Chapter 1 Zhou Yi Was Right

No one complained, including the Five Little Dragons, all the players devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the training.

Everyone performed very actively in training, and this kind of activeness was different from being eager to show off.

It was more like being active because they had a clear goal and knew what they should do.

This was proactive, not passive.

Blazevic was very happy with this change, and in private he said to his translator Jiang Xiaojun: "I think we are going to make history."

Jiang Xiaojun was surprised by Blazevic's optimism.

※※※

The opening ceremony of the London Olympics started at 9:00 p.m. on July 27, but in fact the Olympics did not start after the opening ceremony. Some events were held before the opening ceremony.

Like soccer.

In the afternoon of July 26, the London Olympic Men's Football Tournament was about to kick off.

The Chinese team would also make its debut at this time. Their opponent was the Mexican Olympic team, which was a strong team.

The Chinese Olympic delegation arrived in London on July 25, but the Olympic team arrived even earlier.

In fact, on July 15, the entire Olympic team left China and came to Europe. They first conducted the second stage of training in Germany, and by the way played two warm-up matches.

Then on July 21, they arrived in London and were the first batch of the Chinese sports delegation to move into the London Olympic Village.

"The Olympic Village really distributes condoms for free!" Sun Pan waved a handful of condoms in front of his friends.

"What are you doing with so many of these things..." Yang Muge was speechless.

"Anyway, they're free, might as well take them," Sun Pan said.

He Ying put on a "I don't know him" expression and avoided to the side.

"Even if they're free, can you still use so many to blow up balloons?" Yang Muge asked.

Zhou Yi said: "Lao Yang, you don't know, Panpan has a lot of old flames in London, these condoms may not be enough."

Guo Nu had a "suddenly realized" expression on the side.

"Get lost! You're the one with so many old flames!"

Everyone laughed.

"How does it feel to be back in London, Panpan? This is your territory. Do you want to take us out for a stroll?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Do you want to go to a nightclub? I can take you around, there are still many good places in London," Sun Pan said.

When Yang Muge heard about nightclubs, he quickly shook his head: "I'm not interested..."

He Ying also said: "I'm not going. You guys go if you want to."

Guo Nu was quite eager to try, but when he heard Yang Muge and He Ying say this, he also pretended to be nonchalant and said: "I, I also... don't... go."

But he was ruthlessly exposed by Zhou Yi: "Liar, Lao Guo, you clearly wanted to go just now."

"No, no, no!" Guo Nu quickly defended himself.

"Look, you're stuttering nervously, which means you're guilty!" Zhou Yi pointed at Guo Nu and said.

"Get lost, get lost... my, my stuttering has nothing to do with, with nervousness!" Guo Nu continued to stutter.

Everyone laughed happily again.

※※※

After the Chinese team arrived in the Olympic Village, many media outlets in the village also took the Chinese team as their interviewees. Because for them, the Chinese men's soccer team was too unfamiliar at the Olympics held in non-native countries.

But on the other hand, for European media, some players in the Chinese team were not unfamiliar. Because they were all players who played in European leagues, and had appeared in the media a lot. For example, Zhou Yi, for example, Sun Pan.

These two people could now be said to be the most famous stars of the Chinese Olympic team.

One was the core midfielder of Dortmund, who led the team to win the German double crown last season.

One was the main goalkeeper of Atletico Madrid, who helped the team win the Europa League title last season.

So the Chinese Olympic team was definitely not an unknown nobody in London. Just because of those players studying abroad in Europe, they were the focus of media reporters.

However, reporters came to interview Zhou Yi and it had nothing to do with the Olympics. Everyone was concerned about where he would go next...

In the past two years, there had always been a fixed program called "Where is Zhou Yi Going?" during each summer transfer window.

Last season, although Dortmund won the Bundesliga and German Cup double, they lost to Chelsea in the Champions League and missed the final, which made many people speculate about Zhou Yi's future prospects.

Especially before the Olympics, the news that Dortmund's midfielder Shinji Kagawa had transferred to Manchester United had aroused a lot of speculation.

Everyone knew that Zhou Yi and Shinji Kagawa were not only partners on the field in Dortmund, but also had a good private relationship. Would Shinji Kagawa's departure from Dortmund have a certain impact on Zhou Yi?

Everyone knew why Shinji Kagawa left Dortmund. In addition to the fact that Manchester United was bigger than Dortmund, it was also related to Dortmund's consistent stinginess and frugality, and the contract renewal negotiations with Shinji Kagawa could not be settled for a long time.

Losing in the Champions League for two consecutive years, and the departure of a key player, would this give some "inspiration" to the players who stayed in Dortmund?

Think about Nuri Sahin before, as the core midfielder of Dortmund at the time, he was also poached by Real Madrid.

How could a club that was reluctant to pay to keep people, a team whose main players were always leaving, be considered ambitious, how could they have long-term plans, how could they meet the ambition and needs of a top player?

Shinji Kagawa was gone, would Zhou Yi be next?

Everyone was very concerned about this issue.

Zhou Yi knew about Shinji Kagawa's departure, because Shinji Kagawa had specifically called Zhou Yi before leaving to tell him about it, and at the same time apologized to Zhou Yi.

"...I'm sorry, Zhou-san, I originally wanted to win more championships with you..."

Zhou Yi comforted Shinji Kagawa on the phone at the time, telling him not to have any burdens: "Everyone has their own ambitions, and any choice can't be said to be right or wrong, just be responsible for your own choice."

He couldn't really say whether Shinji Kagawa's choice was good or bad. Whether it was from the perspective of the team's reputation or honor, Manchester United was better than Dortmund. But players should not only consider the reputation of the target team when choosing a transfer. They should also consider whether the tactical characteristics of this team are suitable for them, whether the head coach of this team favors them, and whether they can adapt to the overall style of this league.

Zhou Yi didn't know whether Shinji Kagawa could adapt to Manchester United's style of play, nor did he know whether Shinji Kagawa could adapt to the Premier League, which emphasized physical confrontation more.

These were all unknown to Shinji Kagawa himself. Maybe he could, maybe he couldn't.

But this was Shinji Kagawa's own choice, what others said was not important, and it was meaningless.

Zhou Yi finally wished Shinji Kagawa good luck on the phone.

And Shinji Kagawa thanked Zhou Yi for his help and care in Dortmund, but he did not persuade Zhou Yi to leave Dortmund on the phone.

After all, he had some unpleasantness with the Dortmund club during the contract renewal process, but Zhou Yi didn't, so there was no need to kidnap others with his own will.

A reporter asked Zhou Yi whether they still had contact after Shinji Kagawa went to Manchester United.

"Of course."

"Did he persuade you to join Manchester United too?"

"Of course not." Zhou Yi shook his head. "Whether to transfer or not, and which team to transfer to, is a personal choice, there's no need for others to persuade."

"Would you consider leaving Dortmund?"

"Where would I go if I left Dortmund?" Zhou Yi turned the tables and asked back.

The questioning reporter was speechless and didn't know how to answer this question for a moment. He obviously didn't expect Zhou Yi to kick the football back, but he should have known this, because Zhou Yi was the best at passing the ball...

Seeing that he couldn't speak for a while, Zhou Yi didn't give her a chance to continue asking questions, but showed the Chinese flag on his chest and said: "Now I am a member of the Chinese Olympic team. I came to London to participate in the Olympics, not to accept a medical examination from a London club, so I only care about the Olympic Games, and I don't care where I will be after this summer. So I hope everyone can ask questions about the Olympic team and the Olympic Games. Don't ask other questions, otherwise it will be a waste of everyone's time, and there's no benefit."

This matter was considered over.