On August 20, the first round of the German Cup began, and Hamburg challenged Karlsruhe away.

Since this game was the first official game after head coach Pan Yi joined Hamburg, it naturally attracted the attention of many local media in Hamburg.

And many Hamburg fans also went to the away stadium to cheer for the teams they support.

But from the very beginning of the game, they felt that something was not quite right.

The formation that Pan Yi discharged was the 4231 he had been practicing for, and the starting lineup was like this:

Center Marcus Berry.

Left winger Marcel Janssen, right winger Lin Zhijian, forward Calhanoglu.

Double-back Jakopo Sala, Sherbre.

The back line lined up is Westerman, Mancian, Jeffrey Bruma, Dick Mayer.

Goalkeeper Neuhaus.

None of the people Pan Yi introduced in the summer window played!

This starting lineup is basically the original team of Hamburg last season, except for a few main players who left the team, they can play all.

"Is this Coach Pan Yi's negation of his summer window reinforcements?"

"He experimented with various lineups in the warm-up games and finally found that our original main man worked the best?"

"Isn't that a waste of the club's money? Spent so much money on players and it turned out to be all substitutes? ”

"I said earlier, this Dragon Country is here to eat kickbacks......"

"You say, is it possible that because this is the German Cup and the opponent is a third-division team, this starter we sent is not actually the main lineup?"

"Fart! This is his first game in our team, and anyone will take it seriously, who wants to lose the first game? ”

"That's what I said......"

Among Hamburg fans, similar doubts have come and gone.

And it was in such doubts that Pan Yi's first game in Hamburg officially started!

In fact, Hamburg's starting lineup, although it is full rotation in Pan Yi's mind, its strength is okay.

Centre forward Marcus Berry is a Sweden international, while Marcel Janssen, Westermann are former Germany internationals, and even Geoffrey Bruma has been selected for the Dutch national team.

It's just that many of them are more marginalized figures in the national team.

Berry's direct rival in the Swedish national team is Ibrahimovic, and his playing time can be imagined, which means that he can get more opportunities when playing as a double striker in Sweden.

Janssen, who played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, is considered a veteran German international, but he has also played as a substitute for most of the time.

Bruma was even worse, playing only one friendly for the Dutch national team, only to be substituted at half-time, and since then his international career has ended in a hurry.

But in any case, this squad can still have an advantage on the field against a third-division team like Karlsruhe.

With 23 minutes to play, Hamburg centre-forward Berry opened the scoring when he received a cross from the wing of Lin Zhijian and headed in to give Hamburg the lead.

But soon, Karlsruhe, who was on the defensive counter-attack, responded to the cheers of the home fans.

Last season's Karlsruhe, despite being relegated from the second division to the third division, has maintained its main framework this season and has not seen any decline in strength.

In fact, in Pan Yi's previous life, the Karlsruhe team won the third division championship this season and quickly returned to the Bundesliga.

In other words, Karlsruhe is actually at the second division level, and compared to Hamburg, which was relegated in the Bundesliga, the gap in strength is not as big as everyone thinks.

In the 30th minute, home striker Van der Beezen equalized the score with a low shot from inside the box after a successful anti-offside position. 1：1。

This goal also showed the characteristics of this third division team: fast, resolute counter-attack, decisive shooting.

But Hamburg was not to be outdone and continued to suppress their opponents.

In the 45th minute, that is, before half-time, Hamburg got a free kick opportunity in front, and Calhanoglu took the penalty and kicked a lift ball into the top corner of the goal, and once again overtook the score!

Both sides also went into halftime with this 1:2 result.

But after the start of the second half, the situation on the field changed.

In the 57th minute, Karlsruhe midfielder Alibaz scored from a distance and equalized again, 2:2.

In the 78th minute, Karlsruhe defender Stoll took advantage of a corner kick opportunity to head the score! 3：2。

In the 86th minute, Karlsruhe striker Soriano sealed the win, 4:2!

Karlsruhe scored three goals in the second half to defeat Hamburg and knock the Bundesliga team out of the tournament!

For such a result, Pan Yi is also mentally prepared.

The biggest problem with this rotation lineup is in the midfield.

Italian Sala and Norwegian Shelbre are actually more adept at central midfielders or attacking midfielders, and have not played in the back field properly before this season.

Their problems were also exposed in this game, such as lack of concentration, poor defensive positioning, lack of space blocking ability, and weak willpower after falling behind, etc.

But in the current squad of Hamburg, apart from Makoto Hasebe and Casemiro, there is no suitable candidate for this position.

Pan Yi just wants to find a substitute for them in the game, otherwise once these two main players have any injuries, wouldn't Hamburg have to play?

In the later stages of the game, Pan Yi also changed to the German Teshe to try it, and this real panacea performance that can play almost all positions on the field is also acceptable.

Anyway, in the end, it is merit-based admission, and you can go to school instead of dropping out.

Of course, there are two more takeaways.

One is Calhanoglu, the free kick kung fu of the king of the char ball really has its own uniqueness.

The other is Lin Zhijian, Pan Yi asked him to play the position of right winger, and the effect seems to be okay, and his breakthrough and cross efficiency is still good.

As for losing this game and knocking Hamburg out of the German Cup, this is not Pan Yi's concern.

With this kind of rotation lineup that hasn't even won the C-division team, what do you want to fight on two fronts?

……

However, Hamburg's fans and media did not intend to let Pan Yi go.

Their frustration erupted after the game.

Needless to say, although they gave applause and encouragement to the Hamburg players when they gave the game, there were still a lot of scolding against Pan Yi.

The Hamburg media were even more unkind, with all sorts of plausible news filling the pages of major newspapers the next day:

"Hamburg loses the German Cup, and the pressure on the new head coach increases sharply"

"The boast of the top four in the Bundesliga is a joke, and Hamburg may go straight to the relegation zone"

"Pan Yi met with captain Westerman before the game, and the two sides were suspected of having a fierce quarrel"

"35 million euros to buy a group of substitutes, chairman Yakhoff is furious"

"The fastest coach in the history of the Bundesliga is about to be born? How long can Pan Yi last? 》

Although there are relatively rational ones in the media, such as "Bild", it said:

"Hamburg's defeat is a microcosm of last season's poor performance. Pan Yi seems to be explaining to everyone why he has brought in so many players this season. The real strength of Hamburg under his command will be determined in the first round of the Bundesliga five days later. ”

It's just that Bild's remarks have not attracted much attention and resonance in the current angry city of Hamburg.

Many Hamburg fans have begun to express pessimism about Hamburg's prospects for the season.

Not to mention anything else, you can't even play a Bundesliga team, take your head to play the Bundesliga?

Let's just say that the opponent in the first round, Nuremberg, although it is not a super strong team, has always been firmly in the middle of the Bundesliga, and its strength is not comparable to Karlsruhe and others.

In such a situation, Hamburg may face a heavy defeat in front of tens of thousands of fans at home!

In short, almost all of them have no confidence in the prospects of Pan Yi and Hamburg.

Except, of course, Pan Yi and his teammates.

The coaching staff had already planned for the defeat of the German Cup, and they also emphasized that the league was the key strategic policy, which largely smoothed out the negative impact of the loss.

And Pan Yi has already made full preparations for the first Bundesliga game of the new season!

(End of chapter)