Chapter 1 John Jones' Arrival

John Jones' transfer was Fiorentina's biggest move of the summer. Ren Yudi originally intended to ask AC Milan for Yang Pan, but AC Milan stated: there's no discussion, Yang Pan is not for sale, and if he were, it wouldn't be to a rival in the same league.

Robin van Persie's departure created a personnel crisis in several positions for Fiorentina—all because Sabato had turned him into a versatile player in the forward line. Now that Barcelona benefited, Fiorentina needed to replenish personnel in many positions.

With Montolivo as a substitute for Krøldrup, there wasn't much of a problem. Gasbarroni also had Rio D'Arno as a substitute, and looking at D'Arno's growth rate, Sabato believed that Gasbarroni would eventually become his substitute.

The most urgent need for personnel was at right midfielder and defensive midfielder. After Van Persie left, Joaquin was the only genuine right midfielder left. And the departures of Kehl and Donadel also meant that there was only Mascherano in the defensive midfielder position. If either of them were injured, there were no substitutes available.

For the right midfielder position, Batistuta recommended Aguilera, a twenty-one-year-old Spanish midfielder from Villarreal, who was technically excellent except for being a bit physically weak. After watching several of his match videos, Sabato believed that he was a very good signing target. Physical strength could be trained, but it was worth nurturing such outstanding technique and talent at a young age. The only problem was money. Nowadays, European clubs would definitely make things difficult with money as long as Fiorentina wanted someone. And Ren Yudi naturally wouldn't treat every transfer target like he treated Jones. As long as the other party's asking price wasn't too outrageous, he would agree immediately, sign a check, and take the person.

Aguilera ultimately cost Ren Yudi six million euros.

For the defensive midfielder position, Ren Yudi spent seven million euros to bring in Ahmed Yahiaoui, their main defensive midfielder, a twenty-four-year-old Frenchman, from Marseille. In this way, Sabato's requirement of "at least two people in each position" was almost met.

There weren't enough people in the center-back position either, but Sabato didn't plan to look for someone from the outside, because he had accidentally discovered a suitable candidate in the youth team: Santa Maria, a twenty-year-old Spanish center-back. Sabato still remembered that he was only sixteen years old when he first came to the Fiorentina youth team. He had been training in the youth team and traveling with the team for matches. At that time, the youth team coaches didn't have high hopes for this Spanish kid, because he was very poor in both physical strength and technique. If you had to find advantages, maybe his willingness to endure hardship and his ability to withstand large amounts of training counted as one. Unexpectedly, after four years, he had emerged and become a very outstanding center-back in the youth team. As a Spaniard, he even wore the captain's armband. In him, Sabato saw a second Hierro. After realizing this person's value, Sabato urged Ren Yudi to immediately sign him to an eight-year professional contract, with a release clause of as high as 100 million euros, the same as Rio D'Arno!

Sabato originally planned to keep him in the youth team for another year or loan him out. However, Kehl's departure left the defensive line short of personnel, and Sabato had to call him up to the first team ahead of schedule.

As for the striker position, there was no need to look for other teams. Two years ago, the club's scouts snatched a striker from the Chelsea youth team. Two years of training had matured that kid a lot. As a striker, he also regarded Captain Zhang Jun as his idol. Chris Williams, only twenty years old. He would be Zhang Jun and Pazzini's substitute for the new season.

On the day the teammates met in the locker room, both John Jones and Chris Williams were very excited. According to tradition, assistant coach Di Livio brought the two into the locker room and handed them over to Zhang Jun. The coach then exited, and the players familiarized themselves with each other.

What Zhang Jun didn't expect was that the two young men rushed up to shake hands with him as soon as Di Livio left. Neither of them would give way, and Zhang Jun was caught in the middle, in a dilemma. The locker room erupted in huge laughter.

Two young men who regarded Zhang Jun as their idol and goal gathered together. Although many people had left, the Fiorentina locker room was still very lively this year...

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Frey was the main goalkeeper, and his substitutes were Federico Tommasi, a twenty-three-year-old local goalkeeper, and Marco Roccati, twenty-seven years old.

As for the defense, the Swede Svensson was becoming more and more mature. If there were no accidents, he would firmly occupy a main center-back position, and his partner would most likely be Bonera, but Bonera wasn't tall enough, and the aerial defense wasn't very reassuring. There was no suspense about the main left back, Xiang Tao. He never got injured and was always in stable condition. It was sad to be his substitute, so there wasn't a second left back in Fiorentina at all...

The main right back should be Lahm. The German defender performed mediocrely in his first two seasons in Italy, seeming a bit unaccustomed. Otherwise, Sabato wouldn't have bought Bonera. But now he was gradually getting into his groove, playing better and better. Both his attacking and defending were very active, and Sabato could finally safely hand over Fiorentina's right corridor to him.

In the midfield, Mascherano was the well-deserved main defensive midfielder, an iron gate. And with the new season's intensive schedule, Sabato would use the rotation system very frequently. At that time, Yahiaoui wouldn't have to worry about not having a chance to play either.

Left midfielder Gasbarroni and Rio D'Arno would take turns playing, while right midfielder Joaquin basically secured the starting position. After all, Aguilera, who had just transferred, was still young. So Sabato gave Joaquin another task: to help teach Aguilera. Believing that being both Spaniards would make their communication smoother.

Krøldrup's main position as attacking midfielder was unshakable. The main reason Montolivo could continue to stay on this team was because—others admired Zhang Jun, but he alone admired the cold and aloof Krøldrup.

In the forward line, Zhang Jun and Pazzini would naturally partner up. John Jones still had a lot to learn, and Chris Williams even more so.

The above was Fiorentina's lineup. Sabato and his men were heading towards their third consecutive treble. It could be seen from this lineup that Sabato's sights were set very far. Every year, he planned to replenish young players, and then have the older players lead the new ones. After a few more years, the older players would leave, and the new players would become old players, continuing to lead the new ones... Forming a virtuous cycle in this way, he was confident that Fiorentina would dominate the world football scene for a long time to come.

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Sabato's lineup could be said to be very strong, competitive in all aspects, and also had a reasonable age structure. The only drawback was that there were a few too few people. Once there were widespread injuries, Sabato might run into trouble.

Fortunately, he believed in Feng Qing. In the several seasons with this Chinese doctor, the team had almost never experienced a situation where multiple players were injured in a row. That massage was really magical.

In the European Super Cup in August, Fiorentina won the championship without suspense. But in the Italian Super Cup, Fiorentina surprisingly lost to AC Milan. AC Milan had finally snatched a championship from Fiorentina after all these years. After the game, the Milan players were as happy as if they had won the Champions League.

Sabato put half of the substitutes on for this game, to let the newcomers who transferred this summer familiarize themselves with the team. They would be the main force in the upcoming season.

Therefore, losing this game was only slightly surprising.

Because the time of the game was when Zhang Jun's injury had just healed, Sabato didn't even let him enter the substitute list. Before the game, some media jokingly said that AC Milan's main players were all out, looking like they were going to fight Fiorentina to the death, while Fiorentina didn't appreciate it at all and sent out a second team. If AC Milan couldn't even beat Fiorentina's second team, then they could announce their withdrawal from this season's championship contention in advance.

Fortunately, in the end, AC Milan's first team defeated Fiorentina's second team, and didn't lose face in front of so many Milan fans.

After the game, a reporter asked Sabato what Fiorentina's goal was this season, since they had no hope of winning six titles. Sabato dismissively said that the Italian Super Cup was just an ordinary warm-up match, and that taking six titles once was enough. The treble was his goal that he continued to pursue.

*Fiorentina Pursues the Treble for the Third Consecutive Time!* The next day, the Italian media came up with such an awkward headline.

Even if Fiorentina lost the Italian Super Cup, it wouldn't affect the public's confidence in them at all. There wouldn't be many people who were ignorant enough to question Fiorentina's championship prospects anymore. In the past two seasons, Fiorentina had repeatedly slapped those people in the face with their actual performance.

They didn't want to be slapped in the face again... Otherwise, their faces would be swollen.

※※※

The 11/12 season reignited the flames of war, and smoke filled the European continent. In mid-August, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 took the lead in starting the season. A week later, the Premier League started, and at the end of August, Serie A and La Liga fully kicked off. The moment of carnival had arrived for the fans who had been silent for a summer.

Fiorentina's league start couldn't have been more perfect. They won all four league games in the entire month of September! They had gone forty-nine league games undefeated in a row! They were getting closer and closer to Milan's fifty-eight game unbeaten record.

Their Champions League group stage was also a series of victories. Fiorentina's start made everyone think of the crazy previous season.

They won every game in September, were undefeated in October, and continued to be undefeated in November...

Before the last league game in November, Fiorentina was only one game away from AC Milan's fifty-eight game unbeaten league record. Fiorentina was now sitting at the top of the league table without any doubt, and no one could shake them in the slightest. *Tuttosport* even lamented: "The only one who can beat Fiorentina now is God."

December was a very busy month for Fiorentina. In addition to dealing with domestic league and Italian Cup matches and the Champions League, they also had to fly to Japan again to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup. At the same time, a delayed league game from the previous month also had to be made up this month, all arranged together. The team couldn't relax, and could only rest until the short winter break.

Zhang Jun now had to go to Feng Qing's for a massage for half an hour every day. He and Feng Qing didn't dare to be careless. Now was a crucial moment, and Feng Qing was very nervous about the injury in the summer.

"Zhang Jun, there are too many games in December. I still suggest you give up some games," Feng Qing said to Zhang Jun while massaging and kneading his ankle. "For example, that FIFA Club World Cup, you don't need to go at all. They are all teams that are too weak to be weak, and even if you are not there, the team will win easily."

Zhang Jun smiled as he lay on the bed, "Dalian was very strong last year. Besides, a lot of contracts have been signed, and some games must be attended."

"Don't you feel tired?"

"What are you afraid of? I have Brother Feng! Haha!" Zhang Jun laughed loudly.

"You... trust me that much?" Feng Qing stopped what he was doing and looked at Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun nodded.

Looking at Zhang Jun's face, Feng Qing chuckled, and then continued to massage him. "Why bother? Your professional career is one day less for every day you play. Resting for a few more days can extend your career, so why not?"

Zhang Jun looked at the ceiling of the treatment room, as if muttering to himself, "How should I put it? I actually know my body very well. No matter how advanced and magical the treatment methods are, it is impossible to be injury-free, right? Instead of eking out a living to extend my career, it is better to do my best to play my best when I am in the best condition. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and I hope that after I retire, people will only remember my best moments, and not care how many years I played..."

"In that case, why didn't you announce your retirement this summer?" Feng Qing looked directly into Zhang Jun's eyes, as if he was forcing him. "Three perfect seasons, leaving at the most beautiful and glorious moment, always leaving people's sight with glory, and not letting others see your embarrassing side, just like you are lying here now receiving my massage..." He used force on his hand, and Zhang Jun cried out. "Listen, how miserable you are crying!"

Zhang Jun smiled wryly, "I only said that I am a bit of a perfectionist, just a bit. Some things are not what I want them to be, Brother, I think you have experienced more than me, you should know very well, right? Is it better to retreat bravely at the most glorious moment, leaving a perfect back for those who come after, or to persist for the club and the fans who support me? I don't like later generations to say how perfect my career is, but to be criticized by people now as a coward. Retreating bravely sounds good is self-aware, but what about the ugly side? Hey, that's a coward!"

"I have been escaping since I was a child, and I didn't understand until the last few years that people... some responsibilities are what you are willing to bear, and some responsibilities are given to you by others, and you must bear them. Those who are unwilling to bear them can just throw them away, and then leave easily, praised by others as having personality. But, Brother, I am not that kind of person. From school, some people have said that I have no personality and that my mind is rigid and conservative. I think they are right, I am that kind of person. I am very traditional, very traditional, so let me throw down the responsibilities on my shoulders, pretend to be chic and show off and turn away, I can't do it yet. Even if I live very tired for this, I think I can't do it."

"Actually, to put it bluntly, Brother Feng, I am still greedy, and I can't let go of many things..."

With a sigh, the treatment room fell into silence.

"Zhang Jun, answer me a question honestly," Feng Qing stared at Zhang Jun and said very seriously, "Do you... like football? Even now, being dragged down by so many responsibilities and expectations, with both legs full of injuries. Even when you are physically and mentally exhausted in the future, will you still feel that you like this sport?"

Zhang Jun looked blankly at Feng Qing. In his impression, this brother only showed a little serious expression when discussing his condition. "I..."

"Don't hesitate, hesitation is fake," Feng Qing said with a smile.

Looking at his familiar smile, Zhang Jun also smiled, "Of course I like it. Whether I still play professional football or not, I like it. Even if I sit in a wheelchair in the future, I still like it. Liking football doesn't necessarily mean you have to play it, right?"

"You kid kicked the ball back. I also like it, although I can't play. Well then, I will try my best to make sure you are not troubled by injuries, and you should try to play football." He pressed hard on Zhang Jun's foot.

Zhang Jun grinned and frowned.

※※※

"...I will definitely go to Japan, we want to defend our world championship. But before that, there is one very important thing that must be done," Zhang Jun told the reporters who were concerned about whether he would participate in the competition in Japan.

No reporter was stupid enough to ask him what that was, because everyone knew—AC Milan's unbeaten record, fifty-eight games.

On November 30th, Fiorentina played against Bologna at home. Since March 19, 2010, this was Fiorentina's fifty-eighth league game.

The opponent was very weak, and this was the best opportunity to tie the record. But before the game, no one in the entire Fiorentina, whether from the team or the city, mentioned this record. It was superstition, it seemed that saying it would make it impossible.

It could be seen that the whole city cared about this very much.

Zhang Jun would definitely start in this game. Now he was not only a striker who conquered cities and seized strongholds, but sometimes the psychological pressure he caused to the enemy on the field was far greater than his actual performance. As long as he appeared on the starting list, the opponent might be timid before the battle.

This game was indeed like this. Before the game, everyone put their attention on Zhang Jun, saying whether Zhang Jun would score in this game, how many he could score... No one cared about other people.

Sabato didn't let Gasbarroni start, but gave Rio D'Arno a chance. At the same time, Zhang Jun's partner on the front line was not Pazzini, but John Jones.

Looking at Jones, who was trembling with excitement because he could play with him in the starting lineup, Zhang Jun said, "You don't need me to teach you what to do, right?"

"No! Of course not!" The young man answered very crisply, and he deliberately straightened his chest.

When Zhang Jun, Xiang Tao, and Krøldrup walked out, they patted Jones on the chest and smiled in Chinese, "Being a woman is good." Xiang Tao burst into laughter, and Krøldrup also smiled slightly.

Jones didn't understand what Zhang Jun was saying, so he didn't understand why the other two were laughing. He looked at the three people blankly. Zhang Jun patted him on the shoulder again, "I'm counting on you during the game!"

Jones felt that he was valued, and he was very happy.

During the game, he was indeed like a lion that had just been released from its cage. He charged left and right, running actively, making the opponent's defense very headache. In the twenty-fourth minute, Zhang Jun skillfully assisted him in scoring a goal.

At that time, he excitedly pressed Zhang Jun under him and kept shaking him, the posture looked very obscene... Later, this incident was used by bad guys like Xiang Tao to laugh at him for several days - he didn't dare to laugh at Zhang Jun, so naturally he could only laugh at the new comer Jones.

John Jones opened a good start for this game, this was his fifth league goal for Fiorentina this season, the result was not bad.

Zhang Jun attracted half of Bologna's defensive attention, and the other half was attracted by Krøldrup. In this game, Sabato unexpectedly did not let them be the main attacking force, but let young players Rio D'Arno and John Jones be the main attacking force, which was completely beyond the opponent's expectation. When they reacted, they were already two goals behind: after Zhang Jun assisted Jones in scoring a goal, Jones returned the favor and assisted him in scoring a goal.

Everyone was happy.

This game was already without suspense. If your opponent treats the game against your team as a warm-up match to integrate the team, and easily leads by two goals, what can you do besides being angry? Bologna's coach angrily threw the mineral water bottle in his hand to the ground, no one could guess Antonio Sabato, this rogue... He never plays cards according to the rules, oh no, you are playing cards, and he is playing chess.

He has his own unique set of game rules, and he is not restricted by other people's rules. People say he is a madman, but that is actually because his words and deeds have exceeded the degree that ordinary people can accept now, or that he has surpassed the present.

It may be a bit exaggerated to say this, but it is also vivid.

More importantly, Sabato would definitely be very proud and happy to hear it.

Sabato likes others to flatter him, likes to hear flattering words, even if they are hypocritical, it doesn't matter. But it is impossible for anyone to get any benefits from him by flattering him.

The game started only ten minutes into the second half, and Zhang Jun was replaced by Pazzini. With so many games recently, Sabato also knew to protect the team's number one scorer. Zhang Jun's early substitution was greeted with a standing ovation from all Fiorentina fans, and the commentator praised, "AC Milan created a fifty-eight game unbeaten league record nine years ago. It was once thought that no one could reach this record again, but today we have witnessed history... How many times have I said this? It seems that Fiorentina with Zhang Jun and Sabato can always let us witness history, because they are always creating new history. Now, Fiorentina's fifty-eighth league unbeaten is already within reach, and Zhang Jun is one of the biggest contributors to this record!"

Finally, as expected by the commentator... it should be as expected by almost everyone, Fiorentina easily defeated Bologna 3:0 at home, achieving the fifty-eight game unbeaten league record that AC Milan once achieved. In the future Serie A history, mentioning the longest league unbeaten record will no longer be just Milan sharing this honor alone, and they will have to add "Fiorentina" after their name.

This glittering honor pushed Zhang Jun's career to its peak this year, and the whole world believed that he was the most outstanding shooter in the past twenty years, even Ronaldo and Shevchenko had to admit defeat.

Moreover, according to reliable sources, this year's various awards were also completely without suspense: all the awards that could be won were all won by Zhang Jun alone.

A year without suspense was also a year without novelty...

In the sky, someone yawned.

※※※

The football world is always full of such or such accidents. Although Fiorentina has been stable for these three seasons without any accidents, it doesn't mean that no accidents will come to the door.

After Fiorentina tied AC Milan's record, the local Fiorentina media, which was full of confidence, has already shouted the slogan of creating a new record. Although their next opponent is Sampdoria, which has been ranked in the top six for a long time, Fiorentina people don't take it seriously. In their opinion, sharing the record will never be as good as enjoying it alone.

Fiorentina Football Club held a small celebration ceremony. Everyone gathered together to play and have fun, which was regarded as relaxing their tense nerves. Being undefeated for fifty-eight consecutive league games was really amazing, and it was impossible to complete it by relying on one person alone. In these fifty-eight league games, sometimes it was Zhang Jun who turned the tide at the last moment, and more often it was the outstanding performance of the whole team or other players. Sabato praised and thanked the whole team, but he did not praise any one player individually.

We are a whole, and you should be proud to be able to play for this team. This is what he often said to the players during training.

On December 4th, the first game in the busy schedule of December, Fiorentina challenged Sampdoria away. In the eyes of some people, this was an ordinary league game, but in the eyes of many people, it was very important, because it was related to whether a record could be rewritten.

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Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Sampdoria's home stadium.

This game will be broadcast live all over the world. When Sky TV chose this game as a live broadcast game, they must not have thought it would be so crucial. If Fiorentina wins, they will become the creators of the new record, if they lose... it's not too bad.

Zhang Jun, with the captain's armband wrapped around his arm, led the team out of the stadium, and a huge boo rang out from the Ferraris Stadium - no one wanted their team to become a stepping stone for others to break the record, right?

Although the fans were not very friendly, the opposing players were still friendly, at least they were talking and laughing when they shook hands before the game.

As soon as the whistle sounded, the people who were just smiling and joking immediately turned into enemies who were glaring at you. Zhang Jun didn't take these to heart. Professional football was originally like this. Everyone was fighting for their own side on the field, and it didn't matter if the movements were a little bigger. After the game, everyone patted each other on the shoulders, and a smile could wipe away all enmity... well, no. There was no so-called enmity at all...

It could be seen from the first ten minutes of the game that Sampdoria had not learned the lesson of Bologna's loss in the previous game - he used almost all of his defensive forces to defend Zhang Jun and Krøldrup. This can't be said to be a bad move, it was really out of desperation. Any coach facing Fiorentina can't and dare not not defend Zhang Jun and Krøldrup.

Because of the terrifying strength of Zhang Jun and Krøldrup, even if Sabato's tactics were very ordinary, and even children could see through them, you couldn't find a way to deal with it.

There were too many flies around Zhang Jun, so his opponents received less harassment. In order to protect Zhang Jun, Sabato let the team abandon the style of play with Zhang Jun as the main attacking point, and pass the ball more to other people.

This approach was certainly feasible, but Sabato didn't consider another situation - the team's collective slump...

After continuous high-intensity operations, the nerves have been very tense. A small celebration a few days ago was intended to let the players relax and rest, and prepare to welcome the busy December. But I didn't expect them to relax too much. In this game, Fiorentina's players couldn't get nervous no matter what... The most direct expression: the action of kicking the ball was a bit too casual, and the initiative mistakes that rarely appeared before appeared frequently in this game.

Sampdoria encountered a good situation that other teams did not encounter. Previously, Fiorentina's state was stable and they rarely made low-level mistakes, but as for today's Fiorentina, children knew that they were not in state.

After withstanding Fiorentina's offensive frenzy in the first ten minutes, the tide slowly receded, and Sampdoria began to organize a counterattack.

Sampdoria itself was not weak, after all, it was a team that had maintained its position in the top six for a long time, and could participate in the UEFA Cup every year. What's more, today was their home game, and their combat power increased sharply in the cheers of the home fans. Fiorentina's defense suddenly became tight.

In the seventeenth minute, a huge cheer broke out in the stands of the Ferraris Stadium, Sampdoria scored!

Frey sat on the ground and looked helplessly at the celebrating Sampdoria players. The shot just now was a powerful shot in the penalty area, and it was already very difficult for him to make a save. Kutuzov's shot had a lot of power, and the football slammed into the net!

The score was quickly passed on to several other venues that were playing, and Kaka looked at the score on the screen and smiled at Yang Pan, "Sampdoria is going to be unlucky." Yang Pan also shook his head with a smile. He was not denying Kaka's opinion, but was feeling sorry for Sampdoria. As a Milanese, Yang Pan very much hoped that the fifty-eight game unbeaten record created by Milan that year could continue to be maintained, even if it was shared by others, it would be better than being surpassed by others, right?

Ferraris Stadium.

"Sampdoria is actually leading! They are leading Fiorentina by one goal in their home stadium! Let's take a look at Sabato's gloomy face off the field... In the past two seasons, almost no team that has led Fiorentina has had a good end. They have either been tied or overtaken. Will today's Sampdoria be fulfilled this fate? Will Fiorentina launch a crazy counterattack? Let's wait and see!" The commentator seemed very excited.

But he was destined to be disappointed today, before Fiorentina could recover, three minutes later, Sampdoria launched another attack. Kutuzov passed a wonderful pass to their Czech forward Robert Vittek, and Vittek broke into the penalty area in the chaos. Just as he was about to shoot, Xiang Tao suddenly rushed up from behind and shoveled him and the ball away.

The referee unhesitatingly blew his whistle and awarded a penalty, and showed Xiang Tao a red card! Directly sent off the field!!

A huge cheer broke out in the Ferraris Stadium!

The Fiorentina players surrounded the referee when the referee blew his whistle and awarded the penalty, but when they saw the referee also take out a red card for Xiang Tao, they almost rioted. If it wasn't for Zhang Jun desperately blocking in front of his teammates, maybe someone would have gone up and hit him in the nose with their head.

Zhang Jun was the captain, and it was normal for him to make his own appeals to the referee on behalf of the whole team regarding some controversial penalties. But in this case, the captain's appeal was just a formality, and everyone knew that the referee would not easily change this sensitive penalty.

Sure enough, the referee waved for Zhang Jun and others to leave, and not to prevent Sampdoria from kicking the penalty.

As for Xiang Tao himself, he had already taken advantage of the chaos and walked back to the locker room alone. Of course he knew that he would be sent off, but if he didn't shovel it down at that time, the possibility of that person scoring was almost 90%, the angle was very large, and Frey couldn't block all angles. He didn't regret his choice at that time.

Zhang Jun knew that the matter was irreparable, so he could only remind his teammates in a loud voice to cheer up and tie the score.

What kind of storms has Fiorentina not seen in the past two seasons? As long as everyone is united, even if they can't win all three points, they can still maintain their invincibility.

Seeing that their captain was so motivated, the others stopped making trouble, and they stood quietly on the penalty area line.

Kutuzov took the penalty, Frey guessed the direction correctly, but was a little slower, and the football flew into the goal before his hand!

※※※

"Leading 2:0?!" This time it was Kaka's turn to be surprised, just like he said before, the news of the goal came quickly, but what he didn't expect was that Sampdoria scored again. "What is Zhang Jun doing?"

"Do you want them to break our record so much?" Yang Pan suddenly popped up beside him and said gloomily, scaring Kaka.

"Uh... no, no..."

"What are you doing standing there? Go back and defend!" Kaka was reprimanded back by him, and he turned his head to look at the LCD screen on the stand, shook his head gently, and then turned around and ran away.

This time, he really felt sorry for Fiorentina and Zhang Jun.

※※※

Although Fiorentina was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers after the restart, they gradually gained the upper hand on the field. It seemed that Xiang Tao's red card had aroused the team's fighting spirit, allowing them to gradually regain their state. As long as the situation continued like this, what Zhang Jun thought would definitely be realized - tying the score, or even overtaking.

Sampdoria once again felt the pressure brought by Fiorentina, and the team in front of them was slowly becoming familiar and terrifying.

"This can't go on!" Sampdoria's coach Baldini threw the towel in his hand to the seat next to him, then stood up and rushed to the sidelines. "Defense! Why are your defensive actions so clean? You are in a game, not training! Use some strength, make your actions rough! Rough!! Don't let him in! Idiot..." He roared with his hands waving.

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Jun beautifully turned past two Sampdoria defenders who were double-teaming him, broke into the penalty area, and then shot, but was blocked by Sampdoria's goalkeeper.

The Fiorentina fans who came from afar let out a huge sigh, while the home fans cheered for the goalkeeper.

But the goalkeeper did not feel complacent because he made a beautiful save. He jumped up from the ground and yelled at his teammates, "How did you defend just now? How many times have I told you, that guy is a dangerous person! A dangerous person! You can't be careless for a second! Don't let him in, don't give him a chance, and stop him by fouling when necessary! Be a little rougher! Have you forgotten what the coach said?"

The defenders were scolded and couldn't lift their heads. Who let Zhang Jun's name in football make many goalkeepers have nightmares?

In the subsequent games, Sampdoria's players' actions were obviously rougher, even rougher than at the beginning of the game.

Zhang Jun was obviously given the most "special care", with about three people defending him at any time, and the fouls were very frequent. The impression given in the second half of the first half was: Zhang Jun fell to the ground again and again, and got up again and again.

Sabato kept roaring and accusing Sampdoria's players of playing too dirty on the sidelines. Every time the fourth official came to remind him to pay attention to his words and deeds, he would in turn complain to the fourth official about the other party's behavior that violated the spirit of sportsmanship. Under normal circumstances, this kind of complaint would not be accepted, so Sabato continued to "interfere" - according to the fourth official - the game between the two sides on the field.

In the fortieth minute of the first half, the situation had turned into a one-sided situation. Sampdoria was forced to return to their own half to defend, and the Fiorentina army was pressing the border, bombarding the opponent's penalty area, as if the one with fewer people was Sampdoria, not Fiorentina.

Some dissatisfied home fans in the stands made a harsh boo, protesting that Sampdoria, with one more person, was performing so weakly.

It's not that Sampdoria is unwilling to be more manly, it's just that Fiorentina, who is in high spirits, is too terrifying. They are now only seeking to avoid losing the ball until the half-time break, and the coach will have his own adjustments at that time.

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Although football is a collective sport, each player has his own independent thoughts. Diego Muri, Sampdoria's young right back, was just promoted from the second team this season. This person is young and energetic, and has always believed that he is the leader among Italy's young right backs, and it is only a matter of time before he is selected for the Italian national team.

In fact, it's almost the same. This person was observed by several Italian giants two years ago, and they believed that his future was limitless. He has also performed well this season, and many people even think that he may be elected as the best newcomer award this season.

All kinds of praise made this twenty-one-year-old boy a little dizzy.

Unexpectedly, in this game, he was broken through by Zhang Jun again and again, and he was humiliated to his heart's content. Of course, Zhang Jun was definitely not intentional, but it made this "new star of Italian right back" feel a little embarrassed. Before the game, he thought he could defend Zhang Jun - young people, you can understand...

At the beginning of the game, Zhang Jun performed mediocrely, and he felt complacent in his heart. As a result, Xiang Tao's red card became a turning point that was beneficial to Fiorentina, and Zhang Jun and his teammates all went crazy, impacting Sampdoria's poor defense again and again. Then Diego Muri's nightmare began...

The coach had told them before the game to be a little rougher, and to foul when necessary. Muri kept this sentence firmly in mind, and with the development of the game, he kept expanding and exaggerating it in his mind... and then it became: stop Zhang Jun at all costs.

Zhang Jun received the ball again and tried to break through from the right side. Since discovering that this young No. 23 defender was not very strong, he often chose this side. He knew something