Champion’s Heart

? After the game against Fürth, Dortmund will face Mainz six days later.

Then comes the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

Dortmund's opponent in the semi-finals was Real Madrid, who eliminated Galatasaray in the quarter-finals.

For this opponent, Dortmund's media was very happy to meet them.

Because in the group stage, the two teams were assigned to the same group. Dortmund achieved a double win against Real Madrid at home and away in the group stage - winning both home and away games.

Facing the opponent Real Madrid again, it can be said that Dortmund should have a psychological advantage.

Dortmund's title rival in the league is Bayern Munich, and their opponent in the Champions League semi-finals is Barcelona.

This season's Champions League semi-finals are the German Super League duo and the Western Super League duo.

Such a neat confrontation is really rare.

I wonder if the enemies in their respective leagues can finally meet in the final and turn the Champions League final into a civil war?

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In the game against Mainz, Klopp continued his rotation. Many players who played in the previous game against Fürth did not appear in the starting lineup. Instead, they played on the bench in the previous game, or Players who didn't even make the roster.

Mark Wagner started in place of Lewandowski.

Gotze, who sat on the bench for 90 minutes in the last game, also started. It can be seen from this that Klopp did not intend to punish him by not playing in the last game.

Also starting is Zhou Yi, who is not in the rotation.

After several years of special training, Zhou Yi's physical fitness is no longer a problem.

But today's game is different from the previous game when Dortmund defeated Fürth 6:1.

Facing Tuchel's team, Dortmund did not play easily.

In just one minute, Royce opened the scoring for the team. Many people were looking forward to Dortmund repeating Dortmund's hearty victory in the last game.

But the development of the next game was not very smooth.

The reason is related to the performance of the arrow character Mark.

Mark was very lively and active today, but a little... too active, and he seemed a little anxious.

When the football comes to his feet, he is always eager to try a shot and seems to be very concerned about whether he can score a goal.

Marcel Leif also saw Mark's abnormal performance: Mark has a very strong desire to shoot today. Maybe it was the goal frame in the last game that stimulated him?

Because Mark is always in a hurry to shoot, Dortmund's offense does not run very smoothly, because when the football reaches Mark's feet, it basically means that the offense is over.

Even if Zhou Yi raised his hand for the ball, Mark still had to take the shot himself.

In addition, Mainz's performance in the away game was very tenacious, which made Dortmund even more difficult and could not expand its lead again for half a day.

In the first half, both Hummels and Royce received yellow cards.

Dortmund stepped up its offensive in the second half, but Mark, as an arrow figure, was still in poor condition.

As a last resort, Klopp replaced Mark in the 67th minute and brought on Lewandowski.

Mark seemed a little dissatisfied with being replaced early. He pointed at himself and asked the audience repeatedly in disbelief: Is it me? Is it me?

After receiving a positive answer, he waved his arms in annoyance and walked down.

Zhou Yi frowned after seeing this scene.

Mark is a little abnormal today. In the past, he rarely showed such intense emotions in public...

After coming off the field, Mark simply shook hands with Klopp, sat in his seat, put a towel on his shoulders, didn't say hello to anyone, and looked at the court in a daze.

※※※

After Lewandowski came on the scene, Dortmund's offense has obviously improved. At least it can pass the ball more near the penalty area.

In fact, in terms of ability, Lewandowski is indeed better than Mark. He is more comprehensive than Mark. But before the serious injury, Mark was in really good shape. He was on the rise, no matter how hard he played. At that time, he won a lot of favor throughout Europe, which was beyond the reach of Lewandowski.

But the injury that professional players fear most is Mark. If he hadn't been injured, Lewandowski might not have had the chance to unleash his full capabilities.

The reason why some players can succeed is not only their own excellent strength, but also the blessing of the goddess of luck.

Mark's injury gave Lewandowski an opportunity to show off his talents, and Lewandowski also strived to seize this opportunity and became Dortmund's top scorer during the year when Mark was seriously injured.

Mark's performance after his recovery from injury is actually acceptable. If it can continue, he will definitely be able to compete directly with Lewandowski, putting Lewandowski under tremendous pressure.

If Lewandowski is a representative of being favored by the goddess of luck at a critical moment, then Mark is a representative of luck in arrears.

Mark, who had just gained some good momentum, was injured in the Champions League match. The injury lasted for another month.

When he came back again, he encountered the Gotze transfer incident again. The team's morale was unstable, and he himself was also affected.

Sometimes, I really have to lament that fate plays tricks on people...

※※※

Finally, in the 84th minute, Lewandowski received a cross from Kuba from the wing and headed the ball over the top, scoring the goal that sealed the victory for Dortmund.

When he scored, the entire stadium erupted in deafening cheers.

It had always been a one-goal lead before, which really worried Dortmund fans.

Well now, Lewandowski helped the team seal the victory.

The Dortmund players on the bench jumped from their seats to celebrate the goal, including Mark.

He high-fived and hugged his teammates to celebrate the goal, which was completely different from the dejected performance he had just left the field.

The TV broadcast also specially cut a shot of him. If Mark was sitting on the bench at this time and was indifferent to Lewandowski's goal, then the media would have something to hype after the game.

But unfortunately, Mark did not show the emotion that the media wanted to see.

You know, when Mark was substituted, his series of reactions really made many people think that he was unwilling to be substituted early out of competition with Lewandowski.

Many media have already laid out the secrets that Mark and Lewandowski have a bad relationship...

※※※

Dortmund relied on goals from Reus and Lewandowski to defeat Mainz 2-0 at home.

At the same time, in another stadium, Bayern Munich's on-field challenge to Hannover 96 also ended. Although Bayern Munich was playing away from home, they still ushered in a big victory - 6:! Sweeping the home team Hannover 96 really left no face at all.

In the last game, Dortmund won 6:1, and Bayern Munich's victory was also 6:1! , the two teams compete so hard...

※※※

Although he won the competition, Mark was criticized by the media.

Some media even think that it is too fanciful for Mark to compete with Lewandowski now. Continuous injuries have made Mark no longer qualified to compete with Lewandowski. They are no longer on the same level. and level players.

These words were very harsh, and Zhou Yi was very unhappy when he saw it.

Mark's performance in the last game was indeed not very good, but who doesn't have ups and downs?

Zhou Yi decided to talk to Mark and enlighten him so that he should not pay too much attention to the competition with Lewandowski. After all, he has just returned from injury and needs time to regain the feeling and rhythm of the game.

But when he found Mark and had a private chat with him, Mark's reaction was different from what he expected.

Do you think I'm going to compete with Robert for the starting position, Zhou Yi?

Huh? Zhou Yi didn't expect Mark to ask him this question, and he didn't know how to answer.

Seeing the confused Zhou Yi, Mark smiled: Robert did a great job, how can I possibly compete with him now? I know very well what my position is. For now, I can just be a substitute.

The more Zhou Yi listened, the more confused he became: Since you understand everything, why during the game against Mainz...

Mark knew why Zhou Yi was looking for him, but when he mentioned this topic, his expression changed and his smile disappeared.

Are you okay, Mark? Zhou Yi also noticed something strange about his good friend.

I'm fine, Zhou Yi. Actually...my performance in that game was indeed a bit bad and impatient. I also saw the criticism of me in the media. I think they were right...but I just couldn't control myself at the time. I want to prove in front of Mario that our Dortmund is no worse than Bayern Munich. I want to use my performance to help the team win. I want...Mario to regret his decision...

Mark murmured.

Only then did Zhou Yi understand what the problem was...

After the news of Gotze's transfer spread within the team, Mark didn't have any special reaction. Grosskreutz even broke up with Gotze, but Mark was so calm that he didn't attract attention at all.

Only now did Zhou Yi understand what was strange about this matter.

With Mark's character, he shouldn't be calm.

Now it seems that Mark is indeed not at peace, but he hides the storm in his heart.

If you think about it carefully, since the Gotze incident came out, Mark seems to have worked harder in training.

There was also a fire in his heart...

Zhou Yi patted Mark on the shoulder: Don't think so much, Mark. Everyone has their own ambitions, so there's no need to force it. We just have to do our own thing.

Mark nodded: I figured it out later. No matter what I do, no matter what happens to Dortmund, Mario will not regret this transfer decision. After all, he likes Bayern Munich so much...

At this point, Mark smiled: He and I are completely different.

Then he looked at Zhou Yi and said seriously: Actually, it's not that I can't accept his transfer and leaving. I just can't accept that he chooses to leave at this time... When the season is over, wherever he wants to go, I'm afraid no one will complain. But at this time, his behavior is really affecting the team too much...Zhou Yi, if you want to leave in the future, please don't imitate Mario.

Zhou Yi was startled and waved his hands quickly: I don't want to leave yet...

You are also completely different from me. Mark shook his head and said. Even if I am asked to play as a substitute in Dortmund for the rest of my life, I am willing. But I can feel that you will not stay in Dortmund forever. That's okay, you should go to a bigger stage.

Facing such an open-minded Mark, Zhou Yi remained silent, not knowing what to say.

He really never thought about staying in Dortmund for the rest of his life, even if he had to be the core.

The world is so big, and he doesn't want to die in one place.

But facing Mark, he always felt that admitting his little thoughts would make him feel guilty. (To be continued~^~)