Chapter 17 A Change of Mentality

The news that Zhou Yi had reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund quickly reached the ears of the coaching staff and the program team. After training the next day, Hao Dong even asked Zhou Yi if it was true.

Zhou Yi confirmed it.

"Borussia Dortmund... is also a good team. If you're aiming for the first team, then they're a good choice, because Klopp is a coach who likes to give young players opportunities," Hao Dong said. "Congratulations, you've become the first one from our team to go abroad! You know, with this program, I hope to help all of you go out. We're not here to kick the Europeans out, but to promote you to Europe."

Executive Director Xu Tao was also very happy. A player from this program going to a top European club was the program's greatest honor, and it was also a very sensational thing. So he asked if he could make the news public on the show.

Zhou Yi thought about it. He also wanted his parents to know the news, but compared to calling home, wouldn't it be more of a surprise for them to see the news directly on TV?

So he nodded and agreed.

For Hao Dong, Zhou Yi signing with Borussia Dortmund had another benefit, which was... in training, the other players suddenly became more serious and active.

Obviously, they were all stimulated by Zhou Yi. As players who had been trained in professional youth teams since childhood, everyone wanted to be able to play in Europe, where the level of soccer was higher.

This was also the reason why they were willing to participate in this reality show, to have direct dialogue with the youth teams of European powerhouses, and to have the opportunity to be spotted by scouts from those teams.

But unexpectedly, the first one to be taken away was Zhou Yi, an amateur student player.

If Zhou Yi can do it, why can't we?

With this thought in mind, the young players wanted to perform even better in the final game.

As long as they performed well, they would always be noticed.

And in the final game against Barcelona's youth team, Hao Dong needed just such momentum.

He was afraid that the 0-12 defeat in the first game had brought too much psychological trauma to the players, making them unable to muster any fighting spirit.

He was still wondering what he could do to restore the team's morale, but Zhou Yi had already solved it for him.

Now it seemed that his best move in this trip to Europe was probably bringing Zhou Yi, the kid who many people thought was just there to make up the numbers...

※※※

When Zhou Yi came out of the system, he slammed his fist on the bed, and He Ying's voice immediately rang out from next to him: "What's wrong?"

Zhou Yi turned his head and saw that He Ying was also looking at him, so he shook his head and said, "Nothing, just had a nightmare."

"Nightmare?"

"Yeah, I dreamed that we lost the game, lost to today's opponent."

He Ying didn't know what to say. Although he didn't like losing either, losing to Barcelona's youth team didn't seem like it should be a nightmare, right? That was reality...

Seeing He Ying's expression, Zhou Yi explained: "I think we should be able to win this time, so dreaming of losing was really annoying."

"Oh." He Ying sat up and started to change his clothes. "I understand."

Losing was indeed annoying.

Zhou Yi also jumped out of bed, and the two of them got dressed together. He tied Guo Nu's sandbags to his calves, and together with He Ying, he walked out of the door. In the hall, Yang Muge, Sun Pan, and Guo Nu were also waiting for them.

Every time Zhou Yi did morning exercises, the most amazing thing was not why the three of them could always get up so early, but that Sun Pan could always borrow a bicycle no matter which hotel they stayed at...

"There's a game this afternoon, so let's not run too far this time, okay?" Yang Muge asked everyone.

"Yeah." Guo Nu nodded.

The others had no objections, so Sun Pan rang the bicycle bell: "Let's go!"

※※※

When the Chinese soccer teenagers first came to Barcelona, there was an arrangement to visit the La Masia soccer academy. This second time, the Barcelona club arranged for them to visit the Camp Nou stadium.

The towering and majestic stadium looked much more impressive than La Masia, and the shining trophies of honor and strength also demonstrated the club's glorious history.

But unlike the excitement everyone had when they visited La Masia soccer academy last time, this time, the Chinese soccer teenagers were a little absent-minded.

This was their last game, against a strong opponent, and they all wanted to show their best side in this game to attract the attention of scouts—Zhou Yi's matter proved that their game was being watched, that there were some club scouts watching, and this became their greatest motivation.

Even Guo Nu and He Ying, who were Barcelona die-hard fans, were not very interested in visiting their dream place this time.

Everyone walked through the tour route absentmindedly, and then went straight to the locker room to prepare for the game later.

At this time, the feeling of a major enemy ahead made the atmosphere tense. Everyone in the locker room was doing their own thing silently, without anyone speaking, making it very quiet.

Zhou Yi changed his clothes and sat in his seat in a daze. He was thinking about how to defeat this Barcelona youth team.

After playing against them repeatedly for the past week, Zhou Yi felt that this group of people was indeed not as good as the previous group, especially in the midfield. After Thiago left, their control of the midfield had decreased.

In the past week, Zhou Yi had tried many different tactical strategies to deal with the Barcelona youth team, and the decrease in the opponent's midfield control was the change that Zhou Yi had felt.

He didn't know if it was that the opponent had declined a lot, or that his own strength had increased, but anyway, when he received the ball and passed it in the midfield, he didn't feel much pressure.

As long as he had room to receive the ball, Zhou Yi had confidence.

That's why he was so angry when he woke up this morning—he clearly had a chance to beat them, but he just didn't win!

Especially in the last game, the Chinese team and Barcelona once tied 1-1, but in the last ten minutes, they let the opponent score two goals in a row, and finally lost 1-3.

This was really annoying, very annoying.

Sun Pan also changed his clothes and saw Zhou Yi sitting next to him, silent and with vacant eyes, so he poked him with his elbow: "What are you thinking about?"

"Ah, I was thinking... how to defeat them."

"Then have you figured out a way?"

"Not yet."

Sun Pan had a "I knew it" expression on his face.

At this time, Hao Dong came in, holding the latest lineup from Barcelona's youth team in his hand, and then he said to the players: "This game is not the same as the team that beat us 12-0 last time. They've changed some people. Several players who impressed you in the last game have been transferred to Barcelona B team, or even the first team. Then they've drawn up a few players from the U16."

Everyone was stunned when they heard Hao Dong say this, and then they had the same thought as Zhou Yi when he first heard the news.

"Damn it, they're looking down on us!" Sun Pan shouted.

The others were also indignant.

It was clear that they were just using a lower-level team to fool them.

Zhou Yi said next to Sun Pan: "Actually, it's not. Their U16 is also very strong."

Hao Dong also raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Don't underestimate your opponents! Even if they're from the U16, they're still more powerful than you think. This is still a team that can easily beat us."

Saying this was really discouraging. Even if they were clearly looking down on you and changed a group of people, they could still easily defeat you, so they really had the right to look down on you.

Not only the game against Barcelona, but this time to Europe, to challenge the youth training of European giants, was basically the same situation. Most of the youth teams could easily defeat the Chinese teenagers.

From this point of view, this kind of game was simply meaningless.

But the meaning of a soccer game is not just about winning or losing, especially in youth soccer, there are things more important than winning or losing.

Such as learning, such as experiencing, whether experiencing victory or failure, children can learn things that will benefit them for life.

"This is our last game in Europe. Think about two months ago, when we came to this land, facing unfamiliar and aloof opponents, how we performed. Then think about now, I believe that each of you must have some changes after experiencing these two months, more or less. I hope that this period of experience can become an important asset in your future soccer career and life path," Hao Dong said, as if giving a summary speech to a big show.

"Of course, some people have already changed their lives through these two months of experience..."

He glanced at Zhou Yi when he said this.

Some of the players also turned their attention to Zhou Yi.

From an amateur student player to a youth player about to sign with Borussia Dortmund, Zhou Yi's life had indeed been deeply changed.

"This game is your last game in Europe, and the opponent is still the Barcelona youth team. I think this arrangement is very interesting, like a report performance. Don't think too much, just show what you have learned and felt in Europe in the past two months on the field. Don't worry about winning or losing, just ask yourself if you have a clear conscience—when the game is over, no matter what the result is, don't leave any regrets for yourself."

Hao Dong also knew that the result of this game was most likely a loss, so he had to say something nice, don't focus on the outcome of the game, learning something is considered a victory.

In fact, the head coach was right, there is more to a soccer game than just winning or losing, there are many positive things.

But Zhou Yi, who had played against this team more than a hundred times in the virtual world without a single victory, couldn't let go of his desire to win so easily.

This was the last chance, and he wanted to win even more.

Why did he play so many games in the virtual world?

Wasn't it just to defeat them in this final real game?

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi clenched his fists, he had made a decision in his heart, maybe this approach was not very appropriate, but for the sake of victory, he had to overstep once.