Chapter 2 The Comeback

Looking at the display screen, Zhang Jun wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve. Only twenty-three minutes had passed, but he was already sweating. "There are still sixty-seven minutes left, enough time to catch up!"

The ball was kicked off, and the game continued.

Having learned from their earlier mistake, both Bayes and the entire Volendam team became more cautious. Zhang Jun still kept the coach's instructions firmly in mind, constantly making runs to distract and screen, creating opportunities for Bayes and Yang Pan.

However, Radomski stayed glued to Bayes, and Yang Pan was suppressed by the tireless Erdmann and couldn't perform to his full potential.

Kozer's long pass from the backfield was headed back by Zhang Jun. Yang Pan rushed up and took a long shot, but it went high due to Erdmann's close marking.

Because they were in the lead, Heerenveen, who were already good at defense, put up an even tighter iron curtain, with people everywhere in and around the penalty area. No matter how Zhang Jun ran, he couldn't make much of an impact. When the defense had a numerical advantage, any gaps created by the forward's runs were quickly filled.

Hervé passed the ball into the penalty area. Zhang Jun ran towards the receiving point, but he was already being forced towards the end line by Klopp, who was marking him. The shooting angle was very small. Zhang Jun only caught a glimpse of blue figures out of the corner of his eye, with no teammates in sight. In the penalty area, time passes in a flash; the slightest hesitation can mean a lost opportunity.

Zhang Jun remembered what Qiu Suhui had said to him during their special training: "As a center forward, your first choice in the penalty area should always be to shoot!"

Heerenveen's goalkeeper, Walker, had already covered the angle, but he didn't believe Zhang Jun would shoot in this situation—the angle was too small; such a shot would be a waste of opportunity. But then he saw Zhang Jun protect the ball with his body, swing his left lower leg, and the football flew over "whoosh"!

Walker was half a beat too slow in diving, and the football had already hit the near post and bounced out of the end line!

Close call! Walker breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken.

What a pity! Zhang Jun stamped his foot, looking regretful. With Zhang Jun's most dangerous shot of the first half hitting the post, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half. In the first half, the home team Volendam was temporarily behind 0-1. The goal was scored in the twenty-third minute by Heerenveen's striker, Deniebaum, with a rebound.

Li Yan came back to his senses from the regret, only to find that Qi Wei was no longer by his side. He probably went to the locker room to work.

Adrianse harshly criticized Bayes in the locker room. He rarely got so angry with players. He had talked about the issue of judging safety versus risk more than once in training, but some people's heads would overheat as soon as they got on the field, and they would throw everything they had learned in training to the back of their minds.

"In the future, I will strengthen training in this area until you develop these things into instinct!" Adrianse took a breath and finally put the issue aside, starting to analyze the situation on the field for the players.

"Because of our own mistakes in the first half, we let the opponent take the lead. Heerenveen is a team that is good at defense. Tall players, long passes, and counter-attacks are their strengths. Everyone felt it, right? Was the first half difficult?" Adrianse suppressed his anger and tried to analyze the situation for the players calmly. He had originally planned to control the ball and take the initiative, but he didn't expect to hand the initiative to the opponent because of impatience. Volendam was not far from the relegation zone, and there was still a danger of sinking into the quagmire; they had to fight for every point.

"In the first half, Zhang Jun performed well, completing the tasks I assigned him very well. However, Yang Pan and Bayes were suppressed by the opponent, and the opponent retreated too much, leaving us very little space to exploit." Adrianse spoke, drawing on the tactical board. "The opponent is adopting this tactic, they will hoard troops in the middle, and there will be space on both flanks. We will focus on the two flanks in the second half. It doesn't necessarily have to be crosses from the flanks, the offensive methods can be diversified. You can judge this according to the situation on the field."

The half-time break quickly passed, and the players from both sides filed out of the tunnel again. The atmosphere at the Veronica Stadium heated up as the players reappeared.

Zhang Jun turned his head to look at the big screen, 1-0, there are still forty-five minutes left. The second half will decide the outcome!

Li Yan noticed that Qi Wei had squeezed over again. Seeing that he was covered in sweat, he said, "It's hard work!"

Qi Wei wiped his sweat, "It's okay. It's worth the effort to watch the game. How's the game going?"

"Volendam is starting to pay attention to the flanks. Adrianse must have said something during the half-time break, right?"

"Yes, I saw him frequently drawing lines on both sides of the tactical board. He should be reminding the players to pay attention to the flanks." Qi Wei answered Li Yan while watching the game.

Li Yan said, "However, I see that Heerenveen is also paying attention to the flanks now. Volendam has met an old hand. It's very difficult!"

"Not necessarily. Even the best teams have weaknesses." Qi Wei disagreed with Li Yan's view.

"Oh? Tell me, what are Heerenveen's weaknesses?"

"This..." Qi Wei thought for a while, he really didn't know what Heerenveen's weaknesses were, but he couldn't remain silent, "...I think, even the best teams will make mistakes, right?"

As soon as Qi Wei finished speaking, the stands suddenly became noisy.

Passing error!

Heerenveen's Radomski used too little force when passing to a teammate in the backfield, and Kozer intercepted it mid-way! Kozer didn't have time to adjust and passed it directly to Zhang Jun in front! And Zhang Jun was now facing only two defenders in front of him, because the opponent was in the moment of switching from defense to attack!

Facing Klopp, who had marked him out of the game for almost the entire half, how would Zhang Jun respond? This was probably everyone's question. The only advantage was that, unlike the previous encounters, Zhang Jun had turned around when receiving the ball this time, facing the double blockade of Klopp and the goalkeeper, and there was a defender protecting the far corner of the goal.

What would Zhang Jun do?

There was no television coverage of this game, but a football commentator said something when he saw this scene in the highlights of this round of games on Monday, which unexpectedly became a classic. Whenever commentators saw Zhang Jun getting the ball, they would often repeat this sentence:

"What will Zhang Jun do?"

The answer was revealed in an instant.

Zhang Jun was near the near post, raising his right leg as if to shoot! Klopp, who was defending him, had seen his shot before the end of the first half and didn't dare to neglect it, immediately raising his leg to block it. But Zhang Jun's shot was a feint, his right leg swung over the ball, and then swung back, using the momentum to knock the football from behind him to the left, while quickly turning around! Then, he used his right foot to gently push the football that had reached the left out of Klopp's defensive range!

Goalkeeper Walker saw the ball popping out from in front of Klopp and was about to attack, but he saw that Zhang Jun had turned around again, and shot with his left foot with great force!

The football flew over Walker's head, who had symbolically raised his hands, smashed into the crossbar, and then bounced into the net!

Goal!

But...

"Cruyff turn!" Almost all the Dutch people present were shocked.

Zhang Jun ran wildly with his arms outstretched, wondering what kind of eyes those Dutch people were looking at his running figure with. All he knew was that the ball had gone in, the score was tied, and there was hope of winning. As for the move that Qiu Suhui had taught him, he didn't seem to know what weight it held in the hearts of the Dutch.

Adrianse followed this running figure with a different kind of gaze.

Kozer followed this running figure with a different kind of gaze.

Klopp, who had been shaken to the ground by him, was still sitting on the ground, also following this running figure with a different kind of gaze...

More people followed this running figure with a different kind of gaze...

A name that left incomparable brilliance and legend in the memory of the Dutch people seemed to merge with this Chinese teenager at that moment.

"Qiu, I now regret why he isn't Dutch..." someone murmured in the nearly crazy shouting of the audience.

The aftermath of this goal lasted for a full ten minutes. The players had already restarted the game for ten minutes, and the audience had finally focused their attention on the game that was currently in progress.

In the seventeenth minute of the second half, Zhang Jun used the Cruyff turn to complete the best goal of the game, and also tied the score for Volendam.

Football will never be an arithmetic problem of 1+1=2, or 1+2=3. Many people who know something about football will understand this.

Zhang Jun's equalizing goal greatly boosted Volendam's morale, and also made the visiting team Heerenveen more passive in defense.

Zhang Jun, who had scored a goal, was more confident and more active. His several touches of the ball made Klopp more and more painful. How could he not feel enormous pressure from someone who could calmly perform a "Cruyff turn" in front of him?

Yang Pan was also encouraged. His several forceful breakthroughs on the right wing put Erdmann in a very tight spot. Erdmann prided himself on being tireless, but under Yang Pan's repeated rapid attacks, his breathing became more and more uneven.

Holvergin made a direct pass along the wing, and Yang Pan started to chase the ball!

Erdmann stabbed out from the side, trying to block Yang Pan. However, at the moment when his body leaned up, Yang Pan suddenly accelerated again. Erdmann failed to lean on Yang Pan, but was instead caught off balance by his acceleration and fell to the ground!

After breaking through Erdmann, Yang Pan looked up at the penalty area. Zhang Jun rushed forward, and then retreated again. The defenders thought Zhang Jun wanted to slip out a gap to抢点(qiang dian - seize a point) and shoot, and quickly pressed towards him. Yang Pan found a sliver of space at the near post and suddenly shot at the edge of the penalty area without hesitation!

The cannon fired for the first time in this game, blasting towards the near corner of Heerenveen's goal!

Walker didn't dare to neglect it, and punched the ball out with both fists. The football went out of bounds in a sigh of regret.

Yang Pan shook his head regretfully. The captain patted him on the shoulder to comfort him when he came up to take the throw-in: "At least it scared the opponent!"

Holvergin threw the ball into the penalty area with great force. Zhang Jun fought hard to get the ball, but his header was a little off, which also made Walker break out in a cold sweat.

Hervé dribbled continuously on the left wing, and after shaking off a gap, quickly crossed the ball.

Zhang Jun once again grabbed the first point in the penalty area, but this time he didn't shoot directly, but flicked the ball with his head to the right side of the arc outside the penalty area. That position was Yang Pan's range of activity.

Adrianse noticed that Erdmann was a step slow in starting and didn't keep up in time. He stood up, knowing that this ball couldn't escape.

Hervé crossed the ball, and Zhang Jun flicked the ball out of the penalty area at the front post, allowing Yang Pan to take a long shot. This was an offensive tactic that he had practiced for a long time in training. Whether in training or in the game, it had been tried and tested.

Sure enough, Yang Pan appeared in the shooting position at the right time, and then directly swung his right foot to shoot!

The football drilled through the gap between the people, and then flew directly into the upper right corner of the goal. Although Walker tried his best to save it, he was powerless to recover because his vision was blocked by the people in the penalty area. The Heerenveen players, coaches, and fans watched helplessly as the football blasted into the goal like a shell!

Goal!

2:1! Volendam took the lead! With five minutes left before the end of the game, Yang Pan used a powerful shot to surpass the score! The home team Volendam finally took the lead!

Veronica was filled with joy, and they saw the hope of winning.

Li Yan turned his head and said to Qi Wei next to him: "Look, the Chinese Double Stars are shining in the Netherlands!"

Qi Wei's mind flashed. He had been troubled by what suitable name to take for this special program. Isn't there a ready-made one now?

Double Stars Shine in the Netherlands...

"Ha! You are really a genius, Li Yan!" Qi Wei excitedly hugged Li Yan, but it startled Li Yan: "Hey, let go, people will misunderstand!"

Wang Hua laughed from the side: "Hey hey, don't worry, homosexuality is legal in the Netherlands and will not be discriminated against..."

Including stoppage time, there were eight minutes left. Heerenveen launched a full-scale attack, striving to tie the score in the final moments. Losing to newly-promoted Volendam on the road would probably be scolded to death by the Heerenveen media and fans.

Almost all of Volendam returned to their own half to defend. Heerenveen's midfielder organizer, Selakovic, after dribbling past Bayes in the midfield, attempted to pass an overhead ball, but it was headed down by the tall Louis Link. Jansen wanted to搶落点(qiang luo dian - fight for the dropping point), but was pushed down by Volendam's center-back Hossmann, and the referee awarded Heerenveen a direct free kick from twenty-five yards.

Selakovic's free kick放了高射炮(fang le gao she pao - fired a high shot), without any threat.

Volendam's goalkeeper, Westerop, placed the football on the goal area line three times before slowly kicking the ball out. Subsequently, in the frontcourt, Zhang Jun failed to compete for the ball. Heerenveen's defender headed the ball hard towards the midfield. Bayes, in front of Radomski, headed the incoming ball towards the frontcourt again, and Heerenveen's Klopp headed the ball back again.

This time, Kozer rushed up. He jumped up and unloaded the ball with his chest, and then quickly dribbled forward, first dodging the unprepared Jansen, and then捅(tong - poked/passed) the ball to Hervé before Radomski came up. Volendam launched a counterattack!

Hervé didn't stick to the ball, but immediately transferred the ball to the right wing. Yang Pan quickly inserted, and successfully甩开了(shuai kai le - got rid of) Erdmann, inserting into the penalty area!

The home fans cheered, because they were going to see another goal.

Walker knew Yang Pan's power and quickly blocked the near corner. And Heerenveen's two defenders also quickly returned to defense,逼(bi - pressing) towards Yang Pan.

Yang Pan glanced at Zhang Jun, who was inserting at high speed, facing the goal, and the shooting angle and space were much better than him, so he gently rubbed his right foot, and the football drew a small arc in the air, passing through between the goalkeeper and the defender.

Zhang Jun rushed too hard and ran past a little, but he didn't want to give up this opportunity. In a moment of desperation, he turned around in the air and performed a bicycle kick!

With huge exclamations and sighs, the football slammed hard on the crossbar and flew out of the baseline!

Zhang Jun, who got up from the ground, looked regretfully at the goal while walking back. Yang Pan laughed and patted Zhang Jun's butt: "Haha! Almost a worldie! You can hit the target with only a six-centimeter-wide crossbar, you deserve to be a shooter! Haha!"

Zhang Jun glared at him: "You're still laughing! If it were you, you wouldn't even hit the crossbar! My bicycle kick..."

Even if they were almost broken through again, Heerenveen still couldn't give up attacking. Until the final whistle sounded, even if they were灌(guan - poured) in a few more goals, they could only attack, attack, and attack again! Because they had no choice.

However, the entire Volendam team, with the help of the home fans,死死守住了(si si shou zhu le - firmly defended) the goal. Until the moment the referee blew the final whistle, they didn't let Heerenveen score another goal. In the end, they defeated the current fifth-ranked Heerenveen 2:1 at home.

In the locker room after the game, Zhang Jun's "Cruyff turn" and the unentered bicycle kick became the topic of discussion among his teammates. Everyone was amazed at the "Cruyff turn", and also felt sorry for the bicycle kick that didn't go in.

Ochu looked smug and said to Zhang Jun: "Ha! If that bicycle kick was me, it definitely wouldn't be this result!"

"Then what is it?" Bayes blinked at him.

"打飞机(da fei ji - shooting wide)!" Ochu shrugged, spread his hands, and made the Chinese pronunciation of "打飞机(da fei ji)" with a half-baked accent. This was also taught to him by Zhang Jun, meaning that the shot was ridiculously high.

Everyone was amused by Ochu's funny accent and expression. Even Qi Wei, who was working on the side, couldn't help but laugh and muttered to himself: "He's really a活宝(huo bao - treasure of a person)!"

"Zhang Jun, that turn..." Kozer was still thinking about that turn.

"Oh, Coach Qiu taught me when he was still around. He said this trick would be very useful when facing enemies. I was only able to use it more skillfully just now, hehe!" Zhang Jun scratched his head and said with a smile.

"Didn't he tell you the name of this turn?" Adrianse asked him.

"No, he only said that it was a very effective technique and told me to practice more so that I could use it in the game in the future. What's wrong?" Zhang Jun looked at everyone strangely. Isn't it just a turn? Is there any other name?

Qiu, are you kidding me? Hehe! Adrianse smiled in his heart, and then he said to Zhang Jun: "This turn has a name, it's called 'Cruyff turn'. It was invented by the greatest Dutch player, Johan Cruyff, so it's called this name."

"Cruyff!?" Zhang Jun was taken aback, "The representative figure of Total Football, the uncrowned king of the Netherlands, Cruyff?"

Everyone nodded.

"No wonder it's so easy to use, it turned out to be invented by Cruyff, hehe! That's what I said!" Zhang Jun said excitedly.

"Ha! You didn't even know it!" Bayes went up and patted Zhang Jun on the head.

Looking at the teammates who were making a mess, Adrianse didn't know what was going on, but suddenly he thought of a person. That person made his first appearance for Ajax by replacing Cruyff; he was also very skilled in using the "Cruyff turn" to break through the defenders. Just like his shot, an unrepeatable legend began when he embraced Johan Cruyff and entered the field.

Adrianse didn't know if Zhang Jun could also create a legend of his own. That person was unrepeatable and irreplaceable, and so was Zhang Jun. Players like Yang Pan can become a world-class superstar through their own efforts, but in the current football world where heroes are rising together, his own personality characteristics determine his path.

Yang Pan can become part of the legend, but he cannot create a legend.

In this round of the league, because Roosendaal and Groningen, who were ahead of Volendam, lost. Therefore, Volendam, who defeated Heerenveen at home, jumped two places in the ranking at once, from fifteenth to thirteenth.

For those who were doubting the ability of the two Chinese players and the strength of Volendam before the game, Zhang Jun's "Cruyff turn" undoubtedly gave them a resounding slap in the face. Almost all Dutch media used the moment when Zhang Jun used the turn to shake down Klopp as the photo on the front page of the newspaper and the opening of the television news. And the Chinese media also cited this photo taken behind the Volendam goal, passing through the entire stadium. It can be imagined that Klopp is a household name in China. People are talking about the boy from Volendam who can always bring surprises. So, someone started断言(duan yan - asserted) again, Zhang Jun will become the second Van Basten, "Although he is still young, although this is his first professional season, although sometimes his performance is still a little immature, although he is a Chinese... But these can't prevent us from regarding him as the next Van Basten, the young man who replaced the idol Cruyff on the league that year, and finally embarked on a football road that amazed the entire world. If Zhang Jun continues to develop in this state, I think I saw the figure wearing the number 12 jersey at Ajax..."

Qi Wei, carrying a full box of gains, said goodbye to Zhang Jun, Yang Pan, and a group of lovely players in the small town of Volendam, and embarked on a flight back to Beijing in Amsterdam. He was now anxiously looking forward to that episode of *Tian Xia Zu Qiu* (Football World) next Monday, that episode of *Double Stars Shine in the Netherlands*.

Li Yan wrote three articles overnight after the game on Saturday and sent them back to the Changsha headquarters. One piece was a report before, during, and after the game, one piece was a report on CCTV5 reporters coming to Volendam for a follow-up interview. The other piece was a commentary article. Li Yan thought about the name of this article for a long time, and finally found a very suitable name: \*.

ps: Today I saw on the Internet that I don't know who put the latest chapter of *We Are the Champions* on the Internet in advance. I am very grateful to this enthusiastic book friend for their love. If you can't see the back, you would rather use hacker methods to get it. This kind of behavior is quite ambitious for achieving the goal by any means. I admire it very much. However, I hope this friend will be more careful next time. I don't want this kind of situation to happen again. The past is the past, and I won't say anything more. I just hope that some people respect my labor results. My relationship with all book friends has always been very good, and I don't want a rat to ruin the whole pot of soup.