Just when the coaching staff was hesitant, on the last day of training before the game on January 31, after the upgraded Lu Wenbin showed more accurate shooting skills, the coaches became more inclined to let Lu Wenbin start.
Then, main striker Demba Ba strained his calf muscle at the end of training and needed to rest for a week, which became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
On the morning of February 1, the entire Hoffenheim team drove to Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, west of Frankfurt.
In the afternoon, at the pre-match press conference of Wayne VS Hoffenheim, Ralf Rangnick announced Hoffenheim's starting lineup.
Hoffenheim played a 433 formation in this game, with the three forwards being center forward No. 19 Vedad Ibisevic, right winger No. 20 Chinedu Obasi, and left winger No. 90 Lu Wenbin.
Obasi is a right-footed player, while Lu Wenbin is more balanced in both feet, so Ralph arranged him on the left.
However, in Ralph's tactical arrangement, this game was mainly based on Lu Wenbin. Ibisevic and Obasi both covered Lu Wenbin and created shooting opportunities for him.
A 17-year-old young man starts the game and becomes the offensive finisher, which should be able to catch the opponent off guard.
At 18:00 on the afternoon of February 1, 2008, local time in Germany, with the referee's whistle, the first league game after the winter break, the 18th round of the 2007/2008 German Second Division League match between Werder Bremen and Wiesbaden at home and Hoffenheim officially began.
At the beginning of the game, Hoffenheim took the initiative and played offensive football at Wayne's home ground.
After Ralf Rangnick, the famous Bundesliga coach who has coached Stuttgart and Schalke 04, took over Hoffenheim, he has actually been playing offensive football.
The main reasons for the team's poor performance in the first half of the season were the emphasis on offense and neglect of defense, coupled with the lack of adjustments and tacit understanding in the lineup after owner Hopp invested nearly 20 million euros in signings this season.
But after the running-in in the first half of the season, the strong players that Hopp invested heavily in have become more and more integrated with each other, and Hoffenheim's offensive power is getting stronger and stronger.
This is also the reason why Hoffenheim was able to rise from the relegation zone to 8th place in the standings after 17 rounds in the first half of the season.
In the second half of the season, Hoffenheim's tacit understanding was better and their attacking power was stronger. Even on the road, Ralph's determination to play offensive football was not shaken.
This is also one of the reasons why Lu Wenbin was able to start in the league so quickly, because there are three forward positions and there are more vacancies.
Hoffenheim's attack was fierce.
In the 3rd minute, No. 23 attacking midfielder Sejad Salihovic passed the ball to Obasi after passing two players in the midfield. Obasi made a cross from the side and Ibisevic headed the ball into the goal.
If the ball had not been headed a little high, Hoffenheim would have scored a goal within three minutes of the start of the game.
Even though the ball did not go in, it scared the Wayne fans in the stands. Then everyone started booing Hoffenheim, shouting slogans such as "German Abramovich" and "Money Football" to mock Hoffenheim.
Because of Hopp's asset problems, many Germans think that Hopp is the Abrahimovic of Germany, the executioner who destroyed Germany's overall football and financial health, and is full of hatred towards Hoffenheim.
Hoffenheim basically receives this kind of treatment when playing away games, and Hopp has even received death threats from extreme fans of the opposing team.
This is also one of the reasons why the coaching staff is afraid that the young Lu Wenbin will not be able to withstand the pressure on the road.
Not only is there the responsibility and pressure of starting, but there is also the yelling from away fans and even extreme fans. It is indeed risky to let a 17-year-old child start.
In fact, Lu Wenbin did experience some interference after the game started.
Especially when he was running close to the sideline, he could even clearly hear what the fans on the sidelines were saying, including some racist insults targeting Lu Wenbin's skin color.
Lu Wenbin wanted to find the person who insulted his skin color and complain to the referee, but was pulled away by Carlos Eduardo.
Eduardo told Lu Wenbin that there was no evidence for this kind of verbal abuse from a single fan. Even if you complained to the referee, the fans would not admit it, and the referee could do nothing about it.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the game, referees generally ignore players' complaints.
If the game has to be stopped to arrest someone after a fan curses a few times, the 90-minute football match cannot be completed smoothly.
Unless many fans blatantly shout racist slogans together or even hold up banners, the Football Association will punish the home club after the game, and basically will not punish individual fans.
Moreover, even in that situation, the game is rarely suspended and the punishment is only given after the game.
As a player, the best way to fight against this kind of insults and discrimination on the field is to score goals, and score a lot of goals, so that the home team loses by a large margin and lets these home team fans know the consequences of their insults to the visiting team players.
After listening to Eduardo's advice, Lu Wenbin shifted his attention to the game and vowed to give Wayne's fans a good show.
Although Lu Wenbin's speed, dribbling and physique are not outstanding in the German 2nd Division, they are not a drag. His 8/8 off-ball running is not even up to the passing line for a striker, but Hoffenheim's overall strength can actively create gaps for him.
Therefore, just a few minutes later, in the 8th minute, Lu Wenbin got a good chance to shoot.
Eduardo passed the ball to Obasi on the right, Obasi passed the ball back to Salihovic, and Salihovic passed the ball to Ibisevic who had his back to the goal in the penalty area.
This series of passes disrupted the Wayne team's defense, and they could no longer tell who was Hoffenheim's offensive terminator. Subconsciously, they thought that following the ball and trying to steal the ball was the best way.
So, except for the people who were still around Obasi and Salihovic, the three defenders in the penalty area rushed towards Ibisevic.
The goalkeeper also stood nervously between Ibisevic and the goal to prevent him from turning and shooting.
However, facing several opponents' siege, how could Ibrahimovic, who had the ball with his back to the goal, turn around and shoot so easily
The players of Wayne team were just confused by Hoffenheim's series of passes and did not consider the practical difficulties that Ibisevic faced when he got the ball with his back.
So, when they all subconsciously rushed towards Ibrahimovic, Lu Wenbin, who rushed into the penalty area from the left, was in an unguarded gap.
This was not due to Lu Wenbin's 8/8 off-ball running attribute, but the overall strength of the team's front attack line completely disrupted the opponent's back line, allowing Lu Wenbin to get an unguarded opportunity in front of the goal.
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