On July 5, 2009, Hoffenheim's new season training for the 2009/2010 season began.
At the Hoffenheim training base, the club first arranged for Simunić and Eichner, as well as the newly introduced Ghanaian center forward Tagoi to meet the fans. The fans expressed a warm welcome to the arrival of the three new players.
Of course, everyone is more welcome to the players who contributed to last season's treble, such as Lu Wenbin, Eduardo, Salihovic, and Ibisevic who returned from injury.
If Simunić, Echner and Tagoj want to gain the genuine recognition of Hoffenheim fans, they still need to prove themselves in the game.
In addition to meeting with fans and signing autographs, all players had to go to the base medical center for a physical examination on the first day of training.
The physical examination proved that Lu Wenbin was in the best health.
When they heard that Lu Wenbin had hired a private coach to help him practice his speed, his teammates expressed their admiration and Ralph was also pleased.
The first day of training camp was to meet the fans, get to know the new players, and then have a physical examination.
Hoffenheim only started training for the new season on July 6.
As a result, Simunić and Lu Wenbin's first training session surprised everyone.
Simunić's dominance in the penalty area is indeed strong. Neither Paljic nor Ibisevic, who has returned from injury, can get any shooting opportunities in the penalty area.
But Simunić’s strength is well known, so it’s not too surprising.
On the contrary, Lu Wenbin was able to go head-to-head with Simunić, who is 195cm tall and weighs 89kg, in the penalty area.
Although his chances of successfully heading the ball are low due to his height, in terms of physical confrontation, Lu Wenbin, who is only 180cm tall and weighs only 76kg, is not at all inferior.
When receiving the ball with his back to the goal in the penalty area, Lu Wenbin can take up position and wait for his teammates to receive the ball. It is difficult for Simunić to snatch the ball from Lu Wenbin even if he pulls or pushes people from behind.
Lu Wenbin's physical strength and strong confrontation ability surprised everyone, and also made them full of confidence in the prospects of the new season.
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As time went by, Hoffenheim in training had their first warm-up match.
On July 10, Hoffenheim played a friendly match away to German third division club Grobaspasch.
Lu Wenbin, whose strength has increased again, faced a German third division team and scored three goals in the first half to complete a hat trick. He was substituted at halftime.
Ibisevic, who returned from injury, also performed well and scored a header.
In the end, Hoffenheim defeated Grobaspäisch 6-1 away from home. Lu Wenbin scored 3 goals + won the game and got exactly 1,000 experience points, and the experience rose to level 16, 1.358 million/2 million.
A week later, on July 17, Hoffenheim faced Turkish Super League side Fenerbahce at home in a friendly match.
Although Fenerbahce is much stronger than Grobaspaç, Lu Wenbin still scored twice in the first half and was then substituted at halftime.
In the end, Hoffenheim won 5-2 at home, and Lu Wenbin received a reward of 2 goals + winning a total of 4,000 experience points, and the experience increased to level 16 1.362 million/2 million.
On July 19, the first Deutsche Telekom Cup sponsored by Deutsche Telekom Group replaced the German League Cup. However, the game time was only 60 minutes, and the participating teams were Bayern Munich, Schalke 04, Hamburg, and Stuttgart, and had nothing to do with Hoffenheim.
What is relevant to Hoffenheim is the German Super Cup on July 20th.
Originally, the Super Cup was going to be a match between the Bundesliga champion and the German Cup champion, but because Hoffenheim won both championships last season, Hoffenheim will now face last season's Bundesliga runner-up Wolfsburg.
Although it is not an official competition organized by the German Football Association, this Super Cup is slightly more advanced than ordinary friendly matches. It has sponsors, trophies, bonuses, etc.
Moreover, the venue of the game is Hoffenheim's home stadium, Rhein-Neckar Arena.
So, even though it was not an official match, many Hoffenheim fans still came to this game, almost filling the stadium stands.
Of course, there is no shortage of journalists.
Hoffenheim fans came to support the team and Lu Wenbin, while reporters came to see whether the 19-year-old Lu Wenbin deserves the highest salary in the Bundesliga.
You have to know that there are countless senior players who have been famous for many years in the Bundesliga, such as Ribery, Lahm, Van Bommel, De Jong, etc., but none of them have as high a salary as Lu Wenbin, a 19-year-old young man.
There was no shortage of dissent from the media and other fans.
At 19:20 on the evening of July 20, the referee blew the whistle and the 2009 German Super Cup officially began.
Hoffenheim used the main lineup in the second half of last season, the 433 formation.
The starting lineup includes goalkeeper Ozcan, defenders Yaisle, Beck, Jancker, and Nelson, defensive midfielder Gustavo, attacking midfielders Eduardo and Salihovic, and forwards Parjic, Demba Ba, and Lu Wenbin.
Simunić, who just joined the team, and Ibisevic, who made a comeback, sat on the bench. They still need time to compete for the starting position.
The familiar home stadium and enthusiastic home fans allowed Hoffenheim to enter the game state a little earlier than Wolfsburg players, and Lu Wenbin was even more motivated.
He didn't want the media to find an excuse to criticize him after the game.
In the 7th minute, Eduardo made a cross from the bottom line, and Paljic headed the ball to Lu Wenbin, who instantly shook off the defense of midfielder Santana and defender Madlen, and volleyed from the side at the back of the penalty area, kicking the ball towards the goal before another defender Reifer cleared the ball.
Although goalkeeper Benaglio made a save, Lu Wenbin's shot was fast and powerful, and although the angle was not tricky, Benaglio still failed to save it.
The powerful ball penetrated into the goal like lightning, lifted the net high up, and took a while to fall down.
Just in the 7th minute of the game, Lu Wenbin scored the first goal for Hoffenheim, taking a 1-0 lead.
From then on, the game was completely controlled by Hoffenheim.
Lu Wenbin's off-ball running, physique, and shooting attributes have been maximized, plus his 15/20 speed, which is simply impossible for Wolfsburg players to defend against, even if they use two or three defenders.
In the 25th minute, Lu Wenbin found an opening outside the penalty area and received a pass from Salihovic and took a long shot.
The power brought by the 20/20 physique allows Lu Wenbin to make long shots with great power, speed and force.
The 20/20 shooting attribute allows Lu Wenbin to basically shoot within the goal frame even outside the penalty area.
In the end, although Benaglio made a save and even touched the ball with his fingertips, he still failed to push the ball out of the goal frame.
The ball finally hit the inside of the goal post and bounced into the net.
In just the 25th minute, Lu Wenbin scored twice, helping Hoffenheim to lead Wolfsburg 2-0. The fans in the stands gave warm applause and cheered and screamed for Lu Wenbin's outstanding performance.