Chapter 1 After the Winter Break

The four matches after the winter break were against opponents that Fiorentina considered to be not too strong. According to Sabato's plan, these four matches were a great opportunity to desperately grab points and consolidate their top three position.

But...

But due to his sudden four-match ban, Fiorentina's performance in these four league rounds was not satisfactory.

1:1 draw away against Reggina, 1:2 loss away against Chievo, 3:3 draw at home against Sampdoria, 0:2 loss away against Lazio.

No wins in four league rounds, only draws and losses. They plummeted from third to sixth in the standings, as if on a roller coaster.

Although Sabato made very detailed arrangements before each game, and was able to stay in contact with Di Livio via walkie-talkie during the game, his not being able to stand on the sidelines shouting and yelling still had an impact on Fiorentina's players. It turned out that he had become a kind of reassurance for Fiorentina's players. It was as if his presence on the sidelines, despite his bad temper, could give them confidence and support, while sitting in the stands had no such effect.

Moreover, sometimes things that were arranged before the game could be disrupted at any time after the game started.

For example, in the 1:2 loss to Chievo, the atmosphere was tense from the start. Xiang Tao received his first yellow card within the first ten minutes of the first half, and his actions in the second half were still not restrained. Sabato was worried that he would be sent off, affecting future games, so he replaced him with Chiellini. Unexpectedly, Chiellini was sent off with a straight red card by the referee just three minutes after coming on for a foul from behind. This was completely unexpected by Sabato, and Fiorentina, with one less player, gradually lost the chance to come back, and could only helplessly accept the defeat on the road.

So, watching the team perform poorly, losing goals and points, Sabato could do nothing even if he spat all over the stands. When Sky TV broadcasted a Fiorentina game, they deliberately focused the camera on Sabato a lot, and the commentators continued to joke that Sabato must be regretting it now.

But they were wrong. Sabato didn't blame himself for the loss at all. He just gritted his teeth and waited to return after his ban was over.

Although the team didn't win, Zhang Jun's form was not bad, and he continued to score goals. In the 1:1 draw with Reggina, it was his free kick at the last moment that helped the team get a point. And in the 3:3 draw with Sampdoria, Zhang Jun scored two goals alone, but still failed to win the opponent for the team, which made him very regretful. In twenty-two league rounds, he scored twenty goals, and Zhang Jun continued to occupy the first position in the scorer list, and the gap between him and Adriano in second place had widened to three goals.

Italian and Chinese media were saying that if Zhang Jun's crazy form continued, it was not impossible for him to score thirty goals in a season. The league was only a little more than halfway through, and he had already scored twenty goals. With sixteen rounds left, how could he not score another five goals? Last season's top scorer Shevchenko had twenty-five goals.

But Zhang Jun was not happy because of the constant goals, because the team lost.

In an interview with the media, he said that he didn't care whether he could be the top scorer or whether he could score thirty goals. He only hoped that Fiorentina could win and occupy a high position in the standings. Otherwise, it would be meaningless for a forward to score more goals.

Starting from the home game against Inter Milan, Fiorentina had not won in five rounds, which gave some media the opportunity to create excuses.

They believed that the essence of Fiorentina as a weak team was still exposed. As they analyzed during the winter break, Fiorentina, which had been thoroughly understood by their opponents, had no chance to stage the crazy fifteen-game unbeaten run of the first half of the season. They must correct their attitude in the second half of the season and fight to stay in the league. "In fact, Fiorentina only has that much. It's a bit like Chievo, who created a miracle in those years. Wing attacks and smooth central cooperation, but these things are very monotonous. The strength of the main players and the substitute players is too different. Once people study their tactics and specifically mark a few key figures, Fiorentina will shut down. The facts are proving the correctness of this analysis. Fiorentina is just a reorganized new team after all, and there are many aspects that need to be improved. The performance in the first half of the season was really impressive, but that kind of volcanic performance cannot last. They lack the ability to perform steadily and consistently throughout a long season like Juventus and AC Milan. They are still too young."

Sabato scoffed at this statement. He said publicly in the media: "We are indeed young, but we still have the ability to compete with those strong teams. The consecutive five rounds without a win is indeed a sad result, but I believe that Fiorentina can regain their strength in the next game. We have the best players, and our goal is not just to stay in the league. Zhang Jun? He is in good shape, and I believe he can still score goals."

※※※

February is the traditional Chinese festival, the Spring Festival. Zhang Jun specially brought his mother from China to Italy to spend it with Sophie. This made his home a lot more lively. Zhang Jun, who rarely reunited with his mother, also performed quite well on the court due to the warmth of home.

"gooooooAL!!! superzhang! Twenty-first goal! Our greatest pleasure now is to count Zhang Jun's goals in the game. Haha! This is Fiorentina's home game against Udinese. The first half has just started for seven minutes, and Zhang Jun has scored a header from Jorgensen's cross! His mother is sitting in the stands, and I believe she will be happy for her son's performance."

The camera gave Zhang Jun's mother a shot. Sophie was accompanying her next to her, and both of them looked very happy. And Zhang Jun also waved to them after scoring a goal. He turned around and pointed at Jorgensen: "Martin, come to my house the day after tomorrow, I'll treat you to Chinese dumplings! Haha!"

"I want to go too!" Xiang Tao shouted.

Zhang Jun looked at him: "Okay, give me an assist! Haha!" He kept laughing, looking like he was in a good mood with his mother around, and Fiorentina's five-game winless streak was no longer on his mind, because he was confident that he could break the embarrassing record of five games without a win in this game.

Udinese was not willing to be completely reduced to a supporting role in this game. They launched a counterattack and got a great opportunity for a one-on-one in the closing stages of the first half, but Iaquinta shot the one-on-one ball into Frey's leg and bounced it out of the baseline.

"This is Udinese's best chance in the first half! Iaquinta is an excellent striker, but the gap between him and Zhang Jun is obvious, and it's obvious. He can't compare with Zhang Jun in terms of the way and ability to handle the ball in front of the goal. If this ball was Zhang Jun, maybe it would have gone in."

Frey stood up and waved to Zhang Jun, who ran back to help defend, signaling him not to come back. "I want to eat Chinese dumplings too, captain." Zhang Jun smiled.

Iaquinta stood next to Frey, looking very depressed with his head down.

"Sabato has returned to the coaching bench, and he is still standing on the sidelines swearing, and Fiorentina seems to have become a different team. We have to say that Zhang Jun is Fiorentina's captain, but the foul-mouthed Sabato is now the team's support. His hooliganism always gives the team a sense of security. Before the season, many people were still doubting the coach's level, waiting to see the joke of him having conflicts with the players, but now they are going to be disappointed. Sabato and the players have become one, they trust each other, support each other, and this Fiorentina gives people hope, real hope, not the so-called hope that Della Valle boasted about last season."

It seems that the impact of the five-game winless streak has quickly dissipated... Li Yan lay on the press box, watching the players running on the field. Sabato might have such an idea: knowing that his team's substitute strength is not good, then while the main players still have the stamina, try to get as many points as possible, and be sure to win an opponent. The situation in the previous five rounds cannot happen again. At the very least, they can't lose too many games... if their goal is really the Champions League next season.

He remembered what Zhang Jun had told him, and repeatedly asked him not to publish it: "Our only goal this season is not to stay in the league, but to get into the European Champions League next season."

These words did sound absurd at the time, but looking at it now, I am afraid that many Serie A teams will have to be wary of Fiorentina. Because they really showed such strength.

In the second half of the game, Udinese still wanted to equalize the score, but Pazzini's goal added salt to their wounds. Gasbarroni passed the ball to the front of the penalty area. Zhang Jun cleverly let it leak in the middle, and Pazzini followed up at the back point and shot directly. The football drew an arc, bypassed Udinese's goalkeeper De Sanctis, and went into the upper corner of the goal.

Fiorentina led Udinese 2:0 at home.

As the league progressed, Pazzini gradually replaced the thirty-year-old Toni as the main striker, partnering with Zhang Jun. The experienced Toni was more often assigned the task of coming off the bench to put out fires at critical moments. The partnership between Zhang Jun and Pazzini was more passionate and aggressive. And the combination of Zhang Jun and Toni was more stable and reassuring. Sabato arranged this way, so he had more attacking changes in his hands.

Pazzini scored his fifth goal in the league this season, and he seemed very excited. Because Zhang Jun's light was too strong, both he and Toni had to live in Zhang Jun's shadow, but this does not mean that they have no ability. Without their active running and cooperation, Zhang Jun would definitely not be able to score twenty-one goals now.

Zhang Jun hugged the excited Pazzini and smiled in his ear: "Okay, you'll have a share of the dumplings the day after tomorrow..."

Twenty minutes later, Fiorentina won a free kick almost on the edge of the penalty area. At that time, Krøldrup once again showed his amazing technique, shaking past the old French defender Candela. The helpless veteran had to reach out and pull Krøldrup, who was already close to the penalty area.

His experience played the greatest role at a critical moment, because if he hesitated any longer and pulled later, it would be a penalty.

As a result, Krøldrup was very depressed. He wanted to deliberately let Candela pull him down, so that he could easily get a penalty... Damn it! He stood up, patted his pants, and said to Zhang Jun: "If the ball goes in, then please invite me to your house to eat dumplings..."

Zhang Jun smiled hehe: "This ball shouldn't be taken by me, it's too close."

Krøldrup then remembered that Zhang Jun would not take the initiative to take any free kicks within 20 meters, unless his teammates and the coach asked him to. Because his best range is 20 to 30 meters.

Xiang Tao took the football, and then carefully placed it on the penalty spot designated by the referee - a little outside the outer side of the penalty area line. He will take the free kick.

Xiang Tao took five steps back, about four or five meters, and then stood still. He was waiting for the referee's whistle, and the referee was busy driving Udinese's wall back to the designated position.

Udinese's wall was not honest, always trying to move forward when the referee was not paying attention. Xiang Tao didn't care about this, he curled his lips. He is not Zhang Jun, who relies on bypassing the wall and hitting the angle with his free kicks. He doesn't care where your wall is standing, there is only one goal in his eyes when he swings his leg, and that is the goal. Wall? Yang Pan said to him well: "When kicking a power free kick, you have to directly ignore the wall and shoot through them."

The referee finally managed to make the wall listen a little bit, he quickly stepped back, and then blew the whistle in his mouth.

"Ah! For the Spring Festival dumplings!" Xiang Tao shouted in Sichuan dialect, and then rushed up aggressively and shot directly!

The football flew quickly along the grass under the jumping wall, and then was touched by De Sanctis's right hand, who reacted fairly quickly, and then hit the post again and bounced into the goal...

"goooAL!!! Xiang Tao! This is his second goal of the season!! Look at how excited he is, he went straight to Zhang Jun... Why did he go to Zhang Jun? This ball should be Krøldrup's assist..."

Just when the commentator couldn't figure out what was going on, Xiang Tao rushed to Zhang Jun and hugged him tightly, shouting: "Dumplings! Dumplings!"

Zhang Jun was ridden on by Xiang Tao, his body leaned back trying to maintain balance, not letting himself fall, and then quickly agreed: "Okay, okay, dumplings, dumplings..."

But in his heart, he was thinking, mom is going to be busy again... How many people's dumplings will this be?

※※※

In the end, Fiorentina won Udinese 3:0 at home, and the entire Fiorentina team gave Sabato a big gift for his return. Their ranking also rose to fifth, and entering the top four is just around the corner.

Zhang Jun also had to fulfill his promise and treat the entire team to dumplings.

This is an ordinary Tuesday in Italy, but for those Chinese players in a foreign country, this is another very special day. Because today is the Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve.

Zhang's mother was very happy that so many people liked to eat the dumplings she made by herself, and the entire Fiorentina team, except for those who had temporary business, even Sabato came to join in the fun this time. Now the players don't care about making trouble in front of him anymore, because he can make trouble better than them.

Zhang Jun originally wanted to invite Yang Pan, Kaka and Li Yongle to eat dumplings together, but they declined. Because this is a Fiorentina party, it always feels bad for outsiders to get involved.

Ren Yudi also didn't participate as usual. He hasn't been in Florence recently. Zhang Jun thought that maybe he flew back to Hong Kong to reunite with his family.

It was still that courtyard. Zhang Jun still clearly remembered the birthday banquet a few months ago. This time, because of the arrival of the Spring Festival, it became festive.

Most of the teammates who came put on red clothes, and then learned to kowtow to Zhang Jun and them from the movies, each of them looking decent, but it made Zhang Jun laugh non-stop.

During the banquet, several Chinese players personally taught the group of curious foreigners how to make dumplings, because they were very interested in how the filling got into the skin when they ate them. You know, the filling of Italian pizza is on the outside of the dough.

So Zhang Jun and the others showed them how to do it step by step, like this first, then like that, and finally like this... Sabato also followed along to learn, and then proudly showed Di Livio the dumpling he made that couldn't even stand up: "Look, it's really a big loss to the Italian food industry if I don't become a chef!"

Although Di Livio didn't think Sabato's dumplings were very good, he couldn't refute it, because his dumplings couldn't even close the skin.

Everyone was very enthusiastic about making diy dumplings, and in the end Zhang Jun simply contributed the dumpling skin and filling, letting everyone follow along to make their own, cook their own, and eat their own.

Although the scene was chaotic, shouting and shouting, and the dumplings made were appalling, turning into a pot of dough and pork porridge as soon as they were put into the pot, it did not affect everyone's playing nature. The Chinese Spring Festival is very important in the eyes of the Chinese people, but foreigners don't care about that at all. In their opinion, as long as it is a festival, they should play, indulge in playing, and as for how to play, that is a personal matter, the key is to be happy, happy is good.

So, at the beginning, Xiang Tao was still holding a wine glass and pretending to recite poetry: "Raising my head, I see the moon so bright; withdrawing my eyes, my nostalgia comes about..." Before he finished reciting, Gasbarroni pulled him and poured him a drink: "Don't be dazed there, kid, come and have a drink with me!" As a result, he accidentally poured the wine into Xiang Tao's nose.

"Cough cough!!" Xiang Tao tried his best to cough and spray the wine out of his nose, and then went to find Gasbarroni, who had already wandered to somewhere, vowing to pour it back.

Mom said to Zhang Jun: "Your teammates are very interesting, hehe." She happily looked at the playing young people.

Zhang Jun suddenly remembered that Wang Bo had said almost the same thing to him a few months ago.

Everyone likes to joke, everyone gets along, everyone is very friendly, plus an improper coach and a respected assistant coach. Although they come from all over the world, they seem to have known each other for a long time and have a good understanding.

Zhang Jun feels that he has really found the right home. Isn't this kind of Fiorentina the team he has been searching for? Just like Volendam when he first debuted. Everyone is a good person... He likes to play football with such a group of people, for honor, for happiness, and for everything worth pursuing.

Fiorentina... as long as no one drives him away, he really wants to play here until he retires.

After playing until 9 p.m., the teammates said goodbye together. Zhang Jun also persuaded his mother, who was tired all day, to go to the room to rest, and he and Sophie stayed to "clean up the mess."

Looking at the mess, Zhang Jun smiled apologetically at Sophie: "I'm sorry, I took the liberty to make you and mom suffer."

But Sophie didn't feel dissatisfied. She said to Zhang Jun: "It's nothing. Mom and I are very happy to see you and your teammates getting along so well." Since Zhang Jun's mother came, Sophie has also changed her name to "Mom." "Brother Li told me that Fiorentina is really an excellent team. I don't think his vision can be wrong, isn't it proven now?"

"Um..." Zhang Jun looked at everything in front of him, "They are excellent both on and off the court, and they even emptied all the storage in the house... What a bunch of locusts!" He rolled his eyes, so to speak, Fiorentina's combat power is amazing.

Those bastards, they should leave the combat power to the next round of opponents, not his family's dumplings... It's a pity. He hasn't eaten a few complete dumplings today.

※※※

In the training the next day, you could still see the sequelae of playing yesterday. Some people obviously looked like they didn't fall asleep.

Sabato severely criticized them during the break. At this time, he became a strict coach again, with no trace of yesterday's "sharing happiness with the people."

Everyone was trained by him and didn't dare to slack off anymore, because the next thing for them was not easy. In two more rounds, they would have to fight Juventus to the death. Sabato absolutely didn't want to lose to Juventus, because they were their direct competitors. What's more, it's their home game, and Franchi doesn't allow failure. He can't blame the referee or his absence from the coaching bench for the loss again.

The media is also paying attention to Fiorentina's home game against Juventus. In the first half of the season, the two sides drew. Juventus must win all three points this time to ensure that they consolidate their top two position. Inter Milan is eyeing them from behind.

"Juventus's lineup is undoubtedly strong, but Fiorentina's home advantage cannot be ignored either. What will this game be like? There are many voices before the game. We interviewed Fiorentina's captain Zhang Jun to hear what he has to say." The Chinese media is more active and has already started reporting on the game two weeks ago. "He said that Juventus needs to take into account the Champions League, so they will definitely be distracted domestically. This is Fiorentina's opportunity. In short, Fiorentina's goal is to win at home!"

"When did I say that?" Zhang Jun said after listening to Li Yan's retelling, "He asked me how I view the game, I only said we will do our best, but I didn't say we must win."

Li Yan looked at him with a smile.

Zhang Jun surrendered: "Okay... I admit that I really think so in my heart, we must win that game. But... we have to play the first two rounds first, okay? It's too disrespectful to the opponents in front."

Li Yan laughed and said, "Don't worry, they are not your opponents."

"Are you so sure?"

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have chased you in Volendam for so long, kid. Have some confidence in yourself, you are very strong now, and Fiorentina is also very strong now."

Zhang Jun stopped talking, looking at the sunset of Fiorentina in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking.

※※※

You are very strong now, and Fiorentina is also very strong now.

Li Yan's words were still in his ears. Fiorentina has achieved one win and one draw in the subsequent league games. After five winless rounds, there are three unbeaten rounds. Fiorentina's performance makes many experts unable to understand. Either it is extremely good, or it is extremely bad.

Lecce and Palermo cannot pose any threat to Fiorentina. They are now wholeheartedly preparing for the next Serie A highlight, a home game against Juventus.

In the first two rounds of the league, Fiorentina performed very well. The only regret is that Zhang Jun did not score.

"This is nothing. The key goals always have to be left for the key games. We believe that Zhang Jun will score in the game against Juventus." *Milan Sports News* reporter Andrea Carignani wrote to explain for Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun also remained calm about not scoring in two rounds. He felt that this was normal and would never be like some people said, falling into a goal drought or something. It's really funny.

His current condition and body are no problem, thanks to team doctor Feng Qing. His arrival has allowed the stamina of many teammates to last at least one more month.

On the other side, Juventus also expressed concern about Fiorentina's recent recovery in form. When Capello talked about the game, he seemed very cautious: "Fiorentina's performance this season has been very good. In the first half of the season, they drew 1:1 with us at our home court. This time it's our turn to play away, and we can't take it lightly. Zhang Jun didn't score? If I really listen to you media, Juventus will have trouble even staying in the league. You say he's in a goal drought and he's really in a goal drought? I believe in my own judgment. In the game the day after tomorrow, he will become the focus of our attention."

Capello, the shrewd and seasoned coach, was unwilling to reveal any more. He is a very steady person, and no matter how reporters ask, they cannot get him to say anything he doesn't want to say.

Although in the past one or two years, the rise of Inter Milan and the stable performance of AC Milan have threatened Juventus's position as the Serie A overlord, and they have not won the league title for two years, Juventus under Capello still possesses a very strong fighting force. Their existence cannot be ignored by anyone. Del Piero, Ibrahimovic, Trezeguet, Emerson, Camoranesi, Cannavaro, Vieira... which of these names is not famous?

Juventus reached the final of the European Champions League last season, and with their solid defense and perfect tactical arrangements, they dragged Chelsea for a full 120 minutes. In the end, they relied on Buffon's excellent performance in the penalty shootout to bring back their club's third European Champions League trophy in history.

Although the British media strongly criticized Capello's methods as insulting football, the Italian media was singing praises for Juventus. Mourinho said very dissatisfiedly after the game that Juventus's football was ugly football, and Capello immediately retorted, saying that it was true that they didn't play beautifully, but those who played beautifully had already gone home early, and said that Chelsea didn't necessarily play beautifully either, and they also relied on penalty shootouts to get into the final.

After saying so much, I just want to give everyone an understanding of Juventus. They are the most stable club team in all of Italy and even the world. They will never lose a game that they shouldn't lose. They rarely have situations where they capsize in the gutter. Watching them play may be extremely dull and extremely negative. But they can always win the game in the end, and successive coaches have strictly adhered to Juventus's tradition. When will you see Juventus having a shootout with others, that must be you are dreaming.

Ironically, the word "Juventus" means "youth" in Latin, but the Juventus club has such a nickname in Serie A: "The Old Lady". On the one hand, it shows that they are noble and elegant, with the temperament of a noblewoman; on the other hand, it shows that they are old and dull, lacking passion, and conservative.

Although in China, AC Milan and Inter Milan are very, very popular, the most popular and have the most fans in Italy is this Juventus. They have loyal fans all over Italy, so much so that the Juventus club is considering whether to move out of the Alpi Stadium, which they share with Turin, because this old stadium, which is even larger than the Allianz Stadium, is not full at all. There are still many empty seats in the stands when they play at home. In Turin, an old industrial city, the Turin team, which represents the working class and low-income class, is the symbol of the city, while Juventus does not feel like they are playing away too much when they play away in other places.

But there are a few cities that are really Juventus's well-deserved away games. The city of Milan, which has two major powerhouses, AC Milan and Inter Milan, is one, and the other is Florence. The fans here don't like other teams except for the Florence team. They madly support the home team and are madly xenophobic. This is the characteristic of Florentines. The other is Naples, because this is where the King of Football Maradona once fought, and it became the public enemy of all of Italy in the 1990 World Cup, because in the match between Argentina and Italy held here, the fans in Naples openly cheered for the Argentina team led by Maradona. There are not many people who like Juventus here either.

"Juventus has a lot of fans all over the world, but that's in other places. In our Florence, there is only one team, and that is the glorious Florence!" The leader of the Fiorentina die-hard fan organization fiesole said when facing reporters. "We will let the guests from afar feel the enthusiasm of the Florence fans."

※※※

"Zhang Jun! You must kill Juventus! If you kill them, you may rise to fourth!" Kaka called Zhang Jun, very concerned about the game. Of course, he was flying the flag of caring for friends.

Zhang Jun rolled his eyes, of course he knew what Kaka was thinking. Wasn't he just trying to rely on their Florence to hold back Juventus and let Milan widen the points advantage?

He didn't want to help Milan, but he absolutely wouldn't be willing to lose to Juventus at home. "If you don't say it, I will win. Not only win Juventus, but also win you and win Li Yongle later."

Kaka laughed dryly a few times, then greeted Sophie, and hung up.

Then Zhang Jun received a call from Li Yongle: "Zhang Jun..." He said seriously, "In the game the day after tomorrow, you must win. We are fighting Rome to the death here, and you must help us there!" Li Yongle said it bluntly, just for his own sake.

"Don't worry, don't worry. We have to win ourselves to have hope of entering the top four." Now that it's related to the final ranking of each team, everyone is serious, and they have to use the relationships that can be used, anyway, it doesn't violate the ethics of sports competition, what are they afraid of.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Jun turned around and said to Sophie: "Tired... really tired, one game involves so much."

Sophie laughed and said: "Who told you to play against Juventus? If it was against Perugia, I'm afraid no one would come to you."

"Is Juventus very great?" Zhang Jun asked jokingly, "AC Milan and Inter Milan look restless when they mention its name. For me, that's just a game, and we must win anyway. Sabato has already said that the minimum bottom line for home games is that we must not lose, and one point is better than no points. But I hope to win, I think getting three points is always better than getting one point."

"Your idea is very good, but there are difficulties..." Sophie also said jokingly, "Juventus is not an opponent that you can win just by saying you can win."

"What are you afraid of?" Zhang Jun shook his head and thought of Li Yan's words, "We are very strong now."

※※※

"Juventus will definitely defend steadily and then look for opportunities to counterattack. What we have to do is not forget our defense while attacking. Their Ibrahimovic is a monster, so tall and his footwork is still very good, so the defenders have to be 100% focused. In this game, the two full-backs should not go up to assist. We can't concede a goal first against Juventus, otherwise it will be difficult to play later. We have to try to score first and break Juventus's tactical arrangements. Isn't Juventus conservative? We will force them to face us head-on and force them to attack!"

Sabato was holding a "pre-war mobilization meeting". He slammed his fist on the tactical board, which had been scratched messily by him.

"We stick to our style of play, and don't follow the same rhythm as Juventus. Attack! Now Juventus's defense is not a solid wall anymore, you have to believe in your attacking ability, you are very strong! What is Juventus? At our home court, it's not their turn to be arrogant! Even if the referee helps, we have to win, we have to win!" Sabato waved his hands, looking like a politician giving an impassioned speech. "Finally, let me say it again, if you want to enter the European Champions League next season, then Juventus must be taken down. Anyone who blocks us will be kicked away!"

On the other side, Capello was expressionless and calmly told the players: "Fiorentina is a team with a strong desire to attack. Their attack is sharp, but there are many defensive loopholes. I hope the midfielders and forwards can seize these loopholes when counterattacking. Their two full-backs like to assist, which can be used. In terms of defense, be sure to watch Zhang Jun, Fabio, I'll leave it to you. Man-to-man mark him."

"Don't worry, coach." Cannavaro nodded.

"Krøldrup is in charge of Emerson."

Vieira moved his lips, as if he wanted to say something. Capello saw it, but he didn't plan to change his decision. Vieira has inevitably aged, and letting him defend the young Krøldrup may still be tricked in the end.

Capello looked down at the notebook in his hand. Everything that should be said has been said. Next is the summary. "As long as we survive the beginning of Fiorentina's attack, our chance will come when their morale begins to decline. You must be patient, and no matter what, you must be calmer than Fiorentina. Fiorentina is a team with a lot of passion from the coach to the players, but they are often not calm enough, and they will appear more impetuous when faced with difficulties. This is our chance. Seize it and then use it."

The Juventus players nodded.

Compared with Fiorentina players, maybe they don't have so much passion, but they are definitely scary, because they are calm enough and patient enough. They don't make mistakes, they are always spying on you, patiently waiting for you to make mistakes. Such a team is the most efficient in professional football.

So Juventus is the king of the domestic league. They have won the league title 27 times, far behind AC Milan. The glory they have obtained cannot be caught up by Fiorentina even with a whip. If outsiders heard Zhang Jun and Sabato's "bold words", they would probably be very surprised where Fiorentina's confidence comes from.

Perhaps it comes from the kind of arrogance revealed by Sabato's rogue words and deeds.

※※※

The Florence players walked out of the player tunnel with their heads held high. You can clearly see the confidence they have in this game on their faces.

And there was no obvious emotional fluctuation on the faces of the Juventus players. Outsiders would not know what they were thinking, whether they were full of confidence or acting low-key.

Capello and his players had the same expression. Standing outside the coaching seat, with his arms crossed, he quietly looked at the field.

Sabato was the opposite. The game hadn't started yet, but he was already pacing back and forth in front of the coaching seat.

This game is very important for Fiorentina. He can't afford to lose, so he seems a little anxious. He hopes that his disciples will not let him down.

Franchi Stadium was packed with people. Juventus fans were compressed to the southeast corner of the stands by the Florence fans, who had an absolute advantage in numbers. The entire stand was purple except for their area, which was black and white.

When Juventus is involved in a key game, one cannot fail to mention the referee. Juventus's favorable treatment by the referee is not a matter of a day or two, nor is it a rumor created by boring people. It is not a secret that many people in the refereeing world are Juventus fans. Italy is not a pure land, and there are fake balls and black whistles every year.

A week before the game, Sabato publicly warned the Italian Football Association and the Referee Committee in the media, hoping to send a fair referee with sufficient credibility to enforce this game. He didn't want to be played behind his back. And Juventus did not express any opinion on this matter.

In the end, the Referee Committee sent a referee with no previous convictions, but he did not have sufficient credibility, because he was a very young referee, and he had only enforced 21 Serie A games. Sabato wanted to curse. The Referee Committee clearly didn't want to meet his requirements. What should they do if such a young referee makes a mistake in enforcing such an important game? On the field, especially in the Juventus lineup, there are big-name stars one by one. Who knows if he can hold the scene?

"After Collina, the bald head, retired, can't Italy find a suitable referee?" In the end, he didn't curse, but complained like this when interviewed.

He can only pray in his heart that this young referee will not be dizzy and make any mistakes.

But soon, Sabato found that his worries were superfluous.

The Juventus players obviously saw that the referee was a novice and thought there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, so their movements were a bit big. The game gradually became fiery in the fans' scolding.

Eleven minutes into the game, Krøldrup broke through Vieira in the midfield in the center of the field. Just as he was about to pass the ball, Vieira pulled Krøldrup down from behind. The referee's whistle sounded, and then he gave Vieira a yellow card without any hesitation.

"We were still worried about this referee's enforcement ability just now, but now he has given Vieira a warning. Vieira seems unable to maintain a normal mind when facing Krøldrup. He should have let this ball go and handed it over to Emerson. We want to applaud this young referee, he did a good job!"

Capello saw Vieira get a card as soon as he came up, and kept talking to the assistant coach below in anger. "Damn