At 2:00 p.m. on November 6, at the Luzhniki Stadium, the common home ground of Spartak Moscow and Torpedo Moscow, which hosted the 2007/2008 UEFA Champions League final, Hoffenheim and Spartak Moscow each occupied half of the field for pre-match warm-ups.
There were snowflakes falling from the sky, neither big nor small, accompanied by a biting cold wind.
Although Hoffenheim's players were all wearing long-sleeved jerseys and warm gloves, each of them was shrinking their necks and wanted to run back to the locker room to put on their coats and turn on the air conditioner.
This weather is so cold that it is really unbearable.
But on the other side of the field, the players of Spartak Moscow were having a lot of fun practicing passing, shooting, heading, saving, etc., with a high morale.
Obviously, the current weather gives them hope of winning even against the Bundesliga's No. 1 team.
Many Moscow fans in the stands were so excited that they cheered for Sparta with their shirts off.
Just as Hoffenheim's players were warming up timidly and perfunctorily, the roar of the supervising fitness coach Billbohm rang out.
"Everyone, get moving! Do you want to get yourself killed or get hurt? In such a cold day, if you don't warm up your body before playing, your chances of getting injured will be much higher. If you don't want to get hurt, get moving! The game will start soon!"
Beerbohm even started calling out names one by one, and if they were not exercising enough, he would run over and slap them, or even kick them in the buttocks, forcing everyone to move and warm up thoroughly.
When the Moscow fans in the stands saw this, many of them laughed, and some who could speak German or English shouted:
"Germans, give up. You can't win in this weather. It would be even worse if you get hurt later!"
"The German tanks back then couldn't conquer Russia, so you are even less likely to do so!"
"It's too cold, you guys should go back to the locker room and enjoy the air conditioning! We will enjoy the victory outside!"
The stimulation from these fans finally aroused a spirit of unwillingness to admit defeat in the hearts of Hoffenheim's players.
Especially those German players are more sensitive to these clearly directed calls.
They can't rush into the stands and fight with the fans, but they can defeat the teams supported by the home fans on the field and make them suffer the pain of the home team's defeat.
As for Lu Wenbin and other players who were not German nationals, they also started to move around under the urging of coach Beerbohm, and gradually began to sweat and feel some warmth.
After the bodies warmed up, everyone became more enthusiastic about warming up.
As time went on, the number of fans in the stands gradually increased to cover half of the stadium, but in the end they failed to fill the stadium.
Although this is Sparta's home court and a rare European match, the weather is still too cold.
Until the game started, the home team fans were unable to fill the Luzhniki Stadium, which had hosted the Champions League final and could accommodate more than 80,000 people. There were only about 50,000 to 60,000 people.
This made the Hoffenheim away fans who came with the team much safer. There were large areas of empty stands between them and the Russian fans, which avoided direct conflict between the two sides.
The historical grievances between the two countries and the violent temper of the Russian fighting nation make the police and security guards who maintain public order very nervous.
It now seems that there will be almost no conflicts in the stands.
Off the court, the starting players of both teams returned to the locker room to change into their game uniforms and make final tactical arrangements, while the substitute players returned to the bench and wrapped themselves in cotton coats.
In the locker room, after Ralph made the final tactical arrangements, he warned: "The weather is very bad for this game. I don't require you to win, but you can't lose either. A draw is my bottom line. At the same time, try to protect yourself and don't get hurt!"
Then, the two teams started to play.
At 15:00 on the afternoon of November 6, in the snow and wind of Moscow, with the referee's whistle, the first match of the second round of Group D of the 2007/2008 UEFA Cup, Hoffenheim's away challenge to Spartak Moscow, officially began.
The second match of this round, Tottenham Hotspur's home game against Dinamo Zagreb, will not start until the evening, while Nijmegen will have a bye in this round.
Hoffenheim took the kick-off right in the game, but this time Hoffenheim, who played offensive football, did not dare to attack wildly at the start. Instead, they passed the ball back and tried to organize the attack by several midfielders and slowly advance.
However, the opposite happened.
Spartak Moscow obviously would not allow the Germans to play technical football on their turf, not to mention that it would be impossible to play in such weather and on such grass.
After Sparta players' continuous pressing, Hoffenheim had to start playing long passes.
Soon, both sides were involved in a fierce fight, with the ball mostly flying in the air and constant mistakes.
Ground passing is simply not possible.
In the air, the ball is sometimes blown off course by the cold wind, and the players’ vision is sometimes blurred by the snow.
In short, with the help of the weather, Spartak Moscow successfully eliminated the Germans' technical advantage in this game, forcing Hoffenheim to fall into a rhythm of frequent physical confrontations with them.
In this regard, Lu Wenbin is at a disadvantage.
Although his physique has been increased to 16, it is still slightly insufficient compared to the players of Spartak Moscow.
According to Lu Wenbin's observation, the physical height of these Spartan players, especially those on the back line, should be around 17 or 18, and some even have a physical height of 19.
Among Hoffenheim's front-line offensive players, only Ibisevic can engage in tit-for-tat competition with the opposing defenders.
Of course, this is also the reason why Ibrahimovic can play as a center forward, because his body can withstand the opponent in the penalty area and serve as a fulcrum.
Both sides were fighting for the ball in the midfield, and after frequent mistakes, it became difficult to get the ball into the penalty area.
It was not until the 18th minute that Ibrahimovic received a cross from Demba Ba in the penalty area, grabbed the first point in a header with the opponent's central defender, and then passed the ball to the back of the goal.
Lu Wenbin seized the opportunity and came in from the other side, ready to take a shot.
As a result, he was bumped by the central defender Pesufuluk who was rushing over from the side. He did not fall, but deviated from his running route.
Although Lu Wenbin finally made a flying shot and touched the ball before Pesufuluk cleared it, he was unable to kick the ball accurately as he lost control of his body.
Lu Wenbin's shot from the ground was deflected without any power and was easily caught by the opponent's goalkeeper Padigaosha.
Kicking the ball away is a rare occurrence for Lu Wenbin.
It can only be said that the slippery field, the impact of wind and snow, and the opponent's physical collision all had a significant impact on Lu Wenbin's performance.
This game is really hard to play. (Seeking monthly tickets)