After the first round of the Bundesliga, Hamburg won a lot of praise.
The reason for this is, of course, because Pan Yi's team won a strong match against Schalke 04, and it was also an away game.
Judging from the content of the game, Hamburg even crushed Schalke, making it a one-sided situation.
In the three games at the beginning of this season, the Super Cup against Bayern Munich, the German Cup against Karlsruhe, and the league against Schalke 04, they corresponded to a strong team, a weak team and a sub-strong team. Hamburg performed well in all of them.
A stable state and consistent performance.
This also made the local media in Hamburg extremely excited, and they all said that they had seen a strong team that is truly maturing.
And Pan Yi brings more surprises than just that.
A week later, in the second round of the Bundesliga, Pan Yi led Hamburg to a 5-1 victory over Hoffenheim at home!
In the following third round, Hamburg defeated newly-promoted Hertha Berlin with a goal away from home, winning three consecutive Bundesliga victories!
In these two games, Pan Yi also used two different lineups.
Take the midfield trio as an example. When playing against Hoffenheim, the combination of Casemiro, Paulinho and De Bruyne was used, while when playing against Hertha Berlin, Kante Hasebe and Seiyoshi De Bruyne were used. This shows that Hamburg's current lineup is enough for Pan Yi to use different strategies when facing different opponents.
Obviously, this strategy has also paid off, allowing Hamburg to achieve an impressive record of three consecutive victories.
Although after three rounds, five teams had also won three consecutive victories, Hamburg still occupied the top spot with a 7-goal difference advantage.
The other teams that achieved complete victories are Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Mainz, and finally, of course, Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich also defeated strong opponents in the first three rounds, defeating Monchengladbach 3:1, Eintracht Frankfurt 1:0, and Nuremberg 2:0.
In comparison, Dortmund's opponents are slightly weaker. They defeated Augsburg 4:0, Braunschweig 2:1, and Werder Bremen 1:0.
And judging from the scene, Dortmund is not as dominant as Hamburg and Bayern.
Therefore, even though everyone has three consecutive victories, many media are still more optimistic about Hamburg and Bayern. Many people believe that this year's Bundesliga champion will be produced by these two teams.
However, some people have raised objections.
Because in September, the UEFA Champions League group stage of the new season will also begin.
Next, Hamburg will face three-front battles in the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League, including national team match days interspersed.
Due to the outstanding performance of Hamburg players in the past year or two, the number of international players in the team is also increasing.
How to deal with the pressure of such a third-line or even a fourth-line battle, Pan Yi will obviously face more tests.
Unlike Hamburg, Bayern, as a wealthy club, obviously has more adequate personnel reserves, and since they have been under such pressure for many years, they will obviously be able to handle it more easily.
"At the beginning of last season, Hamburg was also affected by the national team match day, which led to a wave of lows in the league."
"At that time, they were only fighting on a single front. Now Hamburg has to face the test of various fronts attacking at the same time. Can Pan Yi cope with it?"
"In the Champions League draw ceremony in a few days, what kind of opponent will Hamburg draw?"
"If they suffer setbacks in the Champions League because they encounter strong opponents, you can imagine that they will not be in a good state after dragging their tired bodies back to the Bundesliga..."
……
In fact, it is almost certain that Hamburg will encounter a strong opponent in the Champions League group stage.
That's because the last time Hamburg participated in the Champions League group stage was in the 2006-07 season.
At that time, in a group composed of Arsenal, Porto, and CSKA Moscow, Hamburg actually lost all six games and won...how many European points?
It seems that you can get 4 points by entering the group stage, but this is meaningless because it is too many years ago.
In short, this year they can finally return to the Champions League, and their European points will definitely be ranked at the bottom, which is the fourth level.
Those ranked in the first tier are all traditional European powers such as Bayern, Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Manchester United that have achieved outstanding results in recent years, while those ranked in the second tier include Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus.
Strong team.
Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen of the Bundesliga stay in the third tier with the upstart Premier League Manchester City, Eredivisie giants Ajax and other teams, which should not be underestimated.
And when it comes to the fourth gear, it's basically all rotten fish and shrimps, such as Copenhagen, Anderlecht, Plzen Victory, Celtic, Austria Vienna...except Hamburg.
Although it is true that Hamburg cannot catch these rotten fish and shrimps, the teams ranked in the top three tiers do not want to be ranked in the same group as the Bundesliga runner-up.
The team that defeated Bayern Munich 4:1 is really scary, isn’t it!
Therefore, the media has already created a good momentum before the draw, that is, whichever group Hamburg stays in, that group has a great probability of becoming the death group!
……
On August 28, the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony for the 2013-2014 season was held in Nyon, Switzerland, the UEFA headquarters.
Pan Yi brought assistant coach Inzaghi to participate.
Mainly because in his previous life, Pan Yi had been watching the bald man presiding over the lottery ceremony in front of the TV screen, and he was quite curious.
There are various conspiracy theories about the lottery, whether the lottery ball is hot or cold, including the fact that a lottery accident occurred later and the lottery was redrawn. This also gave Pan Yi the idea to come to the scene to observe.
After all, he is also a manager and coach. If he doesn't come, we will have to ask Chairman Yakhov to come.
However, he still didn't have the opportunity to touch the lottery ball with the team's name on it to see if he could feel the temperature.
Because they were arranged to sit in the seats under the stage as soon as the game started, how could they have the chance to go on stage and touch the ball?
"Who do you want to touch?" Inzaghi, who was sitting next to him, suddenly asked.
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, if you want to win the championship, any team must win." Pan Yi replied.
Inzaghi almost jumped out of his seat: "You really want to win the Champions League!"
Wanting to win the Champions League, this was the first time Pan Yi said it, so it was also the first time Inzaghi heard it.
What Pan Yi said before is usually to win the Bundesliga championship and then strive to go further in the Champions League.
Inzaghi really didn't expect that Pan Yi, a new Champions League team like them, would really have such "unreasonable thoughts"?
After all, the Champions League is not as good as the Bundesliga. There are many teams as capable as Bayern!
"We got it in Milan, can't we get it in Hamburg?" Pan Yi chuckled and looked towards the stands.
In the stands at this time, the European Player of the Year award was being awarded.
French star Ribery, who ultimately led Bayern to the Triple Crown and won the Bundesliga MVP title, was elected with 36 votes.
The peerless duo ranked second and third respectively, with Messi having 14 votes and Ronaldo only having 3 votes.
This trophy was personally handed to Ribery by the then UEFA president and French football legend Platini.
Then came Ribery's acceptance speech, and then the top three took a group photo - of course, due to Ronaldo's absence, there were only Ribery and Messi in this session.
[Recommended, Yeguo Reading and Chasing Books is really useful. Download it here. yeguoyuedu. You can try it soon.]
After hearing Pan Yi's words, Inzaghi swallowed.
Indeed, who said this is impossible?
In Pan Yi's eyes, there seems to be nothing that is impossible!
Just say that when the two were in Milan together, who would have been optimistic about the young team at that time? But in the end, didn't they overturn a number of strong teams and win the championship?!
So...
"I still have teams I don't want to run into." Pan Yi suddenly laughed again.
"Which ones are they? Milan?" Inzaghi also smiled.
Pan Yi really doesn’t want to meet Milan.
After all, he is his old club, and he is an old club with feelings.
Now that they are in bad condition, it would be unbearable to stab them a few times.
"In addition to Milan, there are also Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal..."
"Is it because they are very strong and difficult to deal with?"
Pan Yi laughed and said: "No. It's because we have played against them when we were in Milan. I am a person who likes the new and hates the old. I don't like to play against the same opponents all the time."
Inzaghi almost laughed out loud.
Feeling: You led the team to participate in the Champions League group stage draw just to find fresh opponents?
"But it may be difficult to realize your wish." Inzaghi shook his head, "They are all in the first bracket. We will definitely not be able to draw Bayern from the same country, so the chance of drawing them will greatly increase."<
/p>
"Let's see how lucky we are." Pan Yi looked at the stage again, "If we draw Porto, wouldn't it be even more wonderful?"
……
While the two were talking, UEFA staff had already placed the draw ball on the table, and UEFA official Federico Marchetti had also stood in front of the rostrum with draw guests Luis Figo and Michael Owen.
.
Marchetti began to introduce the rules of this draw to the representatives of each team present. It was nothing more than classification of grades, avoidance of fellow countrymen, order of draws, and a lot of them.
At this time, Pan Yi was also thinking about it.
To be honest, he really wants to lead Hamburg to make a difference in the Champions League, and winning the Champions League is also his biggest goal.
Although you do have to defeat all your opponents in the process of winning the championship, if the journey can be easier at the beginning, why not?
This is why teams that are determined to win the championship are also very concerned about the draw results.
Even if we draw a first-tier team, it’s always more comfortable to play against Porto than against Bayern, right?
For example, although Hamburg is currently in the fourth tier, there is a high probability that it will compete with many strong teams, but if you are lucky, wouldn't it be great to form a group like Benfica, Marseille, Basel, and Hamburg?
If the pressure of the Champions League is reduced, the pressure of playing in the Bundesliga will also be reduced.
Just like when Pan Yi played FM games in his previous life, sometimes because the opponents in the European group stage were weak, he would even use the main force to play in the league and all substitutes to play in the Champions League.
But if, on the contrary, Hamburg is placed in a group like Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City, it will create a perfect group of death, and every game will be a tough battle, and it will be difficult to have room for mediation.
So after all, Pan Yi still hopes that the god of luck will come to him.
Sometimes the quality of the lottery can even determine the development and performance of a team in the competition!
……
Under the operation of Irving and Figo, the top three teams were eliminated one after another.
At this time, some groups actually began to show signs of being a death group.
For example, Real Madrid and Juventus were drawn into Group B, Bayern and Manchester City were in Group D, and Arsenal and Dortmund were in Group F.
The most surprising thing is that Barcelona and AC Milan are once again assigned to Group H!
These are the two champions of the Champions League in the past three years, and they are also together again after the 2011-2012 season.
In addition, last season, Barcelona eliminated AC Milan in the round of 16. This is actually the third consecutive season that they have met!
It’s really not like enemies never get together.
Also in Group H is Ajax. This former giant that has won the Champions League four times is obviously not an ordinary team.
Therefore, compared to Galatasaray, the third team in Group B, and Marseille in Group F, Group H will actually have a stronger "smell of death"!
The lottery continues.
Next, Irving will draw the name of the fourth team, and then Figo will draw the number ball to determine the group.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
This means that the final matchup situation of each group will also be settled.
As for Hamburg, there are actually only five groups they can fall into now.
Due to the principle of avoiding members of the same country, it is impossible for Hamburg to go to Group D where Bayern is in, Group F where Dortmund is in, and Group A where Manchester United and Leverkusen are.
This is a good thing, after all, among these three groups, two groups are potential death groups.
Among the remaining five groups, in addition to Group H between Barcelona and AC Milan, there are Group B between Real Madrid and Juventus, Group C between Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain, Group E between Chelsea and Basel, Porto and
Group G where Atletico Madrid is located.
From Hamburg's point of view, of course, it is necessary to try to avoid Group B and Group H, which have two strong teams, and the other three groups can enter any of them, at least the pressure is not that great.
So Pan Yi obviously felt that Inzaghi beside him even held his breath.
This new coach, a veteran who has experienced many battles, is actually nervous!
In fact, this is human nature.
Pan Yi is no exception, but he will be more calm.
If he has better luck and goes to a weaker group, he will be able to be more at ease, and everyone will be more relaxed.
And if he is unlucky and ends up in the so-called death group, he won’t be afraid and will do it with his arms off!
We are all 11 people fighting 11 people, who is afraid of who?
Next, teams in the fourth pot were drawn into each group one after another.
As a result, bursts of sounds began to emit from the scene, some of which sounded like the kind of rejoicing after a disaster, and some sounded like exclamations when something unfortunate happened.
For example, when club officials in Copenhagen saw that their team was drawn into Group B with Real Madrid and Juventus, their faces were as ugly as they were.
When Anderlecht found out that he would be grouped with the seeded team Benfica, his manager even pumped his fist in celebration.
One after another, one after another...
When Irving finally pulled out the small ball with the name of the Hamburg team written on it, the audience was once again agitated.
Everyone knows that this is the fourth tier team that is the hardest to mess with!
But now the only two choices left for Hamburg are group g and group h.
Either with Porto, Atletico Madrid, and Zenit, or with Barcelona, AC Milan, and Ajax.
In the audience, Inzaghi was very nervous, but he did not notice that the representatives of these six teams were even more nervous than him!
Because everyone knows that if you get a hamburger, you will definitely lose a lot of money!
Anyone who has watched Hamburg’s games this season knows that this young team is really strong!
At this time, Figo began to stir the ball containing the letters "g" and "h".
Although there were only two balls, the former Portuguese superstar still messed around for a long time before finally catching one of them.
After he took out the ball, unscrewed it, and took out the note, many people couldn't help but hold their breath like Inzaghi.
Immediately, Figo smiled and turned the note over, and the letters on it were displayed in front of everyone.
"h."
This letter means that the four former Champions League champions are placed in the same group.
AC Milan 8 times, Barcelona 4 times, Ajax 4 times, Hamburg 1 time.
The members of this group have won a total of 17 Champions League championships, making them a super death group.
Amid the uproar at the scene, Inzaghi also turned to Pan Yi with a wry smile: "Look, those opponents you least want to encounter, but they gave you two at once..."
Pan Yi just smiled indifferently.
It’s true that signing for a shipment is not good, but that’s really okay.
He has now begun to think about how to defeat these three teams and advance to the knockout rounds of the Champions League!
……
"A group of death suddenly appeared in the Champions League group stage, four former Champions League champions gathered in Group H"
"Hamburg, which is currently in the Bundesliga, is facing a crisis. Can they break through as a group?"
"With little experience in the European war, Hamburg may be strangled by Barcelona and Milan"...
The next day, headlines like this filled the headlines of major sports media in the world.
Indeed, compared to other groups, Hamburg’s group h is really full of gimmicks.
A super death group composed of all Champions League champions;
Barcelona and Milan face off for three consecutive years;
Pan Yi faced his old club for the first time after leaving Milan...
But it can also be seen from the title that most of the media are still not optimistic about burgers.
At least judging from the experience of the Champions League, whether it is Hamburg as a club or its players, let alone compared with AC Milan and Barcelona, even Ajax plays in European competitions every year.
Let's talk about the players. Except for Westerman, the old captain, Salah, who Pan Yi just bought back from Milan, Kante and Van Dijk have experience of playing in the Champions League. Don't even think about others. From the perspective of the schedule, Hamburg has no advantage.
They will face Milan away from home in their first game!
Then the second round is a home game against Barcelona, which is the strongest on paper in the group, and then Ajax.
In other words, it is not a sequence of easy first and then difficult.
This is really not a good thing for Hamburg, which is dominated by young players.
If Hamburg is beaten by two giant teams in the first two rounds and the young people lose their confidence, then they will have no enthusiasm to play Ajax.
"World Sports Daily" said: "A team like Hamburg, which only won the Champions League once in the 1980s, can only be regarded as a new army in this group. And the new army should have their own positioning, that is
Just take the Champions League bonus and leave."
"Daily Sports" said: "Although Hamburg seems to be the strongest team in the fourth pot, the fourth pot is only the fourth pot after all. Let's just play with the rich teams for a formality.
Being able to participate in the Champions League is already their success!"
However, even if the whole world thinks that Hamburg has no hope of qualifying, there will be one person who firmly believes that Hamburg can beat them!
That's Pan Yi.
After he returned to the Hamburg training center, he quickly held a team meeting to discuss this grouping.
"This group is very difficult, at least more difficult than other groups." Pan Yi said.
Seeing everyone nodding, Pan Yi suddenly said: "But this difficulty is relative to Milan, Barcelona, and Ajax. They saw that our team was in the group, so they found it very difficult!"<
/p>
The coaches and players in the conference room laughed.
They knew that their head coach would never have any real difficulties in his heart.
"Most of you have not played in the Champions League, but I have been to the Champions League, Inzaghi has been there, Salah has been there, Kante and Van Dijk have also been there."
Pan Yi continued:
"What I want to say is that the opponents in the Champions League are indeed very strong, the atmosphere is very good, and... the theme song is also very nice."
Everyone is smiling again.
"However, the Champions League is also a football match after all. An 11-versus-11 football match is no different from the Bundesliga we play."
"There, we may also encounter Bayern, Dortmund and Leverkusen."
"So, have we defeated Bayern? Have we defeated Dortmund? Have we defeated Leverkusen? - Well, it seems that we haven't. We tied with them in both rounds last season."
The conference room was filled with laughter, and any nervousness that existed in everyone's hearts was swept away.
"But in short, we can beat them. Whether it's Barcelona, Milan, or Ajax, we can beat them."
"As long as we maintain a good state and remember how we defeated those powerful opponents in the Bundesliga, then we can defeat all opponents in the Champions League and move forward!"
"I promise you that we will definitely qualify, we will definitely appear in the knockout rounds, and go further!"
Pan Yi's sonorous and powerful words excited everyone present.
Yes, what about the Super Death Group?
But they are Hamburg, they are the Hamburg Young Guards led by Pan Yi!
What Pan Yi says now, no one will think that he is bragging or trying to spread the pie.
After all, all the things he boasted about before came true!
This is another man after Yin Brahimovich who has a legal license to show off!
At this time, Pan Yi saw the expressions of everyone present and felt their emotions, and knew that his goal had been achieved.
He just wants everyone to know that Hamburg is now strong enough to compete with any team.
Only in this way can everyone devote themselves to every training and game with confidence!
"The last thing I want to say is that our goal in the Champions League this season is definitely not just qualifying for the group."
"Once we qualify from the group with Barcelona and Milan, it means that we defeated the winners of the two Champions League championships in the past three years."
"In the Bundesliga, we also defeated Bayern twice, and Bayern was the last Champions League champion. Friends, do you know what this means?"
"If the past three Champions League titles can't stop us, then what can stop us?"
"So, we will continue to reach the quarter-finals, reach the semi-finals, and finally enter the finals, go to the Stadium of Light in Lisbon and win the final championship!"
This is also the first time Pan Yi has expressed his willingness to win the Champions League in a semi-public manner.
At the end, he was shouting with almost all his strength: