Chapter 1 After Mark Wagner's Appearance

After Mark Wagner came on, Borussia Dortmund changed their formation. At first, everyone thought it wasn't a good idea to replace the injured Götze with Mark, because the two players had different positions and playing styles.

But now it seems that Klopp's arrangement was a stroke of genius.

His mismatched substitution and asymmetrical formation made Schalke 04 very uncomfortable.

On the left, facing Großkreutz's frequent overlapping runs, they lacked targeted defense—if they ignored him, he could wreak havoc on the left; if they tried to contain him, his connection with Zhou Yi would make Schalke 04's defense a mess.

Schalke 04 had no choice but to put more defensive focus and personnel on that side, trying to block the cooperation between Großkreutz and Zhou Yi. It was obvious that this was Dortmund's main attacking direction.

But people are flexible. Now that Schalke 04 had designated this area as a key defensive zone, Zhou Yi didn't need to continue to entangle with them here.

When Großkreutz passed the ball to him and continued to move forward, Zhou Yi feinted, pretending to pass the ball back, but it was just a fake. His right foot pulled the ball to the right, and he turned around, quickly kicking the ball to the right.

The ball landed at Reus's feet.

Reus faced much less defensive resistance than Großkreutz!

Reus, receiving the ball at the edge of the penalty area, wound up his foot as if to shoot, deceiving the Schalke 04 player Christian Fuchs, who rushed up to defend and made a sliding tackle. But Reus simply hooked the ball to the center, fooling him.

Then he shot, but the ball was saved by Unnerstall.

Although they didn't score, Dortmund's attack made many Schalke 04 fans break out in a cold sweat, and greatly boosted the morale of the Dortmund fans in the stands, filling them with confidence in the team's future.

※※※

After Götze's injury, everyone thought that Dortmund would encounter some trouble, but the reality was completely different. They threatened Schalke 04's goal several times in a row, causing Schalke 04 huge problems.

Why was this?

Klopp's unexpected substitution and formation adjustment was one reason.

Another very important reason was that they had Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi is a commander on the field with his own consciousness. He doesn't just simply follow the coach's arrangements. Sometimes he even goes against the coach's arrangements, but he usually does well, so the coach doesn't say anything.

He is closest to the situation on the front lines, and he knows what to do at what time.

So, to make Dortmund's attack lose its threat, the most important thing is to contain Zhou Yi.

Yang Muge stuck to Zhou Yi.

"Old Yang, don't stick so close, I'm not interested in men," Zhou Yi said to Yang Muge without turning his head.

"I'm not interested either, Zhou Yi, I'm just doing my job," Yang Muge replied calmly. Zhou Yi's teasing or "provocation" didn't cause any emotional fluctuations in him.

Zhou Yi was familiar with this feeling. He had it before when he played against Yang Muge. It felt like he was playing against a robot, which was really boring.

But it must be admitted that as an opponent, Yang Muge's qualities are very good. He can minimize external interference and influence, and concentrate on his work.

But Zhou Yi wasn't afraid of him.

Having played against him so many times in the virtual space, Zhou Yi was also very familiar with Yang Muge. Yang Muge is a very good defensive midfielder, but he is just a very good defensive midfielder.

No matter how powerful he is, he is only one person, and football is a team sport. Zhou Yi has never fought alone against a team. His football style is to make full use of the power of the team, so he is an organizing midfielder, he is the person who leads the team, not a reckless man who fights alone.

Faced with Yang Muge's defense, Zhou Yi responded with quick passes.

Especially after Mark came on, Zhou Yi was more comfortable passing the ball. Because Mark was very familiar with him, although he hadn't played for a year, this tacit understanding was not affected.

And Mark was also happy to cooperate with Zhou Yi. He would always understand Zhou Yi's intentions faster than other Dortmund teammates, and then quickly make a matching move, so Zhou Yi and him could achieve true "seamless connection."

As soon as Zhou Yi received the ball, Mark appeared in the receiving position. Zhou Yi didn't even have to raise his head to pass the ball. He knew that Mark would be waiting for him there.

Their tacit understanding was that good.

This was equivalent to Yang Muge having to defend Zhou Yi and Mark by himself. No matter how good he was, it was impossible for him to maintain an advantage in a one-on-two situation for a long time.

After a few back-and-forth exchanges, Yang Muge felt tremendous pressure.

Moreover, Zhou Yi and Mark were not just simply passing the ball. They also kept switching positions and crossing runs during the passing process, making Yang Muge feel overwhelmed.

When he passed the ball last time, Zhou Yi was still on his left. After passing the ball to Mark, he ran to the right. After passing another ball, he ran back to the left.

Yang Muge felt that he was quite familiar with Zhou Yi, but he had never seen Zhou Yi play like this. Within a very small range, he constantly switched positions with Mark, passed the ball, switched positions again, and passed the ball again, which was dizzying.

And Dortmund's attack found a breakthrough in this small-scale, quick passing and cutting.

In the sixty-seventh minute, after Zhou Yi passed the ball to Mark, he went around behind Mark and ran to the other side of him. After Mark passed the ball to him, he sprinted diagonally forward, but just as he ran between Schalke 04's defensive line and midfield line, he suddenly made an emergency stop and changed direction, running in the completely opposite direction.

At the same time, Zhou Yi's ball was sent over, and Mark happened to run to the route of Zhou Yi's pass.

To outsiders, it was really unclear whether this was a coincidence or premeditated…

Anyway, Mark received the ball given to him by Zhou Yi in a very subtle position. He didn't continue to dribble the ball inward, because if he took another step forward, he would directly run into Schalke 04's frontal defense line composed of Höwedes and Matip.

But he didn't stop to adjust either, because Yang Muge and other Schalke 04 midfielders had turned back and rushed over. As long as he hesitated a little, he would quickly fall into Schalke 04's encirclement.

At the same time as receiving the ball, Mark chose to shoot directly!

"Mark Wagner—!" In Marcel Reif's long, drawn-out roar, the ball flew towards Höwedes.

Höwedes was in a central defender's conditioned reflex, stretching his leg out to block, while putting his hands behind his back to avoid being hit by the ball with his arms open and being judged for a handball in the penalty area, giving Dortmund a penalty for nothing.

But the ball flew past his clamped arms. If he had opened his arms, he might have been hit by the ball. But the current situation was not much better. He didn't block the ball, and the ball flew towards the goal behind him, with an arc in the air. The speed was not fast, but the arc was obvious. It just bypassed Schalke 04 goalkeeper Unnerstall's fingertips, and then plunged into the net!

"toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor!!!"

It was not Marcel Reif who made this long hiss, but Norbert Dickel, the announcer of the Westfalenstadion.

His roar was amplified by the microphone and rippled in the sky above the stadium, like rolling thunder.

And the Dortmund fans in the stands of the Westfalenstadion also jumped up and shouted, "toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor!!!"

They responded to their beloved "Nobby" with the same roar.

At this moment, the Westfalenstadion was like a volcanic eruption, and everyone in it seemed to be swallowed by the rolling lava.

"Mark! He equalized the score for Dortmund! This is his first game back after a year of serious injury! He scored in his first game, this comeback is simply perfect!" Compared with them, commentator Marcel Reif seemed a bit less passionate, but in fact it wasn't that Reif was lukewarm, but the Dortmund fans were really too excited…

On the one hand, it was a key goal to equalize the score in the Revierderby, and on the other hand, it was their "Son of the Südtribüne" Mark Wagner's first goal after recovering from his injury.

He stood up when the team needed him, which is what a true Dortmund player should do!

※※※

Mark was also very excited after scoring. He didn't even bother to hug and celebrate with Zhou Yi. He turned around and ran all the way to the other side of the stands opposite the Schalke 04 goal. That was the famous Südtribüne of the Westfalenstadion, the place where he came from!

Zhou Yi didn't care at all about Mark's failure to hug him after scoring. In fact, anyone can freely choose their celebration moves after scoring, and there is no requirement to hug the person who assisted him.

Moreover, Zhou Yi understood Mark's mood at this moment very well.

A whole year and a month, perhaps no amount of language can clearly explain what Mark has experienced during this time. Zhou Yi couldn't say that he empathized with him either. He absolutely couldn't empathize. So if he said he could empathize, it would be hypocritical.

Only Mark himself knew everything he had experienced, but looking at the emotions he was bursting out now, others could still imagine a little. That year and a month must have been like hell…

For Mark, even if it wasn't hell, it was almost the same as hell.

The most important thing was not the physical injury, but the psychological torment. Although his sister had repeatedly emphasized to him that he was recovering well and could return to the court. Although Zhou Yi used the examples of those famous stars in history who had suffered serious injuries and then recovered to comfort him. But as long as he didn't stand on the court again, he would always doubt whether he could continue playing football.

A year and a month, it seems like just a black and bright screen in a movie, but for a person who is waiting hard to return, it is a whole year and a month of torment.

Many times he began to doubt whether his waiting was meaningful. What if he still couldn't stand on the court in the end? Wouldn't all his efforts be in vain?

And now this goal finally made his uneasy heart settle down again.

He knew that those waiting and torment were worthwhile and meaningful!

He ran all the way, showing no signs that his knee had been seriously injured and operated on. He just ran all the way to the bottom of the Südtribüne, and then, regardless of the rules, took off his jersey, threw it into the sky with force, and then roared at the Südtribüne with his upper body naked.

And the fans in the Südtribüne responded to him with the most enthusiastic cheers.

Only his parents were an exception.

Mrs. Wagner covered her mouth and fell into her husband's arms with tears on her face. Old Wagner was gently patting her back with his hand.

In this crowd of revelers, the two of them were so different.