Chapter 17 The Goal

“The ball hits… the ball goes in! goooooooooooooooooooAL! Kezman's second goal! PSV Eindhoven takes the lead again! Zhang Jun made an unforgivable mistake! There are only ten minutes left in the game, and judging from the current situation, PSV Eindhoven is sure to advance!”

Kozeer, who was closest to Zhang Jun, patted him on the head to comfort him. Although this goal put them in a very passive situation, everyone saw that Zhang Jun had tried his best in defense. He had just recovered from his leg injury, yet he had to face such a difficult game away from home; no one would feel good about it.

Zhang Jun supported his knees with both hands, bowing his back and looking at the ground. Sweat dripped from his chin and the tip of his nose, falling into the grass. He felt very tired. If someone gave him a pillow now, he could fall asleep immediately. Despite resting for almost two weeks, he still felt exhausted. Professional games were indeed not comparable to student leagues. The long season was a great test of both physical and mental strength…

An arm wrapped around his shoulders: “Your injury… is it okay?” Yang Pan was most concerned about Zhang Jun's thigh, not the score.

Zhang Jun shook his head. He felt Yang Pan's arm tighten its grip. “There are still ten minutes, go and chase back the score!”

Zhang Jun looked up at Yang Pan. His brother was winking at him: “I will pass the ball to you.”

Adriaanse now felt the power of the double-edged sword, but this time he was the one injured. He looked at Zhang Jun, who was a bit dejected on the field, wondering if he should replace him. There were only ten minutes left in the game, and it seemed that the cup competition had ended early. It was time to focus on the league, after all, the first goal of the season was to stay up, not win a trophy.

“Bridges, go warm up, you’ll be on in five minutes.”

The game restarted. The PSV Eindhoven fans did not appreciate Zhang Jun's "gift" just now. As soon as Zhang Jun got the ball, there was a chorus of boos from the stands. This was not a boo of hatred, but a ruthless mockery.

Zhang Jun was still under a lot of pressure, which could be seen from his movements when he got the ball: stiff, nervous, and a little afraid. He saw Bridges warming up, and he knew that he would be replaced. Who asked him to make an unforgivable mistake?

On the other side, a PSV Eindhoven substitute was also warming up, presumably to replace Kezman, who had performed well in this game. He scored twice and helped the team win the game. He also had several threatening shots during the game. The best player of the match must be him.

Last time, in the game against Chivu, the team lost, and he lost. This time, in the game against Kezman, the team lost, and he still lost. Was this the gap between himself and world-class players? When he was in school, he thought he was a genius, but now he realized that there was still a long, long way to go.

The coach wanted to give up, but the players didn't want to give up just like that. Young people were always easily excited, easily enthusiastic, easily… unwilling to turn back until they hit a brick wall. The Volendam players on the field frantically intercepted PSV Eindhoven players in the midfield and defense, regardless of how this game would affect the league after it was over.

Yang Pan used his speed to squeeze past Ruben, then with a feint, turned and passed Ruben, passing the ball to Kozeer. Kozeer passed it to Bayes, who passed it diagonally to Zhang Jun, who was pulled to the wing, but Hofland took the lead and shoveled the ball out of bounds, and Zhang Jun fell out of the field with it.

Applause rang out from the stands, and the fans began to sing heartily, celebrating their victory. On the other side, the two substitutes on both sides also finished warming up and returned to the coaching bench, receiving the final instructions before entering the field.

“There are only five minutes left in the game, plus stoppage time, at most about eight minutes. It seems that there is no suspense for PSV Eindhoven to advance to the final!”

“Yes, as a promoted team, Volendam can get to this point, which is already a very good result.” The two commentators were already preparing their concluding remarks.

A throw-in was made, and Yang Pan, under the double defense of Bouma and Ruben, could only pass the ball back to Luiring. His promise to Zhang Jun that "I will pass the ball to you" also became an empty check under the gap in the overall strength of the team. Five minutes passed, and he didn't even successfully pass the ball to Zhang Jun once.

The substitutes on both sides were about to go to the fourth official to register to enter the field.

The camera lens was aimed at Zhang Jun, and the broadcast director used the language of the lens to tell the audience: Zhang Jun, who had been sleepwalking throughout the game, was about to say goodbye to the Dutch Cup this season. Viewers, hurry up and take a last look!

Zhang Jun in the lens suddenly rushed forward, and the camera followed closely. He rushed to the PSV Eindhoven player Rommedahl (Rommedahl), and then Rommedahl leaned his upper body and staggered! A near-frantic boo suddenly came from the stands!

The broadcast screen immediately switched to the most commonly used scene size: a long shot. Zhang Jun just accelerated suddenly and unexpectedly stole the ball from Rommedahl in the midfield. No one would have thought that Zhang Jun, who had always seemed listless, would suddenly exert his strength and take the initiative to press in the frontcourt. PSV Eindhoven lost possession!

Ooijer (Ooijer) made a tackle, but Zhang Jun's foot was faster than his! He poked forward with his right foot, jumped his body to the side, barely dodged Ooijer's fierce tackle, and he staggered to catch up with the ball, which was already close to the PSV Eindhoven penalty area!

Hofland directed his teammates to retreat while running towards Zhang Jun. He could not allow Zhang Jun, whom he had been guarding listlessly throughout the game, to go wild at the last moment.

Zhang Jun leaned his upper body forward. Hofland, who had seen his amazing acceleration, did not dare to be careless, and quickly rushed into the inside line in advance, trying to block him head-on. But Zhang Jun's action of cutting directly inside was just a feint. Seeing that the other party had rushed in, he immediately made an emergency stop, twisted his body, adjusted his feet slightly, and then directly made a curling shot on the edge of the penalty area!

Bouma flew to tackle, but did not touch the ball. The football drew an arc in the air, bypassed goalkeeper Waterreus's hands, hit the inside of the far post, and then bounced into the goal.

The home team fans' boos all disappeared…

“gooooooooooooooAL!! Zhang Jun! Yes, Zhang Jun finally scored! He leveled the score! He pulled Volendam back from the brink with his own strength!”

The ball went in!

The excited Bayes wanted to hug Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun rushed into the net, bent down to pick up the football inside the goal, and ran towards the center circle. There was no time to celebrate, they still had to win!

Yang Pan looked at the back of the figure holding the football, and suddenly remembered what the beautiful agent Hua Fang said: "Football is round, what can't happen?"

Football is really round! He had even ridiculed others for not understanding football…

Almost at the same time, the two head coaches jumped up from their seats, but with different expressions. Adrianse was ecstatic, while Hiddink had a livid face - he was tied by this Chinese kid again.

Then the two made the same decision: recall their respective substitutes and retain the original configuration of the players on the field. Adrianse saw that Zhang Jun's condition had recovered and decided to keep him on the field. Maybe he could score another goal, and even if he didn't score, it would be a threat to the opponent, so that PSV Eindhoven would not dare to launch a full counterattack. And Hiddink obviously put all his hopes on Kezman.

The two coaches unanimously placed their hopes of winning on the two forwards. The contest between Kezman and Zhang Jun may have just begun.

Zhang Jun's shot under Hofland's close pressing was firmly caught by goalkeeper Waterreus. Immediately afterwards, PSV Eindhoven launched an attack, and after three passes, they reached the Volendam penalty area. Kezman forcibly broke through Luiring and then shot, but it was slightly off.

Both sides accelerated the pace of attack in the last five minutes, and the offensive and defensive transitions on the field were rapid for a while. Often, the ball had just reached the opponent's frontcourt, and it was immediately countered back. Obviously, neither side wanted to play extra time. Spending physical energy in the cup competition would inevitably have to be compensated for in the league.

Bayes broke through with the ball, but Hofland shoveled him into a faceplant. He signaled to the referee that the other party had fouled, but the referee ignored him. Bayes punched the ground in frustration and slowly got up.

Hofland passed the ball to Ruben, who took two steps forward. Seeing that Yang Pan had no intention of pressing, he did not pass the ball out immediately.

A slight delay on the football field can lead to very terrible consequences. The young Ruben should remember this sentence forever.

When he discovered Zhang Jun had already rushed to his front, he was startled, and hurriedly passed the ball out, but it was too late. The football hit Zhang Jun's leg and bounced to the side. Yang Pan got the ball. Although now was a great opportunity to switch from defense to offense, PSV Eindhoven's defense made a mistake, and there was a large gap behind them. But Bayes was in an offside position, so passing the ball was a waste. If he didn't pass, should he break through himself? Bouma was not easy to deal with. Just as Yang Pan was in a dilemma, he caught sight of an orange figure cutting forward at high speed from the side. Without thinking too much, Yang Pan lifted his foot and passed diagonally!

The football bypassed the heads of the defending players. At the same time, PSV Eindhoven players raised their arms and signaled to the linesman that Bayes was offside. But Bayes simply ignored the ball. He still lowered his head and walked back slowly. He did not participate in the attack, nor did he interfere with the attack, so he was not offside!

So, who was this ball passed to?

“Zhang Jun!”

The figure cutting forward at high speed was Volendam's number 21, forward Zhang Jun! Goalkeeper Waterreus attacked halfway, and seeing Zhang Jun rushing out, and at a much faster speed than him, he quickly braked, in order to block Zhang Jun's angle - after all, judging from Zhang Jun's current position, his shooting angle was not large. And as for a cross, there was no teammate support, as long as he blocked the angle well, he could completely stifle this counterattack.

Zhang Jun looked back at the ball, and then also slowed down. At this time, the defense led by Hofland was desperately chasing back, but Zhang Jun did not intend to give them time.

Yang Pan, who had passed the ball, stood in place and watched Zhang Jun jump up and extend his right leg. He no longer intended to go up for a follow-up shot. He said that he would pass the ball to Zhang Jun, and now he had passed it, and the rest was up to Zhang Jun to complete this final blow.

Zhang Jun hooked his right foot and stopped the football beautifully in mid-air.

Waterreus raised his arms and spread his legs, preparing to block Zhang Jun's next shot. This kind of ball was very likely to be a powerful shot, because he could use the strength of his body and waist.

Hofland was only three meters away from Zhang Jun!

As soon as Zhang Jun's supporting foot touched the ground, and his right foot was still in mid-air, he directly flicked his ankle.

Hofland stretched his leg and kicked towards Zhang Jun's right foot, hoping to deflect Zhang Jun's shot from its intended direction.

The two head coaches stood up from their seats again at the same time.

The football was tipped by Zhang Jun with his toe, flying high over Waterreus' raised hands.

The goalkeeper's gaze should lock onto the football for as long as possible. Instinct trained Waterreus to keep his eyes on the football, even after it had fallen behind him.

Hofland's shoe stepped on the instep of Zhang Jun's right foot, and Zhang Jun staggered, but he maintained his balance.

Everyone watched the ball fall into the empty goal in a very elegant arc, and then bounce up from the ground and roll into the net.

“Zhang--Jun--gooooooooooAL!! Volendam takes the lead! They actually took the lead! It's Zhang Jun again! If Volendam wins this game in the end, Zhang Jun will be the biggest hero!”

Zhang Jun went directly into a dive, gliding a long distance on the turf before stopping, and his teammates also learned from his example, diving and landing like airplanes. Volendam really looked like a bomber squadron, bombing PSV Eindhoven into a daze!

Yang Pan dived and stopped beside Zhang Jun. He hugged Zhang Jun and shouted in his ear: "I said I would pass the ball to you, how was it?"

Zhang Jun just smiled at him.

Zhang Jun's goal in the eighty-eighth minute allowed Volendam to take the lead. Adding the three minutes of injury time, there were only five minutes left for PSV Eindhoven. In this last time, the home team, unwilling to fail, launched a near-frantic counterattack. Within three minutes, PSV Eindhoven had four threatening attacking opportunities, but unfortunately Kezman hit two of his shots on the post!

Watching his two consecutive shots being ruthlessly blocked by the goalpost, Kezman hugged his head and walked back in pain. There was only a six-centimeter (the diameter of the goalpost) difference between victory and defeat.

Zhang Jun received the ball, and Hofland rushed towards him almost desperately – he was also anxious – Zhang Jun easily dribbled past his overly hasty opponent, and did not dribble forward. He noticed that Waterreus was standing very far forward, so he directly made a long-range lob shot just past the center circle!

This action startled Waterreus, who hastily retreated, and still did not touch the ball when he jumped up. The football brushed the crossbar and fell on the net, not going in!

“A very imaginative lob shot! It’s a pity it didn’t go in! Zhang Jun’s condition is getting better and better, and the injury doesn’t seem to have affected him. For him, this is truly a dream season!”

When Ruben's cross under Yang Pan's close defense flew directly to the stands behind the goal, Volendam fans began to count down loudly, reminding PSV Eindhoven - "You have forty seconds to say goodbye to the Dutch Cup!"

Adrianse kept looking at his watch, while Streuer rushed to the sidelines and loudly reminded the referee: "The stoppage time is up! The game is over!"

When the stoppage time reached three minutes and twenty seconds, the referee blew the whistle three times, and the whole game ended! Volendam overturned the game away from home, defeated the powerful PSV Eindhoven, and entered the final!

“This is a fact that surprised all analysts! From six consecutive games without a win and without a goal at the beginning of the season to now reaching the Dutch Cup final! Volendam has done it! Zhang Jun is the well-deserved hero of the cup! From his first cup game hat-trick to his two goals now! He is now at the top of the cup's scorer list with nine goals, and this competition between the two shooters has also ended with Zhang Jun's great victory! Zhang Jun, once again let us see the power of this Chinese teenager!”

Kezman stood there with his hands on his hips, silently watching his opponents celebrate their victory in his home stadium. This feeling was really uncomfortable… Van Bommel came up to comfort Kezman. He was the captain, and even when the team lost, he had to fulfill his responsibility as captain.

Kezman tilted his head and whispered to Van Bommel: "I'm fine, go and see Arjen Robben (Arjenrobben), that little guy is crying like a weeping woman." Van Bommel walked away with a wry smile. The high-spirited Robben would never have thought before the game that the powerful PSV Eindhoven would lose. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. He was in a very bad mood now, which should be the most disastrous failure he had encountered since playing for PSV Eindhoven. In the contest with Yang Pan, he was also at a disadvantage. Although no one blamed her, he knelt on the ground and cried bitterly as soon as the final whistle sounded.

Kezman didn't cry. He had been in the professional game for several years and had seen all kinds of scenes. In the 2000 European Championships, he was sent off with a red card after playing for two minutes. The worst thing was nothing more than that. What he cared about most now was the opponent's number 21, Zhang Jun.

Van Nistelrooy went to Manchester United, and he had always wanted to find a suitable partner again. It was no longer a rumor, but a fact, that PSV Eindhoven wanted to buy these two Chinese players. Hiddink had even asked the club's senior management and the parent company Philips to actively arrange for the best Chinese college player to come to the team for a trial this summer. The success of Zhang Jun and Yang Pan deeply stimulated him.

The same height as him, amazing explosive power, excellent grabbing ability, excellent footwork, and all-around shooting skills. Kezman couldn't think of anyone more suitable to partner with him than Zhang Jun. If the two of them joined forces, plus Robben and Yang Pan on the left and right, with two wings flying together, PSV Eindhoven would have no opponents in the Netherlands. No, maybe dominating Europe and winning the Champions League would not be impossible.

Kezman was startled by his own thoughts. This kind of thing was up to the coach and the club to worry about. What he had to do was to try to give Zhang Jun a good impression.

Zhang Jun had just broken free from the "warm embrace" of his teammates and was stopped by Kezman: "Uh…" Kezman lowered his head and thought about how to start the conversation, "I know they all compare you and me together." As he said this, he cast his gaze towards the reporters inside the field, "Reporters always want to create some attractive gimmicks for a game." Kezman shrunk his head and took off his PSV Eindhoven jersey, "But what I want to say is: You did a good job! I lost… You deserved to win this game!" He handed the jersey to Zhang Jun.

This was the second time an opponent had taken the initiative to exchange jerseys with him. Zhang Jun was no longer as awkward and embarrassed as the first time. He also took off his jersey. Although the game was intense, the performances of the two players were still friendly.

At the post-match press conference, Hiddink admitted his defeat and apologized to the PSV Eindhoven fans. At the same time, he did not think that losing to Volendam could be considered an upset: "If it was last year's game, I think it was definitely an upset. But now, they (Volendam) have proven their strength through their performance in nearly a season. Adrianse is a very good coach, and he has a group of very young and capable players. No one can underestimate them. We lost, this is not the end of the world, this is good, we can put all our energy on competing with Ajax for the league title." Some reporters said afterwards that although Hiddink's expression was calm when he said this, his tone still had a sour taste.

When a reporter asked about the reasons for the loss, Hiddink said: "We originally had a chance, but Yang Pan's goal was a big blow to the players. That was a very shocking shot. Then Zhang Jun scored two goals in five minutes, which was fatal…"

“But Zhang Jun didn’t perform well in this game! He even made a mistake that gave you a point…”

“No.” Hiddink shook his head, “For a player like Zhang Jun, five minutes is enough for the whole game. The poor performance was because his leg injury had just recovered and his physical strength had not fully recovered. And my biggest mistake was that I should not have let Hofland guard Zhang Jun alone."

The reporters were very surprised that Hiddink was actually defending his opponent and singing praises!

Adrianse smiled and said to the reporters: "What I wanted to say has already been said by him (Hiddink), I just want to say one sentence: I am proud of my players!"