Chapter 124 The Captain's Responsibility

In the next round of league matches, Fiorentina achieved two consecutive victories, but Zhang Jun didn't score, although he had one assist.

Not to mention Sabato, even Zhang Jun felt awkward. Wearing the captain's armband, he was always thinking about responsibility and didn't dare to play his best. He was trying to be a qualified captain, just as Li Yan had said, and he discovered that being a captain was not something anyone could do casually.

In short, he felt that he was not suitable to be the captain right now.

※※※

After driving around in a circle and dropping off Krew and Xiang Tao at their respective homes, he returned to his own home, exhausted. He used to hate the media, but now that he was the captain, he had to face them, and they always had many bizarre questions.

Day after day, Zhang Jun felt physically and mentally exhausted.

Back home, Sophie was already waiting for him. Sophie was now nominally a journalist stationed in Florence, but she actually had very little to do. Even Li Yan said to her, "You're guarding a Fiorentina captain, where else do you need to go for interviews?" Sophie only needed to submit some photos of Zhang Jun from time to time.

To be precise, Sophie had already cooked dinner and was waiting for him. Sophie was no longer the girl who couldn't cook.

As soon as Zhang Jun entered the house, he threw himself on the sofa, not wanting to move. Sophie went over and sat next to him, "Dinner's ready."

Zhang Jun waved his hand, "I don't want to eat right now."

Sophie took his hand, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Jun stared at the ceiling, "Tired, mentally tired."

Sophie didn't say anything, just looked at him.

Zhang Jun got up and hugged Sophie, resting his head on her cheek, and said softly, "I still don't understand why Di Livio gave me the captain's armband in the first place. I have no prestige, can't control people, and I have to worry about this and that every day... it's really tiring."

"What do you have to worry about?" Sophie asked.

Zhang Jun released Sophie and then waved his hands in a large circle in the air, "Too much! The relationship between players, I'm afraid there will be conflicts between them. The relationship between players and the coach, you know what our coach's temper is like, no one can guarantee that the person he scolds won't get angry. I also have to deal with those media, being pulled by them every day to ask this and that. Krew still can't integrate into the team, he can't speak Italian, and his personality isn't as outgoing as Xiang Tao, I'm really worried about what he'll do without me..."

Sophie chuckled, "Listen to you... it's like you're his dad!"

Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head awkwardly, "He's younger than me, and I was the one who persuaded him to come to the Chinese national team, and now he's come to Florence, and he's only a little closer to me, so I have to be responsible for him, right? If not his dad, then I can be his brother."

Sophie smiled at Zhang Jun, "Being a captain for more than a month is still very useful, Zhang Jun."

Zhang Jun was taken aback, not understanding what Sophie meant.

"You've also learned to take care of others, to think for others, and you think it's natural. Isn't this the change after you became the captain? You always made us worry before, but now you're starting to worry about others."

Zhang Jun was discouraged, "Was I really that bad before?"

Sophie didn't answer, just covered her mouth and smiled.

"Okay, okay. Even if I'm more responsible as captain, it's also affecting my performance on the field. I think I've been performing very poorly recently..."

"Four league matches, two Italian Cups, you scored four goals, assisted twice, shot a total of forty times, twenty-eight shots on target, committed eleven fouls, and were fouled twenty-one times. Currently, you're second on the Serie A top scorer list, only one goal behind Adriano, who scored a hat-trick in the last round." Sophie "recited" all this, stared at Zhang Jun, and blinked her beautiful eyes, "Zhang Jun, do you think these statistics are very bad?"

"You really deserve to be a journalist..." Zhang Jun rolled his eyes weakly, "...those numbers can't represent my personal feelings, I feel like I'm playing with a lot of pressure on my back."

Sophie straightened her posture, looked at Zhang Jun, and then said very seriously to him, "Zhang Jun, did you always think that you were simply playing football for the sake of playing football?"

"Huh?"

"You're in the Netherlands, in Italy, but you're not in China, you don't understand the situation in China. I've been in China for so many years, I know very well. Ever since you started scoring goals in the Netherlands, people have seen you as the hope of Chinese football, and some even think you're a savior. Countless people are crazy about you, when I was in school I often heard girls talking about you, and the boys who played football took you and Yang Pan as idols to imitate, even the university football league used you as a promotional slogan, the news media reported your movements every day... I feel like some readers seem to know you better than I do..."

Zhang Jun clicked his tongue, "Is it so exaggerated?"

"It's not exaggerated at all. Everyone thinks you play well, you're not ugly, and you're very sunny, so they all like you. It can be said that you've been under a lot of pressure since you started playing football in the Netherlands. When you perform well, everyone cheers, when you perform poorly, they sigh, hoping you'll get back on your feet as soon as possible, the media are just externalizing the pressure that so many people in China are putting on you. You hate what the media does, but frankly speaking, it's precisely because so many people in China are putting it on you, if you weren't famous, if you didn't play well, who would care about you?"

"Think about it, which of the world's famous stars isn't in the spotlight, playing with heavy pressure on their backs? Zhang Jun, you're already a star, whether you like it or not, you have to carry this pressure. I think being a captain is a very good training opportunity because it forces you to mature. Not to say it, Zhang Jun, you're too lazy, you're not proactive enough in many things. After becoming the captain, there are many people watching you from behind, you can't help but be proactive. If you think that way, you won't feel that pressure is a burden, and pressure isn't without its benefits, at least it can make people grow."

"Also, you don't have to be so averse to the news media, you have a good relationship with Li Yan, right? It actually depends on your attitude. Although the media is really annoying sometimes, if you smile at them, they can't be too harsh on you. It's not easy being a journalist either, if you cooperate a little, make their lives a little easier, they won't be as difficult with you as they are now. And, you can completely imagine the journalists as me, hee hee!" Sophie made a face.

Zhang Jun hadn't interrupted her while she was talking so much, he had been listening quietly until he saw Sophie's face.

"What you said... seems to make some sense. Li Yan is the person I trust the most, but he's a journalist, you're my wife, but you're also a journalist... actually, my relationship with the media was pretty good at the beginning, I'd even say hello after training... when did it start to become like this?"

"Alright, alright. Don't think about this kind of thing, let's eat, just talking with you took more than half an hour, the food's getting cold." Sophie got up, but Zhang Jun stopped her.

"You rest, I'll heat it up."

Sophie gently shook off Zhang Jun's hand, "No need, the microwave is very convenient, you should go take a shower first."

Zhang Jun suddenly felt that having one more person in the house was like changing the world. When he got home, someone was waiting for him, someone heated up the food when it was cold, someone washed the clothes when they were dirty... that feeling was great.

He got up to change clothes, and when he reached the stairs, he suddenly remembered something, and he asked Sophie loudly in the kitchen, "Sophie, you said that you often heard girls talking about me when you were in school, were you jealous at that time?"

Sophie's voice came from the kitchen, "Idiot! Which girl doesn't want her boyfriend to be the best? The most popular? Did you want them to hate you? What am I jealous of?"

"Really? You weren't jealous at all? Oh, don't you love me anymore? Don't you really love me anymore?" Zhang Jun complained loudly, imitating Zhao Benshan's tone.

"Go to hell! Wash the dishes after dinner!"

Sure enough, she was still jealous...

※※※

As soon as Di Livio came in the morning, he found Sabato, "I thought about it all night yesterday, maybe I should have a good talk with Zhang Jun and listen to his opinions. I admit that I was a little wishful thinking at the beginning, and I didn't consider Zhang Jun's feelings at all."

Sabato looked at him, "I also wanted to talk to him, but obviously you're more suitable than me. If the captain's problem isn't resolved, we won't go far. The team's cohesion is because you're here now, but I hope that in the future the team's cohesion will come from their captain, not us coaches."

※※※

Zhang Jun changed his clothes in the locker room and was about to go out with Krew and Xiang Tao when he found that Donadel was still dawdling. Everyone else had left, and he hadn't packed up yet.

Xiang Tao bounced around, checking whether his shoelaces were tied tightly, and then said to Zhang Jun, "Let's go."

Zhang Jun looked at the somewhat unusual Donadel, and then said to Xiang Tao, "You and Krew go first, I'm not ready yet."

Xiang Tao looked at Zhang Jun, who was fully dressed from head to toe. What else wasn't he ready for? Krew pulled Xiang Tao's clothes, "Let's go." Then he dragged Xiang Tao out.

After Krew closed the door from the outside, Zhang Jun sat next to Donadel, "Marco, is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Uh, nothing... no, actually I do have something I want to talk to you about. That... we're going to play AC Milan away in three rounds, I wanted to ask you, um, do you have any thoughts?"

"Thoughts? Yes, although it's an away game, we can't lose to them. Fiorentina has won more than they've lost when facing AC Milan."

"Is that so..." Donadel murmured.

"What's wrong, Marco? You don't seem normal." Zhang Jun asked with concern.

"Um... I grew up in Milan since I was a kid, and it feels weird to go back this time."

"What are you thinking? Didn't you go back as an opponent last season?" Zhang Jun understood the reason for Donadel's abnormal behavior.

"But I was on loan last season, but this season is different, I've transferred here. Do you know what that means? AC Milan abandoned me!" Donadel's voice rose a notch.

※※※

Xiang Tao shook off Krew's hand, "Don't drag me, I'm not a shopping cart in a supermarket. Look at Zhang Jun, does he look like he's not ready? That excuse is too clumsy, he clearly wants to go on a date with that kid Donadel... ah, I'm getting goosebumps!"

Krew cursed at him, "Idiot, what do you know?"

"What? You dare to call me an idiot? I'm going to duel with you! A one-on-one duel! I'll tackle your legs and make you miss the whole season... hey, let go of me, I'm not a tow truck!"

Krew didn't care so much, he grabbed Xiang Tao's clothes and walked out.

※※※

Zhang Jun looked at Donadel, who was still complaining incessantly in front of him. What he said was mostly true.

He was an excellent product of AC Milan's youth training system, the captain of AC Milan's youth team, and was considered a promising defensive midfielder. With Baresi, Maldini, and Costacurta as role models, he also hoped to be promoted from the youth team to the first team, and then play for Milan until he retired. This was also the dream of many youth team players.

Retiring in a red and black jersey, being called a "loyalist," was indeed very tempting.

But reality was cruel.

AC Milan had a large number of stars who were in their prime, and there was no room for him to grow at all. So Donadel was loaned out everywhere, wandering around, spending a season here, half a season there. Lecce, Parma, Sampdoria, Serie A, Serie B, he had played in all of them.

He thought the team was training him, so he tried his best to prove himself and improve himself. He performed exceptionally well at Lecce and was a hero of the team's promotion. He thought he could go back to Milan, but waiting for him was Parma. He also gained trust at Parma and became a main midfielder, but unfortunately, after a season, he was loaned to Sampdoria, and then to Florence. But this time was slightly different, there was an extra clause in the loan agreement: Florence had the right of first refusal to buy him.

AC Milan finally lost patience after loaning their youth team captain to many places. This summer, the defensive midfielder, who had only played a few minutes for AC Milan a few years ago in a match against Parma, was permanently transferred.

"...Sampdoria was promoted, and the club loaned me there to show their relationship with Sampdoria and help the team gain a foothold in Serie A. Later, Florence came up, and the club loaned me here again to show their support for the old team. It's all about the friendship between the clubs, but what about us players? For the sake of the club's goals and interests, we're like vagrants, going from one place to another. I've been to so many cities, played for so many teams, but I haven't developed any feelings. Budel, Aliyu, *** Yang, Clayton... all of them were good players in the youth team! What about now? Only Budel and I are in Serie A, the others are either struggling in lower leagues or have completely given up on football. I know we're not big stars, we don't attract attention, people only talk about Pirlo, talk about Shevchenko and Kaka, but no one talks about us. Our interests are never within the club's scope of consideration... but they don't give us a suitable space, they don't give us a chance to play, how can we become the people the team needs? By loaning us out everywhere, how can we improve? Who doesn't want to become a star, but have they given us such an opportunity? We try our best to prove ourselves in small clubs, but the club officials only focus on those big stars from other teams..."

Not only their youth team, but in fact, many rising stars of their age had joined the red and black army in a glorious manner, but in the end, they could only leave in disappointment. Borriello, who had competed with Zhang Jun for a substitute position, was also loaned to Sampdoria by AC Milan this year for the reason of "maintaining good relations." You should know that in the summer of 2002, he was a rising star like Martins, and he was also a mainstay who scored goals in every game in the Italian youth team, a player on the same level as Gilardino. But now, Gilardino has a firm foothold as AC Milan's main striker, what about Borriello? How many people still remember him?

There was also Donati, who debuted at Atalanta. This Italian youth team's core midfielder joined AC Milan at a high price of ten million euros, but due to the lack of playing time, he was loaned out everywhere and gradually lost his agility and sharpness.

But this was not AC Milan's fault either, many big clubs' youth teams had this phenomenon. There were too many big-name stars in the first team, and the talents of the youth team could not develop. In addition to AC Milan, Manchester United and Real Madrid were also serious. The five Manchester United youth team tigers of the past were talked about with relish, but now no one has heard of any remarkable genius players coming out of Manchester United's youth training system, but people often hear that Ferguson has been blinded and bought many young people who are called geniuses but are not worthy of the name. As for Real Madrid, Pavin's lack of success also proved the failure of the "Zidane + Pavin policy" in youth training.

Donadel said a lot before he remembered that they still had to train, and he quickly apologized to Zhang Jun, "I'm sorry for ranting to you, I just thought that you and I came from Milan, and you're the captain, I hope you don't think I'm long-winded."

Hearing Donadel say "and you're the captain," Zhang Jun was touched. Donadel was also a taciturn person in the team, perhaps because of the factors he had just said, he must have been holding it in for a long time. Zhang Jun always felt that he was given this captain position by Di Livio, and he hadn't gained everyone's approval, he had no prestige, no trust, and he was doing a very poor job. But he didn't expect that someone still confided so much in him because he was the captain.

He suddenly had a sense of accomplishment.

There were still people who regarded him as the captain. Perhaps he wasn't doing as bad a job as he had imagined.

"Why would I think you're long-winded? I'm the captain, this is what I should do. Let's go, we should go out, I guess the coach is already impatient, ha!" Zhang Jun smiled and got up and walked towards the door, while Donadel lowered his head and quickly changed his clothes.

When he reached the door, Zhang Jun suddenly stopped, and then turned his head and said to Donadel, "I know you're dissatisfied with AC Milan, but don't bring this emotion into the game, and don't play with a vengeful mentality. It's just a very ordinary game, don't think too much."

Donadel looked at Zhang Jun somewhat puzzled.

"You know what? In the last game of last season, I didn't care who the opponent was when I came on, AC Milan or Inter Milan. We play football for ourselves, and it has nothing to do with who the opponent is. Also, don't keep things bottled up in the future, I see that you haven't been in a good mood lately. Keeping things bottled up can make you go moldy, if no one will listen, tell me."

There was a smile on Donadel's face, "Thank you, Captain."

※※※

The two of them were indeed late, and Sabato penalized them to run four laps before joining the training. Zhang Jun didn't argue and accepted the penalty calmly under the gaze of everyone. This made Donadel feel bad. Zhang Jun waved his hand, signaling him not to say anything. He treated the punishment as a warm-up, and from a different perspective, it wasn't a big deal.

The morning's training mainly focused on practicing some offensive routines against the next round's opponent, Udinese. Sabato asked Zhang Jun and Toni to switch positions back and forth appropriately, and cross left and right. And Krew's passing should be faster, minimizing dribbling, and focusing on the flanks. Fiorentina had two good wingers, it would be a waste not to use the flanks.

Zhang Jun performed normally.

During the training break, Sabato pulled Krew aside to explain the changes and precautions he needed to make on the Serie A stage. And Zhang Jun was called over by Di Livio.

"Is there anything you need, Captain?" Although he had retired, Zhang Jun still habitually called him captain.

Di Livio smiled, "Don't get it wrong, Zhang, you're the captain now." He wanted to test Zhang Jun's reaction.

Zhang Jun scratched his head embarrassedly, "It's just a habit."

Di Livio was a little surprised—he didn't show any aversion or unnaturalness. As a result, Di Livio didn't know how to talk to Zhang Jun. He thought that Zhang Jun would definitely show some degree of impatience with that sentence just now.

"Is there anything you need, Angelo?" Zhang Jun changed his words immediately.

"Uh... nothing important. I wanted to ask you how you feel after being the captain for more than a month. It's your first time being a captain."

Zhang Jun didn't realize that Di Livio was trying to get something out of him, and he told the truth, "Tiring, very tiring. I used to only care about myself when I was playing football, but now I have to care about others, and I have to deal with the media, and I have to chat with people after training, I feel like I'm not myself anymore."

He was indeed complaining, which further showed that he didn't actually want to be the captain. So what should I do? Should I advise him to give up temporarily, or should I encourage him to persevere? Di Livio was calculating rapidly in his heart.

"But... looking at it from a different perspective, it's not bad." Zhang Jun smiled, "Angelo, do you know? The reason why I was late for training just now was because I was chatting with Marco in the locker room."

Di Livio changed his attitude suddenly, and didn't react for a while.

"He felt that he was abandoned by Milan, and he was uncomfortable, and he hasn't been in a good mood lately because of this."

Di Livio nodded thoughtfully, "I see, he told you all about it?"

"Yeah, he ranted a lot. As the captain of AC Milan's youth team, he ended up having to leave Milan, and his family are all staunch Milan fans, so he's under a lot of pressure. But I think he should feel much better after saying it. This gives me a sense of accomplishment, really, Angelo. I was very touched when he said that he was telling me because I was the captain. I never thought that anyone would recognize me as the captain, I always thought I was doing a very poor job."

Di Livio laughed, "You've been doing a good job all along. Don't be so insecure about yourself. Zhang Jun, you always underestimate yourself and overestimate others, is that what you Chinese call 'modesty'?"

Zhang Jun smiled embarrassedly and didn't speak.

"It looks like you're doing well, so keep going like this. It's tiring, but don't you think that enjoying that sense of accomplishment is also a pleasure?" Without knowing when, Di Livio had thrown aside the things he had just calculated in his heart, and changed his tone to encourage Zhang Jun.

In fact, even he was surprised by Zhang Jun's sudden change. He didn't think that just talking to Donadel once could produce such a performance. He was a little curious, but he didn't want to ask.

But Zhang Jun took the initiative to speak, "Hehe, I'm really embarrassed, I used to be a little resistant to you letting me be the captain. But Sophie talked to me a lot last night, and I also think it's a good opportunity, and I believe I can do a good job."

"Sophie? Your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, she always supports me, and what she says always makes sense." Zhang Jun nodded, "Being the captain does put a lot of pressure on me, but who doesn't have pressure as a professional player? Donadel has pressure even if he's not the captain. I think, if I propose not to be the captain now, what will they think of me?" Zhang Jun looked at his teammates on the field, "Then I'd really be an out-and-out coward. A striker is a position that needs to be trusted by others, if I give up the captaincy, how can I gain their trust? Angelo, don't you think so?"

Di Livio looked at Zhang Jun and nodded, "You're surprising me more and more, Zhang Jun. I didn't make the wrong decision when I gave you the captain's armband."

Zhang Jun, who had returned to the field, quickly threw himself into training, while Di Livio also returned to Sabato's side.

"How is it? What did you guys say?" Sabato asked impatiently, he was very concerned about Zhang Jun's attitude.

Di Livio didn't answer his question directly, but just said to him, "Antonio, let's work hard to cultivate Zhang Jun into a core player, he's really a trustworthy young man."

※※※

When Zhang Jun returned home, Sophie had still prepared dinner and was waiting for him, and he didn't throw himself on the sofa and not want to move like yesterday, but instead hugged Sophie, who came to greet him, with a little excitement.

Although they were an "old married couple," it was rare to see this kind of enthusiastic hug without warning as soon as he entered the door. Zhang Jun had been in the West for so many years, but he still couldn't fully accept the set of hugging and kissing on the cheek that men and women had to do when they met.

So Sophie was very surprised, she touched Zhang Jun's forehead, and then touched her own, "You don't have a fever, do you?"

Zhang Jun rolled his eyes, put his arm around Sophie and sat down in the living room.

"I'm just happy. Do you know what, Sophie? Someone confided in me today! He treated me like a captain, and ranted a lot, and I didn't say anything, just listened. But I felt a great sense of accomplishment, I felt like I was really a captain! Haha!" Zhang Jun said excitedly.

Sophie looked at him with a smile, "Look at how happy you are..." He really looked like an elementary school student who had received a big red flower.

"When I heard him say 'Thank you, Captain,' I could hardly believe my ears. I used to say that to others, but it was the first time I heard someone say that to me. Being a captain, hehe, is really interesting. Later, Angelo came to me, and I told him that I didn't want to give up this armband, and he seemed very happy too, he must have been worried about me before."

Zhang Jun was particularly happy today, and Sophie was happy for him too. Zhang Jun didn't show it in the past few days, but Sophie could see that Zhang Jun was under a lot of pressure to be a captain. He didn't want to be, but he was afraid of betraying Di Livio's trust, and he was afraid of being called a coward by others. It was a terrible thing to say. But it was awkward to continue, and he was wronged. Now that he could figure it out, it was really the best thing.

Sophie clapped her hands, "Okay, to celebrate the first time you've been called captain, I'll give you an extra glass of wine today."

"You're making me sound so pathetic..."

"You're really pathetic, it's the first time you've received a big red flower. Be good—" Sophie touched Zhang Jun's head, just like a kindergarten teacher to a child.

Zhang Jun was also polite, and put his arm around Sophie's waist, putting his face on her abdomen, "Then give me some more rewards, just as a gift to the readers..."

Sophie changed the hand she put on Zhang Jun's head from touching to knocking, "You pervert, what are you thinking again?"

"It hurts!" Zhang Jun covered his head with both hands, "Nothing... you heard me wrong, I was just complaining that the reward of a glass of wine is too small, give me a big steak instead..."

"Hmph! I'm not going to pay attention to you! You're still washing the dishes after dinner!"

※※※

Zhang Jun washed the dishes honestly in the kitchen after dinner, while Sophie helped him out—in fact, all she did was put the washed dishes back into the disinfection cabinet.

"Sophie, your birthday is in two weeks." Zhang Jun said.

Sophie thought for a while, October 20th, which was a Sunday. "Yes, you have a game that day."

Zhang Jun stopped what he was doing, "I didn't even know if you didn't say so, what about it? Do you want me to give you a hat trick?" He turned around and looked at Sophie with a smile.

"...Fiorentina will be playing away that day, and the opponent is AC Milan..." Sophie didn't show a happy smile.

"...how could this be?" Zhang Jun was a little surprised, and then frowned. He wasn't stupid, and he wasn't impulsive enough to get another hat trick against AC Milan. The last hat trick was a desperate counterattack with no way out.

He wiped the last plate clean and handed it to Sophie, and then dried his hands. He put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the cabinet, "Sophie, you've been in Florence for two months, right? I haven't formally introduced you to my teammates yet, would you like to meet them?"

"Heh, I've already met them."

"When?" Zhang Jun was very surprised.

"Didn't I see them all when I went to your training ground to interview?" Sophie said with a smile.

"Ah... that doesn't count, I mean a formal introduction. I want to put your birthday and our birthday together, have a small party in our yard, invite my teammates, and of course, Yang Pan and the others. Let everyone have fun, and it will also increase the relationship between the teammates."

Sophie had no objection to Zhang Jun's arrangement. "Then we'll have to hire a chef, right? We'll have to prepare a few days in advance... we don't have so many glasses at home, and the kitchenware isn't enough..." She opened the cabinet and rummaged through it, as if people were coming over immediately.

Zhang Jun hugged her from behind, "Don't worry, don't worry. There's still plenty of time. As for the chef, I have someone in mind, do you remember who I was living with when I first arrived in the Netherlands?"

Sophie looked up at him, "Uncle Wang?"

"Right. His food is the most authentic in my opinion, and he told me himself that he regularly ships chili peppers and peppercorns from China. I want my teammates to taste authentic Chinese food, and I can't use those 'mutated varieties' that you can just eat on the street to fool them."

"That's great, I haven't seen Uncle Wang in a long time either."

"Hehe, I want to make the party a little more lively. We haven't celebrated our birthdays together in a long time." Zhang Jun lowered his head and put his chin on Sophie's shoulder, and said softly.

Sophie leaned her whole body back against Zhang Jun's solid chest, hooked her arms around Zhang Jun's neck, looked out the window, and murmured, "Yes, it's been five years..."

※※※

"This is Jorgensen's revenge battle!"

"Mr. Vegetable Price returns to his old place."

……

The locker room was a mess, Sabato had gone out, and everyone was chatting. Of course, the center of the discussion was the team's right winger—Martin Jorgensen.

"Hey, Martin, the outside world has already thrown out your gloves (the etiquette of knights' duels in medieval Europe, which can be considered a challenge), don't let them down!" Gasparoni shouted.

"Go! That's what the reporters made up themselves, I'm not thinking about revenge. I'm a professional player, this is just an ordinary game..." Jorgensen said seriously.

"You're talking nonsense again! I saw you reading those articles in the newspaper several times yesterday!" Xiang Tao shouted in his broken, poorly pronounced Italian.

"Haha!" Everyone laughed, even Jorgensen was no exception. This wasn't ridicule.

Zhang Jun saw all of Jorgensen's expressions, and he looked at Krew, who was silent on the side. Since Krew still couldn't speak Italian, although he could understand it, he always seemed out of place.

He rolled his eyes, and suddenly said loudly in the noisy environment, "Martin, Krew just told me that you're definitely going to score today, because he's going to assist you."

When these words came out, everyone looked at Krew, and Jorgensen was also very surprised. Krew's incompatibility was well known, and he had never been seen to take the initiative to show goodwill to anyone. In the team, saying that you're going to assist someone, and help them score, is something that only people with good relationships do.

But it was hard to believe that Krew would do this.

Krew was also slightly surprised when Zhang Jun mentioned him, and he looked at Zhang Jun, "Hey, when did I say that?" He used Chinese.

Zhang Jun smiled, "Just now." Then he turned to everyone and said, "Krew also said that we should severely teach the ungrateful Udinese a lesson!"

Because Krew couldn't speak Italian, Zhang Jun was his translator whenever he wanted to express an opinion. His identity as the captain made people not doubt whether he was lying, so everyone's eyes changed as they looked at Krew.

Xiang Tao, who knew the truth, was laughing so hard that his mouth was crooked. Zhang Jun was afraid that he would leak the secret, and he glanced at him quickly. Xiang Tao shouted loudly, "That's right! That's right! Krew said he wanted to assist Jorgensen. This kid usually hides so deeply, I didn't even see it!"

Everyone immediately became convinced that Krew was going to assist Jorgensen in scoring.

And Krew said to Zhang Jun helplessly, "Are you taking advantage of the fact that I can't speak Italian?"

Zhang Jun didn't say anything, just smiled, but his meaning was already very clear.

Sabato pushed the door open and came in. He looked at his watch and then said to everyone, "Alright! Guys, what needs to be said has been said, what needs to be practiced has been practiced. Although Udinese is at home, we must win! Give Udinese a game to remember! Let's go on the field!"

※※※

"The game has been going on for twenty minutes so far, and neither side has scored! Fiorentina is taking the initiative as the away team, and is now almost pressing Udinese to attack, but their luck is really bad. Zhang Jun's two shots have both gone just wide of the goal."

Zhang Jun waved helplessly at Krew, who had passed the ball to him. It seemed that he wasn't destined to score today.

The Friuli Stadium kept sounding boos as Fiorentina besieged Udinese. They thought that the visiting team, Fiorentina, was too arrogant.

Amidst the boos, Sabato was still asking the team to strengthen their attack. He was still not satisfied with this situation.

So what if it was someone else's home field? His Fiorentina had the strength to take the initiative as the away team and press others to attack!

Jorgensen was performing very actively. His breakthroughs on the right flank were frequently creating chances, and he also went to the middle a few times to switch positions with Krew. In addition, he had a few shots that were also quite threatening.

Zhang Jun felt that the protagonist of this game was not him, but Martin. He had consciously passed a few balls over, but Jorgensen was close to the side, and the scoring opportunities weren't good.

He remembered the promise he had made in Krew's name before the start of the game. He wondered if Krew would fulfill it himself? If he didn't fulfill it... then he would have a headache in the future. Zhang Jun shook his head, he had made a bet that he wasn't even sure about.

Would Krew give him face?

Krew had the ball, and he didn't seem to care about the situation on the field. He just kept