Champion’s Heart

The half-time championship is actually not an honor, not even a trophy or medal, it is just an important reference about the probability of the league championship.

So although everyone is happy, this kind of happiness can't last long.

Next, they still have games to play.

The media has been excited for a little longer than the Dortmund team. The local media in Dortmund touted their team, claiming that Dortmund is already unstoppable.

Starting from the tenth round of the league, Dortmund, coached by Klopp, has maintained a record of complete victories in all competitions, with six consecutive victories in the league and two consecutive victories in the Champions League. A total of eight games have been won.

It's not entirely unreasonable to say they're unstoppable.

But then, Dortmund ended their winning streak in the last round of the Champions League group stage against Twente. They tied the opponent 3:3 in the away game.

In this game, Zhou Yi didn't even go to the away game, and not only him, but also Gotze, Shinji Kagawa and others did not appear in the squad for the game. Klopp has rotated almost half of the team, so it is not too incredible to draw a 3:3 tie with Twente in the end.

Anyway, Dortmund has already qualified as the number one in the group ahead of time, and it doesn't matter how the last game is played.

Klopp was also asked about the winning streak in the post-match press conference.

I don't think there is anything to regret about the end of the winning streak. It will become a burden for my team to keep winning. It doesn't matter whether we win or lose this kind of game. If we lose this group match, we can change If we win the Champions League then I won't hesitate to lose.

Then another Chinese reporter asked: After a while, Zhou Yi will leave the team and go back to participate in the Asian Cup. Will this affect the team?

Klopp frowned when he heard this question, not because he was dissatisfied with this question, but because this matter really gave him a headache.

Zhou Yi is leaving the team to participate in the Asian Cup...

When the team is in good shape, it lacks a midfield core. When I insisted on letting Zhou Yi be the single core, why didn't I expect that there would be such a sub-cup as the Asian Cup?

And the Asian Cup is the same as the African Cup. It's not scheduled for summer. But in winter!

Let alone the Africa Cup of Nations.

People are in the southern hemisphere, and winter in the northern hemisphere is summer in their southern hemisphere, so football should be played.

Asia is in the northern hemisphere. What are you doing to join in the fun?

Klopp obviously forgot that although Qatar is in the northern hemisphere, the summer temperature there is as high as more than 40 degrees. Not good for football...so only in winter.

Moreover, in the future World Cup in Qatar, there is a great possibility that it will be held in winter, and Klopp will not be alone in the pain. But the entire Europa League...

Yes, the Chinese Football Association has negotiated with us. We will let Zhou Yi go to the Asian Cup. We are missing an important main player. It has no impact on the team at all. That is impossible. But Dortmund is A team, a whole. Our other players are also capable of making up for the vacancy left by Zhou Yi...In short, we will...

After Klopp answered the questions from the Chinese reporters, another Japanese reporter raised his hand and asked: May I ask you about Shinji Kagawa's return to participate in the Asian Cup...

Klopp really wants to turn the table.

yes. There is also Shinji Kagawa!

Oh shit!

All of a sudden, two main players were missing!

Klopp, who was obviously impatient, told the Japanese reporter the answer he had given to the Chinese reporter just now. He just changed the player's name. Even a fool can see his perfunctory attitude.

The Asian Cup is indeed very unfavorable for Dortmund.

The 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar started on January 7th and will last until January 29th, almost a month.

Although the Bundesliga has a winter break, it cannot rest until February. Moreover, even if the truce can last until February, the Asian Cup will also affect the two players Zhou Yi and Kagawa Shinji to participate in the training camp with the team.

The second half of the Bundesliga this season started on January 14th. In the eighteenth round of the league, Dortmund challenged Leverkusen away. This game is the first game of the second half of the Bundesliga.

Judging from the schedule of the Asian Cup, the group stage hadn't even been played yet.

This is indeed a headache for Klopp.

But he has no choice but to let people go. Events like the Asian Cup are games that FIFA stipulates that clubs must let people go. Otherwise, the national team can sue the club to FIFA and demand compensation.

This is also one of the reasons why Klopp's team is crazily grabbing points during this period.

※※※

After finishing the away Champions League group stage, the Dortmund team returned to Germany, and then they have two league games before the winter break.

In the sixteenth round of the league, Dortmund returned home to face Werder Bremen.

Zhou Yi, Gotze and Shinji Kagawa, who did not go to the away game in the last UEFA Champions League group match, all returned to the starting lineup, helping Dortmund beat Werder Bremen 2-0 at home, winning seven consecutive league victories.

A week later, Dortmund will go away to Frankfurt. After this game, the Bundesliga will enter the winter break, and the players will get half a month off. Most players will choose to accompany their families to the warm and picturesque southern Europe for vacation.

And Zhou Yi and Kagawa Shinji will leave the team and return to their respective countries to participate in the preparations for the Asian Cup.

Regarding the Asian Cup, the reporters not only asked Klopp, but also Zhou Yi and Shinji Kagawa.

Strictly speaking, today's Chinese football and Japanese football are not on the same level. Chinese football is far behind Japanese football. However, everyone is still very interested in the confrontation between Chinese and Japanese football. Both Chinese and Japanese journalists are interested. .

Especially when there are two players from China and Japan in a team, and these two players are still stars in their respective national teams.

Not to mention Zhou Yi, although he is young, he is the absolute main force of the Chinese national team.

And what about Shinji Kagawa?

Half a year ago, he was still unable to be selected for Japan's 23-man squad for the World Cup, but now with his outstanding performance in Dortmund, he is already the main force of the Japanese country. This can be seen from his jersey number in the Japanese national team-No. 10, which symbolizes the core and main number.

And for Shinji Kagawa, there is also good news-because of his outstanding performance in Dortmund this half of the season, he also won the honor of the best player in the half of the Bundesliga.

If nothing else, these two will become high-profile stars in the Asian Cup.

Me and Kagawa? Surrounded by Chinese and Japanese reporters, Zhou Yi was a little surprised that they would ask questions about the Asian Cup in advance. The Asian Cup hasn't started yet?

The opening is still more than half a month away? The Chinese team is in Group A, and the Japanese team is in Group B. According to the knockout rules, the first in Group A will play against the second in Group B, and the second in Group A will play against B. Group number one...

Well, won't it be over if you take the first place in the group? Zhou Yi said.

If they all take the first place in the group, if they can still meet, they have to wait until the finals...

If we meet, do you think the Chinese team can beat the Japanese team? This question was not asked by a Japanese reporter, but by a Chinese reporter.

As long as you go all out, nothing is impossible. Zhou Yi answered neither humble nor overbearing, neither arrogantly expressing that he would definitely win, but also not feeling inferior that he would definitely not win.

Kagawa Shinji also faced the same problem as Zhou Yi.

They were also surrounded by Japanese and Chinese journalists.

The Japanese reporter didn’t seem to be very concerned about whether the two teams could meet or who would win, but was more gossip: “Kagawa, you and Zhou Sang have a good relationship, right?”

Yes, we communicate a lot in private, and it's a very good relationship. Shinji Kagawa nodded and admitted.

So what do you often discuss when you are together?

I can talk about any topic, Zhou Sang is the same as ordinary young people...

Chinese journalists are still concerned about the topic of football confrontation between China and Japan: If you want to meet Zhou Yi, it will either be in the first round of the knockout round, or in the final...

Shinji Kagawa smiled and waved his hands and said, I don't want to meet him before the final!

Chinese reporters love to hear these words, because Kagawa Shinji thinks Zhou Yi is a powerful opponent who makes him feel troublesome and doesn't want to meet.

However, some Chinese reporters wanted to get to the bottom of it: So if you meet him, who do you think will win?

Although I have a good relationship with Zhou Sang, if we meet in a match, I will not lose to him. Kagawa Shinji said seriously. I will do my best to beat him.

He also showed the qualities that a professional player should have.

Do you have any agreement on the Asian Cup? This question, which is reminiscent of the second season, was asked by a Japanese reporter.

Uh, it seems not. Kagawa Shinji frowned and thought for a while.

Facing this question, Zhou Yi directly shook his head and said, No.

This really disappointed the media—there was no agreement, how could this be hyped up? (To be continued.) Enable new URL