In the 14th minute, Saint-Étienne launched a razor-sharp counterattack and charged to the edge of Auxerre's penalty area. Unfortunately, their striker Gonzalo Bergessio lost his concentration just a little. When he looked up at the goal, he suddenly saw a sexy, sultry woman in the stands behind it pull open her clothes as he adjusted to shoot, leaving Gonzalo Bergessio on the verge of a nosebleed.
Auxerre's Mali international Adama Coulibaly seized the opportunity to dispossess Gonzalo, then passed sideways to captain Pedretti. Rather than hurry the ball forward, Pedretti took a couple of touches across the pitch and gave it to Zhang Kuang, who had dropped back to offer support.
Zhang Kuang received the ball with his back to goal, and Saint-Étienne's defensive midfielder Matuidi pressed up behind him-one of Ligue 1's best defensive midfielders, who later became a mainstay of the French national team. At the moment, though, he was only twenty-four, not yet that world-class beast of a holding midfielder, but already showing his edge and revealing his potential.
Matuidi's defensive style was of the "you can't shake me off" variety-his anticipation was exceptionally accurate, allowing him to cut off your receiving lanes ahead of time.
This time, he anticipated that Zhang Kuang would pass backward, so he moved a step to Zhang Kuang's left in advance.
But Zhang Kuang anticipated his anticipation. Zhang Kuang did not pass backward.
He nudged the ball sideways with his right foot and forced his way through a turn-a center-back was coming straight at him to double-team him.
Before they could close the trap, Zhang Kuang pulled the trigger from twenty-eight meters out.
"Bang-!!"
The sound of that shot made the fans in the front rows of the stands instinctively shrink back.
The ball whistled past Matuidi's ear, bending visibly inward as it curled beyond Saint-Étienne goalkeeper Janot's fingertips-Janot guessed the right direction and made the dive, but the angle was too vicious and the ball too fast. By the time he reached it, it had already flown into the net.
1-0.
"GOOOOOOOOOOAL!" Jean-Christophe Bart howled in excitement, chiefly because Zhang Kuang's goal was so spectacular. A thunderous long-range strike like that really did send the viewers' blood pressure soaring.
"It's in! It's in! It's in! A worldie! Zhang Kuang! Zhang Kuang again!" In the studio, Liu Jianhong's voice had already gone out of control. "A thunderbolt from nearly thirty meters out! A worldie! Goals in three consecutive matches! This is Zhang Kuang's sixth league goal-no, with his three in the France Cup, it's his ninth-"
Four matches, nine goals. Liu Jianhong had barely said a few words before he had to hurriedly correct himself and add the new figures.
"Do you know what that means?" Xu Yang picked up beside him, as though keeping it in would make him uncomfortable. "Nearly three goals a match. In any league, in any era, any striker who puts up those numbers has a name that ranks in the entire history of football."
"And Zhang Kuang isn't facing weak opposition, either-Saint-Étienne are a traditional Ligue 1 powerhouse. Their defensive system, their players' individual ability, the pressure of their home ground-Sedan can't compare to any of that. But against absolute individual ability, all of it becomes paper."
While Liu Jianhong rattled away with his commentary, only a dozen or so seconds had passed at the ground.
At the sight of the goal, the Auxerre fans at the ground collectively climaxed, singing even more joyfully. "Our Hero is Chinese..."
Zhang Kuang climbed off the ground and ran toward the corner flag.
"Siu-!"
His celebration appeared at Keane Gérard Stadium once again. The Auxerre fans in the away stand shouted along with him, three thousand voices stubbornly breaking through the boos of thirty-five thousand.
Saint-Étienne's caretaker manager viciously kicked the turf in front of him. The camera captured the flying clumps of grass in slow motion. Actually, it really did have a cinematic feel-the French broadcast director understood art.
Next, Saint-Étienne's caretaker manager Christophe Galtier could be seen loudly demanding what the hell striker Gonzalo Bergessio, who had lost possession earlier, had been doing. Why had he lost the ball?
They had been attacking, about to shoot, only for him to lose focus and get dispossessed, allowing the opposition to score on the counter. Wouldn't the whole team be furious? Wouldn't the manager be furious?
Gonzalo Bergessio felt hard done by, too. It was all that female fan's fault, flashing two balls at the most critical moment and throwing his thoughts into disarray. Ah, such lovely white balls-no, that damned female fan!
Speaking of Saint-Étienne's caretaker manager Christophe Galtier, he had a slight connection to Chinese football.
He had previously been French coach Alain Perrin's assistant. After Alain Perrin was sacked for poor results early in the season, he took over as caretaker manager. His only goal now was to lead the once-glorious Saint-Étienne to safety.
After his dismissal from Saint-Étienne, Alain Perrin left the circle of the five major leagues for good. He first coached in Qatar for a few years, then eventually went to China to coach the national team. He even enjoyed a brief moment of glory; the eventual outcome needed no telling.
Back to the match. After Zhang Kuang scored, his Auxerre teammates and the coaching staff were naturally delighted, especially Fernandez. Now he really could see hope of winning the title. With a weapon of mass destruction like Zhang Kuang, their chances of becoming champions seemed to be growing greater and greater.
What? His private life was a mess?
Which star player's private life wasn't a mess? Whether Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Rooney, every one of them was a mess.
So what if Zhang Kuang was a little wild? He had the capital for it.
As long as he maintained his potent attacking power every day he spent at Auxerre, who cared what form he would be in several years down the line?
Having thought that through, Fernandez clapped with satisfaction. He was already envisioning more aggressive attacking tactics.
The 39th minute.
An Auxerre corner from the right.
Birsa sent the corner toward the penalty spot. Saint-Étienne's defenders all crowded into the box, trying to use their numerical advantage to block Zhang Kuang's route to the header.
But a numerical advantage was no problem for Zhang Kuang.
He started his run from the top of the penalty arc, charging into the box like a train at full speed. A defender reached out to tug his shirt but could not hold him back-Zhang Kuang was too strong. That little pulling force was something he could all but ignore.
He leaped.
Zhang Kuang's legs propelled his body into the air, his core strength drawing him into a fully bent bow in midair. Birsa's delivery arrived right above his head-
The center of his forehead met the ball.
The ball was smashed toward the ground, bounced, and burrowed into the bottom-right corner.
2-0.
"GOOOOOOOOOOAL!" Bart's full-throated cry rang from the speakers of every television tuned to France 1.
"Wow, incredible! Another one of those tremendously powerful tomahawk headers. Absolutely ferocious, this eighteen-year-old Chinese youngster. As a fellow striker, I can say his explosive attacking ability is something every striker envies. I believe he really could handle four women in one night." Dugarry's tone carried envy.
"A header! Another tremendously powerful header!" Liu Jianhong raised his arms and shouted in the studio. "A two-goal lead! Zhang Kuang has a brace! Zhang Kuang is so strong he hardly seems like a Chinese player, much less an Asian player."
"Yes, Zhang Kuang is incredibly strong in physical contests. Saint-Étienne's defenders simply can't restrict his ability to challenge in the air," Xu Yang analyzed. "He's 185 centimeters tall, which isn't particularly outstanding in Ligue 1, but his leap and hang time completely make up for that. Add his anticipation of where the ball will land and his technique in generating power through his core-those are all standard equipment for a top-class center-forward."
"Would you call him Cristiano Ronaldo? Not quite. Cristiano Ronaldo operates more out wide. Would you call him Ibrahimović? Not quite, either. Ibrahimović relies more on using his body to muscle through...
Zhang Kuang is a composite-he has Cristiano Ronaldo's leap and heading, Inzaghi's movement and nose for goal, and Batistuta's power from distance. You could hardly find more than a handful of strikers in the world who combine so many top-class techniques.
"And he's only eighteen. He won't even turn eighteen until August 18. Why would a player like this go undiscovered? Is there something wrong with the way we identify outstanding players?" As Liu Jianhong spoke, he could not help sounding somewhat angry and accusatory.
"There might... indeed... be a bit of a problem there, but I believe things will improve, and they're already improving little by little. We'll discover more players like Zhang Kuang in the future." Xu Yang hurried to smooth over Liu Jianyou's remarks.
Liu Jianhong suddenly realized that his emotions had gotten a little out of control. "That's right. Let's believe we'll keep getting better. All right, back to the match..."