Chapter 1 When Mark Kicked the Football into the Goal

When Mark kicked the football into the goal, the Wagner couple jumped up from their seats. Mrs. Wagner raised her arms and shouted, "Mark Wagner!! That's my son—!!!"

However, her shout was instantly drowned out by the huge cheers.

Dortmund fans in the stands were all raising their arms and shouting.

The taste of the derby was vividly displayed at this moment!

On the Dortmund coaching bench and the substitutes' bench, people were hugging each other to celebrate.

On the field, Dortmund's young men hugged Mark and celebrated their victory.

When Zhou Yi joined in, he was quickly embraced as well.

"Great pass, Zhou Yi!" they shouted.

"Great run too!" Zhou Yi said loudly to Mark. "Even better shot!"

Mark smiled happily.

Being able to score a goal against arch-rivals Schalke 04 was better than all the goals in the previous warm-up matches!

He did it!

He wanted to show his sister that he could, that he was capable!

In the stands, Kotana stood up and applauded, her eyes fixed on her brother, surrounded by his teammates. He was enjoying the joy after the goal, the praise from his teammates, and the achievement and vanity brought by the cheers of the audience in the stands.

Would such a bright smile appear on the face of a younger brother who studies hard at school like herself?

Kotana asked herself.

She couldn't imagine what that kind of picture would look like.

※※※

After the celebration, Mark turned around to walk back. He looked up at the stands, searching for his parents and sister. He saw them almost immediately.

Because his mother was standing on her seat, trying to make herself look taller, and pointing at him on the field while shouting, "Mark! Mark!!"

Mark waved to his mother, and he also noticed his sister next to her.

He spread his hands and made a helpless gesture to his sister.

Of course, it wasn't that he was helpless, but rather asking his sister if she was helpless now that he had scored a goal?

Kotana also responded with a shrug and a spread of her hands.

At the same time, she muttered in her heart about her younger brother—this kid, he's still holding a grudge!

※※※

When Zhou Yi played the football straight through, a cry of surprise rang out from the Schalke 04 substitutes' bench: "Offside!!"

When Yang Muge heard them shouting like that, he thought to himself: How is that possible? Zhou Yi has never passed an offside ball!

Sure enough, Mark then broke through and scored, Schalke 04 fell behind, and the exclamations on the substitutes' bench turned into sighs and groans.

Yang Muge also regretted the team conceding a goal, but his inner feelings were more about being happy for his friend's excellent performance.

A beautiful, typical Zhou Yi-style assist!

The "King of Warm-up Matches" is also performing remarkably in official matches!

While Yang Muge was outwardly regretting the goal conceded, but inwardly happy, a teammate suddenly leaned over from the substitutes' bench: "Yang, is that your friend?"

Yang Muge was startled, thinking that his thoughts had been exposed. He was well aware of the grudges between these two teams.

"Ah, yes, he is my friend. We used to play on the same team," Yang Muge said hesitantly in his not-so-fluent German.

"Then can you convince him to join us!"

"I don't think that's possible, sorry, Tim," Yang Muge said, shaking his head with a smile.

Hearing what Yang Muge said, the other party seemed to realize that he had made a very unlikely request, so he scratched his head: "Although he is an opponent, I have to admit that he is really amazing... Peterrak was completely played by him!"

Yang Muge smiled and didn't reply.

Of course, there are quite a few people who have been played by him!

※※※

After the game restarted, Dortmund, who were leading by one goal, were in high spirits, and with Zhou Yi, they firmly controlled the situation on the field. Zhou Yi knew when to accelerate and when to slow down.

Under his control, Dortmund finally finished the first half with a one-goal lead.

If we only consider the strength of the two teams, this score is somewhat unexpected.

But considering this is a derby, then it's not surprising at all.

During the half-time break, Peterrak was criticized by the head coach. However, he was not replaced, so Zhou Yi's goal of getting Yang Muge on the field had not yet been achieved.

The coach just told Peterrak that he must actively and thoroughly implement his tactics in the second half, which is to closely mark Zhou Yi and not leave him for a moment!

The goal conceded in the first half was certainly due to the opponent's forward's exquisite running position, but the most important thing was Zhou Yi's passing and running, he dominated Dortmund's goal, and his final pass in the encirclement was also very calm.

Peterrak gritted his teeth and promised the head coach that he would keep a close eye on Zhou Yi in the second half and would never give him another chance to perform in front of him!

He still remembered what Zhou Yi had said to him after the assist...

He thought he couldn't understand German, but he heard everything, and then held back his energy and returned it all after the assist!

Peterrak couldn't tolerate such humiliation.

He must teach that Chinese kid a lesson!

Yang Muge saw Peterrak's slightly grim expression and felt worried for Zhou Yi in his heart—I hope Zhou Yi doesn't get injured in this game...

※※※

During the half-time break, the Dortmund fans in the stands were also discussing the first half of the match. Mark's goal was naturally the focus of everyone's discussion.

While many people praised Mark's forward run and calm shot, many people also praised Zhou Yi's passing and organization.

The fans who really care about the Dortmund youth team are no strangers to these two. The previous series of warm-up matches have fully proved how excellent they are.

"This is our youth team's golden partner!" Some fans were introducing them to those who don't usually watch the youth team matches and only came to watch this Ruhr derby.

"Number twenty-three Zhou is responsible for passing and organizing, and number twenty-five Mark is responsible for scoring. The two of them cooperate very well!"

Mrs. Wagner, who was eavesdropping nearby, nudged her husband with her elbow, with a smug look on her face.

Hearing others praising her son, whether in China or Germany, parents all over the world are the same—their hearts are as sweet as honey!

Kotana sat in her seat, not running around the stands like her parents, just to hear how others were evaluating their son. But even so, Kotana could still hear the fans discussing her brother at any time.

"That number twenty-five, Mark Wagner... I know him, he has been in Dortmund's youth team since he was nine years old, but he hasn't had any outstanding performances for so many years. He has always been a substitute's substitute in the U17 team. How did he suddenly become so powerful? He scored eighteen goals during the warm-up matches! It's like he's been reborn!"

"Yes, I also find it strange. If he has the strength, then why didn't he have such performance before?"

"Hey, the state of the football world, who can say for sure? Anyway, Wagner is in the best state now..."

Kotana listened to their discussion, thinking in her heart that she might know why her brother had such a change.

※※※

The second half started after the half-time break. The two sides changed sides and fought again, and neither side made any personnel adjustments.

On Schalke 04's side, they still had to rely on Draxler.

And for Dortmund, Zhou Yi was obviously the core.

Not long after the second half started, everyone gradually noticed some changes outside of personnel adjustments.

That is, Peterrak has obviously strengthened his marking on Zhou Yi. This time, it is not just a close-marking tactic on the tactics board.

Peterrak really wants to stay with him every step of the way.

Under his close defense, Zhou Yi was indeed in trouble.

His performance was not as free as in the first half.

Although Zhou Yi's weight has increased compared to when he first joined the reality show team, he is still not considered a strong and mighty player on the field.

Physical confrontation is still his weakness.

And when Zhou Yi couldn't operate normally, Schalke 04's offensive rose.

Julian Draxler took advantage of this special period for Dortmund and performed brilliantly, helping Schalke 04 equalize the score!

When Draxler and his teammates were celebrating the goal, a burst of boos rang out from the Dortmund stands.

In the world of football, there is no such thing as being friendly to young people.

In a derby, the opponent is the enemy, no matter how old they are.

However, Schalke 04's youth didn't care about the boos from the stands. They celebrated wildly in the enemy's territory, stimulating every Dortmund fan.