Chapter 1 The Current Situation

On April 24th, the entire European football world was discussing two things. One was Bayern Munich's 4-0 demolition of Barcelona at home. Did this mean the end of Barcelona's cosmic team era? Would Bayern Munich become the new cosmic team?

The second was that Borussia Dortmund fans, dissatisfied with Götze's choice, besieged the Borussia Dortmund team bus.

These two events were being discussed together and constantly linked by the media.

Some experts believed that the past April 23rd might be a turning point for German football, signifying the end of Borussia Dortmund's two-season dominance of German football. After temporarily deviating from its course for two years, German football was returning to the right track.

Moreover, Bayern Munich would complete its purge of the "rebellious" Borussia Dortmund within Germany, resolving any future worries, and then begin their terrifying reign over European football. Just imagine Bayern Munich next season, with Borussia Dortmund's core genius player Götze and the genius coach Guardiola from Barcelona... The picture is so beautiful that people dare not look at it.

The only problem might be that Heynckes left Guardiola with a threshold that was too high—Bayern Munich this season is very likely to win the treble, and if Guardiola wants to build his dynasty at Bayern Munich, then he must at least achieve that treble, or even the six-crown achievement he created at Barcelona.

But it is believed that for Guardiola and the powerful Bayern Munich, this is nothing...

As for Borussia Dortmund, although the Champions League semi-final has not yet begun, they have already been classified as "losers" by public opinion.

Tonight, they will lose to Real Madrid at home, and in the next ten days, they will be defeated by Bayern Munich in the same stadium, losing the last hope of winning the league title.

※※※

"Zhou Yi was right, we really have become 'an army of grief'." In the afternoon, Klopp browsed the news on his tablet. "Even Matthias has written an article worrying about our future."

The "Matthias" he was referring to was Matthias Dausch. As a Borussia Dortmund team reporter and the editor of the Borussia Dortmund section for the *Ruhr Nachrichten*, he had good relationships with many people in the team, and he often used this relationship to publish exclusive news reports. Of course, he was always a loyal supporter of the Borussia Dortmund club, responsible for cheering them on in the media or speaking for the Borussia Dortmund club, saying things they were not convenient to say.

Such a staunch Borussia Dortmund supporter was now writing in the *Ruhr Nachrichten* expressing his worries about the evening's game:

"...The whole world is proclaiming Bayern Munich's four-goal victory over Barcelona last night, while also hyping up the infighting between our fans and the team... I am really very worried about how much fighting power the team still has in such an atmosphere, and how much the players are thinking about the game itself? I really want to call for unity. The more we need unity at this time, but for the first time, I feel powerless. Because calling for unity now is useless in the current abnormal atmosphere... It is said that in tonight's game, the Südtribüne (South Stand) will display banners and slogans targeting Götze. I understand the fans' anger at Götze's choice. To be honest, I was also very painful and disappointed when I heard the news, but the fans' current actions can only push the team into the abyss step by step. Pointless venting of emotions is meaningless..."

"Real Madrid supporters must be very happy now," Klopp said.

"You're right, Jürgen. *Marca* posted messages on Twitter and Facebook today expressing their expectation for Real Madrid's victory," Krawietz said. "In a voting survey conducted online by *AS* today called 'Predict the Game Result,' 78% of people voted that Real Madrid would win."

"Sounds not too bad, because there are still 22% who think we'll win," Klopp said self-deprecatingly.

"No, only 12% of people think we will win, and 10% think the game will be a draw," Krawietz added.

Klopp could only shrug and spread his hands.

"I think this is really good news for us," assistant coach Željko Buvač pondered. "I have been thinking about Zhou Yi's 'army of grief' theory all morning. We can make a big deal out of this. But we don't have much time left. The pre-match speech in the locker room is key, Jürgen. You must fully exert your verbal skills to mobilize the emotions of all the players. As Zhou Yi said, if they don't want to win, then there's nothing we can do. But if they want to win, it's a great opportunity for a counterattack!"

"You're right, Željko," Klopp nodded. "But about the pre-match speech... I actually have someone better than me for that..."

※※※

In the evening, when the Borussia Dortmund team bus arrived at the Westfalenstadion, there were more police officers than usual maintaining order. Usually, reporters could stand behind the police line and throw their questions to the players getting off the bus, using their cameras to get a better shooting angle.

Generally speaking, they were only one person away from the players.

But now, the police not only used a human wall but also used crowd control barriers to keep the crowd far away.

A reporter joked, "It's exaggerated. I thought the Pope from the Vatican was here..."

"Even the Pope wouldn't have this kind of scene. It's almost like the President of the United States..."

Speaking of the President of the United States, the two reporters laughed tacitly.

That most powerful man on earth knows how to put on a show. The last time he visited Germany, he airlifted all the equipment and vehicles of his entire guard. The German security department was only responsible for clearing the way, and all other security work was handled by the United States. When they took to the streets, it was a whole fleet of American special vehicles, which was really impressive.

The President of the United States does need such tight security.

So why does Borussia Dortmund need it?

This inevitably leads to the scene that happened outside the Brackel training ground yesterday.

Due to the developed media, that scene had spread throughout Germany and even the world. Everyone could see hundreds of Borussia Dortmund fans holding banners, shouting slogans, and standing in front of the Borussia Dortmund bus, forcing it to stop.

In the end, three people from Borussia Dortmund had to come out to appease them, but it was still difficult to quell the fans' anger. They only moved aside after ten minutes, clearing a path.

As for why they moved aside... that's not important. The media wouldn't report it, after all, what Zhou Yi said was slapping their media in the face...

Seeing Borussia Dortmund acting like startled birds, many media reporters curled their lips—from this scene, one could foresee Borussia Dortmund's defeat tonight...

The fans have always been Borussia Dortmund's strongest backing. When Borussia Dortmund's performance was at its worst, and the club was almost bankrupt, their relationship with the fans was very close. It can be said that the fans are the source of Borussia Dortmund's strength.

But now, for security reasons, the police have completely separated the Borussia Dortmund team from the fans and even used crowd control barriers that would only be used against violent demonstrators. This thing appearing outside a football match was very abrupt and out of place, and also very glaring.

It seems to indicate that a hideous crack has appeared in the close relationship between the team and the fans.

And then there are the rumors that some extremist fan organizations will use banners or tifos to protest against Götze during the game...

Borussia Dortmund, having lost the support of their fans, how could they possibly win against Real Madrid, who are as fierce as tigers and determined to take revenge?

※※※

During the warm-up, when Götze appeared a little closer to the Südtribüne (South Stand), a burst of boos came from the Südtribüne. It was very obvious and harsh.

Such a scene had never happened before. If there were boos, it would be directed at Borussia Dortmund's mortal enemies, Schalke 04 or Bayern Munich. Even Real Madrid would not easily enjoy such treatment.

But Götze enjoyed it.

In the midst of the boos, Götze lowered his head, not saying a word, nor making any response. He didn't even look up at the fans in the stands who were booing him.

From the moment he made his decision, he knew what he would face, but since the decision had been made, there was no use regretting it now.

On the sidelines, the stadium announcer Norbert Dickel sighed helplessly when he saw this scene.

What a good situation... Tonight, it's going to be ruined before his eyes.

What's going to be ruined is probably not just the hope of winning the Champions League, but also the future of this team.

The atmosphere has changed. Götze's departure is like stabbing Borussia Dortmund in the heart.

That kind of heartbreak, the more someone loves Borussia Dortmund, the more painful and desperate they feel.

Real Madrid players, who were also warming up, would stop and look at the half of the field where the Borussia Dortmund players were located, appreciating this "defection" show before their eyes.

Seeing such an atmosphere, they became more and more confident that they could beat Borussia Dortmund on their home turf. The only suspense was how many goals they would win by...

※※※

Soon, everyone finished warming up and left the field. Götze left very quickly, almost jogging all the way, being the first to enter the players' tunnel.

Although he was mentally prepared, he still didn't want to stay on the field for even a second longer, enduring the boos from the fans. Many of those who were booing him were once the ones who cheered for him.

This contrast made him particularly uncomfortable.

After everyone returned to the locker room, the door was closed, and the noise and commotion outside were shut out.

The players began to change out of the clothes they wore during the warm-up. The starting players changed directly into their jerseys, while the substitutes had to put on their jackets.

Some people were busy stuffing shin guards into their socks, while others were wrapping tape around their ankles, and some were checking whether the studs on their shoes were secure...

Klopp pushed the door open and then closed it again. No one looked up at him.

Klopp observed the locker room for a while, and after seeing that everyone was almost done with their tasks, he clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"There are ten minutes left until the start of this game. Before the game starts, according to convention, I should say a few words to you all," Klopp said. "But today I've changed my mind. I want someone else to say these words in my place, because I think he can say it better than I can."

Everyone couldn't help but turn their eyes to assistant coach Buvač. In their minds, the only person qualified to speak on behalf of the head coach was obviously the assistant coach.

But Klopp waved his hand and pointed to Zhou Yi, who was sitting in his seat.

"Come on, Zhou Yi, say a few words to your teammates!"

Everyone was stunned, including Zhou Yi himself.