Chapter 147 The Return of the King

After May Day, the SARS epidemic in mainland China gradually stabilized and eased, while Volendam, where Zhang Jun and Yang Pan were, was also proceeding according to plan in their relegation battle. After defeating another opponent, Groningen, Volendam took down RKC Waalwijk on the road in one go and has now risen to fourteenth place, but because their opponents behind them are also performing well, Volendam is only three points away from the relegation zone.

However, Zhang Jun himself is still in amazing form, scoring in three consecutive games. He is now in second place on the league's top scorer list with twenty league goals, closing in on the top scorer, Kezman, who has twenty-six goals.

Now some Dutch media are even suggesting that Zhang Jun be given both the Best Newcomer and Best Foreign Player awards this season. This Chinese teenager is only twenty-one years old. "He will definitely become the second Marco van Basten!" many Dutch people eagerly declared.

"The second van Basten? These reporters' curses are really vicious, haha!" A fair-skinned man of about forty with delicate features put down the newspaper and picked up his coffee.

The blond man across from him couldn't laugh at all: "You're the only one who has the leisure to joke, Marco. Think carefully about my suggestion? Come and be my assistant, let's make the red and white jerseys sweep Europe together!"

The man called "Marco" leisurely took a sip of coffee, then shook his head: "Ronald, you know. My agreeing to come back is already a big step forward. Don't make me do things I don't like. I don't want to reach the sky in one step, and I don't have that ability."

"But Ruud and Frank are doing pretty well, aren't they?"

"It's different, Ronald." Marco shook his head again. "Our different positions determine that we must take different paths. People who play in the midfield and defense often have a good overall view and leadership skills. These abilities bring them countless honors when they are players. When they switch to coaching, these abilities become more mature, so there are no major problems in coaching. Ruud is a midfield conductor, and Frank is the core of the defense, and you, Ronald, weren't you also a defensive midfielder? I'm just a center forward, never a commander on the field, just a soldier charging into battle. My management skills and leadership temperament are far inferior to my two friends. I'd better honestly train center forwards in the second team. Really, that's my specialty and my interest."

Ronald looked at the serious Marco and nodded after a while: "Okay, do what you like, just like you pursue goals on the field. No one can change what you've decided..."

"Hey, don't say that. Ronald, I'll send you an excellent center forward every year, won't you laugh in your dreams? Haha!" Marco laughed loudly, and Ronald laughed with him: "You! You've been in a good mood recently because you're back with this little guy?" He pointed to a soccer ball on the table.

"Of course, Ronald, I can only find my happiest moments on the soccer field..."

On this day, in the head coach's office of Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Marco van Basten accepted the invitation of Ronald Koeman and became an ordinary coach in Ajax's youth team. His job was to train center forwards specifically. Although Koeman wanted van Basten to be his assistant and coach the first team. But no matter what, van Basten returned on this day. After leaving soccer for eight years, he returned to Ajax, back to the soccer he loved.

So, besides providing news material for reporters, does this episode have any special significance? Or does this have anything to do with the development of the novel's plot?

Don't overthink it, there's no connection, really no connection...

Zhang Jun suddenly noticed that Oquti had rarely joked lately. He was silently practicing extra every day and no longer said "ni da ye de" (your grandpa) in broken Chinese.

"Seth, do you know what's wrong with Oquti?" Emerging from the team's locker room, Zhang Jun shook his hair and tied his braid as he asked Koelzer beside him.

Koelzer looked around before whispering to Zhang Jun, "Well, I heard the club is planning to sell Oquti. Several A-League teams have already asked about the price."

Zhang Jun was startled: "How could this be?"

"It's normal. As a forward, Oquti has only scored five goals in a season, which is really too low."

"But, but he always works hard in training!"

"It's also a fact that working hard in training doesn't guarantee goals, which further proves that he's not capable enough. It's only a matter of time before he leaves." Koelzer knew what Zhang Jun was thinking, so he patted Zhang Jun's shoulder. "There's nothing you can do about it. Professional leagues believe in strength."

Zhang Jun looked at Oquti, who was practicing alone on the training field. He must not want to leave either, or where would he find someone to teach him Chinese? Teach him "Chinese kung fu"? The team's usual joker, but now no one is standing up to say a word for him. Zhang Jun felt the cruelty of professional soccer for the first time. He didn't know who was to blame. From the moment he played in the first leg against Eindhoven and scored a goal, it seemed destined that another person's frustrated back would melt into this blood-red setting sun.

This game was crucial for both the home team Volendam and the visiting team Ajax. The former was fighting for relegation, and the latter was fighting for the championship. This meeting was destined not to be as casual as their meeting last year.

Ajax is currently neck and neck with Eindhoven, who is ranked first. The two teams are only one point apart, and with the last two rounds of the league remaining, anyone could win the championship. At the very least, Volendam can't lose this game in order to maintain pressure on Eindhoven.

On the other hand, three points is only the difference of one game. If they lose to Ajax, their relegation prospects will become unpredictable again. Volendam is paying the price in the league for their almost crazy state in the cup competition.

What goes around, comes around.

May 25, 2003, Sunday, Round 33 of the Dutch Super League, Volendam vs. Ajax at home, a life-and-death match.

Chivu, Chivu again!

Some domestic media used this as the title to report on this game. If the Dutch also read Gu Long's novels, they would probably use another title to represent the contest between Chivu and Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun again!

Only five minutes into the game, Volendam surprisingly scored a goal in a chaotic melee, the scorer being Beye! He stretched his foot in the penalty area and poked the ball into the goal! Beye was very excited after scoring, this was his sixth league goal of the season.

Volendam started their "traditional" human pyramid again. Zhang Jun pulled Beye from behind, and they were immediately crushed under a pile of teammates who swarmed over.

Compared to the players' and fans' crazy performances, Adriaanse was much calmer. He frowned and watched the field. The Ajax players who had lost the goal simply picked up the ball from the net and placed it in the center circle to wait for the kickoff.

There were still eighty-five minutes left, enough for them to tie the score and overtake it.

Chivu was still responsible for marking Zhang Jun. After a season of games, perhaps only Ajax's Chivu could defend against Zhang Jun in the Netherlands now. Eindhoven's Hofland had suffered enough on Zhang Jun.

Having learned from the last game, Zhang Jun no longer tried to beat Chivu one-on-one, but instead strengthened his cooperation with his teammates. Reporters and fans who were full of expectations rarely saw Zhang Jun dribbling the ball hard against Chivu, more often he was passing, running,

But for the rest of the time, Zhang Jun didn't have much to show. Ajax pressed Volendam to attack, they had to tie the score and overtake it in the remaining time.

Ajax's corner kick, Chivu rushed to the front of the goal to head the ball, but it was too straight and the ball was caught by Westerop.

Van der Meyde and van der Vaart's breakthroughs and assists on the left and right frequently threatened Volendam's defense, and Zhang Jun seemed to disappear on the field for a while. Zhang Jun's defensive level is not high, and now that Volendam is at a disadvantage, Zhang Jun can't contribute to the defense, so Adriaanse finally decided to substitute Zhang Jun.

At halftime, Volendam was still leading Ajax 1:0 at home. Adriaanse told Zhang Jun in the locker room that he didn't need to play in the second half, to save his energy and prepare for the last round of the league. Zhang Jun couldn't believe that he was substituted after only playing half a game, this was the first time since he started playing games.

Zhang Jun nodded helplessly, then silently untied his braid and started putting on his jacket. Adriaanse then instructed Oquti, who would be playing in the second half: "Participate more in defense after you come on, actively retreat to defend, and try to intercept the ball on the spot in the frontcourt..."

Defense, again defense. Zhang Jun muttered in his heart, should he also practice defense properly?

When the second half started, Chivu was surprised to find that Volendam's striker had been replaced by No. 11 Oquti. He looked at the home team's bench, where Zhang Jun was sitting with a sad face.

In fact, Adriaanse made a mistake. He thought that Zhang Jun's lack of participation in defense would put his team at a disadvantage, but in reality, it was precisely because of Zhang Jun's presence in the first half that Ajax's defense did not dare to act rashly. Like a nail, Zhang Jun firmly pinned the opponent's five defenders in their own half, unable to support the attack too much. Zhang Jun's defense was different from passive defense, it was active and aggressive. His shots, his twenty goals, his speed... as long as he was still roaming in the frontcourt, he was constantly reminding the opponent: if you still want to lose the ball, then go ahead and rush up. This is the well-known saying: offense is the best defense.

But Adriaanse forgot. An excellent forward doesn't always have to score goals, as long as he is on the field, he can pose a threat to the opponent. This kind of deterrent is more terrifying than his goals because it is constantly destroying the enemy's will.

The bad consequences of Zhang Jun's substitution appeared ten minutes later. Ajax's corner kick, van der Meyde passed the ball into the penalty area, and captain Chivu headed the ball powerfully! The ball hit the bottom edge of the crossbar and bounced into the net!

Goal! Ajax tied the score in the fifty-fifth minute! 1:1!

Chivu was very excited after scoring, he ran to the coach's bench and hugged Koeman. This goal pulled Ajax back from the brink, and they were still qualified to compete with Eindhoven for the league title.

But Zhang Jun's face was ugly. It wasn't a good feeling to watch his opponent cheer for the goal while he was substituted early. He longed to play, to break through Chivu, to shoot, to score, to bring victory to the team, but so many desires could only dissipate in his heart. He could only helplessly watch his teammates and opponents fight on the field from the bench.

There was an exclamation from the Ajax bench. Just now, Yang Pan relied on his speed to break through van der Vaart and Galásek, and then shot powerfully from the corner of the penalty area, but it was slightly off. The ball hit the side netting, and if the angle wasn't good, people might have thought the ball had gone in. Some of the home fans cheered, but they soon saw Yang Pan shaking his head and running back.

Adriaanse was a little excited. He threw the towel in his hand on the ground. Maybe he was already regretting it. After Zhang Jun was substituted, Volendam's attack was like a headless fly running around. Oquti tried hard to prove himself, but he was ineffective under Chivu's watch. Without a leading figure, Beye's forward passes were also significantly reduced. Hweel and Yang Pan were both wingers, not killers, unable to end the opponent's life. And without Zhang Jun attracting the opponent's defense, it was much more difficult for Beye to score. As an attacking midfielder, he could be a shadow striker, but now there was no one to cover him. This shadow striker was exposed to the opponent's defense, not even a shadow left.

Wanting to fight a tiger to the death, but throwing away the knife in his hand, was Adriaanse really old?

In a corner of the stands, a man wearing a hat stood up and stretched, saying to a man beside him, "Let's go, there's nothing to see."

"But the game isn't over yet..."

"I'm not here to watch the game, I'm here to see him. Since he's been substituted, and Volendam is playing terribly after he left the field, then I have no reason to stay any longer. If we stay too long, we'll be recognized, and none of us will be able to escape." The man speaking pressed his hat down further.

"Okay, I don't want to see headlines like 'van Basten spotted at Volendam' in tomorrow's newspaper, otherwise Ronald will kill me." His companion stood up and glanced at the field again, "Ajax will win!" Then he accompanied the man he called "van Basten" off the stands.

Goal!

Van der Meyde waved his fist excitedly and ran towards the corner flag, but the referee's sharp whistle sounded behind him. The linesman raised his flag, offside!

Van der Meyde felt a little unbelievable. He made a whistling gesture at his mouth: "Are you sure this ball is offside? I clearly started at the same time!"

The referee smiled and shook his head at him, gesturing for the home team to take a free kick.

Koeman calmly reminded the players on the sidelines to continue to put pressure on the home team and not be affected by this penalty.

And Adriaanse broke out in a cold sweat. Van der Meyde was only half a body ahead of the defender just now. If the linesman hadn't looked carefully, he might have lost this game.

Zhang Jun nervously watched the field. He didn't want to lose, now it was enough to keep this draw.

The game entered the last ten minutes, Volendam shrank back across the board, while Ajax besieged the home team's half with a barrage of attacks. The score was still stuck at 1:1, it was simply a miracle.

"Whose home ground is this anyway?" Yang Pan wiped the mud off his face. He had just lost his balance and been shaken to the ground by van der Vaart. He was very embarrassed and depressed as he mainly defended in today's game. They were leading in the first half, but Zhang Jun was substituted in the second half. Zhang Jun didn't understand, and Yang Pan didn't understand either.

"Yang!" Westerop caught Ibrahimović's shot and threw it to Yang Pan on the right.

Galásek wanted to kick the ball out of bounds in advance, but Yang Pan stretched his foot first and poked the ball ten meters away! Then he accelerated to chase the ball!

Volendam counterattacked at the last moment! The home fans shouted Yang Pan's name loudly, cheering him on, but just as Yang Pan caught up with the ball, Chivu rushed out diagonally and stuck to him.

Yang Pan felt a pressure coming towards him, forcing him to slow down, and then tried to feint at the opponent, but it was useless. He then tried the most direct method of breaking through--flicking the ball forward and then accelerating.

But just as he flicked the ball out of his control, Chivu made a lateral cut and blocked in front of him. Trabelsi quickly stepped forward to take the ball, while Yang Pan, who was accelerating, felt like he had hit a wall, and all the force came to an abrupt halt. He almost sat down on the ground!

Looking at Chivu's back, Yang Pan suddenly realized how amazing that silly boy on the bench was. Everyone only saw that Chivu had marked Zhang Jun to be ineffective, but didn't Zhang Jun also drag Chivu down so that he didn't dare to act rashly?

Yang Pan remembered the scene of the last time the two teams faced each other, Zhang Jun challenging Chivu again and again. That fool actually crashed into the wall for a full ninety minutes! Could he do it? Yang Pan asked himself, maybe he would avoid him after crashing three times, otherwise the result would definitely be a bloody head. But Zhang Jun actually persisted for ninety minutes! That fool... Yang Pan shook his head.

The game ultimately ended in a 1:1 draw. Volendam dropped from fourteenth to fifteenth, while Ajax's ranking remained unchanged, but the gap with Eindhoven widened to three points--Eindhoven won at home. In that case, if Ajax wants to win the championship, they can only compete with Eindhoven on goal difference because they have ten more goals than Eindhoven. But the premise is that they must win their last game at home, and Eindhoven must lose to Rosendal, who is currently ranked thirteenth, on the road. But is this possible?

It can be said that this was a game with no winners.

In the last round of the league, Volendam will still be at home, their opponent being Rotterdam, who is ranked behind them. Both sides need to avoid relegation, this game will not be a friendly match, but a life-and-death battle. It's no wonder that Adriaanse substituted Zhang Jun midway in the last round. Teams fighting for relegation will generally explode with a force that even strong teams can't resist in the end. But Adriaanse must hold on, and Volendam must hold on as well. The two teams are two points apart, whoever loses will go to the play-offs. Given the team's current physical exhaustion, playing in the play-offs means relegation.

Just two days before the last round of the game, news came out that Oquti would be transferring to Amsden, an A-League team, at the end of this season. Since he couldn't effectively adapt to the game in the Super League, he might be able to find his place in the A-League. After hearing this news, Zhang Jun felt uneasy in his heart. Although he secured the starting position based on his strength, he had pushed Oquti to the bench after all. The less Oquti cared, the more uneasy he felt.

"Fool, he's not strong enough himself, it has nothing to do with you." Yang Pan enlightened Zhang Jun.

"That's what they say, but I still want to do something for him." Zhang Jun said, lying on the bed with his hands behind his head.

"What can you do for him? Suggest to the club to keep Oquti? Don't be silly, go to sleep, tomorrow is a crucial battle!" Yang Pan turned off the light at his bedside, and the room was suddenly dark. Zhang Jun sighed on the bed before lying down to sleep.

Yes, tomorrow is a crucial battle.