Chapter 153 The World Club Cup Final (III)

"I admit that I have never heard of this team before, nor have I studied any information about them. This team is very unfamiliar to me. But since they have also entered the final, I will treat them as a very good opponent. Fiorentina will go all out... No, no, that scene from the semi-final will definitely not be repeated. I will not bench any of my key players. Dalian is an opponent that deserves our full attention."

Luo Shengmao turned off the TV. Just as he had guessed, after he eliminated São Paulo with his conservative and passive tactics, many domestic media outlets criticized his behavior mercilessly, and even the lines of criticism were as he expected—disgracing the reputation of the world champion.

He sneered at this kind of criticism, not taking it to heart. At any time in China, there is no shortage of pretentious fools. If he listened to them all, Chinese football would have been finished long ago.

What he cared about was the opponent's attitude. In the TV news just now, Sabato praised him greatly and promised to send all his main players as a sign of respect, which relieved him. In this way, he would be able to prepare according to his initial plan.

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On the other side, Sabato was discussing countermeasures with Di Livio. They knew too little about Dalian. Di Livio was very anxious, but Sabato didn't seem worried at all. From the semi-final to the final, there were a full four days of rest. During these days, Di Livio even dragged Zhang Jun online to collect information—because he couldn't understand the Chinese version of Dalian's official website.

What made Di Livio very happy was that, as the strongest team in the current Chinese league, their official website was well-run, updated in a timely manner, and had all kinds of statistical data. The only drawback was that they didn't have an Italian version.

Each player had a very clear photo, which made it easier for Di Livio and Sabato to identify them.

After spending some money, he printed out a thick stack of materials and handed them to Sabato. Sabato was very grateful for Di Livio's work. However, the only role this information played for him was to familiarize himself with the team, allowing him to match the players' names with their faces. It didn't help him in the slightest in studying the opponent's tactics and usual playing style.

As far as Sabato was concerned, the opponent's tactics were already all in his head. He firmly believed that yesterday's game was all the strength that Dalian could muster. Just watching that one game was enough for him to have a deep understanding of the team, and at the same time, he could understand the coach to some extent.

He didn't think that Dalian could pose any threat to Fiorentina going all out. The key wasn't the opponent, but himself. How much spirit could his players muster when facing such an unexpected opponent? After all, there were still domestic league and Italian Cup matches waiting for them after they returned. This game was destined to distract some people.

The opponent would definitely do their best, but he had to consider many aspects: what if a key player got injured in this game? This was definitely what Fiorentina had to guard against first.

Currently, Fiorentina was in very good shape, advancing triumphantly on all fronts. At this time, the only thing that could stop the high-speed Fiorentina train was injuries.

There was another problem. It was previously said that Luo Shengmao was a coach who advocated offense, but yesterday's game subverted people's image of him. Some Chinese media even painstakingly dug out his coaching experience in the youth team, indicating that this person was born to be conservative. So, in the final four days later, would Luo Shengmao attack or defend?

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Four days passed quickly. Dalian was tense up and down. They actively prepared, training every day, and the starting lineup was not announced until the last minute. Fiorentina was the opposite. They only trained seriously for two days, and then had free activities on the third day. The whole team went to Tokyo for shopping. On the last day, they only did simple recovery training, and then disbanded. The players seemed quite relaxed, and the reporters even felt that Fiorentina was looking down on Dalian. Many Chinese media outlets were indignant about this.

Only Luo Shengmao didn't believe these things. Sabato was known as a cunning fox in Europe. All this was likely a pretense for him to see, in order to provoke him and make him lose his cool judgment. He must not fall for this trick. This game still had to be played according to the tactics set at the beginning.

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The players were relaxed, but the coach was not at all. Sabato asked Di Livio, "Angelo, tell me, if Dalian plays defensive counterattacks, or even sets up a bus, trying to drag us into a penalty shootout, how should we deal with it?"

Di Livio thought for a long time, but didn't open his mouth.

"Then let's put it this way: to break the opponent's dense defense, what methods do we have?"

"Long shots from the middle, breakthroughs on the wings, long cross passes, staggered runs by forwards and defenders... Many. But, Antonio, how can you be sure they will be conservative?"

"I'm not sure either, I'm just designing the situation in the worst direction and preparing everything. Of course, if they attack us, that would be the best, I couldn't ask for more."

"Actually, why are we worrying here about what tactics the opponent will use?" Di Livio said, "When Fiorentina faces opponents now, don't they all stick to their own style of play? As long as we follow our own steps, what does it matter what the opponent does?"

Sabato suddenly slapped his forehead: "You remind me, I was confused. That's right, conspiracies and tricks are only effective when the strength of both sides is not too different. But, if there is a distance of ten thousand light years between our strength and theirs, then any tricks are just useless decorations. Although the gap between Fiorentina and Dalian is not ten thousand light years, I don't think they can beat us just by playing tricks."

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Zhang Jun was very happy to meet a team from China in the final. If the opponent was São Paulo, then this would just be an ordinary final to compete for the championship. But when the opponent became Dalian, the situation was different. For Zhang Jun, this was the first time he had played against a team from his home country in an official match. There were many acquaintances in it, and the game would be broadcast live across the country. The emotions in the hearts of the fans watching the game would also be very complicated. He thought this was very interesting, and the opponent alone was enough to make this game memorable for him.

Before the game, he also talked to his national team teammates such as Li Jie on the phone. Since the World Cup, the Chinese team players had not gathered together. The Football Association was still selecting a coach. After the Chinese team won the World Cup, the scope of the coach selection became larger, but it also made the Football Association's vision more critical. Some media and leaders of the State Sports General Administration were even calling for domestic Chinese coaches to coach this mature team, on the one hand to train coaches, and on the other hand to show the world that we Chinese have the best players, and also the best coaches, not just Qiu Suhui.

It seemed that the leaders of the State Sports General Administration had some opinions on Qiu Suhui's choice to retire at this time.

From the phone call, it could be known that Dalian was also very excited to be able to play against Fiorentina. Li Jie said that he was now dreaming of playing football with Zhang Jun, and even the always silent Sima Hongxin was rarely a little excited.

Zhang Jun felt that he could understand the other party's reactions to some extent. Although the Chinese national team was the world champion, our clubs were still very, very far from the world's top level. They may not have the opportunity to play against world-class teams all year round, and even if they did, they were just some commercial exhibition matches that didn't put in any effort. A final like this to compete for the championship was very valuable. Only such a game could stimulate the players' inner fighting spirit and passion.

Chinese professional football clubs still lacked the opportunity to communicate with the world's top level... The Japanese could use money to create a Toyota Cup, letting the two strongest teams in Europe and the Americas come to Tokyo to play every year, on the one hand to cultivate the domestic football market and increase people's interest in football; on the other hand, they also indirectly improved the level of domestic football. Why hadn't anyone in China thought of it? In Zhang Jun's view, there must be no shortage of people in China who had more money than the Japanese. Why were they unwilling to invest? Perhaps the main reason was that our domestic professional football market was not mature enough and could not bring them tangible benefits.

When the Chinese domestic professional league could attract famous European and American players to choose this place as a place to support their families before retirement, that would be successful enough. Higher level? That was probably not something Zhang Jun would be alive to see. Foreign leagues had developed for hundreds of years, and the Chinese league still had a long way to go. It required the joint efforts of several generations, perseverance. Like before, one thing in the first three years, and another in the next three years, each leader came to power and changed according to his ideas, changing back and forth, reversing orders frequently... Nothing could be accomplished in that way, we were just standing still.

Zhang Jun never believed that China had taken off in football just because the Chinese team had won a World Cup once. He didn't believe the media's praise, he only believed his own judgment. He had gained a lot of knowledge and had his own ideas from playing football abroad all these years. The foundation of a country's football level lies in the level of mass football. The most direct reflection of the level of mass football is the domestic league. Only when the league level goes up will it attract more commercial sponsorships and attract more people to watch. With money, we can continue to increase investment in football infrastructure, improve our own football level, and create a healthy football environment for the whole society. Then attract more people and money to come in, and from then on, form a complete virtuous cycle.

Ignoring the league and only focusing on the national team, pinning all hopes on a few geniuses who happen to emerge, is very dangerous. The South Korean team has already sounded the alarm for the Chinese team—in the past few years, they have been focusing on the national team, while ignoring the construction of the domestic league. When the talent was cut off, their football level began to decline. Now Chinese teams at all levels can easily defeat their old rivals. On the contrary, because Japan has always attached great importance to league construction, a good football environment has been formed in the country. Their new talents are emerging one after another, either playing in the domestic league or exporting to European leagues, and finally replenishing the national team, improving the national team's level. They have embarked on a virtuous cycle.

Chinese football cannot learn from South Korea, that is killing the chicken to get the eggs. Japan is the example and teacher of Chinese football.

This trip to Tokyo to play in the Club World Cup also made Zhang Jun deeply feel that football was becoming more and more important in Japan. In the past, Japanese teenagers were fascinated by baseball. Later, with the improvement of Japanese football level and the improvement of the environment, more and more Japanese young people regarded football as their first interest. Looking at the fanatical Japanese fans, Zhang Jun couldn't help but sigh: this is a powerful opponent, and will be an enemy of Chinese football for a long time to come. Of course, at the same time, it is also a teacher.

The Chinese team becoming a new favorite of the World Cup champion, although it cannot be regarded as the real rise of Chinese football, it can be used as an opportunity to attract the attention of the world, so that more people pay attention to this place, thereby bringing more hope, bringing in and going out.

This is a hope for the real rise of Chinese football.

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The day before the game, Dalian coach Luo Shengmao, who had finished the pre-war preparation meeting, was talking to someone on the phone.

Everyone was actually familiar with this person. It was none other than Qiu Suhui, the former coach of the Chinese men's national football team.

Luo Shengmao was the coach of Dalian, and Qiu Suhui was from Dalian. He was currently at home in Dalian, accompanying his family. The two had actually known each other for a long time, but Luo Shengmao had been working in the youth teams of Dalian and Liaoning, and was not as famous as Qiu Suhui. He was able to become the coach of Dalian, thanks to Qiu Suhui recommending him.

The two used to like to get together to analyze the world football situation. If people couldn't get together, they could also use the phone. Later, after Qiu Suhui resigned, the two gathered together every two or three days. It was precisely because of these years of contact and understanding that Qiu Suhui believed that Luo Shengmao was an excellent coach. As long as he was well-trained and increased his coaching experience and resume, he would definitely be able to achieve a great career. The Chinese men's football team was recently selecting a coach, and he let Luo Shengmao coach Dalian, also for the sake of the future national team coach.

Although he had retired from this position, his love for Chinese football made it impossible for him to completely give up everything related to football.

"Do you have any questions? Lao Luo."

"Ahem, it's like this. Our opponent is Fiorentina, you know that, right?"

Qiu Suhui nodded on the other end of the phone: "The TV, newspapers, and the Internet have been reporting like crazy these days. It is said that hundreds of Chinese reporters will flock to Tokyo on the day of the final."

"Hey, then my pressure is really great..." Luo Shengmao gave a wry smile. "Fiorentina is very strong, and almost no one is optimistic about us. It stands to reason that it doesn't matter even if we lose, but I just don't want to lose at this time. I especially want to defeat Fiorentina and prove my ability to outsiders. I am a little hesitant now, and I don't know which side I should choose. I want to hear your opinion."

There was a moment of silence on the other side, obviously Qiu Suhui was also thinking. This was the first official match in the history of Chinese professional football between a club and the strongest foreign team—absolutely not comparable to those entertaining commercial matches. The significance of this game was so great that the media had not spared any effort in publicizing it these days. Although Qiu Suhui did not agree with some of the remarks, he thought that most of them were very reasonable.

For example: first of all, if Dalian wins, then after the Chinese team has just become the world champion, it will undoubtedly be a great victory to continue to expand China's world football influence and further improve China's football image. It will help to further increase domestic enthusiasm and various investments in football, and the political and economic significance cannot be ignored.

Secondly, if Dalian wins, it will also greatly boost the confidence of the Chinese people. After being called "sick men of East Asia" for half a century, the Chinese people have some inferiority complex. Any victory will be expanded into a victory for all of China and the entire nation. Conversely, any failure may also be magnified. Once Dalian wins, it will boost the confidence of the Chinese people. Just this effect is very remarkable.

Thirdly, China's men's football team's World Cup victory was a victory for the national team. If Dalian wins, it will be a victory for the club. This shows that China's football reform has indeed achieved results, which will help the continued promotion of football reform. Although Qiu Suhui has a lot of complaints about Chen Wei, he still appreciates his ability to continue to adhere to football's professionalization reform. Dalian's victory will allow Chen Wei to continue to drift, but it can also play a very huge role in reform—objectively.

Finally, this game will be broadcast live around the world. Many people will watch this game, and I believe that it must include scouts from European clubs. Then, as long as the Dalian team players perform well, they will definitely be favored by European clubs, and at that time, they will be able to leap over the dragon gate like the batch of national team members that year. And what counts as performing well? The best way is naturally to win the game.

Qiu Suhui and Luo Shengmao would not worry about Dalian's reserve strength. Even if they sent away most of the main players in the current team, Luo Shengmao could draw a batch of top players from the youth teams at all levels to form a new Dalian. Luo Shengmao had been working in the youth teams of Liaoning for a long time, and he was very clear about the level of football in Liaoning's youth. Although a batch of geniuses from Luoyang, Henan robbed the limelight a long time ago. However, compared with the golden generation of Luoyang, Liaoning's advantage is that they are accumulating slowly and steadily, and they don't have to worry about the talent being cut off. And Henan has not been able to produce any high-level talents since Zhang Jun and the others left. This is also what Qiu Suhui is worried about—what if Chinese football also has a talent cut-off one day, like Henan? Dalian and Guangdong and Shandong's youth football training are national models. He believes that he can learn from the Brazilian and Argentine models, transfer outstanding talents to professional teams to play games, and then be sent out after being seen by European teams, and then transfer those well-trained young people to play in the professional league to increase experience, and so on.

Since the national youth football plan is developing slowly, let the local clubs complete the blood transfusion project for the country.

This Club World Cup final is related to the above four points, and it is no wonder that Luo Shengmao is more cautious and hesitant at this time. Who can relax with so many expectations on their shoulders?

Qiu Suhui understands Luo Shengmao, this kind of pressure makes him sway from side to side, but it is very dangerous for the coach to have such emotions before the final. This kind of swaying will be expressed as a lack of confidence, which in turn will directly affect the morale of the team.

"Lao Luo, I remember there is such a sentence: when you don't know what to do, choose the method that you think is the best. You are now the coach of Dalian, I don't want to say extra words, I will only say this sentence to you, I hope you consider it yourself and choose."

Luo Shengmao, who ended the call, did not say anything. He just sat quietly next to the telephone.

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Sabato had already determined the way to play this game, just like they showed in any Serie A league, Champions League game, or Italian Cup game, they decided to treat this game as an ordinary game. It didn't matter who the opponent was, it didn't matter what the occasion was, as long as they played their own football well, then no opponent could pose a threat to the current Fiorentina.

Therefore, no matter what the starting lineup of Dalian was, no matter what their style of play was, he only had to tell his subordinates: just play the game the way you used to.

"There is less than half an hour left before the game starts." Sabato looked at his watch, "I still don't know the opponent's starting lineup, and I don't know whether they want to defend and counterattack or attack us. But it doesn't matter, I believe that everyone has learned a little bit about this team from your captain's home country these days. We don't need to pay attention to how they play, we just need to insist on playing this game in our own way, and then the victory will definitely be ours. Because... we are stronger than them, many, many times stronger!"

Sabato was as arrogant as ever, and Zhang Jun, in addition to feeling a little sorry for Dalian, also admitted that he had the capital to be arrogant. To say that Dalian can defeat Fiorentina? I am afraid that there are not many people in this world who can believe it.

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On the other side, Luo Shengmao also made his own decision.

Looking at the excited players in the locker room whose bodies were trembling, Luo Shengmao felt at ease and proud of his choice, because he firmly believed that the players' choices must be the same as his.

"Guys."

The players raised their heads and turned their eyes to their coach. Because he led the team to win the AFC Champions League in just one year, and now he has reached the Club World Cup final, Luo Shengmao's prestige in the hearts of the players is unprecedented. Everyone believes in him.

"I think if you go online or call back home, you must know what this game has been rendered into in China. I didn't want to give you so much pressure, but now that communication is developed, even if I don't say it, you all know what's going on. So I tell you directly, this game is very important for us, for China behind us, and for yourselves. But I don't intend to use the conservative tactics of the last game. I believe you also know that it is useless to be conservative when facing Fiorentina."

Many players were nodding, naturally they would not want to spend the ninety minutes with Fiorentina in a passive and conservative manner. It was hard to have a chance to play against the most powerful team on this planet. If they shrank back to defend, how would they have the face to mention it in the future? It was rare to let them recall in an interview: "The game with Fiorentina? Ah, in that game, I spent the whole game participating in the defense in my own penalty area, and I don't remember anything else."

That would be too embarrassing.

"So in this game, we will return to the most familiar offensive football."

When the players below heard Luo Shengmao say this, they were so excited that they almost shouted out. In the domestic league and the AFC Champions League, they swept their opponents with invincible offense. Although they had to play defensive counterattacks in the last game in order to enter the final, they still felt uncomfortable in their hearts.

"Fiorentina's offense is famous all over the world. When I decided to attack them, I was actually mentally prepared to lose the game. But!" Luo Shengmao suddenly raised his voice, "But, I don't want you to admit defeat now, otherwise, we might as well not walk out of this door! You must know that they are the European champions, the Italian champions, and we are also the Asian champions and the Chinese champions. We may not be much worse than them!"

"That's right! Football is round, and it's not certain who will win or lose!"

"That's right, that's right, why are we sure to lose?"

"Let the Italians see how powerful we are! Chinese teams are not so easy to mess with!"

……

Luo Shengmao signaled everyone to be quiet, he still had something to say.

"The game is coming soon, and you will be on the field soon. Before walking out of this door, I have one last word to say to you: no matter what the game turns out later, remember, you represent China. You can lose anything, but you can't lose face!"

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Tokyo National Stadium is a very old and old comprehensive stadium that once hosted the Tokyo Olympics. Now, after renovation and reconstruction, it has become a brand-new modern stadium. This is the venue for the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Because Sabato announced the starting lineup for this game to the news media one day before the start of the game, popular star players such as Zhang Jun, Krøldrup, and Joaquín were on the list, which caused狂热 Japanese fans to be excited for a while, and the tickets for the final were quickly sold out. And more than two hundred reporters came to the scene to interview, the main force of which were Japanese and Chinese reporters, and the third was Italian media. How to say, there was also an Italian team in the final team, and the Italian side would not be able to justify it without paying attention to it.

Although the Italian side did not take this game too seriously, the Chinese side paid great attention to it. They broadcast this "World Cup" in the club just like broadcasting the World Cup final. Everyone's focus fell on the Chinese players. There is such a very representative view in China: When have so many Chinese players appeared in such a world-level football game? We as Chinese should be proud of this.

The two sides were very friendly during the pre-match handshake, side selection, and exchange of team flags. Li Jie even joked with Zhang Jun. But Zhang Jun knew very well, no, everyone knew that when the game started, friendly smiles would be replaced by murderous eyes.

What excited Sabato was that from the first minute after the start of the game, the Dalian team held high the banner of attack and launched an attack against the powerful Fiorentina. Even the commentators of CCTV5 did not expect this kind of scene. They repeated several times: "Are we seeing it wrong? Should the one wearing the white jersey be Fiorentina?"

When Li Jie headed a header on the Fiorentina crossbar, Sabato stood up excitedly from his seat: "Angelo! Angelo... Look at how ridiculous we were to be afraid of this and afraid of that before the game. People are attacking us, attacking us! God, God bless! This is really the best situation!"

"That's natural. Even a left back like Xiang Tao has such a strong desire to attack. Zhang Jun is also the best shooter in the world, and Krøldrup is the best attacking midfielder. It is understandable that their home country's club insists on attacking in key games, right?"

"Yes, yes, you are right! They are great. In order to pay tribute to them, we must also go all out to attack and completely defeat them with offense!"

Di Livio rolled his eyes. Is this what is called tribute? I am afraid that what the other coach does not want to see most is your kind of "tribute"...

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"Unexpectedly... attack..." Zhang Jun was also a little surprised by Dalian's move. In his impression (at least ten years ago), Chinese clubs rarely dared to attack the opponent in key games, otherwise there would not have been the humiliation of losing 0:5 to Japanese teams and 1:7 to West Asian teams. I don't know why, they become more and more unable to let go when they need to let go, afraid of this and afraid of that, and in the end they lose the game and lose their people in a useless way, which makes many fans depressed to the point of vomiting blood.

It can't be blamed on Zhang Jun for not having confidence in his country, but he has not watched Chinese domestic leagues for many years. His understanding in this area is really pitifully poor.

"Hehe!" Lin Feng, who ran past Zhang Jun, smiled at him, "I know what you are thinking when I see your surprised expression. There is nothing to be surprised about. If I still shrink back and defend when facing you, then I don't even have the capital to brag when I go back to China! 'I am someone who has fought against Fiorentina'!" Lin Feng spread his hands and ran backwards from in front of Zhang Jun.

"Zhang! Zhang!" Zhang Jun heard Sabato calling him from outside the field.

"Tell them! Press out to attack! Don't be afraid of the opponent's attack, use our attack to suppress them! Since they want to attack us, then satisfy them!" Sabato waved his arms and roared. "There is nothing to be polite about!!"

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This is a game worth treasuring by Chinese fans forever, not only because Chinese professional clubs have set foot on the final stage of the world's highest event for the first time, but also because the courage shown by Dalian players in this game reminds people of the World Cup that ended not long ago.

This is a classic duel that is worth being included in the Club World Cup historical memories by FIFA (if this event can be sustained like the Champions League), because the two sides brought a world-class enjoyment to the fans in the stadium and the audience in front of the TV with a passionate offensive battle. The Dalian team is not famous? It doesn't matter, it's enough if they play well. The classic is not because of the participating parties, but because of what kind of game they play.

The players of both sides brought a classic game to the audience at the Tokyo National Stadium, attacking each other fiercely, with a fast pace of attack and defense transition, delicate footwork, tacit and unexpected cooperation, wonderful shots, beautiful saves... In short, all the elements that should be there are there, and of course, there are also goals that make people scream with excitement.

Seventeen minutes into the game, Fiorentina took the lead as expected. The Dalian team attacked very fiercely, which also meant that there were many gaps behind them. The experienced Fiorentina keenly seized this opportunity. Krøldrup passed directly to Pazzini, and Pazzini shot into the upper right corner from the left side of the penalty area with almost no one defending. No matter how good Sima Hongxin was, it was impossible to save a ball that was shot into the far corner of the goal while blocking the near corner.

The football flew into the goal, grazing the goalpost. There was cheers in the National Stadium. Except for Chinese fans, everyone else was cheering for Fiorentina. It seems that Dalian's ugly play in the semi-finals made their impression score in the hearts of Japanese fans very low.

Fiorentina led Dalian 1:0, which made the Fiorentina players slightly excited. For them, defeating Dalian should be a sure thing, and there was no need to be so happy.

But they soon found that they were wrong. Dalian's attack almost made their city gate fall. Li Jie's barbaric shots and dribbling even made Svensson a little afraid. A few times, they thought they were facing not Dalian, but AC Milan.

As the first half was about to end, Fiorentina finally broke through the goal guarded by Sima Hongxin for the second time after four consecutive shots by Joaquin. The score of 2:0 made many people think that Dalian had no hope. The second half was just a Fiorentina goal show.

But I don't know what Luo Shengmao said to the players during the half-time break. The Dalian team in the second half continued to strengthen their attack, and it was almost crazy.

This momentum was completely unexpected by the Italians, and many people were very relaxed during the half-time break.

The Dalian people's efforts finally paid off in the twelfth minute of the second half. Lin Feng pulled to the wing to cross, Li Jie jumped high in the middle, standing against Bonera, and then a powerful header!

Because the distance was too close, Frey could not save it, and could only watch the football hit the net.

At this moment, the Chinese fans in the National Stadium were ignited. They cheered for Dalian crazily like they did in the World Cup - because of the World Cup, the Chinese fan team has been greatly trained and improved, and now the overall quality is no worse than the Korean "Red Devils" cheerleading team.

Li Jie was very excited after scoring the goal. He even ignored the referee's yellow card warning and ran wildly all the way to celebrate, his muscles as if marking his team as one.

His teammates pressed him to the ground, shouting loudly in front of the TV camera: "We scored! What is Fiorentina?!"

"Well done!"

……

Zhang Jun stood not far away with his hands on his hips, quietly watching the excited Dalian players, his compatriots. They were just narrowing the score gap, but they were so excited. I am afraid that the meaning of scoring a goal is greater than the meaning of the score.

Because they proved that they are only one goal away from the world's highest level...

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Although Zhang Jun started the game, his performance was far from satisfying the Japanese fans who were full of expectations for him. Now it has almost become a set pattern. Whenever there is an important game, the team's number one star will definitely perform mediocrely, but the people around him will keep shining. Maybe the role of the team's number one star is to use his fame and halo to scare the opponent and attract the defensive attention to himself, so as to create more opportunities for his teammates.

Li Jie fulfilled his wish and got a goal and a yellow card. The Dalian team's morale was unprecedented, and they continued to maintain the offensive pressure on Fiorentina, and Sabato's insistence on not retreating also allowed the fans to see a melee. Everyone punched to the flesh and fought fiercely and wonderfully.

Moreover, because of this situation, the goalkeepers of both teams became stars second only to the attacking players. Frey's performance was naturally great, after all, he was the best goalkeeper in Italy last season. And Sima Hongxin's performance, I believe, also made the European scouts on the stands and in front of the TV shine. This tall goalkeeper, who rarely yells at his teammates and almost never leaves the small penalty area, has an exceptionally agile reaction. He even reminds people of the former Brazilian goalkeeper, AC Milan's goalkeeper Dida.

Zhang Jun himself has had at least five shots planted in this person's hands.

This situation easily reminded him of the game many years ago when he was still a student. Of course, the current Sima Hongxin is more powerful than before, and he Zhang Jun is far from being comparable to himself at that time. Sima Hongxin is playing at a super level, but Zhang Jun is not fully powered up yet.

※※※

The score of 1:2 made the Chinese people excited and also made the Dalian team see the hope of tying or even winning the game. Their attack became more and more bold, and at the same time, the loopholes in the defense line became more and more.

In the seventy-first minute of the entire game, Zhang Jun, who had not scored a goal for a long time, finally broke out. After receiving a pass in the midfield, he moved forward with the ball, and then made two two-on-one cooperation with Krøldrup in a row that made the audience scream non-stop. He successfully broke into the penalty area, and just as he entered the penalty area, Sima Hongxin, who almost never left the small penalty area, decisively abandoned the goal and attacked!

This made many people not dare to believe their eyes, only Zhang Jun was not surprised, because when they first played against each other, Sima Hongxin also frequently attacked when facing him. Don't attack? Joke, no matter how well the angle is blocked, there will always be blind spots that he has not noticed. For a striker like Zhang Jun who shoots at tricky angles, it is not difficult to find this blind spot and shoot in from there.

In one-on-one, the striker always dominates. For people like Zhang Jun, facing the goalkeeper's attack, he has more room to choose. Complex, dribble past the goalkeeper; simple, shoot directly.

This time, Zhang Jun chose the way that the fans like the most - he feinted a shot and buckled, knocked Sima Hongxin to the ground, and then accelerated to surpass, breaking through the last line of defense, and easily pushed the football into the empty goal!

"Zhang Jun scored! He is not soft-hearted at all when facing old friends... But, let us cheer, this is indeed a beautiful goal. Everyone has been waiting for him for a full seventy-one minutes. He finally scored! As the captain, number one star and best scorer of Fiorentina, I am afraid that many people would not be satisfied if he did not score a goal, right?"

Zhang Jun was not too excited after scoring the goal. He just waved his fist at the stands.

He really couldn't put himself in a very excited mood after scoring a goal in a game against a Chinese team.

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Before Zhang Jun scored the goal, the Dalian team players were still full of hope, not only because the score gap was only one goal. But after Zhang Jun scored the goal, they found that the hope of winning was gone. This was not only because the score gap had widened to two goals, but also because Zhang Jun's condition had come - this was the most terrifying thing. Once this world's best shooter starts, it is almost impossible for anyone in the current football world to stop him.

So Luo Shengmao was standing on the sidelines at this moment, without any expression. He knew that the possibility of losing the game was high, but he still wanted the players to fight and gamble. Now, the result was as he expected. The gap between Dalian and Fiorentina was still quite large, and the gap between Chinese professional football and the world's top level was still quite large, far more than two goals.

After being stunned for a while, Luo Shengmao used the last two substitutions, replacing a striker, withdrawing a defender, replacing an attacking midfielder, and withdrawing a defensive midfielder. This move