Chapter 208 The German Cup Final

The German Cup final was a week before the Champions League final. For Borussia Dortmund, this was nothing special. But for Bayern Munich, it was a factor that had to be considered.

Next was the Champions League final. If someone got injured in the German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund… then they wouldn't be able to participate in the Champions League final against Chelsea.

In the minds of all Bayern Munich players, there was no doubt that the Champions League final was more important.

"...So as long as you show enough aggression in the game, and show your fearless courage, you can make the Bayern Munich players back down!" Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp told his players during the pre-match tactical briefing.

On the other side, Heynckes said in an interview with reporters: "Of course the Champions League is very important, but that doesn't mean we have to give up on the German Cup. We will send out our strongest lineup. No one will嫌冠军数量少 [xian guan jun shu liang shao] (dislike having too many championships)."

Hearing this, Klopp laughed. He couldn't wait for Bayern Munich to send out their strongest lineup.

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After the game started, Borussia Dortmund did appear very aggressive from the beginning. Just three minutes into the game, Gündoğan received a verbal warning from the referee for a foul in midfield.

His foul seemed to set the tone for the match.

In the face of the aggressive Borussia Dortmund players who seemed ready to devour them, the Bayern Munich players were indeed very uncomfortable and hesitant.

Commentator Marcel Reif said: "The Bayern Munich players seem a little restrained and can't let go. They must be thinking about the upcoming Champions League final, and no one wants to get injured in the German Cup final… In fact, I think if Bayern Munich had sent out a rotation lineup for this game, the effect would have been better."

In such circumstances, Borussia Dortmund took the lead just five minutes into the game.

Götze assisted Kagawa Shinji to score the first goal for Borussia Dortmund.

Falling behind seemed to inspire the Bayern Munich players' blood and fighting spirit. In the twenty-fourth minute, Ribéry crossed from the edge of the penalty area, causing chaos in the Borussia Dortmund penalty area. In the chaos, Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Weidenfeller brought down Robben, and the sharp-eyed referee gave a penalty kick!

At the same time, Weidenfeller himself received a yellow card.

This penalty decision failed to satisfy both sides. Borussia Dortmund believed that Robben was diving, while Bayern Munich players believed that Weidenfeller should have been sent off directly.

The two sides argued for a while, but could not change the outcome.

In the end, Robben personally took the penalty and scored, and Bayern Munich equalized the score.

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After Bayern Munich equalized the score, their morale was greatly boosted, and they launched a fierce offensive against Borussia Dortmund's goal. Although the German Cup final was less important than the Champions League final, who would be willing to give up if they could win the championship?

In Bayern Munich's fierce attack, Weidenfeller became the busiest person.

But the bad thing was that in the thirty-fourth minute, Weidenfeller injured his shoulder in a save and could not continue the game…

"Ah! Weidenfeller is also injured! Too many Borussia Dortmund players have been injured during this period!" Marcel Reif exclaimed.

On the sidelines, coach Klopp couldn't help but curse a German national curse, and then asked substitute goalkeeper Langerak to warm up quickly.

In everyone's opinion, although Borussia Dortmund had a good start to this final, they were now too unlucky and the situation was unfavorable.

The substitution of the main goalkeeper would definitely affect the stability of the defense, and at the same time, it would also affect the morale of the players.

Bayern Munich seemed to be about to win their first championship of the season.

Being able to snatch this championship from Borussia Dortmund could also be regarded as a kind of comfort for Bayern Munich—they had been suppressed by Borussia Dortmund in the league for two consecutive seasons, and they had indeed accumulated grievances for a long time. If they could beat Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final this time, it would definitely be a relief.

But what Bayern Munich didn't expect was that while they were trying to figure out how to beat Borussia Dortmund, their own backyard caught fire…

In the fortieth minute, Zhou Yi, in front of the penalty area, made a feint to make a through ball, then suddenly changed direction to break through into the penalty area, and was brought down by the caught-off-guard Bayern Munich center-back Badstuber.

Badstuber also received a yellow card, and Bayern Munich was also given a penalty…

This penalty decision also drew dissatisfaction from both sides—Borussia Dortmund players believed that Badstuber should have been shown a red card, of course, there was no evidence for this, it was just an emotional outburst. While

Bayern Munich players believed that Zhou Yi was diving. They also had no evidence. Everyone was simply venting their emotions.

The referee upheld the original verdict.

This penalty for Borussia Dortmund was taken by center-back Hummels, and he also scored it in one go.

Borussia Dortmund took the lead again!

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During the half-time break, both coaches made adjustments for the second half in the locker room. The second half began, and the two sides changed sides to fight again, but just one minute after the start of the second half, Borussia Dortmund scored again.

Zhou Yi assisted Lewandowski to score, and Borussia Dortmund led Bayern Munich 3:1.

This goal turned almost all of Heynckes' adjustments and arrangements during the half-time break into useless efforts.

Then in the fifty-eighth minute, Lewandowski scored twice, changing the score to 4:1.

This development was really unexpected for many people. Everyone thought that Borussia Dortmund would be in trouble after Weidenfeller was injured and left the field. They did not expect that they would become more and more courageous in battle, and beat Bayern Munich so much that they could not hold their heads up.

It was not until the seventy-sixth minute that Ribéry scored another goal for Bayern Munich, but with only a dozen minutes left in the game, Bayern Munich was two goals behind. With the current strength comparison between the two teams, Bayern Munich was almost powerless to recover unless Borussia Dortmund made a mistake themselves.

But Borussia Dortmund would not be so stupid… In the eighty-first minute, Lewandowski completed his hat-trick, and the person who assisted him was Zhou Yi again. Borussia Dortmund led Bayern Munich 5:2. Such a large score allowed Klopp to have peace of mind.

So he replaced Zhou Yi. In fact, there were no more games to play next, so it would not have been a problem for Zhou Yi to play the entire game, but Klopp still wanted to replace him early because he wanted Zhou Yi to enjoy the cheers of all Borussia Dortmund fans alone.

Sure enough, when Zhou Yi walked off the field, more than half of the people in the stands of the Berlin Olympic Stadium got up from their seats, and they gave Zhou Yi songs and applause.

"With ten minutes left in the game, Zhou Yi was replaced, and he received the cheers and applause of Borussia Dortmund fans. This is the treatment he deserves…" commentator Marcel Reif said. "Although Borussia Dortmund was eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals this season, it is still a brilliant season. This young team not only defended the league title, but is now about to defeat Bayern Munich, win the German Cup, and become the German double champions this season!"

"After falling into a trough for many years due to the economic crisis, the proud and crazy Yellow and Black whirlwind is finally back. With an excellent coach and a group of talented young players, this team is probably the envy of the coaches of the other seventeen Bundesliga teams."

Zhou Yi raised his hands in applause and waved to the Borussia Dortmund fans in the stands.

Although they failed to reach the Champions League final, this team still received the unreserved support of the fans. He still remembered the scene in the second leg of the semi-final, when they defeated Chelsea at home, but were still eliminated.

At that time, the Borussia Dortmund fans in the stands sang loudly. These fans did not blame the team because they were eliminated. Zhou Yi liked this feeling of being supported.

This season can be regarded as a new high in his personal career. Last season, he only won a league title, and the Champions League also stopped in the quarter-finals. This season, he won the double crown, and at the same time, he reached the top four in the Champions League.

Such results are not bad, right?

But Zhou Yi was not satisfied.

Now this German Cup title can only be regarded as a consolation after the failure of the Champions League. He has never regarded this championship as a great honor.

These lovely fans deserve a more glorious championship.

But unfortunately, this season is over, and this goal can only be left to next season…

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Zhou Yi, who raised his hands, received a warm cheer from all Borussia Dortmund fans. Every Borussia Dortmund fan voluntarily stood up from the stands and cheered, applauded, and gave it all to Zhou Yi.

They really wanted to thank this young Chinese player. Borussia Dortmund's change seemed to have started from the time this young man started playing in the team's first team.

This season is over, and Zhou Yi has worked hard.

Zhou Yi, who returned to the bench, watched the game. In the end, Borussia Dortmund defeated their rival Bayern Munich by a score of 5:2 in the German Cup final, becoming this year's double champion in German football.

When the Borussia Dortmund players held up the German Cup on the podium, almost everyone was congratulating the Borussia Dortmund team, congratulating them on becoming the double champions.

This season full of regrets and honors is over…

Many European internationals in the team will then report to their respective national teams to prepare for the European Cup this summer.

After finishing his club games, Zhou Yi will have a month's vacation, and then he will report to the National Olympic team to participate in the last training camp of the National Olympic team before the London Olympics.

This is the second time in the history of Chinese men's football to participate in the Olympic Games. The first time was at the Olympic Games held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Chinese men's football was considered the least motivated team. This humiliating evaluation has been with Chinese men's football. This time, Zhou Yi and his friends Can they get rid of the heavy historical burden?

(End of Volume 3)