Chapter 1 A Max-Level Blast at the Start, Messi Begs Me to Join Argentina

Klopp went straight to Zhou Yi as soon as he entered the locker room.

Zhou Yi was being examined by team doctor Dr. Braun.

"How is it, Doctor?" Klopp asked the busy Dr. Braun.

Braun was pressing on Zhou Yi's ankle and didn't have time to answer Klopp. Zhou Yi, who was sitting on the massage chair, answered Klopp instead: "I'm fine, Coach."

"Didn't ask you!" Klopp glared at Zhou Yi. Players would naturally say anything to be able to play, so their words weren't credible.

At this time, Braun also finished examining Zhou Yi's body, straightened up, and said to Klopp: "It's just some bruising. There are some bruises and lumps on his body, but nothing serious. No injuries to the joints."

Zhou Yi spread his hands: "I told you."

Klopp also breathed a sigh of relief.

He was worried about Zhou Yi getting injured. Just as Sahin had recovered from his injury and the double-core tactics had just taken shape, what would they do if Zhou Yi got injured again?

Not being injured was certainly a good thing, but there was still something very important in front of Klopp.

Even if Zhou Yi wasn't injured, it wouldn't work if he didn't perform or have any effect in the game.

It would be better to just substitute him.

But Klopp knew that once Zhou Yi was substituted, the opponent would concentrate their forces on Sahin, and Sahin wouldn't be able to perform well under their siege.

So the double-core had to be on the field at the same time, which could spread the defensive pressure.

But if Zhou Yi stayed on the field, how could he perform to his proper level?

Klopp really couldn't think of a way.

After all, Zhou Yi's problem was that he wasn't strong enough, but it was difficult to solve this problem in fifteen minutes.

Moreover, it was predictable that no matter how much Zhou Yi trained, he wouldn't become that kind of muscle monster. He didn't rely on strength to make a living.

So it wasn't realistic to want Zhou Yi to transform into a heavy tank.

He could only think of ideas from other aspects.

In the end, Klopp came up with the idea of having the other Dortmund players cooperate more with Zhou Yi, so that Zhou Yi could quickly transfer the ball, avoiding the ball staying at his feet for too long, which would lead to losing the ball.

"...This requires our three lines to be closer, our movement to be more flexible, and more running, then there will be opportunities." During the half-time break, Klopp clapped his hands and said to his players.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Very good, let's start the second half like this! Don't be afraid of their tricks! Remember, this is the Revierderby! What's needed in this kind of game isn't technique and tactics, but courage!"

Klopp gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, cheering on his players.

When the players walked out of the locker room, he slapped the players on the back with force to cheer them on.

However, he hit too hard. When he slapped Zhou Yi on the back, he staggered Zhou Yi. If Zhou Yi hadn't been quick and grabbed the doorframe, he would have been slapped to the ground by Klopp... This startled Großkreutz, who was following behind, and quickly reached out to help Zhou Yi.

"Uh..." Klopp didn't expect Zhou Yi to be so "weak". "Hey, Zhou Yi, can you really play in the second half?"

Zhou Yi grimaced and argued, "I can, it's just that you hit a little too hard, Coach..."

This was the first time a player had told Klopp that his signature cheering action wasn't good. Klopp glared and said, "Get out there!" After speaking, he raised his foot and kicked Zhou Yi in the butt.

But Zhou Yi didn't let Klopp kick him. After he said that the coach hit too hard, he had been wary of Klopp. So when he saw Klopp raising his foot, he darted out like a rabbit, letting Klopp kick empty air.

"This kid!" Klopp cursed behind Zhou Yi. "He dares to complain about me!"

Next to him, assistant coach Buvac smiled happily.

While Klopp was complaining about Zhou Yi, the other Dortmund players also ran out of the locker room quickly, considering it an escape—in fact, many people felt that Klopp's way of expressing happiness was sometimes too sudden and painful, making them want to express their dislike but not daring to...

Zhou Yi said what was on their minds!

So when they caught up with Zhou Yi, they all quietly gave him a thumbs up.

※※※

In the locker room, Klopp looked at the players who had run away and turned to ask Buvac, "Do I really hit people hard?"

Buvac smiled without saying a word.

"Okay..." So Klopp knew the answer.

※※※

After the second half started, everyone saw that Zhou Yi had changed his clothes. The dirty jersey from the first half had been replaced with a clean one.

"But I think maybe this jersey will get dirty soon... unless the referee Gräfe is willing to strictly control the players' actions on the field," Duan Xin said.

"Unless there is a very serious situation on the field, I don't think it will," Tao Wei gave the Chinese fans in front of the TV a bad prediction.

Zhou Jianliang shook his wife, who had fallen asleep on the sofa: "Wake up, wake up, the second half has started."

Li Cuiyun rubbed her eyes and sat up again. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a close-up of Zhou Yi on the TV screen. As a mother, she keenly noticed that Zhou Yi's clothes were clean.

"Eh? Changed his clothes? He doesn't look so embarrassed now." She immediately perked up.

"What's the use? It'll be dirty again in a while," Zhou Jianliang said in a very knowledgeable tone.

Indeed, if they played at the same pace as in the first half, Zhou Yi wouldn't fall to the ground any less in the rest of the game.

"Then take him off..." Li Cuiyun said.

Zhou Jianliang glared at her: "What nonsense are you talking about! How can you run away when you encounter difficulties? Is that still a man!"

"He's still a child."

"He's eighteen, he's an adult!"

Li Cuiyun rolled her eyes at her husband and didn't speak.

※※※

Just as the commentators and Zhou Jianliang had predicted, not long after the second half started, Zhou Yi fell to the ground.

However, this time, the referee Gräfe didn't blow the whistle, but made a gesture to continue the game—because Zhou Yi had poked the ball to his teammate Großkreutz before falling.

So the attack was still continuing. Based on the principle of benefiting the attacking side, Gräfe didn't blow the whistle this time.

But Duan Xin said: "I think a yellow card should be given to Kluge later!"

But it wasn't.

Later, Dortmund's attack ended, and the referee didn't seem to want to give a card at all.

If this were Dortmund's home ground, there would probably be boos all over the sky. But unfortunately, this was Schalke 04's home ground.

Zhou Yi had already gotten up from the ground. He had been pushed by the opponent's hand, and he fell very painfully, but his joints weren't injured, so it was okay.

He had experienced this feeling many times in simulated games.

He was mentally prepared for the opponent to use this method to deal with him. So Zhou Yi wasn't impatient.

But he still had to think of a way to change the situation.

After forty-five minutes in the first half and the first two or three minutes of the second half, Zhou Yi found that reality was similar to the virtual world, that Schalke 04's fouls against him were mainly concentrated in the midfield and Dortmund's backfield, and there were also some in the frontcourt.

But... near Schalke 04's penalty area, there was only... one time.

That was when Rakitić tackled him.

Looking closely, Rakitić, as a midfielder, had also had several direct confrontations with him, but that was the first and only time he had directly tackled him.

Before that, Rakitić had never tackled him.

What did this mean?

What made Rakitić risk getting a card to bring him down?

Zhou Yi thought that Schalke 04 probably didn't want him to go any further, right?

Maybe Magath had given specific instructions to the Schalke 04 players—if you have to foul me, don't do it too close to the penalty area, because those places will give Dortmund a direct free kick opportunity, which is risky after all.

This was normal. If they were going to foul frequently, then it was normal to consider not having the fouls in dangerous areas.

But wasn't this something he could take advantage of?

Zhou Yi already knew what to do.

Yes, next was to wait patiently for the opportunity.

※※※

But while Zhou Yi was waiting for an opportunity, Schalke 04 launched a thunderous attack first.

In the forty-ninth minute, Schalke 04 got a corner kick opportunity. After the corner kick was taken, center-back Höwedes jumped high, overpowering Dortmund's other defenders, and headed the ball into Ziegler's goal.

"1:0! Schalke 04 takes the lead!"

The Veltins-Arena erupted in huge cheers at this moment, which sounded no less than their record-breaking one hundred and twenty-nine decibels.

The Schalke 04 fans wearing blue jerseys in the entire stands were like boiling seawater, cheering and waving their arms.

Draxler next to Yang Mu Ge almost jumped up from his chair. Yang Mu Ge also stood up and applauded for the team's lead. Although he didn't have any special feelings for Schalke 04 before, he had gradually become a Schalke 04 supporter after playing in the Schalke 04 youth team.

Putting aside his concern for Zhou Yi, he was very happy about Schalke 04's lead.

The Schalke 04 players were also celebrating the goal wildly.

Höwedes, who scored the goal, ran towards the corner flag area, and his teammates rushed over to him, knocked him to the ground, and celebrated to their heart's content.

And the backdrop for the Schalke 04 players who were running and cheering were the Dortmund players.

After the goal was conceded, the TV broadcast not only gave shots of the ecstatic Schalke 04 players, but also gave shots of the Dortmund players.

Ziegler, who conceded the goal, looked frustrated. Hummels, the center-back who was suppressed by Höwedes in the header, bit his lower lip, with both unwillingness and depression on his face.

Next, they gave close-up shots of Dortmund's two cores.

Sahin stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the Schalke 04 players who were running away in a daze.

And Zhou Yi?

There was nothing special about Zhou Yi's expression. His eyes weren't dazed, and his face wasn't frustrated. He looked no different from usual.

It was difficult to know what he was thinking through his expression.

※※※

"The deadlock has finally been broken... The focus of the first half was completely on physical contact and falling. Fortunately, we finally saw a goal in the second half, and at the same time, this goal will push the atmosphere of the Revierderby to a climax. The competition between the two sides will only become more and more intense!"

Marcel Reif hoped that this goal would make the game more exciting. Before, it was intense but not exciting enough.

Now that there was a goal and the deadlock had been broken, maybe more goals would be born?