At around 2 p.m. on November 6, Hoffenheim and Spartak Moscow played a pre-match warm-up at the Luzhniki Stadium, home of Spartak Moscow and Torpedo Moscow, which hosted the 2007/2008 Champions League final.

There were snowflakes that were not too big or too small, and they were accompanied by a biting cold wind.

Although the Hoffenheim players were wearing long-sleeved jerseys and warm gloves, everyone was a little shrunken and wanted to run back to the dressing room to put on their coats and blow the air conditioner.

The weather is so cold that it's unbearable.

But on the other side of the field, the Spartak Moscow players practiced passing, shooting, heading, saves, etc., with a high fighting spirit.

Obviously, the current weather has made them feel the hope of winning against the top of the Bundesliga.

And the Moscow fans in the stands, many of them excitedly cheered for Sparta shirtless.

As the Hoffenheim players shrank as they warmed up, the supervising physical trainer Bilbohm roared.

"Get me moving, do you want to die and get hurt later? On such a cold day, playing without letting the body warm up fully is much more likely to be injured. If you don't want to get hurt, just move me one by one! The game is just a little bit away! ”

Bilbohm even began to take a roll call one by one, and if he was not active enough, he would run over and slap him, and even kick his ass, forcing everyone to move and warm up fully.

When the Moscow fans in the stands saw this, many of them laughed, and some of them who could speak German or English shouted:

"Germans, admit defeat, you can't win in this weather, don't wait until you get injured later, it's even less cost-effective!"

"None of the German tanks of the year failed to conquer Russia, and you can't do it yet!"

"It's too cold, you better go back to the locker room and blow the air conditioner! We're out there enjoying the victory! ”

The excitement of these fans finally made the Hoffenheim players gradually have a wave of strength in their hearts not to admit defeat.

German players, in particular, are more sensitive to these clear shouts.

They can't rush to the stands to fight with the fans, but they can beat these home fan-backed teams on the pitch and let them suffer the pain of the home team's defeat.

As for Lu Wenbin, who is not a German player, he also moved under the supervision of coach Bilbohm, and gradually began to sweat and feel some warmth.

After the body warmed up, everyone's warm-up energy was even stronger.

As time progressed, the number of fans in the stands gradually increased to most of the stadium, but in the end it failed to fill the stadium.

Although this is Sparta's home stadium and a rare European match, it is still too cold after all.

Until the start of the game, the home fans had not been able to fill the Luzhniki Stadium, which had hosted the Champions League final and had a capacity of more than 80,000 people, probably only 50,000 or 60,000.

This made the Hoffenheim away fans who came with the team much safer, and there were large empty stands between them and the Russian fans, avoiding direct clashes between the two sides.

The historical grievances between the two countries and the violent temper of the Russian fighting nation make the police and security guards who maintain law and order very nervous.

Now it seems that there will be almost no clashes in the stands.

Off the pitch, the starters of both teams also returned to the locker room to change their game uniforms and make the final tactical arrangements, while the substitutes returned to the bench and wrapped themselves in cotton clothes.

In the locker room, Ralph said after arranging the final tactical arrangements: "This game, the weather is very bad, I don't ask you to win, but you can't lose either, a draw is my bottom line." At the same time, try to protect yourself and don't get hurt! ”

Then, both teams started playing.

At 15 o'clock in the afternoon of November 6, in the wind and snow in Moscow, with the referee's whistle, the first match of Hoffenheim's away game against Spartak Moscow in the second round of Group D of the 2007/2008 UEFA Cup group stage officially began.

Tottenham Hotspur's home game against Dinamo Zagreb will not start until the evening, with Nijmegen having a bye.

Hoffenheim won the kick-off, but this time Hoffenheim, who played offensive football, did not dare to attack wildly at the beginning, but passed the ball back and tried to organize the attack by several midfielders to slowly advance.

However, it backfired.

Sparta Moscow is obviously not going to let the Germans play technical football on their turf, not to mention that such weather, such turf, will not be able to play.

After a series of pressing from the Spartan players, Hoffenheim had to start playing long balls with high balls.

Soon, the two sides fell into a fierce scramble, and the ball was mostly flying in the air, and mistakes continued.

The ground pass simply can't be fought.

And in the air, affected by the cold wind, sometimes the ball will be blown off. And the players' vision can sometimes be blurred by the snow.

All in all, with the help of the weather, Spartak Moscow managed to erase the Germans' technical superiority, forcing Hoffenheim into a rhythm of frequent physical confrontations with them.

And this, Lu Wenbin is more at a loss.

Although his physique has been increased to 16, it is still slightly insufficient compared to the players of Spartak Moscow.

Based on Lu Wenbin's observation, these Spartan players, especially the backline players, should be physically in the 17 or 18 position, and there is even no shortage of 19 people.

Of Hoffenheim's attacking players, only Ibisevic can go toe-to-toe with opposition defenders.

Of course, this is also the reason why Ibisevic can play as a center forward, because his body can fight hard against the opponent in the forbidden zone and act as a fulcrum.

Both sides fought in midfield, and after frequent mistakes, it was difficult for the ball to hit the forbidden area.

It wasn't until the 18th minute that Ibisevic received Demba Ba's cross from the side in the penalty area and grabbed the first point in a tussle with the opposing centre-back, before ferrying the ball to the back of the net.

Lu Wenbin saw the opportunity to cut in from the other side, ready to grab a shot at the goal.

As a result, he was bumped by Pesufluk, a central defender who rushed next to him, and did not fall, but deviated from the route of his movement.

Although Lu Wenbin finally flew to tackle the ball before Pesufluk cleared it, he couldn't kick it right when his body lost control.

Lu Wenbin's tackle shot was kicked to the ground, and he didn't hit it with any strength, and was easily confiscated by the opponent's goalkeeper Pai Di Gaosha.

Kicking the ball, which is relatively rare for Lu Wenbin.

It can only be said that the slippery field, the impact of wind and snow, and the collision of the opponent's body have all had a great impact on Lu Wenbin's performance.

This game, it's really hard to play. (Ask for a commuter pass)