Chapter 199 The Acclaim After the Battle

After the game, Mark Wagner was stopped by reporters in the mixed zone. He scored twice in this game, and this was only his second Champions League group stage match.

Although he had only participated in two Champions League games, he had already scored three goals and was now Dortmund's top scorer in the Champions League.

The goal scorer would always be in the limelight, so Mark was very popular with reporters.

However, during the interview, Mark mainly talked about Zhou Yi, not himself.

"...To be able to come back, I want to thank Zhou Yi. He is simply our spiritual pillar! During the halftime break, he shared a story with us, telling us that no matter how strong the opponent or how difficult the situation, as long as we don't give up, miracles can happen. You saw our performance in the second half, and that's the result of us not giving up! I'm very happy to be teammates with Zhou Yi, he has helped me a lot..."

"So, the comeback was all thanks to Zhou Yi?" the reporter asked.

Mark nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes! It's all thanks to him!"

Next, they interviewed Subotić, who also mentioned Zhou Yi: "Zhou Yi's speech during the halftime break encouraged us. He is a very remarkable person. It's hard to imagine that he can have such abilities at such a young age..."

Weidenfeller said that he was saved by Zhou Yi: "He is my savior! I'm not exaggerating at all! When I was sent off and saw the team was four goals behind in the locker room, I wanted to find a rope and hang myself in the locker room! But in the second half... I'm so glad I didn't really do that in the first half! It was fantastic! I'm very sorry that the red card caused so much trouble for the team..."

Everyone was talking about Zhou Yi, so what did Zhou Yi say?

"What caused the team's drastically different performances in the first and second halves?" the reporters asked first.

"Losing four goals in the first half was an accident, not our true level. The second half was. If there hadn't been an accident in the first half, the game wouldn't have turned out like this," Zhou Yi replied.

"But there are always all kinds of accidents in football games..."

"That's right, so I'm proud of the team's performance. It shows that we are a collective that can fight no matter what accidents we face," Zhou Yi nodded.

Zhou Yi's words seemed a little different from what his teammates said. He didn't take all the credit, but humbly said that it was all the team's credit.

So, a reporter told him what his teammates said about him. Zhou Yi laughed as he listened.

Seeing Zhou Yi laugh, the reporters asked, "Is what they said true?"

Zhou Yi scratched his head: "This... Actually, it's nothing, I just did a little bit of insignificant work, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning, ha! The most important thing is the team. Football is a team sport. Without a good team support, no matter how good an individual is, it's useless. So, I want to thank everyone on our team for this game. Without them, there would be no this game..."

At the post-match press conference, Klopp also mentioned a similar point of view as Zhou Yi. Although he also praised Zhou Yi's performance, he finally focused on the team.

"Zhou Yi, Mark, Götze, Kagawa Shinji, Sven Bender... Everyone, whether I mentioned their names or not, they make up this Dortmund team. They are the reason why we were able to equalize the score at the last moment. I am very happy. Although this game was very hard, I have gained a very combative team, which is more important than anything else," Klopp said with a happy smile.

※※※

The next day, the German and European media were reporting on the game last night.

*La Gazzetta dello Sport*: "...An unexpected game took place at the San Siro last night. Dortmund's performance in the first half made everyone think they were doomed to lose, but the situation suddenly changed in the second half... Inter Milan did not win the game when they were at their best. Benítez was criticized after the game, but this time, I think Benítez should of course be responsible, but not fully responsible. Inter Milan's players must also bear a large part of the responsibility! They played too casually after taking a four-goal lead... Of course, we want to congratulate Dortmund for being able to equalize the score in such an unfavorable situation. Their tenacity allows us to see the charm of football—nothing is impossible!"

*Kicker*: "Dortmund's game on the road shocked many people. Who would have thought that they could come back from such a bad situation? I even think that if they had been given another ten minutes, would they have completed a remarkable reversal? You know, in the history of the Champions League, there has never been a reversal after being four goals behind, never! Whether it is in one game or in two-legged games, this has never happened! So, Dortmund, they played a great game!"

*Bild*: "Great Klopp! Great Dortmund! Great Eastern Wizard Zhou Yi! He really is like a wizard who knows witchcraft, directing this great reversal! In the post-match interviews, almost all Dortmund players mentioned Zhou Yi's contribution to this reversal. We can also see his contribution in the game. I can even say that without Zhou Yi, there would be no 4:4 game..."

*L'Équipe*: "Last night, a remarkable game was born in the Champions League group stage. Dortmund, who were fighting with ten men and four goals behind, chased hard in the second half and equalized the score at the last moment of the game! The whole game was full of ups and downs, and it was so exciting that people cheered. In the end, although Dortmund was not able to win this game, they left the San Siro as if they were the victors..."

*Corriere dello Sport*: "Inter Milan brought it on themselves! Dortmund won applause and cheers, and left with their heads held high. If this were a Champions League knockout match, then Inter Milan would have been eliminated. They personally buried their great situation. Since Benítez took over from Mourinho, this Spanish tactical master has been constantly controversial, and this game will undoubtedly continue this controversy..."

Unlike the European media, which focused more on team reports, in China, Zhou Yi had quickly become the headline figure in major media outlets.

Whether it was traditional newspapers or new online media, Zhou Yi was mentioned again and again and praised to the skies.

"...Zhou Yi directed this great game!"

"Two assists and one goal, Zhou Yi conquers the San Siro!"

"Who dares to stand out with a sword? Only I, General Zhou!"

"Zhou Yi teaches the entire Inter Milan team how to behave - don't act tough, or you'll be struck by lightning!" (Mo zhuang bi, zhuang bi zao lei pi!)

"Hao Dong: Zhou Yi's performance is not surprising, this is his due strength."

……

On Weibo, it caused a very heated discussion. This day was simply a carnival for Zhou Yi's fans. Who can make the defending champion so embarrassed? Only Zhou Yi!

Zhou Jianliang and Li Cuiyun also benefited from their son's glory and received countless praises and flattery at work. Regardless of whether these praises were sincere, at least it showed that their son had become so strong that others could not ignore or despise him.

※※※

In such a clamor, Zhou Yi himself was very low-key. The day after the game, he slept well in his residence... a lazy sleep.

He didn't get up until almost noon.

Yesterday's game really exhausted him.

He was so tired that he didn't continue training in the virtual space and slept soundly until the next morning.

After rushing back from Milan overnight, he went straight home to sleep. As for Guo Nu's treat... since it was a tie, why would he treat? No one won or lost.

After getting up, putting on his clothes and going to the bathroom to wash, he was surprised to find that Cortana was still in the house.

"Huh? You didn't go to class?"

"I don't have class this morning," Cortana put down her book and looked back at him.

Usually, after saying this, Cortana should pick up her book again and continue reading, but this time, she was still looking at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi felt strange and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I suddenly wanted to ask, what did you feel at the moment you scored yesterday?" Cortana tilted her head and asked.

Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "It's hard to say, I'm just very happy. Why are you suddenly interested in this question? Don't you dislike football?"

"I'm just curious, is that okay?" Cortana asked back.

"Okay, okay, okay," Zhou Yi nodded quickly, and then said, "It's hard for me to describe that feeling to you in words. Maybe you need to experience it yourself to feel it. Anyway, I think it's very cool, extremely cool, it's almost like having an orgasm."

Hearing his description, Cortana couldn't help but roll her eyes at Zhou Yi.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

Cortana shook her head: "Nothing."

"Then I'm going to wash up." After Zhou Yi finished speaking, he turned around and walked into the bathroom.

Cortana looked at the bathroom door that he had closed and fell into deep thought.

※※※

When Dortmund resumed training, they saw banners raised by fans outside the training ground.

It read: "Thank you for not giving up, allowing us to enjoy a great game!"

This was the fans' encouragement to the team.

When the players were training, they couldn't help but glance at it, feeling happy in their hearts.

After experiencing such a game, they could now withstand any kind of praise.

After the training, many fans surrounded Zhou Yi. They didn't all come to Zhou Yi for autographs and photos. Many people didn't want autographs or photos, but just came to give Zhou Yi a thumbs up.

The fans used this simple way to express their love for Zhou Yi.

Seeing this scene outside the field, the club's general manager Zorc couldn't help but start planning something in his mind.

That was Dortmund's Asian tour.

Now there were two players from Asia in Dortmund's lineup, and they were both performing very well and were very popular. One was Zhou Yi, a Chinese player, and the other was Kagawa Shinji, a Japanese player.

Especially Zhou Yi, who was so popular in Germany, it was hard to imagine how popular he would be in his own country. China was a big country with a population of 1.4 billion, and the market was terrifyingly large!

After this season, he really had to take a trip to East Asia. He believed he would make a lot of money!

Thinking of this, Zorc smiled so wide that the corners of his mouth almost reached the roots of his ears...