Chapter 139 Backing Down

Zhou Yi agreed to play defensive midfielder so quickly because he occasionally filled that role in both real and virtual games. For example, if the opponent pressed him too hard in the frontcourt, he had to retreat, and at that point, he was effectively a defensive midfielder.

Besides, modern football's position divisions weren't so clear anymore.

A player's position was probably most clearly defined when the starting lineup was shown during a match broadcast.

Once the game started, the players' positions became less fixed, especially the midfielders and forwards, who had to constantly change positions and keep running.

Modern football wasn't like the old days when a defensive midfielder stayed back, solely responsible for defense, and did nothing else. Those defensive midfielders were strong and fierce, but their offensive abilities were negligible, and they rarely participated in attacks.

In the past, football had clear divisions of labor: the center forward was responsible for scoring goals, the winger was responsible for crossing, the attacking midfielder was responsible for organizing the attack, and the defensive midfielder was responsible for defending. Back then, knowing a player's position was enough to know what he was good at.

But now, things were different.

Modern football demanded more comprehensive abilities from players, and positions were becoming increasingly blurred. A center forward didn't have to be able to score goals, but they had to be able to pass the ball back. A winger didn't have to be able to cross, but they had to be able to cut inside and shoot. An attacking midfielder didn't have to be able to pass and organize, but they had to be able to surge forward and score. A defensive midfielder didn't have to be good at defending, but they had to be able to organize the attack… Even goalkeepers were now gradually rushing out of the penalty area, expanding their defensive zone to the entire penalty area and even the entire half. This was called "expanding the defensive area to coordinate with high pressing."

So, playing defensive midfielder didn't necessarily mean moving further away from creating threats. Nor did it mean that playing defensive midfielder wasn't as glamorous as playing attacking midfielder.

Since Pirlo redefined the defensive midfielder, more and more playmakers were playing in that position.

For example, Xavi at Barcelona, or Xabi Alonso at Liverpool and Real Madrid.

The old-fashioned attacking midfielder who relied on passing to organize the attack had gradually disappeared from the stage and become history. Nowadays, attacking midfielders were required to play like shadow strikers, or even… center forwards.

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After deciding which position he would play in the new season, the remaining task was to figure out how to play defensive midfielder and then train.

Tactical training was different from physical training. Each training session was only open to the public for the first fifteen minutes, and fans and reporters could watch and film from outside.

But after those fifteen minutes were up, the training ground was closed off, and no one was allowed to watch, except for reporters from Borussia Dortmund's official website.

However, even the photos and videos taken by the official website reporters had to be reviewed by the coaching staff. Some unimportant things could be released, such as players practicing shooting, joking around during training breaks… scenes like that.

The parts involving specific tactical drills were strictly confidential.

Every coach valued their team's tactics and wouldn't easily leak them.

If a leak occurred, it would be a very serious problem.

So, after tactical training began, no one outside knew that Zhou Yi had switched to defensive midfielder.

The players, however, were quite surprised.

"You're playing defensive midfielder in the new season?" Großkreutz looked Zhou Yi up and down, assessing his still-not-very-strong body. "What's Klopp thinking? Isn't he worried that you'll become our only weakness?"

"Hey, Kevin, don't say that…" Marc stood up for Zhou Yi again. "Zhou Yi's body is indeed weak, and he's not very good at defending…" He paused, wanting to say "but," but he couldn't think of anything to follow it with. After hesitating, he could only say, "Okay, actually, I don't know why the coach wants you to play defensive midfielder either…"

"In China, there's a saying that can explain very well why I'm playing defensive midfielder," Zhou Yi said with the air and tone of an expert.

"What saying?"

"'Step back, and the sea and sky will broaden,'" Zhou Yi said in German.

For Zhou Yi, this was indeed the case. Retreating to a deeper position gave him more space.

That night, he returned to his room and experimented with playing defensive midfielder in the virtual world. It felt a bit different from playing attacking midfielder, but not drastically so. And the defensive pressure he faced was indeed less.

If he couldn't pass long balls, it might have been awkward, but now that he had the long passing skill, it wasn't much different from playing attacking midfielder.

Besides, no one said that a defensive midfielder could only use long passes. He could still use short and medium-range passes to organize the attack, and he could also surge forward at any time to participate in the attack, putting pressure on the opponent's defense and becoming the key figure to break the deadlock and balance.

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Since deciding that Zhou Yi would switch to defensive midfielder, Klopp had been paying close attention to Zhou Yi, wanting to see his performance in this new position.

Every player needed a period of adjustment in a new position, more or less, longer or shorter.

But Zhou Yi's adjustment period seemed particularly short…

Even though some new players had joined the team, he didn't seem to feel like a stranger. He still acted as if he had been training with them for a long time.

This was one of Zhou Yi's characteristics, so Klopp wasn't surprised. He just felt that with such incredible talent, there probably weren't many people like him in the whole world… Was this talent a VIP platinum upgrade version of being "naturally familiar"?

In the defensive midfielder position, Zhou Yi also had an adjustment period, but it soon became clear that he was starting to play like the real deal.

Although the position was different from before, the work he was doing was still the same: organizing the attack and controlling the tempo.

In the defensive midfielder position, Zhou Yi continued to demonstrate his strong ability to read the game, analyze the game, and process that information.

In fact, the older players in Borussia Dortmund already knew about these abilities. They had witnessed them last season. But Zhou Yi was still performing so well in the new position that they were a little surprised—was this kid supposed to be a defensive midfielder all along? Otherwise, why would he be so comfortable in this position?

Even more surprised were the new players who had joined Borussia Dortmund this season.

They were surprised that Zhou Yi, at such a young age, performed on the field like a seasoned veteran, with rich experience. And the transition from attacking midfielder to defensive midfielder was so natural and seamless that it made them pay attention.

Shinji Kagawa, in an interview with a Japanese reporter, talked about his impression of Zhou Yi.

"...Although I had heard Kistelsan mention Zhou Yi many times before, it wasn't until I came here that I realized how amazing Zhou-san is. Although he's young, he possesses extraordinary talent and ability. I think the time he needs to observe and read the game is faster than all of us. After he receives the ball, he doesn't need to observe anymore and can immediately pass the ball to the next spot, and the choice is correct… It's really incredible!"

The Japanese reporter initially didn't believe it, thinking that Shinji Kagawa was exaggerating.

No matter how good Zhou Yi was, he didn't deserve such praise, right?

It felt like he wasn't an ordinary human anymore. Was his brain that powerful?

But after analyzing it, what reason did Shinji Kagawa have to brag about a Chinese player to them? What benefit would he get from doing so? To please Zhou Yi? Was it worth it?

So the Japanese reporters were half-believing and half-doubting Shinji Kagawa's words.

On one hand, they felt that Zhou Yi was indeed amazing, but on the other hand, they felt that Zhou Yi wasn't that amazing—you could say they were conflicted.

In fact, the Japanese reporters had a little personal agenda: they hoped that Shinji Kagawa could become a regular starter at Borussia Dortmund. But in the attacking midfielder position, Shinji Kagawa faced a very strong opponent, and that was Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi's performance for the team last season was more than just "amazing."

Zhou Yi was deeply trusted by Klopp, and it wasn't easy for Shinji Kagawa to challenge Zhou Yi.

If these reporters knew that Zhou Yi had already switched to defensive midfielder, who knows what they would think…

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Everyone was full of expectations for Zhou Yi's performance in the new position, but Zhou Yi himself was very calm.

Because he could use virtual training and games to test his performance in this area in advance, he wasn't surprised by his current performance.

Compared to himself, he was more concerned about his good friend Marc.

Since being transferred from the second team, Marc had been training with the first team.

Zhou Yi hoped that Marc could eventually stay in the first team.

But now it seemed that Marc was having a little trouble coping with the intensity of the first team's training. He might have to pay a higher price to stay here…

Marc obviously knew this too, so despite the harsh training and the demanding coach, he didn't complain once. Instead, he gritted his teeth and participated in every day's training, striving to meet the training requirements set by the coach.

To become a true Borussia Dortmund player and play for the first team at Westfalenstadion was his childhood dream.

Although this dream had been buried for a while.

But precisely because he had had that experience, he now cherished this opportunity even more and didn't want to give up.

In any case, in the end, he must stay in the first team and be registered in the roster!