Chapter 105 The Young Guns' Derby

Every week, the team held a ten-on-ten full-field scrimmage, lasting only twenty minutes.

Supposedly, it was to decide who would play in the weekend league match. But everyone knew that using this informal game to determine the lineup was far too trivial.

So, the real purpose of the game was simply to keep the players in game shape.

Since his first time participating in a U19 team match, Mark had never been paired with Zhou Yi again.

His initial performances were therefore quite lackluster—in fact, "lackluster" was being kind; they were just plain bad.

Without Zhou Yi's support and help, Mark couldn't find his rhythm at all.

But as he worked hard in training, his performance in the team matches gradually improved.

He seemed to have gotten used to how to perform without Zhou Yi.

Most importantly, he was very proactive.

Whether he could get the ball or not, he would always fight for it, even if he ended up being knocked down by the opposing defender.

When the opposing defender had the ball, he would press him.

On the field, one could always see Mark running.

This team match was no different.

He was still very proactive and scored a goal in the game.

Although he performed well in the team matches, Mark was used to not getting a chance to play, no matter what.

He didn't even think about why he still couldn't play.

Perhaps it was because the coach didn't think he was doing well enough.

So, he just continued to work hard.

Now, Mark didn't think so much about how to slap Schneider in the face.

Schneider still mocked him, but he ignored it, focusing all his energy on training and improving himself.

Of course, this made Schneider think that Mark had reverted to his previous state of being bullied, and he was very pleased—he thought Mark had resigned himself to his fate.

※※※

On match day, the players gathered at the Brackel training base and then took a bus to Schalke 04's training base, twenty kilometers away, to challenge their opponents.

Mark was selected for the matchday squad, so he was on the bus too.

But Jebara didn't announce the starting lineup. Of course, Mark didn't think about whether he would start or not anymore. He was used to being on the squad but not being able to play.

In the locker room at Schalke 04's training base, Jebara announced the starting lineup.

Zhou Yi and Götze were both in the lineup, but Mark was still not.

Not only Mark, but even Zhou Yi was used to this arrangement.

Neither of them reacted as strongly as Mark had when he was first left out of the starting lineup. Mark calmly accepted not playing again.

※※※

When Zhou Yi appeared on the field with his teammates to warm up, he looked around again. This was his first time participating in a U19 Revierderby.

From his observations, the U19 Revierderby was even bigger and more eye-catching than the U17 derby.

This could be seen from the spectators on the sidelines.

In addition to the players' parents, there were also many people in sportswear who looked like players.

They were all players from various Schalke 04 youth teams.

There were even first-team players—this was easy to spot, as there would be a group of people surrounding them, asking for autographs and photos.

U19 was the highest level of youth teams, and many U19 players would be directly promoted to the first team if they performed well. This was not just the case for Borussia Dortmund, but for the entire Bundesliga.

Therefore, the U19 Revierderby could be regarded as second only to the first-team Revierderby and was naturally highly anticipated.

Looking around, Zhou Yi also found Yang Muge in the crowd.

The night before the match, Zhou Yi and Yang Muge chatted on QQ. When they talked about today's match, Yang Muge, who had just started playing in the U17, said that he would come to watch the game, and Zhou Yi welcomed him.

Both of them were now in Germany, only twenty kilometers apart, but they had never met except during matches. They usually contacted each other through free communication tools like QQ.

Through QQ, Zhou Yi learned that Yang Muge had started playing in the U17. Similarly, through QQ, Yang Muge also learned that Zhou Yi had been promoted to the U19 after that U17 Revierderby and had become a key player as soon as he got there.

Yang Muge wasn't surprised because he thought Zhou Yi deserved such treatment.

When Yang Muge saw that Zhou Yi had spotted him, he didn't wave but just smiled at him.

Zhou Yi didn't take the initiative to greet a Schalke 04 player in the hostile derby, and he returned the smile.

The two of them greeted each other in this way.

After greeting him, Zhou Yi continued his warm-up.

And a person appeared next to Yang Muge: "That's your friend Zhou Yi? Yang?"

Yang Muge turned his head and saw that it was his teammate from the same team—Julian Draxler.

This teammate was almost two years younger than Yang Muge. He was only fifteen years old this year, but he was already the absolute main player of the Schalke 04 U17. He was a true genius like Götze.

Yang Muge nodded at Draxler: "Yes."

Draxler was obviously very interested in Zhou Yi. The last time the two sides played against each other, Borussia Dortmund U17 won against Schalke 04 even without Götze. Mark scored twice, but Draxler was focused on Zhou Yi, who was responsible for organizing the attack for Borussia Dortmund U17 throughout the match.

After that match, Draxler took the initiative to approach Yang Muge and asked him about Zhou Yi. He not only learned Zhou Yi's name but also found out that Zhou Yi was actually an amateur player!

This had a huge impact on him at the time.

Because Schalke 04 U17, which he led, actually lost to Borussia Dortmund U17 led by an amateur player...

"Is it true that he hasn't been at Borussia Dortmund for long, like you said?"

"Well, he should have come a little over a month earlier than me..." Yang Muge said.

Draxler turned his gaze to Zhou Yi. The last time he saw him, he was still in Borussia Dortmund U17, but now he had already gone to Borussia Dortmund U19. This promotion speed...

How did an amateur player do it?

In Draxler's view, there were too many mysteries about Zhou Yi, which made him very curious and unconvinced—he actually lost to an amateur player!

※※※

When the match officially started, the home team Schalke 04 launched a fierce attack on Borussia Dortmund U19, taking advantage of their home-field advantage.

The stands were also full of shouts from Schalke 04 fans.

Due to the tense relationship between the two teams' fans, few fans were willing to go to the opposing team's stadium to watch the game in person. It wasn't because they were worried about getting beaten up, but because they disdained it.

This was the case for both the first team and the U19 matches.

During the last U17 Revierderby, which was held at Borussia Dortmund's home stadium, there were almost no fans from Schalke 04.

Taking advantage of their home-field advantage, Schalke 04 performed very well.

Although their overall results in the U19 league were not good, derbies were always to be considered separately.

The gap in strength between the two sides could be made up for in the derby.

So, it wasn't surprising that Schalke 04 scored two goals in the first thirty minutes, taking a two-goal lead.

There was thunderous applause on the scene.

But Borussia Dortmund U19 didn't give up either.

The importance of the derby was the same for both sides. Schalke 04's morale was high after scoring two goals, so how could Borussia Dortmund give up so easily?

So, after gradually recovering and withstanding Schalke 04's onslaught, Borussia Dortmund began to prepare for a counterattack.

And the planner of the counterattack was naturally Zhou Yi, who was now the core of the U19 midfield.

Although he couldn't guarantee playing the full ninety minutes in every game due to stamina reasons, it was still much better than having to be substituted off after about seventy minutes in every game when he was in the Chinese team.

Whether it was stamina or strength, Zhou Yi had made significant progress after receiving professional and regular training.

Scientific and correct training methods, coupled with a diligent and hardworking attitude, were the key reasons for Zhou Yi's rapid progress.

Zhou Yi frequently passed and received the ball with his teammates on the field. If there were statistics, it could be found that the player he passed the ball to the most was Götze.

After more than a month of games and training together, the understanding between the two of them had surpassed that of other teammates.

When Götze got the ball on the wing, he suddenly changed direction and went towards the center, which naturally caused him to be closely guarded by Schalke 04 players. In an instant, three Schalke 04 players appeared around him, preventing him from continuing to break into the penalty area.

Götze didn't try to break through with the ball himself but chose to pass the ball out.

He passed the ball to Zhou Yi, who was supporting him in the center.

Then he made an off-ball cut.

After receiving Götze's ball, Zhou Yi didn't stop but passed it out again directly!

He lobbed the ball over the head of the Schalke 04 defender who rushed up, and it fell into the gap behind Schalke 04's defense!

And Götze happened to run there, receiving the ball without being offside!

"Beautiful!!"

Zhou Yi was knocked down from behind by a Schalke 04 player just after he passed the ball, but it didn't matter. His mission had been completed.

The opponent was just a little too slow, letting him find a chance to kick and pass the ball. If Zhou Yi hadn't passed the ball directly at that time but had stopped the ball and then passed it, this ball would not have been passed out.

Götze, who received Zhou Yi's lobbed pass, unloaded the ball beautifully. He was now one-on-one with the goalkeeper!

He quickly switched feet after unloading the ball and shot directly!

The ball flew past the unprepared Schalke 04 goalkeeper and into the goal!

1:2!

Borussia Dortmund U19 pulled a goal back!

There were excited screams from the Borussia Dortmund U19 bench and coaching staff.

Mark was also among them. He jumped up and shouted, "BvB!! BvB!!! (BvB is the abbreviation of Borussia Dortmund) Yeah! B—v—B——!!"

And Götze turned around and ran towards Zhou Yi, giving him a big hug.

The other Borussia Dortmund U19 players also rushed towards the two of them, celebrating together on Schalke 04's turf.

Boos were heard all around, but they ignored them.

They had to celebrate hard on the enemy's territory!

※※※

Yang Muge stood on the sidelines watching the game. He didn't go to the stands. Next to him was Draxler, as well as other U17 teammates, players from other youth teams, and even first-team players.

Seeing the team concede a goal, Yang Muge's teammates sighed and complained about the players' performance on the field.

One person complained especially loudly: "Arthur should have come out earlier! He's too hesitant to come out!"

The "Arthur" he was talking about was the U19 goalkeeper Arthur Barett.

Yang Muge turned his head and saw the speaker, a tall blond man who stood out in the crowd.

He wasn't his teammate in the U17 but someone even more famous—the first-team's main goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

This U19 Revierderby also attracted first-team players. Neuer, as a talented goalkeeper cultivated by Schalke 04's youth academy, was naturally very concerned about the derby of the team he used to play for.

So, he arrived at the training base a little earlier just to watch the U19 Revierderby.

When Schalke 04 was leading Borussia Dortmund by two goals, he was quite happy, laughing and mocking Borussia Dortmund from the sidelines.

But this goal made him very dissatisfied.

Because in his opinion, this goal was the goalkeeper's mistake. If the goalkeeper could have come out in time, he could have put great psychological pressure on Götze and interfered with his shot.

Hearing Neuer's complaint, Draxler lowered his voice and said to Yang Muge: "I don't think it matters whether Arthur comes out or not. The cooperation between Zhou Yi and Götze was too fast, and there was no time left for Arthur to come out... Not all goalkeepers have a wild heart that loves to rush out of the penalty area like Neuer..."

He didn't dare to speak too loudly, for fear of being heard by Neuer. After all, the other party was a first-team main player and a senior from the youth academy. It would be terrible if he was heard saying bad things about him behind his back.

Yang Muge lowered his head and smiled upon hearing this.

Because he suddenly thought of his roommate Sun Pan, that big man with a Northeastern accent also had a wild heart...