Chapter 1 The Saint Paul's Roar

When the game restarted, the Stadio San Paolo was filled with thunderous cheers as Napoli fans celebrated the goal and the situation.

Although the second half had just begun, the excited Napoli fans already believed they were guaranteed victory. There couldn't possibly be any suspense or changes in this game.

Dortmund, with one less player, playing away from home, trailing by two goals, and showing no advantage in the previous play… It would be a miracle if Dortmund could turn this game around!

Dortmund's players did seem to be out of the game after it restarted, but there was always an exception.

Zhou Yi had been observing the situation in front of him, especially Aubameyang's movements when he didn't have the ball.

He saw that Aubameyang was actively looking for openings, so he was relieved. The Gabonese striker wasn't just talking; he was determined to do something for the team.

That was good. As long as there was fighting spirit, there was still hope. The worst thing would be to have that spirit crushed. Then, no amount of strategy would be useful.

When Zhou Yi finally had a chance to get the ball, he had already prepared to pass it. So, without stopping the ball, he met the pass from his teammate with a long through ball!

The ball flew straight to Aubameyang's path!

There was an empty space there!

Perfect for Aubameyang to take full advantage of his speed!

Sure enough, Aubameyang started quickly, accelerating forward! Like a cheetah running across the African savanna, chasing its prey.

His sudden burst caught Napoli completely off guard. Napoli's players were still immersed in their dream of leading by two goals and having one more player than their opponents, but they didn't expect Aubameyang to pierce through their defense like a bolt of black lightning!

"Zhou Yi's long pass is very precise… He found Bolt! Ah, no, it's Aubameyang!" He Ping exclaimed excitedly, calling Aubameyang by the wrong name.

But in a way, Aubameyang really was Bolt, because they were both very fast!

After receiving Zhou Yi's long pass, Aubameyang dribbled along the wing for a couple of steps, then quickly cut inside, heading straight for Napoli's penalty area.

Napoli's defenders hurriedly retreated to close down the defense.

Aubameyang faced the double defense of Albiol and Britos on the edge of the penalty area. Actually, it would have been more threatening if he could have passed the ball at this point. But neither Mark nor Reus were close enough to him—Zhou Yi's long pass was too sudden, and Aubameyang was too fast for them to catch up.

So, Aubameyang had no choice but to take a shot from the arc himself.

He tried to keep the ball down, and it bounced and jumped forward on the grass, which would make it more difficult for the goalkeeper to make a save. So Napoli's goalkeeper, Reina, didn't dive directly to catch the ball. He didn't have the confidence to do that. He chose the safest option—diving and using his hand to push the ball away!

The ball changed direction and flew out of bounds.

A gasp rippled through the stands of the Stadio San Paolo. The cheers of the Napoli fans finally died down temporarily.

Aubameyang, who didn't score, was frustrated. He knew what a good opportunity Zhou Yi had created for him. But he didn't seize it, and he felt a little sorry for Zhou Yi.

So, after holding his head in his hands, he turned to Zhou Yi and gave him a thumbs up, thanking him for the wonderful pass.

"Dortmund's counterattack! Reina made a great save! This is probably Dortmund's most threatening attack so far in the game!"

"Aubameyang's burst of speed just now was really fast! He almost instantly shook off Napoli's defenders…"

The reason Zhou Yi looked for Aubameyang was, of course, because he valued his speed advantage. In the Dortmund team's fitness tests, the Gabonese striker, who cost the team three million euros this summer, completed the thirty-meter sprint in 3.7 seconds, the fastest in the team.

Even Yan Min, a player known for his speed, couldn't outrun Aubameyang in thirty meters. Yan Min's advantage lay in his rapid changes of pace. He could constantly stop, accelerate, and change direction at high speed. In a simple straight sprint, he didn't have an advantage.

Aubameyang's speed in the thirty-meter sprint was even better than that of "the fastest man in the world," Bolt. When Bolt broke the 100-meter world record in 9.58 seconds in 2009, his speed in the first thirty meters was "only" 3.78 seconds…

The German newspaper *Bild* once said that Aubameyang might be the fastest player in the fifty-year history of the Bundesliga.

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Although Aubameyang's shot created a threat for Dortmund, Napoli wasn't crushed by it. They quickly launched an attack and threatened Langerak's goal.

Callejon cleverly passed the ball through after a horizontal dribble, and Insigne, in the penalty area, didn't stop the ball. Instead, he chose to turn and shoot directly!

He didn't even look at where the goal was, but the ball he shot avoided Langerak's fingertips and rolled towards the far corner of the goal.

If it hadn't been stopped by the post at the last moment, Dortmund might have been down by three goals…

"The post! Oh! Insigne! What a pity!" The Italian commentator shouted, holding his head in his hands.

Marcel Reif and He Ping both exclaimed in surprise, quite frightened.

Aubameyang's shot had cheered them up a bit, but now it seemed that the fundamental problem hadn't been solved. Dortmund was still in a passive situation.

Zhou Yi also knew that the situation wouldn't change because of Aubameyang's shot. To make a change, it was necessary to constantly create opportunities that could threaten the opponent's goal. Otherwise, one or two shots would just be attributed to "luck"…

In order to boost the team's morale, Zhou Yi was giving it his all in this game. He was running more than before, which was normal because Dortmund had one less player. To make up for the disadvantage caused by having one less player, everyone else had to run more than usual.

But it was in physical confrontation that Zhou Yi's determination was even more evident.

In previous games, Zhou Yi wasn't too keen on physical confrontations. If he encountered one, he usually avoided it. This wasn't cowardice; it was simply that it wasn't his strength, and it was foolish to compete with opponents physically. To play football, you had to play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.

But now, Zhou Yi was acting against his usual behavior. Even in some tackles that required physical contact, he seemed very active and proactive.

It wasn't that he could definitely win the ball this way; he just hoped to boost morale—seeing him so committed, how could his teammates be embarrassed to be so listless?

※※※

Zhou Yi's frantic involvement in tackles did touch his teammates.

If Zhou Yi, the least physically adept player on the team, was working so hard, how could they just stand by and watch?

So the Dortmund players' morale finally improved a bit.

Zhou Yi didn't stop tackling because of this. He was still working very hard and giving it his all. Because it wasn't enough yet. Morale had only just begun to recover, far from the point where he could relax.

Not just ground balls, even high balls, Zhou Yi would go for them.

In the seventy-first minute, Dortmund launched an attack. Aubameyang's cross from the wing was headed out by Napoli's Spanish center-back, Albiol.

Zhou Yi planned to compete for the second ball. This was like fighting for an offensive rebound in basketball. Only by controlling the second ball could Dortmund continue to attack. Only continuous attacks could pose a threat to Napoli's goal.

So Zhou Yi looked up at the flying ball and jumped.

Before he jumped, he noticed a Napoli player behind him. But judging by the distance, he was a bit far away from him. Zhou Yi had specifically run into an open space, and he didn't think the other player could get the ball before him. As long as he could head the ball out first, even if the other player rushed over, it would most likely be a foul.

Zhou Yi focused all his attention on the ball, jumping in the air to head it to his nearby teammate. He had already spotted him. Mark was right next to him, not far away, so it wouldn't take too much effort. He could put more strength into controlling the accuracy of the header…

Just as he was thinking this, Zhou Yi suddenly felt a huge force coming from behind. The force was so great that it felt like he had been hit from behind by a speeding truck. He blacked out.

Damn it, who drove a car onto the field!

This was Zhou Yi's last thought before he lost consciousness.

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"The second ball, get the second ball!" He Ping shouted. As the game time dwindled, he became increasingly anxious. When he saw Zhou Yi jump up to compete for the header, he was slightly relieved because the person appearing at the second ball was a Dortmund player, not a Napoli player.

But then he saw Inler sprinting at high speed and leaping up, rushing towards Zhou Yi, obviously going to compete for the header with Zhou Yi!

"Be careful…"

Before he could finish speaking, Inler collided with Zhou Yi. His raised arm hit Zhou Yi right in the back of the neck.

Inler, who jumped higher than Zhou Yi, headed the ball and also knocked Zhou Yi to the ground.

What worried He Ping was that he saw Zhou Yi falling from the air without any reflexive movements to protect himself, like a sack of potatoes, and landing directly on the ground.

After falling to the ground, Zhou Yi didn't roll or cushion the impact. He just lay on his side, motionless.

He Ping opened his mouth wide, but no sound came out. He stared at the big screen in front of him.

A bad feeling welled up from the depths of his heart.