As Hoffenheim and Olympiacos waited anxiously, the draw for Group G began.
Before the draw began, the host first reiterated that the third team in Group G was being drawn.
Then, the guest who drew the lots reached into the lottery box, paused for a moment, took out a piece of paper, slowly spread it out, and then announced with a smile: "Hoffenheim!"
After the announcement, the guest turned over the piece of paper with Hoffenheim's name on it and showed it to the audience and reporters. "Hoffenheim" was clearly printed on it.
In an instant, Ralph and Rothaus at the scene, Lu Wenbin and Salihovic in the hotel, and countless Hoffenheim fans in front of the TV, all screamed in ecstasy.
For Hoffenheim, this is definitely the best draw in all groups, but Hoffenheim didn't expect to encounter it.
Although there are no weak teams in the Champions League, it cannot be said that Hoffenheim will definitely qualify if they are drawn into this group, but Sevilla and Glasgow Rangers are obviously much weaker than opponents in other groups, so Hoffenheim's chances of qualifying are much greater.
Afterwards, Olympiacos was naturally placed in the last Group H where Arsenal was located without any suspense.
After the third-tier teams were drawn, the final fourth-tier draw was uneventful. Except for Wolfsburg being placed in Group B, which made the coaches of CSKA Moscow and Besiktas look unhappy, the other draws were not important.
As for Manchester United, the only team in Group B, they don't have to worry about not only Wolfsburg, but also CSKA Moscow and Besiktas.
The only thing that may interfere with Manchester United may be the weather in Moscow, but it will not affect the overall situation.
Anyway, except for Wolfsburg, the runner-up of the Bundesliga last season, the other teams in the fourth tier are basically just there to make up the numbers.
Hoffenheim was lucky when the fourth-tier teams were drawn. Wolfsburg in the same league was not included due to the avoidance principle. Other slightly stronger teams such as Zurich, APOEL, Rubin Kazan, Standard Liege, etc. did not get drawn into Group G.
The fourth-tier team drawn into Group G is Uniria, the champion of the Romanian First Division last season. After five rounds of this season, it is only ranked fifth in the Romanian First Division, which has proved Uniria's status as a weak team.
In Hoffenheim's first Champions League group stage journey in history, they were placed in the weakest Group G, which was a stroke of luck.
Sevilla is the least dominant among all the first-tier seeded teams. Glasgow Rangers is a second-tier league team, and Uniria is even a minor league team.
Hoffenheim's prospects of qualifying are the best among the three Bundesliga teams.
As for Bayern Munich, which is in the same group with Juventus and Bordeaux, and Wolfsburg, which is in the same group with Manchester United, CSKA Moscow and Besiktas, they can only wish them good luck!
After the draw ceremony, the coaches and star players of each team will naturally be interviewed by reporters.
There are so many topics about the group stage draw. No one believes that UEFA did not draw the draw in this way on purpose to ensure ratings.
The two giants of La Liga and the two Milan giants are suspected of encountering unspoken rules. Real Madrid's Kaka just transferred to Real Madrid in the summer and they are playing against his old club AC Milan. Inter Milan's Eto'o and Barcelona's Ibrahimovic just turned against their old clubs after their transfers in the summer. There is also the battle between Inter Milan's mad coach Mourinho and Barcelona's young coach Guardiola.
Before the draw, Gazzetta dello Sport predicted that Real Madrid would definitely draw AC Milan, and the result was so accurate that it was impossible not to have conspiracy theories.
As for Inter Milan and Barcelona, there shouldn't be too much hype.
Not only is there the drama of Eto'o and Ibrahimovic fighting with their old clubs, but there is also Mourinho's old grudge with Barcelona that dates back to his time at Chelsea.
Now that the madman meets Barcelona again, it will surely be another two-round battle like Mars hitting the Earth.
In an interview, Kaka said he would not take a penalty against AC Milan.
Both Eto'o and Ibrahimovic said they would make their former clubs regret it, and Mourinho said he wanted to break up the so-called Dream Three Dynasty.
The other groups also have their own grudges and topics. In any case, UEFA's fair draw has always been full of conspiracy theories.
Among the three Bundesliga teams, Hoffenheim is a newcomer, but the Hoffenheim miracle of winning the treble last season has already become famous all over the world.
There is also Lu Wenbin, who has won the European Golden Boot and set the European goal record, in the team. He is not an unknown player, so there are many reporters who interview Ralph.
Although I thought I had drawn a very good fortune, I naturally couldn't say that during an interview.
Ralph claimed that there are no weak teams in the Champions League and no team is a weakling.
What's more, Hoffenheim is a newcomer to the Champions League and has no experience in the Champions League. They are here to learn and must not take it lightly.
If Hoffenheim wants to break through the group stage and advance to the knockout stage, they must try their best.
Then when asked about the European Super Cup the next day, Ralph's face looked a little grim.
Because Barcelona, which won the Champions League and became the first team in La Liga history to win three crowns, did not take Hoffenheim, the smaller three-crown winner, seriously.
Although Lu Wenbin has good personal strength, the whole team is not good enough compared with Barcelona.
Therefore, Guardiola had already announced Barcelona's starting lineup to the media before the draw ceremony, regardless of whether Hoffenheim would make targeted arrangements and preparations based on this.
Hoffenheim's 433 is already considered a formation with relatively strong attacking power, but the formation announced by Guardiola is even more extreme, which is 343, or 3133, with only three people in the back line.
The goalkeeper is the unshakable No. 1 Valdés. There are no full-backs. The back line consists of three central defenders: Abidal, Puyol and Pique, midfielder Yaya Toure, midfielders: Alves, Keita and Xavi, and forwards: Ibrahimovic, Henry and Messi.
This is not called offensive football, this should be called crazy attacking football.
According to media analysis, Barcelona was not prepared to use two people to guard Lu Wenbin like the Bundesliga team did, but was prepared to let Ibrahimovic, Henry and Messi compete with Lu Wenbin for the number of goals.
It is estimated that Barcelona is confident that with their world-famous Tiki-Taka ball control tactics and the performance of three world-class strikers, they can surpass Hoffenheim in terms of goals. No matter how well Lu Wenbin performs, it will be useless.
Moreover, three central defenders guarding the penalty area can minimize Lu Wenbin's shots in the penalty area.
As for long shots outside the penalty area, the success rate is not high, and Lu Wenbin can't score many goals even if he wants to.
Ralph would naturally not be in a good mood to be looked down upon like this.
Ralph said that Hoffenheim will make the proud Barcelona pay the price!
As for the starting lineup, Ralph did not announce it.
He also needs to do a targeted study on Barcelona's starting lineup for one night, trying to defeat Barcelona to win the championship and teach the proud Catalans a lesson!