The holiday is pleasant, but Xiao Qing can't completely relax now, because soon they will start a new competition, in the crucial second half of the competition, Hoffenheim will face a huge challenge, whether they can create a miracle this season, will soon be revealed.

Hoffenheim's sudden rise has put pressure on the old powerhouse Bayern Munich, who are currently at the top of the Bundesliga standings by a large margin. In an interview with Bild, even the "Emperor of Football" Beckenbauer expressed his opinion on Hoffenheim, expressing concern about the dark horse's New Year's prospects.

"I noticed that Hoffenheim was starting to show some arrogance, which was a far cry from the humility of their owner, Hope. His Hoffenheim deserved the winter title as they were the only team to have been in excellent form throughout the first half of the season. "The emperor of football, Beckenbauer, is a big man, a man who can cause an earthquake in German football with a cough, and is considered the greatest player in the history of Bayern.

"Their boss has never had any intention of winning the league title, but their players have been making a big splash in front of the media from time to time. I know that they are young, and that the peculiar impulses of young people are very haode manifested in them; But unfortunately, maybe because they got good results, they are already a little flustered. Beckenbauer is very polite, and he really doesn't need to be polite, because in German football, he can say what he wants, and he is not afraid of offending anyone, "Look at that Shaw, he did have a phenomenal performance in the first half of the game." But he also has a lot of shortcomings; In particular, he has repeatedly shouted the slogan of winning the championship. I don't think he understands the difficulty of winning the league at all. He had been fooled by the success in front of him before. And, perhaps because of the attention he was getting, he was starting to get lost, and it was hard to guarantee that he would be able to maintain this form in the second half of the race despite the temptations of many things. ”

Hoffenbauer's words clearly upset Hoffenheim's manager Schendelmeier, who was second behind Bayern in the 2008 German Sports of the Year award in Baden-Baden, and said in response to a reporter's question: "I know Bayern would very much like to win the winter title. Let's give them that title here. Because for us, it doesn't matter at all. ”

Hoffenheim coach Rangnick, who had just returned from a holiday in Mauritius, was also unhappy with Beckenbauer's words, saying: "I don't know if anyone says that about us, and from my point of view, I don't think anyone is arrogant. We still have a long way to go. As for Beckenbauer's friend Hope himself, this time he also sided with Xiao Qing and Rangnick.

On January 3, 2009, Hoffenheim began their first training session after the winter break, and the newly joined goalkeeper Hildebrand made his appearance, to the cheers of the 1,000 fans in attendance. Originally, it was just a small town that no one cared about. But as Hoffenheim's results got better and better, it became the center of attention. Even if it's just a small training ground, even if it's just some regular recovery training, it can still attract a large number of fans, from local fans in Sinsheim to fans who come from afar to see the amazing promotion horses.

It's not just Bayern Munich that wants to beat Hoffenheim, the promoted Hoffenheim soared into the sky, overpowering Bayern to win the halfway championship with a large advantage, and this dark horse is black and red, and quickly became an upstart rising from the grassroots. However, behind Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin is only eight points behind, and it can climb up to third from the mid-table position, which is somewhat "black".

However, Hertha Berlin is not satisfied with the impressive results achieved so far, and Hertha's 29-year-old Czech goalkeeper Drobny, who was selected for the best team with his courageous performance, also recently revealed his New Year's resolution, that is, to win the Bundesliga championship!

However, Hoffenheim, who have risen to prominence in the Bundesliga, do not seem to be a promoted team at all, they have no scruples to let go of the big fight, Hoffenheim is based on super fitness and high morale, coupled with Rangnick's tactical reform and the sacrifice of low-value players, it has made a big dark horse in the slanted stab. This state has been close to the Serie A promotion horse "Flying Donkey" Chievo in the past, but Chievo's economic strength is weak and can only be supported by one breath. And Hoffenheim's financial resources are quite guaranteed, and it is expected to take a share of the Bundesliga powers!

In the first half of the season, as a promoted horse in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim brought people countless surprises, "The team is unprecedentedly united, the combat effectiveness is unprecedentedly high, every time we encounter a problem, everyone can always find a way to solve it, the players have paid a lot, they are more worthy of attention." ”

Hoffenheim's excellent performance in the first half of the league is inextricably linked to the credit of manager Rangnick. The player, who has never played in the top flight himself, has achieved great results in his own career. He is also regarded as one of the most prestigious coaches of the club's inception in 1899. Rangnick was humbled when it came to the accolade, saying that the team's results were the result of a united effort from all over the team. 'I think the outside world should pay more attention to our players than to me, they are the most extraordinary.

However, when talking about the second half of the league, Rangnick said that in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim will face greater challenges, "In the first half of the season, there was not much attention on us, many teams were not familiar with us, which is also one of the advantages of our good results, but in comparison, in the second half of the league, we will encounter more difficulties, which may be the factor that restricts us to move forward, but do not forget that we are a united unit, and we are confident that we can overcome greater difficulties." ”

Hoffenheim will indeed encounter more challenges in the second half of the season, although they have now abandoned the UEFA Cup, and now they are concentrating on the league competition; But they haven't made much of a move in this winter transfer market either, and they're really hard to find the right players.

During the winter transfer period, all Xiao Qing knew was that the team signed Hildebrand; The signing of the goalkeeper, who holds the Bundesliga's record of 884 minutes without conceding a goal, has to do with the lack of quality of the team's current two goalkeepers, Haas and Ozcan, and if they are consistent, the team's results will go further. This is also the Hoffenheim management thinking about it may be the most suitable choice, after all, for a team, a haode goalkeeper can be more reassuring, especially when the whole back line is still relatively lagging behind, then there is a greater need for a good goalkeeper.

And their opponents will definitely exert their strength in the second half of the game, not to mention the other teams, although they temporarily got rid of Bayern Munich, but the Bundesliga team is quite strong, for many old teams, the second half of the game is their consistent approach; Although Bayern Munich is temporarily behind, but they are starting to exert their strength now, then they are still very sure that they can catch up and overtake Hoffenheim. Because compared to Hoffenheim, an old predator like Bayern is more reassuring.

The charm of the Bundesliga has indeed improved a lot, especially this season, the decline of traditional giants and the emergence of new planet teams have made the Bundesliga more challenging and enjoyable. Hoffenheim's performance in the first half of the season is more respectable, although it is the first year to play in the Bundesliga, but they do not show any strangeness, which is commendable; However, in the second half of the league, when the teams are familiar with Hoffenheim's characteristics, their style of play will be more difficult, which is undoubtedly a huge challenge for head coach Rangnick, and now he may need to start thinking more tactically, because Hoffenheim are now living under a magnifying glass, and their tactics have lost their magic, which may make them more challenging in the game.

'We don't care who our opponents are, and we don't care what other people think of Hoffenheim. Now we are the league leaders and now we have the absolute initiative. So, you may not be qualified to criticize Hoffenheim, because you are still behind Hoffenheim. I don't know where they got their confidence, because in fact when you accuse an opponent who is far better than you, it makes you look even more ignorant. Of course Xiao Qing doesn't care what other people think of them, and he doesn't care about the voices of those people, now Xiao Qing only needs to let those people understand that Hoffenheim is the real leader, and they are the highest! As for the rest, wait until you get past Hoffenheim to say!

Xiao Qing now also knows some of the challenges that the team may encounter, but he really doesn't care, now he just wants to help the team score more goals, and now he only wants to help the team win more wins and get more points. As for the accusations and controversies against Hoffenheim or against him, he really doesn't care, only playing well is serious for him.

Hoffenheim won the halfway race, which was a surprise but well deserved, as their attack was truly impressive. With the ability to be a champion comes the responsibility of a champion, for example by being the focus of the media and the public – of course, that's a nice thing to say. Another meaning of "focus" is that the gun shoots the first bird.

Hoffenheim is the focus of the media now, and they are concerned about Hoffenheim's movement in the transfer market, as well as the movement of Hoffenheim's players at this time. It's just that now it looks like Hoffenheim is more unlucky, quite unlucky. (To be continued......)