At 18:30, in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, Ralph was giving his players a final mobilization in the visiting team's locker room.
Ralph said: "In this game, the outside world thinks we are doomed to lose and the championship will definitely go to Bayern Munich, but are you willing to let Bayern take the championship trophy?"
"No!" Lu Wenbin and his teammates answered in unison.
Ralph asked again: "Do you want to have a taste of what it feels like to hold the German Cup trophy?"
"Yes!" the team members answered louder.
Ralph nodded and said:
"That's great! This game will be broadcast live not only to Germany, but also to Europe and dozens of countries and regions around the world, including Lu's home country, China, which has a population of more than one billion."
"If you can beat Bayern Munich in this final and win the championship, it will mean a lot to Hoffenheim and your own future: Hoffenheim will be famous all over the world, and you will become world-renowned stars."
"It is true that Bayern Munich is strong. But in football, the stronger side does not necessarily win. Otherwise, what would be the point of watching football? Otherwise, why are there so many upsets and classic battles where the weak beat the strong?"
"So, no matter what difficulties or adversities you face in the game, I hope you will always maintain your strong fighting spirit and full concentration and persevere until the end of the game. Only in this way can we have hope of winning."
The players nodded vigorously, and everyone had the fighting spirit to defeat Bayern Munich and become famous.
Then Ralph began to make the final tactical arrangements.
This game was the same as the quarter-final against Dortmund, with Ibisevic at the front passing the ball to Lu Wenbin, who acted as a shadow striker and offensive terminator, with the entire team working together to deliver ammunition to Lu Wenbin.
Of course, this is what Hoffenheim did before, and everyone knows it, including Bayern coach Hitzfeld, who must have taken precautions.
Although Lu Wenbin's off-ball running ability improved a lot in this game, that was only his performance in training. Ralph was not sure what Lu Wenbin would be like in the actual game.
Moreover, even if Lu Wenbin's off-ball running attributes have improved, it is still a question whether Lu Wenbin can receive the ball and shoot in the powerful Bayern Munich penalty area under the defense of world-class central defenders such as Lucio and Van Buyten.
Therefore, Ralph gave Lu Wenbin and others a few more instructions for this game.
If Lu Wenbin is really being watched closely, then we will have to adapt to the situation and not rely entirely on Lu Wenbin.
…
As time passed and the game time got closer, players from both sides left the locker room and came to the player tunnel, ready to play.
The player lineups of both teams were also shown on the big screen, and the live commentator read them out one by one.
The first lineup announced was Bayern Munich's starting lineup, which included No. 22 goalkeeper Rensing, No. 2 defender Sagnol, No. 3 defender Lucio, No. 5 defender Van Buyten, No. 30 defender Lehr, No. 16 defensive midfielder Oter, No. 31 defensive midfielder Schweinsteiger, No. 7 forward Ribery, No. 39 attacking midfielder Kroos, No. 20 forward Sousa, and No. 9 forward Luca Toni. The game formation was 4231.
Just looking at Bayern's starting lineup, you can see how luxurious this Bundesliga giant is.
Sagnol, Lucio, Van Buyten, Schweinsteiger, Ribery, Luca Toni and so on are all big stars in Germany, Europe and even the world, and are names that are familiar to the football fans.
Almost every time a player's name is called out, it will cause applause from the fans in the stadium.
Moreover, sitting on the bench are well-known superstars such as Kahn, Klose, Podolski, Lahm and so on, which is simply luxury to the extreme.
When the commentator read out Hoffenheim's starting lineup, the applause suddenly became much quieter.
The applause only got louder when Lu Wenbin's name was called.
Because Lu Wenbin's performance during this period attracted the attention of many neutral fans, and many Chinese and overseas Chinese audiences applauded Lu Wenbin.
Hoffenheim's starting lineup for this game is No. 1 goalkeeper Daniel Haas, No. 13 defender Soter Lau, No. 24 defender Nilsson, No. 14 defender Jancker, No. 3 defender Jaisle, No. 21 defensive midfielder Gustavo, No. 22 forward Copado, No. 23 forward Salihovic, No. 33 attacking midfielder Eduardo, No. 19 center forward Ibisevic, and No. 90 forward Lu Wenbin. The game formation is 442.
At 18:50, the entrance ceremony began.
The first to appear was the flag of the German Football Association, followed by the team flags of Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim.
Finally, Lu Wenbin and other starting players of the two teams came out with the caddies.
When Lu Wenbin walked past the trophy at the exit of the player tunnel, he took a deep look at the trophy.
This was his first chance to touch the trophy of Europe's top professional league, but Lu Wenbin resisted the urge to reach out and touch the trophy.
Because there is a famous curse in the football world, or you can call it a superstition, which is that you cannot touch the championship trophy before the final, and whoever touches it will lose.
On the night of Istanbul in 2005, AC Milan's Kaka touched the Champions League trophy when he came on the field.
Then, the whole world knows what happened that night, a shocking story.
Although this curse is not 100% effective, the players would rather believe it and basically restrain their urge to touch the trophy before the game.
Although Lu Wenbin didn't believe it, he didn't want to bring additional pressure to his teammates who believed in the curse because of his extraordinary behavior.
Facing Bayern Munich is already stressful enough. If Lu Wenbin were to touch the trophy before the game and be seen by his teammates behind him, it would undoubtedly put even more pressure on his teammates who believed in the curse.
Lu Wenbin doesn't want to lose to Bayern and lose the championship.
Therefore, Lu Wenbin restrained his impulse and calmly walked past the trophy holding the caddy's hand.
None of the other players from the two teams touched the trophy, and some didn't even dare to look at it, as if the trophy would fly away if they looked at it.
Amid the applause of the fans, the 22 starting players entered the field, lined up, and the German national anthem began to play.
After the national anthem, the caddies and flags left the field, the players from both teams shook hands and took photos, and then the captains of the two teams guessed the side of a coin under the chairmanship of the referee.
In the coin toss, Salihovic won the right to kick off for Hoffenheim.
Then, players from both teams lined up in their respective half of the field, waiting for the game to begin.
Lu Wenbin and Ibrahimovic were preparing to kick off in the center circle. The referee outside the center circle kept looking at his watch, ready to blow the whistle to start the game at any time.