Hamburg's Bundesliga half-time championship can be said to be convincing, because their points are 8 points higher than the second-placed Bayern Munich!
Of course, the further widening of the points gap is not because Bayern lost.
But after they finished the crucial battle with Hamburg, they went to Morocco to play in the Club World Cup, so they missed one round in the Bundesliga.
Which Morocco?
It is the place that "Xu Zhimo" Xu Yang said: "I have been to Morocco, and the football there is very pure"...
In this Club World Cup, Longguo Changzhou Hengtai also participated as the Asian champion.
They also defeated the African Champions Cup champion Al Ahli with a score of 2:0 in the quarterfinals and successfully entered the semifinals.
And Changzhou Hengtai's opponent in the semi-finals is Bayern Munich!
But in this game, the gap between Longguo football and the top European teams was reflected.
In the Changzhou Hengtai formation, except for the Argentinian foreign aid Conca who can hold the ball, the other players are completely different from the Bayern players.
The match was also one-sided. Bayern defeated Changzhou Kota 3-0 and successfully entered the final.
In fact, if Bayern had not been unlucky and many shots hit the goal post, the score would have been even greater.
In the subsequent third or fourth place finals, Changzhou Hengtai lost to South American Copa Libertadores champion Atletico Mineiro 2:3.
This team actually has many connections with the Chinese Super League. Coach Kuka, forwards Tardelli, and Ferdinando later came to Dragon Country.
The biggest star in Atlético Mineiro is undoubtedly Ronaldinho, who has returned to his roots at this time.
During the game, Ronaldinho also took a beautiful free kick to help Atletico Mineiro score.
However, in the 86th minute, substitute Zhao Xuri grabbed the ball from behind, causing Ronaldinho to fall to the ground.
Zhao Xuri stepped on him with all his strength, and Ronaldinho kicked his leg in retaliation.
Zhao Xuri immediately fell to the ground, and Ronaldinho left the field in red.
This red card has also become the most impressive point of this game. At least Pan Yi remembers it very clearly as a fan in his previous life.
Bayern played a little later in the final against host team Casablanca Raja.
They also easily won with a score of 2:0, thus winning the FIFA Club World Cup!
This championship, coupled with the European Super Cup that they won by defeating Chelsea shortly after the start of the season, and last season's treble, Bayern has also achieved a great feat of winning five crowns!
Compared with the six titles Guardiola won at Barcelona, in fact, they only lost one German Super Cup title.
And this championship happened to be the one Hamburg led by Pan Yi snatched away from them...
…
While Bayern is still competing in the Club World Cup, Hamburg is already on holiday.
The holiday is for a week, allowing the players to go home and spend a wonderful Christmas before returning to training.
Good combination of work and rest!
This is also one of Hamburg's advantages over Bayern this season. There are fewer games and more time for adjustments and rest.
And this holiday, Pan Yi is more leisurely than before.
Because he no longer needs to think about signings!
The current first-team lineup is enough for him to finish the season smoothly.
The locker room is stable, the players cooperate well, and the atmosphere is positive...
With the team like this, what more could I ask for?
The only thing Pan Yi has to worry about is that other teams will come to poach him during the winter window.
The outstanding performance of Hamburg's players in the first half of the season, including last season, makes it almost impossible not to attract the covetousness of other big teams.
For example, Dortmund's Klopp has publicly stated on many occasions that he appreciates Salah's performance and hopes to have the opportunity to work with him in Westphalia.
Klopp's appetite goes beyond that. He also believes that Robertson and Van Dijk on Hamburg's back line are also very suitable for Dortmund.
Bayern Munich's head coach Guardiola's appreciation for De Bruyne is also known to everyone. It is not impossible to send a formal inquiry to Hamburg in this winter window, not to mention that it can also weaken Hamburg and kill two birds with one stone.
Leverkusen has always been interested in Sun Xingmin and Calhanoglu. They have asked for prices several times since the summer window, but they were all rejected.
It's not just the Bundesliga teams that are eyeing Hamburg, the star supermarket.
Claudio Ranieri, the head coach of French Ligue 1 side Monaco, wants the club to make an offer for Vardy and Kante in Hamburg's squad, as the Italian coach believes they can execute his tactics perfectly.
Real Madrid has a strong interest in Carvajal, a young player from their youth training. They hope to repurchase this outstanding right back to replace the aging Alvaro Arbeloa in the team.
By the way, they also want to bring Casemiro to the Bernabeu Stadium, so that he can partner with Modric to form a complementary midfield combination.
Even Changzhou Hengtai of the Dragon Kingdom wanted to risk the disapproval of the world and bring Wu Lei back to the country...
However, Pan Yi believes that the current group of players are willing to follow him and continue to fight.
Now that the team's momentum is so good, there is no reason to give up the opportunity to make a difference here!
After all, they haven't really won a meaningful championship yet!
Of course, if Hamburg is really successful this season, it is really possible that many players will not be retained.
This cannot be blamed on the players' "lack of affection for the club" or anything like that.
Ask yourself, if you work in one company and your salary is 5,000, and if another company hires you, it will double, triple, or even five or ten times, how can you not be tempted?
In the football world, this kind of thing is very common.
It is not unusual for a player to earn 20,000 per week in his original club, and then switch jobs after performing well to earn more than 100,000 per week.
This is not just a matter of money, it is also a reflection of the player's own value and status in football.
Not to mention some players such as Carvajal, who joined the Real Madrid youth training camp at the age of 10. He has been a Madridist since he was a child, and his deepest feelings for Real Madrid are.
His departure from Real Madrid was just a helpless move. He just needed more games to hone himself, and his ultimate goal was to gain Real Madrid's favor.
In this case, as long as Real Madrid waved, he would go back in a hurry. What can you blame him at this time?
It's just that Pan Yi won't think about it for the time being.
When these players disperse, he will also consider going to a place more suitable for him to build a dynasty.
In the new place, he has money and power, and he can also find ways to win over some "loyal veterans" to continue playing for him, just like how he brought the three Milan generals to Hamburg this season.
Currently, what he needs to consider is to train the players better during the winter break and be in better condition to face the more difficult challenges in the second half of the season!
…
A week later, Hamburg began its winter break training camp.
The initial training was still conducted by the physical fitness coach Pintus.
It can be seen from the training during the winter break last season that Pintus has made huge changes to the team, so Pan Yi will feel more confident in delegating power to this little bald old man and let him display his talents - also Just tossing players in different ways.
After all, the situation this season is different from last season.
At that time, Hamburg only had to consider the league, but now it is fighting on the third front! And they are all entering the sprint stage.
Especially in the Champions League, Hamburg is about to face one fierce game after another.
In order to maintain a level of performance in such a fierce competition, sufficient physical reserves are essential.
This period is equivalent to charging the players. As long as there is sufficient power, the standby time can be guaranteed to be longer and the strengths of these "machines" can be better utilized.
Pintus will certainly not live up to Pan Yi's expectations.
He formulated a winter break training plan early on based on the current situation and future consumption of Hamburg players.
But Pan Yi was very relaxed.
He only needs to be responsible for the overall overall arrangements, and the specific tactical training can be left to Nagelsmann and Inzaghi.
After all, Hamburg's overall framework is now very stable. No matter what tactics it plays, the team can handle it with ease, and the players are basically adaptable.
Of course, if Pan Yi insists on finding faults with his team, or if there are any areas that need improvement, he can still sum up some.
For example, in the position of goalkeeper Navas, his reaction ability and goal-line skills are definitely world-class, but his foot skills are indeed lacking, his ability to play the ball is average, and his range of activities is not large enough.
Limited by this, some of Pan Yi's advancement tactics in the backcourt, including the goalkeeper's idea of hitting the opponent behind with a long straight pass, could not be put into practice.
For another example, when changing formations, due to the lack of suitable wing-backs, or the lack of corresponding training for the full-backs, Pan Yi sometimes wanted to try a more aggressive three-back system, but it was difficult to implement it.
But these problems are not bad at the moment, and they will not become the team's weakness or the focus of the opponent's attacks for the time being, so there is no rush to change them.
It’s just that Pan Yi is a person who likes to study and learn and practice all the tactics in the system. He always wants to do it more perfectly.
Of course he won't mess around now. This is the best he can do within the existing player framework.
After all, Hamburg is not a wealthy club, nor is it a wealthy club.
If he went to Munich and told Bayern that he wanted to exchange Navas for Neuer, he would be kicked out by Rummenigge with a broom...
These thoughts, or Pan Yi's desire to seek further self-breakthrough, will be discussed later when there is an opportunity.
…
The winter break is actually very short.
After finishing the first half of the season at the end of December, they will take a week off to start training. In fact, in two or three weeks, the Bundesliga will start again in late January.
Hamburg did not make any moves during this winter break, and other Bundesliga teams are actually similar.
Bayern Munich also did not transfer any players, but loaned Kirchhoff, who was unable to play in the team, to Schalke 04.
Dortmund spent 2.2 million euros to buy Jolic from Partizan Belgrade, and sold Güntel to Turkey's Galatasaray for 2.5 million. There was actually no change in the framework of its main lineup.
Leverkusen has made more moves. They have transferred three players including Brandt, Ryu Seungwoo, and Guardado. Perhaps Hyypia wants to cheer up in the second half of the season.
But in the first game of the second half of the season, Leverkusen suffered a blow.
They lost 2:3 away to Freiburg, which is in the relegation zone!
Dortmund's state is not good either. They drew 2:2 at home with Augsburg.
Bayern took advantage of the new Club World Cup championship and defeated Monchengladbach and Stuttgart in a double match in a week, achieving two consecutive victories (the away game against Stuttgart was a make-up match).
Hamburg's opponent in the 18th round is Schalke 04.
Facing this opponent that they had defeated away from home in the first round, Hamburg played smoothly at the People's Park Stadium and won smoothly with a score of 2:0.
Pan Yi also expressed satisfaction with this result at the post-match press conference.
He believes that after a month of winter break, Hamburg was able to show such a good state in the first game, and he was proud of the performance of the players.
At the same time, he also thanked Pintus and other members of the coaching staff for their help to the team during the winter training period.
Precisely because of the joint efforts of the whole team, Pan Yi believes that Hamburg will be able to continue this winning streak in the second half of the season!
…
In the next two rounds of the Bundesliga, Hamburg did not live up to Pan Yi's expectations.
In the 19th round, Hamburg won Hoffenheim 2:1 in an away game without any danger.
In the 20th round, Hamburg defeated Hertha Berlin 3-0 at home.
Although Bayern Munich also defeated Frankfurt 5-0 and Nuremberg 2-0, Hamburg's performance is so stable now!
Even if they didn't make any mistakes, how could Bayern catch up with Hamburg and knock them off the top spot?
After 20 rounds of the Bundesliga, Hamburg still ranks first with a terrifying unbeaten record of 19 wins, 1 draw and 58 points, while Bayern ranks second with 17 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss and 53 points.
It's appropriate to say "second place", because Bayern's record is honestly very impressive.
In any previous season, they would have been number one! This was true even last season when they were nearly invincible!
During the same period of the 2012-2013 season, Bayern ranked first with 51 points after 20 rounds, while Hamburg ranked second with 44 points.
But unfortunately, this season they encountered an even more awesome burger.
This may also be a reversal of the status of the two teams last season.
Compared with these two teams that are crazy about grabbing points, other teams that originally wanted to compete for the championship can only wait and see.
Leverkusen, with 14 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses, ranked third with 43 points;
Dortmund, with 12 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses, ranked fourth with 39 points;
Schalke 04, ranked fifth with 37 points with 11 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses.
In other words, starting from third place, there is already a 10-point gap from second-place Bayern, let alone 15 points behind Hamburg.
Therefore, this season's Bundesliga championship competition has actually been determined by this point.
Either Hamburg or Bayern, let the other teams compete for the Champions League qualifications!
…
Five days after the 20th round of the Bundesliga, it will be the quarter-finals of the German Cup. Hamburg will face Hoffenheim at home.
This is also another contest between the two teams in a short period of time.
Starting from this game, there is another intensive schedule, which is also a test for Hamburg and Pan Yi.
On February 13th, the German Cup will be played at home against Hoffenheim.
On February 16th, the 21st round of the Bundesliga was an away game against Braunschweig.
The Champions League round of 16 away game against Manchester City on February 20th!
The 22nd round of the Bundesliga will be at home against Dortmund on February 23!
In other words, Hamburg will play four games in 10 days, including tough games against Manchester City and Dortmund.
Among these games, what Pan Yi values the most, and what everyone thinks is the most important, is of course the game against Manchester City.
It is definitely very difficult to play this upstart Premier League team away from home, so Pan Yi must also make a complete plan.
Then, Pan Yi has a rough overall combat idea.
Play with all the main players against Hoffenheim, then rotate the lineup to play Braunschweig, and finally use the best lineup and state to challenge Manchester City!
When we finally play Dortmund, we will make arrangements based on the recent physical condition of the players.
Under such a strategy, Hoffenheim, their opponent in the German Cup, was a bit "unlucky".
Amid the cheers and cheers of tens of thousands of fans at the People's Park Stadium, Hamburg defeated this tough opponent 2:0 with top scorer Vardy's goals in the first and second half and successfully advanced to the semi-finals!
In another German Cup competition, Bayern Munich was unexpectedly eliminated by Kaiserslautern!
This team that once created a miracle of winning the Bundesliga title as a newly promoted team is now only a second-division team, but they also created a miracle in this game!
In the 120-minute game, Kaiserslautern tenaciously tied with Bayern Munich 0:0, and finally defeated the opponent through a penalty shootout and successfully entered the semi-finals.
Although Guardiola rotated many players in the German Cup, after all, he lost to a German second division team, which still made Guardiola a little embarrassed.
In the other two games, the result of Leverkusen 2:3 Wolfsburg was a bit surprising, but it was within a reasonable range.
Frankfurt's 0:1 defeat to Dortmund is understandable.
After the draw of the semi-finals, Pan Yi continued his good luck this season, and Hamburg will play Kaiserslautern in the semi-finals.
The other final spot will be between Wolfsburg and Dortmund.
The semi-finals will be held on April 16.
…
Hamburg have one more Bundesliga game to play before heading to Manchester.
That was the 21st round, away game against Braunschweig.
This game also has a special meaning for Hamburg.
That is, since the away draw with Dortmund in the fifth round, they have won 15 consecutive games!
The previous Bundesliga winning streak record was 15 consecutive wins set by Bayern Munich in 2005!
In other words, if Hamburg can win this game, it will break the record held by Bayern with 16 consecutive victories!
This can be regarded as another counterattack against Bayern breaking the unbeaten record of the old Hamburg in the 1980s.
However, facing a team like Braunschweig that is fighting for relegation and playing away from home, it is actually not easy to play.
And in order to ensure the status of the main players, Pan Yi did not take this record too seriously and still rotated players as planned.
He won't hide his desire to go all out in the Champions League.
Now 5 points ahead of Bayern in the league, Pan Yi's focus will definitely be more on the Champions League.
Of course, the rotation does not mean that Pan Yi does not pay attention to this game.
After all, Hamburg’s current rotation players are also very effective!
The most successful thing Pan Yi has done in Hamburg this season is to establish an orderly rotation system, which not only allows all players to get sufficient game training opportunities, but also allows players to maintain their fighting spirit.
For some of these players, even their playing time is not much different from that of the main players.
For example, Paulinho, Wu Lei, or Mitrovic, they are all generals who can fight when called upon!
In other words, Hamburg currently does not have a very strict main substitute.
For example, Hamburg has played about 30 games this season. Vardy, the main center, has started 18 times, while Mitrovic has started 12 times. The difference between them is not as different as that of other teams. big.
Therefore, when facing Hamburg's rotation lineup, Braunschweig, which was well aware of its lack of strength, put up a three-midfielder formation from the beginning.
Amid the cheers of the home fans, they used an almost butcher-like fighting method to destroy Hamburg's midfield organization.
Through this defensive tactic, Braunschweig's defense at home was impregnable.
The Hamburg players who came on the bench did not play very smoothly. Although they took the initiative in the game, they could never find a good scoring opportunity.
The game lasted until the 80th minute of the second half. After Braunschweig exhausted its energy, Hamburg gradually found a good opportunity to score.
In the 82nd minute, Lin Zhijian passed the ball with his heel, Mitrovic followed up with a low shot and scored, Braunschweig 0:1 Hamburg!
After breaking the deadlock, the Hamburg players' mentality was obviously much more relaxed and their performance on the court was more comfortable.
Less than 5 minutes later, Mitrovic responded with a cannon, and Makoto Hasebe, who was inserted in the back row, scored again with a volley!
In injury time, Wu Lei also scored a goal, but unfortunately it was disallowed for offside.
At the end of the game, Braunschweig 0:2 Hamburg.
With this, Hamburg achieved 16 consecutive victories and officially broke Bayern's winning streak in the Bundesliga!
And every time they win a game after that, they will add one more game to this record...
Hamburg secured the record-breaking three points, while Bayern and Borussia Dortmund also won, both big wins.
Bayern beat Freiburg 4:0!
They also had the task of knocking out the Champions League and also used some rotation players. Shaqiri scored twice, and Pizarro and Dante also scored one goal each.
Dortmund also swept Frankfurt with the same score.
Last season's dark horse Frankfurt seems to have lost its magic this season and has been beaten by Bayern and Dortmund.
Aubameyang also scored twice, Lewandowski also scored a goal, and Joic, who just joined in the winter window, also made a contribution after coming on as a substitute.
Leverkusen lost again!
They lost 1:2 to their direct competitor for Champions League qualification, Schalke 04.
As a result, the competition for tickets to the Champions League next season will become more intense.
Leverkusen has 43 points, Dortmund has 42 points, and Schalke 04 has 40 points, including sixth-placed Wolfsburg with 36 points and seventh-placed Monchengladbach with 34 points. In fact, they all have opportunities.
But for Pan Yi now, these have nothing to do with him.
In other words, Champions League seats and the like can no longer satisfy his appetite.
Hamburg and Bayern still occupy the top two spots in the standings, with Hamburg leading by 5 points and the championship situation has not changed!
Now, Pan Yi can safely set his sights on Manchester...
(End of chapter)
