Chapter 16 Round Sixteen of the League, Dortmund Challenges Wolfsburg Away

Before this match, the Chinese media was no longer worried about whether Zhou Yi would play. As for being included in the match roster, there was no need to even mention it.

They were just waiting for Zhou Yi to start.

The match also garnered attention from the Japanese media.

Because Wolfsburg had a Japanese player in their squad, Makoto Hasebe, the captain of the Japanese national team.

More and more Japanese players were playing in the Bundesliga, and there were also Koreans playing in the Bundesliga. But as one of the three traditional East Asian powers, China was still lacking a presence.

In fact, Chinese players were quite active in the Bundesliga in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

It was just that there were no successors now.

The Japanese media felt it was refreshing to see a Chinese player on the Bundesliga stage again.

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In the match against Wolfsburg, Zhou Yi started without any suspense and was as active as ever.

Eight minutes into the game, he orchestrated an attack, eventually assisting Barrios to give the team the lead.

"1-0! Dortmund is very good at scoring at the very beginning of the match. Zhou Yi's activity is probably one of the important reasons!" Marcel Reif said.

Two minutes later, Barrios scored his second goal. This time it was not Zhou Yi who assisted him, but Zhou Yi initiated the attack, which eventually saw Großkreutz assist Barrios.

"Dortmund is already leading 2-0 in ten minutes... It's crazy! Dortmund seems to have emerged from the fog of the beginning of the season. Now they are in full swing, rushing to the top of the league table!"

Dortmund's two goals within ten minutes left Wolfsburg in a rather embarrassing situation, and their coach Armin Veh made two substitutions in the twenty-second minute.

He replaced central defender Schäfer, who had performed poorly. Barrios's two goals were scored from Schäfer's position, and Schäfer had an unshirkable responsibility for these two goals.

It was also clear that Schäfer seemed to have lost confidence after conceding two goals in two minutes. If he continued to stay on the field, he would become a breakthrough point for Dortmund. It would be better to replace him.

At the same time, midfielder Thomas Kahlenberg was also substituted.

Although Wolfsburg lined up five players in midfield in this match, they did not seem to have any advantage in midfield.

Armin Veh replaced him with Grafite, the Bundesliga's top scorer last season.

Armin Veh hoped to strengthen both defense and offense through this substitution.

But the situation did not improve significantly.

Because in the thirty-sixth minute, full-back Owomoyela received a pass from Kuba and scored Dortmund's third goal. This goal almost declared the premature end of the match!

"It's 3-0 again! Dortmund has been absolutely crazy in these last two matches!"

Duan Xin was also very excited: "Originally, everyone wanted to see the 'East Asian Derby' before the match, but Zhou Yi's performance was too outstanding, completely suppressing Hasebe Makoto! It's been too many years since we've seen a Chinese player perform like this!"

Duan Xin was particularly happy that he was able to gain the upper hand in the confrontation with a Japanese player.

This had nothing to do with any kind of national hatred. It was just that in Asia, the level of Japanese football is now the best, and now that we have Chinese players who can perform better than the best Japanese players in Asia, isn't it worth being happy about?

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Dortmund led Wolfsburg 3-0 in the first half. When the two sides changed sides in the second half, Wolfsburg made another adjustment. Armin Veh used his last substitution quota, replacing midfielder Gentner with defender Pekarík.

Finally, in the fifty-fifth minute, Grafite pulled a goal back for Wolfsburg, and the person who assisted Grafite was none other than Makoto Hasebe.

When Grafite scored, the Japanese commentator shouted loudly: "Hasebe! Hasebe! Hasebe! Beautiful assist!"

Previously, in the match against Zhou Yi, Hasebe Makoto, who was more famous and experienced than Zhou Yi, did not have any outstanding performance.

Although Zhou Yi had only just emerged in the Bundesliga, anyone who saw Zhou Yi like this would probably regard him as a very formidable opponent.

The Japanese commentator's expectations for Hasebe Makoto stemmed from this sense of crisis.

Because Zhou Yi was likely to be not only Hasebe Makoto's opponent in the Bundesliga, but also Hasebe Makoto's opponent at the national team level. He didn't believe that a player who performed so well would be unable to be selected for the Chinese national team.

Then in the sixty-second minute, Dortmund also started to make substitutions.

Zhou Yi was substituted again.

This time, it was Zidan who replaced him, not Götze.

In the time that followed, Wolfsburg launched a fierce offensive against Dortmund's goal, but they were unable to break through Dortmund's goal. This time, Dortmund's defense withstood the repeated attacks of Josué, Džeko, and Grafite.

In the end, Dortmund defeated Wolfsburg 3-1 away, and after two consecutive draws, they achieved a three-game winning streak.

After the match, Barrios, who scored twice, was named the best player of the match. Zhou Yi was unable to be named the best player for three consecutive matches.

But Zhou Yi's performance was still good.

With the victory in this match, Dortmund's league ranking rose to sixth place.

They were only one step away from the European war zone.

After the match, the German media commented that Klopp's team was rising strongly.

And Zhou Yi's contribution was one of the reasons for this rise.

And this was not a hat that the domestic media made up and forced on Zhou Yi. It was generally recognized by the German media - everyone saw what Dortmund's performance was like before Zhou Yi played. They had never had a three-game winning streak.

And after Zhou Yi played, the team won all three consecutive matches.

After having outstanding performances in three consecutive matches, not only the German and Chinese media, but even the media in other European countries began to pay attention to Zhou Yi.

Because of the match between Dortmund and Wolfsburg, the Japanese media in distant Asia also discovered that a teenage genius had emerged silently in their neighborhood.

He Ying didn't have to go to domestic websites now. He could see reports about Zhou Yi on local websites in Barcelona.

Although it was not very detailed, it only mentioned that a teenage star had suddenly emerged in Dortmund. His name was Zhou Yi, and he had some good performances.

As for the story behind Zhou Yi, the Barcelona media had not yet explored it.

Seeing this, He Ying couldn't help but think - if one day, the Barcelona media dug up the "old news" that Zhou Yi had rejected Barcelona's invitation, what would the media landscape look like?

Would Barcelona regret their near miss with Zhou Yi?

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Zhou Yi, who returned to Dortmund from Wolfsburg, found himself busy.

Schulze, the agent who had successfully signed with him, helped Zhou Yi arrange a media event - an exclusive interview with *Ruhr Nachrichten* (Ruhr News).

"Your exposure in the media is already very high, but it's not enough. Because it's all passive exposure. We have to take the initiative, we can't let some people talk nonsense." After meeting, Schulze explained to Zhou Yi why he arranged an exclusive interview. "When you become more and more famous, there will be more and more speculation and rumors surrounding you. If you let it go at this time, it may lead to disaster. Now everyone knows nothing about your off-field stories, so you will have more room to play..."

"Are you saying let me come up with a very awesome experience myself?" Zhou Yi couldn't help but start brainstorming. For example, he was once a highly anticipated genius teenager in China, but because he was unwilling to bribe the team's coach, he was expelled from the team. Because of his mother's pressure, he had to choose to study in high school, but in the depths of his heart, he never stopped pursuing his football dream. Finally, he seized the opportunity of a TV reality show, and he implemented a strategy of saving the country by indirect means, successfully landing in Europe...

But Schulze shattered Zhou Yi's dream: "Of course I'm not saying lie. But your advantage now is obvious. What you say will be first-hand information. In the future, if you want to trace the source, it will all be what you said yourself. It is impossible for people with ulterior motives to fake it."

"Will anyone fake it?" Zhou Yi found it incredible. "What's so good about faking my experience?"

"It won't be deliberate faking. You should always know that there are always some deviations in the process of information dissemination, and eventually rumors are born. So you need to accept an exclusive interview now to set things right. At the same time, this is also a great opportunity to expand your influence and let everyone, especially media reporters, see your attitude and image when facing the media. After all, not everyone is willing to be interviewed by reporters. An open attitude helps promote your personal brand."

Zhou Yi nodded: "I understand."

The exclusive interview with *Ruhr Nachrichten* was arranged at half past one to half past two on Tuesday during training, because there was training in the afternoon, so this kind of media event could only be squeezed in.

In addition, Zhou Yi, who resumed training, also received another task.

After arriving at the training base, Zhou Yi was approached by captain Kehl in the locker room.

"Hi, Zhou Yi, are you free on Wednesday afternoon?"

"Wednesday afternoon? Isn't there training?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Of course, but if you answer 'free' you don't have to train. Zhou Yi." Kehl said.

Zhou Yi was very strange: "How can I be free if I have to train?"

"Actually, there is an event, which only requires five players to participate, so players who don't participate in the event will continue to train. Players who participate in the event don't have to participate in the afternoon training, and can go straight home after the event." Kehl explained patiently.

"This... I'd better train." Zhou Yi thought about it, he felt that he still had to continue to improve his strength. Especially after starting in two games and being substituted in his sixties, he felt that he was far from good enough.

However, Kehl didn't turn around to ask other people this time, but winked at Zhou Yi: "I heard you've watched games in the South Stand? Zhou Yi?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

"Then I think you should attend this event, Zhou Yi."

"Why, captain?"

"You'll know when you go to attend, I guarantee you won't regret it!" Kehl said with a smile, "Oh, I forgot to say, I've actually signed you up already, I'm just here to inform you, not to ask for your opinion."