Chapter 1 Schalke 04's Prodigy

Schalke 04 u17 now has a top player who is not only highly regarded within Schalke 04 but is also considered a genius throughout Germany: Julian Draxler.

Born in September 1993, this player is only fifteen years old, but he is already the mainstay of Schalke 04 u17, which demonstrates his outstanding ability.

Generally speaking, in the world of youth football, age is a significant divide; otherwise, why would there be different age groups? Why not have everyone play together?

The reason for this division is that players of different ages have vastly different strengths, mainly due to their physical development. Players who are one or two years older have a distinct advantage over those who are younger, both in terms of strength and speed.

Therefore, when the media describes a young player as a genius, they often mention that he is frequently promoted to the u19 team at the age of sixteen. And those who can play in professional first-team matches at the age of sixteen or seventeen are generally defined as "geniuses."

Draxler is such a genius who transcends age limitations.

Schalke 04 is currently ranked first in the Western League, which is inseparable from Draxler's outstanding performance. In the popular language of Chinese fans, Draxler is the "thigh" (most important player) of Schalke 04 u17.

On the other hand, after the successive departures of Götze and Schneider, Dortmund has lost its core players, resulting in declining performance. There are no star players in the current lineup who can compare to Draxler.

In terms of strength, Dortmund u17 is weaker than Schalke 04 u17, but since this is their home game, anything can happen.

However, many people believe that this should be an evenly matched game. The winner will depend on who performs better and has better luck.

When the game started, the Schalke 04 youth team did not underestimate their opponents just because they were ranked lower.

This is a derby, and underestimation is impossible.

In addition, Zhou Yi's outstanding performance in the recent warm-up matches has naturally attracted Schalke 04's attention.

Therefore, from the start of the game, Zhou Yi was already facing tight marking. A Schalke 04 player was closely following him.

Although Zhou Yi has not yet demonstrated his ability as the new core of Dortmund u17 in this game, he is already enjoying treatment akin to that of a core player…

Ricken, upon seeing this, did not frown or feel worried; instead, he was somewhat pleased.

He came to watch the game not only because it was the Ruhr derby but also because he wanted to see Zhou Yi's performance. He had heard about Zhou Yi's series of impressive performances in the warm-up matches.

But warm-up matches are, after all, just warm-up matches. Zhou Yi's self-proclaimed title of "King of Warm-up Matches" is just a joke and not a significant achievement.

Ricken wanted to see Zhou Yi's performance in an official match.

As a player who was personally scouted and brought back from Barcelona by Klopp, Ricken paid close attention to him.

The current situation is a good test of Zhou Yi's abilities.

A player who can only perform well in low-intensity warm-up matches and then becomes sluggish in high-intensity official matches is definitely not what Dortmund needs, nor what Klopp wants to see.

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Zhou Yi found Schalke 04 quite strange. If they knew to send someone to follow him, why didn't they stay closer?

The person doesn't come up when he receives the ball, but comes up after he receives the ball… Does he really think he can't pass the ball?

Zhou Yi felt that perhaps his outstanding performance in the warm-up matches had not really earned him the respect of his opponents. Maybe their coach valued him, but the players might not be executing the strategy to the fullest extent.

In short, he is still a nobody in the German youth football scene and shouldn't expect any special treatment.

However, Zhou Yi doesn't care whether others truly treat him as a core player. He won't get angry if his opponents underestimate him, because the ones who suffer in the end are those who underestimate him, so what's there to be angry about?

What he cares more about now is how to help the team score.

After the game started, Schalke 04 focused on Julian Draxler as their core, and the ball was basically given to him. His individual ability, which was far superior to that of the other Dortmund players, allowed him to thrive on the wing.

He is a fast player with excellent dribbling skills, and he repeatedly created crises in Dortmund's defense, causing Dortmund's defense to be on high alert.

Zhou Yi's role in defense is minimal; what he can contribute to the team is offense.

Offense is the best defense. To reduce the pressure on his own defense, Schalke 04 needs to realize that their own defense is not impenetrable.

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The Schalke 04 player, Orry Petrak, who was assigned to follow Zhou Yi before the game, has been following Zhou Yi for almost ten minutes and hasn't seen anything that would warrant his team making such a big deal out of this kid.

He was specifically told to follow him, but what's the result?

He just passes the ball, passes the ball, passes the ball, and many of them are lateral passes and back passes.

Any kid who plays football can do that kind of passing. What's so special about it?

The coach even told him that this kid is Dortmund's core. Yes, it seems everyone passes the ball to him, but he hasn't turned those passes into any opportunities.

If this is Dortmund's new core, then it's truly laughable!

The Dortmund youth team without Götze is simply weak and不堪 (bù kān - unbearable).

When Zhou Yi received a pass from his teammate again, he quickly passed the ball back.

Petrak grinned and chuckled—see, there's no need for me to stick to him right away.

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When Zhou Yi got the ball again, Petrak was a little slower to approach than usual, but Zhou Yi didn't surprise him; he passed the ball laterally.

Petrak chuckled and then said from behind Zhou Yi, "All you can do is pass back and pass laterally, right?"

Zhou Yi turned around and looked at him with a puzzled expression. Petrak remembered that Zhou Yi was Chinese and probably didn't understand German, so he smiled and waved his hand: "Never mind, it's nothing. Just pretend I'm talking to myself. Dortmund actually found someone like you to be their new core, it's really... stupid!"

Zhou Yi glanced at him, didn't respond, and just ran away.

He ran towards the next receiving point.

When his teammate passed the ball, this time it was even more obvious that Petrak, facing him directly, was slower to approach.

So, just as he was slowly planning to come up, Zhou Yi suddenly passed the ball horizontally and accelerated past Petrak on the inside.

This sudden forward movement surprised Petrak, and he was stunned for a moment.

And with Zhou Yi's sudden forward movement, the entire Dortmund team suddenly sped up!

Mark, who was originally near the center line, suddenly ran forward. Of course, a Schalke 04 winger was following him, preventing him from easily shaking off his defense.

The Dortmund youth team player who received Zhou Yi's pass on the wing, seeing that Zhou Yi had successfully cut behind Petrak, quickly passed the ball over. At the same time, after passing the ball, he decisively accelerated forward to ensure that there was a passing target if Zhou Yi wanted to pass the ball back.

At this time, Petrak finally reacted, and he hurriedly turned around and lunged at Zhou Yi.

At the same time, because this area was close to Schalke 04's 30-meter zone, Schalke 04's center-back Dennis Lippert decisively came up, intending to sandwich Zhou Yi with Petrak.

In order to receive the ball, Zhou Yi was half-turned, essentially facing away from the direction of the attack.

According to everyone's common sense, Zhou Yi couldn't possibly see what was behind him. If he was even slightly slow in taking the ball, he could be blocked, and then Petrak could come in for a sandwich, and the ball would be intercepted.

But Yang Muge, who knew Zhou Yi very well, didn't see it that way. Although he didn't know why, Zhou Yi seemed to have a very clear understanding of everyone's position on the field.

He didn't think that Zhou Yi wouldn't be aware of Lippert's decisive challenge.

On the contrary, he thought this might be Zhou Yi's opportunity.

And this opportunity stemmed from Petrak's not marking Zhou Yi tightly enough… that daze was fatal!

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Lippert thought he could definitely block Zhou Yi's path, but at that moment, he saw Zhou Yi, with his back slightly turned, suddenly flick the ball inward with the outside of his right foot!

Immediately afterward, he turned, changed direction, and dodged past him!

He dodged his frontal interception!

And what about Lippert himself?

Due to the inertia of the tackle, he couldn't stop and charged forward.

The only consolation was that his teammate, Petrak, followed behind Zhou Yi, changing direction and rushing towards the center, so at least someone could continue to put pressure on him from behind.

Just as he changed direction and entered the center, Mark, who was originally on the wing, suddenly cut forward from behind the Schalke 04 winger who had been following him!

And the Schalke 04 left winger was completely distracted by Zhou Yi's movement towards the center. After all, the center was the most dangerous area, and he was concerned about the fate of his team, so he didn't notice Mark's movements behind him at all.

Zhou Yi's move towards the center attracted the attention of almost all of Schalke 04's defensive players. Petrak followed behind him, and another Schalke 04 midfielder, Ozul Ozdemir, also rushed towards Zhou Yi.

Schalke 04's other center-back, Patrick Weimar, also stepped forward, blocking Zhou Yi's path. If Zhou Yi wanted to dribble into the penalty area, he would directly face his interception. If Zhou Yi wanted to shoot, he could also use his body to block and interfere with Zhou Yi's shot.

At this time, Schalke 04's left-back also moved towards the center, watching Zhou Yi and closely monitoring everything happening in front of his penalty arc.

Schalke 04's players moved quickly, and they soon formed a circle around Zhou Yi, making it seem like Zhou Yi had no escape!

But at that moment, Zhou Yi, who was dribbling with his head down, suddenly pushed the ball with the inside of his right foot, sending out a through ball!

The ball went through the huge gap between the Schalke 04 center-back Weimar, who was blocking in front of him, and their left-back!

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"Eh! Good ball!" Ricken, who was watching the game from the stands, couldn't help but stand up from his seat when he saw this scene.

Due to the angle, he had a high, overlooking view from the stands, and he could clearly see a gap of about ten meters between Schalke 04's center-back and left-back.

But that didn't mean that Zhou Yi, who was dribbling with his head down on the field, could definitely see this gap.

Not to mention seeing Mark lurking behind!

But he passed the ball over, as if he really saw everything!

And Mark, who was cutting in, accelerated and rushed out from behind Schalke 04's full-back, chasing after the ball!

Schalke 04's left-back took a step forward the moment Zhou Yi passed the ball. He obviously wanted to play him offside—regardless of whether there was an opposing player behind him, he would try to play him offside first.

While playing him offside, he looked back to see if there was an opposing player behind him. Sure enough, a Dortmund player received the ball behind him!

He raised his arm, signaling offside.

But the linesman didn't see it that way. He didn't raise his flag, but followed Mark as he ran! This signal was clear—Mark was not offside!

"Damn it!" The Schalke 04 full-back who had raised his hand quickly turned around and ran back.

Not only him, but Weimar, the center-back who had been blocking Zhou Yi, and Ozdemir, who had formed the encirclement, all rushed back into the penalty area.

But it was too late!

The ball that Zhou Yi passed was not fast, and the power was not great, but it just made a group of Schalke 04 players unable to react. At the same time, it also made it very easy for the player receiving the ball to stop the ball and make the next move.

Mark received the ball behind everyone, and took it towards the center. Facing the goalkeeper who was charging out, he calmly chose to shoot with his left foot!

The ball drew an arc along the grass, heading straight for the far corner of the goal!

The Schalke 04 goalkeeper, who was rushing out, didn't have time to use his hands to save it. He could only try to block the ball with his feet as he fell to the ground, but he was still a little slow!

The ball rolled past his feet!

In full view of everyone, it rolled into the net…

In the thirteenth minute of the game, Dortmund u17 youth team took a 1-0 lead over Schalke 04 u17 youth team at home!

A huge cheer erupted from the stands.

Amidst the cheers, Zhou Yi turned around and said in German to Petrak, who was standing dumbfounded behind him, "I can also pass straight! Straight!"

After saying that, he left Petrak and rushed towards Mark, who had scored the goal, to celebrate the goal.

Petrak stared blankly at his back, speechless.