During the half-time break, Inter Milan's players were talking and laughing, looking relaxed.
Most of the Hoffenheim players, who were trailing 0-2, lowered their heads and walked silently towards the player tunnel.
The fans in the stands were in two different moods: Inter Milan fans were singing and dancing as if they had already won the championship; while most of Hoffenheim fans had dull eyes and were silent.
This country club really lacks foundation.
The fans attracted by the Hoffenheim miracle and continuous championships in the past two years do not have much loyalty to Hoffenheim. Many of them wear Hoffenheim jerseys but may not even know where Hoffenheim is.
When Hoffenheim was in adversity, they didn't know how to motivate the team, and they didn't even think about it.
At this moment, in the stands above the player tunnel, the singing of more than 3,000 Hoffenheim fans rang out.
“We are from the countryside, we have nothing!”
"We are strong and we are free!"
“We are country bumpkins, but we are ambitious!”
"We will win, and the cup will be overflowing with beer!"
"Attack! Attack! The blood of attack is always flowing!"
"We are Hoffenheim! Let us give you a taste of our football!!!"
This is Hoffenheim's team song: "Grassroots Star", only the most loyal fans can sing it in full.
The people singing this team song now are the 3,000 villagers from Hoffenheim village.
None of them sat down, neither old nor young.
A middle-aged man in his 40s, holding the team scarf, shouted the team song at the top of his lungs. His voice was completely out of tune and even a little hoarse, but he didn't care. He looked at the Hoffenheim players on the sidelines with longing in his eyes.
An old grandfather in his 70s, tremblingly holding the team scarf, sang the team song with tears in his eyes, and looked at the Hoffenheim players who were leaving the field with anticipation in his eyes.
A little girl of seven or eight years old stood on her seat, holding up the team scarf, staring at Lu Wenbin with bright eyes full of admiration and hope...
These are villagers from Hoffenheim village. Most of the players whose training base is in Hoffenheim have met them. Lu Wenbin even signed autographs and took photos with the little girl who had been staring at him.
All of them held Hoffenheim's scarves high in their hands, watched the Hoffenheim players leaving the field, sang the team song, their eyes full of desire, expectation, and admiration.
Eduardo and Ibertsberg, who were walking in front and about to enter the player tunnel, stopped. Gustavo stopped. Lu Wenbin stopped.
Seeing these villagers, whom everyone often saw during training, singing loudly in the stands, the players felt a chord in their hearts.
During the past two years when Hoffenheim was doing smoothly and winning many championships, Hoffenheim's players rarely felt the motivational power of this team song because they basically did not suffer any setbacks.
But now, standing on the top European club stage of the Champions League final, which many players dream of, looking at the bloody score of Hoffenheim 0-2 Inter Milan on the big screen, while other fans were silent, the singing of these Hoffenheim villagers touched the hearts of many players.
Before stepping onto the Bernabeu Stadium, the Hoffenheim team was full of confidence, believing that they would defeat Inter Milan and become the sixth team in Europe and the first in Germany to win the treble, creating the greatest Hoffenheim miracle in football history.
However, Inter Milan striker Eto'o's two goals in eight minutes dealt Hoffenheim a heavy blow, and they were unable to come up with any solutions or counterattacks until the end of the first half.
Their overall strength, tactical performance, and team foundation are indeed far inferior to Inter Milan.
As the song goes, Hoffenheim comes from the countryside. Compared to the world-famous Italian giants Inter Milan, they are grassroots, country bumpkins, and nobody. They have nothing...
However, they are also full of aspirations. They also want to win the Champions League, and they also want to become world-famous football superstars and world giants.
Lu Wenbin and others felt a warm current surging in their hearts.
When faced with adversity, the team members felt the power of this song even more.
After the Inter Milan players entered the player tunnel in surprise, Lu Wenbin and others listened to the villagers singing the team song for the first time, and then sang loudly and followed the villagers to sing the second time.
Then, after applauding the villagers, everyone walked into the player tunnel and the locker room with their heads held high.
Outside, the villagers of Hoffenheim were still repeating the team song "Grassroots Star". Hoffenheim fans in other stands also joined in the singing. The sound became louder and louder, and could be faintly heard in the locker room.
In the Hoffenheim locker room, after everyone came in, Ralph clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention to him, and then he said:
"I want to apologize to everyone. My tactics were studied thoroughly by Mourinho. I am largely responsible for the failure in the first half."
Yankel immediately said: "Coach, I think the responsibility lies with me. If it weren't for my low-level mistake, Inter Milan wouldn't have scored so quickly, and maybe the second goal wouldn't have happened."
Gustavo also said: "The second goal was caused by my passing error."
Ralph shook his head and said loudly, "Now is not the time for everyone to review and blame each other. Now we have to come up with a plan for the second half of the offense. You just heard the villagers singing outside. Do you want to win?"
The team members said: “Yes!”
Ralph: "Do you want to win the championship?"
The team member shouted: "Yes!"
Ralph: "Do you want to be a Triple Crown champion?"
The players shouted with all their might: “Want!!!!!!”
Ralph nodded and said, "Okay, since everyone wants to, I will arrange the tactics for the second half. We are behind now. As the team song says, we can only attack, attack, and attack to turn defeat into victory!"
"In the second half, Inter Milan, who were leading by two goals, would definitely continue to play defensive counterattacks, solidifying their defense while looking for opportunities to sneak attack our back line."
"Therefore, our defense must be more vigilant and never lose the ball again. At the same time, we must speed up the offensive rhythm, use constant passing and rhythm changes to disrupt the opponent's defense and get shooting opportunities."
"Both the defensive midfielder and the full-back should provide assists, but they should also return to defense immediately when the ball is lost."
"This requires all of you to increase your running range. In the second half of the game, we have to fight hard."
"Inter Milan's defense is very old, with an average age of over 31. Although they are very experienced, their physical fitness is definitely not as good as ours. As long as we are willing to fight hard, they will definitely be the first to collapse in the second half."
"As long as their defense collapses, it will be our chance to score a goal and turn defeat into victory!"
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