Chapter 118 A Championship for the New Year

Mark's goal had a significant impact on the Freiburg U19 players' morale—no one feels good after being ambushed by a goal. They felt that Dortmund hadn't scored with genuine skill, and they hadn't even had time to defend before conceding.

In youth-level matches, young players are often easily affected by the game's progress, leading to emotional ups and downs, and fluctuating performance.

This is a normal phenomenon.

Therefore, if someone can remain calm, mature, and stable under these normal circumstances, they will inevitably be viewed differently.

Zhou Yi was such a person.

But most of the Freiburg U19 players were not.

After the game restarted, they seemed impatient and at a loss.

They didn't manage to equalize even once in the entire first half, and their high pressing was repeatedly interrupted by frequent fouls.

Sorg received a yellow card early in the first half, which was a dangerous sign as the strongest center-back in Freiburg's defense.

And he got that yellow card on Zhou Yi...

During the halftime break, Zhou Yi had to change his jersey—because his yellow Dortmund jersey had been turned into camouflage by being constantly pulled and tugged.

No matter how quickly he passed the ball and moved, he couldn't avoid being deliberately kicked down by his opponents.

Of course, Freiburg didn't get away scot-free. In addition to Sorg carrying a yellow card, Zhou Yi also earned yellow cards for two other Freiburg U19 players.

These were all ticking time bombs planted in Freiburg's formation.

As expected, at the start of the second half, Streich replaced the two players with yellow cards, but Sorg remained on the field.

It wasn't that he didn't want to substitute Sorg, but he had no one to replace him in that position.

Sorg was the team's best defender, and if he were taken off, the defense would be in even worse shape.

He could only keep Sorg on the field.

But this also affected Sorg's performance on the field.

In the second half, Dortmund continued to dominate, and Freiburg's high pressing looked more and more like a futile struggle.

To protect Zhou Yi, Yeballa substituted him off in the sixty-seventh minute.

"Dortmund U19 has made their first substitution of the match, they've taken off number twenty-three... Zhou Yi! This young Chinese player has been outstanding in this game, completely dominating the midfield area. Freiburg's high pressing was originally quite successful, but unfortunately, they ran into an even better Zhou Yi," Leif said. "I've never paid much attention to Dortmund U19's matches before, but I think my biggest takeaway today isn't seeing Gotze score a goal, but this number twenty-three!"

Marcel Leif was telling the truth. For him, the biggest discovery of this match was learning that there was a young Chinese player with a tongue-twisting name at Dortmund.

He was truly full of praise for Zhou Yi's performance in this game, and every time Zhou Yi got the ball, he would commend Zhou Yi's actions.

Because it's really rare to see a player with such calm and accurate ball handling at the U19 level, and anyone with such a performance deserves his unreserved praise, because such people are basically geniuses.

On the ever-changing battlefield of the game, Zhou Yi was always able to find the best openings, which was enough to shock Leif.

In fact, when Zhou Yi was substituted off, Leif had something else he didn't say.

That was that he felt he might see this kid in the Bundesliga broadcasts before long.

After all, Klopp is known for being willing to give young players opportunities.

Gotze had been called up to the first team before, so why wouldn't Zhou Yi, who was already eighteen, be called up to the first team?

※※※

When Zhou Yi left the field, the Dortmund fans in the stands stood up to applaud him.

"Wow! Well done!" Mrs. Wagner clapped with extra force.

Cortana didn't applaud Zhou Yi, but turned to look around. Everywhere she looked, almost all the fans wearing Dortmund jerseys were like her mother and father.

She then turned her gaze to Zhou Yi, who was slowly walking towards the sideline.

He walked very slowly, constantly high-fiving his teammates.

The Freiburg players complained to the referee that Zhou Yi was deliberately wasting time.

The referee went up to remind him, and he jogged two steps, then slowed down again towards the sideline, but he didn't go to high-five his teammates anymore, and the referee was too embarrassed to urge him again. Because he had indeed been kicked quite badly, and there was reason to walk slowly and limp...

This kid...

He's got a knack for being cunning!

Cortana's lips curled up.

※※※

Under the murderous gaze of the Freiburg players, Zhou Yi finally reached the sideline, and he raised his hand to wave to the Dortmund fans in the stands who were applauding him.

This feeling was really good, being applauded thunderously when being substituted off... This is why he wanted to play professional soccer.

Because professional soccer would have ten times as many spectators as today, and the applause would naturally be ten times louder...

After high-fiving the teammate who replaced him on the sideline, he walked towards the bench.

Yeballa was the first to go up and hug him, concerned about his injury: "Are you okay?"

Zhou Yi shook his head: "They're all bruises, it's nothing serious, coach."

"Still, don't be careless, use ice packs," Yeballa said.

Zhou Yi thought of Cortana's suggestion back then, and nodded: "Okay, coach."

"Go and rest, you still have to lift the trophy later!" Yeballa was rarely so optimistic.

Zhou Yi smiled and walked back to the bench, high-fiving the teammates sitting on the bench to celebrate, except for Schneider.

Schneider, sitting in the corner, had no intention of congratulating Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yi didn't go over there at all. He plopped down in his seat, and the team doctor brought over ice packs, which he pressed against his calf—where he had been kicked the most, and the shin guards revealed blue and purple bruises.

Zhou Yi ignored all of this.

He was like this when he played soccer at school, too, because he could always score goals, and was always in the most crowded penalty area, so he was often kicked.

Amateur soccer wasn't any less rough than professional soccer, because everyone's tackles were reckless. So amateur soccer often led to fights because of heavy tackles, fouls, and disputes over whether someone was offside. Zhou Yi had witnessed many brawls on the soccer field from elementary school to middle school, and they involved all sorts of weapons, both bloody and ridiculous.

※※※

After Zhou Yi was substituted off, Dortmund's quick passing and cutting tactics couldn't be executed, and Dortmund's midfield dominance clearly declined after he left the field.

Leif saw this very clearly, and he had to mention Zhou Yi's name again: "See, Zhou Yi is the core of Dortmund's tactics. After he left the field, Dortmund had to adjust their tactics. If they didn't have a two-goal lead, I don't think Yeballa would have been willing to substitute Zhou Yi off so early..."

After Zhou Yi left the field, Dortmund did adjust their tactics, but still focused on passing, but the speed wasn't as fast as before.

Now Gotze had switched to the attacking midfielder position, taking on the task of passing. This was what Gotze did for this team before Zhou Yi came to Dortmund U19.

The two sides continued to battle until the eightieth minute, when Sorg, who had been playing with a yellow card, fouled Mark and received his second yellow card, and was sent off.

Freiburg, with one less player and trailing by two goals, finally surrendered...

Until the end of the match, Freiburg was unable to threaten Dortmund's goal again.

The referee blew the whistle to end the match, and Dortmund U19 defeated Freiburg U19 in the German World Cup final venue, winning the German Youth Cup!

When the whistle sounded, Zhou Yi and his teammates rushed onto the field, celebrating the championship with their teammates on the field.

Mark found Zhou Yi, hugged him, and shouted with a tearful voice: "I did it! Zhou Yi! I won the championship!"

"That's right, you did it! But can you not rub your tears and snot all over me!" Zhou Yi put his arm around Mark's neck, preventing him from rubbing his head back and forth on his chest.

However, this action was naturally seen by others as Zhou Yi celebrating the victory...

So everyone came up to hug them in a团, and Zhou Yi could no longer stop Mark from rubbing his tears and snot all over him...

※※※

While the players were celebrating their victory, Yeballa was shaking hands with the opposing coach.

"You really surprised me." Freiburg U19's coach Streich didn't show any frustration after losing the game. After Sorg was sent off, he had been angry for a while, but then he had a full ten minutes to accept this reality. "How did you manage that kind of playstyle?"

Yeballa smiled: "We have three very good young men."

Streich nodded: "That's right, they are indeed very good. The chemistry between those three far surpasses the other Dortmund players on the field."

Yeballa smiled without saying a word. This was truly an unintentional result, and he was lucky.

"But we should have another match in the league playoffs, and I'll be prepared by then," Streich said, not admitting defeat.

"We won't be standing still either," Yeballa was equally unwilling to back down.

The two coaches reached out and shook hands.

Afterward, Yeballa went onto the field to celebrate with his players, while Streich went to comfort his players.

For young people, whether it's victory or defeat, besides being an emotion, it's also something necessary for growth. This is valuable experience for both teams.

Streich didn't walk onto the field, but instead grabbed Sorg, who was standing at the entrance of the tunnel. After being sent off with a red card, he had been standing there, unwilling and reluctant to leave, still hoping for a miracle.

But in the end, the miracle didn't happen, and the goddess of fortune abandoned him.

He cried at the moment the midfield whistle sounded.

Streich went up and patted Sorg on the head: "What are you crying about?"

"I'm sorry, coach, because of me..." Sorg apologized to his respected coach with a tearful voice. If he hadn't been sent off with a red card, perhaps Freiburg would have had a chance to create a miracle.

But Streich didn't see it that way: "Don't be arrogant, Sorg. Losing the game wasn't because of you, and it certainly wasn't because of me."

Sorg looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Sometimes, losing the game isn't because you didn't do well enough, but simply because your opponent did better than you. You've already performed very well, persevering until the eightieth minute when you had a yellow card in the first half. I'm proud of you."

Hearing Streich say these words with a smile, Sorg cried even harder.

He knew that the person who was most saddened by losing the game must be his head coach.

Seeing Sorg still crying, Streich patted him and said: "It's okay, we'll have a chance to meet them again in the playoffs, and we'll win them then. Sorg, you're a talented player, the Bundesliga is where you should be. But no matter where you play in the future, I want you to remember one thing."

Sorg wiped away his tears, raised his head, and looked at his head coach strangely, not understanding what he was going to say.

"It's a blessing to encounter strong opponents. Because challenging better opponents allows you to become better yourself."

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ps, everyone, Happy New Year!

Isn't it especially awesome to welcome 2016 with a championship?

So, today is still double monthly ticket day, let's use monthly tickets to welcome the New Year!

Give roses to others, and fragrance remains in your hand!

If you give me monthly tickets, good luck will appear in the new year!

This is a magical koi, everyone, throw them in!