Two days before the start of the game, a mysterious guest came to Hamburg's training base - Joachim Loew.
Yes, that's the guy who likes to eat his own boogers.
He also has a more glorious attribute to describe him, that is, he is the current head coach of the German national team.
He started his coaching career with Stuttgart and created the "Magic Triangle" composed of Balakov, Elber and Bobic, thus making a name for himself in the Bundesliga.
During this period, he also won the German Cup, ranked top four in the Bundesliga, and finished second in the European Cup Winners' Cup.
Of course, what makes Loew more famous is his achievements after joining the German national team.
In 2004, at Klinsmann's strong request, the German Football Association invited Loew to serve as the assistant coach of the German national team, and together with Klinsmann, he led the German team to prepare for the 2006 World Cup to be held on home soil.
In the end, they achieved good results in third place, but Klinsmann decided not to renew his contract, so Loew naturally took over the German team coach and became the head coach.
After that, he led the German team to second place in the 2008 European Cup, and entered the semi-finals in both the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Cup. His results can be said to be very outstanding.
So, what brings such a famous German coach to the Hamburg training base?
There is only one answer - find Pan Yi.
Of course Loew didn't seek out Pan Yi just to get to know the German players in the Hamburg team.
Since Loew took over the German team, he has been using young talents like Schürrle, Gotze, Kroos, and Hummels, while Westerman, Ogo, Janssen, etc. in the Hamburg team
He has long been out of Loew's national team plans.
In fact, Loew came to "apprentice"!
Speaking of which, it seems a bit strange for a 52-year-old coach to come to a 26-year-old to ask questions.
But Loew didn't care too much about this.
He indeed admired Pan Yi very much.
After watching several games of Hamburg this season, especially the two games that overturned Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Loew became very interested in Pan Yi's tactical play.
In the game between Hamburg and Bayern Munich, he was actually in the stands at the time.
However, at that time, he mainly went to observe the German international players in Bayern's team, but he did not expect that Hamburg would steal the limelight in the end.
As a world-class coach, Loew can certainly see some of Pan Yi's thoughts in these games.
However, some tactical details cannot be figured out through video recording or watching the game live. This requires more direct communication.
He felt that Pan Yi's tactics were very advanced and might even help him open up his mind to defeat the powerful enemies that had been blocking the path of his German tank!
Such as Spain.
In recent years, Spain has been at its peak. Whether it was the 2008 European Cup or the 2010 World Cup, the German team was defeated by Spain.
Another example is Italy.
This natural enemy of the German team has always been able to defeat the German team in major competitions, including the 2006 World Cup and the 2012 European Cup.
In other words, the four major competitions Loew participated in after joining the German team were all killed by these two masterminds!
And Pan Yi seems to have his own experience in dealing with such a team.
When he was in Milan, AC Milan once used an extreme defensive counterattack to defeat Barcelona, the best team in the world at passing and controlling.
The Spanish team almost followed Barcelona's playing style.
When leading Hamburg against Bayern, Pan Yi was also able to cope with Bayern's fast and concise pressing style and broke his opponent's myth of complete victory.
In the 2012 European Cup, the Italian team led by Prandelli actually emphasized simplicity and efficiency in their playing style.
When attacking, they are fast and never sloppy. When defending, they are layered and defensive. In this regard, the two teams also have their similarities.
Now that Loew is preparing for the 2014 World Cup, these two teams are his biggest enemies.
So, in order to find the best way to defeat these two enemies, Loew naturally did not hesitate to come to Hamburg in person to discuss with Pan Yi.
…
Loew's image is no different from what Pan Yi saw on TV in his previous life.
Smiling, wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and a blue cashmere sweater. He is well-dressed, has a personable manner, and is quite a gentleman.
If he hadn't actually seen it, it would be hard for Pan Yi to imagine that the handsome old German guy in front of him would actually like to eat that kind of food.
But it doesn’t matter. After all, everyone has their own preferences. Maybe it’s because there are so few delicious foods in Germany?
As long as he doesn't eat in front of Pan Yi.
As for Loew's behavior of "stealing his master", Pan Yi didn't have any resistance at all.
It wouldn't do him any harm to have a good relationship with the current head coach of the German national team!
The news has reached the ears of the German Football Association, and maybe Hamburg will be given some preferential treatment on the schedule...
We don’t want more, just a little less and double matches a week will be enough!
What's more, Pan Yi knows that in the 2014 World Cup, Loew is about to usher in the most glorious moment of his career - leading the German team to win the Hercules Cup!
At that time, there may be such a rumor in the world: "The World Cup champion coach was personally mentored by Pan Yi!"
Tsk tsk...
If the reputation of being the teacher of a World Cup winning coach spreads, it will indeed stink Pan Yi for a while, and it will also be of great benefit to his reputation.
How important is a coach’s reputation?
It can even attract some players to come and vote specifically for you!
Therefore, Pan Yi warmly received Loew and allowed him to enter and visit the Hamburg training center freely.
As for the tactical questions raised by Loew, Pan Yi also answered them without reservation.
Even Loew can participate in the coaching staff's training and preparations, just like a member of the coaching staff, without restrictions.
This made Loew feel moved.
You know, how many people will keep their tactics in the palm of their hands as if they are secrets, for fear of being seen by others.
But Pan Yi treated him like an old friend.
You are really a native of the Dragon Kingdom, you are so broad-minded!
But for Pan Yi, this is really nothing.
Anyone can listen to tactics, and anyone can learn them, but only tactics that can be effective against the right players are correct tactics.
Just listening to a tactics class without seriously considering it and making it your own is just applying the tactics mechanically and is of no use.
Really successful coaches are masters who know how to absorb and utilize.
For example, Guardiola, for example, would explain various tactics very clearly in every class when he was leading the team. At this time, there might be dozens of staff and players listening to the class below.
A team has dozens of people, and he led three top teams, so that's more than a hundred people.
So among these more than 100 people, how many can eventually become good coaches after listening to them for a few seasons?
At present, it seems that Xavi and Arteta are still okay - uh, add Ten Hag? This is already considered a very high success rate.
Therefore, classes from famous teachers are more of an inspiring effect. How much you can truly learn and master is decided by the learner himself.
Of course, there are exceptions to this.
For example, you may be a time traveler and have a course system that you can understand at a glance and absorb it all immediately.
In this case, your possibility of becoming a strong coach will be greatly improved...