The players who had finished the warm-up returned to the locker room, where their head coach was waiting for them, and some words wanted to say to them. They had nothing to do with tactics and had little to do with the game, but they were some things that had to be said.

Chu Zhongtian changed his clothes when he was warming up and put on Hoffenheim's blue jersey. He tied a white captain's armband on his left arm. He is the captain of this team. A player who has just arrived in the team for less than two months has become the captain. The captain's armband is not only responsible, but also the trust of head coach Rangnick in him.

Seeing that everyone was done with their own affairs, Rangnick pushed his glasses on his nose.

"Young guys." He spoke.

"You are about to face the first Bundesliga game in our team's history. Before the season, many media analyzed our future. They said that as long as we can succeed in relegation, it is the greatest luck. But I told them that with our strength, relegation is not too difficult at all. We are not here to relegate, we will strive to win every game. What is our goal? I didn't tell the outside world. Now I tell you that our goal is definitely not just staying in the A-level league!"

Rangnick said to the players with his arm waving.

"We are a zebra, but we are already looking forward to the Bundesliga game. What do they say in the second division? They said this is a team that can participate in the first division immediately. I hope everyone can prove this."

"I won't mention relegation this season because I don't want to use this method to limit everyone's ideas. I don't mention any specific goals. I just want to see where everyone can finally rush forward if they try to move forward." Rangnick spread his hands, "Shock those who underestimate us!"

"Oh!" A Hoffenheim player shouted out in the locker room.

Everyone was very excited, and it was even more exciting to let coach Rangnick get so hot. They were always very excited about the Bundesliga season. When they joined Hoffenheim last season, Rangnick told them that their goal was not to stay in the second division, but to the first division. They were already like seeing what this first division looked like. Any player playing football in Germany hopes to participate in this top league, and they are no exception.

Although this is not the first time Chu Zhongtian has played in the top league, he is also eager for the game and agrees with head coach Rangnick's words.

Because he also needs to prove himself, prove his ability in front of the Germans, and prove his choice in front of the Chinese. The Germans also look at him with tinted glasses. This may be all because of the blame for coach Rangnick and Mr. Hope for comparing himself with Beckenbauer and Summer, but he does not blame him. If there is no great goal, how could he become a great player? A player who targets a third-rate player can only become a third-rate player, and a player who regards a legendary superstar as a goal will also become a legend.

In addition, in China, everyone put all their hopes on him because of the national football team's devastating defeat at the Olympics, which made them even more incomprehensible why Chu Zhongtian wanted to choose such an unknown promoted team. How great is AC Milan? It's been invited repeatedly, why not? Even if you don't go to AC Milan, a team like Florence is not bad... Many Chinese fans have a purple lily complex, and they hope that Chu Zhongtian can go to Florence to continue his fortune again...

Huang. What championship can you win when you go to a small team? You used to be a League Cup champion, but now you go to a new team who can't win the championship. Why is that? The agent has collected black money? Or is it that Chu Zhongtian, your brain burned? All of us have all the hopes on you. You are not playing football alone for you, Chu Zhongtian! You have to know how important the mission you shoulder is! Going to a new team, isn't this self-deprecating?

Hoffenheim? What kind of team is that? If it weren't for your transfer, we have never heard of it. Is she more in the Bundesliga than Bayern Munich? Can she compare to Leverkusen and Schalke 04? Can she compare to Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Dortmund?

The club owner is rich, but who knows if he is really rich or is it bragged by the media? Besides, even if he is rich... can he win the championship if he has money? Chelsea is so rich, didn’t he buy it for the Champions League? Is it because you transfer to Hoffenheim for money? Hoffenheim can offer you a very high weekly salary contract? But when you have played in such a team for four years but have not won a single championship. Every year when you fight for relegation, what’s the use of so much money?

Chu Zhongtian knew these questions from Chinese fans and media. When reporters interviewed him, he heard or saw them when he was diving on the website "We All Love Lindanda".

Faced with these questions, he could not explain them in words. This is not what he said: "Believe me, that's right." Everyone really believes in his affairs. If he wants to make people believe, he must come up with some results. So he must perform well on the court and prove that his choice is correct.

Today is his first league game in Hoffenheim's first season, which is a very important first step. Not just this first step, every step he takes at Hoffenheim is like this. He must take every step well and no mistakes are allowed, because as long as he makes a mistake, those criticisms, questions, sarcasm and scolding will hit him in a vast expanse. He is like walking a tightrope in the abyss. If there is a slight mistake, he will fall into a land that will never be restored.

This is what he asked for, and it was the path he chose himself. He would not complain, he would only use his outstanding performance after game to make himself more stable.

Thinking of this, he clenched his fists.

※※※ Shao Jiayi was not included in the roster, but he and other teammates who were not selected for the roster sat in the stands and prepared to watch the game. His teammates were cheering for their team, and he wanted to see Chu Zhongtian's true strength from a close distance.

In the Chinese national team, no one has seen Chu Zhongtian's true strength due to one factor or another. However, as a foreign player Shao Jiayi, he would not think that Chu Zhongtian is really incompetent. An incompetent person cannot become the core of a Ligue 1 team, and an incompetent person cannot direct the team's major reversal in the League Cup final. He knows what the environment is for domestic football, which is why he would rather play in the German Second Division than go back to the domestic league to play. Even if he can't play as the main player in Cottbus, he will not go back.

Chu Zhongtian has not performed well in the national team. He now has the opportunity to see Chu Zhongtian’s true strength.

During the training of the national team, he could see that Chu Zhongtian's skills were better than other teammates of the national team, and his consciousness was also great. Only players who have stayed abroad could feel these. However, the gap between his teammates and him was too big, and they could not form a tacit understanding in consciousness.

Some players can play their own level no matter what team they put into. Some players must have a suitable environment so that they can play their true strength.

The former is like a powerful general who charges and the latter is like a marshal who controls the overall situation.

While he was ecstatic, he heard a burst of cheers burst out from the stands.

Players from both sides have entered the court!

※※※ Chu Zhongtian walked in front with his head held high and his chest tied his captain's armband. Beside him were the players of Cottbus, who were wearing half-red and half-white home jerseys, while Hoffenheim was wearing their blue home jerseys.

After successfully upgrading from 2005 to 2006, this team has been relegated to World War II every year in recent seasons. Last season, the league ranked 14th, and is a team that requires money but no money, no people, and has no ambitions.

Due to historical reasons, the financial situation of this team from East Germany has always been not very good. Historically, Germany was divided into two countries after World War II - Federal Germany and Democratic Germany, the former was West Germany and the latter was East Germany. Because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and East Germany were merged into West Germany, Germany resumed unification. However, the economic development of knowledge has never been very good, so it is generally poorer than West Germany. The same is true for the team from East Germany, not just a Cottbus. This is also why the West German team in the Central Plains of the Bundesliga accounted for a huge majority - professional football is a game of money, and you can't afford to play without money.

For this reason, Cottbus fans are not enthusiastic about Hoffenheim.

This stadium is called "Friendship Stadium", but the home team fans have no intention of "talking friendship" with Hoffenheim at all.

They hung slogans in the stands that yelled Hoffenheim.

"You are prostitution groups!"

"League of Bitches!"

Such slogans can be seen everywhere in the stands.

They are jealous of Hoffenheim because their club is larger but not as much money, so they regard Hoffenheim as a typical example of West German capital forces unfairly competing with money.

However, Chu Zhongtian had his other explanation for this.

After the side selection, Chu Zhongtian asked everyone to gather in the middle, and he wanted to perform the duties of a captain. They formed a circle.

"Did you see those slogans?" he asked everyone.

The teammates nodded one after another. The slogans were very eye-catching, some were still very big, and they couldn't be paid attention to. No one wanted to play for the team they were insulted like this, especially equating them with "bitches". This was a personal attack on them.

Hoffenheim is a very young team. The 24-year-old Chu Zhongtian is already considered a veteran in it. In this starting lineup, the 25-year-old Per Nilsson is the oldest player... Since he is a young man, he will naturally be a little angry and impulsive. Chu Zhongtian is the captain, and he must consider this. Although he is only 24 years old, he has experienced many things that make him more mature than ordinary peers. In addition, as the captain, he must calm his teammates down.

"But I'm not angry at all." Chu Zhongtian's words surprised his teammates. "Because it means they are afraid of us. In our China, there is a saying, "Baring dogs don't bite people." You see those dogs who yell at you desperately, because they are afraid, not because of anger."

Some people laughed. They didn't know if this sentence really came from China, but Chu Zhongtian's metaphor was very interesting and vivid. In their eyes, Cottbus was just a dog that barked wildly but didn't dare to bite.

"So there is nothing to worry about, let's go at our own pace. We are very strong because our opponents are afraid of us before they compete with us!"

The players quickly returned to their respective positions. Salihovic stood in the left forward position and turned his head to look at Chu Zhongtian in the midfield. He had to admit that those words just now would not be able to say them... But that was originally the captain's task, and he was not the captain, so it was normal that he could not say them. If you want to lead the team, it would not be possible to just rely on your mouth. Whether it is your mouth or Ibi's mouth, Chinese, show some of your strength and convince me. If you want to lead us, prove it to us with your feet!

Chu Zhongtian did not see Salihovic looking at him, and he didn't know what Salihovic was thinking.

He stood in the back midfielder, jumped, and then stood and waited for the game to start. He just won the right to pick the side while guessing the coin. In the first half, they fought backlit, which was more advantageous. Now he is waiting for Cottbus to kick off.

The referee and the fourth official off the court checked the time through the headset, and then blew the whistle to the start of the game.

At 3:30 pm on August 16th, German time, and 9:30 pm on August 16th, Beijing time, Chu Zhongtian's first Bundesliga game began.

※※At the beginning of the game, Cottbus used their home advantage and the opportunity to kick off the ball to launch a fierce offensive into Hoffenheim's penalty area. For Hoffenheim, although they relegated every year, they are also Bundesliga teams with rich experience.

In the fourth minute, Baker fouled against Cottbus's Bulgarian striker Dimitar_rangelov on the wing, and was verbally warned by the referee, and gave Cottbus a free kick on the wing. Albanian midfielder ervin_skela took the free kick to the goal, and the team's right back Montenegro player Savo_pavicec jumped to head the ball, but the ball was topped high with the interference of Hoffenheim's central defender Per Nilsson.

Three minutes later, Kotbus made a comeback, and Anglov shot low from the penalty area and missed the left post.

And in the past ten minutes, Chu Zhongtian carefully observed their opponents. He believed that the team was not enough to threaten Hoffenheim's goal, so he decided to boldly press the attack.

The horn of the offensive has sounded, and the moment belonging to Hoffenheim has begun.

In the fifteenth minute, after Chu Zhongtian took the ball, he did not transfer horizontally, or passed back like in Metz, but suddenly made a long pass, and the football flew straight to Salihovic on the left.

Salihovic didn't expect Chu Zhongtian to be so direct... He rushed to stop the ball, but stopped the football directly from the sideline.

The laughter of Cottbus fans rang out in the stands.

In fact, since the beginning of the game, their boo and scolding have never stopped. In the friendship stadium, which can only accommodate more than 22,000 people, their "bitters" scolding is very clear.

In fact, German fans are as fanatical as English fans and are good at creating the atmosphere. England can sing, and the voices of German fans are also a scenery. On March 17, 2007, Schalke 04 played against Stuttgart at home, more than 60,000 Schalke 04 fans created the highest decibels in the world football. That was after the home team scored the winning goal, the sound measurement equipment on the scene measured the moment decibels at that time was 129 decibels - no stadium can produce such a large "noise". You should know that the noise emitted by the Rockets when they launched was also 130 decibels.

This is a very terrifying scene, imagine... so many people made such a huge sound at the same time, which was enough to make a person temporarily deaf. It was really exciting... The football game became passionate because of these fans.

But now for Hoffenheim, this passion is not a good thing.

Especially for Salihovic, who is being ridiculed.

Salihovic was upset that he had not stopped Chu Zhongtian's ball, and he waved his hand angrily. He went all in a state of annoyance, forgot to give Chu Zhongtian a thumbs up to indicate his beauty.

Chu Zhongtian didn't care about these small details. He waved his hand to let his teammates press up instead of returning to defense. Although the ball possession fell to the opponent's feet, it was an out-of-bounds ball, not a goal ball. So Chu Zhongtian chose to let the team form pressure in the frontcourt, pressing the opponent and forcing the opponent to concede the ball.

A tactical core must be like a head coach in the game because he is an extension of the head coach on the court. He must make his own choices for the ever-changing on-court situation.

And just so happens that Chu Zhongtian is very good at doing multiple-choice questions.

From these ten minutes of the game, he had seen that Cottbus relied on his home court advantage and did not take the newly promoted team seriously, and he had an opportunity to take advantage of the defense.

Then Hoffenheim used the front court press to cut the ball off and then used their defensive loopholes.

Under his command and request, his teammates forced them up one after another, and even the full-backs overtook the center line.

He ran to the frontcourt himself.

Cottbus threw out the outbound ball, Salihovic was ridiculed by the fans of Cottbus just now, and he rushed up just now.

Kotbus' right forward Anglov (stanislav_angelov) planned to remove the ball with his chest, but he didn't know enough about the situation behind him, so Salihovic overtook the ball from behind and broke the ball!

Seeing Salihovic intercepting the ball in the frontcourt, Hoffenheim fans shouted: "Start now! Start now!"

This is what German fans like to shout when the game starts and the new attack starts.

Amid their excited shouts, Hoffenheim's entire team also moved. The first person to take action was Chu Zhongtian. He suddenly stepped forward and mentioned the front midfielder from the back midfielder. The original front midfielder Eduardo inserted into the penalty area, and the forward was in a position. At the same time, the full-back Baker also told the forward to rush forward, saying that he wanted to draw the edge. The defender Pavecevic, who was originally planning to grab the robber, saw Baker rushing towards him fiercely, quickly changed his attention and followed Baker backward.

Salihovic did not pass the football to Baker because Baker was already caught, which was obviously not a good offensive choice.

Just as he was thinking about how to pass the football so that the team's offense could achieve the greatest results, he saw Chu Zhongtian waving to him.

He hesitated for a moment and passed the football out. He didn't find any opportunity to use it, so let him see Chu Zhongtian's ability... Chu Zhongtian faced Salihovic's pass and Kotbus central defender Mitreski (igor_mitreski), who came to defend him, did not catch the ball, but turned around and gave the football over, and shook Mitreski behind him.

After letting the football ball go around and stretch his feet, he turned around and then suddenly passed the football forward.

It seemed that he had turned around the football for 360 degrees, and in the process he completed all the moves of handicap, receiving, getting rid of defense, and passing the ball.

Cottbus's defense line obviously did not expect Chu Zhongtian's pass to be so firm and weird. They thought Chu Zhongtian would control the ball after letting the football, and then turned around to find the opportunity to pass the ball, but they did not expect Chu Zhongtian to pass the football out while turning around.

And he just happened to send the football to the penalty area from the space left by Mitresky who rushed up!

Salihovic clearly saw the whole process next to him. When he was in control of the ball, Mitresky stood honestly on the back line, so there was no such obvious gap there. If Mitresky rushed up when he got the ball, he could also send the football there without passing it to Chu Zhongtian. But... How did Chu Zhongtian know that after he passed the ball to him, Mitresky would definitely come up? In addition, when he turned around and shook the opponent, he could pass the ball so accurately... Such a level of pass is not something that ordinary players can do!

"Beautiful pass! Ah, beautiful!" CCTV's commentator couldn't help but shout. This pass was full of imagination and skills, and it was indeed worthy of his chanting.

Immediately afterwards, Salihovic saw Demba Ba appear in the air and he received the ball!
To be continued...