Chapter 1 After Losing the First Game to Roma

Immediately after the first game, where they lost to Roma, a voice arose from the Italian media: Fiorentina's choice to let Mondonico continue as manager was absolutely a mistake. For someone who had never coached a Serie A team before, Serie A was clearly more difficult than he had imagined.

Clearly, Della Valle, being a Serie A team owner for the first time, also lacked experience. He, who had been ambitious since the beginning of the season, also did not expect the following season to be more difficult than he had imagined.

On September 12, 2006, in the second round of Serie A, Fiorentina welcomed their first victory at home. They defeated Cagliari 2-1. But neither of the goals was Zhang Jun's. Although he played the entire game, he only had one assist. Miccoli and Jørgensen each scored a goal.

This victory gave people a glimpse of hope, but the following series of games felt like a series of heavy blows to the Fiorentina team, leaving them dazed.

On September 19, 2006, in the third round of Serie A, Fiorentina drew 0-0 with Palermo away from home.

On September 23, 2006, in the fourth round of Serie A, Fiorentina lost 0-2 to Sampdoria at home.

On September 26, 2006, in the fifth round of Serie A, Fiorentina drew 0-0 with Parma away from home.

On October 3, 2006, in the sixth round of Serie A, Fiorentina was held to a 0-0 draw by Siena at home.

On October 17, 2006, in the seventh round of Serie A, Fiorentina drew 2-2 with Udinese away from home. Zhang Jun provided another assist, but still did not score a goal.

At the press conference after this game, the Fiorentina coach publicly expressed his dissatisfaction to the media. Faced with boos for five winless games, he threw all the problems to the club: "I have heard some attacks from the team's fans against me. Perhaps it is time for a change. In this situation, the two sides will definitely not be able to coexist. The fans' wishes deserve respect. Since the club's supporters have chosen this position, the club should also express its attitude. I don't want to resign because I don't want to abandon the team, but I hope the club will consider it."

The Fiorentina club's general manager, Lucchesi, responded to Mondonico that evening: "I think these were hasty remarks made after the game. A coach with 25 years of professional experience should be able to adapt to the fans' boos. The club has no objections to him. There are problems with the team, but they are improving. There will always be pressure, but I hope he doesn't feel too much, otherwise the club will have to take appropriate measures."

Even the respected old coach Mazzone advised Mondonico through the media: "I coached in Florence for three years. The environment is very difficult, and the fans will never approve of you. Perhaps all coaches should be cautious, but if you don't win, you will definitely get booed. This is also a part of our coaching job that we must face. If you really can't find trust, then you should resign."

Mazzone was right. Fiorentina's fans are perhaps the most demanding fans in Serie A. From the chairman to the coach and players, as long as they are dissatisfied, they will be booed and verbally abused at best, and threatened with physical harm at worst.

The Fiorentina club could not tolerate a coach who threw all the problems to the club and spoke recklessly, regardless of anything. On Monday, they announced the news of Mondonico's dismissal. The coaching position was temporarily taken over by the goalkeeper coach, Buso. At the same time, the club would actively seek a suitable successor.

※※※

Zhang Jun was slightly surprised by Mondonico's dismissal. Although the fans' boos had started long ago, he didn't expect the coach to be less tolerant than the players. After all, the fans' boos were not only directed at the coach, but also at the players, even himself.

Because he had not scored in seven consecutive games, he had also been criticized from all sides. Of course, he never cared about what the media said, so only the fans' boos made him a little sad. But he was far from giving up.

Because he knew that Serie A was not the same as the Eredivisie, and the current Fiorentina was no longer the former Volendam. The Volendam fans would support him as always because he had taken that team to an unprecedented peak. But in Florence, not to mention anything else, just the ten-year "Batistuta era" was a goal he had to surpass if he wanted to gain the most loyal support of the Fiorentina fans. He also had to take Fiorentina to an unprecedented height.

Despite his surprise, Zhang Jun still felt guilty about Mondonico's dismissal. Because although the coach said he would let whoever was in good form play, he had not scored in seven consecutive games, but the coach still gave him enough trust and let him start every game. If he could score, in so many 0-0 games, if he could score just one goal, maybe the result would not have been like this.

He always had a feeling of gratitude towards Mondonico—when he was most depressed at AC Milan, it was under him that he regained his vitality. But on the other hand, he also had to admit that Mondonico lacked too much as a Serie A coach. He was really not suitable for this job.

Perhaps leaving was not a bad choice for everyone.

※※※

On October 24, 2006, in the eighth round of Serie A, Fiorentina challenged Reggina away from home after experiencing a change of coach. Before the game, Buso considered whether to let Zhang Jun, who had not scored in seven consecutive games, start. After hesitating for a long time, he still put Zhang Jun in the starting lineup.

No one was optimistic about this away team led by the goalkeeper coach, but Zhang Jun exploded, exploding without warning.

After Reggina took the lead with an indirect free kick, Zhang Jun scored the equalizing goal near the end of the first half. Unlike Reggina's indirect free kick, his free kick was a direct shot, hitting the bullseye.

He finally broke his seven-game goal drought!

And those Chinese reporters who were still following him in three different locations finally received some good news that made them happy.

Zhang Jun originally wanted to dedicate this goal to Mondonico, but he suddenly realized that he didn't know how to express it, so he simply waved his fist. The celebration of this goal became so dull.

This goal gave Fiorentina, who had not won away from home for a long time, confidence. In the second half, they turned the game around and played with gusto.

Miccoli was still the player with the most shots in the team—which meant that he still rarely passed the ball. But in terms of shooting accuracy, Zhang Jun was much better than him.

Halfway through the second half, Fiorentina scored another goal, taking the lead. The scorer was still their number 11, Zhang Jun. This time, he received a cross from Jørgensen on the wing and scored a textbook-style diving header in front of the goal.

Zhang Jun, who scored twice, seemed very excited. He ran to the stands, waving and jumping while holding the Fiorentina jersey. After he had not scored in seven games, some people suspected that there was something wrong with him. Now, he used practical actions to give a beautiful response to the doubters.

He told everyone: Zhang Jun is fine, Zhang Jun has no problems.

※※※

In the end, Fiorentina defeated Reggina 2-1 away from home, ending their embarrassing away winless streak. At the same time, Zhang Jun also ended his goal drought. In addition, the team found a formal successor to the coach—the former Parma coach, Malesani.

The team won, the highly anticipated star scored, and a new coach took office. Fiorentina seemed to see a bright future all of a sudden.

In the new coach's first game, Fiorentina thrashed Lecce 4-0 at home, letting the home fans go crazy with the team. Zhang Jun also contributed a goal. For a time, the cheers returned, the praise returned, everything returned.

Two consecutive victories. This should have been a beautiful start, but their next opponents were too strong. On October 31, Fiorentina would host Inter Milan at home, and on November 7, they would challenge Juventus away.

This was a dangerous schedule, but also a challenge. It should have been a great opportunity for Zhang Jun to perform and prove himself in front of the new coach.

But in training two days before the game, he strained his thigh muscle. The team doctor told coach Malesani that he would be out for two weeks.

Two weeks, just missing the games against Inter Milan and Juventus.

This made countless Fiorentina fans worried and also made Li Yongle feel disappointed. He had already made an appointment with Zhang Jun on the phone, whoever lost the game would treat. But now Zhang Jun couldn't even play, so the bet became meaningless.

Zhang Jun was also a little frustrated. When the team needed him, he couldn't contribute his strength.

Qiu Suhui called at this time to comfort him, telling him that this was normal. "Many players who perform well in the World Cup often don't perform as well in the following season. Because they consume too much energy in the World Cup. Ballack's performance this season is not very good and has been criticized for this reason. And you haven't had much rest for two consecutive seasons, so now both your physical and mental fatigue periods have arrived. Why not take this time to rest and adjust your state. The World Cup syndrome cannot be rejected by humans. When it really comes, you can only adapt to it, adjust your mentality, and don't be impatient."

That's what he said, but Zhang Jun couldn't help but complain, why did the damn World Cup syndrome have to come at this time?

As a result, Fiorentina, who lost Zhang Jun, managed to draw 1-1 with Inter Milan, thanks to Miccoli's goal.

In fact, with these players Fiorentina had, they could have prevented Inter Milan from taking even one point, given their home advantage. But for some reason, these players, each with considerable strength, lost their fighting power after being put together. Mondonico didn't solve this problem, and his successor Malesani was equally troubled by it.

Therefore, even drawing with Inter Milan was a fluke.

Zhang Jun watched the normal game from the stands. Li Yongle still started and managed Inter Milan's midfield in an orderly manner. Whether it was offense or defense, he did a good job. Fiorentina's seemingly powerful midfield could not gain the slightest advantage against Inter Milan's midfield led by him.

"This kid is getting more and more like a core player," Zhang Jun said to himself, resting his chin on his hand. Fortunately, he was speaking Chinese, otherwise others would have thought he had defected.

Zhang Jun listened to Qiu Suhui's advice and calmed down, now placing himself in the position of an observer. In Serie A, where you have to maintain a high degree of tension for an entire season, learning to adjust your mentality is actually a very important skill.

※※※

Miccoli had been performing well recently, scoring goals frequently, and was therefore deeply loved by the new coach. Because he could score, the coach ignored the fact that he rarely passed the ball. Now he was a big star.

The approach of the Juventus game made him even more of a celebrity in the eyes of the media.

Everyone knew why Miccoli had left Juventus and "condescended" to come to Fiorentina. Now he had a chance for revenge, he wanted to prove himself in front of Capello, Del Piero, and at the Stadio delle Alpi.

From this point of view, many people would think he was very similar to Zhang Jun. But Zhang Jun didn't think so, and didn't feel any empathy for Miccoli because of this.

Miccoli was just using Fiorentina as a tool for revenge, a carrier. He wanted to prove that he was no worse than Del Piero, whether he was at Fiorentina or Brescia, he could prove it.

But Zhang Jun was different. If he wanted to take revenge on Milan, it was to prove to the world that he was living very well in Fiorentina and had no problems. But if he changed places, the feeling would be different.

The difference in their mentalities determined that there were no common topics between them.

Before the game, the media hyped up Miccoli's revenge battle, almost forgetting about Zhang Jun.

Yang Pan threw the newspaper aside. Even the *Milan Sports Newspaper* was joining in the nonsense, making him lose interest in reading the newspaper.

"It's all Miccoli, Miccoli all day long. Where's Zhang Jun?"

Zhang Jun was watching the game on TV.

The game, which the media called "Miccoli's Revenge," ultimately ended in Fiorentina's defeat. Fiorentina was clearly not on the same level as Juventus, and losing 0-1 away from home was not considered a disgrace. Only Malesani was not very satisfied. He believed that Juventus had won with the help of the referee.

When the game ended, Zhang Jun got up, turned off the TV, and started doing upper body exercises in the spacious living room. He was warming up, warming up for the next game.

The team doctor told him that he could recover in two weeks, so when the next round came, it would be exactly two weeks. Although coach Malesani had not said that he would play, he felt that he should start in the next game against Empoli.

He had contributed three goals in two consecutive victories, and his form had recovered. A minor injury was not enough to have an impact.

※※※

Eleven rounds had passed, and Fiorentina had three wins, five draws, and three losses, accumulating twenty points and ranking twelfth.

This result was not too bad for a newly promoted team, but this result, placed on Fiorentina with its lofty ambitions, made people feel very displeased.

Della Valle's original goal was to enter the European arena next season, but now they were still hovering in the middle of the table. The team had not been integrated for three months, and there were many internal and external troubles. As time went by, they were even considered to be fighting for relegation.

This was truly ironic for Fiorentina, who were determined to revive.

※※※

Zhang Jun thought things through well, but he wasn't even included in the squad for the game against Empoli. Malesani told him that because his leg injury had just healed, he didn't want to risk letting him play.

But Zhang Jun smelled a hint of something unfavorable to him from the starting lineup of this game.

Since the mid-game substitution against Inter Milan, Malesani had been using the 4-5-1 formation for three consecutive rounds. Zhang Jun was injured, Portillo was useless, and he still didn't believe in Rigano's ability as a "Serie B striker." Only Miccoli started, and Maresca remained as an attacking midfielder, adding another defensive midfielder.

In other words, even if Zhang Jun recovered from his injury, he would have to face the situation of competing with Miccoli for a position.

In this game, Fiorentina narrowly won 1-0 at home against Empoli, who were also a newly promoted team. Miccoli, who had the most shots, scored the only goal of the game.

Miccoli's goal in the 77th minute made Zhang Jun feel a chill down his spine while jumping up to cheer. Such a strong opponent... In AC Milan there was Shevchenko and Inzaghi, and in Fiorentina there was Miccoli. Maybe he would never be able to escape challenges and competition in his life.

Afterwards, Fiorentina drew 1-1 with Messina away from home and then defeated Bologna 1-0. They maintained an undefeated streak for three rounds and achieved a good result of three wins, two draws, and one loss after Malesani took office. Their ranking also rose to tenth place, making Della Valle feel gratified—he had finally found an excellent coach.

Even if they challenged AC Milan away in the next round, they were confident in getting a point.

※※※

Zhang Jun had been a substitute in the previous two rounds. The coach's explanation was still that he was afraid of getting injured. But Zhang Jun already knew very well that due to the absence of two weeks and two key battles, he was at a disadvantage in the competition with Miccoli.

However, before the next round against AC Milan, Malesani unexpectedly returned to the previous 4-4-2 formation, but without an attacking midfielder. Zhang Jun returned to the starting lineup, partnering with Miccoli, Portillo was a substitute, and Rigano would miss the game due to an injury in training before the game.

This change surprised Zhang Jun. However, according to media speculation, having two forwards was to share the defensive pressure equally, with the two players attracting the attention of five defenders, which was better than one person carrying it alone.

Zhang Jun was very dissatisfied with this arrangement. It was clear that it was underestimating his scoring ability and only using him as a tactical center forward. He vowed to score in the game against AC Milan and show Malesani, the nearsighted coach, who was the number one striker.

What's more, this time the opponent was AC Milan. He couldn't allow himself to be looked down upon by his own people in front of the Milanese.

Since the end of the World Cup, he had been looking forward to this game. AC Milan had bought Gilardino, and the frequently injured Inzaghi had lost his main position not only in the Italian national team but also in AC Milan.

When Zhang Jun heard Yang Pan tell him this, he felt inexplicably sad, even though Inzaghi and him were not that close. He just felt emotional that a once spirited star had now fallen into a state of being forgotten in the corner. Would he also be reduced to this situation many years later, dragging an injured leg?

Was Inzaghi's present his future?

Zhang Jun shook his head, unwilling to think about it anymore. Thinking about this kind of problem all day long would make a person live very, very tired.

Returning to the game itself, Zhang Jun was looking forward to this game not only because of the opponent, but also because of his friend. This was the first time he and Yang Pan would meet as opponents in a formal match. He was no longer the naive teenager who couldn't even play when facing friends. He was particularly excited about competing with Yang Pan.

"Hey, Yang Pan, what do you think Milan fans will do to me if I score tomorrow?"

"Boo you, they will keep booing you. Because you are Milan's enemy, but for me, the best result is that you score and we win the game."

"No, no, no, the most perfect ending is that I score and Fiorentina also wins the game."

"Hey, are you dreaming, Zhang Jun?"

※※※

San Siro would never be unfamiliar to Zhang Jun, after all, he had stayed here for half a season. When he came on the field, he still heard some applause from the AC Milan fans. This was a treatment that other Fiorentina players did not enjoy. It seemed that he was not as much of a failure in Milan as he had imagined, at least some people still remembered him and were willing to applaud his appearance.

While enjoying the applause, he also felt a little apologetic. Just like Yang Pan said, no matter what, he was an enemy of Milan. Now there was still applause, but what would happen after he really scored? Would there still be applause? Or would there only be boos left?

This game would be broadcast in China through CCTV5, and Zhang Jun was very clear about what this meant. He didn't want to lose face in front of hundreds of millions of fellow villagers. He wanted to score, and he also wanted to win.

But AC Milan poured two buckets of cold water on Zhang Jun and Fiorentina just twenty-five minutes into the game.

In the sixteenth minute, Shevchenko blasted the football into Lupatelli's goal with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, taking a 1-0 lead.

Immediately afterwards, in the twenty-second minute, Gilardino received a cross from Yang Pan, and scored a second goal with a header in front of the goal, giving AC Milan a 2-0 lead.

In these twenty-odd minutes, Fiorentina didn't even have a single decent attack. They were overwhelmed by the powerful AC Milan, unable to lift their heads. They were on the verge of losing the ability to parry, let alone retaliate.

Under the pressure of Milan's powerful attack, Zhang Jun even returned to his own half to participate in the defense—this was also Malesani's new rule after taking office: no one could have the privilege of not tracking back to defend, no one was an exception, including—Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun had an unpleasant argument with Ancelotti at Milan because of this, and he also had a cold war with Ari Haan in the national team for this reason until the latter left. But this time in Florence, he gave in.

He gave up what he had always insisted on, advancing and retreating, and actively tracking back to defend. Even if this would greatly consume his already limited stamina, even if this would make him lose many scoring opportunities, he didn't care, as long as he could play the game.

Seeing him do this, some people said he was compromising, while others said he had grown up.

Regardless of what others said, Zhang Jun knew what he was doing.

He was not familiar with Malesani, but he knew that this person did not value him very much now. He had to earn his attention with his own performance, which naturally required participating in the game. So, in order to be able to play the game, it was necessary to make some sacrifices and give up some things.

※※※

Zhang Jun's repeated retreats nearly fifty meters to participate in the defense directly led to him not being able to keep up with his stamina, which then affected his state and performance on the field.

Even Yang Pan, as an opponent, could see that Zhang Jun was a little overwhelmed. There were several times when there were good opportunities for Fiorentina, but he was half a beat slower, and his start was not as powerful as usual.

He sweated for Zhang Jun in his heart. He knew what this game meant to Zhang Jun, and what the results would be if he didn't perform well.

The thigh muscle strain was healed, but it didn't mean that his physical condition was good. In Yang Pan's opinion, Zhang Jun was now recklessly overdrawing his physical reserves.

Fiorentina was at a disadvantage throughout the first half, but this disadvantage was not caused by Zhang Jun alone. In fact, he had very few opportunities in the first half, and most of the opportunities were generously squandered by Miccoli.

But at halftime, Malesani only aimed his dissatisfaction at Zhang Jun, believing that he was not running actively enough and wasted several good opportunities, but he never mentioned that Miccoli had wasted more opportunities than Zhang Jun.

Now even others in the team could see that Malesani favored Miccoli. And Zhang Jun, as Miccoli's competitor, would naturally be unlucky.

Zhang Jun was dissatisfied, but he didn't dare to argue with the coach. He just sat on the bench with a sullen face.

Miccoli, on the other hand, watched his competitor being reprimanded by the coach. He sat on the other side with a towel on his head, holding a bottle of drink in his hand, taking a sip from time to time. Other than that, he didn't do anything else or make any sound. Because of the towel on his head, everyone couldn't see his expression, so naturally they wouldn't know what he was thinking.

The atmosphere at halftime was awkward. The words Malesani said after scolding Zhang Jun did not boost morale at all. Everyone felt that things were not going well.

Sure enough, just seven minutes into the second half, before Fiorentina could recover, AC Milan scored another goal.

Blow after blow made the Fiorentina team breathe heavily. AC Milan was much stronger than they had imagined.

They had lost their fighting spirit.

※※※

Zhang Jun was still running actively—didn't Malesani say that he wasn't running actively enough? He would be more active and try to create scoring opportunities for his teammates and himself—Malesani would be left without a word. At the end of the first half, he was thinking about overtaking and winning. Now, at the beginning of the second half, conceding a goal had caught him somewhat off guard. Now the goal had to be changed to equalizing the score.

But he rarely received passes from Miccoli, and he was all alone at the front, looking helpless and lonely in AC Milan's penalty area. He could only run and create space.

Miccoli's condition was not very good either, otherwise it was impossible for him not to have scored a goal by now.

On the AC Milan side, Yang Pan's condition was great. His breakthroughs repeatedly threatened Fiorentina's defense, and his speed forced the Fiorentina defenders to rely on fouls to stop him.

In the sixty-sixth minute, after breaking through on the left, Yang Pan did not cross to the bottom line, but suddenly cut inside and then took an extremely sudden long shot before the Fiorentina defenders could react!

The football cut through the air and also cut through the hearts of the Fiorentina fans. It flew into the upper right corner of the goal and crashed into the net.

AC Milan scored again! Leading Fiorentina 4-0 at home!

Many Fiorentina players had already collapsed. They hoped that the game would end sooner, as this game was meaningless.

Zhang Jun just lowered his goal of equalizing the score again, changing it to at least scoring a goal to save face.

But he didn't have time to achieve this goal. Just two minutes after AC Milan scored, Zhang Jun was replaced by coach Malesani, being taken off the field early in the sixty-seventh minute of the game.

This decision made Zhang Jun very angry. He believed that his performance was not very bad, at least better than Miccoli's, but Malesani insisted on replacing him. And it wasn't that he couldn't accept being replaced early in the game, he couldn't accept being replaced early in the game against AC Milan.

He had always wanted to work hard to prove to Milan that he was doing well in Florence, but what about now? Being replaced early by his own people just showed that he hadn't gained trust here and was being squeezed out like a stranger.

Malesani was equivalent to slapping Zhang Jun in the face in front of the Milanese people and the Chinese TV audience.

Zhang Jun walked straight to the sidelines, without greeting anyone, not even high-fiving Portillo, who was replacing him. He passed by Malesani, took the jacket handed over by the staff, and then walked directly to the player tunnel in the corner of the field, not lingering on the bench for even a second.

As soon as he walked into the player tunnel, he threw the jacket on his body hard against the wall, and then walked to the changing room alone without picking up the jacket.

Of course, this scene in the tunnel did not escape the eyes of the camera. And the Italian TV station also very "viciously" replayed it three times on the big screen, as if they were afraid that Malesani, who was standing on the sidelines, wouldn't know.

Yang Pan was busy with the game and didn't pay too much attention to what was happening off the field. But he still saw Zhang Jun walk past the equally expressionless Malesani with a blank face, and he also saw the scene that was replayed three times on the big screen.

He had a bad feeling in his heart when he saw Zhang Jun being replaced. He knew very well what letting Zhang Jun off the field at this time meant to Zhang Jun, meaning that Malesani was telling everyone in the stadium that Zhang Jun had failed in Florence after slapping him in the face. Zhang Jun had a strong sense of self-esteem, how could he endure this kind of humiliation?

What happened in the tunnel would not be just a full stop, but a prelude.

Yang Pan sweated for Zhang Jun again in his heart, a big sweat.

※※※

At the same time that Zhang Jun was leaving the field, many Fiorentina fans who had come with the team also began to leave the field one after another to express their dissatisfaction.

In the end, the demoralized Fiorentina were defeated by Milan 0-6 away from home. This was a rare high-scoring loss for them in recent years.

This day was considered a day of shame by Fiorentina.

After the game, almost all Fiorentina media slammed the team's performance in this game, believing that they had lost the face of 380,000 Florentines. All the players were criticized without exception, but no one criticized the coach. The only criticism that could be considered directed at him might be "Obviously, two forwards are not suitable for the current Fiorentina."

Della Valle even raised this failure to a political height. Fiorentina was an important tool for him to fight against the holy alliance of AC Milan and Juventus. AC Milan's boss, Berlusconi, was the Italian Prime Minister, and the Agnelli family behind Juventus controlled the economic lifeline of Italy.

As the Italian shoe king, Della Valle was unwilling to be just a shoe-buying merchant, so he sought cooperation with Inter Milan, Roma, and other teams, hoping to have a place of his own. However, Moratti was obviously more experienced than him. He announced his resignation as Inter Milan's chairman and retreated to the second line, acting low-key and enjoying watching Della Valle, the reckless youth, charging forward, both jointly addressing the small clubs' broadcasting revenue sharing agreement with Sky TV and accusing the holy alliance of using refereeing to harm Fiorentina's interests, keeping himself busy.

The disastrous defeat against AC Milan was naturally considered by Della Valle to be a major strategic failure, and he would appear less confident in any further confrontation with AC Milan.

This kind of thing naturally could not be said publicly, so he vented all the anger in his heart on the players, especially Zhang Jun, who made that rude gesture after being replaced, and became the target of his key attack.

He forced Zhang Jun to issue an apology statement in the news media, otherwise he would consider letting him go to the "reserve team to cool down for a few days." Zhang Jun was unwilling to go to the reserve team, so he had to reluctantly issue a brief apology statement, saying that he was only anxious and sad about the team's 0-4 deficit at the time and had no intention of hurting anyone. If the coach felt that his authority had been challenged, then he sincerely apologized, it was just a misunderstanding, and he had no conflicts with anyone in the team...

Malesani certainly felt that his authority in the team had been challenged. In fact, since he came to Florence, he had not felt that his prestige had been established. He knew that in addition to the old captain Di Livio, Zhang Jun was the most popular player in the team, and also a player with a strong personality. Di Livio was an old veteran, and Della Valle didn't dare to move him easily. Even if he gave Malesani 10,000 guts, he wouldn't dare. And this disastrous defeat and Zhang Jun's impulsiveness happened to give him a chance to establish his authority. He wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

So, on the surface, he generously accepted Zhang Jun's apology, publicly stating that everything was over, and that there were no problems between him and Zhang Jun, and that Zhang Jun was an excellent forward...

But he made more and more strict demands on Zhang Jun, often stopping training because of a small mistake and reprimanding him loudly. When Chinese reporters asked, he said that his strict requirements for Zhang Jun were precisely his concern for him, hoping that he could perform better. "The World Cup bronze boot should do better than the average person." These words sounded like "high standards and strict requirements" for Zhang Jun, but in reality, it meant that no matter what Zhang Jun did, Malesani would not be satisfied, because "he could do better."

On the one hand, there was blame, and on the other hand, there was gradual neglect. In the next game against Chievo at home, Zhang Jun returned to the bench. Malesani "listened to the media's advice" and switched the formation back to 4-5-1, with only Miccoli getting a chance to play among the four forwards.

In order to protest the shameful 0-6 loss to AC Milan in the previous round, less than half of the people were seated at the Stadio Artemio Franchi for this game, and the stands were empty. Even under such circumstances, the Fiorentina team was ashamed and brave, and neatly defeated Chievo 2-0.

Miccoli scored a goal again after being silent for two rounds. And Zhang Jun, who was sitting on the bench, had a feeling of powerlessness—a feeling of powerlessness that he wanted to kill the enemy but couldn't. He thought that as long as he could play, he could score goals, but Malesani never gave him a chance. He sat on the bench for two forty-five minutes, without even moving his butt.

Zhang Jun once ridiculed himself to Sophie on the phone: "If this continues, I'm going to get hemorrhoids."

Sophie couldn't do anything and just advised him to wait patiently for an opportunity.

These words sounded too weak. Even Sophie didn't believe that the opportunity would come.

This was the last game before Christmas, Fiorentina won, at least saving some face for themselves and putting the Fiorentina fans in the mood to celebrate the holiday.

Zhang Jun had a tasteless Christmas. He unusually rarely spoke at the club's banquet, just staying on the sidelines, coldly watching Miccoli and Malesani toast each other. Rigano, who had the best relationship with him, didn't come. He had just had surgery and was resting at home. The team doctor said that he might not have to play the remaining games of this season.

When Della Valle heard this news, he had already begun to arrange for the purchase of new forwards to replace him.

Maybe Rigano's days in Florence wouldn't be long either.

For the rest of the time, Zhang Jun moved around among his friends in Italy, but everyone tacitly did not mention the "tunnel gate incident," after all, it was not easy to keep a good mood for the holiday.

In this way, the half-month vacation passed quickly.

※※※

On January 6, 2007, Serie A restarted after a half-month break, and Fiorentina lost to Atalanta 0-1 away from home.

Malesani once again urged his boss, saying how important it was to introduce a forward. Because he realized that relying on Miccoli alone to cope with the remaining half of the season was clearly an "impossible task."

At the same time, he still had no intention of reusing Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun followed the team to Atalanta, but only got a chance to play in the last five minutes. Before he had even touched the ball more than five times, the game ended.

And in the daily training the day after returning to Florence, Zhang Jun suddenly fell.

Without warning.