Chapter 1 When to Take Risks

When Zhou Yi had the ball at the Allianz Arena, some boos rang out from the stands. The boos weren't very loud, but they were definitely there.

This was normal.

Because Zhou Yi was the most threatening person to Bayern Munich.

It was in this stadium last season that Zhou Yi scored two goals to defeat Bayern Munich.

So it was normal for Bayern Munich fans to have a problem with him.

But apart from defeating Bayern Munich, Zhou Yi didn't seem to have any other flaws, so even if Bayern Munich fans didn't like him, they had to respect him. Therefore, there weren't many boos.

Amid the scattered boos, Zhou Yi passed the ball around, directing Borussia Dortmund's offensive and defensive rhythm.

This Bayern Munich was more difficult to deal with than last season's Bayern Munich.

This wasn't something Zhou Yi realized in this game, but something he realized in virtual matches.

The reason was simple. Bayern Munich had ended their chaotic state from last season. After Van Gaal left, the Bayern Munich locker room had returned to calm. They had hired an old coach, Heynckes, who didn't have as strong a personality as Van Gaal and was respected by everyone.

After solving the locker room problem, Bayern Munich's own strong strength could be brought into play.

So, if a strong team has problems, it must be because of internal problems. Because with their strong strength, it is difficult for external forces to make them make mistakes.

Every time Bayern Munich loses the league championship in the Bundesliga, it can almost be considered that there was an internal problem first.

This is why they are the boss of the Bundesliga, because as long as they perform well, other teams basically have no chance.

Borussia Dortmund's league title last season was like that. Bayern Munich had a big problem themselves. Van Gaal had fallen out with the whole team, and the team's mind wasn't on the game. Borussia Dortmund took the opportunity to steal the league title.

Such stories have been repeated time and time again in previous seasons when Bayern Munich didn't win the championship.

And this time, Bayern Munich's own performance wasn't a big problem.

After Heynckes took over, Bayern Munich topped the league in the fourth round of this season, and have not fallen since, remaining in first place in the league.

If they can defeat Borussia Dortmund in this game, they will still be first in the league.

Zhou Yi had played against Bayern Munich many times in virtual matches, and he knew that this team had become stronger than last season.

So in the real game, he didn't direct the team to launch a fierce attack on Bayern Munich's goal at the beginning, even though some people might still have the impression of the previous encounters between the two sides and think that Borussia Dortmund could easily defeat Bayern Munich away from home.

But Zhou Yi knew that this was a very dangerous idea.

If Borussia Dortmund really thought Bayern Munich was easy to bully and pressed forward on a large scale, they might be hit by Bayern Munich's defensive counterattack. You have to know that Robben and Ribery, these two fast wingers, are both on the field.

So he controlled Borussia Dortmund to fight steadily and not to be reckless in attack.

Of course, this approach will reduce the entertainment value of the game, but victory is the most important thing.

Heynckes stood on the sidelines, directing the game.

Before the game, he had arranged countermeasures against Borussia Dortmund's pressing attack, which was to play a counterattack.

Making full use of Ribery and Robben's extremely fast speed and super personal ability.

Therefore, after the game started, Bayern Munich's posture was very low, as if they weren't playing at home.

But Borussia Dortmund was not fooled.

Heynckes turned his attention to Zhou Yi. Of course, he knew why Borussia Dortmund wasn't fooled.

Because this young Chinese man was the most clear-headed person on the field.

He saw through his intentions.

As a Bundesliga coach, Heynckes was no stranger to Zhou Yi. He had already played against Zhou Yi when he was coaching at Leverkusen. He knew Zhou Yi very well, because Borussia Dortmund and Leverkusen were competing for the championship last season. How could he not study his direct competitors?

With his understanding of Zhou Yi, he still found it incredible—how could such a young child be so experienced and sophisticated?

Having coached since the 1979-1980 season, he has seen many different types of players in these thirty-two seasons, but he has never seen anyone like Zhou Yi.

He is an enigmatic figure, unfathomable.

※※※

Under Zhou Yi's deliberate control, Bayern Munich had no chance to counterattack.

So this game turned into a stalemate positional battle. When Borussia Dortmund attacked, Bayern Munich's defensive formation remained very complete, and when Bayern Munich attacked, Borussia Dortmund's defense didn't have any obvious loopholes.

Moreover, both sides relied on their own super strength to still have some opportunities to threaten the goal under such conditions.

It's just that the goalkeepers of both teams performed well.

Borussia Dortmund's goalkeeper was Weidenfeller, while Bayern Munich's goalkeeper had undergone a huge change compared to last season. This summer, Schalke 04's main goalkeeper Neuer joined Bayern Munich and became Bayern Munich's main goalkeeper.

At that time, this transfer transaction caused huge controversy in Schalke 04.

This is actually the sorrow of the entire Bundesliga team. The players they have worked so hard to cultivate, originally thinking that they could become legendary figures in their own clubs, ended up becoming Bayern Munich's celebrities...

Since Kahn retired, Bayern Munich had not found a stable and reliable goalkeeper. They had tried the young Ren Sing and the old goalkeeper Butt from Hamburg. These people did have bright performances, but they were not stable enough. Bayern Munich's fluctuating performance in these seasons was also related to their goalkeeper not being able to be fixed.

So this summer, they spared no expense to dig Neuer from Schalke 04 - the most popular young goalkeeper in German football today.

Neuer's arrival was immediate. After twelve rounds of the league, Bayern Munich had only conceded four goals, the fewest in the league, which has a lot to do with Neuer.

With the goalkeepers of both teams performing well, no one scored in the first half, and the score was 0:0.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again, and both teams began to speed up the pace.

Especially Bayern Munich, this is their home court, if they can't win in the end, it must be unreasonable.

On the Borussia Dortmund side, the mentality is slightly better. After all, it is an away game, and it is not unacceptable to draw 0:0 with Bayern Munich in the end.

However, although Bayern Munich strengthened their attack, their defensive strength did not weaken much because of this. Heynckes still paid great attention to defense.

The game was very stalemate, Robben and Ribery kept attacking Borussia Dortmund's penalty area on both wings. On the Borussia Dortmund side, they relied on Zhou Yi's overall passing and control style to compete with them.

The game went on until almost seventy minutes, and the score was still 0:0.

If this continues, Borussia Dortmund seems to be really going to take a point away from the Allianz Arena.

Especially as the game time passed, Borussia Dortmund, led by Zhou Yi, was still playing unhurriedly, and they frequently passed the ball in the middle and backcourt. Sometimes you are watching from the stands or in front of the TV, and there is obviously an opportunity. As long as the ball can be passed, a shot can be formed.

But as long as the ball is at Zhou Yi's feet, he will always feint and then pass the ball to another place.

So it seems that Borussia Dortmund just missed a scoring opportunity.

But in fact, Zhou Yi does this for a reason. He didn't see those gaps. The two national team games just ended, everyone was already very tired, and their bodies were not in the best condition. In addition, the game has been played for nearly seventy minutes, and this time is a bottleneck period for the players' physical fitness on the field, and it is the easiest time to feel tired.

If you want to try more through balls with great risks and low success rates at this time, then your teammates may not be able to receive the ball, and will only waste offensive opportunities in vain.

When the physical condition is not very good, do not risk choosing those very risky tactics.

Zhou Yi also experienced this in virtual matches. Although virtual matches do not have any physical penalties for consecutive matches, the physical consumption in a single match still has a relatively real reaction.

Around the seventieth minute of each game is the time when players feel the most tired. At this time, Zhou Yi chooses a through ball. Even if he sees the gap and accurately passes the ball into the gap, his teammates are not always able to receive the ball. The success rate of a through ball is already low, and the success rate is even lower in this case.

Doing this in a virtual match, losing possession of the ball and losing the game, has no impact on reality. After all, if you don't win one game, you can play another one. And in a limited-time match, there is only one chance in this game. If you lose, you lose, and if you win, you win. After the midfield whistle blows, everything is a foregone conclusion. So in virtual matches, Zhou Yi can try various things as he pleases. This offensive combination, that offensive routine, as long as he has ideas in his mind, he can try them all.

But when it comes to a real game, he has to be cautious. His choices in real games are also reasonable. His caution is reasonable, and his adventure is also reasonable.

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Seeing Borussia Dortmund frequently passing the ball, looking a bit unenterprising, the boos at the Allianz Arena are getting louder and louder, more and more.

Bayern Munich fans hope to stimulate Borussia Dortmund players in this way and make them make passing mistakes.

However, Zhou Yi remained unmoved. How he played before, he still plays now.

In this way, the game was dragged to the seventy-fifth minute.

The score is still 0:0.

Zhou Yi kept turning his head to observe on the field. He wasn't looking at the ball, but at people. Sometimes the ball was on the left, but he didn't even glance at it, just looking at the situation on the right.

What was he looking at?

He was observing the players' running positions, and judging their physical condition from their running movements.

After passing the bottleneck period, everyone's physical performance is better than before.

Of course, some people will say that this is just a flash in the pan and not real physical fitness. And some people will firmly believe that after breaking through the bottleneck period, physical fitness will indeed be in a stage where you will not feel tired no matter how you use it.

But no matter which situation it is, it is the same for Zhou Yi, that is, his teammates have regained some running ability.

And at this time, you can consider taking risks!