Amid the whole world's worship of Barcelona's treble, Hoffenheim flew to Berlin on May 29, the day before the German Cup final.
They will compete with Werder Bremen for this season's German Cup at the Berlin Olympic Stadium on May 30, which will also be Hoffenheim's last official game of the season.
If Hoffenheim defeats Werder Bremen to win the championship, they will complete the treble of the Bundesliga, German Cup and UEFA Cup.
At this time, after two days of heated discussions in Barcelona, as the German Cup final approached, the media and fans began to focus some attention on Hoffenheim.
Even though the UEFA Cup is less valuable, it is still the European Championship and can be considered part of the treble.
Hoffenheim’s status as a newly promoted team is especially legendary.
It is quite eye-catching that a country club that has never played in the top league won the treble in the first season after being promoted to the top league. It is expected to become a miracle that will never be repeated.
What's more, Lu Wenbin, who made 48 appearances and scored 79 goals throughout the season, is also the target of media and fans around the world.
Everyone wants to see if he can score in the last game of the season and whether he can raise the club's highest individual goal record in a single season from Gerd Muller's 67 goals to over 80 goals.
Hoffenheim is very confident about this.
Not only are they confident that Hoffenheim will beat Bremen to win the championship, they are also confident that Lu Wenbin will break the 80-goal mark.
Because during training everyone discovered that Lu Wenbin's ability to run without the ball has improved again.
On the first day of resuming training on May 24, Lu Wenbin used 3 skill points to increase his original 19/19 off-ball running to the full value of 20/20, and the remaining 17 skill points remained unchanged.
Then, during training, everyone discovered that even two people couldn’t keep an eye on Lu Wenbin, as Lu Wenbin’s ability to seize open spaces and run was simply too strong.
Fortunately, his teammates' passing and assisting abilities have not reached the pinnacle level. Even if Lu Wenbin runs into an open space, he sometimes cannot catch the ball.
However, even so, in a training match, Lu Wenbin could easily score two or three goals under the close defense of two people.
And it didn't just happen once or twice, but for several consecutive days. This is much more stable and powerful than the occasional outburst.
In other words, if Lu Wenbin can display the strength he showed on the training ground, his average number of goals per game may exceed 2 goals, which is a goal efficiency that no one has ever achieved.
At the pre-match press conference, Ralf expressed confidence that Hoffenheim was determined to win the German Cup and the treble.
Werder Bremen coach Schaff said that this is the only championship they can fight for this season, and they will do their best to defeat Hoffenheim and win the championship at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.
The next afternoon, countless Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen fans, as well as neutral spectators, gathered at the Berlin Olympic Sports Center.
This time Hoffenheim fans finally prevailed.
The Bundesliga champion and the UEFA Cup champion, Hoffenheim's continuous outstanding performance has made Hoffenheim's Hoffenheim miracle famous all over the world, attracting more and more neutral audiences, and the number of Hoffenheim fans is increasing.
Not only in Sinsheim, but also in the capital Berlin, many people have become Hoffenheim fans!
Because many people think that it is very inspiring that a country club like Hoffenheim can achieve today's achievements!
They are not just watching the game or being fans, but they regard Hoffenheim's success as a spiritual belief, encouraging themselves not to give up in life because of temporary difficulties and weaknesses, but to move forward courageously.
It is with this kind of spiritual connotation that Hoffenheim can attract countless middle and lower-level fans to become their supporters!
The previous UEFA Cup final was held in Istanbul, Turkey, but it was abroad, so it was a bit inconvenient!
Now that the German Cup final is taking place in China, it is much more convenient for the fans and they have flocked to Berlin to cheer for the teams they support!
It is estimated that there were 40,000 to 50,000 Hoffenheim fans who flocked to the Berlin Olympic Sports Center that day, while there were only 20,000 to 30,000 Werder Bremen fans!
Of course, because the Berlin Olympic Sports Center only has more than 70,000 seats, there are also many local citizens and neutral fans from other places participating in the ticket grab. In the end, not all the fans of Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen can enter the stadium.
Everyone can only watch the live broadcast in the open air in the square outside and cheer for the team!
As time went by, the stadium began to check tickets, fans gradually filled up the seats, and the final was about to begin.
After an entrance ceremony, handshakes and team selections, the 2008/2009 German Football Association Cup final between Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen officially began at 19:00 on the evening of May 30th local time.
Hoffenheim still insisted on its 433 offensive formation, while Werder Bremen adopted a 451 formation, focusing on defense, trying to stop Hoffenheim's attack and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack.
In fact, defensive counterattack is a very good tactic. Many master coaches have won championships in the finals using defensive counterattack.
But sometimes, under the absolute crushing power, defensive counterattacks can only passively take the beating.
That's how the game went.
Although Werder Bremen is considered a traditional strong team in Germany, the fact that it is only ranked 10th in the Bundesliga this season already explains a lot of problems.
Bremen's overall strength this season can only be considered mid-table in Germany, let alone competing with Hoffenheim, the European champion.
In addition, after Lu Wenbin increased his off-ball running attribute to the full value of 20/20, it was difficult for Bremen to keep a close eye on him even if they used two or three people to guard him at all times.
After all, the players are all running, and no one can stick to Lu Wenbin and keep an eye on him for 90 minutes.
Lu Wenbin's insight into open space and running ability made it difficult for Bremen's defenders to keep up.
Just 5 minutes into the game, Lu Wenbin used a sudden change of direction to create a gap on the penalty area line.
If Salihovic's pass had not been a step slow, causing Bremen captain Baumann to catch up and interfere with Lu Wenbin's shot, Hoffenheim would probably have taken the lead.
Even so, the shot that just slipped past the goal made Bremen's players and fans break out in a cold sweat.
The commentators were also shouting in the commentary booth, saying that Lu Wenbin was in great form today. Even if the ball didn't go in, Bremen would probably be in danger.
It seems like a mirage and almost impossible for Werder Bremen to stop Hoffenheim from winning the treble!
Sure enough, in the 15th minute, Hoffenheim made a comeback.
After Eduardo made a one-two pass with Demba Ba on the wing, he cut diagonally into the penalty area as if he was going to shoot. This caused the Bremen defenders and goalkeeper in the penalty area to become nervous and they all moved towards Eduardo.
Lu Wenbin, with his full off-ball running attribute, suddenly broke away from the defense of Bauman and Pledel and created a short gap outside the top of the penalty area.
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