In response to the media and fans' unanimous statement that Hoffenheim was about to be eliminated, Ralf Rangnick said in an interview that those were nonsense.
Ralf Rangnick, a famous coach who once coached a Bundesliga team, will never admit defeat in advance even though he is now in charge of a Bundesliga 2 team, even if he is facing Dortmund, a world-famous Bundesliga giant.
Ralph said that Hoffenheim will definitely let Dortmund see Hoffenheim's offensive firepower at the Westfalen Stadium.
With the head coach acting like this, his players will naturally not be afraid before the battle.
Especially Lu Wenbin, in order to complete the system task of winning the league and cup double championship, he activated the hidden skill of "injury tendency". Even if the opponent is the Bundesliga giants Dortmund, he has to fight and strive for victory.
In an interview with reporters, Lu Wenbin said that although Dortmund is very strong, he will continue to pursue goals and do his best to help Hoffenheim defeat Dortmund.
Of course, the remarks made by Hoffenheim coaches and players, including Lu Wenbin, did not attract anyone's attention.
In the minds of all media and fans, these remarks are nothing more than Hoffenheim's last ditch struggle!
A rural team ranked fifth in the German second division faced Bundesliga giants Dortmund away at the Westfalen Stadium. It would be considered a capability for them not to lose by a big margin.
However, the coaches and players within the Hoffenheim team did not see it that way.
After Dietmar Hopp's big signings during the 2007 summer transfer window, Hoffenheim's paper strength this season should actually be number one in the Bundesliga.
However, due to too many signings in the summer transfer window, the team was unable to get used to each other and had poor tacit understanding. Therefore, the results in the first half of the season were average, and it was not until the second half of the season that they started to work hard.
At present, Hoffenheim has achieved five consecutive victories in the second half of the season after the winter break, including the German Cup quarter-finals and four rounds of the Bundesliga.
They remained undefeated in five games, scored 16 goals and conceded only 3 goals, with extremely fierce offensive firepower.
Although Hoffenheim is only ranked fifth in the Bundesliga standings, they are only 2 points behind second-placed Mainz. The entire team, including the head coach, has absolute confidence that they will be in the top three at the end of the season and get a spot in the Bundesliga.
After being promoted to the A-League without any problems, everyone naturally wants more honors.
The only competition Hoffenheim currently participates in, apart from the 2. Bundesliga, is the German Cup.
Not to mention the championship, if Hoffenheim can reach the German Cup final and the champion qualifies for the European Cup through the Bundesliga, then the German Cup runner-up can qualify for next season's UEFA Cup.
At that time, Hoffenheim may be able to qualify for the UEFA Cup in its first season after being promoted to the Bundesliga.
At that time, we will not only be able to play in the Bundesliga, but also in the UEFA Cup. It is really exciting!
Especially for some old players who were still playing in the German third division last season, European competitions are really tempting to them, and they definitely have sufficient reasons to go all out.
After all, there are only three games left in the German Cup. If Hoffenheim goes all out, they still have a chance to make it to the final.
Therefore, when the media and other fans thought that Hoffenheim would be wise to give up and focus on the Bundesliga to ensure promotion to the Bundesliga, the entire Hoffenheim team was already prepared to fight Dortmund away.
The only frustrating thing is that the main attacking midfielder and captain Salihovic was injured in training and will be unable to play in this crucial German Cup quarter-final.
Salihovic is quite comprehensive whether it is organizing offense, intercepting defense, or assisting, free kicks, penalties, etc.
His inability to participate in the game undoubtedly reduced Hoffenheim's offensive power to a level.
However, this does not change Ralph and the team's determination to fight a fierce battle with Dortmund at the Westfalen Stadium and strive for victory.
…
The four matches of the 2007/2008 German Cup quarter-finals were held on February 26 and February 27.
There are two matches on February 26, one is between Bundesliga team Dortmund and Bundesliga team Hoffenheim, and the other is between Bundesliga team Stuttgart and Bundesliga team Jena.
On February 25, the entire Hoffenheim team arrived in Dortmund, more than 300 kilometers away, one day in advance.
After a day's rest, at 19:00 in the evening of February 26, with the referee's whistle, the 2007/2008 German Football Association Cup quarter-final match between Dortmund and Hoffenheim officially began.
Facing the Bundesliga giants Dortmund, Ralf Rangnick did not stick to his 433 attacking formation in this game, but changed to a more balanced 442 formation.
Among them, four midfielders are positioned in a diamond shape.
The single defensive midfielder is No. 21 Luiz Gustavo, the left midfielder is No. 11 Jochen Seitz, the right midfielder is No. 22 Francisco Copado, and the single attacking midfielder is No. 33 Carlos Eduardo.
Lu Wenbin and Ibisevic are the double strikers. Ibisevic mainly passes the ball to Lu Wenbin and creates shooting opportunities for Lu Wenbin, while Lu Wenbin is responsible for the final shot in the penalty area.
However, at the Westfalen Stadium, Hoffenheim was in a passive situation within the first ten minutes of the opening.
In this German Cup match against Hoffenheim, a weak team in the German second division, Dortmund also had more than 60,000 fans. Except for the seats in the corners, the more than 60,000 fans almost filled the Westfalen Stadium.
Among them, all 25,000 seats in the South Stand are standing rooms, with not a single empty seat.
The 25,000 die-hard Dortmund fans gathered there stood throughout the game, using all their strength to cheer for the home team and boo for the visiting team.
It is precisely these 25,000 standing seats that have earned Westfalen the title of the most terrifying home stadium in Europe.
Because when people are standing, they are generally more energetic and stronger than when they are sitting, and the applause, screams, boos and noise they make are also louder and longer-lasting.
There were 25,000 fans standing throughout the game, and they alone were enough to scare the visiting players who had never been to this stadium.
With the cooperation of tens of thousands of fans in other stands, timid players may really be unable to walk in this stadium.
Of course no one in Hoffenheim was unable to move, but amid the targeted boos and noise from tens of thousands of opposing fans, it was inevitable that their technical moves would be distorted and their strength would not be well displayed within the first ten minutes.
So, in the 11th minute, before Hoffenheim had a chance to shoot, Dortmund's No. 9 striker Nelson Valdes had already scored a goal, and Dortmund led Hoffenheim 1-0.
The moment Valdes scored the goal, the entire Westfalen Stadium exploded.
The applause, screams and cheers from tens of thousands of Dortmund fans reached the sky and were awe-inspiring.
PS: I have been looking for the roster of Dortmund in the 2007/08 season for two days but couldn't find it. I only found it in a post on a forum today. I also had to speculate on the starting lineup of Dortmund in the German Cup quarter-finals based on various information. It made me dizzy. In addition, the plot is a bit stuck, so I have only written one chapter until now. Today, there is only this chapter. I am sorry for everyone.