Seven-time Champion

Chapter 151: Celebrating the championship

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The German Cup does not have Golden Boot and Best Player awards, but there will be rankings and selections on the official website of the Football Association and in the media after the game, which is also a recognized honor.

Lu Wenbin scored 10 goals in 4 games and undoubtedly became the top scorer of the German Cup in the 2007/2008 season, which is twice as much as the second place.

At the same time, Lu Wenbin also won the honor of the best player of this German Cup with 10 goals and 3 assists, and led Hoffenheim to defeat Bayern to win the championship.

The biggest gainer in the 2007/2008 German Football Association Cup was Lu Wenbin, a 17-year-old new player from China.

After returning to the hotel, the entire Hoffenheim team, including owner Hopp and general manager Rothaus, drank and celebrated until the early morning before returning to their rooms to rest in sleepiness.

The next morning, countless media outlets in Germany, Europe and around the world reported the results of the 2007/2008 German Football Association Cup final.

With the fame of the Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim became famous all over the world.

As a result, Lu Wenbin's popularity also increased greatly.

"Hoffenheim, the second-tier team in the German Cup, staged a dragon-slaying legend, defeating the Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich to win the championship!"

"In the ups and downs of the German Cup, the country club Hoffenheim had the last laugh by stepping on the corpse of Bayern Munich!"

"A lob shot from midfield, an equalizer, a comeback, a tie in stoppage time, a last-gasp goal in extra time: a brilliant and thrilling German Cup final!"

"17-year-old Chinese teenager Lu Wenbin scored two goals and led Hoffenheim to defeat Bayern Munich in the German Cup and staged a dragon-slaying legend!"

"17-year-old Chinese teenager Lu Wenbin defeated the Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich alone!"

Lu Wenbin and others slept until noon, got up to have lunch, and then rushed back to Sinsheim without stopping.

That is Hoffenheim’s real home ground where they celebrate their championship.

After getting off the plane at Frankfurt Airport, hundreds of Hoffenheim fans' cars followed the team bus and headed south with the team.

When entering the Rhine-Neckar County, Hoffenheim was welcomed by tens of thousands of fans.

These fans include not only local fans from the village of Hof, Rhein-Neckar County, and the city of Sinsheim, but also fans from nearby Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Stuttgart.

A thrilling German Cup dragon-slaying legend and reversal to win the championship have added countless new hardcore fans to Hoffenheim.

The places that the Hoffenheim club bus originally passed were Frankfurt, Rhine-Neckar County, Hoffenheim Village, and Sinsheim City Center.

However, the village of Hoffenheim is too small, so the Sinsheim city government prepared a celebration venue for Hoffenheim in the town square.

Therefore, the entire Hoffenheim team bypassed Hoffenheim and rushed to the city center to hold a celebration ceremony.

There, Hoffenheim was welcomed and celebrated by nearly 100,000 Sinsheim citizens.

This is Sinsheim's first German Cup title in history, and they won the title by defeating Bayern Munich.

All the citizens of Sinsheim suddenly became Hoffenheim's most loyal fans.

When Lu Wenbin appeared on the second-floor balcony of the City Hall holding the trophy and listened to nearly 100,000 people shouting "Lu-Lu-Lu" together, Lu Wenbin felt a spiritual shock.

At this moment, he suddenly felt like tears welling up in his eyes.

Although his goal is the stars and the sea, Hoffenheim is destined to be just a stepping stone for him to conquer Europe.

But as his first team after coming to Germany, he should stay for Hoffenheim and win the championship that makes them proud for decades before leaving, as a reward to his boss Hopp who brought him to Germany, and the ordinary fans who support him.

Even when celebrating a goal on the field, Lu Wenbin did not kiss the team logo on his jersey, because at that time he had not yet developed any feelings or sense of belonging to Hoffenheim.

He just regarded Hoffenheim as the first springboard for his conquest of Europe and the world. He was destined not to stay in Hoffenheim for too long.

But now, in the Municipal Square of Sinsheim, Lu Wenbin was moved by the fans. In front of nearly 100,000 fans, he lifted up his jersey and gently kissed the team logo on the jersey.

Seeing Lu Wenbin, the first contributor to the team's victory in the German Cup, kissing the team badge, the fans in the square became even more excited. Countless people shouted his name at the top of their lungs, and some even shed tears of excitement!

In addition to participating in the group celebration, Lu Wenbin's exposure also increased significantly after the German Cup final. Not only did he face more requests for autographs and photos from fans when he went to the stadium for training every day, he also received many interviews from reporters and invitations for commercial endorsements.

This was the first time that Lu Wenbin received an invitation for a commercial endorsement, and he finally became a star with commercial value.

In order to deal with these matters, Mendes personally stayed in Hoffenheim for a few days and signed two short-term endorsements for Lu Wenbin for only one year before leaving.

It’s not that there aren’t longer endorsement offers, but both Lu Wenbin and Mendes think that signing a contract that’s too long is not cost-effective.

Only after Lu Wenbin performs well in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup next season can he attract a really big contract.

Those who are trying to sign long-term endorsement contracts are just speculating and trying to take advantage in advance. However, Lu Wenbin and Mendes did not give them a chance.

The one-year advertising endorsement for two static photo shoots was paid 200,000 euros each, bringing Lu Wenbin a total of 400,000 euros in endorsement fees.

Of course, because of the need to pay taxes and share profits with Mendes, Lu Wenbin himself received less than 200,000 euros.

However, even so, it is already a considerable extra income.

Converted into RMB, it is almost 2 million.

Lu Wenbin's salary and bonus at the club are already very high, and he would not be able to spend them all even if his spending in Europe were higher.

Therefore, Lu Wenbin sent the first endorsement fee back to his parents so that they could buy a better and bigger house in the county.

The houses in the old winery family quarters have been there for decades and are very run-down. Lu Wenbin didn't think much of it before, but now that he has money, he wants his parents to move to a better place.

Lu Wenbin even wanted his parents to quit their jobs and go fishing and growing flowers every day to take care of themselves in their old age. After all, he could afford to support them.

However, this suggestion was rejected by Lu Chongxin and Sun Jiahui.

It is right to buy a better house. Lu Wenbin has become a big star. It would be appropriate for him to have a better new house to settle down when he comes back.

As for their jobs, they would not quit. They were both young and in their prime, and it would be awkward to quit their jobs and have nothing to do.

Neither of them had ever done business before, and they didn't want to start over in an unfamiliar field and waste time and energy.

So, Lu Wenbin asked his father to talk to the boss and ask them to get a less busy job, such as working for the union, so that they wouldn't have to work so hard in the workshop and it didn't matter if the salary was lower.

Lu Chongxin did not refuse.

At the same time, Lu Wenbin asked his father to buy a car, and Lu Chongxin did not refuse.

Lu Chongxin has a driver's license, but he has never had the money to buy a car, which is a big regret. Now his son has finally paid for him to buy a car, which can be regarded as realizing his dream of owning a house and a car.

Among relatives, colleagues, and the small circle of Meitan, Lu Wenbin finally won honor for his parents and made them feel proud.