Chapter 227 Quick Free Kick

Free kicks have another name: "set pieces." What are "set pieces"? They are balls at fixed positions. For example, corner kicks, penalty kicks, and free kicks are all set pieces.

Because these balls are placed before being kicked.

In many people's minds, free kicks often look like this: the player carefully places the ball, the opposing players carefully set up the wall nine point one five meters away, the referee makes sure both sides are ready, steps back, and blows the whistle, then the free kick taker steps up and kicks the ball.

Indeed, that's how it usually goes.

Even free kicks in the midfield or defense that don't require a wall need to wait for the opposing players to retreat before being taken.

But in fact, there is also a tactic called "quick free kick."

It doesn't need to wait for the wall to be set up, nor does it need to wait for the opposing players to retreat.

Now, everyone seems to think that free kicks must wait for the referee's whistle to be taken, or some may think that direct free kicks need a whistle, while indirect free kicks don't.

But in reality, these are incorrect.

Because according to the spirit of the rules set by FIFA, any free kick, in any way, and in any position can be taken quickly without waiting for the whistle.

So, according to the rules, the idea that you have to wait for the whistle to take a free kick is only true in a few cases.

For example, if the referee explicitly states that he wants to wait for his whistle before the ball can be kicked, he will usually point to the whistle after calling the foul to indicate to the free kick taker to wait for his whistle. In this case, a quick kick is not allowed.

Also, if the free kick taker believes that the opposing team's wall is obviously not nine point one five meters away from the ball, and asks the referee to reorganize the wall, a quick kick is not allowed at this time.

The ball is not placed correctly, or it is not placed at the foul location designated by the referee. Even if you take a quick kick at this time, the referee will blow it back.

But in fact, players on the field don't know whether a free kick can be taken quickly. When they have the idea of a quick kick in their minds, they can only try their luck. They kick the ball out now, and if the referee doesn't blow the whistle, they win. If the referee blows the whistle, they take it back and retake it, only losing the opportunity to catch the opponent off guard.

And this time, it was obvious that Zhou Yi had won the gamble!

When Zhou Yi kicked the ball out, none of the players on either side were paying attention to the ball. Even the Freiburg defenders were the same. No one was watching the ball, and no one was watching Mark.

It wasn't until they heard the shouts suddenly erupting from the stands that they reacted.

A group of people turned around and chased after Mark and the ball.

The Freiburg players who had been arguing with the referee about whether Gotze was faking a fall and whether Sorge had really committed a foul only understood when they saw the referee suddenly running towards their backfield.

They hurriedly chased back, with Sorge running the hardest.

Because he was a center back!

And Zhou Yi's pass was aimed at the position where he had been standing. If he hadn't gone up to argue, he should have been there to intercept Zhou Yi's pass.

But now... there was a huge gap there!

※※※

Mark wasn't fast, but Zhou Yi's pass was so sudden that he had plenty of time to chase the ball.

He gritted his teeth and ran towards the ball.

He knew very well what this opportunity meant.

Who would have thought that his dream would have a chance to come true so quickly?

Although it was a youth team match, it was still the Dortmund jersey!

He caught up with the ball, and the chasers behind him were also getting closer.

After Zhou Yi passed the ball, he didn't run forward like his other teammates, but stood there and watched.

He trusted Mark. There was no point in him running up.

Under his gaze, Mark had already rushed to the edge of the opponent's penalty area. Facing Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, who was rushing out again, Mark shot directly.

As a striker, a one-on-one opportunity is both easy and difficult to score, but the difficulty has nothing to do with technique, only with psychology.

Mark was still a little nervous facing the rushing Baumann.

But when he thought about Zhou Yi's help to him over the past few months, how could he let him down after he trusted him so much?!

Mark gritted his teeth, locked his ankle, and kicked the ball.

The ball sped forward along the ground. This is the most difficult type of shot for goalkeepers to save because goalkeepers fall slower than they rise.

Baumann, who was rushing out, dove towards the ball, and his hand touched the ball. But Mark's shot was powerful and heavy, and the ball broke through Baumann's fingers, like the wind lifting a curtain.

Then the ball rolled into the goal without any suspense...

The ball... went in again!

"Good shot! Goal! Goal!" Leif shouted. "Dortmund U19 are leading Freiburg U19 by two goals in the German Youth Cup final! It's really unexpected that the champion team of last season's German U19 league is so vulnerable against Dortmund!"

Leif's words may make many Freiburg viewers unhappy, but he was telling the truth.

※※※

"Mark—!!!"

Seeing her son score, Mrs. Wagner screamed hoarsely, and then tears welled up uncontrollably. She turned and hugged her daughter, sobbing in her arms.

Her son scored a goal in such an occasion, which was like a dream for a mother.

When Mark couldn't even get into the Dortmund youth team's regular games for many years, she also wondered whether she should let her son continue on the path of football after he turned eighteen. But she also knew that her son was not the type to study. He and his sister, Cortana, were different.

She, as a mother, had confusion and hesitation about what the future would hold.

But now those emotions were gone.

Her son scored in the German Cup final, and his professional football career could continue!

Cortana naturally understood the emotions her mother placed on her younger brother. Seeing her mother crying, all she could do was hug her and gently pat her back.

Next to them, Mark's father, Old Wagner, didn't cheer, but stood in his seat and raised his fists high.

Around them were the excited Dortmund fans cheering.

※※※

When Mark scored the goal, Gotze also got up from the ground. He looked at Mark, who was running towards him with his arms outstretched, and then looked at Zhou Yi.

"What's wrong? Blame me for not caring about you?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Uh, no, the right choice," Gotze said.

The two of them didn't continue the conversation, because Zhou Yi was already hugged by captain Hornschuh, who rushed up to him: "You kid! Beautiful! Two assists!"

And Mark quickly ran back from the frontcourt and hugged him: "Thank you, Zhou Yi! Thank you!"

Zhou Yi pushed away Mark's mouth, which was about to kiss his face, tilted his head, and said, "Don't thank me, Mark, this goal is a reflection of your own ability! How does it feel to score in the German Cup final?"

"Awesome!" Mark replied loudly.

Hearing his answer, Zhou Yi also laughed happily.

Completing two assists in the German Cup final was also great, giving him a feeling that "everything is under my control."

※※※

After Mark scored, Yebala jumped up from his seat and slapped his hand hard.

It's stable!

The championship is stable!

Facts have proven that it was absolutely correct for him to form the trident combination of these three small young men.

Without these three people, Dortmund wouldn't have been able to deal with Freiburg so easily. You know, in these two seasons, many teams have fallen victim to Freiburg's high-pressing tactics.

And the trident perfectly countered Freiburg's high press.

This was really an unintentional move.

Originally, it was just to enhance their understanding, but unexpectedly, it helped the team take the lead in the German Cup final.

After celebrating the second goal, Yebala sat back on the bench and looked at the field.

How to play next was already very easy for Dortmund. Zhou Yi controlled the rhythm of the team. Whether it was fast or slow, Yebala trusted Zhou Yi's judgment and left it to him.

It was hard to believe that Zhou Yi was only eighteen years old. On and off the training ground, he often had some things that seemed very childish and immature, and even seemed younger than his actual age.

But once he was in a match, he immediately became calm and steady, daring to take responsibility and daring to take risks.

This kind of transformation was fascinating to Yebala.

This may be Zhou Yi's own characteristic.

Skills and experience can be replicated, but the temperament of each person is unique and cannot be imitated or replicated.

Although Yebala had only coached Zhou Yi for a few months, he already felt that Ricken was right to bring him to his team.

This kid really shouldn't stay in the U17 for too long, it would be a waste for him.

Not only in the U17, but even in his own U19, he felt that Zhou Yi's talent was suppressed. If possible, he would rather Zhou Yi go to a higher-level team after this season, maybe the U23, maybe... the first team.

If his physical condition wasn't good enough, he wouldn't even need to stay in the U19 until the end of the season...

Yebala even felt that Ricken was letting Zhou Yi stay in the youth team just to give him time to hone his body. He could learn limited things in the youth team.

Speaking of accumulating match experience... Yebala had never seen any youth team player with Zhou Yi's rich experience, or rather, someone who looked so experienced.

Yebala was very surprised when he learned that Zhou Yi was just an ordinary middle school player before he came to the Dortmund youth training camp and had not received professional training.

He couldn't figure out why Zhou Yi had such a performance.

In the end, he could only think that some geniuses in this world are just incomprehensible.