Even if he had brought out a peerless genius like Zidane, Fernandez's name was not well-known in the hearts of Chinese fans. Everyone knows him because of Chu Zhongtian.

When Chu Zhongtian was still playing at Wimbledon, he had already attracted the attention of the old coach Fernandez. The game against Chelsea made him famous all over the world and made Fernandez know about such a Chinese boy. Then he loaned Chu Zhongtian to Metz and carefully arranged training plans for him here. Unlike those coaches who were trying to grow, he wanted Chu Zhongtian, a young man who had never played in the professional football league, could adapt to professional football for nearly half a season, allowing him to slowly adapt in a pressure-free environment and gradually find his feelings.

Fernandez recreated Chu Zhongtian's enthronement.

Without Fernandez's careful arrangements, he would have appeared in professional football in a hurry and disappeared in a hurry, like a fleeting meteor.

It was Fernandez who gave Chu Zhongtian a professional life, and it was him who gave Chu Zhongtian the core position. It was him who trained Chu Zhongtian to become a core. No matter where he went in the future, Chu Zhongtian would benefit from his four seasons at Metz.

He and Fernandez have a good relationship. He went to Auxerre to visit the old coach last Christmas.

The two of them had a great time talking about football together, and when they were happy, they would run to the yard and kick a few times.

At that time, they never thought that one day they would meet as opponents.

When the group draw results came out, they knew.

Chu Zhongtian also sent a text message to Fernandez, saying that it would be great to be able to meet the teacher!

Yes, he just thought so. He would not have any psychological fluctuations or psychological burdens when facing his old boss or mentor. The more he faced his old boss, he would be the same when facing his teacher. Just like a student who was eager to show off in front of the teacher, the more vigorous he became and the better he performed.

Defeat Ausselle and show Fernandez an excellent self. This is what Chu Zhongtian thinks.

He will not think that he is ungrateful, on the contrary, this is the greatest respect for his teacher. Your opponent who is defeated with all his strength is respect for his opponent. What is the most annoying thing about letting go is!

※※ As the game with Ausselle approaches, more and more articles have been reported in the media about Chu Zhongtian and Fernandez. The media found that Chu Zhongtian is really a player they like very much.

Because no matter what team he plays with, you can always find out what relationship he has with the people in which team he has. These old things are the best gimmicks they hype.

Hoffenheim waited for Ausselle's arrival at home, and Chu Zhongtian became the target of media's pursuit outside the training ground.

He is always surrounded by people.

"Tell me how about your relationship with Fernandez, Chu?"

"I have a good relationship with him. I respect him very much, and we still have contact. After the lottery results came out, I sent him a text message..."

"With the former mentor, will you be unable to do anything?"

"There is nothing, no matter who the opponent is, it will do the same to me. I play football to win. As long as I go to the court, I go for victory."

"Do you have anything to say to Coach Fernandez?"

"Thanks."

"Have you ever thought about becoming an opponent with him one day?"

"I really didn't think about it... so I was a little surprised after the lottery results came out, but I was more happy."

"Why are you happy?"

"It is certainly a pleasure to be able to show your abilities in front of the teacher, right?"

"So, I definitely won't show mercy just because my opponent is a team led by the teacher?"

"No. If I put the water on, I think I will receive his reprimanding text as soon as the game is over, right?" Chu Zhongtian laughed.

He responded to various questions from the reporters freely.

Now he is used to dealing with it and remembering it, and he is very clear about what he should say and what he should not say.

※※※Chu Zhongtian is like this, so how do you evaluate Chu Zhongtian on Fernandez?

"He is a very good player, and I knew this when he was still playing in the amateur league in England, so I loaned him from Chelsea. He is one of the most talented players I have ever seen. The last time I saw someone with this talent was Childon..."

Comparing Chu Zhongtian and Zidane to the same level is a very high evaluation!

So as one of the coaches who knows Chu Zhongtian the best, what do you think about what the outside world says at present, "Hoffenheim is Chu Zhongtian's team alone"?

"It's unfair to say this, and it's unfair to Rangnick. Chu is of course very capable and talented, and is also a very excellent player. But football is a sport for eleven people, and no one can be missing on the football field. If I give me eleven Chu, I might not even be able to relegate. I think Hoffenheim can achieve such excellent results, and there is always a group of excellent teammates around Chu to help him. Hoffenheim is definitely not Chu's team alone, and I believe he knows this."

Praise Chu Zhongtian, how do Fernandez plan to defend against this person who makes many coaches feel a headache? Fernandez knows Chu Zhongtian so well, so there must be some secret ways to defend against Chu Zhongtian, right?

"He is the most threatening player in Hoffenheim. But I don't plan to put all my energy on him." Fernandez's answer surprised many people. In the past, when people talked about the topic of defending Chu Zhongtian, they always wanted to send all the players of the team to defend Chu Zhongtian, let him deal with eleven people alone and surround him tightly.

But Fernandez did the opposite.

"If we only focus on Chu, then the Hoffenheim players around him have an opportunity to take advantage of it. Chu is a midfield organizer, and his ultimate goal is to pass the ball to his teammates to organize attacks. His overall situation is excellent and his passes are sharp. If we pay too much attention to him, we will expose space elsewhere and let him and his teammates catch it. Hoffenheim is a team that is very good at taking advantage of the opponent's defensive loopholes."

It seems that he is the coach who knows Chu Zhongtian best. Fernandez's analysis is very clear. After saying this, everyone suddenly realizes it - it's true. Chu Zhongtian always has one or two opponent's defensive players around him every time, and even three to four. On the court, there can only be eleven players on the court, and the number is constant. If you use two or three players around Chu Zhongtian, then there will inevitably be a disadvantage in numbers in other places. There will always be loopholes in such a large stadium. Chu Zhongtian's passing, vision, and consciousness are excellent. How can he not catch such loopholes? This is also why opponents in the game against Hoffenheim seem to be missed in defense?

So will Fernandez arrange a specific player to guard Chu Zhongtian?

"No, I can't be a human."

Fernandez is very familiar with Chu Zhongtian's characteristics. He has excellent physical strength and excellent running ability. If he sends someone to guard him, he will run all over the field. He will not only consume physical fitness, but also disrupt his defense line.

The last question is, what is the expected result when playing against Hoffenheim away?

"Get a point, haha!" Fernandez laughed at this.

He is very low-key.

After all, Hoffenheim just defeated AC Milan 2-1 at home, and their winning rate at home is quite high. Since participating in the Champions League last season, they have not lost at home. Except for being tied by Besiktas in the group stage last season, they have won all other games. They also include a 3:2 home victory over Manchester United, a 3:1 home victory over Inter Milan, and a recent 2:1 home victory over AC Milan.

They are all strong teams, and they are hard to crack. Compared with Hoffenheim's brilliant home results, they lost both at home and away games. Therefore, the experienced coach made Fernandez choose a more realistic goal very smartly. If you can get one point away, you will be content. Of course, it would be better if you can get three points.

※※※In addition to Chu Zhongtian, Ibisevic is also Fernandez's apprentice at Metz. He was still hang out in the French League at that time and was taken to Metz by Fernandez. As a result, in the first half of the season, he did not score a goal in the league and was under tremendous pressure. However, Fernandez still believed him and gave him a chance. Finally, in the French Cup final with Paris Saint-Germain, he finally broke the goal drought for half a season, helped the team win the French Cup, and qualified to participate in the UEFA Cup next season.

When it comes to Fernandez, he also has a lot to say, but mainly thanks. If Fernandez hadn't, where would he be now? Who knows? Maybe he still stayed in the low-level league, maybe he might just go back to the United States.

"I want to thank him. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be who I am today. I'm very happy to see him leading Ausselle to the Champions League. I never doubt his level, he is a very, very good coach. I realized this when I was at Metz."

So will you show mercy during the game?

Ibisevic shook his head and denied: "I will do my best, just like Chu."

※※※The whole Hoffenheim team seemed full of confidence when facing Ausserl. On the one hand, it was because they played at home and their outstanding home performance made them confident in winning the game; on the other hand, Ausserl is the fourth-level team and his strength can be regarded as the weakest in this group. Although Ausserl is still a strong team in France, their reputation is more spread by the youth training camp.

This is not their first time to participate in the Champions League. The last time they participated in the Champions League was in the 2002-2003 season. The coach at that time was the legendary coach Juyiru, and he was also assigned to a death group. The opponents in the same group were Arsenal, Dortmund and Eindhoven. In club history, Ausserl has only played twenty Champions League games in total, with a record of eight wins, two draws and ten losses. The UEFA Champions League foundation is not deep. However, it is better than Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim is in the limelight because they performed well in the last one or two seasons. Although this is the only two seasons of Champions League games they have participated in, Hoffenheim is obviously in the best period in club history. Therefore, everyone is more optimistic about Hoffenheim than Ausserl, who has played twenty Champions League games and has richer experience than Hoffenheim.

"The problem with Ausselle is that their lineup cannot handle the two-line battles, so they have performed poorly in the Ligue 1 this season. So far, the Ligue 1 has played nine rounds, with them winning one win, drawing and losing three, ranking downstream."

In the tactical class, Rangnick is analyzing Ausselle's characteristics and current status for everyone.

"But poor record in the league will definitely stimulate them to be more dedicated in the Champions League. Because if the league is not good and the Champions League is not good, they will be under great pressure. As long as they can have good results in the Champions League, the poor results in the league can be ignored for the time being. So the team's fighting spirit in the Champions League is not a problem. In the last group match, they only lost 0-1 to Real Madrid at home, and only lost one goal. This performance is amazing. From this game, we can also see that it is also awesome.

It turns out that this team is characterized by strong defense and weak offense. In two group games, they have not scored goals, but they have only conceded three goals. The team's defense is very stable. This time when we play away with us, I believe that Coach Fernandez will also arrange a strategy of solid defense and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack. We must be careful of their defensive counterattacks, and don't be impatient when they can't score the ball. Don't think that this is a fourth-level team, just take it lightly, thinking that we can win easily."

"In terms of the Champions League, there are more people than us. We are the team with the least foundation. So you must adjust your mindset and don't think this team is easy to deal with."

"Their core is Pedreti in the midfield, and the main striker is Yellen. These two are their core players and the most threatening players. Pedreti will be handed over to you, Sana."

Lorik Sana nodded, saying that there was no problem.

"Our strategy is to cut off the connection between their midfield and forwards. You must be familiar with this job. Just like we did last game against AC Milan."

The reason why Hoffenheim was able to win so easily in the last game was that in addition to their fast break that destroyed AC Milan's defense, another important reason was that it cut off the connection between AC Milan's midfielder and forward, leaving big-name forwards like Ibrahimovic and Robinho without any use of their outstanding personal skills.

Rangnick believes that this strategy is a strategy that is useful for both weak and strong teams, so he also requires everyone to stick to this style of play in this game.

"We have to be more patient than before when attacking. It can be expected that Ausserl will use a very compact formation and defense to deal with us, so you must be more patient. This time it is not a match against AC Milan, don't be impatient if you don't score goals at the beginning. I don't ask you to score many goals in this game, as long as you can win."

According to Rangnik's statement, this game seems to make him nervous than playing AC Milan at home. This is true. The psychological burden of playing AC Milan may not be greater than that of now. Because Hoffenheim must win in both games against Aussel and no mistakes are allowed.

These six points against Ausselle are a must-get, planned.

Therefore, Rangnick was well prepared in this game. He not only watched videos of Ausserl and Real Madrid, but also watched videos of Ausserl in the Ligue 1 game, carefully analyzing their player characteristics and Fernandez's tactical characteristics.

Fernandez emphasized offense when he was at Metz. Because Chu Zhongtian and Ribery, the game was often played very gorgeously and complicatedly, and the ball possession rate always had the upper hand. However, after arriving at Ausserl, he changed his style and played whatever cards he had. He consolidated Ausserl's defense, aiming to not concede balls and less, and his offensive performance was very dull.

After Juillu left Aussel, Aussel ended the thirty-six years of the "Guillu era" and entered the "Post Juillu era". Aussel's record in "Post Juillu era" was directly linked to their defensive quality.

The team's ranking dropped sharply to 15th in the 2007-08 season, with a total of 52 goals conceded in the whole season! Last season, they won third in Ligue 1, with a total of only 29 goals conceded. You should know that in the 2008-09 season, Hoffenheim won the league championship, the number of goals conceded as high as 43, and the decline last season was reduced, and there were also 33. So Fernandez really put in hard work on defense.

Last season, Ausselle conceded only twenty-nine goals, but the number of goals was almost the same. In the 2007-08 season, they conceded fifty-two goals and thirty-three goals. Last season, they conceded twenty-nine goals and 42 goals.

Therefore, Rangnick mainly focused on breaking intensive defense. In normal training, the main defenders were responsible for playing Ausser, defending intensively in training, and then the Hoffenheim attack lineup led by Chu Zhongtian tried to find loopholes in the opponent's intensive defense and exploit them.

Such training is carried out every day, and Rangnick really did a lot of effort in this game.

※※※Amid busyness, the entire Auxerre team arrived at Hoffenheim the day before the game.

This is the second time Auxerre's head coach Fernandez has come to this small city. The last time he was at Metz, he once came here to play a friendly match with Hoffenheim, who was still struggling in the German third-tier league. In that game, Ribery, Ibisevic and Chu Zhongtian were all in Metz's team, and the result of the game was no suspense. However, Hoffenheim's grassroots still impressed everyone.

At that time, no one expected that they would have the opportunity to meet again in Hoffenheim in the future, and they would be the opponent. Chu Zhongtian and Ibissevic have now transferred to Hoffenheim, and they are both main players in the team. Fernandez is Aussel's head coach and leads the team to play in the Champions League group stage.
Chapter completed!