Two days before the quarterfinals, Zhang Jun received a call from Fiorentina, Italy. The call was Xiang Tao. He told Zhang Jun that Fiorentina had finished the first leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifying match. They defeated Bulgaria's CSKA 2:0 away and are now in pre-season training to prepare for the second leg on August 25.

Fiorentina's acquisition this season is not as stormy as last season, but it is also proceeding in an orderly manner. In terms of defenders, Fiorentina snatched Parma's central defender Daniel Bonela from many giants, which is an excellent defender known as Nesta's successor. His arrival will greatly enhance Fiorentina's defense line. Since Bonela can play both a central defender and a right back, the right back position has also been strengthened to a certain extent. This transfer cost Ren Yudi 23 million euros, and he won it after defeating Juventus, AC Milan, Barcelona, ​​Arsenal and other giants.

It can be said that although Fiorentina's acquisition this summer is not as crazy as last year, it is a tough battle every game, and almost every transfer negotiation is not easy. Why do you say that, Bonela is the first player to confirm a transfer to Fiorentina. Since he started, the players who signed in Fiorentina have made the club very laborious. Ren Yudi even borrowed Zhang Jun's agent Huafang to help him negotiate.

Huafang was not willing at that time because she was the agent of a single player, not the manager of a team. However, Ren Yudi unexpectedly let go of his figure and begged hard, which made her a little moved. Finally, she agreed to take action on the condition of "I want to give me a very high commission."

Then, Fiorentina and Chelsea had a head-on duel.

Fiorentina and Chelsea have similar backgrounds, so they have always been called "Chelsea in Italy" by many media because both bosses are very rich, and the head coaches of both teams are very unique and of course. Both teams rely on the above two points to call the wind and rain in their respective leagues.

This time, Fiorentina fell in love with Chelsea's left winger, Irishman Damien Duff. This 29-year-old player has gradually lost his main position at Chelsea. Because of the growing mature Wright on the right, Robben on the left is in the team and the Premier League, and he is far less than the glory of the previous few seasons. Sabato was attracted by this and believed that the players themselves should not have problems, as long as they negotiate with Chelsea. Moreover, Duff, who cannot play as a main player at Chelsea, is a very important player for Fiorentina, who is about to go to the European Champions League.

However, Abu and Mourinho, who have always been rich, have been snatching people from others. When is it the turn of others to poach their corners? What's more, Mourinho insists that although Duff cannot play as the absolute main player, he is still very good as a first substitute. Chelsea is unwilling to let go, so both sides are so tired. Zhang Jun and Xiang Tao do not know what the specific negotiations look like, but a month later, on August 18, both Fiorentina and Chelsea official websites claimed this incident: Duff transferred to Fiorentina at a "sky-high price" of 28 million euros. Why put quotes? Because for players of Duff's age, 28 million euros is indeed a bit high. However, Ren Yudi didn't care, and Sabato didn't say anything, just happy: the team's strength on the left side has been strengthened again.

Another thing that made Zhang Jun very happy is that the friend he met when he was at Warrendam, Dutchman Van Persie is also coming. Fiorentina spent 12 million euros to buy this frontcourt who can play as a left winger, a forward, or a midfielder. He is known as the "best successor of Borgkamp", and has never been able to play as a main player in Arsenal. He was frustrated and hoped to change the environment. When Fiorentina sent an invitation, he agreed without considering it because Zhang Jun was there.

Sabato believes that Van Persie's arrival can relieve Crew's pressure, and can also properly reinforce the left side, and cooperate with Zhang Jun to play forward. In short, he is a very practical player. As for his temper... Anyway, there are so many hot buckets in the team, not many more than him.

Finally, Xiang Tao told Zhang Jun excitedly that one thing was based on the overly excited coach Sabato one day... This summer, the team may have at least one heavyweight player. But Sabato did not say it, and no one else knew it. However, thinking about the boss's spirit of spending money, it is probably not impossible to really have a world-class star.

"Hey, Zhang Jun! Do you know? Maybe we can really win the same championship next season! This lineup is too strong! It's really! It's too strong!"

Xiang Tao's excited voice was still echoing in Zhang Jun's ears, and he couldn't wait to return to Florence to meet his new teammates. However...

Zhang Jun raised his head, looked at his silent teammates around him, and the head coach who was analyzing their opponents, were pulled back to the cruel reality.

Yes, the cruel reality...

Almost half of the Olympics have been held. With the advantage of the host, the Chinese team firmly occupies the second place in the gold medal list and is still threatening the boss of the United States as the first throne. The whole country is full of joy, and the media claims that China is already the second sports power in the world, and Russia is no longer able to do it. The future Olympics will be a confrontation between China and the United States. As China's national strength becomes increasingly stronger, it will be a matter of time before it surpasses the United States.

Against this background, the men's Olympic football team has also been given such a sacred mission - to win cards, gold medals are the best, and the second is the bronze medal.

Zhang Jun felt that everyone must be crazy. It is dangerous to be able to reach the semi-finals with the current strength of the National Olympic Team. Outsiders don’t know, but he himself knows that the conflicts within the team have not been there for a day or two. Seeing many players ignore each other on the training ground, he feels that the team has no future at all.

He has a weak strength and really thinks he is a star. A group of adogs who are spoiled!

In the knockout stage, their opponent was the Argentine National Olympic Team, which was not weak. The head coach analyzed the team's playing characteristics, advantages and weaknesses on the stage. But looking at the players around him, they all lowered their heads, but how many of them were listening carefully? Zhang Jun suddenly felt sad for the head coach. He was diligent and met such a group of bastards. He had no personal charm, but only looked at them and sighed. He had to complete the impossible task under the huge expectations of the Chinese people. If they failed, the players would be scolded at most and then return to their respective clubs to enjoy the delicious food. However, the coach might not be able to coach again for a while. It was such a bad luck.

An Ke sat at the back and looked at the ceiling, staring at it, and he was like this for several days. Zhang Jun shook his head, and Kruze looked gloomy and didn't know what he was thinking. He was urging him to come to the Olympics at the beginning. He thought it was a way to increase his feelings for this country, but he didn't expect that he would see the ugly side here. Maybe he was very disappointed. Zhang Jun felt that he was very sorry for him. Even if he was scolded by Sabato in Florence now, it would be better to suffer here?

Zhang Jun felt that the pressure was very heavy. Really, he didn't want the team to fail. But playing football with those people, can it really be achieved by only a few of them? Moreover, he was unwilling to win the victory he fought for was just used by some people as a big red flower to please the above. Zhang Jun didn't know what kind of person Chen Wei was, he still believed that the Chinese Football Association was the source of all evil and he was not able to fight against anything, but he was unwilling to be raped with his own efforts.

The Football Association, the media, fans, teammates, coaches... everyone is looking forward to him. This expectation is far higher than Zhang Jun's strength. He is the team's number one star now, but he is not a robot. He will feel tired even if he is too stressed. After all, the captain has only been working for one season, and is far less comfortable than Yang Pan.

The coach was still saying something, but Zhang Jun could no longer listen. He felt a buzzing sound in his ears and his mind was a little confused.

A season of crazy soaring, unbeaten in fifteen rounds, thirty-one goals, league best scorer, European Golden Boot Award, Olympics... Maybe he is really tired.

※※※

This is the last public training for the Chinese team before tomorrow's game. Many reporters gathered on the sidelines, and the photojournalists were even taking photos.

Sophie was looking for Zhang Jun in the camera. There were always many photos of Zhang Jun in her film, and Li Yan joked that she was using public funds for private purposes.

This time, when Zhang Jun's face appeared in the camera, Sophie was slow to press the shutter.

Because she saw Zhang Jun who was different from usual.

Li Yan, who was standing beside Sophie, noticed Sophie's strangeness: "What's wrong, Sophie?"

"Well... Zhang Jun is a little different today..."

"I noticed it too." Li Yan dragged his chin and looked at Zhang Jun in the field.

The solemn Zhang Jun, the frowning Zhang Jun, the heart-wrenching Zhang Jun... is not like the sunny Zhang Jun before.

This is definitely not one of the manifestations of maturity. Li Yan knew it, and Sophie knew it too.

"The pressure is too great. Now the media hype that he and the team are almost crazy. They talk about Olympic gold medals all day long, saying that this is the best opportunity to win a football gold medal in Chinese history. The pressure of 1.3 billion people is not comparable to that of the 300,000 people in Florence."

"Do you want me to remind him? I can call him after training..."

Li Yan reached out and stopped Sophie: "Don't, Sophie, don't call him, don't contact him. Don't do anything this time."

"But if the game loses..."

"Maybe for him, losing the game is a good thing... Ah, in short, don't call him. No matter what the result of that game, just don't interfere with him too much..." Li Yan felt that his explanation was far-fetched. If Sophie really wanted to call Zhang Jun, he wouldn't be able to stop it.

※※※

Zhang Jun sat in the lounge and gasped. Kru packed up his things and was still waiting for Zhang Jun, but he waved his hand and asked him to leave. "You go back first, Kru. I want to take a break."

When Cru left and he was the only one left in the lounge, he leaned weakly on the wall behind the bench and breathed a sigh of relief. He was really tired. Even if he was tired, he could not show any fatigue in front of others, because he was the hope of all of them. He had to show enough strength in front of these kids. If he told them now that he was in a bad state, he would not have to play in tomorrow's game and would definitely lose. These people have long regarded him as everything, and it was not like this in Fiorentina. Haha, it seems that being the core is not good, but doing this can only mean that the other people are too incompetent.

Krue is good, but since he never gave those kids any good looks, they don't regard him as their own. What about An Ke? He was worried about his own little trouble all day long, so how could he have any intention to stand up? This Olympics is really messy.

Zhang Jun is in a bad state now, but he didn't tell anyone that he performed very positively in training, but only he could feel some subtle things. Maybe he still had some luck in his heart, thinking that the Argentine National Olympics is just the National Olympics after all, and the number of over-age players is not a great role. He still wants to let the team go further.

Go farther...not to satisfy some people's expectations, but just because you don't want to lose.

Please work hard for tomorrow's game.

Zhang Jun stood up, then slowly put his clothes on himself. After finishing cleaning, he turned off the light, turned off the door, and left here.

※※※

Ren Yu looked at the head coach of the team in front of him: "Are you satisfied now? I've been preparing for this since the winter break last season."

"Hehe, satisfied, satisfied!" Sabato rubbed his hands excitedly. "There is nothing more satisfying than this."

"Well, I will ask Francisco to make this public tomorrow. Then hold another press conference and when he completes the physical examination, you can take him to the training camp. Pay attention to letting him establish a good relationship with the players and integrate into the team as soon as possible."

"Don't worry, I know how to do it. Florence is not Florence a year ago. I think everyone will be as excited as me."

"Jorgenson is hard to say?"

"He should be aware that we are a team that fights on multiple lines, and he is suffering from injuries now, so we really need more reserves. He is a professional player, and I think this quality should be possessed."

"Well, that's good. I don't want my locker room atmosphere to be destroyed. In addition, the other substitutes the team needs are also actively contacting the managers, but I still hope you can discover some good seedlings from the youth team."

"This... Boss, you know that the youth team in Fiorentina has never produced any outstanding players..."

"It's very simple, then I'll increase my investment in youth football... Well, maybe Frankie Stadium should be expanded too..." Ren Yudi covered his forehead and was thinking about these questions, "Don't hurry, don't hurry, take your time, take your time. I have time... OK, nothing else, you go back."

Sabato left with satisfaction because he got a player he had always dreamed of, a player who helped him set off an offensive storm in Europe.

※※※

The match was held at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing. The Workers' Stadium, which was renovated to welcome the Olympics, looks completely new, and a semi-final of the football event of this Olympics will be held here.

The Workers' Stadium was full, and an ordinary Olympic football game filled the huge stadium. The Argentinian obviously did not expect that he could be treated like this.

Zhang Jun led the way to the first one, but he turned a deaf ear to the noise coming from the stands. In fact, he had no idea where he was now and was a little dazed.

These noises can only become increasingly heavy pressure on his back. He hasn't felt the pressure from the media and fans for a long time. The Chinese are so enthusiastic... Ha!

Some of the players following Zhang Jun were still muttering: "Why should we arrange an afternoon competition? Fuck, the afternoon of August in Beijing is the hottest time! In this kind of weather competition, people should not live?"

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay! The Argentina team is even more uncomfortable than us in this weather. You have to know that it's winter there at this time."

Blind optimism...

Zhang Jun stood in the middle circle, waiting for the kickoff. Beside him was the forward of the National Olympic Team whom he partnered with. A tall and strong center forward with rough feet. Seeing him, Zhang Jun remembered Li Jie, the high center forward who had been a short partner with the national team. Although he was tall and fit, his feet were rough, he was very impactful. At least he could hold the ball with his body in the frontcourt and wait for his companions to come up to support him. Now this center forward... Zhang Jun and

He cooperated with three games, and he wouldn't say that he was wasted opportunities many times. He was still unconscious and always liked to fight alone. He was respectful to him outside the court, and he treated himself as his master on the court. Zhang Jun hated playing football with such a person, but... the only person on the entire national Olympic team's forward line was only one who could take advantage of the situation. The original main striker Wu Shangshan was injured in a training session before the Olympics and was destined to miss the Olympics.

"Dou!" Zhang Jun was thinking about it, the referee from Sweden blew the whistle to kick off the ball.

"As the audience, the audience! With the referee's whistle, the highly anticipated men's football semi-finals of the Beijing Olympics began. Wearing a red top and red shorts, the Chinese National Olympic Team attacked from the left side of the screen, while wearing a blue and white top and black shorts, the Argentine National Olympic Team attacked from the right to the left!

※※※

Meanwhile, in Italy, it was morning. A press conference was being held within the Florence club.

"I have to introduce someone to you..." Jalimian said to many inconspicuous reporters with a smile.

Many reporters were temporarily notified to attend the press conference this morning by private phone last night. Some people were not awake yet and were yawning at the press conference. No one knew what Florence was so mysterious, but Florence has always been so mysterious, so everyone came without much worry.

This summer, many people are saying that Florence is going to attack some giants. However, they have never seen any substantial actions in Florence.

Is this press conference related to previous rumors?

"Come on." Jalimian said to the reporters' invisible queen, then saw a man stepping onto the rostrum, with a strong body, and greeting everyone with a smile.

"This is the most important transfer work for Fiorentina this season, with No. 7 of Fiorentina, right forward Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez."

Everyone woke up, and they looked at the smiling Jalimian and smiling Joaquin on the stage with surprise, as well as Sabato who was smiling happily beside him.

※※※

"The ball scored! Good goal...but it was Argentina's advanced goal. Their captain Messi scored his fourth goal in this Olympics, catching up with Zhang Jun."

The Chinese commentator said it was weak, and there were only cheers from Argentine fans in the Workers' Workers' Team.

An Ke had no choice but to get the football from behind, and then kicked the ball in front. He had nothing to say. The defender obviously lost his position. Messi's incisive breakthrough from the left to the middle was very sharp, but the defenders did not pay enough attention.

He didn't even have the strength to scold now. He tried to curse a few words in the first game, but later he saw that it was useless to scold him, so he simply stopped scolding him. Let them go.

Now he just wants to finish the Olympics early and return to Germany.

Zhang Jun was also indifferent to the excited Argentine players surrounding Messi and ran back to his half.

Now everyone knows that he has become the goal Messi wants to surpass. Originally, Messi was the most popular star in this Olympic football event, but because he came, the first one became him. The competitive personality of a young man is fully reflected in Messi.
To be continued...