Chapter 1 For the Sake of Re-Emergence

The media generally said that the re-started Serie A season was the season for the revival of the Milan dynasty to reclaim the throne, but Inter Milan wouldn't have it. They said, why should it always be the Milan dynasty, the Milan dynasty? We, Inter Milan, also want to build our own dynasty.

So the supporters of the two teams started fighting, and the teams started fighting from the summer preparations. In the transfer market, you could often see the two teams pursuing the same player at the same time. It seemed that if AC Milan wanted a player, Inter Milan would interfere even if they didn't need him. And if Inter Milan urgently needed a player, AC Milan would definitely compete with them, raise the transfer fee, and then announce their abandonment of the acquisition, making Inter Milan the sucker.

The two powers in the north were fighting fiercely, while Fiorentina in the central region was having a fire sale.

Just two weeks after Ren Yudi announced his abandonment of Fiorentina Club, before the team could even be warmed up in the hands of the Florence city government, Della Valle appeared, and he became the chairman of the club again.

After issuing a friendly statement to Zhang Jun, saying that Zhang Jun was still the banner of Fiorentina—he was, he is, and he will be in the future—he began to sell people.

Montolivo was going to leave sooner or later, because the player's will to leave was very firm, so Della Valle had no way to ask exorbitant prices in this regard. In the end, Inter Milan spent 4.78 million euros to bring him to the Meazza.

The young English shooter Chris Williams was bought back by Chelsea for 2.8 million euros.

Joaquín decided to return to Real Betis in La Liga to end his career. His contract was about to expire, so Real Betis brought back their former banner without spending a penny.

And Lahm was acquired by Arsenal for 8 million euros.

Mascherano went to Liverpool. The best way to avenge Fiorentina for snatching the Champions League was to poach their championship members... Of course, Liverpool inevitably had to bleed a lot. Fiorentina marked the Argentine with an "astronomical price" of 27 million euros, and finally bargained down to 15 million euros.

Zhang Jun came to participate in training every day, but every time he came to the locker room, he could always see the name tag on another locker being torn off. Fewer and fewer people participated in training, and he felt lonely looking at the empty training ground.

AC Milan offered him a transfer fee of 28 million euros and an annual salary of 4 million, with 100% image rights retained. He rejected it without saying a word. He said he would stay here and he would stay here. He had nothing to pursue anymore and didn't need to start over somewhere else.

Real Madrid made a transfer fee application of up to 60 million euros for Krull, and Fiorentina's boss Della Valle was tempted. Ever since the Malesani incident, Zhang Jun had never liked this chairman. After he returned to Fiorentina and expressed his goodwill to him, his reply was lukewarm. But now he had the urge to support Della Valle—Krull was still young, only twenty-five years old. Going to Real Madrid could make him a world-class superstar and extend the glory of his career. Why not go? What was the point of staying in this Fiorentina that was about to become ruins?

He persuaded Krull in this way, and the result was the same as when he rejected AC Milan. He refused himself and Real Madrid very simply. "I want to stay."

"Why?"

"Isabel likes it here, and I like playing football with you."

With just this sentence, Zhang Jun never persuaded Krull to leave again, but he vaguely felt sorry for him in his heart. He was in the prime of his life, but he had to be buried with him, to be buried with Fiorentina. If he stayed in this small team, his influence would become weaker and weaker. For example, Ronaldinho, if he hadn't resolutely transferred from Paris Saint-Germain to Barcelona at the beginning, even if his skills wouldn't change wherever he was, his influence would definitely not be as great as it was later. He didn't use the "cow tail" for the first time in Barcelona. He had performed this kind of show in Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain, and more than once or twice. Why was it so sensational in Barcelona? It was because the team's status and influence determined the status and influence of the star...

Looking at the teammates who had fought together in the past now going their separate ways, some people packed their things before the holiday and never came back after the vacation. Some people came back and stayed for a few days, looking absent-minded, and then left.

Half of the summer had passed, and Della Valle was only selling people and not buying them. Zhang Jun was even less optimistic about the new season, but he just muttered in his heart. Someone directly vented this dissatisfaction to the media.

Xiang Tao's big mouth vented his dissatisfaction with the new chairman in front of news reporters, saying that he had sold so many people and had a lot of money in his hands, so why didn't he buy excellent players? The people he had taken a fancy to were worthless in his eyes. Then he began to miss the era of boss Ren Yudi, when he could always see one or two heavyweight players coming to the Franchi every summer. They cooperated well together and won many championships...

These words directly stimulated Della Valle's fragile little heart. Lavishly reminiscing about the old boss in front of a new boss was the greatest disrespect to the new boss, and a provocation... Yes, a provocation. Della Valle regarded Xiang Tao's remarks as a provocation to him. He decided to let some people see who had the final say in this team.

He responded to Xiang Tao's "provocation" very impolitely through the media, saying very harshly: "Anyone who likes to reminisce about the past and doesn't like to stay here can leave. Fiorentina doesn't welcome those who don't want to come, and doesn't force anyone who doesn't want to stay to stay. Everyone has the freedom to leave."

The words were very clear. If you, Xiang Tao, don't want to do it, then get out.

And Xiang Tao was a tough guy, he didn't respond to pressure. If you, Della Valle, want to come hard with me, very good, I, Xiang Tao, will play with you to the end. The two of them started a civil war in the team. Xiang Tao repeatedly showed his disdain for Della Valle in places where Della Valle was present, and Della Valle never gave the Chinese defender a good look either.

Zhang Jun was very annoyed by the conflict between the two. He tried to resolve the conflict between the two, but later found that they were completely irreconcilable. It was a bit like his initial conflict with Malesani... If he doesn't leave, I'll leave.

Sabato, who was already coaching at Liverpool, was still very concerned about his former subordinates. He was overjoyed when he heard the news: Earlier, he had taken Mascherano away from Fiorentina, and he had wanted to take Xiang Tao away at the time. But Xiang Tao wanted to stay and be with Zhang Jun, and he couldn't persuade him, so he could only feel sorry. Now Xiang Tao and Della Valle, that idiot, were having a conflict, which was the best possible opportunity. He immediately extended an invitation to Xiang Tao—Liverpool listened to this successful coach, and would let him buy whoever he needed to buy, vowing to build the most competitive team in the Premier League and the whole of Europe. Their goal this season was at least one championship: the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League, they had to win at least one.

Xiang Tao hesitated for a while about this invitation, but finally decided to leave Fiorentina and go to Liverpool to pursue his mentor. Of course, there were also emotional factors involved. When he was still playing in the Sichuan youth team, he had the opportunity to go to Liverpool to play, but because the coach in the team didn't like him, he gave the spot to someone else. Now he finally had the opportunity to play for the team he liked, and it was obvious that he couldn't stay in Fiorentina anymore, so why should he give up this opportunity?

Zhang Jun was very sad about Xiang Tao's departure—the "Three Chinese Swordsmen of the Viola", as they were called by the Western media, went their separate ways with the collapse of the Fiorentina dynasty.

The scene of Zhang Jun and Krull's family seeing Xiang Tao off was very depressing. Krull was originally a man of few words, and Xiang Tao, who was always cheerful, couldn't say anything funny at this time. In this terrible summer, they seemed to have lost the leisure to look forward to the future and joke around.

Youyou was a little sad about leaving Florence, leaving Sophie, and leaving her friends, and her eyes were always red. Sophie liked this younger sister very much, but now she had to face separation. What else could they do but hug each other?

The women were together, and the men were on the other side.

Zhang Jun looked at Xiang Tao and opened his mouth several times, but he didn't know what to say.

Advise him to stay? No way!

He could only say something like "Perform well over there and strive for an early release..." Hmm? That's the wrong line.

In the end, Zhang Jun put his hand on Xiang Tao's shoulder and sighed heavily: "If I were in charge here, I would say that if you're not happy over there, come back. Fiorentina will always welcome you... But I can't. Take care of yourself over there, take care of your body... Many of us have retired due to injuries, and I don't want to see you end up the same way."

Xiang Tao nodded vigorously: "You too, I'm not by your side anymore. If someone maliciously infringes on you again in the future, I won't be able to help..."

Zhang Jun smiled and said, "If there's a chance to play against Liverpool, please be merciful."

Xiang Tao smiled reluctantly, but his smile was ugly: "If there's a chance... but I don't want to be your opponent."

"I don't want to either, I don't want to be tackled by you with the ball and all, hehe... cough cough!" He coughed at the end of his laugh, and Krull patted him gently on the back beside him.

Xiang Tao turned to look at Krull, "I'm not here anymore, so he's entrusted to you. If you let..."

Krull interrupted him: "Okay, it's not like we're arranging a funeral."

Xiang Tao glared at Krull, who was destroying the atmosphere. After being disturbed by him like this, he couldn't say anything else.

Zhang Jun helped him out of the predicament: "Okay, don't make the atmosphere so sad. Let's go, otherwise you'll have to run to England."

The two reluctantly said goodbye to their friends in Florence and boarded a flight to Liverpool, England, to begin his journey to conquer England.

In the future, no one knows what will happen, maybe the two will meet on the football field again, maybe not...

※※※

Xiang Tao's departure was a big blow to Zhang Jun. His condition was very low throughout the summer preparations, and this low condition continued until the start of the new season...

After selling many absolute main players, Della Valle didn't spend much money to buy people who couldn't satisfy the fans, and his position was also very embarrassing. Maybe he was frightened by the last time he spent a lot of money but almost relegated the team, so now he decided to run a small business, be steady and steady, and take every step carefully...

In short, the team's management was very careful, after all, he was just a shoemaker and didn't have as much money as Ren Yudi, who could pull strings in both legitimate and illegitimate businesses. This led to the once glorious Fiorentina looking like a promoted team in the eyes of many people, and their primary goal this season was to stay in the league...

In fact, Della Valle was very confident, and his goal was to strive to enter the Champions League next season. But when Zhang Jun heard this sentence, he looked at the current team of teammates who were not on the same page, and he sighed in his heart, not giving the chairman any face.

Many media also said that the current Fiorentina and the Fiorentina of a few years ago were not the same team at all, in any respect, so Della Valle's words were not to be taken seriously at all.

Now this Fiorentina only has one thing to be proud of: Our boss is Italian, and our team is a truly pure Italian team.

※※※

Many years later, when Li Yan decided to write a biography for Zhang Jun, he asked Zhang Jun to recall every season he had experienced. Zhang Jun could always remember many things about other seasons, but only about the 1314 season, his mind was almost blank, and he didn't remember anything. He remembered that many people left before the season, and the miserable situation after the season, but as for what actually happened during the season, he didn't remember.

There was really nothing worth remembering about that season in terms of football. Di Livio returned to the team as the head coach, but his coaching level was far behind Sabato's. They were both pieced-together teams, but Sabato could make the players fight for the same goal and could unite these people, while Di Livio couldn't achieve this. Although everyone respected him, respecting him and trusting his ability were two different things. Zhang Jun was frequently injured again this season, and he hardly played a complete season, wasting all his time in the cycle of playing—getting injured—recovering—playing—getting injured...

The only thing that Zhang Jun could recall was that he became a glorious father this season. During the Spring Festival of 2014, his wife Sophie gave birth to a big fat boy for him. He was so excited that he called everywhere to announce the good news. Almost everyone who was his friend knew that he had been upgraded. Friends also sent "congratulatory messages" one after another—text messages. Those in Italy simply rushed over to celebrate, and An Ke, who was playing in Sichuan with his wife Lin Jia, excitedly said that he wanted to be the godfather of Little Zhang Jun, but Zhang Jun told him that someone had already done it.

Yes, he and Sophie had discussed it long ago, that if they had a child, they would let Ren Yudi, who was now nowhere to be found, be the child's godfather.

Zhang Jun and Sophie named this boy, who was born four years after their marriage: Zhang Jiarui. They hoped that he would grow up safely and peacefully, and that, like his name, he would be happy, healthy, auspicious, and satisfactory throughout his life.

Although they had a child, it didn't bring good luck to the team at all. Fiorentina didn't get the Champions League qualification in the end, but barely got the UEFA Cup qualification at the last moment. AC Milan predictably won the league title, but they lost to Sabato's Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals, and the Champions League title was finally won by Liverpool, with Xiang Tao and Mascherano becoming players who had won the Champions League four times, and it wasn't easy to get this honor.

However, what happened next was still fresh in Zhang Jun's memory. He always believed that losing to someone 0:40 on the field, or retiring with an injured leg, was not a shameful thing. But this incident cast the only stain on his career—although it had nothing to do with him, it was related to Fiorentina, and he was Fiorentina's captain.

※※※

After this season that he had no impression of, Zhang Jun should have been concentrating on preparing for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. At this time, a shocking scandal broke out in Italy that Juventus had bribed referees to seek benefits. As the investigation continued and deepened, it was found that more and more teams were involved: Fiorentina, Lazio, Siena, Udinese... (Note: This is taken from the "Calciopoli" scandal that happened in reality. It is impossible to completely ignore such a big event, and it really touched me a lot, and it is the best event to promote the development of the novel's plot, so I wrote it in. But out of consideration for the championship plot, I removed AC Milan from the teams involved in the scandal. This is entirely out of plot considerations and has nothing to do with reality. Please don't apply the grievances in reality to the novel's plot, thank you for your cooperation!) The scope, number of people, extent of impact, and degree of the scandal were the worst in history.

When the scandal was first exposed by *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, the whole of Italy was shocked. What the Italian investigation agencies didn't expect was that they had investigated Ren Yudi's assets for a year without finding anything, and it turned out that the biggest tumor in Italian football was within their own ranks! This discovery made Italians ashamed to talk about football for a while—even though the World Cup was about to begin.

When Zhang Jun heard this news, it was like a bolt from the blue hitting his mind. He had always liked this team very much, and he had never thought that such a noble team like the Viola would be associated with a match-fixing scandal. For a few days, he was in a very low mood, not knowing what he had insisted on staying in Fiorentina for. The dirtiness of Italian football far exceeded his imagination, and he almost lost his interest in playing football.

Fortunately, Sophie was always by his side, giving him comfort and relieving him. He finally decided to fulfill his remaining contract, but he no longer believed anything that the shoe seller said.

When Li Yan asked him about his future plans, he said this to Li Yan: "Even if Fiorentina is relegated to Serie B or Serie C, I will stay, just write that. I won't go anywhere except Fiorentina, I want to end my career here, no matter whether the final ending is good or bad. I like this team and I won't easily change my belief because of what a certain chairman does. I think the fans and I are the same."

Li Yan sent Zhang Jun's words back to the country and to Cagliari, so that both the Chinese and the Italians would know Zhang Jun's final choice.

While the investigation into the scandal in Italy was still ongoing, Zhang Jun left Italy and flew to Brazil to join the national team to participate in the final training camp before the World Cup—he didn't participate in other training camps, not even the Confederations Cup, just to ensure that his body was healthy at this time. Now he was back, uninjured.

The only problem was that people were worried that Zhang Jun, who was so sentimental, would be affected by Fiorentina being involved in the Serie A match-fixing scandal, and his condition was hard to say...

※※※

This summer, for the Chinese people, the Italian match-fixing case was, after all, someone else's business, and it was far away from them. The real top priority was the World Cup held in Brazil. The Chinese team was going to the tournament as the defending champion, and they were seeded, which was the first time they had received such treatment.

Although the Chinese team was missing a few main players before the tournament, Zhang Jun's return still brought an undeniable influence to the world football scene. Because they snatched the championship from Brazil in South Africa, the Chinese team was not very popular in Brazil. Advocaat also seemed a little helpless in the face of this, and the Chinese team's preparations were always disturbed in one way or another.

Host Brazil was placed in Group A, while defending champion China was in the last group. This time, if the two teams were to meet again, they wouldn't have to wait for the final. They could meet in the round of 16—provided that Brazil and China couldn't both finish first in their respective groups, and one had to finish first and the other second.

Kaká called Zhang Jun before the start of the World Cup and talked about this. He smiled and said, "It's impossible for us Brazilians to finish second in the group, otherwise the people will kill us. Please be kind and get second in your group."

Zhang Jun refused righteously: "No way! If you want to finish second in the group, you guys take it."

Kaká sighed with feigned regret: "What a pity... then we can only meet in the semi-finals..."

"Kaká, work hard. We will wait for you in the semi-finals in advance!" Zhang Jun said as if they had already entered the semi-finals. He laughed, making Kaká laugh along with him: "Don't be so happy now, be careful not to get out of the group stage. That would be embarrassing ~"

Zhang Jun curled his lips: "It's not our turn to not get out of the group stage anyway. The Chinese team is outstanding in this group, and Austria, South Africa, and the United States are not worth mentioning."

The two of them fought with their mouths, but they both knew that this was something that no one could convince anyone of. The thing that can really prove that you are right in a football match is to go on the field and compete.

"Let's not waste words here, let's watch when the World Cup starts, Kaká! If you want the championship, come and grab it!"

"Don't worry, I'm just afraid that you'll go home before I come to grab it, hehe!"

In the end, the two of them didn't forget to bicker.