Chapter 1 In the Heart of Tuscany

In Italy, administrative divisions are not based on provinces, but on "regions." The Lombardy region, where Milan is located, has the most professional teams, followed by the Tuscany region, whose capital is Florence. What makes Florentine fans even more proud is that their city gave birth to the precursor to modern football in 1500. The world knows it as the birthplace of the European Renaissance, but not everyone knows that it is also the birthplace of Italian classic football.

Perhaps because of this, Florentine football is full of romantic, classical charm, and is loved by many fans around the world. It was precisely because of this love that when the former owner of Fiorentina, Cecchi Gori, announced in the summer of 2002 that he was giving up the struggle and accepting the result, a club with more than seventy years of tradition officially went bankrupt and disappeared from the Italian football scene. Countless Viola fans wept bitterly for her tragic fate.

Zhang Jun still remembered how shocked he was when he saw the news of Fiorentina's bankruptcy on television. A legendary team was simply gone.

Now, three and a half years later, he stood outside the Stadio Artemio Franchi, looking up at the towering stadium, with his agent, Sister Hua, and dozens of reporters who had rushed to the scene behind him.

When he came here for tourism on New Year's Day a year ago, he never thought that he would come here again, and as a newly signed player. It was truly ironic.

The sound of camera shutters behind him pulled Zhang Jun back to reality. He took a deep breath, then stepped towards the long iron gate of the stadium. Chairman Della Valle and Coach Mondonico were waiting for him inside.

Once he entered this gate, he would be a Fiorentina man.

※※※

Yang Pan searched through all the channels he could receive on his television, but couldn't find any coverage of Zhang Jun's press conference in Florence. He angrily threw the remote control aside, then called Kaka.

The phone had just been answered when he heard the sound of something falling to the ground. He laughed, "Kaka, are you fighting with someone?"

"I'm fighting with those bastards at the TV station! They'd rather show boring soap operas than broadcast any news about Zhang Jun in Florence!" Kaka said angrily. "By the way, what's up with your call?"

"Nothing. I just had a fight with the TV too. I wanted to ask if you had any unexpected discoveries, but it seems I don't need to ask now." Yang Pan looked at the photo on the wall of the three of them at San Siro Stadium and smiled bitterly. The photo was posed to imitate the Dutch Three Musketeers.

"Yang Pan, do you think Zhang Jun will come back after his loan expires next season?"

"Don't be silly, Kaka. Knowing Zhang Jun's temperament, after experiencing so many unhappy things in Milan, it would be stupid of him to come back. I asked him that question, and he didn't answer, but isn't the answer obvious?"

"But what if he can't find his form in Florence either?" Kaka worried. There had been many examples of talented players with great potential gradually falling into decline through constant wandering. He didn't want Zhang Jun to become another shooting star like that.

"Then he'll just have to sink. But I believe in him. I've been with him for more than ten years, and he's never let me down in football. Do you believe that, Kaka?"

Kaka paused for a moment. In terms of tacit understanding, he didn't have the same decade-plus relationship that Yang Pan had. He could only try to understand Zhang Jun from the less than three years he had known him since high school.

As a striker, he had rarely disappointed those who had expectations of him. Otherwise, the Shuguang Football Team would not have been able to transform from an unknown team into a national champion.

"Yeah, I believe in him," Kaka said, looking at the photo of the three of them.

※※※

"I'm here for only one purpose, and that is to help Fiorentina get promoted to Serie A at the end of this season," Zhang Jun said to the assembled reporters with a smile.

On January 2, 2006, Zhang Jun became a member of the Fiorentina team. Until the end of the season, he would fight in purple. As time went by, many of the reporters in front of him would leave, and he would no longer be the focus of attention. In the next six months, the only thing that would stay with him would be football. This was also what Zhang Jun hoped for, to have fewer miscellaneous off-field matters.

Saying goodbye to the noisy and impetuous Milan and coming to the quiet Florence, Zhang Jun could finally fight for himself, and no longer to satisfy those reporters and commentators.

※※※

Zhang Jun woke up in the morning sunlight. He sat up in bed, stretched, then jumped out of bed, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains. He didn't see any reporters waiting outside his door all night, something he never experienced in Milan, especially in the past two months. "Serie B has its advantages," he smiled contentedly.

He had just finished making breakfast and was sitting at the table ready to eat when his phone rang. Zhang Jun frowned. Who would call so early? He picked up the phone and saw that the screen showed a number that was familiar beyond familiar.

He smiled and pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Yang Pan? What's up with calling so early?"

"I'm calling to wake you up, kid! Don't leave a bad impression on everyone by being late for your first day of team training. From the sound of your voice, you're still asleep, aren't you?"

"Bullshit! I've already made breakfast..." Zhang Jun remembered that he had been away for the past few days and didn't know how Yang Pan had been handling his meals. "It smells really good, do you want to come and eat together?" he deliberately tempted Yang Pan.

"Forget it. By the time I drive over, you'll probably be finished with lunch. I'll just have instant noodles."

"Eating instant noodles all the time isn't good for you. Breakfast is the source of strength for the day. You need to eat well and get enough nutrition. The nutritional proportions should be balanced, and the diet should be reasonable..."

"Damn it! Stop tempting me! Since you're already up, I won't disturb you from eating breakfast."

"Are you really just eating instant noodles? Do you have eggs? Do you have bread? Do you have milk..." Zhang Jun laughed.

"Damn it! Go eat! Eat yourself to death!" Yang Pan hung up the phone to check if his instant noodles were cooked.

Zhang Jun shook his head with a smile, put the phone aside, and ate his breakfast. It seemed that the distance didn't pose much of a problem. At least the conversation this morning made him feel like Yang Pan was still by his side.

He thought again about meeting his new teammates at the training ground today and felt a little nervous. At yesterday's press conference, he only met the club's chairman and head coach, but none of the players.

Before coming to this team, Zhang Jun had specifically sought out Li Yan to learn more about them.

※※※

On the evening of August 1, 2002, just a few hours after the president of the Italian Football Federation, Cattiero, announced that Fiorentina did not have the registration qualifications for Serie B, Florence city officials said on a television program that they had formed a new team. Because they could no longer use the name "Fiorentina," they named it "Fiorentina Viola," meaning "Florence Iris." The newly formed team had no players and no coaches, just an empty shell, waiting for a businessman to inject funds and get the team running.

Then, the current honorary chairman of the club, the largest shareholder, and the famous Italian "Shoe King" Diego Della Valle officially acquired Fiorentina Viola and recruited the head coach, assistant coach, fitness coach, team doctor, physiotherapist... including the cleaners. They then scoured players from amateur leagues to Serie C2, forming a team to participate in the Italian Serie C2 League. The team used Fiorentina's home stadium, the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and also used the traditional purple jerseys and the lily logo.

In May 2003, Della Valle became the team's sponsor and invested 2.5 million euros to purchase the right to use the Fiorentina name again at a bankruptcy auction, as well as all the trophies previously won by the Fiorentina club. The current Fiorentina is the Fiorentina with seventy-seven years of history. They can finally remove the "Viola" from the name.

Then, in just one year, the team was promoted from Serie C2 to Serie C1, and then the Italian Football Federation, on the grounds that "the Fiorentina club has made special contributions to Italian football," promoted the team directly from Serie C1 to Serie B. And the "Serie A Seven Sisters," led by AC Milan, Juventus, Roma, and Lazio, also provided a lot of help to this newly formed team, lending many of the players from their teams who couldn't get game time to the Fiorentina team.

Due to the Italian Football Federation's and some Serie A teams' favoritism and care for Fiorentina, many Serie B teams were dissatisfied. Their reasoning was simple: If we were to be promoted from Serie C1 to Serie B, it would take at least a year of struggle. Why should Fiorentina Viola be able to easily obtain this qualification just because of the original club's reputation?

Because of this, Fiorentina was ostracized in Serie B. Many teams were particularly enthusiastic when playing against them, and there were often injury-causing moves in the competition. They would unceremoniously "beat a dog in the water" whenever they had the chance. This is one of the reasons why Fiorentina has been in Serie B for two seasons and still hasn't been promoted to Serie A. Of course, their own lack of strength and failure to live up to the expectations of the Italian Football Federation is also a very important reason.

The team's players include players from the second-tier squads of Ancona, Reggina, Bologna, and Catania, as well as players from amateur teams such as Alianese, Gubbio, and Montevarchi, who hope to enter the professional football world through Fiorentina. Although their levels vary, they all have one thing in common: they don't care about salary—in fact, Fiorentina at the time was simply unable to pay salaries—and they fight with a passion and a drive, even though they have just put on the purple jersey. They feel honored to have the opportunity to wear this jersey of a team with a long history.

The current captain of the team, Angelo Di Livio, is a person whom Zhang Jun respects very much. When the team was relegated from Serie A to Serie B, they needed to prove that the team had the ability to pass the Serie B registration qualification check. It was Di Livio who took the team's salary receipts to Milan to prove that the team's financial situation was not so bad, but the final result was still that the team was not qualified to participate in Serie B. When they were relegated to Serie C2 due to bankruptcy, everyone left, but only he stayed. This former Italian international would rather take a Serie C salary in the new team than go to other Serie A teams. He is respected by everyone on the team and is the team's true spiritual leader.

Zhang Jun respects him because of his loyalty, which reminds him of the God of War Batistuta, who announced his retirement at the beginning of last year. Similarly, when the team was relegated, many stars and former teammates left, but Batistuta stayed and, relying on his own strength, led Fiorentina back to Serie A a year later.

This situation is somewhat similar to his now. As the most famous player in the team, he is also highly expected to lead the team to a successful promotion like Batistuta, just as he said at the press conference yesterday.

Before Zhang Jun came, the team's new God of War was their number 9 center forward, Christian Rigano. He has excellent physical qualities and heading ability, and wearing the number 9 jersey, he does have the shadow of his predecessor Batistuta in some ways. This current top scorer of the team was discovered by Della Valle in the Serie C1 team Lallanto. He has played in many amateur teams and semi-professional teams. In Fiorentina, he has now scored a total of forty-eight goals for the team and is the team's top scorer. When he first arrived in Florence, he was already twenty-eight years old, and now he is over thirty. He is truly a late bloomer.

Zhang Jun had never heard of this attacking partner of his before. Later, he asked Li Yan and learned that there was such a person. Since they would be partners in the future, Zhang Jun felt it was necessary to have a good relationship with Rigano. After all, they were partners, not rivals.

As for the other teammates, he only knew their names and couldn't match the names to their faces, let alone understand them. He could only wait for the training this morning to have them introduced to him one by one.

※※※

Seeing that Zhang Jun was a little nervous, Mondonico patted him on the back: "Don't worry, they're all easy to get along with. This is Florence, and it's very different from the giants AC Milan. Go in and say hello to your teammates." He pointed to the locker room door in front of them.

Zhang Jun nodded, then reached out and gently pushed open the door. More than twenty teammates in the locker room appeared before him, and hearing the door open, they all turned to look at him. He hardly knew any of them, not even the most senior captain, Di Livio. Zhang Jun couldn't even call out his name. He remembered how he looked when he first entered the Milan locker room, so he bowed to everyone in the room at the door: "Hello everyone! I'm your new teammate, my name is Zhang Jun, I'm Chinese. I've been loaned from AC Milan to Fiorentina. I also like this team very much, and I hope to get along well with everyone and work together to get Fiorentina promoted to Serie A!"

He had memorized this speech countless times last night, and today he was finally able to say it fluently. The result was not what he had hoped for, but it was also what he had expected: the reaction was not enthusiastic. Most people glanced at him and then turned to their own business. Only a few people came up to greet him, including the captain Di Livio, while one of those who ignored him was his future partner, Christian Rigano.

Perhaps thinking that Zhang Jun would feel embarrassed, Di Livio grabbed Zhang Jun's hand and comforted him: "Don't worry, you're just not familiar with them yet. Once you get to know them, you'll see their interesting side."

Zhang Jun smiled and didn't take his teammates' attitude to heart: "Thank you, Captain. I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me. That's what I think too, we'll naturally understand each other over time."

"That's good. Also, don't call me Captain here, just call me Angelo. Let me introduce you to your teammates." He pulled Zhang Jun to a tall and strong man and said to Zhang Jun, "Christian Rigano, our number 9 center forward, the top scorer. You can call him Christian, or you can call him 'Bull,' but don't call him 'New God of War,' he hates it when people call him that."

Zhang Jun could imagine that Rigano would be a power forward, but he was still taken aback when he saw his physique. From his bare upper body, he was almost all muscle. He was about one meter ninety-one tall and weighed about eighty-six kilograms. No wonder he was called "Bull."

"Hello, I'm Zhang Jun, I hope you can take care of me in the future." He held out his hand to shake hands with Rigano.

But Rigano didn't appreciate it. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and didn't intend to shake hands with Zhang Jun, and looked at Zhang Jun with a disdainful look: "I heard you came here because you couldn't make it in Milan?"

This should be considered a provocation, right? Zhang Jun thought. For a moment, he wanted to retort in a tough tone, which was also his old style. But only for a moment, he suppressed the anger in his heart and just shook his head with a wry smile: "What you hear is always unreliable. As for whether I came here because I couldn't make it, won't it be clear on the field, Mr. Christian?" He didn't take back his outstretched hand, but stubbornly placed it in front of Rigano.

The locker room suddenly became quiet, and the atmosphere became a little awkward. Di Livio on the side had to use the authority of the captain: "Christian, is this how you greet new teammates?" He didn't call Rigano "Bull," but directly called him by his name, obviously dissatisfied with Rigano's attitude.

Even if Rigano scored a lot of goals on the field, he wouldn't dare to have any opinions on Di Livio. Although unwilling, he still reached out and shook hands with Zhang Jun: "Hello, I'm Christian Rigano. You can call me 'Christian' or you can call me 'Bull.'"

"Hello, Bull." Zhang Jun felt that Rigano's hand was obviously exerting force. He didn't guard against it and was pinched painfully as a result. In front of so many people, he couldn't embarrass himself by crying out, so he frowned and replied through gritted teeth.

"Don't take it to heart, Zhang. Bull's temper is straightforward, just like his style of playing. He doesn't mean any harm." Di Livio laughed, and pulled Zhang Jun to meet the next teammate. Zhang Jun turned his head back and looked at Rigano again. He crossed his arms in front of his chest again, looking at him with the same look as before.

This interesting person! Zhang Jun gently shook his hand, which was sore from being squeezed, and shook his head with a smile.

"This is Sebastian Cejas, our main goalkeeper, who transferred from Newell's Old Boys in Argentina last season."

"Hello, Cejas."

"Hello, call me Sebastian, Chinese boy."

"Eyke Bismark, from Ghana, a defender."

"Hello, Eyke."

"Hello, Zhang."

"Luis Helguera, a defensive midfielder. He's the younger brother of Ivan Helguera, who plays for Real Madrid." Di Livio added.

"Really? I'm a Real Madrid fan!" Zhang Jun asked excitedly to the Spaniard who looked very much like Ivan Helguera in front of him.

Helguera scratched his head embarrassedly: "I'm far worse than Ivan. Hello, call me Luis."

"Hello, Luis. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhang Jun really didn't expect to meet someone here who was related to a Real Madrid starting player.

"Manuel Guzzo, a defender."

"Hello, Manuel!"

"Hello."

"Alessandro Lucarelli."

"Christian Maggio."

"Roberto Ripa."

"Marco Andreotti."

"Matthieu Bochu."

"Christian Manfredini, he's on loan from Lazio."

"The team's core playmaker, Riccardo Maspero."

"Massimo Caccioni, a forward."

"Michele Cossato."

……

Di Livio introduced them one by one, and Zhang Jun went up to greet them one by one. He felt that the forwards were the ones who had the coldest attitude towards him, perhaps because he had come to steal their jobs.

Half an hour later, after finally finishing the introductions, Di Livio took Zhang Jun to a locker and said to him: "This locker is yours. You can put your clothes and shoes in here." It looked like it had been prepared a long time ago, because the locker contained his training clothes.

"Now, change your clothes and prepare for training." Di Livio took out the purple training clothes and handed them to Zhang Jun.

Zhang Jun took the jersey and saw the lily team logo on it, and below it was the team's founding year: 1926. This year, it was exactly eighty years.

※※※

Because there was a Serie B match in three days, Mondonico mainly conducted physical training for the players returning from vacation, striving to restore their physical fitness as much as possible. In Serie B, tactics and technology are actually secondary, and physical fitness and physicality are the key.

At first, Zhang Jun followed the training and didn't adapt very well. Such frequent physical training made him feel resistant. But he soon realized his current situation. If he wanted to succeed in Florence, he had to adapt to the style of Serie B, even if it meant changing himself. Thinking this way, he participated in the physical training with great dedication, no matter how unwilling he was.

Mondonico said to his assistant Gianni Bortoletto with satisfaction: "Zhang's foundation is very good. Maybe he will be able to adapt to the style of Serie B soon."

"Are you still insisting on letting him start in the game on the seventh?" Bortoletto asked.

"No, I've changed my mind." Mondonico thought of the scene in the locker room. To get the players to accept this striker from AC Milan, it seemed that he needed some time and opportunity. "Our opponent is Palermo, who was relegated from Serie A. They are very strong. I think it's a good opportunity to use them as Zhang's touchstone. Whether Zhang is suitable for Florence or not, that game should show some clues."

"Thanks to him, the team's influence in China has increased by who knows how many percentage points." The club's director, Fabrizio Lucchesi, walked onto the field from outside. "I was just surrounded by ten Chinese reporters who insisted on hearing my opinion of Zhang. I understand why some teams are so keen on buying Asian players."

"Why are you here, Fabrizio?" Mondonico was a little surprised. As the director, Lucchesi didn't often come to the training ground.

"I'm here to see Zhang's performance. I can't always rely on written materials and data statistics to understand a new player. How is he, Mondo, how is his performance?"

"Apart from being a little restrained at the beginning because he wasn't familiar with his teammates, so far, he's performing normally. He can complete the training tasks I give him very well. I don't think this level of training will be a problem for him. The key is to see how he performs in the game. After all, Serie B and Serie A are very different."

"Well, I think everyone should be waiting for his performance in three days. Not just us and the reporters, but also them." Lucchesi pointed to the players training on the field.

※※※

After three days of training, Zhang Jun was able to adapt to the team's training. This period of crazy physical training had indeed benefited him a lot. Due to the various worldly affairs in the last two months in Milan, his training was not very systematic, and his physical reserves were almost exhausted. His physical fitness was not very good. When he came to Florence, he was worried that his physical fitness would hinder his performance. Now, after a period of cramming, he felt much better.

In tomorrow's home game against Palermo, he will not be a starter, but a substitute. Zhang Jun thought this was normal. The coach must want him to adapt to the atmosphere of Serie B first, and see how Serie B football is played and what the difference is from Serie A. If he doesn't figure these things out first, it would be a small matter to make a fool of himself by going up rashly, but it would be a big deal to ruin his debut and affect the coach and teammates' trust in him.

The current Zhang Jun doesn't care about being a starter as soon as he arrives in Florence. He values everything about the situation when he plays, including his physical condition and mental state. Either he will be a substitute first, and when he plays, it must be when he is ready for everything.

Tomorrow, he will face a completely unfamiliar league. Can he survive and succeed in this league? Zhang Jun doesn't know now, but he is sure of one thing: even if Serie B is hell for him, he must succeed here. Because he has no way to retreat now.