Shahin's transfer from Borussia Dortmund naturally affected Zhou Yi as well.

Last season, he and Shahin shared the responsibilities of being the team's organizing core. Now that Shahin was gone, what would Zhou Yi do?

Would he carry the burden alone? Or would someone else come to share the pressure and responsibility with him?

This was a question that everyone cared about, especially Chinese fans and reporters.

As Chinese people, they certainly hoped to see a Chinese player carry the burden alone in a top team. But reason told them that with Zhou Yi's current physical problems, it was somewhat unrealistic for him to do so.

So some reporters who were relatively familiar with Zhou Yi directly called to ask about the relevant issues.

"I don't know what the coach is thinking, but I'll listen to the coach's arrangements."

Zhou Yi's answer was not satisfactory to the reporter, who asked: "What do you think yourself? Don't you want to carry the burden alone?"

"Of course, I want to. But whether I want to or not doesn't mean anything, does it? I also want the Chinese team to win the World Cup, but does my wanting it do any good?" Zhou Yi said.

"Uh..." The reporter who called to ask was speechless.

"In short, let's see what the head coach arranges. I'll do whatever he arranges, and we'll naturally find out then, so there's no need to rush now." In fact, Zhou Yi knew what Klopp's arrangement was, but he didn't tell these reporters, instead choosing to hide it.

This was what he thought.

Whether he could really improve his physical level through this holiday's special training to the point where he could carry the burden alone was still unknown.

If he released the news now that he would be the core player next season, but he didn't train well, wouldn't that make him a laughingstock?

How could the cunning... no, the clever Zhou Yi allow such a thing to happen?

So he chose to hide it now, which would also make it easier to show off later.

After hanging up the phone, Klopp looked at Zhou Yi: "Have you finished the call?"

"Finished, Coach."

"Put your phone in your bag. Don't answer the phone during training." Klopp pointed to the backpack Zhou Yi had brought.

"Okay, Coach." Zhou Yi quickly ran over and stuffed his phone into his bag.

Next, physical coach Bartlett said to Zhou Yi: "Get ready, Zhou Yi. This training may be different from any training you've received before..."

"How is it different?" Zhou Yi asked.

Bartlett did not answer this question, but instead asked Zhou Yi: "What did you think of the pre-season training last season?"

Zhou Yi glanced at Klopp standing next to him, and then said: "Can I tell the truth?"

"Of course." Bartlett smiled.

"Uh, hell..." Zhou Yi said, shrinking his neck.

Last season's pre-season training did leave a very deep impression on Zhou Yi, it was simply unbearable, and he didn't want to recall it...

Hearing Zhou Yi's not-so-surprising answer, Bartlett and Klopp exchanged glances and smiled at each other.

Then Klopp put on a stern face and said to Zhou Yi: "Hell? That was only the first five levels of hell. Now get ready to see the tenth level of hell."

Hearing Klopp say this, Zhou Yi opened his mouth wide and stared with wide eyes: "Um, is it too late for me to give up now, Coach?"

Klopp glared: "What are you thinking? Hell isn't a place you can come and go as you please! Go train!"

He feigned a kick at Zhou Yi's butt, and Zhou Yi jumped up as if he had really been kicked, covering his butt and running onto the field.

"Warm up!" Klopp shouted behind him.

Just like that, as Zhou Yi's teammates left Dortmund one after another to begin their vacations, Zhou Yi's special training during the holiday also began.

※※※

While Zhou Yi was undergoing his unknown special training, the Bundesliga season also officially came to a close.

Borussia Dortmund's performance this season can be described as full of ups and downs. At the beginning of the season, they performed very poorly, and everyone once thought that Borussia Dortmund would be playing in the Bundesliga 2 next season.

But the turning point was Shahin's injury. After Shahin was injured, Zhou Yi replaced him and led the team to a winning streak. Then Shahin recovered from his injury, and Klopp took the opportunity to launch a dual-core tactic. After a brief period of adjustment, the dual-core operated normally, helping the team win repeatedly.

In the end, Borussia Dortmund's season ranking was fixed in second place.

They got a Champions League spot for next season!

You should know that at the beginning of the season, Klopp's goal for the team was only to be able to get a Europa League spot for next season.

Unexpectedly, the final result was much better than he imagined.

And Borussia Dortmund's ability to have such a turnaround in their performance was inseparable from one person.

Zhou Yi, as a young player who was called up to the first team this season, experienced a dreamlike season.

He performed far beyond people's expectations when he was ordered to take on the task in the middle of the season.

Starting from the fourteenth round of the league, away against Hoffenheim, whether starting or on the bench, he never missed any of Borussia Dortmund's league games, with twenty-one league appearances, two goals scored, and... fourteen assists!

This number also made Zhou Yi the assist king of the Bundesliga this season!

Behind him were many famous players, Özil, Misimović, and Marin, all tied for second place on the assist list with twelve assists.

So after the end of the season, Zhou Yi also received a lot of attention.

The local Dortmund newspaper *Ruhr Nachrichten* considered Zhou Yi to be the Bundesliga's "biggest discovery this season."

*Kicker* also had a very high evaluation of Zhou Yi, "... In him (Zhou Yi), we can see the shadows of those great passers in history. This Chinese young man has a talent far beyond ordinary people. He may still be lacking in technique and physique, but his mental quality allows him to have more room for improvement in the future..."

*Bild* called Zhou Yi's final results "incredible": "He only played twenty-one games, and many of them were substituted early in the sixtieth or seventieth minute. Even so, he still made fourteen assists! If he could be given a full season, and he could play the full game in every match... It's simply unimaginable what achievements he would eventually achieve! Borussia Dortmund's ability to achieve the final results this season is inseparable from Zhou Yi!"

For Chinese fans, what they liked to see most after the end of the season was these media evaluations of Zhou Yi's performance this season.

Chinese media naturally knew this very well, so they translated the foreign media's evaluations of Zhou Yi one after another, and also evaluated Zhou Yi's performance themselves.

Of course, perhaps because Chinese media were used to being inferior, even when praising and touting Zhou Yi, they still did not forget to "be prepared for danger in times of peace," and made prospects for Zhou Yi's performance in the next season. This prospect was tinged with worry.

"... While we are happy for Zhou Yi's performance this season, we must not forget that this result is based on the fact that Zhou Yi is making his debut in the Bundesliga for the first time, and everyone is not very familiar with him. Many rookies have performed well in their first season, but their performance declines in the second season, commonly known as the 'rookie wall.' Of course, we don't want Zhou Yi to encounter the 'rookie wall,' but we must also see that Zhou Yi's current shortcomings are still very obvious, that is, his physique and technique.

In terms of physique, Zhou Yi's stamina and strength are obvious shortcomings. Borussia Dortmund will have to fight on two fronts next season, and the requirements for stamina are very high. In addition, Champions League matches are different from the Bundesliga. In the Champions League, physical confrontation is more intense, which also places higher demands on Zhou Yi's strength...

In terms of technique, Zhou Yi's short passing skills are very good, but they seem to be too simple. He only has short passes, and his long passes are not good. In addition to passing, his other abilities are also very average. It is rare to see him dribbling past people, and his speed is not considered fast... These are all problems that Zhou Yi does have.

If these problems cannot be effectively resolved, once opponents have thoroughly studied Zhou Yi's characteristics, he may be the focus of the opponent's defense in the game, resulting in fluctuating performance... Of course, we all hope that Zhou Yi's career can be smooth sailing, but to be honest, such a possibility is very small. Anyone will encounter setbacks and experience failures in order to become stronger. Therefore, we sincerely hope that Zhou Yi will not be overwhelmed by his excellent performance in his first season, clearly recognize his shortcomings, and work hard to improve. You must know that he is not playing for himself, behind him, there are tens of millions of Chinese fans watching him..."

Zhou Jianliang slammed the newspaper hard on the table.

Li Cuiyun next to him asked strangely: "What's wrong?"

"Hmph! How dare they look down on my son!" Zhou Jianliang said indignantly.

Li Cuiyun picked up the newspaper and looked at it, and then said: "What they said is also true. Zhou Yi does have these problems."

"Yes, he does, but isn't my son working hard to solve these problems now? Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to come home!" Zhou Jianliang was still unconvinced.

"The reporters don't know that." Li Cuiyun was still relatively calm.

"Okay... Then we'll give them a surprise in the new season! Give them a shock!" Zhou Jianliang snorted. "It's a pity that I won't be able to see their expressions then..."

Li Cuiyun saw that her husband was actually arguing with the media, and she grinned: "Childish."