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Hoffenheim celebrated their victory at Westphalia and it was a victory to remember as they took revenge on and off the pitch by beating an opponent who always looked at them unpleasantly for some unknown reason. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

However, Dortmund fans should not be too frustrated, because they successfully made Hoffenheim pay a heavy price - the captain of the team, the absolute tactical core Chu Zhongtian, was automatically suspended for one game because of the accumulation of five yellow cards; The main defensive force in the midfield, Weiss, known as the "German Gattuso", was sent off with a red card and suspended for one game; Midfielder Salihovic suffered a sprained knee during the game and was diagnosed with a torn lateral ligament in his left knee after the game and will miss the game for four weeks...... This string of injuries and stoppages quickly caused head coach Rangnick to get into trouble.

Hoffenheim has been playing 433, and these three people are basically the main force in the midfield, one of these three people is injured, two are stopped, and Hoffenheim's midfield is about to be fully replaced. The biggest problem at Hoffenheim at present is that the gap between the strength of the substitute lineup and the main lineup is too large, and if you change the starting lineup in the midfield, except for Eduardo who can still guarantee the strength, no one else can replace the original candidate. Needless to say, Chu Zhongtian, every game in the past half a season has proved such a fact - he is completely irreplaceable in the Hoffenheim team. Although Weiss plays as a right midfielder, his role in the midfield is the same as that of Gattuso back then, Gattuso is also a right midfielder, but he is mainly responsible for midfield defense, not to mention that Weiss can participate in the attack in addition to defense. He's got six assists so far, which is a great thing for a defensive player.

To add insult to injury, Hoffenheim's next league opponent is the mighty Werder Bremen, who beat Hoffenheim 5-4 in the first half of the season, but are not easy opponents to deal with...... So it wasn't so surprising when Hoffenheim lost 2-0 at home to Bremen.

Prior to this game, Hoffenheim were the only unbeaten team in the Bundesliga to go home and were unbeaten in 10 games, with their last defeat coming on 9 November, when they lost 2-1 away to Hertha Berlin in the 12th round of the league.

Hoffenheim haven't lost since then, including a 2-2 draw away to Bayern Munich, a 2-1 home win over Schalke 04, a 4-1 home win over Bayer Leverkusen and a 4-3 win away to Stuttgart.

It is indeed a pity to lose the game against Bremen, because their unbeaten home game has also been broken, you must know that after the last round of the league, there are Hoffenheim fans who mocked Dortmund's unbeaten home streak as history, how could they expect retribution to come so quickly...... Without Weiss in this game, Rangnick could still arrange for other sappers to come out, but without Chu Zhongtian, he couldn't find a second core. Without Chu Zhongtian, Hoffenheim suddenly became the level of the Bundesliga, their midfield lacked a clear brain and a metronome to control the rhythm, only to rush forward, but the experienced Bremen seized the opportunity to counterattack twice in a row, scoring two goals and ending the game.

Bremen have struck at a lifeline – they have picked up just three points from six league games since the winter break, making them the worst team to perform since the winter break. But this away win over league leaders Hoffenheim saved them from the crisis and brought the whole team out of danger.

After the game, Ibishevic talked about Chu Zhongtian's absence as the biggest reason for the team's loss: "He's not there, I don't know how to run......

Fortunately, Chu Zhongtian is only automatically suspended for one round, and he and Weiss will return in the next round, while their opponent is the relatively weak Eintracht Frankfurt.

The last time he played Eintracht Frankfurt was on "China Day", when Chu Zhongtian scored his third goal in the Bundesliga.

But this time, it was clear that Hoffenheim had not recovered from the psychological shadow of their unbeaten home record, and the team looked absent-minded at first, relying on a goal from Obasi to take the lead, but the team's performance did not improve. After Eintracht Frankfurt equalised, the team looked too impatient and wasted chances on several occasions.

After Chu Zhongtian sent the football out several times, he originally wanted to continue to seek cooperation with his teammates, but his teammates chose to blindly shoot from a distance or force a breakthrough, resulting in losing possession.

Rangnick kept gesturing off the pitch to calm the players, but he couldn't control the players' emotions off the pitch.

Chu Zhongtian saw that the team was getting more and more anxious, so he simply stopped passing the ball forward, and he kept passing back. The centre-back passes the ball to him and he passes it back, and he just doesn't pass forward, no matter how many chances there are in front of him. If his teammates don't come back, he doesn't pass the ball forward.

This scene fell in the eyes of the commentator, and he thought that Hoffenheim was very satisfied with getting a point away from home, and the game was a little negative...... It wasn't until near the end of the game that the team was somewhat back to normal, but there was too little time left for them, and in the end Hoffenheim had to reluctantly accept the fate of being drawn by Eintracht Frankfurt away...... "Your performance in this game is really bad! 'In the away dressing room, Rangnick was critical of his team. Have you not yet taken your brains out of the home defeat to Bremen? He leaned into the ears of a few players who weren't doing well in the game and questioned them.

The questioned player lowered his head and did not dare to take a breath. They all know that this well-mannered "professor" is not a joke if he really starts a fire. Otherwise, he would not have said such outrageous words as "we want to have a bloody scalp" to Bayern Munich.

Hoffenheim's lead has shrunk to two points with another match at the same time, with Hertha Berlin winning 1-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen, which is a dangerous sign for Hoffenheim. With 10 rounds left in the league and the game time entering March, it can be said that it has entered the sprint stage, and if they want to compete for the championship, the league behind them is basically not to be lost, because their competitors are also starting to exert their strength. Wolfsburg are unbeaten in seven games since the winter break, with one of them winning six in a row. They have crept up to third place in the league, squeezing Hamburg, Bayern Munich and other teams behind them.

That's why Rangnick was so angry and couldn't wait to criticize the team after the game.

As a league leader, the pressure is extraordinary, and what is even more terrifying is that once they lose the top spot in the league, it will be very, very difficult to regain it. Rangnick doesn't think this young inexperienced team can do that.

For the young Hoffenheim to collect, they are inexperienced, but they are not lacking in momentum. When the game is good and the situation is in their favor, they can often create miracles with this momentum, just like in the first half of the season, when they beat strong opponents and took a point at Bayern's home stadium. This momentum is both the weakness of the team and their point. Rangnick has to make good use of this double-edged sword.

Therefore, according to the characteristics of the team, the safest thing to do is to let the team always occupy the first position in the league until the end of the league, so that they will naturally be the league champion.

But this approach is too stressful. Rangnick can only hope that the club's psychologists will do their part and have some luck.

Now facing a weak team Eintracht Frankfurt has not won three points, so what should I do against a strong team in the future? It's not that Rangnick can't allow to fail, he can't allow failure on who should be scored.

You must know that in the last two rounds of the league, Hoffenheim's opponents are opponents such as Bayern Munich and Schalke 04, and in the last round, they will go to challenge Schalke away. If the league title race goes on until then, then it's hard for him to say what will happen then. Maybe the pressure will make the team play out of shape and lose those two crucial games...... To be on the safe side, you have to pick up as many points as possible against the opponents who can score points, and re-extend the lead, and if you're lucky, maybe Hoffenheim will win the championship before the game against Bayern.

After being criticised by Rangnick, Hoffenheim's performance improved, beating Hannover 2-1 at home in the 25th round of the league. Second-placed Hertha Berlin lost this round, but Wolfsburg continued their winning streak with a 3-0 win away at Bielefeld, making it their seventh-in winning streak. VfL Wolfsburg also took the place of Hertha Berlin and moved into second place in the league, three points behind Hoffenheim.

But the victory also came at a cost, with main striker Obasi missing four games again after two games back due to a torn muscle fiber in his butt...... Salihovic has not yet recovered from injury, Obasi is out for another four weeks, and Hoffenheim's many troubles since the winter break have made the German media have to wonder if they are cursed...... The next game seemed to prove it – they were indeed cursed.

On April 4, in the 26th round of the league, Hoffenheim challenged Hamburg away.

"Oh - doorpost! Sanogo's shot hits the post! ”

"Sanogo's shot - hit the post again!! The line change was blocked by goalkeeper Rost with his legs...... Sanogo's luck in this match is terrible! This is his second goalpost! With a thigh muscle strain, Sanogo returned to the starting line-up, but his luck was just too bad......"

"Demba. Ba broke through at high speed and crossed, Sanogo received the ball on the right side of the penalty area...... Shot! Oops! Or a goalpost! The third goalpost! This time, the commentator couldn't help but laugh, "Ha! Since the 1993-1994 season, when the Bundesliga began to count the number of hits to the post, no one has ever hit the post three times in a game!! Sanogo did it! He made history, but he didn't want ...... of it."

Rangnick also held his head off the pitch, a little incredulous of what he was seeing, the probability of the same person hitting the post three times in a game is too low...... If you think that this alone means that Hoffenheim is cursed, you are mistaken.

In the 55th minute, central defender Jaisler was carried off the field after suffering a knee injury while fighting with his opponent. Rangnick moved Pogatts, who had been playing at left-back, to centre-back and then brought on Ibertsberger at left-back.

As a result, Ibertsberger had only been on the pitch for fifteen minutes when he suffered a knee injury during the game and was also unable to continue the game. Rangnick had to bring Pogatts back to left-back and bring in young Brazilian centre-back Fabricio, who was on loan during the winter break...... to play at centre-back...... It's just incredible. I have to wonder if Hoffenheim is cursed by some mysterious power......" The Bundesliga commentator also shook his head and sighed.

The game was played like this, which was a great blow to the fighting spirit of the Hoffenheim players and the ** to win. The Bundesliga broadcasts are some of the best football broadcasts in the world, and their matches are like being filmed. At this time, they artistically gave Rangnick a close-up.

The best of the young German managers stood motionless on the sidelines, looking into the pitch with his eyes confused and unfocused. Behind him, there is a vague stadium stand, and a large screen, on which the score and team emblem are blurred, but you can still see what it means. Under the coat of arms of the two teams are their respective scores, with the score under the Hamburg coat of arms being 1 and the score under Hoffenheim's coat of arms being 0.

The shot says it all – Hoffenheim lost the game.

As it turned out, Hoffenheim had no chance of equalising despite being just one goal down, and they didn't even show the effort and fighting spirit to equalise in the final moments of the game.

But this time, after the loss, Rangnick didn't yell at his players in the visiting dressing room at the Nordbank Arena in Hamburg, he just told everyone to pack up after eating and get in the car and leave.

For such a game, he really didn't have the heart to criticize anything. Everyone worked hard at the beginning, even if they were down by one goal, but Sanogo's three-legged post destroyed the team's self-confidence every time - in fact, footballers, whether they were playing football or coaching, were a bit superstitious. Many players are particular about which foot to wear first, and it is not the same which foot to step on when they walk on the court. So when they saw Sanogo hit the post in a row, a lot of people thought to themselves - it seems that God doesn't want us to win this game. This kind of thinking has no basis, but it will subconsciously break into people's self-confidence.

Even Chu Zhongtian felt that this was really too evil. If he were a spectator, he would laugh at Sanogo's performance and find it fun. But as the lagging side, these three legged posts are too cruel...... Then Jaisler and Ibertsberger went down with consecutive injuries, which completely crushed Hoffenheim's fighting spirit. They are, after all, a team of young people who lack the experience of being consistent in extremely unfavorable situations. When they faced such an evil game, everyone was a little overwhelmed, and many people even forgot about the basic running position, Chu Zhongtian passed the football out, and it was an offensive opportunity that would definitely be able to play in normal times. Today, I can only watch the football fly off the baseline or sideline.

The players have mixed feelings, and so does Rangnick. It was the weirdest game they've played this season, and no one knew what to say or make the right expression...... On the team's bus, Rangnick waved weakly: "Tomorrow is a day off." ”

It was the first time this season that there was a holiday after the loss, but no one cheered and everyone accepted the result with some humility.

Rangnick wants to use this day of vacation to let everyone relax, maybe it is the tense nerves that have caused so many unfortunate things to happen, and it is necessary to relax properly.

Looking at the listless players, he shook his head and walked back to his seat.

He has more troubles than the players.

What happened to Ibertsberger and Jaisler, who went off injured during the game? Will you miss a lot of games? If that's the case, how do you deal with it?

These so many question marks swirled in his mind, and he was so tired that he didn't even want to say more.

※※※After returning to Hoffenheim, the team trained for the first day. When the players were changing clothes in the locker room, Chu Zhongtian walked in.

Everyone knows that Chu Zhongtian will come early before training every day, and then chat with Rangnick, the head coach who also came early.

They're used to it.

The atmosphere in the dressing room was still depressing today, and many people had not recovered from the game against Hamburg.

"Bad news." After Chu Zhongtian came in, he looked at his teammates. He could see that everyone's mood was not very high, and it stands to reason that it shouldn't be worse at this time, but there is no way to be realistic, he just informed.

'The injuries of Matthias and Andreas are out.'

When everyone heard him say this, they all looked up at him.

Matthias is Jaisler, and Andres is Ibertsberger, the two of them were injured in the game the day before yesterday, and the specific injuries are still unknown, as teammates, everyone is also very concerned about them.

"Matthias has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and will definitely miss all the games this season, and the doctor said he will be out for at least six months......"

"Shhh

"Andres has a strained medial ligament in his knee and will be out for at least four weeks, so it's doubtful that he will be able to return at the end of the season."

After Chu Zhongtian finished speaking, he returned to his seat.

The locker room suddenly woke up from the suffocating silence it had before.

"Curse!"

Demba. Ba shouted, his astonishing words attracted everyone's attention, and even Chu Zhongtian turned his head to look at it.

"This must be a curse! I don't know who is casting the spell, but it's definitely a curse! In my hometown, we also use this method against people we hate, and naturally we use it on the football field. Someone must have asked a wizard to do something that didn't want us to win the championship......"

Demba. Ba is a Senegalese native, and the black African continent is full of mysteries, and curses are not a rare thing.

"Think about it, guys. How bad was it after our winter break? Wellington's cruciate ligament, Jaisler's cruciate ligament, Obasi's muscle strain, and Salihovic, Ibetsberger, ...... These are all injured, and the other is suspension, Chu and Weiss have both been suspended. We have one less man in almost every game...... Isn't this a curse? ”

As he finished speaking, he looked around, and some of his teammates opened their mouths in surprise, while others lowered their heads as if thoughtful.

The locker room was once again in that suffocating silence......

(To be continued)