Chapter 1 After Gaining Riganò's Trust

Having gained Riganò's trust, Zhang Jun's days in Florence became much easier. Mondonico was very satisfied with this; the team atmosphere was now quite good. With the help of Di Livio and Riganò, Zhang Jun integrated into the team smoothly. Now, Fiorentina's only goal was to accelerate their pursuit in the remaining half of the season and strive to obtain promotion to Serie A by the end of the league.

This was the task Mondonico had been given by the Fiorentina club, and it had been the club's only goal for the past four years.

Zhang Jun knew that with captain Di Livio on his side, team relations weren't a problem. He should focus his attention on the field. He needed to score goals, constantly score goals, lots and lots of goals, just like he did in Volendam.

What constitutes success? Helping the team get promoted with goals and becoming a hero of the city.

Those who had been following Zhang Jun since his debut knew that he was a highly efficient scorer; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to enter the Eredivisie top scorer list for three consecutive seasons, even without playing a full season each time.

Even at AC Milan, despite the time lost adapting to the new environment, Zhang Jun quickly started scoring goals.

From his experience in the first Serie B match, Zhang Jun believed that, in some ways, Serie B was indeed more intense than Serie A: the speed of offensive and defensive transitions was faster, the defense emphasized physicality more, the actions were rougher, and the referee's standards were somewhat lenient.

But Zhang Jun also realized something from it. When he was injured, Basten told him not to just rely on acceleration when dribbling, but to learn to use technique effectively. Now was the time to use technique, minimizing physical contact with opponents, using technique and feints to deceive them, and then shooting at the first opportunity.

During the team's usual training, the players were amazed by Zhang Jun's ability to master the accuracy of his shots, basically hitting wherever he aimed. Riganò asked Zhang Jun how he did it, and Zhang Jun told him that when he was still in the Volendam youth team, the coach specially customized a mobile "goal" the same size as a regular goal in order to improve his shooting accuracy. The difference between this "goal" and other regular goals was that it didn't have a net behind it. Inside the goal frame was a wire mesh the same size as the goal, with forty holes slightly larger than a soccer ball arranged in a grid of eight horizontal and five vertical.

"The coach required us to be able to shoot the ball into the holes from anywhere within the penalty area."

"Anywhere in the penalty area?" Riganò was a little surprised. "Isn't that a bit too demanding?"

Zhang Jun nodded: "So many people couldn't complete it."

"Did you complete it?" Riganò smiled.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jun nodded again. "The best result was eighteen goals out of twenty shots."

The corners of Riganò's smiling mouth twitched: "Stationary shots?"

"No." This time, Zhang Jun shook his head. "Running shots. My accuracy is lower when I'm stationary."

Riganò felt a cold sweat run down his back as he listened. After hearing what Zhang Jun said, he realized how terrifying this Chinese kid was. He used to underestimate him because he didn't understand him at all. Now, after training together for two weeks and two games, with Zhang Jun scoring one goal and providing two assists, Riganò gradually saw that this forward, who "couldn't survive in Milan," was not as the ignorant Italian media said.

Riganò couldn't tell exactly how good Zhang Jun was because he was always very humble, didn't like to show off, and rarely took the initiative to display his abilities in front of others. Since they hadn't been in contact for long, Riganò wasn't sure whether this was Zhang Jun's way of protecting himself or if it was just his personality.

However, one thing was certain: if someone told Riganò that Zhang Jun could score three goals in the next game, he would believe it.

"The Bull" was that kind of person; he would hate someone very much and like someone very much, provided that person earned his trust. Zhang Jun had now earned "The Bull's" trust.

Because they were partners.

※※※

"goooooooooooooooooooooAL!! Zhang's second goal in Florence comes so quickly! The game has only started eight minutes! Zhang has scored into *'s goal with a long shot from outside the penalty area! That's a beautiful shot!"

Zhang Jun excitedly waved his fist towards the south stand of the Stadio Artemio Franchi, where the most concentrated group of hardcore Fiorentina fans were located – the Viola Fans Association, the largest fan organization in the Florence region. Riganò had told Zhang Jun that if he wanted to gain the widest public support in Florence, then pleasing these fans was the right thing to do. They could even influence the local media's attitude towards you.

Sure enough, he received a huge cheer that drove everyone crazy. The Stadio Artemio Franchi, which could accommodate 47,000 people, had more than 30,000 fans today. Serie B had entered the second half of the season, which was the crucial moment for promotion, and the fans wouldn't miss a single Fiorentina home game.

Fiorentina was currently ranked sixth in the standings. According to Serie B's promotion rules, the top two teams at the end of the season would be directly promoted to Serie A, and the four teams from third to sixth place would participate in a promotion playoff to determine the final Serie A spot.

Currently, apart from Empoli in first place and Torino in second place, who were eight points apart, the largest difference between the teams from second to seventh place was only three points. The higher the ranking, the more intense the competition. Torino in second place and Verona in third place had the same number of points and the same goal difference. Torino was only ranked second because they had five more goals than Verona.

Fiorentina's opponent in this game, *, was ranked seventh behind them.

The two teams were two points apart. If Fiorentina won, it would be a good opportunity to widen the gap. Because * was six points ahead of Piacenza in eighth place, there was no need to worry about losing one * and having a Piacenza catch up.

Riganò rushed into the penalty area the moment Zhang Jun shot, intending to follow up with a shot. Because when he played against * in the first half of the season, he knew that the team's goalkeeper was quite good. In one game, four of his threatening shots were saved by him, and in the end, the team had to accept a draw away from home.

He saw that Zhang Jun's thigh wasn't fully extended for this shot, so it should be a hasty shot, which the goalkeeper would be better able to save. Thinking about Zhang Jun's terrifying shooting accuracy, he expected the shot to be saved, but not necessarily caught. As long as it wasn't kicked out of bounds, he would still have a chance to follow up with a shot.

The goalkeeper indeed judged correctly and flew towards the ball. But Zhang Jun's shot was more cunning than he and Riganò had imagined. The ball went into the goal along the inside of the post.

The goalkeeper couldn't reach it and could only watch the ball in amazement.

As the commentator said, it was a beautiful goal.

The goal in the eighth minute of the opening completely disrupted *'s plan. They had originally intended to defend steadily away from home and then look for opportunities to counterattack. But they didn't expect to concede a goal first from Zhang Jun's "cold shot" outside the penalty area.

The lagging * launched a counterattack, but unfortunately, they were ranked seventh entirely because of their defense. Their offense wasn't very good, so they couldn't do anything against Fiorentina's defense led by veteran captain Di Livio.

On the other hand, Zhang Jun disregarded *'s top-ranked defense in Serie B and was very active in the frontcourt. This was his third game in Florence, his second home game, and he urgently needed to prove to the fans and local media that he was a first-class striker and that he had the ability to help the team get promoted.

※※※

In the twenty-seventh minute, Riganò was fouled twenty-three meters in front of the goal, and the referee awarded Fiorentina a direct free kick. This was a great opportunity for Zhang Jun. He carefully placed the ball on the grass and then took two steps back, waiting for the opponent to arrange the wall.

Zhang Jun looked down at his purple jersey. When Robbie taught him free kicks in Brescia, he never thought he would be able to play for Fiorentina one day. It had only been three years, but many, many things had happened to him, sometimes even so fast that he couldn't keep up, and he didn't have time to breathe or think about why.

Praise, joy, criticism, pain – he had tasted them all in these three years. Sophie graduated, started working, his father passed away, Yang Pan fell in love, An Ke became a professional player... Not only him, but even the people around him were changing.

His relationship with Robbie was linked together because of this free kick. In a sense, his relationship with Florence was also connected by this free kick. And his path seemed to curve like this arc three years ago. Where will it eventually lead? Zhang Jun didn't know.

So now, let's use this arc to draw the first rainbow for his future.

*'s wall was finally arranged after much procrastination, a total of five people, blocking Zhang Jun completely.

The referee stepped back. When he retreated to a place where he wouldn't interfere with the ball's flight, he blew the whistle in his mouth.

"Doo!"

Zhang Jun ran up, one step, two steps, three steps. His left foot stepped beside the ball, and his right foot whipped quickly at the lower-middle part of the ball. At the same time, he stretched out his arms and kept his upper body straight.

The ball flew out, carrying a piece of grass with it.

A very, very clear arc, like a rainbow in the sky, crossed over the jumping wall and went straight into the upper left corner of the goal.

The goalkeeper, who had suffered so much from Riganò in the first half of the season, only turned his head to look at the ball – when he realized the ball had emerged from behind the wall, it was too late to do anything.

The ball suddenly dropped as it approached the goal, hitting the crossbar and bouncing into the goal, hitting the net!

A falling leaf ball!

The Stadio Artemio Franchi boiled for the second time. More than 30,000 fans cheered loudly the moment the ball hit the net. They shouted: "goooooooAL!!"

"gooooooooooooooooAL!! Zhang scores twice! A brilliant direct free kick! Poor Scalpi! He didn't even make a move! Let's cheer for Zhang!!"

In the past, when Zhang Jun scored a free kick, he would only celebrate with a smile, just like the name of the free kick. But this time, Zhang Jun's celebration was so rough that those who knew him would be shocked. He ran wildly to the corner flag and then kicked the corner flag pole flying. Finally, he shouted loudly at the camera lens.

It had been three months since he had played such enjoyable soccer. Dribbling, accelerating, shooting, and then scoring goals! This was the soccer he wanted, the purest soccer. Even if he was covered in injuries, he would continue to play like this, playing the most beautiful and exciting soccer.

He didn't want to please anyone now; he just wanted to satisfy himself. His heart, which craved passion, had stopped beating for three months. Just like Qiu Suhui said when he was still in Volendam, the current Zhang Jun was a ravenous lion who wouldn't let go of any opportunity to hunt prey.

Di Livio rushed up from behind and hugged Zhang Jun tightly, gradually calming him down.

"Well done, Zhang!"

※※※

Zhang Jun's two goals greatly dampened *'s morale. Although they tried to equalize the score afterwards, they were unable to do so. Their disorganized attacks posed no threat to Fiorentina. On the other hand, the combination of Zhang Jun and Riganò often created dangerous situations in front of *'s goal.

"Riganò's powerful shot! But it was saved by the goalkeeper! He's holding his head, very frustrated!"

"This is Maspero's wonderful pass! Zhang's run from behind, a one-on-one! Oh no! Zhang's shot hit the far post! Riganò follows up with a shot – he missed! He actually missed!!"

"The first half is coming to an end, and Fiorentina has gotten off to a good start. It looks like they have a great chance of being promoted to Serie A this season!"

Just as the on-site commentator said this, Di Livio made a long pass from the backfield, spanning fifty meters. Riganò jumped high in front, using his physical advantage to grab the position. Then he saw Zhang Jun appearing within his sight.

With a tilt of his head, the ball was headed towards Zhang Jun. It was a bit far, about twenty-four meters. Riganò thought Zhang Jun should stop the ball and then wait for his teammates to come up before making further plans.

But Zhang Jun noticed that the opponent's goalkeeper was standing a bit too far forward when Riganò passed the ball. If he could draw a curve ball, he might be able to score.

The ball that Riganò passed to him could be shot directly, and Zhang Jun thought that Riganò thought so too, so he would assist him.

Since it was the Bull's assist, he couldn't waste it. Thinking this, Zhang Jun leaned his body back slightly, his left foot acting as a supporting foot, and his right leg raised high backwards according to the height of the ball. He spread his arms to maintain balance, and the whole movement was very coordinated.

When the ball arrived, his right foot also arrived, a volley!

A volley!

*'s goalkeeper Scalpi was startled because the opponent's ball was still in the back half of the field just now, so he was standing relatively forward. But he didn't expect it to reach the front of the penalty area in just two seconds. It was too late to retreat at this time. He could only hope that Zhang Jun would stop the ball and then rely on the defenders to surround him, giving him time to retreat. He didn't expect Zhang Jun to shoot directly, and he shot very accurately!

He could only reflexively jump backwards on the spot, raising his left hand high, hoping to knock the ball out of the goal range.

But his speed of ascent was far less than the speed of Zhang Jun's full-strength shot. The ball quickly passed his fingertips and then smashed into the lower edge of the crossbar amidst huge cheers, and then bounced into the goal.

The ball went in again!!

A hat trick!!

"An incredible goal! Zhang shoots directly with a volley from outside the penalty area! The ball actually went in! This is his third goal of the game! A hat trick! A hat trick!! The Stadio Artemio Franchi is only cheering for one person! He is Zhang – Jun!! A young man from China!"

Riganò looked at Zhang Jun, who was surrounded by everyone, his face full of excitement that would make people think Fiorentina had already been promoted.

He originally thought he would stop the ball, but he didn't expect him to shoot directly! And it actually went in!

Riganò somewhat unwillingly realized that he might never be able to surpass this person in his life, although his goal count was higher than Zhang Jun's for now.

He was an ordinary person who had worked his way up step by step, and what about him? A genius who had been unlucky in recent months.

Fortunately, he was only on loan. If it was a permanent transfer, when would he ever get ahead?

Zhang Jun broke out of the crowd and ran towards Riganò, who was standing there in a daze. "Great assist, Bull!" he smiled, hugging Riganò.

Riganò murmured in his ear, "Well done, Zhang."

※※※

In this game, Fiorentina ultimately defeated * 3-0 at home thanks to Zhang Jun's hat trick. The first half had three wonderful goals, while the second half was slightly dull, with not many opportunities for either side. Zhang Jun was also substituted off in the seventy-seventh minute of the second half. When he came off the field, he heard thunderous applause.

At that moment, Zhang Jun knew that the demanding Fiorentina fans had truly accepted him. They regarded him as a member of this big family because he was a Fiorentina player.

Zhang Jun was proud of this.

Zhang Jun, who had smoothly passed the adaptation period, also began his honeymoon with Florence. Mondonico gradually promoted Zhang Jun to the core of the attack in tactics. The teammates who had previously been prejudiced against him also changed their attitudes after seeing his goals.

Because this Chinese man with long hair was constantly scoring goals.

Some fans even changed his nickname to "New God of War" because of his slightly curly long hair. Zhang Jun was afraid of causing Riganò's resentment, so he would always express his position in front of the media and the public: he very, very much liked and respected Batistuta, but Batistuta was Batistuta, and Zhang Jun was Zhang Jun. Since his debut in the Netherlands, he had been considered by countless people as Marco van Basten's successor, but he and Milan parted ways. Now that he had arrived in Florence, he didn't want to be seen as someone's replacement again; that wasn't interesting at all.

Although Batistuta was an official of the Fiorentina club, he had been in Argentina for a long time, scouting new talents for the club. He hadn't returned in the past few months. In fact, Zhang Jun really wanted to meet this legendary superstar.

Because he liked Brazilian soccer, Zhang Jun didn't like Argentine soccer very much. Even Maradona, he wasn't very fond of. But there was still one player in Argentina that he respected and liked, and that was Gabriel Batistuta.

He respected him because of his loyalty and liked him because of his manliness. Zhang Jun believed that a man who could be like Batistuta could truly be said to be perfect.

He himself still had a long way to go.

Sophie was also doing well in Beijing. The two still called each other often, just like before.

The bad luck of the end of 2005 finally left Zhang Jun far behind. In 2006, he had a good start in Florence.

※※※

Pirlo was surprised by Yang Pan's excited performance during the warm-up. Kaka pointed to the VIP box in the San Siro stands and said, "The Chinese national team's coach is sitting there!"

Kaka understood Yang Pan; he would definitely be extra motivated because of the national team coach's attention, because he wanted to show Qiu Suhui that although he was still just a substitute in Milan, his strength hadn't decreased, but was increasing.

Ancelotti also gave Yang Pan a great opportunity in this game. He let Yang Pan start as the right midfielder, while Gattuso sat on the bench. Of course, this wasn't because Ancelotti was giving face to the visiting Qiu Suhui, but because AC Milan's opponent in this game was too weak. Milan didn't need to pay attention to defense; they just needed to attack, attack, and attack again, not only to get three points from the opponent but also to grab as many goal differences as possible.

Although Milan was currently in first place, Juventus behind them was only one point away. No one knew whether it would come down to goal difference in the end to determine the champion.

Messina, the small club that had been promoted in the previous two seasons, barely avoided relegation last season. This season, due to financial constraints, they were still a major relegation candidate.

The home team was a major title contender, while the away team was a major relegation candidate. This game was basically without suspense.

What interested the Chinese media was Yang Pan's start and Qiu Suhui's visit to Milan. Zhang Jun was gradually getting on the right track in Florence and had refused most media interviews, putting himself in a relatively closed space.

The media couldn't dig up news from Zhang Jun, so they had to write about others. It just so happened that Yang Pan's start and Qiu Suhui's visit to Italy happened at the same time, so if they did a good job, it would be another series of news stories.

Qiu Suhui's trip to Europe this time wasn't just to meet old friends, and his destination wasn't just Italy. Milan, Italy, was just the first stop. Next, he would go to Florence, Dortmund in Germany, Munich, Anderlecht in Belgium, and Manchester in England. From the above destinations, it wasn't difficult to see that the purpose of Qiu Suhui's trip was actually the Chinese players who played overseas. With the World Cup approaching, the team's warm-up preparations were also imminent. Qiu Suhui's trip was to examine their condition. A month and a half later, when the Chinese domestic league hadn't yet started, he would lead the team to Europe for a half-month training camp. At that time, there would be three very important warm-up matches, and the opponents would all be strong teams. Qiu Suhui naturally hoped to play with China's strongest lineup to truly reflect how much the Chinese team lagged behind the world level.

He would meet with every player playing in Europe to obtain first-hand information.

The first stop's two targets were Yang Pan, who played for AC Milan, and Li Yongle, who played for Inter Milan. He had already met with the two of them, and both had told him that whether it was their physical condition or their form, there would be no problems by the time of the warm-up during the training camp.

Qiu Suhui knew something about Yang Pan's situation from various news reports. He didn't know much about Li Yongle. After he was promoted to the first team by Mancini this season, he had only played in two games for a total of twelve minutes. Most of the time, he only trained with the team, entered the substitute lineup five times, and participated in eight reserve team matches. Qiu Suhui was a little worried whether Li Yongle could still maintain his form under such circumstances.

The result made Qiu Suhui very satisfied. Li Yongle was even stronger than he was in the national Olympic team. His skin was tanned bronze, and with his short, choppy hair, he looked very healthy and energetic. Moreover, all his techniques had been improved, and even his heading, which had always made him dissatisfied, was much better. In Italy, where tactical awareness was emphasized, his tactical understanding and execution ability had made significant progress.

Qiu Suhui marveled at the gap between foreign and domestic players. Some of the members of the same national Olympic team who were in China had already faded from his vision. Unless they were geniuses among geniuses, they wouldn't have such obvious and gratifying progress. The people he had selected now were considered the best among domestic players, but they were still far behind many players in the world.

This gap wasn't just at the technical level; the bigger gap was in their thinking. The gap at the technical level could be made up through training, while the gap in thinking could only be changed by letting them go out more, broaden their horizons, and play against strong teams in the world.

As for Li Yongle's condition, Qiu Suhui had nothing to worry about after watching one of their games against the Juventus reserve team.

It was just a reserve team game without spectators, but Li Yongle was as serious as if it were a Serie A match against Juventus. As a result, he not only defended the opponent's rookie, Gaspbarroni, in midfield without any effect but also assisted a teammate with a long pass to score a goal.

Qiu Suhui learned from a friend that Mancini was actually very optimistic about Li Yongle. Because the midfield had always been the most criticized problem for Inter Milan, and Li Yongle was definitely a strong "waist." Letting him play as a substitute now was also out of consideration for training him. Moreover, Inter Milan was currently doing well, ranking third in the league, closely biting Juventus and AC Milan in front, and Mancini couldn't think of a reason to change the lineup, so he could only let him come step by step.

Qiu Suhui was relieved that Mancini had this idea.

In today's Serie A game, Li Yongle didn't enter Inter Milan's substitute bench. Qiu Suhui came specifically to see Yang Pan's performance.

Yang Pan didn't disappoint him either. He was very active on the right wing, and Messina's left back couldn't keep up with his speed at all. The San Siro fans seemed to be watching a lopsided gladiatorial match. They excitedly waved their arms and shouted: "Sprint! Sprint! Sprint!!"

Qiu Suhui carefully observed Yang Pan's performance through television broadcasts in the VIP box. In his opinion, although Yang Pan was mainly a substitute in Milan, and his position on the field had to be changed at any time according to the game situation, which was not conducive to his performance, his overall view and spirit of sacrifice were becoming more and more obvious. Whether on the field or in life, he was always a person who was willing to sacrifice his own interests for others. Such a person was born to be a captain.

As for Yang Pan's skills... Qiu Suhui wasn't worried at all. A person who could be favored by the wealthy AC Milan wouldn't be incompetent.

※※※

Yang Pan consciously leaned towards the center from the right wing. Kaka naturally understood his meaning, and other Milan players understood it as well. Even more, the 80,000 fans at the San Siro understood it.

How could Messina, as the opponent, not understand?

Because Yang Pan had a very resounding nickname: Heavy Artillery!

"Don't let him shoot!" Messina's goalkeeper, Eleftheropoulos, shouted loudly. As a goalkeeper, he didn't want to face shots that could reach speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour.

Immediately, two defenders pressed towards Yang Pan, who was dribbling the ball.

Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent hadn't pressed up yet, Yang Pan swung his right leg. Just when the defenders and goalkeeper were nervous and the fans were excited, he kicked the ball to the left wing.

Seedorf stopped the ball near the sideline with his thigh. Everyone's attention was also shifted to Milan's left wing with this long pass.

Seedorf didn't take the ball to the bottom line but instead cut inside with a flick of his right foot. Seedorf was also a good long-range shooter on Milan's left wing, and Messina's goalkeeper was nervous again: "Don't let him shoot!"

Two Messina players rushed up to defend, one to tackle and the other to protect, waiting for an opportunity to move.

Seeing that there was no chance, Seedorf didn't force it. He passed the ball to the center in front of the penalty area, where Kaka was, for him to organize the attack and find an opportunity.

Kaka ran towards the ball, seemingly intending to get the ball before the opponent's defender cleared it. If he couldn't, he could also fall down and get a very threatening free kick.

The team hadn't bought any forwards during the winter break, and Bojinov was just hoping for a bigger chance. From the first twenty-five minutes of this game, the forwards seemed to be a bit out of touch, failing to break through Messina's goal. Maybe Zhang Jun's departure had reduced a lot of the pressure that could have spurred them on.

However, it wasn't just forwards who could score in the game. There was someone eagerly waiting to score behind me now, and he was a little impatient...

"Kaka!"

Kaka straddled his legs, as if he was going to stop the ball into the penalty area, but he didn't do anything, letting the ball pass quickly between his legs!

This was telepathic understanding! Kaka thought to himself smugly.

Just when many TV viewers were guessing who the ball would be exposed to, Yang Pan suddenly appeared in the shot!

Yang Pan suddenly appeared on the edge of the penalty area, which surprised many people. The Messina defender closest to him rushed to block, but he wasn't as fast as Yang Pan.

"Yang Pan shoots directly! The ball goes into the far corner of the goal! The ball is in! The ball is in!! Messina's goalkeeper didn't even react! AC Milan takes a 1-0 lead over Messina!!"

After scoring, Yang Pan ran to the sidelines. Before his teammates could catch up to celebrate, he raised his hand to the box in the stands and made a US Marine Corps salute – he raised his right hand to his temple and then waved it down forcefully.

He was using this method to assure Qiu Suhui there: No problem with his condition, no problem with his body, no problem with the national team or the World Cup!

※※※

Qiu Suhui saw this scene through the television broadcast in the box. He smiled and shook his head slightly: "This kid..." His heart was full of satisfaction.

After smiling, he thought of Zhang Jun, who had always been by Yang Pan's side. There was a Serie B game the day after tomorrow, Fiorentina's home game, against Modena, who was ranked fourth.

That would be a great opportunity to assess Zhang Jun.