Chapter 118 Gelsenkirchen

As expected, three days before the league was about to begin, Klopp announced that the team would have a day off.

Even though it was just one day, it was a rare chance for the Borussia Dortmund players to relax.

Zhou Yi even slept in at home before getting up, washing up, and heading out to Gelsenkirchen, a city near Dortmund.

Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen are two completely different cities, but they are not far apart. In Zhou Yi's understanding, in China, these two cities would be like two districts of the same city.

But in Germany, they are two cities, close to each other, but with deep-seated grudges.

Apart from going to matches, Zhou Yi had never actively visited Gelsenkirchen. This time, it was because Yang Muge was training there, and they had agreed to have lunch together, so Zhou Yi simply went to Gelsenkirchen to wait for Yang Muge, so that he wouldn't have to rush back to Dortmund after training.

For Chinese fans, Schalke 04 is a very familiar name, but the name Gelsenkirchen is a little less so. Many people don't even know which city Schalke 04 is in, and some even think it is in the city of Schalke.

Schalke 04 is good in Schalke, but Schalke is not a city, but a district. The city where Schalke 04 is located is called Gelsenkirchen, and Schalke is a district of this city.

Because of football, the Schalke district is world-famous, but Gelsenkirchen is not so well-known. But in fact, Gelsenkirchen is a very famous city in history, because it is a famous coal-producing area in Germany. During the heyday of the mining industry, sixty coal mines were put into production, and numerous blast furnaces, coking ovens, and steel plants gave Gelsenkirchen another name—the City of a Thousand Fires.

Sounds cool, right?

But now, with the decline of the mining industry, Gelsenkirchen has closed most of its coal mines, and all the blast furnace chimneys that once stood everywhere are gone.

The transformation of German industry is most evident in industrial cities such as Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund.

For a long time, Gelsenkirchen had the highest unemployment rate in Germany for ten years, and neighboring Dortmund was not much better.

But now, both cities have completed their transformation. A large number of coal miners have disappeared, either retired or switched to other jobs, such as the service industry.

However, the traditional culture of the working class is still perfectly preserved in football.

Football has always been a sport of the working class. Whether in Scotland or Germany, miners are the main force in football. Industries can be transformed, but football culture has been passed down in the same vein. Even if people here no longer work in the coal mining industry, their love for football has not changed due to the industrial transformation.

Even after the decline of the coal mining industry, football carries more of the working class's culture. The people of the two cities have placed all their nostalgia for the past on football, and football has become the best carrier to prove the past glory of these coal miners.

That's why these two cities are so crazy about football. Dortmund fans have the Südtribüne (South Stand) as proof of their loyalty, and Schalke 04 fans are not to be outdone. The record holder for the highest decibel level in European football stadiums is the Schalke 04 fans. In a match in 2007, after the team scored, more than 60,000 fans collectively shouted as loud as one hundred and twenty-nine decibels.

Because of this, the most popular derby in German football is not the Munich derby between Bayern Munich and Munich 1860, nor the German Classico between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but the Revierderby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04. This derby is even a world-famous and popular derby in the world of football.

Because these two cities are so close in terms of geographical location and the culture of their fan base.

Zhou Yi took a car from Dortmund to Gelsenkirchen. From the city itself, he didn't think there was much difference between the two cities, but after coming to Gelsenkirchen, the blue and white colors he saw were obviously much more than in Dortmund, while in Dortmund, the most common colors were yellow and black.

This difference reminded Zhou Yi that he had come to a city at war with Dortmund. He had to be careful not to be recognized by the opposing fans, so he took out his sunglasses from his pocket and put them on.

But Zhou Yi was obviously overthinking it. Even in the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, no one recognized Zhou Yi at all. People here are more concerned about Schalke 04 and look down on Dortmund players.

Zhou Yi's wearing sunglasses did nothing except make the reflected sunlight on the ground less dazzling.

At the agreed restaurant, Zhou Yi had just sat down for less than ten minutes when he saw Yang Muge push the door open and look around.

"Here!" Zhou Yi raised his hand to greet him. Yang Muge looked over and smiled when he saw Zhou Yi.

"You really are a big star," Yang Muge said as he walked over and sat down opposite Zhou Yi. "You have to dress up when you go out, wearing sunglasses..."

"Where are you!" Zhou Yi quickly waved his hand, took off his sunglasses, and said with a serious expression. "I'm afraid of being beaten! This is 'enemy-occupied territory'!"

"Then should I turn you over to the public security organs?" Yang Muge said with a straight face.

"Lao Yang, I believe you are not the kind of person who would betray a friend for personal gain!" Zhou Yi said righteously.

Yang Muge couldn't hold back and smiled, then looked Zhou Yi up and down: "Well, darker and stronger."

"From the changes in my appearance, you can tell what kind of life I've been living during this time, right? It's just hell!" Zhou Yi wailed,趴 (pā, to lie prone) on the table.

"I've heard that Klopp is a coach who demands a lot from his training..."

"More than demanding? It's just harsh! Let me tell you, do you know how we train? Three training sessions a day, three sessions! And it's like that every day!" Zhou Yi complained.

Hearing "three training sessions a day," Yang Muge was also moved—such training intensity is not available in either the Schalke 04 first team or the youth team.

"It's not easy to be a professional player, Zhou Yi."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, how about you? How long will it take you to go to the first team?" Zhou Yi asked.

"I just went to the u19 team, the first team is still early for me..."

"Then what do you think? You always have a positioning for yourself, right? In the u19 team, how do you feel about your strength?" Zhou Yi asked.

"I've played a few warm-up matches, and it feels pretty good. My task is relatively simple, which is to intercept in the midfield, unlike you, who is responsible for organizing the offense."

"Hey, your job is not easy either. Defense is a difficult job." Since training under Klopp, Zhou Yi has deeply realized the difficulty and importance of defense. Klopp requires every player, whether it is a forward or an attacking midfielder, to participate in the defense. So Zhou Yi, who didn't defend at all before, had to start participating in the defense on the court. He felt deeply that defense was much more difficult than he had imagined.

The two of them were chatting enthusiastically when a waiter came over with two menus in his hand: "Excuse me, gentlemen, what would you like to eat?"

The two of them then remembered that they hadn't ordered yet. They were just busy chatting when they came in!

Zhou Yi patted his forehead and then smiled.

Yang Muge also smiled, took the menu, and then gave Zhou Yi a copy.

The two of them quickly chose what they wanted to eat on the menu. In fact, what to eat was not important. They gathered together mainly to chat, as long as they could fill their stomachs and the taste was okay.

After quickly ordering the food and sending the waiter away, the two of them chatted again.

"Look, the waiter didn't recognize you, so you don't have to worry about being beaten," Yang Muge joked.

Zhou Yi grinned: "I found that Lao Yang, you have changed a lot since you came to Germany. You like to stab people now..."

Yang Muge said with a smile: "Who told you to be the best of the five of us now? A tall tree attracts the wind. If you don't be the target, who will?"

Yang Muge's mention of this matter made Zhou Yi interested: "By the way, how are they?"

"Lao Sun is at Chelsea, do you know that?"

"Yeah, I know." Zhou Yi nodded.

"He's still in the u17 team, but he's already a main player in the u17 team. But it's difficult for him to play in the first team. Not to mention that the main goalkeeper of the first team is Čech, the problem of the work permit is a hurdle he can't avoid."

"That's true... So I don't recommend him to go to a Premier League club. What about Lao Guo?"

"Lao Guo is in Inter Milan's u18 team, and he's also playing in matches."

"Does he still stutter when he speaks Italian?" Zhou Yi muttered to himself, stroking his chin.

"You're dissing Lao Guo again." Yang Muge covered his mouth and laughed.

"No, no, no..." Zhou Yi came back to his senses and quickly waved his hand. "I didn't mean to."

Yang Muge nodded and smiled: "I know you didn't mean to, you completely dissed him subconsciously. It's a conditioned reflex to hearing Lao Guo's name."

"Okay, okay, let's not mention this, what about He Ying?"

Yang Muge spread his hands: "I'm not very familiar with He Ying, so I'm not very clear about his current situation. But when he first went to La Masia, there were still media reports in China for a while. It is said that he performed very well and received unanimous recognition from the La Masia coaches."

"That's normal, he is a very talented person. If he continues to stay in China, it's actually not good. Domestic football is not very helpful to his progress." Zhou Yi nodded and analyzed. "It's also good to go to La Masia, but I don't know how long it will take for him to play in the first team. His problem is similar to Sun Pan's. There are too many stars in the first team and the competition is too fierce..."

"So among the few of us, you are the only one who has been promoted to the first team. If you don't be the target, who will?"

"Hey? Hey, how did it turn to me again?" Zhou Yi protested, and he immediately changed the topic. "By the way, Lao Yang, do you use QQ often?"

"Not too much, I don't really like online chatting."

"Oh, I don't really like it either. But I think we are abroad, is there any more convenient, faster, and cheaper way to contact each other than QQ? Calling can only be one-on-one, not one-to-many. So I was just thinking, why don't we create a group and pull them all in, so that we can keep in touch for a long time, so that we don't even know what's going on with everyone. If something happens, we can help come up with ideas. What do you think?"

Yang Muge thought about it seriously, and then nodded: "I have no problem."

"Right? I've thought about it seriously. The two of us are close and can meet from time to time, but we can't meet too often, you and I have to train, right? The others can't even see each other. But if we are in a group, even if we are not online at the time, if I say something, you can still see it when you go online, right? We can talk about things when we have something to say, and chat when we have nothing to do, which is also very good."

Yang Muge nodded repeatedly, he had been persuaded by Zhou Yi.

"Then it's settled, I'll create a group when I get back. Do you have their QQ numbers?" Zhou Yi asked.

"I have them. I'll create it." Yang Muge said.

"That's good too."

Just as they were talking, the food was served. Zhou Yi held up his glass filled with juice: "Come on, for our reunion on the Internet, cheers!"

"Cheers." Yang Muge also picked up his glass, and the two glasses gently clinked together, making a crisp sound.

※※※

ps, if there are no accidents, I will resume updating twice a day tomorrow!

But I want to discuss something with everyone. I plan to learn from the stock market's circuit breaker mechanism. In order to ensure manuscripts and quality, as long as the number of manuscripts for the book is less than ten chapters, I will temporarily update it once a day, and then resume updating twice a day when the number of manuscripts is restored to more than ten chapters.

In fact, I already have fourteen chapters of manuscripts now. But why didn't I resume updating twice a day when I reached ten chapters...

Because I still owe three chapters for the alliance leader's additional updates, so I have to save these three chapters for the alliance leader's additional updates as well.

Now I have fourteen chapters of manuscripts, which is just enough.

Tomorrow, in addition to updating twice a day, there will be one chapter for the alliance leader's additional update! The day after tomorrow will still be updated twice a day, plus one chapter for the alliance leader's additional update, until the alliance leader's additional updates are finished.

Three consecutive chapters in three days can also be regarded as giving everyone an early New Year's gift, I hope everyone will accept it with a smile!