Chapter 1 A Simple Gathering

The draw against AC Milan ended Fiorentina's four-game winning streak, but back on their home turf, Fiorentina easily defeated Parma, a mid-table team, with a score of 2-0. In the past month, Fiorentina had achieved an undefeated record of five wins and one draw, and their ranking had soared to fourth. Last season, Fiorentina had never ranked so high.

It was against this backdrop of team-wide elation that Zhang Jun announced something in the locker room at the end of Tuesday's training.

"Tomorrow is my birthday, and I've combined it with my girlfriend's birthday. We're having a small gathering at home, and I'd like to invite all of you to come to my place tomorrow night. I'll treat you to some authentic Chinese food."

Everyone knew that Zhang Jun's girlfriend was a beauty, but they had never had the chance to meet her. How could they miss this great opportunity? "The captain is treating? We definitely have to come!"

"Those of you with dates, bring them along. My yard is big enough." Zhang Jun was very pleased with everyone's reaction, which showed that his teammates respected him.

"Coach, are you coming too?" He turned to invite Sabato.

But Sabato smiled and shook his head. "I won't go. You won't be able to enjoy yourselves with me there. Give your girlfriend my regards. She's a good girl." He had heard from Di Livio about Zhang Jun's transformation, and his girlfriend deserved a lot of credit.

"If Antonio's not going, I'll go." Di Livio laughed.

"That's great!" Sometimes, Di Livio didn't seem like a coach, but more like a player.

"Then it's settled. After training tomorrow afternoon, go home, change, and come over!"

***

Wang Bo and his group of four had arrived a week ago and were staying at Zhang Jun's house. As expected, they had brought a large amount of ingredients. Wang Bo proudly told Zhang Jun, "You won't find more authentic seasonings than mine anywhere else in Italy!"

Preparations for this gathering had begun the day Wang Bo and his group arrived. Many new tableware items were added to the house, and Sophie had even redecorated the place.

Waiters hired from a Chinese restaurant would also be coming tomorrow. Many dishes that needed to be prepared in advance had already been made, and the birthday cake had been ordered.

Now, all that was left was to start the feast.

During training the next day, everyone was talking about the evening's party and the legendary beauty of Zhang Jun's girlfriend. It was all because of Xiang Tao's big mouth, constantly telling them how beautiful, gentle, and considerate Zhang Jun's girlfriend was, which whetted everyone's appetite.

Sabato was understanding and announced the end of today's training an hour and a half early, so everyone could go back and prepare before attending the banquet.

At the same time, Yang Pan, Kaka, and Li Yongle, who had taken leave, were rushing over from Milan.

***

When Zhang Jun returned home, he saw Sophie still rolling up her sleeves and helping out, so he stopped her. "Go change your clothes. They'll be here soon."

Only then did Sophie skip upstairs to shower and change.

Zhang Jun didn't have much to change into. He had already showered at the training base, so he just needed to take off his tracksuit and put on some casual clothes. Sophie, on the other hand, took longer because she had to shower.

After changing, Zhang Jun walked around to see how the venue was decorated. He was very satisfied with the result.

"Sophie, that little girl, did all of this." Wang Bo's voice sounded from behind.

Zhang Jun turned around and saw Wang Bo dressed as a chef.

"I'm almost done with what I need to do, so I've handed over the rest to my staff. I came out to take a breather," Wang Bo explained with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Wang, these days..."

"Don't mention it. It's only right to be busy for your birthday. On the contrary, I should thank you for not forgetting this old man, haha!"

Zhang Jun looked at everything in front of him, the busy kitchen, the courtyard that was already set up for the banquet, and sighed. "You remind me of when my family celebrated the Spring Festival when I was a kid. There were so many people, and my dad would start preparing the New Year's Eve dinner half a month in advance. The kitchen lights would be on until late at night every day... just like now. The Spring Festival was lively, and it was a day I looked forward to more than my birthday."

Zhang Jun suddenly realized that today should be a happy day and quickly changed the subject. "Uncle Wang, how is everything in the Netherlands?"

Wang Bo lit a cigarette for himself and took a satisfying puff. "It's okay. I'm busy with the restaurant and home every day, and then I go to watch soccer games on the weekends."

Speaking of soccer, Zhang Jun remembered something and asked Wang Bo, "Volendam... how are they doing now?"

"They were relegated." Wang Bo's tone was calm.

Zhang Jun was shocked. "They were relegated?!"

"Yeah, it happened last season."

Zhang Jun felt guilty. How long had it been since he cared about this team where he had started his career?

"After you left for a season, that old man Adriaanse retired, and that pig Hoons sold off most of the main players for money. The team's strength declined, and their performance got worse year after year. After changing five coaches, they were finally relegated. Actually, we all thought relegation was a good thing, a relief. We, the die-hard fans, know very well what Volendam's strength is."

"However, we also mention you and watch every achievement you make. Zhang Jun, to put it dramatically, us old-timers all feel like we've watched you grow up, step by step, and you've left clear footprints. Every goal you score in Italy is published in the Volendam newspaper the next day, even faster than the national TV station, hehe!"

Zhang Jun never imagined that after he had left Volendam for so long, there were still so many people who cared about him and so many eyes that were watching him. Are some memories really unforgettable and etched in the heart forever?

"Hehe, don't look so surprised. Because you'll always be the pride of Volendam, Zhang Jun."

After finishing his cigarette, Wang Bo went back to his work, leaving Zhang Jun sitting in the living room in a daze.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs rang out behind him. Zhang Jun turned around, and his mouth immediately dropped open.

A white dress that almost reached the floor, clinging to her body and accentuating her figure perfectly. Sophie's fair shoulders and chest reflected a dazzling light under the lamplight. Her hair was carefully styled, and her beautiful face was lightly made up with a captivating smile.

"Do I look good?" Sophie playfully imitated a European medieval lady's greeting, lifting the hem of her dress and curtseying slightly.

Zhang Jun swallowed hard. He thought that when he got married, he had to take Sophie back to Volendam to take wedding photos, because only the beauty there was worthy of a girl like Sophie.

***

The first to arrive were his friends from Milan. As expected, Yang Pan had brought Yi Lan.

As soon as they got out of the car, they were amazed by Sophie's beauty. Even Yi Lan, a woman herself, had to admit that Sophie was more beautiful than her.

"Tsk, tsk! Last time we met, she was wearing work clothes, so you couldn't really tell. Now she's a completely different person," Kaka exclaimed.

"Hehe, let's go in. Don't murder the reporters' film rolls here," Zhang Jun waved to the reporters across the street who were setting up their long-range cameras and then led the group into the courtyard.

"It's very lively today. The entire Fiorentina team is coming," Sophie said, pointing to the dining table in the courtyard. "We've prepared a lot of delicious food."

The waiters had already started serving the dishes, and Kaka was drooling as he watched. "I don't get this kind of treat in Milan..."

"Hey, then eat as much as you want. I'll get you food," Li Yongle said from the side. "It's best if you get fat, so I'll have nothing to do in the Milan derby."

"Dream on. I'm the type who can't gain weight no matter how much I eat. Alas! Natural beauty is hard to abandon..." Kaka pretended to stroke his face with a melancholic sigh.

"Damn it! Kaka, don't ruin my appetite!" Yang Pan cursed, and the others were already choking and spitting.

After that, Fiorentina's teammates arrived one after another. Zhang Jun and Sophie greeted them with smiles at the door. Every time, the flashes from the opposite side would light up like a sheet of lightning. However, Zhang Jun didn't care. Let them take pictures if they wanted. Anyway, they could only take pictures of the entrance.

Everyone who came was amazed by Sophie's beauty and thought in their hearts that Xiang Tao hadn't lied. A few people who weren't particularly close to Zhang Jun would also make jokes about him, and the dates they brought paled in comparison to Sophie.

Zhang Jun introduced Yang Pan and the others to the Fiorentina players. They had just fought to the death on the field, but now they were chatting and laughing face to face. It was a wonderful feeling. They were all young people, so they quickly hit it off.

Without anyone saying it was time to start, the banquet began automatically. Some people lingered in front of the colorful and fragrant Chinese dishes, while others held wine glasses and went around looking for people to chat with. There was nothing formal about this kind of family gathering. Everyone was just happy and relaxed.

With six undefeated games, everyone had been working hard lately, and Zhang Jun also took this opportunity to let everyone relax.

Zhang Jun and Sophie were still the main characters. Everyone would come up with a wine glass to wish them a happy birthday. If the two of them didn't have a high tolerance for alcohol, they would probably have passed out already...

Sophie was pulled away by the other women to chat. Men couldn't interfere with the topics that women talked about. Zhang Jun took the opportunity to go to the kitchen to visit Wang Bo and thank him for his delicious food.

"Hehe, don't thank me. It's a chef's job," Wang Bo said with a smile. "But Zhang Jun, you have a good group of teammates. I can tell that you have a good relationship."

Zhang Jun smiled. "Yes, they are indeed good."

After coming out of Wang Bo's room, he was stopped by Kaka. "Why didn't you invite Yu Di?"

"I invited him, but he didn't want to come. He said he didn't want the players to see him because he would have to come to the forefront in the future."

"Tsk, tsk, it's too hard for him to be an underground worker... Even we can't go see him," Kaka clicked his tongue.

"Kaka, honestly, if you were to see Yu Di, you would find that he is different from before, very different."

"It's normal for someone to change after working in the business world for so many years..."

"But I'm worried about him coming to the forefront. The people of Florence can accept Europeans buying their club, but they may not be able to accept a Chinese person as their club owner," Zhang Jun said worriedly.

"What can they do if they don't accept it? The deed is done. Besides, as long as the team's performance is good, most fans won't care who the owner is. So, Zhang Jun, if you want to help Yu Di reduce the pressure, work hard on the field!" Kaka patted Zhang Jun on the shoulder.

"Huh? This doesn't seem like something an opponent should say, does it?" Zhang Jun pointed to himself and then to Kaka.

Kaka didn't care. "What's there to be afraid of? It's always boring for us Milan to win the championship. If Fiorentina becomes stronger, we'll have more fun in a season."

"And Inter Milan..."

"As an AC Milan player, you have to psychologically ignore them!"

"Then there's Juventus..."

Suddenly, a huge cheer came from the side. The two of them stopped talking and turned their attention to the noisy area, only to find that Xiang Tao was performing drunken boxing, which a group of people was watching with great interest.

Zhang Jun remembered when he first arrived in Volendam, he relied on this "kung fu" to get along with his teammates. "Why do foreigners always think that Chinese people know kung fu?"

"Because they don't know anything, haha!" Kaka was laughing at Xiang Tao. What was that drunken boxing? It was clearly just a monkey going crazy.

"But you have to say, Xiang Tao's doing a pretty good job, look at the way he's twisting his body..." Zhang Jun praised instead.

"What? He's just drunk and can't stand straight," Kaka said disdainfully.

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Tao slipped and fell to the ground in perfect coordination.

"..."

***

They carried Xiang Tao to the bathroom, used water to help him wash his head to sober him up, and then arranged for him to rest on the sofa in the living room. Zhang Jun returned to the lively courtyard.

To Zhang Jun's surprise, Kaka was actually chatting with Mascherano. He thought that these two Brazilians and Argentinians should despise each other.

He decided to walk over and eavesdrop on what they were talking about.

"...Where does Corinthians rank in the country?" Kaka asked.

Mascherano replied, "First."

"Well, they spent so much money. They wouldn't be able to justify it if they didn't get first place. How is that bastard Tevez doing?"

"Thanks to you, he's number one on the top scorers list."

"Is there no one left in Brazil?" Kaka "lamented".

"Because they all came to Europe to make money like you," Mascherano retorted without a trace of emotion.

"Hmph, that kid Tevez will come sooner or later, and he'll come to AC Milan!"

"Bah! What do you Milan need so many forwards for?"

Kaka shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands. "There's no way around it. Your Zhang Jun doesn't want to go back, and Inzaghi is old. There aren't many who can play!"

"There are many clubs fighting for him now. He may not go to AC Milan. Would your stingy vice chairman pay more than 30 million euros to buy him? He's even more expensive than me at Corinthians."

"I advised him to come..."

Zhang Jun couldn't help but speak. "Kaka, are you two very close?"

Only then did Kaka notice Zhang Jun behind him. "Is Xiang Tao all cleaned up?"

"Yeah, he's resting in the living room. Are you and Tevez very close?"

Kaka pointed to Mascherano. "I often played against them in the Olympics, and we exchanged a lot of jerseys."

"That's right," Mascherano nodded. "I have so many of his jerseys at home that I use them to cover the table."

"Then you guys act like enemies on the field..."

"We are indeed enemies. Brazilian and Argentine soccer are mortal enemies!" Kaka raised his hand and shouted a slogan.

"...Kaka, are you drunk?"

"Nonsense! How could I be drunk?!" As soon as he finished shouting, Kaka fell into Zhang Jun's arms.

"Damn it! You can't just get drunk when you say you're drunk!" Zhang Jun was helpless and carried Kaka to the bathroom again.

A while later, Kaka and Xiang Tao sat side by side on the sofa in the living room with wet heads.

***

Yi Lan left Yang Pan to go and whisper secrets with Sophie. Yang Pan had no choice but to come and find Zhang Jun. "I've become a lonely man now."

"You have the nerve to say that? When are you getting married?"

"During the winter break, January 1st next year."

"So soon!" Zhang Jun was surprised.

"We're already at this stage. What's the point of dragging it out if we're not getting married? Unlike you unlucky guy, you have to use the World Cup as a betrothal gift. I'm telling you, you should steal it from FIFA headquarters, otherwise you'll have no hope in this lifetime."

"...I think you got Yi Lan pregnant, and you're getting married because she's pregnant, right?" Zhang Jun said with an unkind smile.

"Damn! You're too impure! I wear a condom every time..."

"Oh--" Zhang Jun opened his eyes wide.

Yang Pan coughed. "That's too normal. It's you and Sophie who are abnormal. You're under the same roof, but you're still virgins..."

Lust after drinking, lust after drinking... Zhang Jun sighed in his heart.

"Yang Pan, are you teaching our Zhang Jun bad things again?" Sophie's voice rang out behind him. He was startled, and when he turned around, he saw Yi Lan and Sophie together. The smile on their faces sent a chill down his spine.

"No, no." He waved his hands quickly. It wouldn't be good if his wife heard this. "Zhang Jun and I are discussing... humanity. Ah, um... Speaking of which, I recently heard some news about An Ke that you'll definitely be interested in." Seeing that the situation was not good, Yang Pan immediately diverted everyone's attention elsewhere.

"Oh? What news?" Zhang Jun was indeed interested.

"An Ke has a scandal, a scandal!" Yang Pan said with an excited face.

"Look at how excited you are, it's not like you're the one with the scandal." Zhang Jun curled his lips.

"What do you know? Although An Ke always calls himself a butterfly, he actually has the desire but not the courage. When have you ever heard of him having an affair with a woman?"

Zhang Jun thought about it and realized that he really hadn't.

"That's right, so I think An Ke's spring is coming with this scandal. It's said that he was photographed by reporters hugging a woman with a great figure when he was going to a bar, and they looked very close. Hmm, I didn't expect An Ke to like women with great figures..."

Sophie said from the side, "That's great. An Ke has finally found a girlfriend." She knew An Ke's feelings for her, but she couldn't accept them, and she didn't want to see An Ke give up his entire forest for her one tree.

As they were talking, Yang Pan nudged Zhang Jun, signaling that it was his turn to go on stage.

Zhang Jun turned his head and looked in the direction Yang Pan was pointing. Wang Bo pushed out a cart with a large cake on it. He clapped his hands, and everyone knew it was time to cut the cake, so they gathered around and surrounded Zhang Jun and Sophie in the center. Even Kaka and Xiang Tao, who were sobering up on the side, came over.

The four-layer cake was filled with twenty-five candles. Zhang Jun was twenty-five years old this year.

"Make a wish," Wang Bo said to Zhang Jun with a smile.

Zhang Jun closed his eyes.

The past season was still vivid in his mind. At that time, he couldn't imagine that he would be so successful this season. He had no memory of how he spent his birthday last year. But he would definitely remember this birthday for a long time. Everyone was happy, there was no negative news, the team's performance was starting to get back on track, Yang Pan was about to get married, and Kaka had found a girlfriend, and An Ke even had a scandal... The year had gone by so fast. He was twenty-five years old, and he had one less year in his career. How long would he be able to play? Twenty-five years old, he had already entered the golden age of a professional player. He hoped that everything would go smoothly in the future... After all, with a wounded leg, he didn't have much time to waste. Feng Qing had warned him after healing his ankle for the second time that this injury might not be the last. He knew very well that he should try to achieve something now, not to worry about what would happen in the future, but to play soccer hard.

Then... I hope I can always be with my friends. I hope my family is safe and well. I hope my foot doesn't cause me too much trouble. I hope Fiorentina has a good season this season. I hope everyone who hasn't found a girlfriend has a place to call home. I hope everyone is happy... Ah, I accidentally made so many wishes, God will definitely be unhappy, right?

Zhang Jun opened his eyes and joined Sophie to blow out the candles, and then they cut the first slice of cake together.

Everything was coming to an end. It was getting late, and Yang Pan and the others had to drive back to Milan overnight. Everyone else had to train normally tomorrow.

Zhang Jun finally had a lively birthday in a foreign country. As for what the reporters waiting outside the door would write, he didn't care.

He would get a good night's sleep tonight and go to training tomorrow with plenty of energy. The league had just started, and the six-game undefeated streak must only be the beginning.

Of course, before going to bed, Zhang Jun suddenly thought of An Ke. He didn't know if this scandal would make that kid secretly happy or unhappy...

***

An Ke had been a little annoyed recently. He tried hard not to let his worries affect his performance on the field, but the media had been hyping it up recently, and they had even summarized a ridiculous law: "Anyone who sits in the position of Bayern Munich's main goalkeeper is bound to be involved with alcohol and women, because Kahn is a role model."

For a while, people weren't talking about the fact that he hadn't conceded a goal in three games, but about his mysterious "girlfriend."

Girlfriend?

An Ke's head was about to explode! Why did Lin Jia have to come to Munich to work? Didn't she go to school? And why did he have to go to that bar to hang out with them?

Why didn't he have such good luck when buying lottery tickets?

Even his mother in China called to ask who the girl was. Of course, he couldn't directly say that she was a hostess at the bar. With his mother's thinking, she might think of her as a prostitute. If his father knew, it would be terrible! He had to stammer and say that she was his classmate. But his tone was really problematic. Classmates were classmates, so why did he have to be so evasive, making his mother not believe him?

Now almost all the reports said in unison that Lin Jia was his girlfriend. Damn reporters, they were afraid that the world wouldn't be in chaos? They seemed to know his business better than he did.

An Ke really wanted to grab Lin Jia and ask her: Why do you have to haunt me!?

But he hadn't seen Lin Jia since then, and he didn't dare to go to that bar anymore. He also didn't have Lin Jia's contact information.

The girl was probably secretly happy at this time, right? She must have done it on purpose! Otherwise, why didn't she take the initiative to find him? She had his phone number, and she wanted the public opinion to continue to build momentum so that he would take the initiative to ask her?

Pah, in your dreams!

While cursing Lin Jia, An Ke also blamed himself for being too careless that day.

Kahn had originally invited a few people from the team out to drink, and Kahn was his teacher, so he couldn't refuse. At first, he didn't think anything of it. They just drank, and then he watched Kahn flirt with the barmaids. A group of people laughed and joked. Later, he got drunk, and Kahn called a car to send him back, first calling a hostess to help him out. He was so dazed at the time that he saw a black-haired woman who could speak Chinese, so how could he have thought it was Lin Jia? In fact, he had almost forgotten about Lin Jia a long time ago.

So the two of them hugged each other—actually, Lin Jia was helping An Ke, and An Ke couldn't stand, so he had no choice but to lean on Lin Jia—and left the bar, not knowing that reporters were waiting at the door. When they saw them coming out, they took a frenzy of photos. Lin Jia asked him where he was going, and he was photographed whispering in her ear. As a result, it became terrifying things like "An Ke's mysterious girlfriend revealed" and "An Ke and his girlfriend go out together, looking very close."

Every country has paparazzi. Faced with these curious reporters, he couldn't put on a menacing expression. He didn't dare to offend the reporters.

Now he could only remain silent. No matter what the outside world said, he wouldn't say anything. He would only use his performance on the field to shift people's attention.

What he was most angry about was that Yang Pan and Kaka and that group of heartless people must be laughing at him like crazy. The thought of being despised by those two bastards made An Ke very depressed.

Yang Pan was getting married on January 1st next year, and he would definitely have to go at that time. It seemed that he couldn't escape being despised in person.

***

"...Eight undefeated games, nine undefeated games, ten undefeated games, eleven undefeated games! This result ranks first in Serie A in the same period. The *Milan Sports News* even exclaimed that Fiorentina was crazy, and their points even squeezed out Inter Milan, ranking third in Serie A! Before the season, no one was optimistic about this team that was put together with money, because of their head coach Antonio Sabato, who had no Serie A coaching experience. But now no one dares to doubt the level of this 'rogue' coach. Fiorentina's team composition this season is very similar to that of last season. The lineup last season was actually not weak, but why is there such a big difference in performance between the two seasons? Sabato's ability is the key. And Zhang Jun is still maintaining his tradition of efficient scoring, currently scoring ten goals, ranking second on the top scorers list. Sabato clearly uses Zhang Jun as the core, and Zhang Jun repays the head coach's trust and support with goals. Fiorentina's unity is also the foundation of their eleven-game undefeated streak. Compared to the outward unity and inward disunity of last season, Fiorentina this season really deserves the word 'unity of purpose'. It can be seen from their collective participation in Zhang Jun's birthday party that the relationship between the players is very harmonious, and even Kru has a friend like Jorgensen in the team. In addition to the existence of Di Livio, Zhang Jun, the new captain, is also doing a very good job..."

In the manuscripts sent back to China, Li Yan did not hide his praise for Zhang Jun and Fiorentina. Now everyone knew that Li Yan was a staunch Zhang Jun fan, and it would be news if he didn't say so one day.

In Italy, there was also a staunch Zhang Jun fan, the reporter Andrea Carliani of the *Milan Sports News*. He was the one who exclaimed "Fiorentina is crazy." He believed that Zhang Jun needed to be trusted absolutely in order to have an excellent performance, and Zhang Jun's current performance in Fiorentina just happened to prove his words. Because he had concluded that Zhang Jun performed well almost every time the team used him as the core, whether it was in the Netherlands or in Fiorentina in Serie B. In his opinion, after all kinds of hardships in the first three years, Zhang Jun had finally achieved a positive result, which was very much in line with the Eastern Buddhist point of view.

During this time, people in Italy were talking about Fiorentina's undefeated streak, and some people were even asking who could defeat them. They tied AC Milan 3-3 away and Juventus 0-0 away. Now there was only one traditional top three team left, Inter Milan, which they hadn't played yet.

In the last game before Christmas, Zhang Jun and Fiorentina would be waiting for Inter Milan's arrival at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

***

This season, Li Yongle had firmly secured his position as Inter Milan's main defensive midfielder, and Cambiasso could only be his substitute. And thanks to his wonderful lob shot in the last game of last season, which helped the team win the long-awaited league title, he had also become a new idol in the hearts of the fans. They put him and Adriano together and called them Inter Milan's hope for the future, and the two were about the same age and were good friends on and off the field.

Inter Milan had been performing quite steadily this season, which was very valuable, because what Inter Milan lacked in the past was this kind of stability. After Moratti stopped changing coaches frequently, Mancini brought fixed things to Inter Milan, forming a set of inherent styles.

The president trusted the coach, the coach trusted the players, and the players in turn used their performance to repay the team. This had become a virtuous cycle.

They were currently ranked behind Fiorentina, entirely because Sabato's team was too crazy. They hadn't lost a single game in eleven league games, while Inter Milan had lost one game—they lost 1-2 to AC Milan away. Li Yongle was not selected for the squad for that game due to a fever.

This time, Li Yongle was a little eager to meet Zhang Jun.

"Goal! Li!! This is his third league goal of the season! His signature scoring method. Inter Milan are leading Chievo 2-0 at home! Since the Milan derby, Li's form has been on the rise, and now he is in great shape!"

The cheers at the San Siro were deafening, and Li Yongle was being hugged by his teammates, celebrating the goal.

Hey, Zhang Jun! Did you see that? I'm in great shape!

***

This was a league game after an eleven-game undefeated streak. Fiorentina encountered strong resistance from Roma away from home. As a noble team that was not as good as before, Roma's strength was still not to be underestimated, and they were not willing to let Fiorentina step on their bodies to achieve a revival.

They wanted to end Fiorentina's eleven-game undefeated streak. Everyone was talking about Fiorentina now, and they were tired of hearing it!

They did have the upper hand, and everything was perfect except for the lack of goals. Totti and Cassano caused a lot of trouble for Fiorentina, but Frey's performance today was miraculous.

Sabato was pacing back and forth on the sidelines, and his actions showed that he was very dissatisfied with this. He jumped as high as that soccer ball on the sidelines when Pazzini kicked it away just now.

"Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun... You didn't score last game, and you're still not scoring this game?" He muttered to himself softly. "Kru, pass the ball to Zhang!"

Kru didn't listen to him and instead passed the ball horizontally to Gasparroni, and then he ran forward himself. Gasparroni passed the ball back, and the two did a two-on-one.

"Damn it! You still want to break through with so many people in front!" Sabato cursed.

The Roma players obviously thought the same way, and they were all paying attention to Kru's movements. But Kru turned his body to the right, but suddenly passed the ball straight to the center!

"Oh! Zhang Jun is very fast! Chivu is being squeezed behind him..."

Chivu was responsible for guarding Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun's start was too fast, and with Kru's sudden pass, he didn't keep up at first. Now he could only run behind him. He reluctantly stretched out his foot to interfere with Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun squeezed him to the outside, and then moved his calf quickly to shoot!

"Goal!! A clean and neat goal, the pass, run, and shot are all smooth and effortless! In the seventy-eighth minute of the game, Fiorentina broke the deadlock on the field, and they are leading Roma 1-0 away from home! Is an undefeated streak of twelve games about to be achieved? Still no team can stop them! If this score is maintained until the end of the game, they will surpass Juventus, who have played one game less, and jump to second place! Some people say that their goal this season is still to avoid relegation, but I think their goal is the championship!"

Roma, who were behind, launched a frantic counterattack, but in the eighty-sixth minute, Zhang Jun used a beautiful free kick to double the insurance for the team's twelve-game undefeated streak.

"The twelfth goal! While Fiorentina is approaching the top of the league, Zhang Jun is also catching up with Adriano, the top scorer!"

Hey, Li Yongle, I'm in great shape too!

***

After fourteen league games, Fiorentina was ranked second, and Juventus was ranked third with one game less and one point behind.

Li Yan looked at the Fiorentina name on the standings and felt like he was dreaming. Although he had been observing Fiorentina this season and was full of confidence in the team, he didn't expect them to do so well. Second in the league! Although it was only temporary. But it was enough for the Fiorentina fans to cheer.

In fourteen league games, they scored thirty-six goals, an average of 2.6 goals per game. This could be considered a very strong attack power in Serie A. Of course, they conceded an average of 1.8 goals per game, which was also "considerable."

As the top scorer, Zhang Jun had been selected into the Serie A Team of the Week five times. People generally believed that Fiorentina's rapid rise was inseparable from Zhang Jun's volcanic-like goal-scoring spree.

There were actually several types of captains.

The captains in the midfield and backfield relied on their overall view to control the team. They were the anchors of the team.

Although the overall view of the captain in the front line was not as good as the midfield and backfield positions, they could use continuous goals to directly lead the team to victory.

Zhang Jun belonged to the latter, as did Batistuta and Pele in the past.

***

Next was a week with two games, and Fiorentina achieved good results with one win and one draw. What was even more worth mentioning was that although they had lost two games in a row at the beginning of the season, Fiorentina had won all of their home games so far. Twenty-six of the thirty-six goals were scored at home. Stadio Artemio Franchi had almost become the graveyard of the visiting teams. The passionate atmosphere and the team's whirlwind-like attack created the reputation of a devil's home stadium.

After playing one more league game, Fiorentina would welcome Inter Milan to their home stadium.

Could they maintain their home winning streak? Would their fourteen-game, or perhaps fifteen-game, undefeated streak be broken by Inter Milan?

Many people would pay attention to that game.

Before that, they each had an opponent to deal with.

***

Fiorentina welcomed the newly promoted team Ascoli at their home stadium. There was no suspense in this game. The strength of the newly promoted team was completely impossible to compare with the current Fiorentina, which was in full swing.

Facing the weak team, Zhang Jun performed a hat trick, his first hat trick of the season. The entire Fiorentina team had a massacre at Stadio Artemio Franchi, winning with a score of 5-1.

With that hat trick, Zhang Jun surpassed Adriano and rose to the top of the top scorers list. In seventeen league games, he scored sixteen goals, almost one goal per game on average, a terrifying goal efficiency. In Serie A, which was mainly defensive, Zhang Jun's performance reminded people of Batistuta in Fiorentina in the past - in the 9495 season when Fiorentina returned to Serie A, Batistuta created a new Serie A record of scoring goals in eleven consecutive games, and in these eleven games, Batistuta scored a total of thirteen goals.

Fiorentina always seemed to produce these forwards who liked to break records.

In the past few seasons, the top scorer in Serie A had scored twenty-four or five goals, but this season, Zhang Jun had already scored sixteen goals in the first half of the season. If he calculated the average, wouldn't he score thirty-two goals in the entire season? How many years had it been since Serie A had produced a top scorer with more than thirty goals in a single season?

Zhang Jun's performance also caused a burst of emotion in the Italian