Chapter 1 A Young Fan's Lament

I admit, in this world obsessed with nostalgia, saying I'm a Zhang Jun fan—and that I started watching soccer after the Chinese team won the World Cup in South Africa—is hardly unique. Because almost everyone became a Zhang Jun fan around that time.

But I won't hide my love and admiration for him, even if he can no longer dribble past multiple defenders, even if he can't perform a Dragon Soar, even if he spends most of the season on the injury list. Because those who just started watching soccer can't understand my feelings. Zhang Jun is more than just a soccer star to me. He's a symbol, a symbol of my youth. Countless weekend nights I spent glued to the TV, just to watch an Italian Serie A match with him in it. Every time I see his flowing hair, I feel a sense of comfort, because he's still there, still on the field.

…

I'm lucky because I've seen Zhang Jun play. But I'm also unlucky because the Zhang Jun I saw was incomplete.

The Fiorentina Zhang Jun played for was a dynasty, but I witnessed the end of that dynasty. Zhang Jun himself is a legend, but I only saw the legend's back...

Am I lucky, or unlucky?

—These were the sentiments a young fan wrote on his blog when Zhang Jun announced in front of the cameras that he would retire at the end of the season.

Dynasties will eventually be swallowed by the desert sands, and legends will one day be forgotten.

※※※

On Xizhaosi Street in Beijing's Chongwen District, a unique, beautifully decorated office building stands tall. This is the new office building of the Chinese Football Association. Actually, it's not that new anymore. The Chinese Football Association built it with funds from FIFA after the 2006 World Cup in Germany. So it’s got four years of history, after all.

It has recently been renovated because the Chinese team historically won the World Cup. On the walls of this building, there are giant advertising posters showing the Chinese team lifting the trophy in South Africa. Obviously, the Chinese Football Association rarely has such a glorious moment, so they are advertising it heavily.

At this moment, the bright promotional picture is radiating an inescapable light under the afternoon sun. Almost everyone who passes by here raises their head to pay attention to it, and some even take photos here. Although after raising the camera high, it may not be possible to take a picture of what people look like because of the backlighting, people originally just want to take pictures of that picture.

At this moment, the outside of this building is full of cars, and at the same time, many people carrying cameras and hanging cameras on their chests are rushing inside. Only occasionally will someone stop and look up.

Li Yan is one of those who stopped.

Thinking about everything that has happened in the past forty-eight hours, when he sees this picture marking the crowning of China's golden generation of soccer players again, he finds it inexplicably funny.

Chinese soccer has never given up its purpose of entertaining the masses, even after winning the World Cup, it is still entertaining us.

Who would have thought? The meritorious head coach Qiu Suhui took the initiative to resign, and it is said that this resignation, unlike what he stated, was not because he wanted to take care of his parents, wife and children. The real reason was that his conflict with Chen Wei, the top leader of the Football Association, deepened and he had to make the decision to leave.

At the celebration meeting more than half a month ago, Chen Wei hugged Qiu Suhui like a brother and said emotionally: "You are a meritorious minister of Chinese soccer!" Now there are rumors that the two are in deep conflict. This world changes so fast…

Following this giant poster, the afternoon sun is dazzling.

※※※

At 3:45 p.m. on August 3, 2010, the Chinese Football Association held a press conference in the press hall of their office building. They officially announced that Qiu Suhui, the former head coach of the Chinese national men's soccer team, and assistant coach Hu Li had resigned from their original positions, and the selection of a new coach for the Chinese men's soccer team was announced to begin.

Outside the Football Association building, the sun is shining brightly, bees and butterflies are flying in the flowerbeds, and a beautiful butterfly flaps its wings. What kind of storm will it turn into in a few years?

※※※

Zhang Jun was at home in Florence, eating the breakfast Sophie had prepared for him, and casually reading the new Fiorentina Morning Post. Flipping to the sports section, the most eye-catching headline wasn't news about Fiorentina preparing for the new season, nor was it about the unveiling of the bronze statue of Zhang Jun created by Fiorentina fans, but the news of the Chinese soccer team's head coach resigning.

"Sophie, look, we won a World Cup, and now even the foreign media are reporting on our changing coaches. It feels a bit like when we followed others to hype up England's coaching change."

Sophie took the newspaper from Zhang Jun and quickly scanned it.

"Qiu Suhui resigned, who will be next? I'm always worried that you players won't listen to any coach anymore. The Football Association's work in this regard is not easy." Sophie put on the posture of a news professional.

Zhang Jun shrugged: "It's useless to say anything now, we'll talk about it when the time comes."

Sophie put down the newspaper and looked at Zhang Jun gently: "Don't read it, eat quickly. You have an important activity today."

※※※

Zhang Jun will never forget the years when he was still playing in the Serie C league. Those years played a crucial role in his later growth. It is no exaggeration to say that without Zhang Jun playing in the Serie C league, there would be no mature Zhang Jun today.

One day, in the team's locker room, what Riganò, who was still the team's number one scorer and star at the time, said to him is still fresh in his memory.

"Batistuta is my idol and goal, and I also hope that one day a statue of me will be erected outside the Franchi, and I want to retire here..."

As a result, after being promoted to Serie B for only one season, the former "Wild Bull" was sold to Serie C by the new owner, Ren Yudi, and his words became a swan song, a wish that he would never be able to realize. Unexpectedly, this dream was realized in Zhang Jun.

Given his relationship with Ren Yudi, he is likely to retire in Florence. And now, the Fiorentina fans have erected a life-size bronze statue of him outside the Franchi Stadium. The shape is him standing in place, opening his arms to accept the cheers of the fans. It has a sense of solidified power.

Today is the day the statue will be unveiled, and Zhang Jun will naturally attend this fan event, because he is the protagonist.

Sophie, as Zhang Jun's wife, accompanied Zhang Jun. The beautiful her has been affectionately called "the Florentine Bride" by the fans, which shows how high her reputation is.

Zhang Jun held the microphone and stood next to the statue covered with red cloth. The host kept inciting the fans below to cheer. Zhang Jun couldn't interrupt and could only watch with a smile, accepting the cheers.

The shouts of "Long live!" finally gradually calmed down, and Zhang Jun finally had a chance to speak.

Naturally, he had to thank the Florence fans for their support, and of course, he couldn't forget to say good things about the Florence city government, and the contribution of the Florence club also had to be mentioned.

These are all "prescribed routines."

"Thank you for your support, everyone. To be honest, I am very proud. To be able to erect my own statue here is something that only very great players can do. But I am not old yet, and I hope to continue playing here until I retire. I hope to continue bringing you more goals and championships until one day my body can no longer play. Thank you! Thank you for your support over the years, and I hope that you will continue to support me in the days to come. You are the real heroes of Florence!"

The reporters below kept taking pictures, and CCTV naturally also sent reporters to the scene to film and interview.

Zhang Jun raised his arms, just like on the field, accepting everyone's cheers, just like the statue behind him.

Later, a European reporter commented on the news picture: This era has begun.

In the Chinese evening sports news, the news of Zhang Jun being sculpted into a statue in Florence and the news of the Chinese Football Association actively looking for Qiu Suhui's successor were put together. This was definitely not an unintentional arrangement by the editors. In a sense, this arrangement is very interesting and thought-provoking.

※※※

After Qiu Suhui resigned, as he said, he returned to his home in Dalian to enjoy family happiness with his parents, wife, and children, and had a rare relaxation. Only at this time did he not have to worry about the future of the Chinese team, nor did he have to deal with people he didn't like. He could even reject all reporters who wanted to interview him, because he was just an ordinary person now. He didn't want to have any relationship with this circle anymore, even temporary peace was so precious in his eyes.

Everyone has their own destination, and in this summer, even Chen Wei is happy.

Of course, no one knows how long this happiness can last.

※※※

Zhang Jun and Sophie's honeymoon was too short, too short to even be called a "honeymoon," it should be called a "honey-week."

Florence began pre-season training after entering August. This summer, Ren Yudi did not buy any stars. After Florence won the Triple Crown, he believed that the current Florence was strong enough. What they needed was not to supplement their strength, but to stabilize their existing lineup.

Because with the Chinese team winning the World Cup, the value of Chinese players also began to rise. This summer, the most troublesome thing for Florence manager Batistuta was that he always had to deal with applications from other clubs to buy players.

Even players like Zhang Jun, who Ren Yudi designated as "non-sellable," received olive branches from countless wealthy families. Not to mention those other players. Cruz was the most asked-about player. Since Zidane retired, Real Madrid has been looking for his successor, but they have not been able to fulfill their wish. In today's soccer world, there are fewer and fewer truly outstanding attacking midfielders. And Cruz is called an attacking midfielder who can be on par with Ronaldinho. How could he be ignored?

Real Madrid offered a transfer fee of up to 75,000,000 euros for Cruz, a number that drives countless clubs crazy, but Ren Yudi was unmoved. Perhaps seeing his past in Cruz, Ren Yudi has always taken great care of Cruz. In an interview, he said that his Florence would never sell any player because of money. He does have the confidence, Florence's results in the past few seasons have been very good, its global influence is growing, and its commercial potential has been greatly developed with Hua Fang as a behind-the-scenes military advisor. In the Chinese market alone, they have opened fifteen specialty stores in nine cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, and Dalian, specializing in selling various souvenirs authorized by the Florence club, and the business is very hot.

The money Ren Yudi invested in acquiring Florence has basically been recovered. Now he is already considering Hua Fang's suggestion to go back to China to play a tour game after this season. He believes that he will be able to make a lot of money at that time.

As for Xiang Tao, this energetic left-back, his performance as a center-back during the World Cup was impressive. All coaches recognized that he was an all-rounder on the defense line, and he could play in any position. Which club wouldn't want such a versatile player in their team? AC Milan is the most active team in pursuing Xiang Tao. They offered a transfer fee of 30,000,000 euros, hoping to get Xiang Tao. Of course, all this is just a beautiful wish in front of Florence under the leadership of Ren Yudi. And Xiang Tao himself also said that he likes the feeling of playing in Florence very much. He likes his teammates here, the fans here, the city here, everything here. Unless Florence drives him away, he will never leave.

As for other people, being able to play in a Triple Crown club, and a club where the boss is very generous, is naturally a good thing that they can't ask for. Even some stars from other clubs have a good impression of Florence. For example, Arsenal winger Reyes has spread rumors this summer that he publicly expressed his desire for Florence.

Florence's aggressive attacking style is indeed a paradise for many attacking players, not to mention being able to play with Zhang Jun?

Colombian young star John Jones, who shined in South Africa this summer, successfully landed in the European league because of his performance in the World Cup, but he did not join Florence as he wished, but went to Real Sociedad in La Liga. He admitted before the transfer that his idol was Zhang Jun and that he very much hoped to partner with Zhang Jun - this was all caused by his game against Zhang Jun in the World Cup.

It is nothing great to become an idol of fans, but it is not easy to become an idol of stars. Zhang Jun did it easily.

Compared with the madness of the outside world, Florence is very calm internally. The team first went to Switzerland for closed training, and then went to the Netherlands to participate in the Ajax Invitational Tournament.

The team's managers basically have nothing to do except discuss contract renewals and salary increase requests with some stars' agents.

After a perfect vacation, Sabato reappeared on the sidelines with vigor, and his voice echoed in the training ground time and time again. The team atmosphere is great, everyone is in high spirits, and there are no injuries.

Even Sabato admitted that this season's preparation is the smoothest and most perfect since he coached Florence.

※※※

At the Ajax Invitational Tournament in mid-August, Florence first defeated Eindhoven in the semi-finals, and then defeated Ajax in the final on penalties, winning the invitational tournament champion and a championship bonus of 200,000 euros.

For Ren Yudi's club, they don't care about this little money. Sabato, out of consideration for examining the state of each player, changed two completely different lineups in the two games. The starting players in the first game and the second game were completely different. In the first game, the main players from last season all played, and as a result, they easily defeated Eindhoven 3:0 with some reservations. In the final, Sabato replaced all the main players, and as a result, they tied Ajax 2:2, and finally had to rely on penalties to determine the winner.

Sabato's arrangement made the Dutch fans who came to the scene to watch the game very unhappy, because in addition to cheering for Ajax, an important reason why they came here was to see Zhang Jun and Cruz's superb performances. They did not expect that Zhang Jun and Cruz did not play a minute in this final, which made the fans feel very disappointed.

Sabato naturally has his reasons. Judging from the first game, Zhang Jun's state was not at his best. After a successful season and summer, his body also seemed very tired. At this time, what he needed was rest, not competition. In the past few days of training, he has been recovering in the strength room and has not participated in the team's joint training.

In the 3:0 victory over Eindhoven, fans and the media placed high hopes on Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun did not score a goal, and his running did not seem very active, which made people very disappointed. After the game, some media claimed that Zhang Jun was in poor condition and that the new season was worrying. Some people even brought up old scores, mentioning the conflict between Zhang Jun and the then head coach Malesani after the 2006 World Cup in Germany due to frequent injuries and poor form. Of course, with the current relationship between Zhang Jun and Sabato, it is impossible for conflicts to occur, and the team will not change owners because of this, but Zhang Jun's poor state is indeed worrying. Four years ago, he only won the third place in the World Cup's top scorer, and he was depressed for almost the entire season. This time, he is not only the World Cup's top scorer, but also the best player. Will this depression be more serious?

Don't blame the media for making a fuss, because they always do.

Zhang Jun did not make any explanation for this, and Sabato did not say anything. Only Xiang Tao refuted this point in an interview. "History has told us countless times that anyone who doubts Zhang Jun will end up dying miserably."

※※※

Because they won the Champions League for the first time, Florence needs to participate in the European Super Cup before the start of the season. This is the most important game before the season. It is definitely not a warm-up game or a friendly match. Generally, no coach will use this game to test the lineup and adjust the players' state, because this is the first honor of the season. But Sabato is destined to be no ordinary coach. The outside world is saying that Zhang Jun is not in good condition, and he thinks so too. Zhang Jun is indeed a little out of shape, so it is just right to use this game to help Zhang Jun find his form. He ordered before the game that the entire team should pass the ball to Zhang Jun and let him finish the shot. This is not a suggestion, it is a tactical requirement, it is the order of a head coach.

Last season, Florence started their successful season with a victory in the Italian Super Cup. So, can history repeat itself this season?

※※※

CCTV5 rarely broadcasted the European Super Cup live. Just because it is Florence's game, and this team has three Chinese players, and their captain is Zhang Jun.

August 21st, Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, European Super Cup.

Despite the previous rumors that Zhang Jun's competitive state was not good and his body was very tired, Sabato still put Zhang Jun in the starting position for this game.

This game has a special meaning for Zhang Jun: this is his 200th game representing Florence. Since being loaned to Florence in January 2006, Serie C, Serie B, Italian Cup, Champions League, Super Cup... including all official matches, it has been exactly 200 games to this day, August 21, 2010.

Zhang Jun himself did not know this record, it was a reporter who reminded him that he noticed it.

"It's amazing, I have actually played 200 official matches representing Florence. I never remember these things, but hearing this news still makes me a little excited. I hope this is just the beginning, and I hope I can usher in the next 200 games. As for my state? Hey, won't you know during the game?" Zhang Jun said to the many reporters with a smile when interviewed before the game.

When Zhang Jun led the team out of the tunnel wearing the captain's armband and a purple jersey, the Allianz Arena erupted with huge cheers. A large part of these came from neutral fans who came to see Zhang Jun. The current Florence is like Real Madrid before, with a large number of fans all over the world.

Florence's opponent in the European Super Cup is actually not weak, it is Liverpool from the English Premier League. But the light of Zhang Jun and others is too strong, they have become completely supporting roles. The whole world is talking about Florence and Zhang Jun's state, which naturally makes the Liverpool people very unhappy. They hope to use victory to defend their dignity and honor and shift the world's attention from Florence to them.

But at the beginning of the game, they quickly learned why it is said that Florence is the strongest club in today's soccer world.

Just three minutes into the game, Van Persie, who replaced Joaquin as the right winger, used a breakthrough and then a cross to give the ball to Zhang Jun in front. Zhang Jun's shot was blocked by Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Kirkland, but it sounded the alarm for Liverpool's defense. Just now, a loophole appeared in Liverpool's defense in the ribs between the center back and the side back, and Zhang Jun and Van Persie keenly seized it.

This game is not only to help Zhang Jun regain his form, but also Sabato's acceptance of the test results. In the past season, due to the outstanding performance of Zhang Jun and Pazzini, Van Persie could not find his feeling on the front line, and his poor performance and long-term inability to play made him want to leave. This season, Sabato simply withdrew him from the front line to the defense line. This Super Cup game is also an opportunity for him to test whether his transformation has been successful.

Judging from the beginning of the game, Van Persie is very comfortable on the right midfielder and is performing very well.

It's just that Zhang Jun's shot did not go in, and many people frowned - does this mean that Zhang Jun is really not in good condition?

Soon, Zhang Jun used his actual actions to reassure his fans and make his opponents headache.

In the 17th minute of the game, Zhang Jun retreated to receive the ball, and Cruz passed the ball understandingly. He turned around while receiving the ball and got rid of the first defensive player. Then, he started dribbling at high speed and drove straight in!

First, he used the feint of his upper body to pass Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso who came to defend, and then he broke through defender Carragher with a change of direction.

At this time, the fans at the Allianz Arena began to stand up and cheer for Zhang Jun. They came here to see Zhang Jun's breakthrough like this, dribbling past several people!

Hargreaves, the first English midfielder to be broken through by Zhang Jun, desperately chased back. The whole world knows what the consequences will be if Zhang Jun rushes up like this. Liverpool is not willing to become a sacrifice.

Now in front of Zhang Jun is a very young defender - Mark Jones, a 24-year-old English defender. He is a product of Liverpool's youth training. He has been loaned to the English Championship to train before. This season, he returned to the team and officially became a glorious member of the Red Army.

This game is the first official game he has played for Liverpool. He did not expect that he would face the first severe challenge in his life - he must defend Zhang Jun, otherwise there will only be one goalkeeper behind him.

"Mark! Stop him!" Goalkeeper Kirkland shouted loudly behind Jones. Jones tried to concentrate and put all his energy into the upcoming one-on-one with Zhang Jun.

Hargreaves was still chasing closely behind. Zhang Jun naturally knew this. He deliberately ran towards the young and inexperienced Jones in order to get rid of this unfavorable situation of being attacked from both sides.

Jones saw Zhang Jun getting closer and closer to him. He was a little nervous, wondering if he could stop the world's best striker. Just when he was thinking wildly, Zhang Jun suddenly changed direction. This change of direction was so sudden in the eyes of the inexperienced Jones that when Zhang Jun disappeared from his sight, he reacted, and then he saw a surprised Hargreaves.

Then, the two collided.

Zhang Jun shook off all his opponents, and then faced goalkeeper Kirkland and shot!

In the sighs of the fans in the audience, the ball rolled out of the baseline after brushing the post... Zhang Jun was too obsessed with the angle.

Zhang Jun held his head in regret. But after sighing, the fans gave him warm applause. In their opinion, although the ball did not go in, Zhang Jun's previous series of breakthroughs had let them see the Zhang Jun at his peak was gradually returning.

Hargreaves pulled up Jones, who was lying on the ground: "Are you okay? Damn it... he's so cunning!" The collision just now was not light, fortunately, both of them reacted in time, otherwise one of them would definitely have to leave the field now.

Jones was pulled up, and he turned his head and stared blankly at Zhang Jun's back. He had never seen a person who could run so fast. He just blinked, and the other party disappeared from his eyes. This person... is he the most powerful striker in today's soccer world? Can he really defend him in ninety minutes?

"Too... too terrible..."

Hargreaves, who was still complaining that Zhang Jun was cunning, suddenly heard Jones murmur next to him. Looking at Jones, who was a little distracted, he frowned and his expression became serious.

※※※

It is normal for Jones, who is facing such a big scene for the first time, to have such a performance. After all, the gap between Zhang Jun and him is as far away as Pluto from the sun.

In the subsequent game, Zhang Jun, who was supported by the whole team, became more and more active. His dribbling, breakthroughs and shots threatened Liverpool's goal several times. If it weren't for the desperate defense of Hargreaves and Carragher and other players, Liverpool's goal would have been lost long ago.

In fact, although Liverpool is only a UEFA Cup champion, it does not mean that their strength is not good. After several painful seasons, Benitez successfully completed the blood transfusion project for Liverpool. Now, many of the main players in Liverpool's lineup are very young players. Their energetic performances conquered the critical Liverpool fans in the past season and successfully brought back a European event trophy.

Twenty-four-year-old Mark Jones, twenty-two-year-old German right-back Andre Kalouse, twenty-two-year-old English midfielder Callum Woods, twenty-six-year-old attacking midfielder Jenas, twenty-one-year-old Belgian left midfielder Van der Meulen, twenty-four-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder Diego, twenty-two-year-old Irish right midfielder Paul Kelly... these are Liverpool's future and hope.

In the eyes of the Liverpool media, this Super Cup is the first step in the Red Army's revival.

The first half ended with both sides failing to score, Liverpool also had chances, but Florence had more chances, but Liverpool's defense played too well, stopping Zhang Jun, Pazzini and Cruz's shots again and again.

Faced with this draw, Sabato was not slow at all. He has confidence in his team. If they continue to play like this, Florence will score sooner or later.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again. Sure enough, Liverpool's defense finally collapsed after insisting for fifty minutes. This time it was Zhang Jun's assist. Cruz's previous breakthrough had brought chaos to Liverpool's defense. When the ball was passed to Zhang Jun's feet, the chaotic Liverpool defense had ignored everything and rushed up three people. As a result, other places were empty. Zhang Jun accurately passed the ball to his partner Pazzini in the crowd. This ball was passed too beautifully. When Pazzini received the ball, there was almost no one marking him. As the third shooter in Italy, he would naturally not miss this opportunity and easily scored. Florence took a 1-0 lead!

This goal made the Florence fans who came to the scene cheer, while the Liverpool fans hugged their heads in pain.

Yes, Florence is too strong, and the young Liverpool is no match at all.

In the subsequent game, Zhang Jun scored a goal that marked his regaining his form, a direct free kick that pierced into the upper right corner of the goal like a precision-guided missile, and Kirkland hardly reacted, watching the ball enter the goal.

"The ball is in! This is Zhang Jun's first goal of the new season! Who said he was not in good condition before the game? Don't give Zhang Jun any chance! And don't try to doubt him! The great Zhang Jun!! The game is over! Although it is only the seventy-third minute, but facing such a powerful Florence, facing such a powerful Zhang Jun! Liverpool has no chance, their failure has become a foregone conclusion!" When Zhang Jun kicked the ball into the goal, the commentator of CCTV5 suddenly broke out. There were many criticisms about Zhang Jun's poor state before. As a Chinese, as a Zhang Jun fan, how could he not feel relieved to see this scene?

※※※

Although the commentator's roar was a bit crazy, what he said was the truth. Liverpool, who had been scored two goals, had no hope of tying the score. They were very anxious in the subsequent game, but instead gave Florence the opportunity to launch several counterattacks. When the game entered injury time, Sabato replaced Zhang Jun with Morientes, allowing him to accept the cheers and applause of the entire audience. For Zhang Jun, this was really a perfect 200th game.

Florence achieved the final victory, and he also found his state with a direct free kick and an assist... No, his state has never been lost, just temporarily dormant.

The lion took a nap, and the cats rejoiced to announce that they were the king of beasts, which is ridiculous.

After the game, Hargreaves found Zhang Jun. "Uh, I know it may be a bit presumptuous to bother you like this, we are not familiar with each other. But I still hope you can do me a favor."

"Help?" Zhang Jun found it strange, the opponent came to him, what could he help with?

"It's like this, Mark Jones in our team... Oh, that's number 5, he's a great young man. But, today's game is the first time he has played such an official game for Liverpool. He should have had a good memory, but unfortunately he met you." Hargreaves shrugged.

Zhang Jun said nothing, he waited for the other party to continue.

"You also saw his performance, it was very bad, and he was replaced in the second half. I am afraid that he will be discouraged, so I hope you can give him some encouragement and comfort."

"But why is it me? I see you care about him very much..."

Hargreaves interrupted Zhang Jun: "I was thinking, isn't it more effective to let an opponent praise his performance and encourage him to continue to work hard, so that he can find a new goal and rekindle his fighting spirit than to have me nag him a few words?"

Zhang Jun smiled: "You want me to become his goal and opponent to fight for?"

"No, he is not worthy of being your opponent now. As long as you can make him think so in his heart." Seeing Zhang Jun's smile, Hargreaves breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face.

Zhang Jun looked at Liverpool number 5, who was wearing a vest and was dazed in the distance, and then nodded: "Okay, I know what to do."

Hargreaves kept watching Zhang Jun leave him and walk to the frustrated Jones. It could be seen that Jones was a little surprised by Zhang Jun's sudden appearance and did not react for a while. What surprised Hargreaves was that Zhang Jun took off his jersey and handed it to Jones!

You must know that now anyone on the team that plays against Florence wants to exchange jerseys with Zhang Jun after the game. Hargreaves himself wanted to, but he was embarrassed to ask because he wanted to talk about Jones. He didn't expect that Zhang Jun would take the initiative to exchange jerseys with a defeated general, a novice!

Looking at Jones's silly expression, Hargreaves was anxious: "Idiot! Take it! Mark, you idiot, what are you still doing?"

"What? Don't you want it?" Zhang Jun asked.

Jones then reacted, and quickly reached out to grab the jersey and hugged it tightly in his arms. He was so excited that he even forgot to take off the jersey on his body. Zhang Jun had to take the initiative to ask: "Your jersey..."

Jones then scrambled to take off his jersey and handed it to Zhang Jun.

"I said... Mark, you did a great job, there's no need to be discouraged. I believe that in the future you will become a great defender. Let's play again then!"

Zhang Jun said very sincerely, which deeply moved Jones. He did not expect that such a famous star could accurately call out his name.

"I... I will! I promise! I promise you! Next time we meet, I will definitely successfully defend you. Don't even think about scoring in front of me then!" Apart from this, Jones could not find other words to represent his feelings.

Seeing that the goal had been achieved, Zhang Jun smiled and patted the other party on the shoulder, then turned and left. Leaving only an excited young man constantly admiring the jersey in his hand.

Hargreaves walked up: "Hey, Mark. Give me this jersey..."

Jones glared at him: "Don't even think about it! Zhang Jun gave it to me, I won't give it to anyone!"

Hargreaves rolled his eyes. This kid, if I hadn't asked Zhang Jun, would he have given it to you? Ungrateful!

※※※

Zhang Jun just out of a sense of responsibility to comfort and encourage Jones a few words, did not expect that his jersey will become one of Jones's most precious gifts in his life. At the same time, he did not expect that what he said would become a reality. Years later, the main center back of the England national team was named Mark Jones.

This world-renowned center back has always kept in mind what Zhang Jun said to him at the Allianz Arena, and it later became his creed for continuous struggle. When his career entered a low ebb, when people doubted his strength, he told himself again and again: A person who can be regarded as an opponent by Zhang Jun is definitely not a weak person! So, Mark, you are not a weak person either!

Of course, these are all things that happened later.

Florence won the European Super Cup for the first time, giving their new season a good start. All Florence supporters firmly believe that the current Florence is advancing rapidly on the right path. Their goal this season is not the league championship, nor the European Champions Cup championship, but the European Super Cup champion + Italian Super Cup champion + league champion + European Champions Cup champion + Italian Cup champion + Club World Cup champion = Sextuple Crown.