Chapter 102 Smoke Bomb

The internet in China was going crazy, and even Yan Min had heard some rumors.

So the next day, when Zhou Yi went to the Brackel training base, Yan Min proactively approached him, apologizing. "Zhou Yi, did I say something wrong?"

Zhou Yi glared at him. "What you said wasn't wrong, but the place where you said it was."

Yan Min looked at Zhou Yi, puzzled.

"You shouldn't have said that in front of the reporters," Zhou Yi lectured. "Whether you shoot or not is up to you. No one can make that decision for you. If you think it's appropriate, if you have confidence, then shoot, even if it's from a zero angle, it doesn't matter. But in front of the media, and after just losing a game, you should keep a lower profile..."

Yan Min scratched his head. He really hadn't thought that much when answering those questions. He just said what he thought. Losing the game was really frustrating, but he didn't regret his choice. Shooting was a risky thing. If it succeeded, he'd become famous with one shot, but if it failed, he might be cursed. That was the risk he had to take for one-shot fame...

"Then do I need to explain it to the reporters again?" Yan Min hesitated.

"No need," Zhou Yi waved his hand. "It's good to maintain your current naive image, haha!"

After laughing, Zhou Yi said, "Okay, don't worry about this. What the outside world says isn't important. What's most important is your performance. If you can deliver a convincing performance in the future, the people who are cursing you now will sing your praises. It's no big deal. So just keep training as you always have."

"Oh, oh, okay!" Hearing Zhou Yi's words, Yan Min cheered up again.

Although Zhou Yi told Yan Min not to explain, Zhou Yi felt that this matter still needed to be explained, but he would have to do it himself. Because with Yan Min's mouth... he might make things worse.

But before he could find the media, the media found him.

Everyone was most concerned about two questions. The first was whether he would start in the Ruhr derby that weekend. After losing the Champions League match, some people were wondering why Klopp didn't take Zhou Yi to London. Because the Ruhr derby was next, and Klopp might think the Ruhr derby was more important than a Champions League group stage match. But if Zhou Yi couldn't play in the Ruhr derby, then losing to Arsenal would be meaningless, right?

The second question was naturally related to Yan Min, asking him what he thought of Yan Min's choice to shoot instead of pass at the end of the game, and what he thought of Yan Min's response to reporters at the airport.

Regarding the first question, Zhou Yi shook his head and said, "I don't know if I can play in the Ruhr derby. I hope I can, but it's not up to me. It's up to the coaching staff and the medical team. I'll follow the coaching staff's arrangements. If they let me play, I'll play. If they don't let me play, I won't cause trouble."

This was very much in Zhou Yi's style—it all sounded right, but it was all nonsense. It didn't attract the reporters at all, and didn't give the media any room to hype things up. The reporters could only repeat these platitudes verbatim, and couldn't even interpret them.

On the second question, Zhou Yi shrugged and gave an answer that surprised the reporters: "I don't think there's anything wrong with what Yan Min said."

"Ah?" Everyone was stunned—Zhou Yi was openly supporting Yan Min's statement and actions?! Wasn't he always emphasizing the big picture and collective interests? Why was he supporting Yan Min?

But then everyone thought, they were both Chinese players, so it was normal to support each other, right? Zhou Yi might have already scolded Yan Min behind his back, but in front of the media reporters, he still had to give his little junior some face...

But they were wrong. Zhou Yi didn't criticize Yan Min, but instead criticized them.

"What's wrong with an attacking player choosing to shoot?" he asked the reporters. "If an attacking player doesn't dare to shoot when facing the goal, what would you think? If he passed the ball out in the end, but no one scored, wouldn't you still criticize Yan Min for shirking responsibility and lacking courage?"

The reporters didn't expect Zhou Yi to criticize them, and they were speechless.

"Losing the game is the responsibility of the whole team, not just one person. I thought everyone understood this..." Zhou Yi said with a smile. But in the eyes of the reporters, this smile had a hint of sarcasm. But they dared to criticize Yan Min to his face, but they didn't dare to criticize Zhou Yi to his face. There had been a reporter who didn't believe in evil and wanted to challenge Zhou Yi head-on, hoping to become famous with one battle, but Zhou Yi had embarrassed him all the way to foreign countries. From then on, he avoided Zhou Yi whenever he saw him. They didn't want to follow in his footsteps...

"No one in the team's locker room is criticizing Yan Min's final choice, and no one thinks that losing the game is all Yan Min's fault. I'm not busy cleaning up Yan Min's mess either. I'm very grateful for your concern, but in fact, nothing you're worried about has happened." Of course, Zhou Yi still gave the reporters some face, and didn't say anything too harsh.

"I hope everyone doesn't jump to conclusions. This isn't an important matter. Whether Yan Min shoots or not is his freedom, and whether he shoots next time is also his freedom. I think he can clearly judge when he should and shouldn't shoot. You don't need to worry about this for him—I'm not worried about this problem. Losing two out of three Champions League group stage matches is indeed unfavorable for us, but there are still three group stage matches left, and we still have a chance. I'm not pessimistic."

"I know some people are worried that Yan Min's last shot will affect his evaluation in Klopp's eyes, leading to him having difficulty getting playing time again... I can understand your feelings, but I don't think that will happen. Jürgen Klopp is a very good coach, and he especially knows how to train young players."

Finally, Zhou Yi also flattered Klopp. If Klopp saw this interview report, he might not look at Yan Min with prejudice...

In fact, even without Zhou Yi's flattery, Klopp didn't plan to put the blame for losing the game all on Yan Min.

At the post-match press conference, he had stated that losing the game was not the responsibility and problem of one person.

He also didn't continue to delve into the question of whether Yan Min should have shot or not.

Losing the game put pressure on him, but there were more important things waiting for him to deal with, rather than worrying about such trivial matters.

The next game was the Ruhr derby against Schalke 04.

Given the current state of the entire Dortmund team, challenging Schalke 04 away from home might be a bad omen.

If they had two consecutive losses, the trouble would be great.

And the key to defeating Schalke 04 was... whether Zhou Yi could play.

※※※

"Can Zhou Yi play this time?" Zorc stared at Dr. Braun and asked, his eyes suggesting that if Braun didn't give him a satisfactory answer, he would eat him alive.

Dr. Braun didn't look at Zorc, but nodded and said, "Yes, he can."

Zorc smiled after hearing this, and his eyes softened.

But then Klopp was staring at Braun.

Braun raised his hand: "I know what you want to ask. Don't worry, I didn't make a decision against my will due to pressure from Zorc. Because he didn't go to London, Zhou Yi got enough rest, and his physical condition can meet the requirements for playing. But if he had gone to London, he might not have made it to the game against Schalke 04..."

"Can he start?" Klopp didn't show a relaxed expression, and continued to ask.

"He can start, but he can't play the whole game," Braun replied.

"Okay." Klopp nodded.

With the professional advice from the head of the medical team, he knew what to do.

Zorc was still very happy. Even if he couldn't play the whole game, it was still good. This was undoubtedly good news for Dortmund, who had just lost their Champions League group stage match.

He couldn't wait to announce this news: "Then I'll have the official website issue a press release saying that Zhou Yi will return in the game against Schalke 04?"

"No problem," Dr. Braun nodded.

But Klopp objected: "No, don't do that yet."

"Why?" Zorc was surprised.

Wasn't this a good thing? Shouldn't good things be announced widely?

"I've noticed that the media are speculating about whether Zhou Yi can participate in the derby. There are many voices of concern, and they even seem to be linking Zhou Yi and Gündoğan together, thinking that they are encountering the same trouble..." Klopp said. "I think, if these media reports can make Schalke 04 really think that Zhou Yi will have a hard time playing in the derby... that would be good. Let them report that way."

Zorc's eyes darted around, and he understood what Klopp was going to do: "You're planning to throw up a smokescreen for Schalke 04 before the game?"

Klopp nodded: "Yes. So I hope everyone will cooperate and have a unified message to the outside world—just say that we don't know if Zhou Yi can return in the game against Schalke 04..."

"There's a problem," Braun interjected. "What about training? Can't we still let Zhou Yi..."

"Training will be the same as usual. He's been training with the team for more than a week."

"What about the team scrimmage? You always have to work on the main lineup, right? Then everyone will be able to see which side Zhou Yi is on. There are so many people on the team, are you going to put a gag order on the whole team?"

"Why not?" Klopp asked.

"Uh..." Braun was speechless.

"Let them all shut up, if they want to win the game. Of course, the team scrimmage is not important, and there is no fixed main lineup. So it's hard to tell whether Zhou Yi will play based on this. Even if we put Zhou Yi on the substitute team, does that mean he won't play?" Klopp further explained.

In order to defeat Schalke 04, he had put in a lot of effort. If it were the previous two seasons, he wouldn't have needed to bother so much. He could just train normally and not use these tricks.

But now, Dortmund's situation was not good, and Klopp had to be more cautious, think more, and come up with ideas.

He had already felt that the team was starting to decline from its peak...