Chapter 193 Acceptance and Criticism

Zhou Yi could sense a subtle shift in the attitude of his teammates as they surrounded him with questions.

He understood and accepted this change.

Although he had enjoyed pleasant interactions with everyone before, sharing laughter and jokes, Zhou Yi often felt it was more akin to the care and courtesy of senior players toward youngsters from the youth team.

They didn't dislike him, and some were even willing to be friends off the field, just as stars often have non-footballing friends.

But after this training session, things were different.

The warmth and friendliness of his teammates had shifted, adding something more to the care and courtesy that seniors showed to juniors.

Their gazes toward him were different.

There was something called "recognition" in them.

Zhou Yi felt that they were beginning to truly regard him as a first-team player and accept him as a genuine teammate.

Rather than thinking, as many likely did before, that he was only in the first team for pre-season training as a reward for playing well in the youth team. Everyone knew that the youth team and the first team were entirely different worlds.

Good performance in the youth team didn't guarantee success in the first team. Being a core player in the youth team didn't mean you'd even get playing time in the first team.

These things were normal. For example, Real Madrid's top youth team scorer, Portillo, who broke Raul's youth team record, couldn't even secure a starting position at Real Madrid. Ultimately, he lost his place and had to move abroad.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid B team captain, center-back Mejia, couldn't even get playing time in Real Madrid's defense, which prioritized local youth training. His occasional appearances were poor, and he wasn't reliable.

Similar examples abounded in other teams.

The difference between the youth team and the first team wasn't just age and physique; it was much more.

So it was normal for Borussia Dortmund's first-team players to think Zhou Yi was just there for training and would return to the youth team at the start of the new season, with no idea when he would truly join the first team.

Even Mario Götze, when he first joined the first team, couldn't get any playing time and ended up playing for the U19s. If he had stayed in the first team, he might have been ruined.

Therefore, the first team, in the fantasies and aspirations of many youth team players, was like paradise. But in reality, it was full of sweet traps, and joining the first team too early wasn't necessarily a good thing.

In the eyes of these experienced first-team players, Zhou Yi was probably no different from those young men who came to the first team to broaden their horizons.

They didn't think they would be fighting alongside such a young guy in future official matches.

But Zhou Yi's performance in one training session earned their respect to some extent.

Before this, they were also curious about Zhou Yi. They had heard he played well in the youth team, but how well? No one had seen it.

Now, after seeing Zhou Yi's actual performance in training, they understood why he could play in the youth A team.

This kid did have some skills!

Zhou Yi liked this change in his teammates' attitude. His embarrassing image in physical training was replaced by his outstanding performance in offensive training.

Zhou Yi thought that if he continued to perform like this, staying in the first team after the pre-season training camp shouldn't be a problem.

Now he was thinking further ahead. He hoped to play in an official match for the first team as soon as possible.

※※※

After the morning training session, Zhou Yi was stopped outside the training ground by Chinese reporters.

About six or seven Chinese reporters surrounded him, wanting to interview him.

This wasn't Zhou Yi's first interview, but it was his first time being interviewed by Chinese reporters after coming to Borussia Dortmund.

However, Zhou Yi wasn't surprised because Fang Shuai had told him that the domestic media had already reported on his entry into Borussia Dortmund's first team.

So wasn't it normal to see reporters from China outside the training ground?

These Chinese reporters were also on the sidelines during the morning training, watching Zhou Yi's performance.

In the eyes of these professional football reporters, Zhou Yi's performance in the morning training was excellent.

This made them very happy. Although they had all seen the video of the German Youth Cup final between Borussia Dortmund U19 and Freiburg U19 and seen Zhou Yi's performance in it.

But the youth team and the first team were completely different. Too many players who performed well in the youth team couldn't gain a foothold in the first team.

Therefore, before seeing Zhou Yi's performance in the first team, they didn't dare to make any estimates about Zhou Yi's future.

After reporting that Zhou Yi had joined Borussia Dortmund's first team for training, domestic fans had exploded, but the media couldn't come up with any new news. Borussia Dortmund's closed physical training camp gave reporters no chance to gather information.

The domestic media had also been holding back for half a month. After Borussia Dortmund finished their physical training, they immediately flew to Switzerland and caught up with Borussia Dortmund's first public training session.

They came at the right time and didn't miss Zhou Yi's excellent performance in the first joint training session.

After the training, everyone couldn't hide their excitement and immediately surrounded Zhou Yi, wanting to ask him many questions.

"Zhou Yi, I've watched the *Green Field Inheritors* program." One reporter used this opening, successfully attracting Zhou Yi's interest, and he turned his attention to him. "I remember you had a weakness in the program, which was poor physical fitness. So, how is your physical condition now?"

Having just undergone fifteen days of hellish physical training, Zhou Yi's confidence was now bursting when faced with this question. Although his tone sounded quite modest, his words were not modest at all: "The intensity of Borussia Dortmund's first team physical training is really great, something I've never heard of, but I've completed it all!"

He wasn't bragging. He really had completed it all.

"You performed very well in the youth team, helping the team win the German Youth Cup and the Youth League championship. Is this the main reason you were able to enter the first team?"

"Of course." Zhou Yi answered very confidently. He didn't use ambiguous answers like "I think so" or "Probably."

In fact, Zhou Yi's confidence was evident throughout the interview.

When a reporter asked him what his expectations were for the first team, Zhou Yi directly replied that his goal was to stay in the first team after the training camp and then strive to play in the first team as soon as possible.

This left a very deep impression on the Chinese reporters who interviewed him. In the past, when they interviewed Chinese players playing abroad, even national players like Sun Hai and Yang Zhen, who had already made a name for themselves, would appear very modest when talking about their prospects in the team and their self-assessment of their abilities, whether it was habitual modesty or their true understanding of their strength.

But Zhou Yi didn't have that. He showed a lot of confidence.

Where did an eighteen-year-old player who had never played in the first team get his confidence from?

The Chinese reporters were very curious.

However, it was not easy to ask such questions during the first contact with Zhou Yi. If they asked, he might not answer.

Seeing that Zhou Yi still had sweat on his body, the reporters knew that they couldn't interview him for too long to avoid catching a cold.

So a reporter said that there were no more questions and told Zhou Yi to go back and take a shower.

His suggestion was echoed by all the reporters.

Zhou Yi thanked the reporters for their concern and waved goodbye to them.

Watching Zhou Yi's back, the reporters discussed, "He's a good kid, but he's a little too confident..."

"Isn't it a good thing to have confidence?"

"Confidence with strength is a good thing, but without strength..."

"This is hard to say, everyone. Anyway, judging from this training session, Zhou Yi's confidence is justified. Although it's his first joint training session with this team, he's not at all stage-frightened. He didn't show the kind of confusion and maladaptation in training. I think I'm very optimistic about this kid's future just because of this." An older reporter said. "I think the biggest difference between our Chinese players and European football is not technique. Technique can be practiced. Our youth team players also had officially selected stars of hope when they participated in the World Youth Championship. I think the biggest difference between us and them is psychological quality."

The older reporter's words were immediately agreed with: "That's right, that's right. Don't mention young players, just talk about our national players. Why can't they always break out of Asia? I think poor psychological quality is the main reason!"

"With leaders holding meetings every day, it would be strange if their psychological quality was good." Someone couldn't help but complain about the system.

But saying that, everyone also felt that if Zhou Yi had such psychological quality, his future was indeed worth looking forward to...

"He's a good seed. I hope he doesn't become the second Dong Zhuofang..."

※※※

However, during the afternoon training session, the Chinese reporters quickly discovered that Zhou Yi wasn't without shortcomings...

In the defensive training, Zhou Yi was required to press high up the pitch, but Zhou Yi ran a little slower and pressed later, which led to the team's high pressing encirclement not forming.

Klopp didn't even blow his whistle. Before the training stopped, he rushed from the sidelines to the pitch, roaring at Zhou Yi: "Zhou Yi! What are you doing! No slacking! No slacking!"

Zhou Yi was stunned by the sudden storm. He looked up at Klopp in a daze.

The six-foot-four Klopp gave him a lot of pressure at this time.

"Defense is a very disciplined job. Any mistake or negligence in any link can have fatal consequences! You must remember this!"

Zhou Yi finally came to his senses. He nodded quickly, like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, I'm sorry, coach, I'm sorry..." He apologized very quickly.

The teammates next to him looked at him with sympathetic eyes. In Borussia Dortmund, whoever hadn't been scolded by Klopp had really accumulated virtue for eight generations, so everyone empathized with Zhou Yi's feelings at this time.

Klopp was a coach who was very willing to joke with everyone outside of training and mingled with the players, but once training started, he would become like a tyrant, and no one was allowed to disobey him, or they would die.

Although Zhou Yi accepted Klopp's criticism, Klopp didn't leave. Instead, he took the opportunity to criticize Zhou Yi and once again emphasized the importance of defense to the players: "Guys, our defense starts from the forward line. It's a whole. So I require everyone to be fully committed when defending. Once someone runs one step less or runs one step later in defense, then everyone else has to run more and faster to make up for that one person's loopholes! This is an irresponsible attitude towards yourself and your teammates!"

His loud voice echoed over the training ground, and all the players looked at him. The reporters and fans on the sidelines also fell silent.

Götze secretly glanced at Zhou Yi. He felt that being used as a negative example by the head coach on this occasion was super embarrassing and awkward. If it were him, he would simply lower his head and want to crawl into the ground.

But what about Zhou Yi?

He stood next to Klopp, as if nothing had happened, as if he wasn't the one being talked about.

This kid... is he psychologically strong, or does he not take the head coach's words to heart at all?

※※※

After Klopp emphasized the importance of discipline, he signaled that Buvac could restart the training. At the same time, he strode off the field, stood on the sidelines, and resumed his state of watching with his arms crossed.

Buvac's whistle sounded, and training continued.

Although he looked like he was fine before, Zhou Yi was still quite active after the training started again. Regardless of whether he could defend, at least his attitude was correct. He kept running around, assisting in defense or personally intercepting.

Fortunately, his physical fitness had improved significantly in the previous physical training, otherwise, he might not have been able to run.

Zhou Yi also deeply felt why defense was more tiring than offense because the initiative was not in his hands. He could only passively follow the other party's rhythm, so naturally, he would be tired.

After Zhou Yi's training attitude improved, although he still had many problems in defense, at least Klopp never yelled at him alone again.

Poor defense could be a matter of ability or attitude. Klopp allowed a player to have problems with ability, but he didn't allow a player to have problems with attitude. He showed this to the newcomers who joined the team this summer in this training session.

※※※

The Chinese reporters on the sidelines had a new understanding of Zhou Yi after seeing this scene.

He had advantages and disadvantages, and both were very obvious.

But fortunately, this kid's training attitude was still considered correct. After being criticized by the coach, he also knew to put his heart into it. If he could continue to maintain this development trend, his future was indeed worth looking forward to.

"Actually, I'm not afraid of having shortcomings. I'm just afraid of having shortcomings but not changing them..." The oldest reporter spoke again.

"That's right, that's right. No one is perfect. Saints don't make mistakes, but they are not human. Zhou Yi is pretty good like this. Just keep working hard!"

Zhou Yi himself probably didn't expect that he would be so popular with the media...

The reporters had already thought about how to write the稿子 based on Zhou Yi's very different performances in the morning and afternoon of this day's training.

A Zhou Yi with shortcomings, but even more advantages. I believe fans will be more interested in such a vivid Zhou Yi, right?