Chapter 1 Zhang Jun's Goal Drought

Zhang Jun's streak of scoring in every league match had finally come to an end. However, it wasn't due to a clash of impenetrable defenses and unstoppable offenses, but rather because he inexplicably hit the goalposts four times in ninety minutes, with three shots hitting the uprights and one slamming against the crossbar.

As the match was drawing to a close, Zhang Jun received the ball in front of the penalty area, turned smoothly, and unleashed a beautiful curling shot towards the far corner of the goal. The goalkeeper had already given up, watching helplessly as the ball…

…struck the post.

A crisp sound, and a wave of sighs from Veronica. Zhang Jun stood on the spot, hands on his head in regret. Because of his missed shot, Volendam was held to a draw at home by Willem II Tilburg.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the match, Zhang Jun exhaled heavily. So be it, so be it. Seventeen goals in twelve league matches – already a Dutch Super League record. Last year, it took him an entire season to score twenty-two goals, and this year, after only twelve league matches, he was only five goals away. This was undoubtedly a glorious achievement and a popular topic of discussion among fans, but for Zhang Jun, it was also an immense burden. Every time he stepped onto the field, he would think, "I must score, I must score," and playing football like that was truly exhausting.

Let this record end, let it end. People would no longer talk about whether Zhang Jun could score in the next match, whether he could continue the streak. He could finally play his own football, one that didn't belong to the football critics or the boring records.

On November 23rd, Volendam drew with Willem II at home, and Zhang Jun's almost frenzied goal-scoring storm finally subsided.

On December 4th, Volendam faced Roosendaal at home. Zhang Jun still didn't score, but he contributed two assists, and Herna's two goals led the team to a clean and decisive 2-0 victory.

On December 7th, at the Amsterdam Arena, Volendam's surprising fourteen-match unbeaten streak finally came to an end. Their conquerors were Ajax. 0-3, another clean and decisive defeat. Zhang Jun's performance in the match was mediocre, and he was substituted off in the sixty-fifth minute of the second half, still without a goal.

After the match, Volendam also dropped out of the top three in the league standings, falling to fifth place. Many media outlets believed that the impact of the summer transfer saga was finally showing, and that Zhang Jun would gradually decline.

How would Zhang Jun respond to these skeptical voices?

On December 14th, in the fifteenth round of the league, at home against AZ Alkmaar, Zhang Jun silenced all those who doubted him with a twenty-three-meter free kick. It was Zhang Jun's second free-kick goal in the league, a shot with perfect angle, speed, curve, and power. The arc the ball traced was as captivating as his smile after scoring.

After the match, a reporter commented: What kind of mentality supports him to keep scoring? And what kind of mentality allows him to show such a relaxed smile after scoring? If, at the beginning of the season, every powerful shot and every wild roar after scoring represented a protest, or even a demonstration, against Milan, then now, when you see him skillfully dribbling past defenders and scoring with a push shot, when you see him spreading his arms, closing his eyes, and listening to the cheers after scoring, we know that he is truly enjoying football, and the summer of 2003 is gradually receding from him, and a true Zhang Jun is emerging. Whether he continues to score or not, it is enough as long as he continues to play on the field with a smile.

Oh, and one more thing: never doubt him.

※※※

Yang Pan was recalled to the first team after only a month in the reserve team, because as the league progressed, the stamina of the older players in the team gradually became a problem, including Nervo. In addition, Yang Pan's performance in the reserve team was so outstanding, with two goals and four assists, that Mazzone couldn't ignore him. He was recalled to the first team in late November, and although he wasn't included in the squad for the home defeat against Roma on November 23rd or the away draw against Reggina on November 30th, Yang Pan had a feeling that Mazzone understood his abilities, and that his chance to play was not far away.

Sure enough, on December 7th, for the home match against Ancona, Yang Pan was selected for the eighteen-man squad. This news excited the Chinese media, who had been feeling down for two months. But this time, no one dared to assume that Yang Pan would play. The media remained cautious about him actually getting on the field.

From the first half alone, it was a perfect match. An own goal in the third minute and a close-range shot by Nervo in the twenty-seventh minute gave the home team a 2-0 lead. Nervo scored his third goal of the season, and was still in good form. It seemed that as long as Yang Pan was on the bench, he had endless energy. When Nervo scored, the camera focused on Yang Pan on the bench again, hoping to capture some unique news. But they were disappointed. Yang Pan immediately threw off the towel in his hands and jumped up to cheer for the goal.

※※※

Yi Lan watched Yang Pan cheering for his competitor's goal on TV, and she didn't know what to say.

He's your competitor! Idiot, I don't know what he's thinking!

Yi Lan suddenly woke up. Why am I worrying about him?

※※※

During halftime, Nervo was praised by Mazzone, and he was very humble, but he still couldn't hide his pride. "Hey! Don't pretend, Carlo. Your competitor is still warming up outside!" Locatelli nudged Nervo and said softly.

"..."

※※※

Yang Pan wanted to play, but he couldn't express it. He knew that as a newcomer, he wasn't qualified to make any demands of the head coach. One should be low-key. Traditional Chinese ideas were deeply rooted in his heart.

But as a young man, having impulses in his heart that he couldn't vent would ruin his health.

"Bang!"

The football slammed into the advertising board behind the goal, poor advertising board.

※※※

At the beginning of the second half, captain Signori scored another goal, extending the lead to three goals with a shot in the penalty area. The match seemed to be heading in a wonderful direction.

Of course, that was before the opponent scored two goals in ten minutes.

Only the visiting team's fans cheered in the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, while the home fans were silent. Ancona's two goals in ten minutes gave them hope of forcing a draw away from home.

Bologna was in a bad situation for the next fifteen minutes. It was obvious that Nervo had given it his all, and with less than fifteen minutes left in the match, Mazzone finally decided to substitute him.

"Yang Pan, go warm up." The translator relayed the coach's words.

"Yes!" Yang Pan stood up excitedly, then quickly took off his jacket and ran to the sideline to warm up.

Taking advantage of a break in play, the camera focused on Yang Pan warming up on the sideline, and the meaning was clear: Yang Pan was finally going to play!

The Chinese reporters in the press box were excited, and they quickly typed on their laptops or wrote in their notebooks: "In the thirty-first minute of the second half, Yang Pan stood up from the bench, he quickly took off his jacket, he knew that there wasn't much time left for him..."

With ten minutes left in the match, Yang Pan walked to the point where the midfield line intersected the sideline. Mazzone pulled the translator aside and gave him a final reminder: "Defend aggressively!"

Nervo desperately made a sliding tackle to save the ball, but the ball still went out of bounds. The reason he didn't want the ball to go out was because he saw Yang Pan standing on the sideline. Everyone knew who he would replace.

Sure enough, the fourth official raised the board: number 7 in, number 21 out.

Nervo got up from the ground and slowly walked towards the sideline, also hugging Signori on the side. His actions "earned" him boos from the Ancona fans – they all thought Nervo was deliberately delaying the game.

He high-fived Yang Pan, then went off the field, put on the jacket handed to him by a staff member, and sat on the bench to rest. Mazzone turned his head and said to him: "Well done, Carlo!"

Yang Pan ran two steps and came to the place where the throw-in would be taken. He was finally on, he was finally on! The grass of the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, the grass of the Serie A league!

Ancona's throw-in, Yang Pan stepped forward to interfere, but the opponent threw the ball directly into the penalty area, and Bologna's center-back Zanchi headed the ball out, right towards Yang Pan.

Is he going to touch the ball so soon?

Yang Pan planned to stop the ball with his chest, but the ball stopped three meters away, and was taken by the opponent again. There was a burst of exclamations from the stands. Fortunately, the opponent's long shot went over the crossbar.

Signori clapped his hands and gestured to Yang Pan that it was nothing, don't take it to heart.

Yang Pan nodded vigorously.

※※※

"Does that idiot also get nervous?" Yi Lan muttered to herself in front of the TV.

"After all, it's his first Serie A match, it's not normal if he's not nervous." Dad replied from the side.

※※※

Yang Pan's second touch was a tackle, which he kicked the ball out of the sideline. This time, his performance won the applause of the home fans, and everyone generously offered encouragement to this Chinese lad who was making his debut.

Immediately afterwards, Bologna launched a counterattack, and they kept the ball up to the opponent's penalty area. Unfortunately, Locatelli's cross was intercepted, and Ancona immediately launched a counterattack. At this time, there were only three people in Bologna's backfield, including the goalkeeper, and Ancona's quick counterattack could directly face the goalkeeper with three or two passes.

The moment Locatelli lost the ball, Yang Pan began to run backwards. He anticipated that the opponent would launch a counterattack, and it was likely to be on the right flank. Bologna's right back had gone up to assist and had not yet returned to defense, and there was a large gap there.

Sure enough, the opponent passed long to the left flank, and forward Ganz quickly stepped in to chase the ball. At this time, Yang Pan's speed had already increased.

The ball landed and bounced forward very high. Ganz decided to wait for the ball to land again and stop it with his chest. But he didn't know that Yang Pan was only two meters away from him at this time...

Only two meters.

The Bologna half was close to the Ancona bench. At this time, the Ancona substitutes were loudly reminding Ganz to pay attention to the back, but their reminders were all drowned out by the exclamations of the home fans.

The football landed, Ganz slightly spread his arms, jumped slightly, and prepared to catch the ball with his chest and head raised.

Yang Pan sprinted forward and jumped up in high-speed motion.

Ganz felt a gust of wind pass by him, and a figure jumped in the air, stopping the football with his chest high above him! He only saw the number on the back, the big "7".

Ten point five seconds. Seeing this scene, Nervo on the sidelines couldn't help but think of this phrase.

Yang Pan, who landed on the ground, didn't dare to be negligent and kicked the ball out of bounds. He didn't know that Ganz was completely stunned in place and didn't come up to force him. He could have stopped the ball and turned around to decide his next move.

The Stadio Renato Dall'Ara erupted with huge cheers and applause, all dedicated to Bologna's number 7, Yang Pan! The audience cheered for Yang Pan's wonderful back-up aerial interception!

"Amazing speed, he ran almost fifty meters in the blink of an eye! Maybe this Chinese kid can run faster than the ball!" The commentator roared.

※※※

Defend aggressively.

Yang Pan took a breath, he had only been on the field for a few minutes, and he was already panting, still nervous. But...

He took a deep breath, and his heart gradually calmed down, much better than when he first came on the field.

The match was about to end, but Yang Pan had unknowingly become a right back. His speed, his quick turns, his tackles, and his headers, made it difficult for the opponent to find any way to attack on his side. He was a truly qualified right back.

But Yang Pan didn't like it, his desire for attacking was far greater than his desire for defending.

As the match was about to end, the opponent pressed almost all of their players over the halfway line, eager to equalize the score.

Yang Pan successfully intercepted the ball on the right side of the penalty area. He looked up to find someone, but saw that all his teammates had returned to defend, and there was no one in front.

The situation didn't allow him to think any more, and an opponent rushed up aggressively.

Are you bullying me because I'm a rookie? The gap between your legs is so big! Yang Pan pushed the ball with the inside of his foot, and the ball went through the opponent's legs. At the same time, Yang Pan accelerated and bypassed the defender. Nutmeg! Pass the man and the ball!

"Yang Pan is dribbling the ball along the sideline! He's very fast! Ancona's defenders are desperately returning to defense!"

Bologna's fans cheered loudly. Bringing the ball to the opponent's half was the safest defense. And Yang Pan, who had been on defensive duties all the time, finally broke out once. After all, he was a right midfielder.

However, dribbling speed was always inferior to running without the ball, and the distance between the defender and Yang Pan was shortening. Yang Pan glanced at his teammates, who hadn't caught up yet. He was too fast... He decided to slow down.

"Yang Pan stopped the ball behind him, he made a sudden stop!"

The defender couldn't brake in time and rushed past, but he quickly pounced back. Everyone thought the two would be entangled in a fight, right? Signori ran while reaching out for the ball, but Yang Pan flicked the ball behind him, turned around and rushed past again!

"Another breakthrough! Yang Pan, who came on as a substitute, seems to have endless energy!"

Pass or shoot? This was the question now facing Yang Pan. The angle after his breakthrough was not off, and there was a good angle for shooting. Passing could fully show his unselfishness, but if he shot, once he scored, he would...

Yang Pan glanced at the goalkeeper, who seemed to be hesitating on this issue as well, because his position was a bit off-center.

Okay, shoot!

The football bounced up, Yang Pan's left foot firmly stepped on the side, and his right foot exploded towards the football like gunpowder in a cannon!

The moment Yang Pan swung his leg, the goalkeeper thought he was going to cross, but as soon as he tried to shift his weight, he saw the football rushing straight towards the near corner of the goal! He hurriedly exerted force in the opposite direction, lunged sideways, and then used both hands to punch this powerful shot out of the baseline!

So dangerous!

What a pity!

Exclamations and sighs on the stand rang into one another.

Yang Pan scratched his hair in annoyance. He thought it was a sure goal, but the opponent blocked it. Italy was indeed different. Even the goalkeeper of a weak team could easily block his shot. It seemed that he would have to strengthen his shooting practice in the future.

"Yang Pan shot powerfully! Unfortunately, this twenty-four-meter long shot was saved by Ancona's goalkeeper! He missed the opportunity to score his first Serie A goal!"

Although Yang Pan didn't score this goal, he indirectly helped the team achieve the final victory. The corner kick was taken tactically. Bologna kept the ball firmly under their feet and dragged through the last minute.

The referee blew the whistle three times, and the whole game ended! Bologna finally ended their embarrassing eight-game winless streak! Since their 2-0 victory over Udinese at home on September 21, 2003, they had not won any games from September 28 to November 30. They had only won two games in twelve league matches.

It was a terrible start, but now everything was over. It wasn't just because they won the game, but more importantly, Mazzone discovered that Yang Pan was a player with excellent stamina, speed, and a balance of offense and defense. He could complete any tactical requirement. Whether it was a positional battle or a defensive counterattack, he would be a good player.

Which coach wouldn't like such a player?

After the match, Yang Pan and his teammates accepted the cheers of the fans on the sidelines. He raised his hands and applauded the stands, unaware that Mazzone's thoughts were changing.

For himself, it was his first appearance, and the team won the game, which felt good. But Yang Pan was no longer satisfied with this. He believed that it would be a success when he represented Bologna in the starting lineup. Currently, there was still a way to go to reach that goal, but it wouldn't be far away.

※※※

Yi Lan looked at Yang Pan on TV, and suddenly felt that this person wasn't so annoying anymore. At least now his expression could really captivate a lot of girls... Stop, Yi Lan! Don't fall for Dad's trick!

Yi Lan stood up: "I'm going to work."

"Huh?" Dad was a little strange, "Aren't you watching anymore? The broadcast hasn't ended yet..."

"No, the game is over, there's nothing to watch."

Looking at his daughter's back, Dad remembered that the last time he turned off the TV after the game, his daughter was angry for a long time. Now...

Hehe, he smiled.

※※※

"Yang Pan's Serie A Debut!" "The team wins, the Serie A debut, double happiness!" "Three Cheers for Yang Pan!" "Amazing high-speed chase back, ten minutes of perfect performance" "Yang Pan: Everything is just beginning."...

Don't get excited, these are all reports from the Chinese media. They almost treated Yang Pan's debut as a feast. They infinitely enlarged the short ten minutes and turned it into ninety minutes to report, even including Yang Pan's every touch of the ball and small actions such as wiping sweat and breathing on the court.

In short, they did everything they could to let Chinese fans know: Yang Pan played in Serie A! This was such a great event!

In fact, in Bologna, the post-match report only focused on the team's victory. When it came to individual players, Nervo's score was higher than Yang Pan's, because he scored a goal.

There was only one sentence about Yang Pan: This Chinese kid's performance in ten minutes won bursts of cheers from the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, but for him, for us, ten minutes is obviously too short.

That's all.

※※※

"Yang Pan, I heard you finally played in Serie A? Congratulations!"

"It's a pity it was only ten minutes." Yang Pan shrugged his shoulders while holding the phone.

"Don't say that! When we first started playing in the Dutch Super League, it seemed like it was only ten minutes! It will always get better, as long as you have a good start, hehe!"

"Hehe!" Yang Pan smiled. When did that kid learn to comfort people like this? It seemed that the Milan laboratory thing actually helped him. "You're in the Netherlands, you haven't scored in two rounds, right? You also stopped scoring in the Dutch Cup. Is it because you're not used to it without me passing the ball to you? Haha!"

"Don't be smug! Wen is working hard while wearing your jersey, and he's becoming more and more confident..."

Yang Pan realized that he would eventually be forgotten after leaving Volendam, just like Wen's outstanding performance. Even Zhang Jun has adapted to Wen's passes. He only stayed there for one season, like a passerby. Many years later, no one will remember the name and number of that passerby. But Zhang Jun was different. He refused the invitation of several major Dutch clubs and returned to Volendam, which in itself left a perfect impression on the people there. Then he returned and scored a series of crazy goals, and rescued the team from danger several times. Listen to the songs the fans wrote for him! "Zhang Jun Bless Volendam", they regard him as God. Zhang Jun will eventually leave, but his departure will be remembered forever in the hearts of the people there, engraved on the wall of Veronica.

"...Hey, Yang Pan, Christmas is coming soon. Serie A is taking a ten-day break, you should have a few days off, right? Why don't we go traveling?"

"Ah? Travel? Where to travel?" Yang Pan came back to his senses from his contemplation.

"Um, let me think... Let's go to England!"

"England? What's so fun there? It's rainy, cold and humid."

"Hehe! But there's football! I want to see what football in the birthplace of modern football looks like."

Sure enough, his mind is only filled with football... "Aren't you afraid of reporters? The paparazzi in England are not ordinary."

"Hehe, this time we won't tell anyone when we go out, and then we'll dress up, keep a low profile, and stay in a youth hostel. I believe no one will be able to recognize us. After all, in England, where they're not familiar with us, they see all Asians as having the same face."

"Okay, okay, you've convinced me. I'll call you when I decide."

※※※

On December 14th, Yang Pan sat on the bench during Bologna's 0-2 defeat against Inter Milan at home, but he didn't play. He could only watch the team lose again after just winning a game, powerless.

On December 21st, the last game before Christmas, Bologna challenged Siena away from home. This time Mazzone gave Yang Pan twenty-five minutes and didn't ask him to "defend actively", but to "attack proactively", because the score was 0-0 when he was preparing to play. With twenty-five minutes left in the match, whoever scored a goal would break the balance on the field.

Unfortunately, Yang Pan's performance was mediocre. Playing on the right flank, he had few opportunities to shoot from long range, and his breakthroughs and crosses couldn't create scoring opportunities for his teammates. He was a bit too one-dimensional.

The two sides finally drew 0-0.

The last game before the New Year was over, and what awaited them next was the New Year's holiday. After a year of hard work, it was time to relax!