Chapter 1 When China Meets Germany

When Chinese fans were making jokes about Zhou Yi, Yan Min was indeed at Borussia Dortmund's training base, meeting Zhou Yi.

But he wasn't there to pay respects to the boss.

Zhou Yi probably didn't think of himself as Borussia Dortmund's top dog either.

He was very happy to see Yan Min: "I really hoped you could come, but I didn't expect it to go so smoothly." Zhou Yi patted Yan Min on the shoulder. "How were the physical results?"

"I passed."

Sometimes the physical is just a formality. Basically, if you're there for the physical, it means you're already part of the team. It's rare to fail at the physical stage, so rare that it makes the news every time.

"Well, I bet they didn't announce that you're built like a bull. Because they didn't say that about me back then either." Zhou Yi sized Yan Min up and down.

Then they both laughed, because neither of them was particularly strong.

The Borussia Dortmund website reporter responsible for taking photos and recording the event watched the two Chinese guys chatting in Chinese and then bursting out laughing. He didn't understand what they were laughing about, but he pressed the shutter anyway, already thinking of a title for the photo: Two Chinese Players Chat Happily on the Sidelines.

"How many days have you been here?" Zhou Yi asked after they finished laughing.

"I just got here yesterday."

"Have you adjusted to the time difference yet?"

"I don't feel any time difference." Yan Min's answer had his usual self-assured style. Call it confidence, call it arrogance, it's up to you.

Zhou Yi laughed. "It's good to be young."

"Hey, Zhou Yi... aren't you only two years older than me?"

"Two years is still older." Zhou Yi glared and said seriously, "Call me 'Senior'!"

Yan Min reluctantly called him "Senior," then complained: "This isn't Japan, why are we calling each other 'Senior'?"

"Then what do you want to call me?"

"I just want to call you Zhou Yi!" Yan Min said.

As a junior, talking to a senior like that could easily be seen as "rude." This little detail shows why Yan Min wasn't well-liked...

But Zhou Yi didn't care about Yan Min's attitude. He nodded with a smile: "Very good."

Then he changed to a serious expression and said to Yan Min: "If you have any problems, you can come to me, but I suggest you try to solve them yourself. Here, language is the most important thing, life is the second most important, and soccer is the third. If you can't manage your own life and it's a mess, I don't think you'll play well either. How are your independent living skills?"

Yan Min replied: "I've been away from home since I was a kid, training at Xu Zhi's base, I'm used to being alone."

"That's good." Zhou Yi nodded vigorously. Then he held out his hand and said: "Welcome to the Brackel training ground, welcome to Borussia Dortmund."

The two men shook hands, and the reporters next to them pressed the shutters of their cameras again.

※※※

Yan Min passed the physical, and Borussia Dortmund officially announced Yan Min's signing. The club also held a small welcome ceremony for him, inviting some fans and reporters. After all, he was being brought in as a first-team player for Borussia Dortmund, unlike Zhou Yi back then, who was just a youth team player.

The reporters who came were mainly Chinese reporters, since he was a Chinese player and the Chinese media were the most interested. Now those Chinese reporters stationed in the Ruhr region had another person to report on, in addition to Zhou Yi and Yang Mu Ge. But no one complained about the increased workload. On the contrary, every Chinese reporter who attended the welcome ceremony had a happy smile on their face.

They were reporters, but they were also supporters of Chinese soccer. They all hoped to see more Chinese players on the European stage. Everyone was very happy and proud that Yan Min was able to land in Europe and join Borussia Dortmund, and they were full of expectations for Yan Min's future.

The Borussia Dortmund fans who came to support were mainly members of the "Black and Yellow" fan organization led by old Wagner. They had a very good relationship with Zhou Yi, and because of this relationship, the club approached them to support Yan Min's signing, who was also Chinese, to create some momentum.

Although the scale of the welcome ceremony was not large, the atmosphere was still very warm because of the "Black and Yellow" fans and the Chinese reporters. This also allowed Yan Min to feel the enthusiasm of the Borussia Dortmund fans. No wonder people said that Borussia Dortmund's fans might be the best fans in the world.

He was also increasingly looking forward to playing in front of these fans, just like Zhou Yi.

When he received his Borussia Dortmund jersey from Zorc, the sporting director of the team, the sound of camera shutters was like rain, and the flashes of light were blinding.

The dazzling white light made Yan Min blink hard. This was the first time he had enjoyed such treatment...

On the back of the yellow jersey was his number for the Borussia Dortmund first team - 13, and his last name "yAn".

Judging from the number, it was quite early, but that didn't mean anything. Today's soccer teams are not like they used to be, and they rarely arrange player numbers according to the order of appearance. Nowadays, even if you wear the number ten, which symbolizes the core player, you may end up warming the bench all season and not get to play much. This is especially true at Borussia Dortmund. The team's core player, Zhou Yi, wears number twenty-three, which in the national team would mean last place. It's usually the number of the second-choice goalkeeper.

The team's starting center back, Hummels, wears the number fifteen jersey. The starting left back Schmelzer has an even bigger jersey number, twenty-nine. The other starting right back Piszczek wears number twenty-six.

So it is impossible to deduce or guess Yan Min's prospects for the new season at Borussia Dortmund from his jersey number.

After receiving the jersey, Yan Min said to the reporters: "I will train hard and study hard. I don't know when I will be able to play in the first team, but I can guarantee that I won't embarrass Chinese players!"

These words were full of the vigor and confidence of a young man, and even a bit "arrogant" - the face of Chinese players is probably not something you can bear.

But Yan Min just said it, which was in line with his usual way of speaking. The Chinese reporters present were a little stunned - they didn't know much about Yan Min before. If Yan Min hadn't joined Borussia Dortmund this time, and they had at least rushed to learn some information about Yan Min, they would probably have known nothing about this person.

However, everyone quickly realized that in addition to Zhou Yi, who was usually impeccable but also a bit boring when speaking to reporters, Borussia Dortmund now had another Chinese player who spoke without thinking but was more topical, which was a good thing for them reporters.

But some reporters were worried about Yan Min - was his personality a good thing or a bad thing in the locker room of a giant like Borussia Dortmund?

※※※

Three days after Yan Min arrived in Dortmund, accompanied by his Chinese agent, Li Jicheng, he appeared in a box at Westfalenstadion to watch the 2013-2014 German Super Cup.

Yan Min was not even selected for the squad for this game. Not to mention whether his ability could meet the requirements for playing, the fact was that he had just arrived in Dortmund, and hadn't even started systematic training yet, so naturally he wasn't qualified to represent Dortmund.

Before the game even started, Yan Min had already felt the enthusiasm of Borussia Dortmund's fans. Westfalenstadion was indeed the stadium with the highest attendance in Europe last season.

Before the start of the match, the stadium announcer Norbert Dickel led the fans in chanting Borussia Dortmund's starting lineup, giving Yan Min the feeling that he was in the middle of a typhoon.

Anyone who came to Westfalenstadion to watch a game for the first time would be deeply shocked. Zhou Yi was like that, and Yan Min was no exception.

At the same time, what Yan Min felt even more deeply was that among all the Borussia Dortmund players mentioned, his compatriot and senior Zhou Yi received the loudest cheers.

The roar of the crowd made Yan Min couldn't help but feel a little excited, and his body trembled slightly as he clenched his fists.

His agent, Li Jicheng, saw this scene beside him and couldn't help but joke: "What's wrong, nervous?"

"No, it's excitement. I was thinking what it would be like if I could enjoy such cheers one day!" Yan Min said through gritted teeth.

"Well, good luck!" Li Jicheng encouraged him. It was a good thing for young people to be full of beautiful dreams for the future.

※※※

Every Borussia Dortmund player who appeared received unreserved cheers from the fans, while the only thing that greeted the Bayern Munich players was boos.

Even Lewandowski did not escape the boos, although they were a little quieter.

Götze was absent due to injury, otherwise when his name was called, the boos would probably have been the loudest in the stadium...

Borussia Dortmund fans were clear about what they loved and hated, and did not hide their emotions.

※※※

"Welcome to the 2013-2014 Super Cup, the two sides are last season's league champion Borussia Dortmund and last season's German Cup champion Bayern Munich!" Commentator Marcel Reif introduced to the audience.

With the referee's whistle, the game began.

"The temperature in Dortmund is thirty degrees during the game. Looking at the dazzling sunshine on the field, the audience can imagine how hot it is now. This is a test for both sides..."

Marcel Reif wasn't exaggerating. For Germany, where they don't even sell single-unit air conditioners in shopping malls, temperatures above thirty degrees in the summer can be called "high temperatures."

"Borussia Dortmund was not favored before the game. After all, they lost two generals, Götze and Lewandowski, this summer, and the most important summer training was mainly used to make money in China. But this game is arranged in Borussia Dortmund's own home stadium, which may be a kind of balance and compensation... The home advantage helps Borussia Dortmund play their best. Everyone knows that they are always in good shape at Westfalenstadion... As for Bayern Munich, Ribery and Götze are both absent from this game due to injury, which will definitely affect their strength. But Lewandowski's appearance will make up for the team's loss of personnel in attack..." Marcel Reif took the time to introduce the starting lineups of both sides to the TV audience.

"...It can be seen that Borussia Dortmund is still based on last season's main lineup, and most of the newly introduced players are sitting on the bench. The starting forward is Mark Wagner, both Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan are on the bench... After all, last season's lineup has proven to be very successful, and Klopp doesn't want to risk using newcomers who don't have enough chemistry with the team in this important game... After Bayern Munich poached Götze and Lewandowski, Klopp is also under great pressure. If he loses to Bayern Munich in the Super Cup, the voices criticizing his team will probably be even louder..."