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Chapter 411 Pique
In the three rounds of League No.20, the top four in the league all suffered draws. Hoffenheim had a zero-to-zero tie with Werder Bremen at home. In the game, Rangnick sent several substitutes including Trazino. He was also very satisfied with getting one point, especially when Leverkusen and Wolfsburg were tied ahead of them.

Although the opponent is a powerful Barcelona, ​​neither Rangnick nor Hoffenheim players are willing to catch them without a fight. First, they represent the Bundesliga. Barcelona's skills are excellent, and the offense is hard to resist, but Bundesliga teams like their Latin-style teams have never been very afraid. Fierce pressing and strong play have always been the treasure of the Bundesliga team.

The so-called natural enemies refer to natural enemies in nature, such as owls prey on rodents, birds prey on insects, no matter how small an owl is, it can peck to death no matter how big a mouse is, and no matter how fierce an insect is, it can also be eaten by young birds.

What's more, in Barcelona now, in addition to their sharp offense, their defense is still excellent. Alves, Pique, Puyol, and Abidal. Destroy any defensive line of defense.

Hoffenheim's schedule is not good, they are second in the group, Barcelona is the first in the group, so they will challenge Barcelona at home first, and then go to Camp Nou as a guest, this schedule is quite unfavorable for the weaker side.

So before the Barcelona game, Rangnick was preparing for the game.

First of all, several main players with poor physical fitness such as Eduardo, Kolarov and Marin were rotated in the last league game, just to let them give their best in this game, and then Rangnick has been practicing a brand new tactic, just to deal with Barcelona.Of course it can't be too big, if it affects the game, the referee has the power to stop the game, and it can't be too small, it will be useless if it is too small.

A moderate rain is not enough to cause a large area of ​​water on the field, but it must also prevent the water from being drained quickly, making it difficult for the ball to roll on the ground, making use of the physical advantages of Hoffenheim players and reducing Barcelona's technical advantages...

All of this is for a victory. If they can't win at home, then at the Nou Camp, their chances of winning will become even smaller.

If it can rain on the day of the game, it will be a timely rain.

But even though it is March now, and it rains more frequently, Lannick doesn't know if it will rain that day. He doesn't have the ability. The weather forecast says there will be rain that day, but he is still not sure whether it will rain during the game.

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The rain finally came down.

On the day of the game, the city of Sinsheim was shrouded in a cloud of dark clouds, but it didn't come down until the Hoffenheim players got on the bus and set off for the Rhein-Neckar Stadium.

It was just light rain at first, but after a while, it was pouring down. From the glass window of the bus, the eyes were covered with white mist, and it was hard to see clearly.

"It's raining a bit too much." Kolarov couldn't help saying, of course he knew that the rain was good for Hoffenheim, but if the rain was too heavy, the game might be delayed until next week. There is no such precedent in the Champions League, such as possible terrorist attacks, such as two giants sharing the same stadium to play at the same time, or the weather has affected the progress of the game...

"It doesn't matter, the rain won't last for too long at this time." Li Jie said, he is the player who has stayed here the longest among the current Hoffenheim players, and he knows the weather here very well: "There are still nearly two hours before the start of the game, and it will stop in an hour at most. At this time, it won't rain for too long."

Li Jie is a Chinese, but in Hoffenheim, he is more like a local snake than most of the Germans in the team.

Sure enough, when they finished warming up in the rain and were about to return to the locker room, the rain began to gradually subside. Although it didn't stop, it could no longer affect the venue.

This is exactly what Lannick wants to see most.

When Barcelona's head coach Pep Guardiola saw the light rain still floating in the sky and the wet stadium, he couldn't help frowning.

Barcelona rarely has such weather. They are always sunny. Perhaps it is because of this weather that Barcelona has always insisted on playing on the ground. Even the Espanyol, another team in Catalonia, has excellent skills.

And when he got Hoffenheim's starting lineup, he was even more sure that Hoffenheim was going to use this weather to make a fuss.

Salihovic is not in the starting list, and he is replaced by Brazilian winger Maxwell. Although Salihovic is the absolute main force of Hoffenheim, his strengths lie in technology and free kicks.

Today Rangnick replaced Salihovic with Maxwell. The reason is very simple. They do not intend to entangle with Barcelona in the midfield.

Even though he knew that Hoffenheim was playing this idea, Guardiola did not intend to change his style, because Barcelona's style allowed them to win continuously. If he changed his best attack method because of the opponent's tactics, it would not be worth the loss.

Even in La Liga, there are definitely not a few people who use this tactic to deal with Barcelona, ​​but Barcelona has never been knocked down by this tactic.

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Players from both sides stood in the tunnel, waiting to get ready to play.

The Hoffenheim players looked very serious, because they knew the weight of this opponent, but to some surprise, the Barcelona players also had serious expressions, all pursing their lips, watching the rain falling outside the player tunnel.

What they are looking at is the weather. They are not used to playing football in this situation. After the lawn is wet by the rain, the speed of rolling against the ground is faster than usual. If you are not careful, you may make a pass error. This is something Barcelona, ​​which is accustomed to playing short passes on the ground, is not used to.

Pique did not look at the sky outside the tunnel like his teammates did, but stared at a tall figure standing in front of him, the Chinese who had made him feel miserable at Camp Nou. Niah and the Spanish media boast that he has fully matured and become a world-class central defender, but he knows that if it is not for the stimulation of losing to the little-known center Long Bisheng, he will not have another sudden outbreak.

With the goal of catching up, there is motivation.

Long Bisheng, with his back to Pique, seemed to sense that someone was watching him, and turned his head to meet Pique's gaze.

Long Bisheng is a little strange. Of course he knows that the person staring at him is Pique, the main central defender of the Spanish national team and Barcelona. He once played against him at the Nou Camp a year ago, but why does he stare at him like this?I just met him that side.

What he didn't know was that if he hadn't given Pique enough stimulation in that game, maybe Pique would not have reached the height and level he is today.

From the Barcelona youth team to Manchester United was an important factor in Pique's growth, where he learned patience and learned to play multiple positions in the defense; returning to Barcelona from Manchester United was another opportunity for Piqué to grow rapidly. He quickly got the baptism of a large number of high-level games, and at the same time knew the value of being a main player. striker!If you don't move forward, you will be left behind!
"Thank you very much, guy! Take this game as my reward, let me beat you, and let you know that there are many defenders that you can't get past..." Pique smiled at Long Bisheng, thinking viciously in his heart.

(End of this chapter)