Chapter 17 Test

When Zhou Yi opened his eyes, it was a new day. Today was the day of their match against Borussia Dortmund.

He had spent the whole night fighting Borussia Dortmund, sleeping for eight hours after playing eight matches.

Perhaps because he had been playing against La Masia Youth B for so long, he felt a bit unaccustomed to the sudden change of opponents. But that was his reaction on the first day. Now, Zhou Yi felt that this Borussia Dortmund youth team was not as strong as La Masia's. The most outstanding player in their team was Mario Götze, but everyone else was far behind him.

Therefore, playing the game felt easier.

At the very least, even Zhou Yi himself had scored a goal in the matches.

After four days of repeatedly playing against Borussia Dortmund in his dreams, Zhou Yi had achieved his goal of "understanding the opponent."

Next, he would test his current level in actual combat.

Before exiting the system, he specifically looked at his latest stats.

All his attributes had improved. Among them, short passing had improved the most, because now that he had switched to playing midfield, he mainly practiced passing, especially short and medium-range passes from five to fifteen meters. It had gone from the initial twenty-two to the current sixty. This was the result of Zhou Yi spending a lot of effort on short passing training. When he specifically targeted a certain attribute for training, the training effect was very significant with the help of the system.

The improvement in short passing was also very obvious in the virtual system matches. It was no longer like the first match against La Masia Youth B, where he couldn't pass the ball out at all, and even if he did, he couldn't pass it accurately. Once the ball reached his feet, it basically meant the end of China's possession.

Getting out of bed, Zhou Yi saw He Ying coming out of the bathroom with a towel on his head.

Taking a shower before going to bed and after getting up every day was He Ying's habit.

He Ying's expression under the towel was very serious and solemn. Today, taking a shower seemed to be not just an act of cleaning the body, but also a ritual.

Like a warrior, a ritual before stepping onto the battlefield. Washing his body clean, then going into battle to kill the enemy, and finally dying on the battlefield.

He Ying really had such a determined mentality.

In this match, he didn't expect the Chinese team to win. Even if the Borussia Dortmund youth team was the weakest team they had encountered so far, they were still stronger than the Chinese youngsters.

But he still hoped that he could score a goal in the match. This was no longer to prove his ability, but to save face for Chinese football.

The program team had never revealed to them what kind of reaction their actions in Europe had caused in China.

But He Ying had his own channels, and he knew the domestic reaction.

Many people had already called their European tour a "tour of shame," and their team was also called the "team of shame." He admitted that his performance was not good enough to live up to the supporters, but he would not give up.

If no one helped him, he would work hard himself, like a true warrior, fighting to the last moment.

Zhou Yi noticed those subtle changes in He Ying. Although he couldn't quite explain the reason for this change, he could see that today's He Ying was different from the He Ying of the past, but also the same as He Ying at a certain time—the same as He Ying on every match day.

He could guess something from this regular change.

Either He Ying was nervous, or he cared too much and valued the match too much.

Zhou Yi wondered if he should comfort him, just like after they lost to La Masia Youth B.

So he said to He Ying, "He Ying, I think you will definitely score a goal today."

He Ying raised his head and looked at Zhou Yi, "Why?"

"I dreamed that you scored a goal."

Even an iceberg would be amused by Zhou Yi's deadpan nonsense at this time, and He Ying couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks," he said perfunctorily, taking it as Zhou Yi's usual nonsense.

"Hey, I'm serious." Seeing that He Ying didn't believe him, Zhou Yi explained.

"Don't you know that dreams are the opposite of reality?" He Ying sneered, wiping his wet hair with a towel.

Zhou Yi was speechless—He Ying's words left him completely unable to refute...

He couldn't possibly tell He Ying: My dreams are different from yours. I have a system called fifAoL3 in my dream. In the system, we have played thirty-two matches against Borussia Dortmund. In these thirty-two matches, you scored sixteen goals and I scored seven goals. These are all reflections of the real world, not daydreams!

If that were the case, He Ying probably wouldn't even bother to say "thanks" perfunctorily, and would only think of him as a lunatic.

※※※

The match between the Chinese youngsters and the Borussia Dortmund youth team was in the afternoon. The venue was in their training base. Although it was not deliberately closed off, youth team training grounds rarely have fans visiting, and no reporters would be stationed there, so it was practically the same as being closed off.

After lunch and an hour's nap, all the youngsters gathered and took a bus to Borussia Dortmund's training base in the Brackel district.

Waiting for them there was the club's chairman, Mr. Rauball, and the youth training director, Ricken.

The club chairman personally came to pick them up, which was the highest treatment the Chinese youngsters had received on this trip. Even clubs like Real Madrid, which valued the Asian market, only sent a vice chairman.

The white-haired Mr. Rauball warmly welcomed the young players and introduced the youth training director, Ricken, to them: "This is our Borussia Dortmund hero, Lars Ricken."

In the 1997 Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, a giant from Italy, were locked in a fierce battle. The two sides were deadlocked, with Borussia Dortmund leading by a score of only 2:1. Moreover, Juventus's counterattack was very fierce. At this moment, Borussia Dortmund coach Hitzfeld pushed a young man to the sidelines.

This young man had just come on the field when he got a counterattack opportunity. He dribbled the ball through midfield, with no defenders blocking him in front, only the Italian national goalkeeper Peruzzi.

Everyone was looking forward to his one-on-one duel with Peruzzi in the penalty area. If he could score, he would completely seal the victory.

This young man lived up to expectations. Facing the attacking Peruzzi, he chose a calm lob shot. The ball drew a beautiful arc in the air, passing over Peruzzi's head and flying into the goal!

This goal completely sealed the victory, allowing Borussia Dortmund to win the first European championship trophy in their club's history, and also the only one.

The hero who helped the team secure the championship was Lars Ricken.

He was only twenty-one years old at the time.

Now, Ricken, who stood in front of the Chinese youngsters, still maintained the athletic physique of his playing days, but the wrinkles on his face had obviously increased, completely different from the young man who scored the winning goal against Juventus in the Champions League final.

When he smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes became even more pronounced.

"That was eleven years ago," Ricken said with a smile. "Now I am Borussia Dortmund's youth training director, but I haven't retired yet. I'm currently playing in the second team. So, welcome everyone to Borussia Dortmund!"

Like the previous five clubs, they first visited the club's youth training camp under the leadership of the youth training director.

Ricken's tone was always proud when introducing Borussia Dortmund's youth training.

He did have the confidence to be proud.

Although Borussia Dortmund's first-team results in recent seasons were not very good, and last season they even finished thirteenth, reaching a rare low point.

But their youth training level has always been very high. For example, Ricken himself was trained by Borussia Dortmund. There was also Nuri Sahin, a midfield genius who was loaned to Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie last season and performed well, helping the team win the Dutch Cup. He was also trained by Borussia Dortmund's own youth training system.

"Of course, our most outstanding youth training genius now is this one—" Ricken pointed to a photo on the wall and said with pride.

Zhou Yi followed the others to look over, and he recognized the person in the photo at a glance.

Mario Götze.

He said in his heart.

"Mario Götze!" Ricken reread the person's name. "He is the latest result of our youth training." Seeing that the Chinese youngsters were indifferent to this name, Ricken said, "Perhaps you are still a little unfamiliar with him now, but you will see him in the match later."

Zhou Yi said in his heart: I'm not unfamiliar at all...

Yes, thanks to the virtual system, Zhou Yi had faced Götze thirty-two times. Even if they weren't directly matched up, there would still be head-to-head confrontations in the match. Sometimes Zhou Yi defended Götze, and sometimes Götze defended Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi found that this kid was similar to himself, and neither of them was good at defending. So when he defended Götze, Götze could easily get past him. And when Götze defended himself, he could find confidence from him.

Zhou Yi became familiar with Götze little by little in the process of mutually abusing each other, and even felt a little close to Götze.

Götze, with his baby face, looked quite likable.

※※※

After visiting Borussia Dortmund's youth training camp, the players came to the locker room to change their clothes and prepare.

Zhou Yi actively changed his jersey, and Liang Qiqi, who saw all this, snorted. In his opinion, Zhou Yi was simply like a little kid who was overjoyed to receive a beloved gift and became carried away.

He might think that being able to play in the match was a gift, but Liang Qiqi firmly believed that Zhou Yi would soon find out that he was terribly wrong!

After losing five consecutive matches, and all by large margins, head coach Hao Dong didn't have much to say before the match.

Continue to boost the team's morale?

In the current situation, it was difficult for him to motivate these young players even if he had the gift of the gab.

The huge gap between them and the top European youth training programs made everyone feel discouraged.

Match after match, knowing that they would definitely lose, what was the point of trying?

Could effort lead to victory?

Could effort lead to results?

Self-help books had always said so, but the cruel reality told them that drinking too much chicken soup would cause indigestion.

Effort couldn't make up for this insurmountable gap!

Before the match, the atmosphere in the locker room was more like after losing a match, silent and depressing.

Zhou Yi was very uncomfortable with this atmosphere. He sat on his seat and fidgeted, as if he had ADHD.

Fortunately, Hao Dong spoke at this time, saving him from his awkwardness.

"In this match, the opponents are also very strong. Everyone just needs to show what they have learned in training. Remember, showing your best is the greatest victory."

Hao Dong had lowered his goal to this point, which showed how bad the team's situation was now.

Try your best to show yourself?

Zhou Yi thought of those thirty-two matches he had played against the Borussia Dortmund youth team in the virtual system.

Perhaps he could expect more?

Since he had been given the opportunity to play in the match, he shouldn't let this opportunity be squandered easily.

Zhou Yi had his own ambitions.

He Ying was wrong. I'm not the kind of person who is always laughing and doesn't care about anything.

When it comes to football, I'm just as serious!