Chapter 39 Game

Before Zhou Yi scored, Wolfsburg had pulled one back, making the score 3-2, with Dortmund leading by only one goal.

The result of a friendly match doesn't really matter, but it would be absurd to say that the team can just lose as they please.

If they can win, who wouldn't want to win?

Wolfsburg wanted to win too, so they launched a fierce offensive after pulling one back. During this time, Zhou Yi was strolling around the field again, and Dortmund was indeed struggling a bit.

But this predicament has now been shattered by Zhou Yi's goal!

Seeing Zhou Yi score, the players on the field were stunned.

The Wolfsburg players were stunned because they didn't expect a player who was already out of energy to still be able to score.

And the Dortmund players' surprise was due to Zhou Yi's tenacity—wasn't he unable to run? How could he still rush up and score?

Şahin watched Zhou Yi's back from behind, lost in thought. This kid…

He thought Zhou Yi would be substituted at any moment, but he didn't expect Zhou Yi to not only not be substituted, but also score a goal!

Götze was even more surprised. In terms of individual performance in this game, Zhou Yi, with one assist and one goal, had already surpassed him. The sense of crisis in his heart was growing heavier…

※※※

While the players on both sides of the field were feeling incredulous about this sudden goal, the Chinese reporters on the sidelines collectively cheered. Their cheers at this moment were very obvious and attracted attention.

At this time, they looked nothing like professional journalists, but more like professional fans…

"Beautiful! A beautiful goal!"

"One assist, one goal, and played for almost sixty minutes, perfect!"

"I have a feeling that when we send the situation of this friendly match back to China, the domestic fans will definitely explode!"

"Is this kid really only eighteen years old? Is this really his first time training with the first team? Why do I feel like he's just like an experienced veteran? Too calm…"

Everyone praised and exclaimed.

They didn't expect to see such a good show in the first game.

※※※

The Dortmund players who had come to their senses ran towards Zhou Yi and surrounded him.

"Good job, kid!"

"You can still run?"

"So your stroll just now was to regain your strength?"

Everyone patted him on the shoulders and back, congratulating him.

Zhou Yi smiled silently amidst everyone's praise.

Of course, this wasn't him deliberately acting cool, but because he didn't even have the strength to speak now. After scoring, he didn't sprint to celebrate, nor did he shout, just standing in place, not even raising his hand—he really didn't have the strength to do any celebratory actions.

※※※

Because it was a friendly match, the goal celebration wouldn't be too intense, and it wouldn't last too long. So the players just came up to pat Zhou Yi and congratulate him before running back to their own half of the field. Soon, there was no one around Zhou Yi.

At this time, Zhou Yi didn't walk towards his own half, but made a somewhat unexpected move—he gestured for a substitution towards the sidelines!

Klopp was a little surprised when he saw this action.

He didn't expect Zhou Yi to take the initiative to ask for a substitution.

After seeing Zhou Yi score, he thought Zhou Yi would definitely persevere. He knew that when Zhou Yi was strolling around, he really thought this kid would do anything to win the bet with him…

But now he was asking to be substituted, which was equivalent to admitting defeat!

"It looks like Zhou Yi really can't run anymore," assistant coach Buvac said from the side.

Klopp nodded: "Let Tinga come on."

Tinga, born in 1978, was a thirty-one-year-old Brazilian midfielder who came on to replace Zhou Yi.

When Zhou Yi was substituted, the Chinese reporters on the sidelines applauded. They were really more and more like fans…

Slowly walking off the field, Zhou Yi came to Klopp, and the coach smiled and said to him: "I thought you were someone who never gives up, why take the initiative to admit defeat?"

"I don't want to give up either, coach. But I really… can't run anymore…" Zhou Yi gasped for breath, unable to straighten his back.

"The doctor said that your physical recovery ability is very good, the best in the team."

Dr. Markus Braun had a common nickname for the whole team, which was "Doctor."

"I actually have such an evaluation?" Zhou Yi immediately perked up when he heard Klopp say this, and spoke coherently, saying everything in one breath without even stumbling.

Seeing Zhou Yi like this, Klopp couldn't help but complain: "Aren't you supposed to be panting when you talk?"

"Didn't the doctor say my physical recovery ability is good?" Zhou Yi immediately found a reasonable excuse.

Klopp didn't expect that the words he had just used to tease him would be used as a weapon to refute himself, and he was speechless for a moment. But he also had a way to make Zhou Yi speechless. So he said to Zhou Yi: "Alright, go down and rest quickly. But don't forget, a bet is a bet, you have to keep your promise."

When Zhou Yi heard this, he sighed deeply and said dejectedly: "I know, coach, I know…"

Then he walked towards the bench with his head hanging down, not at all like someone who was being substituted with one goal and one assist to his name.

But back on the bench, his teammates' congratulations still brought Zhou Yi back to normal.

※※※

"Jürgen, you made a bet with Zhou Yi?" Buvac, who had heard what Klopp said to Zhou Yi, curiously came closer.

"Yeah." Klopp nodded. "Before the game, he hoped that I wouldn't substitute him off at halftime, he wanted to play the whole game."

"This… why?" Buvac was very strange.

"He wanted to prove to me that his current physical fitness is enough to play the whole game without any problems. That way, I don't have to make him accept physical training that is obviously different from other players."

"So that's why?" Buvac was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "But now it seems he lost. What's the punishment for losing?"

"The daily morning training will be increased from one hour to one and a half hours, with increased intensity," Klopp said.

Buvac laughed after hearing this: "No wonder he's so dejected."

As a member of the coaching staff, everyone knew what Zhou Yi was like in training. He was very reluctant to accept this kind of training. As a result, he was now facing the situation he least wanted to endure.

"A bet is a bet, it's all this kid's own choice. If he hadn't started this bet, there wouldn't be this matter now. Young people, if you want something sweet, how can you not suffer first?" Klopp shrugged.

Buvac turned his head and glanced at Zhou Yi, who was chatting with his teammates.

"But his performance on the field is really surprising. I originally thought that his performance in the first friendly match would be at most mediocre, after all, youth team matches and adult team matches are different… I didn't expect one goal and one assist, and also created eight scoring opportunities…" Buvac shook his head.

The so-called creating scoring opportunities means that the pass caused a teammate to shoot, and the shot is a "scoring opportunity." This is a very important statistic for an offensive organizer to measure his performance. If a player can always create a large number of scoring opportunities in a game, then he is definitely an excellent offensive organizer.

Zhou Yi's eight scoring opportunities created in this game were already the highest in the team, and his performance was indeed very good.

"What's the use of that, Željko? His physical fitness still restricts his performance. He only played for fifty-seven minutes before he had to be substituted. This is just a friendly match, not the kind of real match that requires desperate effort. His physical fitness can't meet my requirements at all. Letting him play is equivalent to wasting a substitution spot in advance," Klopp said, spreading his hands.

"Physical fitness can be trained, Jürgen. But his talent is difficult to train. We really found a treasure this time."

"Of course." Klopp's tone was very proud when he said this.

This kid was discovered by me personally!

He said in his heart.

※※※

In this friendly match, after Zhou Yi was substituted, both sides scored one more goal, and the game ended with a score of 5-3, with Dortmund winning by two goals.

After the game, Zhou Yi was not only surrounded by Chinese reporters, but also by German reporters.

Everyone saw Zhou Yi's performance in this friendly match, and he was the Dortmund player who played the longest. Even if Wolfsburg was included, he was the one who played the longest. His performance was very outstanding, so he naturally attracted the attention of the media.

The thing everyone wanted to know most was why other players only played half the game, but he was able to play nearly sixty minutes.

Zhou Yi couldn't tell everyone that it was because he had made a bet with the coach. It would be too embarrassing to say it, because he lost the bet.

So he passed the buck to Klopp: "This… I don't know, it's the coach's arrangement, I just follow it."

If the reporters wanted to know the answer to this question, they had to go to Klopp.

A German reporter asked: "We all know that your performance in the Dortmund youth team is also very good. From your experience, what do you think is the difference between youth team matches and first team matches?"

Zhou Yi thought for a moment and said: "The intensity of the competition is greater, and the requirements for running are higher…"

Another German reporter asked: "We know that this is the first time you have been called up to the first team, and this is your first game in the first team. But we also noticed that you cooperated well with your teammates in the first team, and there didn't seem to be any unfamiliarity. Why is this?"

"I have been training with everyone for more than half a month, and we know each other very well. Everyone is very nice to me, and we get along well. So isn't it normal to have such a performance on the field?" Zhou Yi asked rhetorically. Of course, he couldn't tell the other party that he had trained with these teammates in the virtual world for who knows how many days, of course he was very familiar with them.

When the Chinese reporters saw Zhou Yi answering the German reporters' questions fluently in German, they all felt in their hearts that this kid really had the demeanor of a general. He was neither humble nor arrogant in the face of interviews with foreign reporters, and answered all kinds of questions politely and respectfully.

Most importantly, he was confident and calm.

He really didn't look like an eighteen-year-old child, but more like a veteran who had been through hundreds of battles!

Why does this child have such a personality?

His performance in front of the media now is better than many domestic national team players…

"I like this kid more and more," one Chinese reporter announced.

"I said, there was a reason why he was the most popular contestant in the *Green Field Reality Show* program, not He Ying…" This reporter could tell that he had paid a lot of attention to the *Green Field Inheritor* program.

"I'm looking forward to the new season of the Bundesliga more and more! I think if this trend continues, we will soon be able to see him play in official matches! After Shao Jiayi, there is finally another Chinese player playing in the Bundesliga!"

The reporters were excitedly looking forward to that day.