Chapter 1 The Father's Heart

Zhang Jun himself had never even been intimate with Sophie, so naturally he couldn't possibly have any children or the awareness of being a father. However, he was an observant person. He could tell from some of Kael's subtle behavior what would be different about a man about to become a father.

For example, when the second half was about to start, Zhang Jun noticed that Kael's hands were always tightly clenched together, seeming somewhat nervous—this was an expression of his concern for Anna in Dortmund.

Another example was the excitement Kael showed after putting his worries aside in the second half, which was also due to the joy of becoming a father, which made his competitive state better.

Not to mention the radiance that was overflowing on his face, it was clearly "a happy man is in high spirits."

Through these observations, Zhang Jun could somewhat understand the feeling of soon having a son. A combination of excitement, worry, tension, and happiness.

Kael was a center back, and the chances of scoring were pitifully small, and in this game, his defensive task was heavy, making it unlikely that he would go directly to score. So, the idea of dedicating a goal to his son was impossible to realize.

But Zhang Jun was a striker, and scoring goals was a matter of course for him, a daily occurrence. What Kael couldn't do, he could do.

※※※

"After the second half started, Fiorentina's attack was still very fierce, and Bayern had to return to the defensive. But facing Bayern's solid defense, how much effect can Fiorentina's one-sided offensive method have?" The ESPN commentator expressed the question in most people's minds.

Fiorentina had the momentum of attack, but football is not something that can be won by momentum alone. Many times, they need strength and opportunity.

Now, in terms of strength, Fiorentina was not above Bayern, and as for opportunity, they didn't seem to have encountered any good chances.

"Kaka, what do you think?" Yang Pan asked his roommate, who was lying on another bed watching the game.

"I think Bayern is in danger," Kaka said, with his hands behind his head, leaning on the bed. "Although this is Bayern's home field, their defense is actually not good, just because Anke's performance is too good, so it gives people the illusion that Bayern's defense is very good. But I can see from the past ten minutes of the game that Fiorentina's attack is weakening their defense bit by bit. With the ability of Zhang Jun, Krøldrup, and the others, they can completely find a breakthrough point to collapse Bayern's defense."

"You see it so clearly?" Yang Pan was a little surprised, some places he hadn't even seen. "Then let us watch a good show, Zhang Jun..."

※※※

Anke wiped his gloves with a dry towel hanging on the net. He needed to keep his gloves dry at all times, otherwise, if he fumbled, he would be a sinner for the ages.

Fiorentina's attack in the second half made him truly feel the pressure, which was a completely different offensive momentum from the first half. How to describe it? The first half was like the waves on the beach, just rising and falling due to the influence of the tide. Although it was continuous, it had no momentum. But the attack in the second half was as fierce as the Qiantang tide, wave after wave, cross tide, returning tide… and so on, with many tricks, and the momentum was amazing. Each wave was several feet high, smashing down from the sky, as if to wash away everything on the shore.

Anke was the tide rider standing proudly on the crest of the wave, fighting the giant waves with his hands. But after all, people are flesh and blood, and how could they not feel tired after facing such highly dangerous things for a long time?

Now Anke felt tired, just like the last time they faced Zhang Jun in Florence.

This was a dangerous signal. Anke realized it, and he complained about why football couldn't have a timeout like basketball, just to let him adjust and catch his breath before going back on.

Now he could only persevere, while hoping that his teammates would live up to expectations and not let him be directly exposed to Fiorentina's firepower.

Even a dam made of granite would be in danger of collapsing under the fierce washing of wave after wave, let alone a person?

Mascherano suddenly took a powerful long shot from twenty-five meters in front of the goal. Anke's reaction was half a beat slower. He couldn't catch the ball, so he had to punch the ball out with both hands, and the ball bounced back again. Lúcio planned to head the ball out, but the ball in the air was out of his reach even when he jumped with all his strength, and he missed!

When he landed, the ball had already been taken by Krøldrup.

Krøldrup gently swayed his feet and tricked Ismaël to the other side. Then he raised his foot as if to shoot, and Lúcio rushed up to block. Krøldrup just passed the ball to Joaquín on the wing.

Joaquín was unmarked, he quickly dribbled the ball forward, and then, just as Bayern's players thought he was going to pass the ball in front of the goal and they all rushed back to defend, he suddenly passed the ball back to Krøldrup in front of the penalty area. This time, Krøldrup didn't wait for the ball to land and directly took a powerful shot.

The ball bounced on the ground, increasing the difficulty of saving. But Anke was fully focused and pounced out with all his might. But even so, he couldn't catch the ball in his arms, he just punched the ball out again with both fists.

Anke, who fell to the ground, didn't dare to be negligent. He knew that the danger hadn't been eliminated yet, and he had to be vigilant at all times. So he quickly got up from the ground, ready to deal with the shot that might fly from anywhere.

The ball he punched out flew to the left wing. Joaquín hadn't returned to his position and happened to receive the ball, and more importantly, no one was marking him. Joaquín didn't cut inside to shoot, he crossed the ball at the first time.

But Joaquín's cross hit Demichelis's shoulder at the near post and bounced high, which surprised both the Fiorentina players who were preparing to grab the point and the Bayern players who were preparing to defend.

Time was short, and neither side could hesitate. Zhang Jun was originally planning to head the ball directly, but he didn't expect the cross to become like this. Although it was still flying towards him, the angle, arc, and speed were all different, making it impossible for him to head the ball. Only…

Zhang Jun jumped up on the spot and twisted his body in the air… He was planning to volley directly!

The ball was very close to the goal, and Anke could directly pounce on the ball, but if he pounced out in Zhang Jun's position, he would probably be kicked in the face. So Anke reflexively flew out horizontally, and he also kicked his foot towards the ball. The two of them were kicking each other in the air!

Anke was half a beat slower than Zhang Jun, so he was destined not to touch the ball, unless he was willing to sacrifice his face… Zhang Jun kicked the ball before Anke, and the ball flew into the goal past Anke!

At that moment, the two of them were really like two flying swords clashing in the air. With a bang, Zhang Jun won.

"Gooooooooooooooooooooooal!!! Zhang Jun! Fiorentina has tied the score! This may be the worst news Magath has heard! Not only did he let Fiorentina lead the aggregate score again, but more importantly, Fiorentina also has an away goal!! Now the initiative of the game has completely returned to Fiorentina! It's so dramatic, Fiorentina has been attacking for so long, no one thought that they would break Bayern's defense in this way. The two of them kicking each other in the air is a classic. The goalkeeper gave up his hands and used his feet to compete with the striker who is good at using his feet, the consequences can be imagined…"

Just as the commentator was still talking non-stop, Zhang Jun ran towards the camera, and at the same time he kept waving his hand to call Kael over: "Come! Come! Come here! Sebastian!! Come on!" Kael pointed to himself, saw Zhang Jun nod, and he had no choice but to follow over, not knowing what was going on.

Then Zhang Jun pulled Kael and stood in front of the camera, putting his hands together, like gently shaking a child in his arms, he swayed his hands!

This was the classic "lullaby" celebration invented by Bebeto!

"This is dedicated to your child, hehe!" Zhang Jun said to Kael excitedly. Kael couldn't say a word other than being moved.

The other teammates also understood what Zhang Jun meant, this was really a wonderful way to celebrate. They also ran to the side of the two of them, stood in a row, and then put their hands together, learning from Zhang Jun, and shook them.

Xiang Tao muttered while shaking: "I still want to name your son… or Krøldrup Kael is also good…"

Krøldrup kicked him from behind without warning.

※※※

Although Zhang Jun's action made people who knew the inside story feel very warm and touched, those who didn't know that Kael was going to be a father felt very, very strange.

Yang Pan watched Zhang Jun shaking the cradle with an excited face on TV, and his mouth didn't close: "No… no way? Could it be that he and Sophie have already… done that? Is Zhang Jun going to be a father? Damn, premarital sex!"

Kaka almost fell off the bed: "I think… this matter… um, it's better to believe it than not to believe it completely. When the game is over, we'll call and ask. But if it's true… this kid Zhang Jun dared to keep it from us and get things done… unforgivable!"

※※※

Sophie, who was far away in Florence, Italy, blushed when she first saw this scene—of course she knew what this action meant—but she soon felt strange: she hadn't been intimate with Zhang Jun, and it was impossible for her to be pregnant, who was Zhang Jun's lullaby for? Or it wasn't a lullaby, just her misunderstanding?

Sophie's troubles were not over yet, the TV was still playing replays of Zhang Jun's goal, and her phone rang again, it was her mother calling.

"Hello, Feifei! Did you see it? Zhang Jun's celebration? You wouldn't already be…" Her mother's tone sounded a little anxious. Although she agreed that her daughter and Zhang Jun were living together, it didn't mean that her daughter was pregnant, and it was unforgivable that a mother didn't know anything about this.

Sophie's face turned red again: "Mom! Look at you, what are you thinking! We don't have anything, don't guess."

"Really nothing? Mom is worried about you, you don't have any experience in this area, maybe you don't even know if you're really pregnant… Have you been feeling nauseous, wanting to vomit, or liking sour things recently?" Her mother's neurotic words made it seem like Sophie was really pregnant. "Also, have you been careful when you and Zhang Jun do that? Remember to wear a condom…"

Sophie's face was already as red as a ripe apple. Of course she knew these things, but it felt strange to hear her mother say them.

"No, really nothing, Mom!" Sophie could only make her tone firm to stop her mother's endless nagging. "We still sleep in separate rooms, and he respects me very much, and has never forced me. So Mom, don't worry. Besides, if it really… happened, we wouldn't not tell you." Sophie's face turned red again as she said this.

Hearing her daughter's firm words, her mother breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's good if there's nothing, it's good if there's nothing. Although there are all kinds of indecent girls in society now, I still think it's better to be a little conservative. At least it's not bad to be conservative in this area. Oh, right, I was so busy talking about this, how is the game going?"

Sophie finally had the leisure to glance at the TV. The game had restarted, and Bayern, who had been tied, began to try to counterattack, but Fiorentina's strong offensive made their counterattack seem a little weak—they could never get to Fiorentina's vital point.

In this way, Zhang Jun and the others were at an advantage, right?

"Well, the game is still going on, Zhang Jun and the others are at an advantage, the team's morale is very high after scoring a goal." Sophie briefly introduced the situation on the field.

"That's good, I'll go back and continue watching. One last word, Feifei, you have to be careful about this kind of thing, haha!" Her mother ran away after saying such inexplicable words. Sophie shrank on the sofa, her face as red as a flower.

She was thinking that after the game, she must call Zhang Jun as soon as possible to ask what was going on with that celebration.

※※※

Okay, let's put aside the off-field matters for now and focus on the game. Just as Sophie told her mother, Bayern, who were behind on the aggregate score, wanted to tie the score again, so they organized several attacks after the restart. But Fiorentina's offensive was so strong that they completely suppressed Bayern's counterattack intention, and the few counterattacks they had were not painful or itchy.

Magath couldn't sit still any longer. He paced back and forth in the designated command area on the sidelines, and stopped from time to time to pay attention to the situation on the field with a nervous expression. On the contrary, Sabato, who had a gloomy face in the first half, was now chatting and laughing with Di Livio next to him, which made the home fans' teeth itch.

Fiorentina was leading on the aggregate score, and they also had an away goal, which offset Bayern's away goal advantage. What's more, the game was not over yet, and no one knew whether Fiorentina, who was good at attacking, would score another goal in the remaining time. In that case, Bayern would really be forced to a dead end. Magath would definitely not allow this to happen. According to his habit, he would not go all out to attack just because he was behind on the aggregate score again. He would first stabilize the defense and then look for opportunities to counterattack.

Anke was very angry about this, because Fiorentina's offensive pressure was too great, making him unable to bear it.

Zhang Jun flashed past Bayern's defender again, and then took a long shot outside the penalty area. Anke flew to save the ball out of the baseline. But he didn't seem happy, he jumped up and waved his fists at his teammates on the field: "Mark your man! Mark your man!! How can you let the opponent shoot so easily! Are you all air?!" Anke, who was emotionally excited, roared and then knelt on the ground, pounding the ground angrily, venting his dissatisfaction. "Damn it! This is a battle of life and death! Give me some energy! This is war! Not a game, no!!"

At this time, although Anke didn't have Kahn's golden hair, he still looked like a roaring lion.

A minute later, Fiorentina came back. This time, Krøldrup passed the ball to Duff on the left wing, and Duff lofted the ball high to the far post.

Zhang Jun cut in at the far post, and then jumped high, preparing to head the ball. He jumped so high that he was almost half a body higher than the defenders. Fiorentina's supporters almost believed that this ball would definitely go in.

At the same time, Anke also abandoned his goal and attacked, intending to punch the ball out. The two met again in the air… no, they should say collided.

Zhang Jun jumped high, his eyes only on the ball, and he didn't consider the situation next to him at all. At this time, he only had one thought: to head the ball in.

Anke turned his head to look at the ball while retreating towards the far post, and then jumped high. He also didn't notice the situation behind him. He only had one thought: to punch the ball out, and not let it threaten the goal.

In the crowd in the penalty area, these two people flying in the air were very conspicuous. They were the focus of the audience's attention.

Anke was tall and had long arms. Although Zhang Jun jumped higher than him, he still punched the ball first—he punched the ball hard out of the penalty area with one fist.

But just as he hit the ball, his forehead also hit Zhang Jun's shoulder squarely! It was as if two high-speed flying fighter jets collided together!

The ball bounced out of the sideline, but Anke also lost his balance and fell backwards.

Zhang Jun, who landed, clutched his left shoulder and lay painfully on the ground, unable to get up, while Anke suddenly jumped up and shouted: "Defend! What are you looking at me for? Watch out for their shots!" As a result, none of his teammates did what he said, but still looked at him with a strange look.

Anke was about to get angry when he saw Captain Ballack come over, then put his arm around his neck tightly, signaling him to calm down: "Don't worry, the ball is out of bounds. So your task now is not to defend the opponent's shots, but to go down and receive treatment."

Anke only felt that his cheek was very hot at this time. He wiped it with his hand, and there was a pool of blood!

The team doctors from both sides rushed up at the same time, surrounding their respective injured players.

Magath looked a little nervous. He shouted to the substitute goalkeeper Rensing on the bench: "What are you still doing? Warm up! Warm up!"

Watching Rensing take off his coat and run to warm up, Magath turned his attention back to Bayern's goal. Damn it, Anke must not have any problems, the situation is serious now. If we suddenly let a substitute goalkeeper who hasn't warmed up enough go up, we might as well surrender.

On the other side, on the field. Feng Qing helped Zhang Jun and let him lie flat on the ground: "How is it? How do you feel?"

Zhang Jun frowned and said: "My left shoulder hurts…"

Feng Qing pinched it, and then patted Zhang Jun's chest: "Haha, don't worry, it didn't hurt the bones. You're lucky, you hit it with your shoulder, but if you hit it with your head… I wouldn't be so optimistic. It hurts now, but after a rest, it will be fine in a while. As for the goalkeeper who hit your shoulder with his head… I don't think he'll be so relaxed." As he said that, he looked back at the crowd behind him.

Anke was lying on the ground, quietly letting the team doctor stop the bleeding for him, and then bandage the wound. The team doctor had just told him that he could continue the game, so he didn't make a fuss. It was just that now that he was quiet, his head felt a little dizzy, and everything seemed to have double vision. He shook his head, and the team doctor who was bandaging him stopped: "What's wrong, An?"

"Ah, nothing. Keep going." Anke blinked again, the double vision disappeared, and his heart was also relieved.

Zhang Jun's shoulder was massaged a few times by Feng Qing, and then sprayed with some painkiller, and now he could move freely. When he saw Anke standing in front of the goal again with his head wrapped like a rice dumpling, he was relieved. It seemed that Anke was fine too. It was really too dangerous just now, and he was afraid that he would accidentally give Anke a concussion.

Anke, who was standing in front of the goal, seemed to have forgotten the fierce collision just now. He found Zhang Jun was looking at him, so he provocatively hooked his finger at Zhang Jun: Come on, baby! Then he hammered his chest hard: Come here, come!

Damn! Zhang Jun clenched his fists. Facing this naked declaration of war, he couldn't hold back. Okay, kid, I'll fight you to the end today!

※※※

After a brief pause, the game started again. Zhang Jun quickly got a chance to get the ball, but he didn't pass it to Van Persie who was responding to him. Instead, he took two steps and chose to shoot directly from long range. The ball was undoubtedly saved by Anke.

Anke held the ball and rushed forward. Although this shot made him catch the ball easily, he obviously didn't want to let Bayern's defenders off the hook. He held the ball in one hand and waved his fist at his teammates with the other: "What's going on?! What's going on?! Just now, you were watching him shoot, but no one went up to mark him! You have to press up, press up!! Don't think that he can't shoot if he doesn't get close to the penalty area! It's damn hell!"

Looking at his energetic appearance, it was hard to believe that he had just suffered a head injury and was covered in blood.

Yang Pan smiled in front of the TV: "Anke is still the same, Kaka, I think Zhang Jun is in trouble this time."

※※※

After Anke finished scolding, he kicked the ball away. If he had been any later, the referee would have come to him.

Zhang Jun looked back along the ball's flight path and realized that Anke had kicked the ball really far…

The ball was kicked by Anke to Fiorentina's backfield. Podolski quickly cut in, and Ujfalusi met the ball, intending to jump up and head the ball back. But he seemed to have a little problem judging the landing point of the ball.

The ball bounced on the ground, and then bounced high. Ujfalusi jumped up but didn't head the ball! This was a terrible miss!

"Damn it!" Sabato only cursed this sentence after seeing this scene on the sidelines—it wasn't that he didn't want to curse, but he didn't have time to curse out all the remaining swear words.

Of course, Podolski wouldn't let go of this opportunity that was handed to him. He easily passed Ujfalusi's defense, and then dribbled the ball forward, directly facing Frey who attacked.

This time, Podolski didn't let Frey pounce on the ball at his feet. When Frey had just attacked, he kicked the ball up and lofted it into the empty goal.

"G…gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooal!!!" The commentator hadn't reacted yet, because from Anke kicking the ball away, to Podolski's final goal, all of this happened too fast, too suddenly. Who would have thought that Bayern, who was still defending very embarrassingly just now, could tie the score in the blink of an eye? But seeing Podolski madly pounce towards the stands, waving his fists violently to vent his emotions, who could doubt that this wasn't real? "Bayern Munich leads at home, they have tied the aggregate score! Now, both sides have an away goal, and the score is 2:1! The situation has become more interesting! Which side will the balance of victory ultimately tilt to? Now we don't know, no one knows."

The TV broadcast thought that this goal was directly assisted by Anke, so they should give Anke a close-up shot. Unexpectedly, when they just switched over, they happened to capture the scene of Anke jumping in the air and kicking the goalpost. The goal was obviously shaking from his kick. After kicking the goal, he raised his fists and roared to the sky. This wasn't deliberately performed for anyone to see, but the true expression of his inner emotions.

Anke had an assist in this season's Champions League, according to the statistics.

"…The two center backs… both made mistakes." Sabato murmured. "Today is really damn… unlucky!"

"Don't be discouraged! Don't be discouraged! There are still ten minutes left in the game, we still have a chance to tie the score!" Zhang Jun clapped his hands to boost morale. At this time, he needed to stand up and do what a captain should do.

But the cheers from the Allianz Arena drowned out his voice.

※※※

After losing the ball, Fiorentina already knew what to do without Sabato shouting on the sidelines—attack. They had no other choice but to attack.

Give them enough pressure to completely destroy Bayern's defense both physically and mentally! Victory belongs to us! We agreed to dedicate victory to Kael's child, and I still have to face Li Yongle in the semi-finals, and then the finals… We want to win the championship! How can we fail here?

Zhang Jun roared inwardly, leading Fiorentina to launch round after round of attacks on Bayern's defense.

Van Persie dribbled the ball from behind. A Bayern player went up to block him, but he kicked the ball to Krøldrup on the right.

Ballack planned to stop Krøldrup from breaking through, but Krøldrup passed the ball directly to Zhang Jun in front of him with his heel. Zhang Jun made a move to shoot, and Lúcio immediately slid to intercept, trying to block the ball Zhang Jun shot. But this was just a feint. Zhang Jun kicked the ball behind him with his heel again, and Van Persie, who was speeding up, happened to catch up.

Due to Krøldrup and Zhang Jun's two consecutive heel passes, Bayern's defense was completely torn apart, so Van Persie was now unmarked!

"Shoot! This is the best chance!" A Fiorentina fan shouted from the stands.

Anke spread his hands, lowered his center of gravity, and attacked to block the angle. Anke's speed wasn't fast. He didn't plan to directly pounce on the ball at his feet—it would be too dangerous to do so when he was still some distance away from Van Persie. He only planned to block Van Persie's shooting angle and then seize the opportunity to take the shot.

Ismaël rushed over from the other side. He slid out, intending to block Van Persie's shot out of the baseline.

Van Persie shot!

Far corner!

Anke judged correctly. He threw himself horizontally towards the far post!

But!

After the ball was kicked out, it hit Ismaël's outstretched toe, changing direction. The ball flew towards the near post!

This was really unexpected. What happened almost in the blink of an eye surprised everyone.

But Anke's reaction was faster than the blink of an eye!

Although his body was throwing towards the far corner, his legs were still dragging behind. At the critical moment, Anke gave up the idea of saving the ball with his hands, but instead kicked his foot towards the ball… He hit it!

The ball was kicked directly out of the penalty area by him! Bayern Munich's crisis was resolved!

"Ah! Fiorentina's two consecutive heel passes are amazing, the final shot is also very good, but Anke's performance is the nightmare of all Fiorentina fans! This Bundesliga Best Goalkeeper is telling everyone in this way: It's impossible to break through the goal he guards!"

"Long live An!" Bayern fans cheered.

※※※

"Now… uh, who should we cheer for?" Kaka muttered to himself, looking at Anke and Zhang Jun who were shown in close-up on TV.

※※※

Li Yongle slammed the sofa armrest hard. He was very upset that Anke could save a ball that he thought was sure to go in.

※※※

Nothing is impossible in this world… nothing!

Zhang Jun was tripped by Lúcio while dribbling the ball, and the referee awarded a free kick twenty-three meters from the goal.

Of course, Zhang Jun would take this ball. He personally placed the ball well, and then took two steps back. Bayern's wall blocked the near corner, while Anke stood in the center of the goal, so he could take care of both the near corner and the far corner.

Zhang Jun chose to kick the far corner this time, so he used a lot of force when kicking the ball, adding speed to the arc of the ball, which brought a lot of trouble to the goalkeeper.

This could be seen from Zhang Jun's kicking action. After kicking the ball, his whole body was in the air, just because the force of the kick was so great that it could be lifted by his body.

The ball itself had a very strong spin, and it was also very fast, heading straight for the far corner!

Anke's action seemed to be half a beat slower. Perhaps he didn't expect that Zhang Jun, who always kicked the near corner, would suddenly change to kick the far corner, but Anke's reaction was still amazingly fast.

He directly pushed off the ground with force and jumped out, and then stretched out his hands as much as possible, deflected the ball, and let the ball deviate from the goal and fly directly out of the baseline.

"Beautiful!" The commentator first shouted loudly, and then said, "Of course, we must also sigh for Fiorentina, a very wonderful offense and defense."

Watching Anke save his free kick from the goal, Zhang Jun painfully tugged at his hair. Did Anke take medicine today? Why is he so fierce?

This situation was more than normal in the eyes of Anke's master Oliver. Anke was a match-type goalkeeper, which meant that he could easily go crazy in the game, and the more unfavorable the situation was for him, the better his performance would be. Once he went crazy, he could really prevent any shot from slipping through his fingers.

Even if Anke saved the ball, he still didn't change the posture of preparing to pounce out again at any time. He stared at Zhang Jun, grinning, like a beast, making a low growl of "hu hu" in his throat.

Still provoking? Zhang Jun looked at Anke, then turned to his teammates and shouted: "Hurry up! Our corner kick!" After shouting, he ran to the corner flag area. When Bayern saw that he was going to take the corner kick, they knew that Fiorentina was definitely going to pass the ball to the outside of the penalty area, and then let Xiang Tao, who was rushing up from behind, shoot from long range.

So their defensive attention was focused on the outside. Although each person was in the penalty area, their bodies were like strings stretched tight, ready to rush out of the penalty area at any time.

But to their surprise, Zhang Jun didn't pass the ball to the outside of the penalty area, but to the front of the goal. He wanted to catch Bayern's defenders off guard.

Anke jumped high and took Zhang Jun's ball directly. He was the only one who wasn't fooled by Zhang Jun. He was really in the zone—there was only one thought in his mind: guard the goal behind him. Without any distractions.

"Counterattack! Counterattack! We want to score another goal!!" Anke shouted loudly and threw the ball out.

Bayern's counterattack was very fast. Because most of Fiorentina's defenders went forward to prepare for the opportunity to head the ball, their defense seemed very empty. This was Bayern's chance.

But this attack finally failed at Frey's hands.

Anke's performance was world-class, but Frey was no less than him. Santa Cruz's one-on-one was beautifully resolved by Frey.

As time passed, the game was gradually approaching the end. The players on both sides were consuming their energy very quickly. Sabato had already used two substitutions, Gasparoni replaced Duff who could no longer run, and Pazzini also replaced Van Persie who had consumed too much energy. He didn't replace Zhang Jun who was also running out of energy, because this was the key moment of the key game. As long as he still wanted to win, he could never replace Zhang Jun. Replacing the captain and main attacker was tantamount to surrendering to the opponent. The crazy Sabato couldn't do such a thing.

"If this score is maintained until the end, then the two sides will have to go into extra time. If the extra time is still tied, then they can only use a penalty shootout to determine the winner." The game was not over yet, and the commentator was already previewing the next program in advance. Now basically the audience could see that neither side had much energy to exert in the last few minutes, they could only grind it out, wait for the game to end, and then get a short break to prepare for the thirty-minute extra time. In the Champions League, this kind of home and away knockout game, the first thing to determine the winner is to look at both sides of the game, that is, the number of goals, and the team with more goals will advance. But if the scores are the same, the total score of the two rounds is tied, then it depends on the number of away goals. This is very critical, and many teams use this to reverse the situation. The team with more away goals will get the chance to advance. And if the scores are the same, and the number of away goals is also the same, then they can only use extra time or penalties to determine the final winner. This is the last resort, and the most cruel way.

Although unwilling, there was no better way. Sabato kept the last substitution, planning to use it when they reached extra time.

"Okay, okay! Blow the whistle quickly, you slow-reacting referee!" Sabato muttered to himself, "Let our players rest a little longer, they are too tired… this damn quarter-final!"

In his endless curse, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the ninety minutes.

"Alright! The ninety-minute game is over! After a short break, we will enter the first half of extra time in this Champions League quarter-final!"

※※※

The TV was seizing the time to play commercials for sponsors. Yang Pan and Kaka looked at each other: "I didn't expect that the game would be dragged into extra time."

"Bayern has always been tenacious, but I didn't expect Fiorentina to be so tenacious."

"Yang Pan, I have a bad feeling… Maybe the Germans will eliminate Fiorentina in extra time…" Before Kaka could finish speaking, Yang Pan rushed up and covered his mouth.

"You jinx!"

※※※

Extra time started quickly, but it also ended quickly. There were only thirty minutes in both halves combined. In the first half, Fiorentina surrounded Bayern's half and bombarded them wildly, but due to Anke's excellent performance, Fiorentina returned empty-handed after fifteen minutes. In the second half, Bayern, who had replenished their energy, surrounded Fiorentina and bombarded them wildly, but this time it was Frey's turn to perform brilliantly. He didn't let Bayern take any advantage.

The goalkeepers on both sides became the absolute protagonists on the field as the game approached the end.

"I really didn't expect it! I really didn't expect it! This quarter-final will be dragged into the final penalty shootout!" The commentator shouted loudly. "Bayern, who originally had the Bundesliga Best Goalkeeper, would have a very big advantage. But Frey's performance at the end of this game also gave Fiorentina fans hope. Now, who will win is very difficult to say."

Zhang Jun was panting heavily, sitting on the ground. Sabato was discussing the list of players for the penalty shootout with Di Livio. He looked at the Bayern side in the distance again. Anke was receiving another bandage from the team doctor. Looking at him, he didn't seem to be affected by the head bleeding, and his emotions were also very good. Zhang Jun knew Anke, as a high-level goalkeeper, he shouldn't be afraid of penalties. Not to mention that this was the best opportunity for the goalkeeper to show off, and Anke would naturally not let go of this stage for self-display. His state had been completely brought out, and the result was really… ominous.

Looking at his own goalkeeper, Frey, the main goalkeeper of the French national team. Completely opposite to Anke's current performance, he was kneeling on the ground alone, closing his eyes and silently saying nothing, as if he was praying for something.

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Anke put his arm around Guerrero's neck, and then shouted loudly to his teammates: "Pray! Pray to me! I will lead you to the other side of victory! Haha!!"

Everyone knew that Anke was joking, but what he said also made sense. For kickers, it wasn't difficult to kick the ball into such a wide goal. But for a goalkeeper, it wasn't easy to guard the opponent's fast shot