The 13th round of the Bundesliga match between Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg was broadcast live not only in China but also in Japan.
Because Wolfsburg has a main player of the Japanese national team, Hasebe Makoto, who transferred to Wolfsburg from Japan in January 2008.
Hasebe Makoto has comprehensive skills, abundant physical fitness and strong willpower, which is exactly the type of player that Wolfsburg's devil coach Magath likes most.
Therefore, after transferring to Wolfsburg, Hasebe Makoto quickly gained a foothold and has become Wolfsburg's main defensive midfielder this season. He can also occasionally play as a central defender and has performed well.
Just like the last time Korea broadcast the 5th round of the league match between Hoffenheim and Dortmund, this match was hyped up as the East Asian Derby by Chinese and Japanese media.
Due to the historical grievances between China and Japan, some radical media and fans from both countries even promoted this game as a Sino-Japanese War.
Lu Wenbin was naturally aware of the domestic hype, and he was interviewed by Chinese reporters before the game.
However, as a star, Lu Wenbin's words and deeds cannot be as unscrupulous as those of netizens. But Lu Wenbin still said that he would play at his best in the game and lead the team to victory.
No matter who his opponent is, he will do his best to defeat him.
Hasebe Makoto did the same when he was interviewed. He only said that Lu Wenbin is currently the top scorer in the Bundesliga and he will do his best to defend Lu Wenbin.
But that is just for the team's victory, not for any East Asian derby or China-Japan showdown.
However, during the game, Wolfsburg head coach Magath did assign No. 13 defensive midfielder Hasebe Makoto to closely guard Lu Wenbin, but the relationship between the two was not as friendly and calm as they expressed in the interview.
The two were calm and composed during the pre-match interview just to avoid trouble from public opinion.
Not to mention the historical grievances between the two countries, there have been many grievances between the two countries in football in the past decade or so.
In the 2004 Asian Cup, China, as the host, lost to Japan in the final. Losing the championship was considered a great humiliation by Chinese fans.
As a member of Chinese football, Lu Wenbin is no exception.
Therefore, in the 6th minute, when Lu Wenbin received the ball at the front of the penalty area, although he was with his back to the goal and his chance was not very good, he still turned around and completed the shot despite the pulling and pushing of Hasebe Makoto, trying to give Hasebe Makoto a warning.
However, Hasebe Makoto made a timely tackle from behind.
Although he failed to tackle the ball or knock down Lu Wenbin, he successfully interfered with Lu Wenbin's shot.
In the end, the ball shot by Lu Wenbin went a little bit further into the goal than he expected. Instead of flying into the dead corner, it was easily caught by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Benaglio.
While getting up from the ground, Hasebe Makoto lowered his head and whispered in his unskilled German: "Lu Wenbin, don't even think about scoring a goal in this game!"
Lu Wenbin snorted and responded in a low voice: "With you? Just wait and see!"
As the game continued, Hasebe Makoto really did what he said and almost completely kept a close eye on Lu Wenbin.
He completely ignored the positions of Hoffenheim's other players and where the football was. He followed wherever Lu Wenbin ran, without relaxing his eyes and body for a moment.
Even if Lu Wenbin ran to the sideline, the baseline, or the backcourt, he followed him closely, with only one thought in his mind: he must keep a close eye on Lu Wenbin and not let him score a goal.
In order to get Lu Wenbin involved in a personal fight with himself, Hasebe Makoto would frequently use dirty words and small actions to stimulate Lu Wenbin, leaving him with no time to take care of other things.
It would be even better if Lu Wenbin could be provoked to foul himself and be sent off by the referee.
Lu Wenbin, who was only 18 years old and inexperienced, was fooled.
In addition to the grudges between China and Japan, Lu Wenbin had only one thought in his mind: he must score a goal in front of Hasebe Makoto and teach him a lesson.
Lu Wenbin was completely caught up in a personal feud with Hasebe Makoto. Although he had four chances to shoot in the first half, only two of his shots hit the goal frame due to Hasebe Makoto's interference, and no goal was scored.
There were also two free kicks, but neither resulted in a goal.
When opponents find out that Lu Wenbin can only shoot and cannot pass the ball, the difficulty of defense actually becomes much lower.
Lu Wenbin did not score a goal. Instead, Obasi received an assist from Ibisevic in the 34th minute and successfully shot in the small penalty area, giving Hoffenheim a 1-0 lead.
After the two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 1-0, Ralph criticized Lu Wenbin in the locker room.
Ralph said, "Lu, I know about the conflict between China and Japan, but it is meaningless for you to get completely caught up in a personal fight with Hasebe Makoto. He may just be using dirty words and small actions to stimulate you so that you have no time to care about other things, or even get sent off by the referee for retaliating against him by fouls. If you want to win the fight with Hasebe Makoto, it is not to have a personal bullfight with Hasebe Makoto on the court, but to lead the team to victory. As long as we win and Wolfsburg loses, will Hasebe Makoto feel that he is a winner and be very happy?"
Lu Wenbin suddenly understood.
He complained about why Hasebe Makoto used so many foul language, and several times he was so angry that he wanted to punch him.
It turned out that this was the other party's strategy.
The Japanese are really insidious, and I am still too young.
After a 15-minute break, Lu Wenbin began to become more rational and no longer insisted on scoring a goal in front of Hasebe Makoto.
So, in the 53rd minute of the second half, when Lu Wenbin received the ball in the penalty area and did not shoot himself but passed it to Ibrahimovic, resulting in a goal. Hasebe Makoto, who was concentrating on blocking Lu Wenbin, showed a surprised expression on his face.
Lu Wenbin assisted Ibisevic to score another goal, helping Hoffenheim take a 2-0 lead.
After celebrating the goal with his teammates, Lu Wenbin returned to his own half and gave Hasebe Makoto a sneering smile, leaving Hasebe Makoto with a rage that he had no place to vent.
Seeing Hasebe Makoto's depressed expression, Lu Wenbin knew that the head coach's analysis was indeed correct. The little Japanese really planned to make him fight with him in the first half.
Seeing that he assisted his teammate to score a goal, Hasebe Makoto's face was indeed depressed. He was not happy because he was prevented from scoring a goal.
After assisting Ibisevic to score this goal, Lu Wenbin thought that Hoffenheim, who was leading 2-0, had already won.
Unexpectedly, the Wolfsburg team trained by the devil coach Magath not only has first-class physical fitness, but also has terrifyingly strong willpower.
The score of 0-2 did not make the Wolfsburg players despair. Instead, they fought, counterattacked and attacked even harder, and scored two goals in five minutes in the 64th and 69th minutes to equalize the score.
When Wolfsburg striker No. 9 Dezeko scored the second goal to equalize the score, commentator Dickenson jumped up from the commentary booth and exclaimed:
"Oh my god, Wolfsburg scored the second goal. They evened the score by scoring two goals in five minutes after falling behind 0-2. Magath's team really has a spirit of not admitting defeat. Although his devilish training has been criticized, the spirit of his team is also admirable."
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