Chapter 20 Marbella Is No Stranger

Marbella, Spain, was no stranger to Zhang Jun; they had come here for training camp around this time last year. When choosing a training location this year, it was naturally the first place that came to mind.

However, there were some old friends also in Marbella this year.

"Huh? Li Yongle?" Zhang Jun was a little surprised; he didn't expect to run into him here. "Are you rich enough to come to Spain for vacation?"

"Of course not, hehe! I'm here with the national team for training camp," Li Yongle said with a smile.

"With the team? So, Sophie did tell me you were called up to the national Olympic team... Wait! The national Olympic team came to Spain?" Zhang Jun was even more surprised.

"Yeah, the national Olympic team was invited to Marbella to play in a four-nation invitational tournament. We're staying upstairs from you," Li Yongle pointed overhead.

"This... what a coincidence?"

"Your news is really behind the times. Marbella is the territory of Atletico Madrid's president, Gil, who is quite fond of China. Plus, I heard our head coach has a good relationship with Gil, so they invited us. We can compete again then, hehe!" Li Yongle said with a smile; being able to compete with Zhang Jun was the greatest joy.

"Are you a starting player yet?"

"Not yet, but being the first substitute is no problem. I'll catch up."

The two found an empty spot to sit down, ordered two hot juices, and began to chat.

"Honestly, Li Yongle, why did you give up the opportunity to go to Volendam and instead participate in the lackluster Universiade? You could have had a chance to play with me."

Li Yongle took a sip of juice, "I don't think anyone who plays football would refuse the call of their country, right? Facing a jersey with the Chinese flag on your chest, can you ignore it, Zhang Jun?"

Zhang Jun paused for a moment, then shook his head, "Indeed, I can't refuse. You're right. It's just a pity for you..."

"Hehe, haven't I joined the national Olympic team now? It's the same wherever I play, as long as I can improve. Maybe it's even better for me to receive Qiu zhi's (coach Qiu) training in the national Olympic team right now. But I will definitely go abroad eventually. I'll consider it after the Olympics. Maybe I'll go to the Netherlands like you, and find a small club to start my professional career," Li Yongle pointed at Zhang Jun with his straw. "But I won't go to Volendam." He saw what Zhang Jun wanted to say, "Because I want to compete with you, not as teammates, but as opponents."

※※※

The warm Marbella beach in Spain was indeed better than the frozen snow in the Netherlands. The Volendam players were full of energy, like frogs waking up from hibernation. This was completely different from their performance in the Netherlands, especially when they saw the beautiful women sunbathing topless on the beach.

But Zhang Jun could already stay focused. His teammates joked that it was because he already had Sophie, and Zhang Jun didn't deny it. That was indeed the case. But his national Olympic teammates couldn't do it. One by one, when running on the beach, they saw those passionate women and their legs went weak. They really wanted to fall down and roll over to the women's side, lying there and not wanting to get up.

Even Li Zhisheng, who usually looked very proper, couldn't resist the temptation and had wild fantasies about those women.

And the women also seemed very interested in these strong young men, always making various alluring poses to tease the passing national Olympic team members.

But while even the coach couldn't resist, there was one person who truly focused on training, without looking sideways. He was Xiang Tao, known in the team as the "Yellow Bomber."

This was indeed very puzzling. Wang Yu, representing the vast majority of perverts, asked Xiang Tao why he could be so calm. Xiang Tao glanced at Wang Yu arrogantly, and then said in a very disdainful tone, "Based on my habit of watching porn, I'm not interested in European women."

Everyone collapsed.

※※※

Yang Pan once again stood on the sidelines of the dall'Ara stadium, with the fourth official holding an electronic display board standing next to him. Yang Pan bounced around, stretched his body, and took the time to look at the big screen. Seventieth minute of the second half, 1:1, Bologna and the visiting team Empoli were tied.

He would replace Nervo and this time his mission was not "active defense". Mazzone's requirement for him was: "While solidifying your defense, actively insert yourself into the attack, and use your speed to break down the opponent's defense in these last twenty minutes!"

Nervo looked up at the display board in the fourth official's hand: number 7 on, number 21 off.

He knew he hadn't played well in this game; his assists and defense were completely out of sync. The coach letting him play for seventy minutes was already good enough. So he would watch this young man's performance from the bench!

He slapped hands hard with Yang Pan, then put on the coat handed to him by a staff member and sat back on the bench. "Good job, Carlo," Mazzone still said this sentence.

Yang Pan ran two steps quickly, feeling his position. He took a few deep breaths, no longer as nervous as when he first came on.

※※※

"Three touches, two passes, one tackle, one mistake, no shots, no threatening passes. This is Yang Pan's performance in the first five minutes," Li Yan wrote in his notebook.

Suddenly there was a burst of cheers from the stands! He quickly looked up.

"Yang Pan's sudden steal in the frontcourt caught the opponent off guard!" the live commentator shouted.

After Yang Pan stole the ball, he first looked up to find someone, but he didn't find a suitable passing point. At this time, the opponent whose ball he had stolen had already forced up again. Yang Pan flicked his hand and accelerated to shake off the opponent, breaking through along the sideline!

Empoli's center back came up to defend, but Yang Pan flashed past him like a gust of wind, too fast!

"Yang Pan breaks through! Terrifying speed!"

Nervo gripped his towel tightly, watching the field.

The second center back had to come up to cover, but Yang Pan didn't give him the chance. He flicked his right foot, and the football flew diagonally towards the outside of the penalty area!

Forward number 11, Claudio Bellucci, who was running horizontally, happened to receive the pass. He adjusted slightly, and then kicked!

Because of Yang Pan's disruption, the defense in Empoli's penalty area was already a mess. The defender happened to block the goalkeeper's line of sight. Bellucci's shot skimmed the grass and drilled into the lower right corner of the goal!

Goal!

"GoooooooooAL!! Number 11 Bellucci! Bologna leads at home!"

After scoring the goal, Bellucci wanted to run towards the coach's bench, but he suddenly remembered something and turned a corner to rush towards Yang Pan, who was still standing on the sidelines, hugging him tightly.

"Well done!"

※※※

"Well done!" Li Yan, like other Chinese reporters, jumped up from his seat. Seventy-fifth minute of the second half! Yang Pan used a sharp breakthrough on the right to complete his first assist in Serie A!

"Yang Pan! We support you!" Some reporters even opened the banners they had prepared and held them up at this moment. Their actions attracted the attention of other reporters, but at this moment, in the press box, there were only a group of Chinese fans, not Chinese reporters.

※※※

The goal celebration finally ended, and the teammates took their positions. Yang Pan stood on the sidelines, secretly clenching his fists. Half a season of hard work and waiting had finally paid off. Although it was just an assist, Yang Pan knew how difficult even one assist was on this field.

Now he was one step closer to that goal.

Keep working hard, Yang Pan!

※※※

Three whistles, the whole game ended! Bologna defeated Empoli at home, ushering in their first victory of the new year, a good start!

"Well done!" Signori patted Yang Pan on the shoulder as he left the field. Bellucci, who scored the winning goal, came up and hugged Yang Pan: "Hey! Good kid! Great pass! I'll treat you to dinner!"

"Ha! Claudio, if that's the case, you'll go bankrupt soon! Haha!" someone joked.

"Hmph! None of your business, I'm happy today!"

"Haha!"

In the laughter, Yang Pan noticed that Nervo had stood up from the bench, then turned and walked alone towards the locker room, with a camera following him, just like himself that day.

Carlo, even if you are expressionless, it must be hard, right?

※※※

"Yang Pan uses an assist to prove himself!" "Half a season of waiting in exchange for an assist!" "Mazzone: He has strength, but he needs to continue to work hard." "Welcoming the first assist like this."…

While the joyful ink was still spreading in China, in Spain, Zhang Jun and Li Yongle were about to start their competition.

"It's the first time competing with you abroad," Li Yongle said to Zhang Jun; it was now the pre-match warm-up time. But Zhang Jun had almost no way to complete the warm-up, because the national Olympic team members who knew him always came forward to greet him, making him wonder if this was Qiu Suhui's tactical arrangement.

"Yes, the first time."

"The weather in Spain is very good," Li Yongle said, looking up at the blue sky.

"Yes, very good," Zhang Jun also looked up at the sky.

"I'm not starting, are you?"

"What a coincidence, neither am I. I'll only come on in the second half."

"Hiding your strength? I really didn't expect us to meet in the first game. I was planning to meet in the final, which would be more exciting."

"Hehe! Then let's treat this game as the final!" Zhang Jun said with a smile.

The two men's hands were tightly clasped together.

※※※

"I don't think I need to explain, everyone should be very clear about who their key person is, right? Although Volendam didn't let him start, he will definitely come on. I hope everyone plays the results of these months of training, so that he won't have a chance even if he comes on!"

The national Olympic team was still using a 442 with a diamond formation, the lineup was exactly the same as in the first game against Syria. But Volendam sent out most of the substitutes. Qiu Suhui turned to look at Adriannese, his teacher.

Is he doubting my ability? Or is he afraid that the main players will get injured? If so, then I won't be polite!

Qiu Suhui stood up and shouted loudly to the players on the field waiting to kick off: "Go all out! Treat it as an Olympic game!"

January 8, the weather was sunny, the warm Spanish Marbella sun shone on everyone, the football lay quietly on the grass between the two teams, reflecting the sunlight, seeming a little dazzling.

The referee blew the whistle, and the football was kicked out. This was just an invitational match with a friendly nature, but no one would take it lightly.

※※※

Li Jie's powerful shot was easily caught by Westerlhop. He scratched his head in annoyance. His own forceful kick was actually caught so easily by the opponent. Is this the professional-level goalkeeper?

But even so, the Chinese national Olympic team still had the upper hand in the first twenty minutes of the first half. As a former assistant coach at Volendam, Qiu Suhui was very clear about the abilities and strengths and weaknesses of these players. Therefore, the Chinese team's tactics were designed to restrain Volendam everywhere, so pressing the attack was very normal.

This game attracted some European scouts, so the Chinese players performed particularly hard, hoping to be spotted by a scout from some club. It would be even better if they could be spotted by a big-name club.

Zhao Pengyu's breakthrough on the left was impressive. His speed made it difficult for Volendam's substitute defender Koning to defend. But he knew to block the inside and force Zhao Pengyu to the baseline to cross, which would be much less threatening. And Zhao Pengyu could only bury his head and dribble to the baseline to cross, but the effect was not very good.

"It won't work like this, we need some changes," assistant coach Hu Li said to Qiu Suhui.

"Hmm," Qiu Suhui nodded, "The wing attack needs more changes..."

Zhao Pengyu charged forward again with the ball, still being forced to the outside by Koning.

"Xiao Yu!" Xiang Tao rushed up from behind. Zhao Pengyu tacitly made a feint, then passed the ball back to Xiang Tao, who was inserting from behind. After receiving the ball, Xiang Tao did not continue to the baseline, but dribbled the ball horizontally, leaning towards the front of the penalty area!

Lin Feng quickly pulled to the right when he saw this, and then Xiang Tao kicked while running! A half-high ball, both fast and fierce! Westerlhop didn't dare to catch it directly, but before he could clench his fist and punch it out, the ball had already reached his chest!

In a hurry, he could only push it out with both palms, but the effect was predictable... The ball was not pushed far, and Li Jie, who was lurking in the penalty area, quickly followed up, and then easily put the ball into the empty goal!

Goal! The Chinese national Olympic team took the lead against Volendam! They actually took the lead!

Although it was just a warm-up match, Li Jie was still very excited. After all, this goal further consolidated his position as the main striker. The team members surrounded Li Jie and Xiang Tao, jumping and shouting excitedly. In the past, when facing European teams, the Chinese team, despite shouting fiercely, was basically lacking in confidence when they got to the field. Only these newborn calves were always full of confidence, always eager for victory, and never willing to admit defeat.

Qiu Suhui really wanted to let those people in China see that this was his biggest goal for the transformation of this team: to cultivate them into a first-class Asian team from the perspective of confidence and spirit.

※※※

Volendam was 0:1 behind, it was now the thirtieth minute of the first half. Adriannese could no longer sit still, he didn't want to lose to his disciple. "Zhang Jun, Salden, Kozeer, Hena, go warm up."

When Li Yongle saw Zhang Jun getting up to warm up on the bench, he straightened his body full of hope, looking at Qiu Suhui, hoping to hear the call to let him warm up. But until the end of the first half, he didn't see any movement from the coaching staff.

In the second half, Volendam, who were behind, replaced nearly half of their players. The absolute main players such as Kozeer, Salden, Hena, and Zhang Jun all came on, it seemed that Adriannese was not willing to stop here.

On the national Olympic team's side, Qiu Suhui still didn't make any adjustments. He only ordered Li Zhisheng and Liu Peng to keep a close eye on Zhang Jun and Hena, and not give the opponent too many opportunities.

Li Zhisheng worked very hard, but it was clear that he was still lacking compared to Zhang Jun, who had seen Baggio's true teachings.

"Beep!" Zhang Jun forcibly broke through from the center. Li Zhisheng, who had already lost his position, had no choice but to pull Zhang Jun down. The referee gave Volendam a direct free kick from about twenty-three meters in the front court.

When Qiu Suhui saw Zhang Jun personally placing the football on the grass, he suddenly remembered that so far this season, Zhang Jun had scored five direct free kicks in various competitions. As a striker, this was a remarkable statistic. His left and right foot curved balls were even called "smile" by the Dutch media, a very nice name, but it made his opponents shudder.

The national Olympic team obviously saw Zhang Jun's free kick for the first time, because when Zhang Jun chose to use his left foot to take this free kick on the left side, everyone thought he was going to pass the ball. But the football flew out in a clear arc, bypassing the wall and flying straight into the near corner!

When Sima Hongxin discovered that the football had bypassed the wall from the far end and was spinning directly towards the upper left corner of the goal, he had no reaction, watching helplessly as the football drilled into the net!

Goal!

Zhang Jun smiled easily and high-fived Kozeer, who came up to celebrate, and then did nothing more. As if it was just a goal in a routine set-piece training.

Qiu Suhui, who had now seen Zhang Jun after that incident with his own eyes, was truly much more mature. If you don't understand why those Dutch people call his free kicks "smile", then please look at his expression!

Qiu Suhui shook his head and smiled, then said: "Li Yongle, go warm up. Come back in five minutes."

Li Yongle stood up a little excitedly, took off his long pants, and then ran to the sidelines to warm up. He was finally going to play, this was the first time he was representing the national Olympic team since being selected. In the past two months or so, in Honghe, under Qiu Suhui's tutelage, he felt that he was growing every day, and he was confident that he would not let Qiu zhi, who trusted him, down. But what excited him the most was that he could finally compete with Zhang Jun!

Five minutes was really long, at least that's what Li Yongle thought. Until he stood next to Qiu Suhui and took off his coat, he unexpectedly regained his calm.

No tactical board, no long-winded requirements, Qiu Suhui just patted Li Yongle on the shoulder and said one sentence to him: "Freeze Zhang Jun."

And this was exactly what Li Yongle wanted to hear.

※※※

The football went out of bounds, and Hu Li signaled to the fourth official that the Chinese team was making a substitution. Li Yongle stood on the sidelines. Zhang Jun looked at Li Yongle, and at the same time Li Yongle looked up at Zhang Jun after tidying up his jersey. The two men's eyes met, and then they smiled at each other.

I never thought we would meet in this way, you representing China, me representing Volendam.

And Adriannese also paid attention to this tall man. He was that Li Yongle, Reis had originally taken a fancy to him, but unfortunately he didn't know why he didn't come. Now he was representing his country?

Seeing the real person is always better than watching a video.

The game continued, Kozeer still had a habit of looking for Zhang Jun. But this time he passed the ball over, Zhang Jun had just received it, and was about to turn around and move forward when the ball was blocked by a leg, and he staggered, almost falling. A very familiar feeling came to mind.

"Li Yongle!" he couldn't help but shout.

"Hehe! This is just a greeting gift, Zhang Jun," Li Yongle said with a smile, and then he rushed up in the moment Zhang Jun was stunned. On the other side, Wang Yu had already passed the ball to the front.

The Chinese team launched a quick counterattack! Lin Feng took the ball with his back to the opponent's penalty area, didn't turn around, but directly passed the ball to Li Yongle, who was inserting from behind!

"Crap..." Zhang Jun chased back desperately. Now it was only twenty-five meters from the goal. Zhang Jun knew what Li Yongle would do next. He loudly reminded Louis Link, who was forcing up. "Watch out for his long shot..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Yongle indeed swung his right foot while running! Louis Link hurriedly flew to block this long shot. But the opponent didn't shoot, but gently flicked the ball outwards with his right foot, dodging Louis Link! Then he passed straight into the penalty area. Li Jie tacitly inserted from the side into the gap left after Louis Link pounced, raised his foot and shot!

Westerlhop had blocked the angle, he firmly pressed this ground ball under his body.

One defense and one attack in this round had already well demonstrated Li Yongle's current abilities. His positioning when defending Zhang Jun and his insertion from behind during the counterattack showed his good awareness. Awareness was particularly important for professional players. Adriannese had already begun to regret it. Why didn't he use Zhang Jun's personal relationship to get him at that time? He would definitely be a very good addition to the team's strength.

Zhang Jun watched Li Yongle run past him with his head held high, and kept running back to the position of the defensive midfielder.

It's not just you who is improving, Zhang Jun.

Was that what he wanted to tell himself just now? Zhang Jun looked back at Westerlhop, and then waved his hand: "Robert, long ball!"

※※※

Zhang Jun took the ball again, and Li Yongle forced up again. Everyone could see that the two of them were determined to win this game.

Zhang Jun stood upright, slowly dribbling the ball, while brewing his next move. And Li Yongle kept his center of gravity very low, leaning over and staring at the football. One tall and one short, it seemed to freeze for a moment.

The sunlight shone on the white football, reflecting into Li Yongle's eyes, a little dazzling... Li Yongle couldn't help but squint slightly.

This is the moment!

Zhang Jun suddenly moved! He flicked the ball lightly with the outside of his left foot, and at the same time moved his body to the left! And Li Yongle was not to be outdone, using the force of his left foot to push off, his body shot out to the right like an arrow!

Both men's explosive power was very amazing!

Zhang Jun moved the ball forward again with his right foot, he showed no signs of slowing down. At the same time, his body took a step forward to block Li Yongle. After a year of training in the professional league, his body was no longer as thin as it was in high school.

Li Yongle was blocked like this, and also lost the opportunity to suddenly steal the ball. He had no choice but to try to block Zhang Jun on the outside, so he wouldn't let him enter the penalty area.

The two men rushed towards the baseline quickly!

Zhang Jun's eyes saw that Li Yongle had not completely blocked the angle. He could still see the goal, which meant he was in shooting range for Zhang Jun.

Li Yongle suddenly felt that Zhang Jun's dribbling rhythm had changed. He then realized that he had only paid attention to preventing him from breaking through to the baseline, but he had forgotten that his opponent was a person who could shoot from any angle, in any situation. He must be going to shoot! Li Yongle thought to himself.

Sure enough, Zhang Jun stepped on the ground with his right foot, and his left leg swung up, he was going to shoot!

Here it comes! Li Yongle leaned back slightly to fully extend himself. Then he stretched out his right leg to block Zhang Jun's small-angle shot!

His left leg swung down, but he didn't shoot, but hooked the ball to the right!

Was he still going to break through!? Li Yongle was shocked, but he relied on his excellent physical fitness to manage to turn his body back. He had to stop Zhang Jun from breaking through!

However, the ball didn't hook over, after the football hooked over it hit the supporting foot -- Zhang Jun's right foot, and bounced back to the baseline!

What?!

Li Yongle was powerless, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't change his center of gravity twice in a row in just one second.

Amazing explosive power allowed Zhang Jun to rush forward like a cheetah! He pulled the football back on the baseline, and then adjusted slightly, immediately raising his foot to shoot!

Sima Hongxin blocked the angle, and his center of gravity was also very low, but he didn't expect that Zhang Jun would really dare to shoot on the baseline, and with a powerful shot! The football flew over his head, then hit the lower edge of the crossbar and bounced into the goal!

Another goal!!

A true zero-angle goal!

At the moment the football bounced into the goal, Qiu Suhui suddenly stood up from his seat, opened his mouth to cheer for Zhang Jun, but he immediately realized that he was not Volendam's assistant coach now, but the head coach of the Chinese national Olympic team. He had no choice but to wave his hand and sit back down helplessly.

And Zhang Jun waved his fist fiercely and ran back.

Sima Hongxin was one meter ninety-eight tall, with broad shoulders, so it was impossible for him to seal off the near corner without leaving any shooting space. Most people would choose to cross in front of the goal, but Zhang Jun powerfully shot the ball over Sima's head. That little bit of space was seized and utilized by him, and then he completed this incredible zero-degree goal!

This kid, has he grown to this point?

※※※

Li Jie watched Zhang Jun, who was talking and laughing with his teammates, run back, with a shock in his heart that could not be described in words.

Is this the strength of the Dutch Silver Boot? Is this the strength that Baggio values? Is this... that person's strength?

He had always joked that he was the national Olympic team's best scorer, but that was only because that person had not returned. Ask yourself, would you have the courage to shoot in that situation just now? I'm afraid you wouldn't even have the courage to think about it, right?

He also dreamed of going to Europe to play football through the Olympics, but today he realized that although he was now standing on European soil, he was far, far away from European football...

Li Yongle sat on the ground and once again clearly witnessed the whole process of Zhang Jun's goal, as if he had returned to that winter four years ago, watching Zhang Jun score an equalizing goal and then a winning golden goal in front of him. No matter how majestic he was before this, how he pressed him to the point of being breathless, but in the end, at the critical moment, he could always throw himself aside and complete heroic feats alone, and he was just a spectator.

With one year of professional experience, is the gap getting bigger and bigger?

Li Yongle would never agree to be gradually thrown far away like this. You've been playing for a year, and I've only just started!

※※※

In this game, Volendam relied on Zhang Jun's zero-degree goal to defeat the Chinese national Olympic team 2:1 and advance to the finals of the cup. And Qiu Suhui also achieved the purpose of training and running in the team, and increasing experience. Naturally, he was happy to win, and it was not a shameful thing if he couldn't win, after all, the opponent was a professional team, and the champion of the previous Dutch Cup. Although Yang Pan left, they had a more mature Zhang Jun. Moreover, Qiu Suhui always felt that he didn't lose to Volendam, but to the main striker of the national Olympic team, Zhang Jun.

In the cup final, Volendam narrowly lost 1:2 to the Bundesliga powerhouse Borussia Dortmund (BvB). Zhang Jun played the whole game, although he scored a goal, but the two-meter-two Czech center forward Jan Koller was too terrifyingly tall, and two aerial bombardments ended Volendam. And Zhang Jun also encountered German-style defense: rigorous and serious, meticulous, emphasizing overall synergy. Obviously, he was not yet adapted to facing such a defense, and there were very few shooting opportunities. But even with only four shots, he still scored a goal, and such high efficiency made Adriannese very happy. At least Zhang Jun gained some knowledge. In the UEFA Cup, they would face different teams and play different styles of football. Zhang Jun was growing, and Volendam was also growing.

The one-month winter break quickly passed, and what awaited them was the more arduous second half of the 0304 season. The UEFA Cup and the Dutch Cup had both entered the later stages of the competition. With three lines of battle, Volendam faced unprecedented challenges.

But the Volendam fans were not afraid, they could sing "Zhang Jun bless Volendam" to respond to all doubts.

Yes, with another healthy and mature Zhang Jun, what do they have to fear? Shouldn't their opponents be afraid?