While Lu Wenbin was resting at home on holiday, on December 19, UEFA held the draw ceremony for the 32 teams in the 2008/2009 UEFA Cup.
The 24 teams that qualified from the UEFA Cup group stage and the eight third-placed teams from the Champions League group stage that were relegated to the UEFA Cup will begin to fight against each other in the round of 16 in the second half of the season.
There are four Bundesliga teams that have qualified from the UEFA Cup group stage, namely Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Hamburg, and Werder Bremen, which finished third in Group B of the Champions League.
A total of five Bundesliga teams are participating in the UEFA Cup knockout rounds, which is still the country with the most participating teams of all European leagues.
According to the draw rule that teams from the same country do not meet in the round of 16, Stuttgart drew Zenit St. Petersburg, Werder Bremen drew AC Milan, Wolfsburg drew Paris Saint-Germain, and Hamburg drew Nijmegen.
The UEFA Cup knockout rounds are a home and away double round-robin. Taking into account the weather factors when playing away against Russian Premier League team Zenit St. Petersburg, except for Hamburg's opponent Nijmegen which looks a little easier to deal with, the luck of Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg are not very good.
The last team drawn was Hoffenheim, who drew Lekpersna from the Polish Super League, and it was a relatively favorable schedule of playing away first and then at home.
Although Lekpsnaz is currently ranked first in the Polish Super League standings, it can be said that there is no suspense at all when facing Hoffenheim, the first in the Bundesliga.
Therefore, after the draw results came out, the German media announced that Hoffenheim and Hamburg would advance to the round of 16 without any suspense, while Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg would definitely have a tough battle.
Lu Wenbin also said in an interview with reporters with ease and confidence: "Lekpsna is not a weak team. They are the first in the Polish Super League. However, no matter who the opponent is, I believe Hoffenheim will win in the end."
He first praised the opponent, and then said that Hoffenheim would definitely win, which proved Lu Wenbin's confidence.
Not only Lu Wenbin, not only the German media, but no normal person would believe that Hoffenheim, the top team in the Bundesliga, would capsize because of Leckies.
Besides, there are many players and coaches on the football field who declare that they will definitely win before the game even starts. This is also a way to show confidence and morale. You can't predict that you will lose before the game even starts, right
Therefore, no one said that Lu Wenbin was talking nonsense or being arrogant.
Next, more than ten days later, it was New Year's Day 2009. The European winter transfer window opened on January 1, 2009 and ended on January 31.
Although Hoffenheim is participating in the top league and European competitions for the first time, their performance in the first half of the season was exceptionally amazing. The team's lineup is stable and the team has a good understanding of each other, so there is no need to supplement anything.
Therefore, this winter transfer has little to do with Hoffenheim.
Apart from terminating the contract of third goalkeeper Kirsbaum, who had not had a chance to play, and letting him leave freely, and then introducing 30-year-old goalkeeper Hildebrand on a free transfer, Hoffenheim did not make any other transfer moves after the opening of the winter transfer window.
After the New Year's Day of the Gregorian calendar, the team was about to start training. Lu Wenbin could not spend New Year's Eve and Spring Festival at home, and could only say goodbye to his parents reluctantly.
On January 4, 2009, Lu Wenbin returned to Germany and went back to his residence in Rhine-Neckar County. Kate also returned to Lu Wenbin. The two of them, who had not seen each other for a long time, spent a good night together.
Then, on January 5, the entire Hoffenheim team gathered and flew to La Manga, the Spanish winter resort, for winter training.
It's warmer there than in Germany.
Kate and other family members of the players also went to La Manga, which was like a vacation.
In addition to Hoffenheim, some Bundesliga teams such as Hamburg and Bochum, as well as teams from other Nordic countries, are conducting winter training in La Manga, which makes it convenient for everyone to play friendly matches during the training period.
Just as Lu Wenbin and his teammates were actively training to prepare for the Bundesliga championship in the second half of the season, a shocking news broke out in Chinese football and quickly swept the entire Chinese football circle.
On January 9, 2009, the new book "Inside Story of Chinese Football", written by famous football commentator Li Chengpeng, editor-in-chief of "Football News" Liu Xiaoxin, and senior journalist Wu Celi, and published by Jiangsu People's Publishing House and Phoenix Publishing and Media Group, officially held a new book launch in Beijing.
The book openly calls for "welcome to identify the responsible party, welcome to sue in court, welcome investigation by superiors, welcome reports from fans", revealing countless unknown inside stories since Chinese football entered the professional league, and also dealt a heavy blow to the Chinese Football Association, which was already in a precarious situation after the Olympics. It has been warmly welcomed by media and fans across the country.
It is said that an unprecedented anti-counterfeiting and anti-gangster storm is brewing in the Chinese football world, with instructions issued by higher-level leaders and criminal intervention by the Ministry of Public Security.
Lu Wenbin, who has almost become the top star of Chinese football, naturally cannot escape the pursuit and interviews of reporters.
As an ordinary football fan, Lu Wenbin used to feel confused and puzzled as to why China, such a big country with such a large population and good economic conditions, always performed poorly in football and the situation was getting worse and worse.
When the many scandals revealed in the book "Inside Story of Chinese Football" appeared before his eyes, Lu Wenbin could not help but be shocked and angry. There is no greater sorrow than heartbreak.
When domestic reporters came to interview him, Lu Wenbin, in anger, openly criticized the Chinese Football Association, domestic leagues, referees and all other issues.
Given Lu Wenbin's current identity and status, what he said will not only have a huge impact on the Chinese media and fans, but will also expose the dark side of Chinese football to foreign media and fans.
As for whether it would bring shame to Chinese football, whether he would be hated and banned by the leaders of the Chinese Football Association, Lu Wenbin did not think so much at all during the minute he was interviewed.
After scolding the Chinese Football Association and venting his anger, Lu Wenbin devoted more energy to training.
On January 11, Hoffenheim played a friendly match with the Bundesliga team Bochum, which was also conducting winter training in La Manga.
Although Bochum learned from Bayern and Schalke 04 and sent two defenders to closely guard Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin still scored two goals in the first half to complete his brace. One of the goals was scored when he forced a shot in the penalty area while being closely guarded by two opposing defenders.
Because it was a friendly match, Lu Wenbin was replaced by Ralph during the half-time break and did not play the whole game. In the end, Hoffenheim won the friendly match with a score of 3-0.
Lu Wenbin's efficiency of scoring twice in 45 minutes proved that he is still the terrifying super shooter.
Even if the opponent sends two people, it is impossible to completely keep an eye on Lu Wenbin. The most they can do is reduce his shooting opportunities.
Of course, there is no tactic in football that can completely freeze a super shooter. Perhaps only a killing tactic can do it.
What no one could have predicted was that injuries were quietly invading the thriving Hoffenheim.