On August 31, the first round of the 0708 UEFA Cup was announced in Monaco, and all 80 teams participating in the first round of the League Cup will compete for 40 places in the group stage of the League Cup through two knockout legs. Bundesliga promotion Mahoffenheim welcomed his first European opponent in 1008 years - Rapid Bucharest.

It's Bucharest, but it's not the Star Team, it's not Dynamo, it's fast, Chinese fans must be very unfamiliar with this name, only the Bucharest Star team still has some impressions in the memory of Chinese fans, and even Dynamo Bucharest rarely hears of it, let alone Bucharest Fast.

But German fans must know that due to the poor record of the Bundesliga in the European League, they are already on the verge of being overtaken by the Romanian league behind them, and now the Carpathian Yellow Rose has become the sixth largest league in Europe according to UEFA statistics. Rapid Bucharest, on the other hand, are three heroes in the Romanian league with Steaua Bucharest and Dynamo Bucharest.

Last season, Bucharest quickly reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, only to be eliminated by local rivals Bucharest Stars due to a lack of away goals. Rapid Bucharest won the domestic cup last season like Hoffenheim, but Rapid Bucharest did not play in the UEFA Cup because of the cup winners, and they also finished in the top three in the league.

Hoffenheim's draw did not disappoint the club's fans, and what kind of opponent did they want to draw for their first time in the UEFA Cup? For them, who have never played against foreign teams, what kind of opponent can be called a weak team, they are already the weakest gear.

After the draw reached Baden-Württemberg, Hoffenheim's main players and club personnel excitedly shared their views on the UEFA Cup in 20 days' time.

The club's manager, Schendel Maze, attended the draw in Monaco and after the draw he said that Rapid Bucharest are not as well-known in the Bundesliga, but they are a strong team with a passionate style of play, and Hoffenheim is happy to be drawn with them, and he believes that the two teams will definitely look good when they meet.

Head coach Rangnick said: "Hoffenheim have won the first three rounds, but they don't have the quality to play on two fronts, so they don't have much ambition in the UEFA Cup, but as the first Europa League game in the club's 1008-year history, Hoffenheim will not give up easily, he will try to win." ”

Li Huan, the core of the team, also said in an interview with Chinese media, "Although Rapid Bucharest is not necessarily stronger than their Bundesliga opponents, their style of play is very different from that of Bundesliga teams, and Hoffenheim, who has never had European experience, may suffer." But we will eventually win and qualify for our first European game and we won't have a bad start. ”

Rapid Bucharest's Italian coach Bergerdi did not dare to underestimate this promotion horse who was still in the Bundesliga two years ago, he said: "Hoffenheim has strong financial resources, they are now investing in the transfer market in the Bundesliga only Bayern can surpass them, there are stars like Li Huan and Eduardo in the team, they have achieved impressive results in the Bundesliga before, and they also won the German Cup in the league championship, and now they are in quite good shape, they have won three consecutive victories in the Bundesliga, we must give them enough respect, But we don't have to be afraid of them, they are new to the European war after all, and we have more experience than them. ”

Germany's other three teams competing in the UEFA Cup are Bayern, Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg, who played from the International Toto Cup to the UEFA Cup. Bayern Munich's first UEFA Cup match in a decade will be against Portugal's Bellerense, Bayer Leverkusen against Portugal's Leilia and Hamburg against Bulgaria's Riteks.

For Bayern Munich, any of the 79 opponents drawn in the UEFA Cup can be called a weak team, they don't even need to look at the names of their opponents, and the important thing for them is not how to beat their opponents, but how to overcome the stigma of playing in the UEFA Cup. For the Bundesliga giants, it is also a big shame to win the League Cup.

Leverkusen and Hamburg, two mid-tier teams in the Bundesliga, are basically teams that are unable to win the championship and have no worries about relegation, and they still attach great importance to them in the League Cup. And in this cup competition that the giants don't pay attention to, a mid-table team like them can win a European championship if they can't do it.

However, the UEFA Cup is still far away, and now the opponents of the four teams in the league are not easy to mess with, Hoffenheim's opponent is third-placed Bielefeld, Bayer Leverkusen is going to challenge Schalke 04 away, Bayern's opponent Hamburg, Hamburg's enemy is Bayern.

In the fourth round of the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim returned to his home stadium Karl Benz to meet the challenge from third-place Bielefeld, because Bayern has to face Hamburg, which has been in excellent form this season, Bayern, who was in great form before, may be upset at home, if Bayern can't win, and Hoffenheim may reach the top of the standings as long as he beats Bielefeld, which is a big temptation for Hoffenheim.

Bielefeld are a civilian team, you won't find a player in this team who is worth more than two million euros, but they are by no means a soft persimmon to be pinched, and Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin who wanted to pinch soft persimmons in the first three rounds were all pierced. Two wins, one draw and four goals difference put them behind Hoffenheim and ahead of Bochum and Hamburg.

Bielefeld is relegated every year, and their experience is that the players of the big teams have not woken up from the holidays to grab points since the start of the new season, and they have only one style of play, which is also the most favorite and good at dense defense of all middle and lower teams, and suddenly sneak attack. They don't pay attention to the way they play, survival is their most important issue, just like you can't say to a beggar, why don't you shave, take a bath, dress cleanly, and don't have three meals a day, these things will not be thought about. The reason why Hoffenheim is different from all the middle and lower teams is because they have a huge treasury behind them, a rich man who can buy sixty Bayern Munich Hope, otherwise they have to live with their tails between their legs like Bielefeld, which is why many Bundesliga teams hate Hoffenheim so much.

Facing Bielefeld meant Hoffenheim had to practice breaking down dense defences, and Rangnick had no doubt that Middendorp's side would adopt a dense defensive strategy when they came to Karl Benz, and Hoffenheim's attack power of scoring 11 goals in three games has already made the entire Bundesliga look sideways. Middendorp was not blind, how could he not see.

However, Rangnick is not worried, because his team still has a lot of experience in breaking dense defense, in the Bundesliga, almost all the teams they met played dense defense, Hoffenheim's three tall forwards and Li Huan and Eduardo, who are good at breaking through, are all sharp weapons to break dense defense. As long as they play a dense defensive game, there is not much difference between the Bundesliga and the Bundesliga, unless their coach is Jose Mourinho or an Italian.

Rangnick is only worried that his team will be affected by the media these days, these young people's emotions are very changeable, and after coming to the Bundesliga, the media will report on the life of the team and the players almost every day, either touting, criticizing, and possibly spreading rumors, which will have a bad impact on the players. Before the game, the team's sports psychologist Dr. Herman gave psychological counseling to the players, and most of the players were normal, but according to Dr. Herman's reaction, Li Huan's psychology was a little different from ordinary people, and he couldn't tell whether it was normal or abnormal. However, Herman reassures Rangnick that this may be a characteristic of geniuses, and geniuses are a little different from ordinary people.

Hoffenheim's winning record in the first three rounds and passionate attacking football attracted a lot of fans from the Rheinneckar to watch their games, and the tickets were sold out three days ago, and many fans were still buying online, which finally relieved Rothhouse and Schendelmeizer, who had been worried before moving to Mannheim.

The three wins gave Hoffenheim fans confidence in winning Bielefeld at home, with almost 90 per cent of fans in a survey conducted by the Rheinneckar newspaper believing that Hoffenheim would win comfortably. The visitors' local media were pessimistic about Bielefeld's away trip, advising Bielefeld to keep the draw and not think too much about winning, as Hoffenheim should not be treated as a normal promoted team.

Middendorp also showed plenty of respect for Hoffenheim, telling Bild's famous commentator Buster when he left Bielefeld for Mannheim, "Hoffenheim are very strong, they have continued their upward trend since last season, and the team's deep pockets have allowed them to constantly tinker with weaknesses in the transfer market, and I think they will be one of the biggest dark horses this season." There's no limit to what you can achieve. Hoffenheim's Li Huan is an incredible player, we played him in the German Cup, he was still in Karlsruhe, his quality has blown me away, and now he seems to be better than then, he will become a world-class player in the Bundesliga. We have to be careful about him in this game, otherwise he will cause us a lot of damage. Getting a point in this game is also a win for us because our goal is really relegation. ”

(To be continued)