In the following days, Hoffenheim trained while using friendly matches to test the team's strength and player status. They played friendly matches with Rostock, which was relegated to the German Second Division, Galatasaray of the Turkish Super League, Kaiserslautern of the German Second Division, etc.
Although he was hit hard by Blackburn in the UK, Lu Wenbin believed that he would get his revenge one day, and it did not affect his subsequent training and competition.
Hoffenheim won all the next three friendly matches. Lu Wenbin scored a total of 8 goals and also had several assists.
It’s not that he can’t score more goals, but that he is always substituted early by the coach to give other players the opportunity to play and find the feeling of the game, even if he is a substitute.
Speaking of which, the biggest change in the team is the goalkeeper position.
The starting goalkeeper last season was No. 1 Daniel Haas, but maybe he was too excited about winning the double championship last season and had too much fun during the summer vacation. Not only did his weight soar, but his condition also declined significantly.
Therefore, Haas was naturally included in the punishment list by Ralph, and the original substitute goalkeeper No. 27 Ozcan started in the first few friendly matches.
Ozcan also seized the opportunity firmly. He played well in the first three friendly matches, and in the next two friendly matches, he completely kept Haas on the bench and did not get even a minute of playing time.
In the 2008/2009 season, Hoffenheim was promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time, played in the European war for the first time, and the boss was not short of money. It was the time for Hoffenheim to make a big splash, but Daniel Haas was expected to lose his starting position.
In addition, the news reports that Ronaldinho, the Ballon d'Or winner who also frequented nightclubs and was late for training every day after achieving success, was sold to AC Milan at a reduced price by Barcelona in July made Lu Wenbin take it as a warning.
Haas was one of the contributors to Hoffenheim's promotion and championship last season, and Ronaldinho was the core of Barcelona and the world-famous Ballon d'Or winner. Both of them were abandoned by the team after their form declined, reflecting the cruelty of professional football.
Lu Wenbin secretly warned himself that even with the help of the system, he must learn to cherish and exercise self-discipline.
Otherwise, you who have the potential to become a world superstar may not reach the heights you could have.
After the next three friendly matches, Lu Wenbin gained a total of 6,200 experience points, and his level experience rose to level 12, 58212/100,000.
On August 8, everyone in the club gathered in the restaurant to watch the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. Lu Wenbin was filled with pride at the exclamations of his teammates.
A day later, on August 10, Hoffenheim officially started the 2008/2009 season. The first game was the first round of the German Cup away game against Zonitz of the German Northern Regional League.
The German Cup is divided into 6 rounds. In the first round, there are 64 teams participating, divided into 2 groups.
The 18 Bundesliga teams and the 14 Bundesliga teams that ranked high last season (including the relegated teams from the Bundesliga) are placed in the first group, while the other 4 Bundesliga teams that ranked low (including the promoted team from the 3rd Bundesliga) and 28 teams from lower levels are placed in the second group.
The match is between the first group and the second group. The opposing teams are determined by drawing lots. The party with the lower level in the first round has the right to play at home.
All matches are played in a one-match format. If the game is tied within 90 minutes, the winner will be decided in extra time.
If the match still cannot be decided after extra time, the winner will be decided by penalty shootout.
This is why, although the German Cup is a championship, the system only gives twice as much experience per game as the 2. Bundesliga: because it includes not only Bundesliga teams, but also teams from the 2. Bundesliga, 3. Bundesliga, and regional leagues.
To put it simply, each game doesn't provide much experience, and it's definitely not as good as the Bundesliga where all the top teams participate.
For a fourth-tier regional league team, Hoffenheim doesn't need to play any psychological tactics and can just face the opponent head-on.
Therefore, on August 9, at the pre-match press conference, Ralph directly announced the starting lineup for the game one day in advance.
As Lu Wenbin expected, goalkeeper No. 27 Ozcan started and Daniel Haas was relegated to the bench.
If Ozcan continues to perform well in official competitions, Daniel Haas will be in real trouble.
In addition, the right back was replaced by Andreas Beck, who the club had just introduced from Stuttgart.
This is a rising defensive star who has already gained some fame in Germany and has attracted the attention of national team coach Löw.
However, Baker was poached by the wealthy Hope with a higher annual salary, and Stuttgart failed to keep him.
In the previous training camp, Beck showed above-average passing, assists, and physical fitness, and was full of the typical German fighting spirit and bloodiness, which had a very obvious effect in improving the team's offense and defense on both ends of the wing.
So, despite being a newcomer, he got the chance to start in Hoffenheim's first official game of the season.
The change in the forward line is that the 22-year-old Obasi was called back to his country to play in the Beijing Olympics with the Nigerian Olympic team.
Therefore, Demba Ba got the chance to start and partnered with Ibrahimovic and Lu Wenbin as the three forwards.
If Demba Ba can seize the opportunity, he may be able to keep Obasi, who has missed the pre-season training, on the bench.
The rest of the lineup is not much different from last season.
However, it can be predicted that as the team is fighting on three fronts this season, even those marginal substitutes will definitely get a lot of playing opportunities, and it will not be like last season where some people had no appearances for the entire season.
At 16:30 on the afternoon of August 10, the first round of the 2008/2009 German Cup match between Zonitz and Hoffenheim started on time at Zonitz's home stadium.
Although Zlatans really want to defeat Hoffenheim, stage a dragon-slaying story, and make the news.
However, Hoffenheim, who had been promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time and had long wanted to make a big splash, did not give Zonites this opportunity.
In the 5th minute, Eduardo passed two players in front of the penalty area and passed the ball to Lu Wenbin in the penalty area.
Although a defender from Zonites rushed over and tried to block the bullet hole with his own body, Lu Wenbin's shot was still one step faster than his.
Lu Wenbin's shot accurately hit the blind corner of the goal. The goalkeeper was unable to reach the ball and could only watch it go into the net.
Then, the game completely entered Hoffenheim's rhythm.
Eduardo, Salihovic, Demba Ba and Ibisevic all dribbled past opponents in Zonites' half before passing the ball to Lu Wenbin for the final shot.
Even Lu Wenbin can occasionally give an outstanding performance.
Although the players of Zonites are also adult professionals, their strength is far inferior to that of Bundesliga players after all. Lu Wenbin's dribbling and speed can only help him dribble past opponents occasionally.
After 90 minutes, the score on the big screen was 0-6, with the home team in front and the away team behind.
Lu Wenbin completed a hat trick in the first half alone, and was then replaced by Ralph in the second half.
Fighting on three fronts this season, Ralph must always pay attention to conserving Lu Wenbin's physical energy to avoid Lu Wenbin being unable to run in key games in the later stages.
In this German Cup, Lu Wenbin scored 3 goals for 6,000 points and won 4,000 points, a total of 10,000 experience points, which brought Lu Wenbin's level of experience to level 12, 68212/100,000.
After the first round of the German Cup, the new season of the Bundesliga is about to kick off.
The next game will be Hoffenheim’s first Bundesliga game in history.