This time, all the pressure was concentrated on Anke. If he wanted Bayern to continue to stay on the European stage, he must first save this penalty.

Facing this situation for the first time, Pazzini was a little nervous. The hand holding the ball was trembling slightly. But no one noticed this small detail. The Fiorentina players cheered loudly for Pazzini from behind, but they only shouted twice. When Pazzini stood up straight, they all stopped shouting, afraid that their voices would interfere with Pazzini's performance.

The Allianz Arena fell silent again.

Even in front of the TV was silent.

Yang Pan, Kaka, Li Yongle, Sophie... and more people all held their breath and stared nervously at the TV screen. But... apart from Sophie and Li Yongle, who were the other two praying for?

※※※

Pazzini tried to calm his breathing before straightening his back and slowly retreating. He had never faced such a difficult moment in his career. Breathing seemed to become a stone pressing on his heart, making him exhausted. And those legs were so heavy that he could hardly take a step.

This is the most important penalty in my life, I must not miss it, I must not miss it... Pazzini muttered to himself. Then he looked up and saw Anke. The Chinese goalkeeper was standing in the center of the goal, his arms outstretched, standing tall. His reaction was the same as Joaquín's when he saw Anke—his heart skipped a beat, as if standing in front of the goal was not a goalkeeper, but a towering wall, and he was ruthlessly shrouded in the shadow of that wall.

The Bundesliga's best goalkeeper...

Pazzini gritted his teeth, and then he suddenly heard the referee's whistle ring out!

God bless me!

Pazzini began to run, Anke still stood steadily, without the slightest movement.

While running, Pazzini observed Anke's reaction, but to his disappointment, the other party did not react at all. At the same time, this also made Pazzini feel a trace of panic. He originally intended to observe the goalkeeper's actions and then decide which side to shoot. Now that the goalkeeper was not moving, he suddenly didn't know what to do.

Which direction should I shoot? Left? Right? Center? The run-up distance was too short. How could the running Pazzini have so much time to think about which direction to kick? When he ran to the ball, he still hadn't decided which direction to kick it.

The direct result was that the ball Pazzini shot was rushed, weak, and not sharp enough in angle. These were great opportunities for Anke!

Anke lunged to the right—which was exactly the direction Pazzini was shooting. He clenched his hands into fists and then forcefully struck the lower part of the ball. The ball was kicked high by him and flew directly out of the penalty area!

This was a decisive save!

Pazzini watched his shot being saved by Anke. His legs went weak, and he knelt directly on the ground. He could not accept this result. How could he, how could he make such a mistake at a critical moment?

Sabato on the sidelines painfully closed his eyes. He knew that Fiorentina's hope of winning was gradually becoming more and more faint. Arranging Pazzini to take the last penalty was because he valued his physical strength and thought he shouldn't make a mistake, but he didn't expect that this kind of pressure was something Pazzini couldn't bear... Maybe it would have been better to arrange Zhang Jun last, but what's the use of thinking about it now?

"Long live!! Long live!!" All the Bayern fans were cheering in unison, and Anke was even more excited, waving his arms up and down towards the stands to incite the audience's emotions.

※※※

"Anke... is getting closer and closer to the ideal goalkeeper in my mind..." Qiu Suhui muttered to himself in front of the TV.

※※※

"Things... are getting worse and worse." Zhang Jun watched the jubilant Bayern players and those fans and murmured. Not being able to defeat Bayern directly on the road already made him feel a little uneasy. Fiorentina, who were dragged into a penalty shootout, faced a Bayern victory with their odds dropping from fifty percent to twenty-five percent. Although Frey's performance was very good, unexpectedly good, Anke's performance was also unexpectedly good.

No matter how many Frey saved, Anke would definitely save the same number. The two of them seemed to be competing with each other to save penalties, and now all the pressure was placed on Frey. If Fiorentina wanted to continue competing with Bayern and wanted to retain a glimmer of hope for advancement, then he must now save Anke's penalty.

The only thing that was favorable to Fiorentina in this duel was that this penalty was not taken by a forward, but by a goalkeeper. A goalkeeper who was not good at footwork.

He watched Frey silently walk towards the goal, brushing past Anke. Anke provocatively raised his head at him.

Come on, didn't you want to compete with me in saving penalties? I succeeded in doing so. Now it's your turn. If you have the ability, save my penalty too!

Frey seemed to feel Anke's provocative meaning. He turned his head and glanced at Anke's back. His eyes were firm in his refusal to admit defeat.

Anke takes the penalty, and he'll save it. This is a true one-on-one between goalkeepers. He can't lose to him. Otherwise, Fiorentina's efforts for most of the season would be in vain. They had said together last season that they wanted to show Europe the strength of Fiorentina, to let the whole of Europe see their football. Now they absolutely can't lose!

Anke took off his gloves and threw them aside. He hooked the ball back with his foot, and then picked it up, showing off his foot skills. Sure enough, the Bayern fans cooperated very well and let out huge cheers.

Zhang Jun stared at Anke's movements. He knew that Anke's footwork in high school was definitely not as good as it was now, because he was just a goalkeeper. But after playing in the professional football world for so many years, it wouldn't make sense if his footwork was still the same as it was in high school. So, since Magath dared to arrange for Anke to kick this penalty, he must have given it some consideration. Because it was an elimination system, Sabato showed the players penalty videos of all Bayern's penalty takers before the game, just to let them be familiar with each other's habits, so Frey's sudden eruption was not accidental.

But the only thing they hadn't seen was the penalty video of this main goalkeeper, Anke.

"Magath, that old fox!" Even if he deformed the water bottle in his hand, Sabato didn't know it now. "I underestimated him too much! He wanted to drag it into a penalty shootout from the start! Damn it!"

Compared to Sabato's anxiety, Magath's mood was much better. He knew that Sabato would definitely study the other side's penalty videos before the game, but they would definitely not have Anke's penalty-kick video, because today was the first time Anke took a penalty in an official match.

But in normal training, he specifically emphasized that the goalkeeper should also practice shooting, and from the penalty simulation effect in training, Anke's penalty-kick hit rate was still very high.

Many people will definitely think that letting this goalkeeper, who is taking a penalty for the first time in an official match, be the most important fifth penalty taker, he will definitely be nervous and perform abnormally, so Fiorentina will still have a chance. But this has no effect on someone like Anke, who has thick nerves, because Anke simply doesn't know what tension is.

Although he showed off his footwork, Anke still honestly placed the penalty on the white spot. He stood up, stepped back, and looked at Frey, who was waiting in full battle readiness on the goal line.

Although he often exchanged penalty kicks with his substitute goalkeeper in training, it still felt strange to face a stranger goalkeeper this time.

If I kick it in, I'll be a hero! If I don't kick it in, I'll still have a chance to be a hero. What's there to be afraid of?

Frey stood on the goal line, tapping small steps lightly with his feet, his hands guarding on both sides of his body, slightly bent. His body seemed to be shaking slightly.

"This is a direct dialogue between goalkeepers. This situation is very rare in the Champions League. We are fortunate to see this scene today. Which side will be the final winner? Anke? Frey? Bayern Munich? Fiorentina? Soon, the answer will be revealed!"

※※※

Sophie in front of the TV had already stood up. She held her hands tightly in front of her chest, praying for Fiorentina and praying for Frey.

Li Yongle in Milan, Italy, was even more nervous, grabbing the TV tightly with both hands, staring unblinkingly at the TV screen. He wanted to see all this clearly.

On the other side, in London, England, Yang Pan and Kaka were not as nervous as Sophie, but they were also silent, waiting for the answer to be revealed.

※※※

"In the end... who will win the final victory? After a hundred and twenty minutes of thrilling match, who will continue to stay in the Champions League and launch an attack on the championship in their minds? And who can only helplessly accept the result of this ending and prepare to fight again next year?"

Anke didn't turn his head to look at the referee like other penalty takers. While waiting for the whistle, he just stared straight at Frey, and Frey looked at him with the same eyes. The two had already begun to compete before they even started taking penalties.

Everyone's breathing stopped, and all the sounds disappeared. Anke could only hear his own heartbeat and the other person's heartbeat.

The frequencies were almost the same.

Everyone is an excellent goalkeeper. Let's throw the fancy things aside and have a head-on confrontation.

That's what I want. I don't want to use despicable feints like the forwards.

Okay.

The referee looked at the two people in the penalty area and then blew the whistle in his mouth.

After a crisp whistle, the bodies of Anke and Frey moved almost simultaneously. Anke lunged towards the ball, while Frey's body only shook slightly, and then he stabilized his body suddenly, staring at the ball.

Come on, the goalkeeper's shot will never show off skills. If you can save it, then save it!

Anke rushed to the ball and did not slow down his speed. Instead, he used the momentum to kick the ball! He shot towards the lower left corner of the goal!

Frey also dived in that direction at the same time. Due to some characteristics of goalkeepers, he knew Anke's shot better than anyone else. It must be going in the direction that is most difficult for the goalkeeper to save. Compared to high-altitude balls, ground balls are more difficult to save, so this ball should naturally be shot there.

Frey judged correctly, and the speed at which he flew out seemed to be just right. The ball was right below him. As long as he reached out and curled up, he could firmly press the ball under him!

This is a good opportunity! A great opportunity! Fiorentina's victory or defeat depends on this!

Our efforts for a season cannot be in vain here!

Frey's body pressed towards the ball, and his hand grabbed the ball at the same time. He felt that he could definitely grab the ball firmly in his hands.

Everyone thought Frey had saved it, and the impatient Fiorentina fans even started raising their hands to cheer.

But...

How many good things in this world are ruined by these two words!

The ball slipped through Frey's body and rolled smoothly into the goal... He curled up a little slower, and the ball ran away from under him.

"goooooAL!! goooooAL!! gooooooooooAL!!! Bayern Munich are in the Champions League semi-finals! Anke is the biggest hero of this game. His extraordinary performance forced Fiorentina, who have a super attacking force, to return in defeat! It's so great! If Bayern can win the Champions League this season, then Anke will be a strong contender for the European Footballer of the Year!"

Anke, who scored the goal, rushed to the corner flag area, then dove and lay on the grass. Immediately afterwards, he was pressed under by more people. The entire Allianz Arena seemed to be shaking for their hard-won victory. The cheers for Bayern were deafening.

※※※

When Zhang Jun watched Anke run towards the sideline with his arms outstretched, his mind went blank. He had failed... He lost at the feet of his former teammate. Why did this happen? Bayern was no longer the Bayern of the past, and Fiorentina was no longer the Fiorentina of the past. We could beat them. Why did we end up stumbling on penalties? Damn it, if I could be stronger, more powerful, my shot could have pierced Anke's goal. Then the team wouldn't have been dragged into a penalty shootout. They could have defeated their opponents within ninety minutes. The reason... is that I'm not strong enough!

When Zhang Jun reacted, almost all of his teammates were lying on the ground, and some were even sobbing. Frey was still curled up in front of the goal.

Pazzini was next to Zhang Jun, kneeling on the ground and crying non-stop. If he hadn't missed the last penalty, then this wouldn't have been the result now.

Zhang Jun looked at Pazzini's appearance, and his nose felt sore. But in the end, he still didn't cry, because he immediately realized that he was the captain, and he must not lose face and cry at this time. He needed to set a strong example for his teammates. He walked over and hugged Pazzini, hugging him tightly. "Don't cry, don't cry, don't let people laugh at us..."

Then he pulled the others up one by one. Finally, he walked to Frey's side. He was still lying on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. "Get up, the game is over." Zhang Jun extended his hand.

"We lost... I'm sorry, I couldn't save that ball..." Frey murmured.

"I know, you did your best. There's nothing to regret. This is our first year, and we have next season, and the season after that... Get up, and go thank our fans." He suddenly pulled Frey up with force and patted the goalkeeper's shoulder.

※※※

Sabato below was like a deflated balloon, drooping his head. But he quickly raised his head again, then walked into the field and shouted to all the Fiorentina players, shouting with his special loud voice: "Don't be discouraged! Don't cry like a woman! We still have the league! If we win the league title, we'll come back next season! Did you hear that? Stick your chests out for me!"

Zhang Jun comforted his teammates one by one, but no one came up to comfort him, and couldn't comfort him. He was the captain, who else could comfort him?

After comforting his teammates, Zhang Jun turned his head and saw the Bayern Munich players who were still celebrating. He felt sad. It should have been them celebrating...

He bit his lower lip tightly, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and glanced at the Bayern players in the distance. The TV camera happened to take a close-up of him, and everyone could see the tears in his eyes.

Being eliminated, he must be more sad than anyone else, but he couldn't cry, couldn't express his emotions.

What was in this moment? Unwillingness? Disobedience?

Sophie saw Zhang Jun's stubborn expression in front of the TV, and her heart also felt sour. She and Zhang Jun were soulmates. She knew better than anyone how uncomfortable Zhang Jun was, but what could she do to help now?

Two lines of tears slid down Sophie's cheeks.

※※※

At the post-match press conference, Sabato did not appear frustrated in the face of defeat. Just like he shouted to his teammates, he also said this to the reporters: "... It is certainly a great regret to lose the game. We have been preparing for this for most of the season. But that's how football is..." He shrugged, then paused before continuing, "But don't think that Fiorentina is finished just because they lost this Champions League game. We still have the domestic league, which just allows us to concentrate on the domestic league. Fiorentina's goal this season is to win at least one championship. Now that the Champions League title is gone, then we must win the league title!"

Li Yan flipped through the game photos that his European news photography journalist friends had sent him as soon as possible, and then picked out the last one, which was the photo of Zhang Jun turning his head and staring into the distance. He smiled and said to Zhang Jun in the photo: "This expression... Fiorentina still has hope, and their goal of winning the league title will definitely not be empty words. This failure may just be the beginning, right, Zhang Jun?"

On the bus that took Fiorentina back to the hotel, Zhang Jun was boosting his teammates' morale: "Don't be discouraged! We just lost a cup game! What's the big deal? We'll just come back next year! The next game is the most important, even more important than this! We must win the league title. We must win all the remaining eleven league games! Next season, let us prove ourselves again as Italian champions!"

"Losing the ball makes everyone feel bad, but he can still comfort and encourage others like this. He is becoming a better and better captain..." Dilivio turned his head and looked at Zhang Jun and said to himself.

Sabato shook his head and smiled at him and said: "That's why we still have hope. That's why I dare to say that we will win this season's league title, because we have a group of great players."

※※※

Although they lost 0:2 to Barcelona on the road, Li Yongle was still full of confidence. He always believed that they would eventually defeat Barcelona, ​​and then meet Fiorentina in the semi-finals. He wanted to have a showdown with Zhang Jun on the European stage--at least he always thought so before Fiorentina lost to Bayern.

The two other Champions League quarter-finals were played the day after Fiorentina and Bayern's match. Although Li Yongle scored a goal in the match, and although Inter Milan defeated Barcelona 3:1 at their home court, and although the total score of the two teams was the same, they were still eliminated by Barcelona due to the disadvantage of away goals.

Two Italian teams were eliminated in two days. But AC Milan did not disappoint the Italians on the second day. After defeating Chelsea 3:1 at home, they tied Chelsea 2:2 at Stamford Bridge, thereby defeating Chelsea with a total score of 5:3 and entering the Champions League semi-finals.

In this way, the Champions League semi-finals have all been produced. Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, ​​and AC Milan are from the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, and Serie A respectively. There are teams from the four most influential European leagues, which is truly a balanced Champions League. The situation where three teams from the same league are in the semi-finals has not happened this year.

According to the schedule, Barcelona's semi-final opponent is Bayern Munich, and AC Milan's opponent is Liverpool. This is a truly interesting match. The Italian media are shouting for revenge, to defeat Liverpool and avenge their shameful defeat in the Champions League final a few years ago.

But these things have nothing to do with Zhang Jun and his Fiorentina.

The day after losing to Bayern Munich, the whole team recovered from this blow. Originally, in professional football, winning or losing is commonplace. If they cry and howl, and lament the fate because of the loss of a game, and think that the end of the world has come, it can only show that the team is too naive. Sabato is not such a person, and Fiorentina cannot be such a team.

There is no time left for the team to rest. Three days later, they will be at their home court, facing AC Milan, their opponent in the thirty-first round of the league (hereby correcting a mistake in the previous chapter, after losing the Champions League, Fiorentina still has eight league games, not the eleven rounds that Zhang Jun said).

The Turin media believed that Fiorentina, who had just lost an important game, must be in low morale. This was a good opportunity for Milan to take the opportunity to widen the gap with Juventus. They wailed that Fiorentina's loss was at the wrong time, and on the one hand, they also hoped that Juventus would continue to put pressure on AC Milan in this round of the league.

Contrary to the views of the Turin media, Sabato believed that this was a great opportunity for them to catch up with Juventus and AC Milan.

"In the eyes of outsiders, we have just been defeated in the Champions League, and it is the time when morale is low, the team is turbulent, and the hearts of the people are unstable. But they are wrong. Milan's pressure in this game is far greater than ours. Because on the one hand, they have to consider their Champions League opponents, and on the other hand, they have to continue to maintain their lead in the league. The leader is always under the greatest pressure, and now it should be the time for them to be surpassed! This is a great opportunity for our Fiorentina! To prove to everyone our determination to win the league title! Let's start with Milan!"

It is worth mentioning that AC Milan and Chelsea's quarter-final was also very difficult. Even someone like Gattuso, who never stops running, eventually had his legs cramped and was replaced, which shows how intense the game was at that time. Shevchenko was even injured in this game. Fortunately, the post-match examination said that it would not affect their game against Fiorentina. Otherwise, Van Basten would really have a headache about the Champions League or the league title.

In the game against Fiorentina, Basten sent all the main players to the field. He didn't want to give up the top spot in the league. This was a very important game for his team.

Juventus, who played a day later than them, could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and finally reap the benefits.

※※※

Before the game, in addition to the state of the two teams, the state of several main players in the team was also very concerning, such as Fiorentina's captain, main shooter, and current top scorer in Serie A, Zhang Jun. He had not scored in the league for several rounds in a row. Was this game a tough battle? Can he successfully break the league goal drought?

Zhang Jun has been asked by reporters these past two days: "Can you score a goal in the next game? Can you lead Fiorentina out of the predicament? Will losing the Champions League affect the team's league results?"

For the first question, Zhang Jun's answer was: "No one knows whether they can score a goal before the game is over."

Zhang Jun said this for the second question: "It is the head coach's job to lead the team out of the predicament, and I just need to fulfill his requirements."

And Zhang Jun did not answer the third question at all.

Losing the Champions League was always a pain in his heart, but he just didn't show it. But the game was lost, and there was no point in talking about it now. Instead of getting caught up in endless regrets about losing the game, it was better to find a way to play the remaining games well. Just like he once shouted to other players on the bus: use the league title to prove himself again.

Fiorentina still has not received enough attention, especially in the European arena. Regarding Fiorentina's entry into the top eight, and also making the veteran team Bayern Munich so miserable, most European media called Fiorentina the "dark horse" in this year's Champions League. This really made the Fiorentina players depressed. They were clearly a strong team that could stir up the situation in Italy, but how could they become a "dark horse" when they arrived in Europe?

The world of professional football is actually very utilitarian. When you can't win at least one championship, you won't get the recognition of public opinion and the public. If Sabato wants to truly build Fiorentina into a strong team, he must win a championship—of course, an unimportant championship like the Italian Cup has no value. Only the league title and the Champions League title can get wide recognition.

On April 17th, the Stadio Artemio Franchi was crowded with people. In the locker room, Sabato was also doing his best to incite the players' emotions.

"We gave up the worthless Italian Cup, and now we have lost the European Champions League. Of the goal of winning at least one championship this season, only the league remains. Do you know what this means? I don't think I need to say more, you are all smart people. We have to win all of them starting from this league game! If we still want a championship trophy to decorate our trophy room. AC Milan, Juventus, Roma! All of them must become our defeated opponents! Any team that dares to block us..." Sabato said murderously, "Kill them!"

※※※

Before the game, when the players from the two teams were chatting in the tunnel, Kaka jokingly asked Zhang Jun whether he would score in this game. At that time, Zhang Jun answered Kaka in the tone of a reporter, saying that he would know it when it came to the game. Kaka was still laughing at Zhang Jun for being too ruthless.

The Milan players who won the Champions League quarter-finals generally had a relaxed attitude, but as soon as the game started, they couldn't relax. Fiorentina, who were fighting with their backs to the water, suddenly burst out with vitality, which was energy that they absolutely did not show when they were playing against Bayern.

With the cheers of their home fans, Fiorentina successfully suppressed AC Milan's attack within the first fifteen minutes of the game.

"In the thirty-first round of the league, Zhang Jun has scored twenty goals, and Adriano has scored seventeen goals. The advantage that once widened to seven goals has now almost disappeared. And he once said that he would score more than thirty goals, and now it makes people doubt whether he can still achieve it..."

The commentator meant to despise Zhang Jun, but AC Milan did not dare to think so at all. So far, Zhang Jun is still Fiorentina's most threatening player.

Sometimes, Yang Pan even has to defend him.

But for Zhang Jun, who has a fire in his heart, is their defense useful to him?

Zhang Jun has never been as unable to tolerate failure as he is now. He is eager to win. For this reason, he is running at full power. He is exhaling roughly through his nose, his eyes are flashing red, and there is only one thought in his mind: whoever dares to stop him is his enemy, and must be killed!

In the twenty-second minute of the game, Joaquín crossed from the right, and Zhang Jun, completely disregarding the danger that his legs might be broken if he fought with others, rushed up and gave a direct shot, and that momentum frightened Lugano, the Brazilian defender who came up to fight him, to take the initiative to give up the chance to fight him. Although Dida got the ball in the end, it also sounded the alarm for the AC Milan players.

AC Milan is not without a chance to counterattack, but in Fiorentina's home court, their performance is not very good. Most of the time, Basten is pacing anxiously on the sidelines, watching his players' performance and feeling helpless.

Yang Pan is still playing as a right winger, but he is being restricted by Xiang Tao, who is also excellent in speed, and does not have many opportunities to provide assists for the forwards. And although Shevchenko can play in the game, the injury from the Champions League still affects his performance in the league. Kaka is being watched closely by Mascherano, and Sabato would rather sacrifice Mascherano's midfield organization ability to freeze Kaka's offense. And without Kaka's kind of in-depth breakthrough, Fiorentina is obviously not afraid of Pirlo's long pass.

Kroos is very active in this game. He constantly appears in any position in the frontcourt, dribbling, passing, breaking through, and shooting, making the Milan defense in danger.

Because of his activity, Zhang Jun and others will have more opportunities. Players have limited energy, and if they defend this one, they will inevitably miss that one.

Kroos faked out Gattuso, and then passed the ball to Joaquín on the right wing. Joaquín crossed again. This is a standard wing cross, which looks very ordinary, and Zhang Jun and Pazzini are under the supervision of the Milan defenders, and there is no chance.

Zhang Jun甩One flick of his hand opened Nesta