Chapter 1 The Opening

Amidst everyone's anticipation, or rather, skepticism, the 2010-2011 Bundesliga season kicked off.

In the opening match, Bayern Munich defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 at their home stadium. As analyzed in *Kicker*'s preview, Bayern Munich won with great difficulty at home, their players exhausted after the World Cup. It was evident from the game that many Bayern Munich players were not at their best.

Although Bayern Munich took the lead in the ninth minute with a goal from Thomas Müller.

However, the tenacious Wolfsburg equalized in the fifty-fifth minute with a goal from Džeko.

Subsequently, the game became deadlocked. Wolfsburg players resorted to fouls to stop Bayern Munich, resulting in a total of twenty-five fouls throughout the match, compared to Bayern Munich's six.

Although the number of fouls was excessive, the effect was positive.

Bayern Munich found it difficult to move forward.

It wasn't until the ninetieth minute that they defeated their opponents with a goal from Schweinsteiger.

Bayern Munich's performance in this game seemed to perfectly confirm *Kicker*'s pre-season preview, proving that *Kicker* wasn't just talking nonsense, their analysis was well-founded... This deepened everyone's concern for Zhou Yi.

A day later, the Bundesliga was in full swing.

Hoffenheim defeated Werder Bremen 4-1.

Werder Bremen, who finished fourth last season, did not perform well after losing Özil. *Kicker*'s preview was correct again!

Borussia Mönchengladbach drew 1-1 with Nuremberg at home.

Cologne lost 1-3 to Kaiserslautern at home.

Kaiserslautern's first show back in the top league was impressive, reminding everyone of the "Kaiserslautern Myth" of the past.

Hannover defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at home.

Freiburg lost 1-3 to St. Pauli at home.

Mainz defeated Stuttgart 2-0.

Hamburg defeated Schalke 04 2-1 at home.

Rakitić worked hard in this game, assisting Farfán to score the equalizing goal, but as *Kicker* analyzed, one tree cannot make a forest. Rakitić's outstanding performance alone was not enough.

Whether it was possession, shots, or corners, Schalke 04 was completely behind Hamburg. Losing this game was not surprising.

Next was only the game between Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen left.

Although Bayer Leverkusen lost Toni Kroos, who returned to Bayern Munich after his loan ended this season, Ballack's return may bring some positive changes to the team. Everyone is still willing to be optimistic about Ballack's future at Bayer Leverkusen.

Before the game, Ballack, who arrived in Dortmund with the team, was interviewed by reporters at the airport.

Ballack did not agree with *Kicker*'s analysis of Borussia Dortmund and Zhou Yi.

"Borussia Dortmund's signings this season are indeed not many, but this also shows that their lineup is more stable... I believe Zhou Yi will be more mature than last season. He is a genius. If we want to beat Borussia Dortmund in the game, then Zhou Yi must be closely watched..."

Ballack seemed to attach great importance to Zhou Yi.

This is actually quite normal. Regardless of what the media analysis says, there is a chance that Zhou Yi will not perform well, but there is also a chance that he will perform well. As long as this chance exists, Bayer Leverkusen cannot ignore it.

So of course they will prepare for this game on the premise that Zhou Yi will perform well.

※※※

On the day before the game, Klopp announced the team's roster, and Mark was not selected.

But this is also quite normal, even Mark himself didn't think it was a big deal.

Even Zhou Yi and Götze didn't make the roster in their first game after being called into the first team, let alone him.

Mark knew he needed to continue training to improve.

For this first game of the new season, he planned to watch with his parents in the South Stand. When he doesn't have a game, he will choose this way to cheer for the team.

※※※

At 11:20 PM Beijing time on August 22nd, Zhou Jianliang and his wife, Li Cuiyun, sat in front of the TV together, waiting for the game to begin.

In the TV screen, the picture had already switched to Borussia Dortmund's home stadium, Westfalenstadion. It was raining, and the rain was heavy. Without looking too closely, you could see dense white lines appearing against the dark background of the stands through the camera lens. Many fans in the stands were wearing raincoats, braving the rain to cheer for the team.

"It's raining..." Seeing the scene, Zhou Jianliang frowned and said.

"What's wrong with the rain?" His wife, Li Cuiyun, asked strangely.

"Rain brings too many accidents. I don't like rain games..." Zhou Jianliang said. "The turf becomes very slippery, and the game is not very interesting. The football has to fly in the air most of the time..."

He explained to his wife what impact different weather conditions would have on a soccer game. The difference between rain and snow, the difference between artificial turf and natural turf, and also mentioned some classic games in bad weather.

For example, the classic game in which Italy's current goalkeeper Buffon debuted for the national team. In the heavy snow in Moscow, the young Buffon resisted the bombardment of the Russian players and kept the goal from being lost...

An old fan can talk endlessly about these things, he can talk continuously for three days and three nights without repeating himself.

However, Li Cuiyun, who was not interested in soccer, was not interested at all. She casually responded to her husband, perfunctorily.

Zhou Jianliang, who was in a state of self-high, obviously did not notice his wife's performance, but continued to talk eloquently. He looked like a commentary guest sitting next to the commentator on TV, with two golden characters "Expert" on top of his head.

Fortunately, Zhou Yi appeared on the screen, rescuing his mother.

"Look! Son!" Li Cuiyun pointed at the TV screen and suddenly shouted.

Zhou Jianliang's eloquence was immediately interrupted, and he also stared at the TV screen, listening to the commentator's voice, no longer caring about popularizing science for his wife.

※※※

Although it was raining, the atmosphere in the Westfalenstadion was still very warm, and it was not affected by the bad weather.

Especially the South Stand, as the first game of the season, there were many fans who came to watch the game.

When the players came out, the fans in the South Stand cheered enthusiastically.

The TV broadcast gave Zhou Yi a close-up shot.

He was looking around, like a curious baby, looking at this wonderful world.

"Well, not nervous, good." Zhou Jianliang was pleased with his son's performance, and he nodded approvingly.

The close-up shot stayed on Zhou Yi's face longer than any other player, which may indicate that Zhou Yi will be the key figure in this game. His personal performance directly affects the final result of the Borussia Dortmund team.

Such a great responsibility also means pressure, but judging from Zhou Yi's expression, he doesn't seem to think this is a burden...

※※※

When the referee blew the whistle to start the game, it was still raining, and there was no sign of it getting smaller.

Zhou Yi's hair was already wet and stuck to his forehead. He also liked to constantly shake his head to observe the situation during the game, so his hair was constantly thrown up, throwing the rain water out together, and then heavily patting his forehead again.

"This rain battle is a test for Zhou Yi..." Duan Xin, the commentator of Chinese TV, said after the game started. "I don't remember Zhou Yi playing in such heavy rain last season, right? Looking at it, the game has just started, and it already seems to be a bit flooded."

The commentary guest Tao Wei nodded and said, "The field is flooded, which is more difficult for technical players to perform. But we also need to note that Zhou Yi also showed his long passes during the warm-up game, right?"

"That's right, it seems that God also intends to examine Zhou Yi's long-pass ability in this game, ha!"

※※※

Regarding this rain battle, Zhou Yi actually experienced the changes brought about by the field during the warm-up.

The turf became slippery, the sand and mud layer under the turf became soft, the adhesion was reduced, the support was insufficient, and you could feel your feet slipping when changing direction and accelerating. Even if you wear long-nailed shoes specifically for this kind of field, the improvement effect is limited.

In this case, it becomes difficult to play delicate and smooth, layered and progressive offensive cooperation.

So during the warm-up, Zhou Yi was already trying to warm up with long passes to find the feeling.

After kicking a few times, he stopped trying, feeling that he had found it.

In fact, this rain battle was also relatively unexpected for Zhou Yi. Although he has a virtual game that can simulate reality, it is not that everything can be simulated.

For example, the weather, if it has been raining for the past few days, then the virtual game can indeed have rain battles. But if it hasn't rained for the past few days, where can you simulate rain battles?

Before the game day, the weather in Dortmund was either sunny or cloudy, but it did not rain.

The weather forecast said that there may be thunderstorms today, but it was only a matter of probability.

From getting up in the morning to noon, it was only cloudy. In the afternoon, the thunder rumbled for a while, and it suddenly started pouring rain from the sky.

The rain kept falling, and it kept falling until the game started, causing some water to accumulate on the field.

This is also quite helpless.

However, soccer is not basketball. It is an outdoor sport, and weather factors must be considered, which is indispensable.

There is no saying that soccer cannot be played in heavy rain. As long as the referee thinks it is okay, then the game must continue.

After Zhou Yi tried a few long passes, he had a clue in his mind.

At the same time, he was also glad that he had been practicing long passes - isn't long passing used at this time?

※※※

At the start of the game, Zhou Yi stood in the position of defensive midfielder. If people who hadn't paid much attention to Borussia Dortmund's warm-up games saw this scene, they would dare to confirm that Zhou Yi had started playing as a defensive midfielder.

However, looking at Shinji Kagawa standing in front of him, many Chinese fans were still a little unhappy - the position closer to the opponent's goal should have been Zhou Yi's!

Many people still think that the farther away from the goal, the lower the threat, the smaller the contribution to the team, and the smaller the chance of showing off.

But modern soccer has developed completely differently from what people originally thought.

Borussia Dortmund kicked off first, and the ball was quickly passed to Zhou Yi, handing it over to Zhou Yi in the defensive midfielder position to distribute the ball.

Zhou Yi began to receive the ball frequently, even more times than when he played as an attacking midfielder - this is a change visible to the naked eye.

Because there was still a real core in the team last season - Sahin.

Zhou Yi at most can be considered an auxiliary core, or a second core.

The rhythm and direction of Borussia Dortmund's attack must be controlled by Sahin.

Now that Sahin is gone, and Zhou Yi has changed to playing as a defensive midfielder, he naturally has to take over Sahin's task and lead the team.

For Zhou Yi himself, he likes this feeling.

It's not that he doesn't like to assist others. He cooperated very happily with Sahin last season.

It's just that if he were to choose which way can maximize his ability, Zhou Yi would choose the current one.

Without having to assist anyone, just being able to call the shots himself, then his ability to observe the field meticulously and quickly read and analyze the game can be maximized.

It's like a Mercedes-Benz G-Class off-road vehicle, driving it in the city is no different from using an SUV.

But that is far from its limit. Going over a curb or a speed bump is not considered off-roading for such a hardcore off-road vehicle. Only by going to extreme places, driving in places where there is no road, can all the potential of this car be squeezed out.

And that kind of environment is also the place where this car should be.

After adapting and training during this summer training camp, as well as warm-up games, Zhou Yi felt that letting him play as a defensive midfielder and manage the overall situation was the most suitable way for him to play soccer.

Only he calls the shots in this team, he gives the orders.

To be honest, after experiencing it once, Zhou Yi fell deeply in love with this feeling.