Chapter 11

The eleven-day holiday had just ended, and with China's football team also qualifying, the number of people playing football on campus suddenly surged. Several times, the 701 dormitory residents tried to go to the football field, only to find there was nowhere to set foot; even in a small patch of ground, two groups were playing a match!

U University's football enthusiasm was unprecedented!

One day, just after finishing evening self-study and returning to the dormitory, someone came looking for them.

Two boys knocked on the door. "Which of you is Zhang Jun and Yang Pan?" The leader was not tall but had a loud voice.

Yang Pan dropped his book and stood up. "I'm Yang Pan. What's the matter?"

The two visitors' eyes lit up, and they strode into the dormitory, circling Yang Pan and looking him up and down.

"Tsk, tsk! As expected... Look how thick his right leg is; no wonder he can shoot such amazing shots!"

"Yeah, yeah! Just like Carlos!"

"That's talent! We'll never reach his level in our lifetime..."

"...Hey, hey! What do you guys want?" Yang Pan was both amused and exasperated by the two.

"Oh, oh! We forgot the main business!" the short leader exclaimed. "My name is Xie Yun, the captain of the U University football team, and he's Ou Pu, the vice-captain. We're here to invite the five of you from the 701 dormitory to join the school team."

"Join the school team?"

"That's right! The Anhui Division tryouts for the National College Football League are early next month. U University lost in the semi-finals last year and couldn't enter the East China finals. This year, I heard the school specially recruited five football特长生 (te chang sheng, students admitted for their special talents), but I didn't expect you two, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan, to be among them! It would be great if you could join us!"

"Zhang Jun?" Yang Pan turned to look at Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun smiled. "What else can we do besides football? Our identity is football te chang sheng!"

Yang Pan looked at the other three. "What about you guys?"

"No problem. We were recruited to join the school team anyway, right?" Zhang Fan said on behalf of the other two.

Yang Pan turned back and said to Xie Yun, "No problem. We all agree to join the school team!"

"That's great!" Xie Yun was very excited. "Ou Pu, bring the notebook and register them! It's wonderful that you're joining! This year, we might be able to make it to the East China finals!"

Watching the five write their names and positions in the notebook, Xie Yun added, "In a few days, there's a traditional U University event, the annual 'Freshman Cup' football tournament. Only newly enrolled students can participate, representing their departments. Your history department will participate, right?"

"Freshman Cup? I haven't seen any notice!"

"Hehe! The posters will only be put up tomorrow. I'm telling you in advance to get your opinions. It starts in three days, so time is a bit tight. It seems there aren't many male students in your history department. Do you have enough people? We play small-field, nine-a-side games."

"Nine-a-side shouldn't be a problem. We'll sign up," Yang Pan said, already acting like a captain.

"That's good. With you guys, the Freshman Cup will be even more exciting! Our school team will come and support you then!"

Yang Pan thanked him, but he understood very well: Saying they'd come to support them, but they were actually coming to assess their strength.

The next day, a poster for the Freshman Cup registration indeed appeared on the bulletin board.

Zhang Jun was looking forward to the Freshman Cup. After all, he hadn't played a decent match since winter vacation. In the new campus, having football meant having everything. That's how it was for him.

The history department's list of participants was quickly submitted, and the choice for captain was also confirmed. Yang Pan, the physical education representative of the class and the dorm leader of the 701 dormitory, was the popular choice.

Originally, the history department was a team with the worst record in previous years, but this year, everything would change. Just looking at the names of those two people on the list, in amateur matches on a university campus, having two such players was enough to sway the outcome of the game.

Freshman Cup Football Tournament!

First Round Matches: History vs. Mathematics

Mechanical Engineering vs. Biochemistry

Will be held today (October 12th) at 15:30 simultaneously in the East District Stadium.

Student Union Sports Department

October 12, 2002

Zhang Jun murmured as he looked at the poster, "This afternoon... So fast! Registration was just the day before yesterday..."

"Three-thirty in the afternoon?" Sophie frowned as she looked at the poster.

"I remember you have class, right?"

"Hehe! I'm skipping it!" Sophie stuck out her tongue.

"...Isn't that a bit bad?"

"What's wrong with it? Hmph! That bearded guy who teaches aesthetics just babbles nonsense in class. I'm not going to listen!" Sophie pouted and shook her head.

"But you're the vice-class monitor!"

"That's right! I'm in charge of the class attendance records, hehe! It's much more convenient!"

"..."

"What? Are you unhappy? I'm watching your game!" Sophie frowned.

"No, no!" Zhang Jun quickly waved his hand. "I mean, you're the vice-class monitor, and, and leading the way to... isn't that a bit bad?"

"No! I must watch Zhang Jun's matches, every single one!" Sophie said resolutely.

There were quite a few people at the stadium in the afternoon. After all, it was a U University tradition and still had some popularity. Many people came to watch. Naturally, the school team members would not be absent, because there was a history department match today.

Just the pre-match warm-up made Xie Yun and his teammates' eyes light up. In an environment where pre-match warm-ups consisted of just shooting randomly around the goal, the history department, led by captain Yang Pan, was doing running laps, high knees, one-touch passing, and various other warm-up exercises, putting the other three teams playing on the same field to shame.

These "uncommon" warm-ups also attracted the attention of almost all the spectators, and they were discussing the history department. Before the battle had even begun, the history department had become the most eye-catching team on the field. Compared to their usual "extras," this year the history department had already completely won off the field.

The referee blew the whistle, signaling the players to take their positions. The match was about to begin.

Yang Pan also determined the history department's lineup. Based on the characteristics of the key players, he arranged a 3-2-3 formation. Le Le led the defense. Although the other two were mediocre, Le Le's imposing stance of "one man guarding the pass is better than ten thousand" would be enough. In midfield, Zhu Hui and another person stood parallel, mainly to increase the midfield area. Yang Pan didn't expect the midfield to play a significant role in this small-field match. The attack was launched directly from the backfield, and three excellent forwards would end the battle. Zhang Fan was in the center, with Yang Pan and Zhang Jun on the right and left, respectively.

This was an extremely offensive lineup, as anyone could see by looking at the people standing on the forward line. But the history department's opponents might not be clear on that.

With the referee's whistle, the annual Freshman Cup began!

Zhao Yu, dragging a suitcase, had just stepped out of a taxi when he heard a huge cheer coming from the direction of the stadium. He was stunned for a moment, not understanding why. But when he walked to the bulletin board, he saw the Freshman Cup poster. He slapped his forehead. Really, he'd been on a business trip since the start of the semester and had only just returned, and he'd forgotten about this. The U University's annual Freshman Cup, an opportunity for freshmen to show themselves, an opportunity to learn from each other and improve, an opportunity to enhance friendship... and most importantly, an opportunity for the school team to scout new players.

Zhao Yu carefully examined the poster. Today's matches were History vs. Mathematics, and Mechanical Engineering vs. Biochemistry. He remembered that U University had recruited football te chang sheng for the first time this year, and it seemed they were all assigned to the history department.

Zhao Yu turned around and walked back the way he came, toward the stadium. He wanted to see how lucky U University was and what kind of treasures they had managed to recruit.

As soon as Zhao Yu stepped into the stadium, he felt a wave of heat rushing towards him. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly high. Almost all the spectators were gathered on the north side of the field, and they all seemed very excited, regardless of gender. Cheers and screams seemed to never stop. Most ridiculously, even the players from the two teams playing on the adjacent field were constantly glancing over here.

Zhao Yu felt a little strange. He had watched the Freshman Cup for several years, and even the finals didn't have this kind of atmosphere. What exactly was happening on the field behind the crowd?

After using all his strength and receiving countless glares, he finally squeezed through. He glanced at the scoreboard on the side of the field: 4-0! The history department was leading!

Zhao Yu retracted his doubtful gaze, barely managing to close his open mouth, and looked at the field. The match was in progress, and the history department, wearing light-colored jerseys, had just transitioned from defense to offense.

Le Le easily intercepted the opponent's ball and passed it to Zhu Hui in front.

Zhu Hui passed the ball directly to captain Yang Pan near the midfield without hesitation. Although Yang Pan was a forward, he often retreated to receive the ball. Staying too far forward was not conducive to exploiting his speed advantage.

The spectators became excited when they saw the ball being passed to Yang Pan. His several speed breakthroughs had just been thrilling to watch. Everyone hoped he would do another rapid, breathtaking breakthrough.

The opposing defenders were also closely guarding him. Before he could even receive the ball, they were already sticking to him to prevent him from turning and breaking through. For speed players, preventing them from turning is the best defensive method.

However, Yang Pan wasn't just about speed. He leaned against his opponent with his back, then lightly flicked the ball backward with the toe of his left foot. The ball bounced up, flying to the left side of his body. Then, before his opponent could react, he quickly turned around, raised his thick right leg, and executed a turning half-volley!

The football whistled past the defender's ear with a dull thud, streaking a straight line through the midfield towards the goal!

No one had time to react to this sudden shot, including the opposing goalkeeper. He stood there dumbly until the football slammed into the near post. That crisp sound seemed to wake him up, and he frantically searched for the ball, hoping the crisis was over.

Only then did the spectators have time to cheer and sigh.

However, the goalkeeper's heart had not completely settled, and the spectators had not finished sighing when Zhang Jun arrived in front of the ball!

The ball bounced somewhat high, not a good shooting position. If he stopped the ball and then shot, the opposing defenders would have already formed an encirclement, and there would be no chance at all.

Zhao Yu suddenly became nervous: How would he handle it?

But then Zhang Jun jumped up, facing the oncoming ball sideways, and then...

He actually did a mid-air spin and lashed his right foot onto the football like a whip! A volley!

The goalkeeper stretched out his hands futilely. The football flew into the goal about five meters away from him.

Goal!

A stunning volley!

Zhang Jun jumped up from the ground, glanced at the football bouncing around in the goal, then turned and ran towards Yang Pan in the midfield. When he was a few meters away from Yang Pan, he jumped up, leaped onto Yang Pan's body, and waved his fist in the air.

Even though he had already scored three goals, he was still so excited. That's how he was about football, always full of passion.

The spectators off the field also cheered wildly. Even though they had seen four goals in the short span of forty minutes, this one made them the most excited. A turning shot from midfield and a volley, goals rarely seen even in professional leagues, how could they not be captivated by them?

Sophie was just as excited as the spectators around her. Even though she had seen countless such goals in high school, she was always as excited as the first time she saw Zhang Jun score. For her, this was the joy that football brought her, and it was also what Zhang Jun brought her.

Zhao Yu slapped his thigh excitedly: I've struck gold this time!

The person who could shoot from midfield and still have the power and speed undiminished when the ball reached the goal, there was only one person in the entire country in high school: Yang Pan, the number 7 of Dawn, who had won the title of Most Valuable Player in the National High School League for two consecutive years.

And the shooter who could always appear in the most appropriate position at the most appropriate time, make the most appropriate action, and complete the deadly strike was naturally Yang Pan's best partner, Zhang Jun, the number 11 of Dawn, who had been the top scorer in the National High School League for two consecutive years and had the title of "King of the Penalty Area."

They had never lost a match when both of them were on the field, starting from junior high school! A truly invincible combination!

U University was only recruiting football te chang sheng for the first time... Heaven was too kind to us!

Zhao Yu was so moved that he wanted to cry.

With a score of 5-0 and a world-class goal, even though there were still forty-five minutes left in the match, it was completely meaningless.

In the second half, Zhang Jun scored another goal, while Zhang Fan completed a hat trick with headers and kicks. Yang Pan scored a goal, and even Le Le headed in a goal during a corner kick.

10-0! The amazing score caused the history department players to be mobbed like heroes after the match. And Zhang Jun, who had scored five goals on his own, was naturally the most popular. The history department girls who had come to cheer them on surrounded him, and all kinds of praise and flirtatious glances came like a tide, and the surrounding air was filled with the girls' unique fragrance and body heat... Zhang Jun was a little dizzy.

Yang Pan saw Sophie being squeezed into a corner by the crowd, like a small boat in the waves. He decided to go and "protect the flower," but he had just shaken off some enthusiastic male fans when he was blocked by a strange middle-aged man.

"Excuse me..."

"Are you Yang Pan?" Before Yang Pan could finish his refusal, he was interrupted by the other party.

"Ah? Yes, that's me. May I ask..."

"My surname is Zhao, and I'm the coach of the school's football team. I've seen you play in the high school league, so I recognize you. But I really didn't expect you and Zhang Jun to be in our school! I came to find you because I want to invite you to join the school team!" The surrounding environment was relatively noisy, so Zhao Yu had to raise his voice.

"Oh! Coach Zhao, I've heard Captain Xie mention you! Hehe! Don't worry, we've already joined the school team. Captain Xie came in person."

"Hehe! That kid was faster than me! Good! It's great that you've joined!" Zhao Yu said excitedly. "The National College Football League starts at the beginning of next month. With you guys joining, U University will have no problem making it to the national finals! I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Hehe! We're looking forward to it too!" Yang Pan smiled.

After finally getting rid of Zhao Yu, when Yang Pan looked towards that corner again, he couldn't find Sophie's figure. He looked around but couldn't see her, so he had to regretfully withdraw his gaze and continue to deal with the "harassment" of the enthusiastic fans.

In the evening, the history department players who had showered held a celebration banquet in the large cafeteria. Sophie called before dinner to congratulate Zhang Jun. She had class that night, so she couldn't attend their celebration banquet. Finally, she wished them a good time and hung up the phone.

The celebration banquet wasn't just for the boys. Some of the girls who usually hung out with the boys were also invited.

Lin Wei was the most active of the girls. On the one hand, as the class's entertainment representative, she was pretty, had a generous personality, was talented, and got along well with the boys. On the other hand...

After two cases of beer were finished, the people at the table were staggering around like the beer bottles on the floor, and their words were much more unrestrained.

Lin Wei switched places with Zhang Fan and sat next to Zhang Jun. She held up her wine and wanted to drink with Zhang Jun. "You're a big hero now, a big star! If you don't drink this cup, you're looking down on me as a classmate!"

Lin Wei's eyes looked particularly charming under the influence of alcohol. She was already a very beautiful girl, especially her eyes. Being skilled in performance, her eyes could speak. Now, those talking eyes were looking at Zhang Jun flirtatiously.

Zhang Jun giggled foolishly and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.

"Good!" Lin Wei clapped her hands and smiled. "I knew you wouldn't refuse me!"

Zhang Jun continued to giggle foolishly.

Yang Pan came over. "Lin Wei, that's not fair! Why are you only drinking with Zhang Jun? Not with me? I'm the captain!"

Lin Wei poured the wine. "Then I'll drink with you too, Captain!"

"Hehe! That's more like it!" Yang Pan tilted his head back and drank the wine in one gulp.

The celebration banquet didn't last very long. They all had class tomorrow morning, and the cafeteria was also closing soon, so the group dispersed, supporting each other as they went.

A great victory in the first match. For the freshmen of the history department, it was truly a crazy day!