In the days without Chu Zhongtian, Hoffenheim played three rounds of the league, one win, one draw and one loss. They first tied Werder Bremen 2:2 away, and then defeated St. Pauli 1:0 at their home court, and then lost 0:2 to Schalke in the last round of the league.

Hoffenheim, without Chu Zhongtian, performed obviously weakly, and they were very problematic in their offense. Now that Chu Zhongtian is back, the situation is much better.

Gambling companies have also adjusted Hoffenheim's odds against Kaiserslautern at home. They were not optimistic before, but now they are completely optimistic.

Other players of the Chinese team can get a rest time after the Asian Cup. Although Hao Junmin, a player who also plays in the Bundesliga, has returned to Schalke 04, he is a substitute and can still get a chance to rest without having to play.

Only Chu Zhongtian participated in the competition without stopping.

Who said he is the core? The core means that it is inseparable, and if it is missing, there will be no problem.

On February 4, 2011, Hoffenheim welcomed Kaiserslautern at his home court. Chu Zhongtian returned to the Rhine-Neka Stadium a month and a half later. His appearance was warmly welcomed by fans. Several Chinese five-star red flags appeared in the stands. It was not Chinese students who waved the flags, but real Germans. They were using this method to express their love for Chu Zhongtian.

Some fans also put up the slogan "Welcome to the Asian Championship" to welcome Chu Zhongtian.

The Asian Cup champion, best player and Golden Boot Scorer in their team make them feel very proud. They don’t know that the Asian Cup and European Cup are not at the same level, but just treat it as an intercontinental competition, which is also very important.

Chu Zhongtian started in this game and was replaced after 75 minutes. It was not because of his poor performance, but because Rangnick's physical fitness must have been greatly affected considering that he was running back and forth, although he himself did not admit it.

So in the 75th minute, he was replaced.

At that time, Hoffenheim had already led 3:1.

Hoffenheim, who had Chu Zhongtian, immediately returned to his previous state, with an extremely terrifying attack power. He scored three goals in Kaiserslautern in 60 minutes, setting the victory in one fell swoop. Chu Zhongtian continued his outstanding performance in the Asian Cup, scoring one goal and assisting in the game, and was the team's number one hero for winning.

So when he was substituted, all the fans in the Rhine Neka stand stood up and applauded him, thanking him for such outstanding performance.

"It's simply impeccable. I just participated in the Asian Cup of the national team, and went all out in the Asian Cup, leading the national team not favored to win the Asian Cup, and I also won many personal awards. Now I'm going to participate in the league again, scoring goals and assisting in the game. What else can we say when facing such an outstanding Chu? If I were a reporter, I would give him a point, and his performance in this game deserves this score!" The German commentator sighed.

The broadcast on the scene was also shouting sensationally: "Thank you, Chu!"

The fans followed him and shouted: "Thank you!"

Chu Zhongtian waved to the fans to thank him.

The next day, the German media focused on Chu Zhongtian, and the local media in Sinsheim called the game Chu Zhongtian's "return of the king". The famous German media "Pictures" also specially set up a page to introduce Chu Zhongtian's performance in the Asian Cup. The media praised Chu Zhongtian as the number one star in the Bundesliga, and his popularity completely surpassed his good friend Ribery. Although Ribery's performance in the past two months has been getting better and better, with goals and assists, he has returned to his state of the season he just joined Bayern Munich.

Chu Zhongtian represented the Chinese team in the Asian Cup in Qatar in January, but various transfer rumors did not let him go. Major European giants are chasing this very powerful midfielder. AC Milan, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich... The names of these giants are all related to Chu Zhongtian.

At that time, Chu Zhongtian was concentrating on playing the Asian Cup and turned a deaf ear to the outside voice. His agent James Meri said to the outside world that Chu Zhongtian would never leave the team during the winter break. He is having a great time now in Hoffenheim. So far, he doesn't want to go anywhere.

The transfer window during the winter break has been closed, but rumors about Chu Zhongtian's transfer have not disappeared, and there is even a tendency to become more and more intense. Because of his interest in Chu Zhongtian, many European clubs have specially sent scouts to Qatar to follow and observe Chu Zhongtian's performance. The Chinese team was never favored by others in this Asian Cup and finally won the Asian Cup. Chu Zhongtian made great contributions. His performance is obvious to everyone. Without professional scouts, even ordinary fans can see how great his role is and how excellent his performance is.

In the end, Chu Zhongtian led the team to the championship, and he also won the Most Valuable Player Award and the Best Scorer Award, which was very popular.

His performance was seen by scouts from major teams, and I believe that the manager and head coaches also received reports from scouts soon. So although the winter transfer window has been closed, speculations about Chu Zhongtian's transfer rumors in the media have not stopped.

Everyone thinks that Chu Zhongtian is already the best player in the Bundesliga, so he can't stay in the Bundesliga for long. The Bundesliga is not the top league in Europe. Chu Zhongtian is another ambitious player. After conquering the Bundesliga, he naturally wants to challenge again.

※※※ Chu Zhongtian himself ignored the rumors. The truly valuable information agent Mr. Meili had already told him that he knew in his heart that the transfer rumors could not interfere with him.

He is a very professional player. The so-called professional is to play well in any team he plays well, and never do anything that is in Cao's camp and is in the heart of Han.

No matter where he will go in the future, he is still a member of Hoffenheim, so he has to play well for Hoffenheim.

Hoffenheim is facing an important game, and they will challenge Bayern Munich away. This is a focus game in the 22nd round of the Bundesliga.

At the beginning of this season, Bayern Munich's condition was very sluggish, and the whole team was greatly affected by the World Cup. The national teams where the main players of the team were basically all teams that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, so they played all seven games, which consumed a lot of physical strength. At the same time, they performed well in the World Cup, and their state would inevitably usher in a low period after the World Cup.

So at the beginning of this season, Bayern Munich was once down to an area on the verge of relegation. However, with the return of injured players such as Ribery before the winter break, Bayern Munich's strong foundation played a role, their performance was getting better and better, and their ranking in the league was getting higher and higher.

By the end of the last round of the league, their rankings had risen to fifth, trailing fourth-ranked Hoffenheim by only one point.

When the two sides fought for the first time this season, it happened to be when Bayern Munich's entire team was in poor form. In order to compete with Chu Zhongtian, Ribery, the core of the team, even took the team's injury to go on the battlefield with injuries. As a result, the team did not win, and his own injury worsened. He missed the game for more than two months, which was really not worth the loss.

This time the two sides met again, Bayern Munich was in a good state. However, Hoffenheim had some concerns, because the fourth day after this game was the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and they will face Tottenham Hotspur at home.

Tottenham Hotspur is not easy to deal with. Last season's biggest dark horse in the Champions League was considered Hoffenheim, so the number one dark horse in the Champions League this season is Tottenham.

They beat defending champion Inter Milan in the group where they defended their champions were and won first place in the group.

Last season's Champions League made the whole of Europe realize Chu Zhongtian's ability, and this season's Champions League group stage made the whole Europe re-recognize the young and famous Welsh wide player Gareth Bale. He became famous in the away game of Tottenham's challenge to Inter Milan. He suddenly broke out and scored three goals by one by one, completing a hat-trick, and almost made Inter Milan's three-pointer become one point. He broke through Zanetti, Lucio, Samuel, Macon and other world-class defenders on the wing, using the same method to score three goals from the same angle, which made the whole world look at him.

Then he returned to home court and instigated Tottenham to beat Inter Milan 3-1. This victory eventually helped Tottenham beat Inter Milan and won the first place in the group.

These two dark horses are now meeting, and both teams believe in the philosophy of offensive football, which will surely set off a craze for offensive football. These two games must be very good.

The focus of Rangnick's work this season is still on the Champions League. Tottenham is not the strongest team among the top 16, but it is definitely not a soft persimmon that can be pinched casually. Hoffenheim must do his best. You must know that playing home first and then away is not a good schedule.

For this game, Rangnick would rather give up the match against Bayern Munich.

In order not to let Chu Zhongtian be injured, Rangnick placed Chu Zhongtian on the bench in this game and decided whether he wanted to play depending on the situation.

For Bayern, I would rather lose this game. The league is still long and I still have time to win back, but I can't afford to lose a single game in the Champions League.

※※※Hoffenheim does not pay attention to it, Bayern Munich attaches great importance to it. They lost to Hoffenheim away in the first leg of the league. As the leader of the Bundesliga, they are always suppressed by a team and become their nemesis. Such a thing is simply a shame for Bayern.

Of course they would not want to lose to Hoffenheim once more at their home court.

Although they also face important games such as Inter Milan away, they still decided to get back in the league first.

In this way, the two sides met with different moods.

Chu Zhongtian, who performed well in the last round of the league, sat on the bench, and there was news before the game, so everyone was not surprised. Rangnick's answer was to protect Chu Zhongtian. You must know that every collision between Hoffenheim and Bayern Munich would definitely be full of passion. Chu Zhongtian has many enemies in Bayern team. Who knows whether the Bayern Munich players will suddenly feel hot and kick Chu Zhongtian down with a flying tackle? By then, Chu Zhongtian did not get injured in the Asian Cup that Rangnick was most worried about, but was injured under his nose. That would be a big loss!

Chu Zhongtian certainly hoped to participate in the match against Bayern Munich, and he didn't think he might be injured. However, he was the captain and Rangnick was the coach, and he had to obey the coach's arrangements. Although he was a little unwilling, he accepted the arrangement without showing any complaints or dissatisfaction.

In this way, he sat on the bench and watched his good friend Ribery break through his teammates' defense again and again on the court.

Amid the huge cheers of the home team fans, Bayern Munich established a lead in the 17th minute. Thomas Muller, who shined in last year's South Africa World Cup, received a pass from Ribery and shot in the penalty area. The football flew over Nyema's head. The ball was too fast and Nyema didn't have time to react. Bayern Munich led 1:0.

The TV broadcast quickly pointed the camera at Chu Zhongtian sitting on the bench. Seeing his team falling behind, Chu Zhongtian made a frustrated expression and gesture off the court.

Rangnick was unmoved by the side. No matter how fierce Bayern attacked or how many scoring opportunities he had, he would not change his plan.

Of course, Hoffenheim is not an ordinary person, nor does it mean that he will be completely out of trouble without Chu Zhongtian.

At the end of the first half, Hoffenheim seized an opportunity for Bayern Munich to relax in defense. They obtained a free kick in the frontcourt, which was taken by Salihovic. In Chu Zhongtian's absence, Salihovic was the core of the team. He once again assumed the core responsibility in this game. He used a beautiful direct free kick to penetrate Bayern Munich's wall and goal.

1:1! Both sides returned to the same starting line.

※※※ Not long after the second half began, Chu Zhongtian was called to warm up, but he didn't get the chance to play until the 86th minute. At that time, it was basically useless.

In the second half, Bayern Munich suddenly exerted force and scored two goals in a row. Ribery and Robben made contributions one after another, helping the team lead 3:1. Two goals behind, there is little time left for the game. Even if Chu Zhongtian is so powerful, he can't do it. What's more, for the sake of the Champions League in the middle of next week, Rangnick replaced three main players, and Chu Zhongtian was alone and could not speak out.

In the end, the game ended with Bayern Munich defeating Hoffenheim 3-1. Bayern Munich completed his revenge at his home court, but what about Hoffenheim? No main player was injured in this game, especially Chu Zhongtian. When he came on the court, the overall situation of the game was decided, and neither Bayern Munich nor Hoffenheim would have to fight. Chu Zhongtian naturally would not be taken special care of his opponents on the court. Everyone knows that Rangnick's motives for hiding Chu Zhongtian. Unless you and Chu Zhongtian really have a huge hatred, they will become beautiful.

However, the loss in this game caused Hoffenheim to fall back to fifth in the ranking, while Bayern Munich took the opportunity to win fourth in the league.

Rangnick doesn't care about league rankings, and one or two rounds of league rankings can't explain any problem at all.

After playing against Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim will usher in the Champions League last 16 opponent Tottenham Hotspur at his home court.

Don’t think that Tottenham hasn’t played in the Champions League for 48 years, but think that this team is a bargain that can be bullied at will.

The team's performance in the group stage is surprising, reminding people of Hoffenheim last season, shocking European football with a dark horse.

In order to prepare for this game, Rangnick even gave up the game with Bayern Munich in order to ensure that he could win the opponent in the home match in the first leg, so that they could have some advantage when they went away.

In the home and away knockout system, playing home first and then away is definitely not a good schedule, but nothing is absolutely true. As long as you play well at home, the advantage of away games will be great. Last season, Ligue 1 team Lyon played home first, and the opponent was the strong Real Madrid. As a result, they won 1:0 at home and tied Real Madrid 1:1 away in the second leg. In the end, they defeated Real Madrid with a total score of 2:1, eliminated their opponents, allowing Real Madrid to stop in the quarterfinals for six consecutive years, becoming a laughing stock in Europe.

Tottenham Hotspur has several most threatening characters. Gareth Bale, who shines in the group stage, is the most noticeable one. However, Rangnick believes that the most threatening characters of Tottenham are not Gareth Bale, but Van der Fate and Modelic. These two midfielders are the people that Tottenham need to pay attention to the most.

Among them, Van der Fate is the most threatening person. After joining Tottenham from Real Madrid last summer, he quickly became the core of the team. He has now become the best scorer in the team with ten goals. He can organize attacks in the midfield and score his own goal. In addition, he has an excellent free kick style. Such all-round quality makes him a player who is difficult to let go.

He was in a bad state at Real Madrid, but at Tottenham, after Redknapp, his abilities were fully exploded.

As long as Van der Fate can curb his performance in this game, Hoffenheim's hope of winning will increase greatly.

But how to curb it?

Rangnick decided to hand over Van der Fate to Lorik Sana, whose ability to confront Van der Fate is his weakness, and Sana is best at physical confrontation. Rangnick's requirement for Sana is to use his body to interfere with Van der Fate so that he cannot perform at his own level. As long as Van der Fate can be curbed, Hoffenheim can free up his hands to deal with other people, including players like Modelic, Bale, and Crouch.

Another thing that Rangnick can rely on is experience. Although Hoffenheim only participated in the Champions League for the first time last season, just like Tottenham, this Hoffenheim is much richer in experience than this Tottenham. After all, the experience from forty-eight years ago cannot play any role now. This Tottenham is the first new team to play the Champions League knockout stage, and Hoffenheim has had one season of experience. They also defeated the later champion Inter Milan 3-1 in the second leg of the quarterfinals.

These experiences are extremely precious and will play a key role at critical moments.
Chapter completed!