The only source of light in the dim video projection room came from the big screen in front. The heavy curtains were tightly shut, making the room look like it was night time. Tang En could not understand the German that kept ringing out in the room, but that was not important. He only needed to fill in the blanks in his head to know what the commentator was talking about. More importantly, he could hear a single word repeatedly popping out of the German that kept popping out.
"Ibišević!"
Every time the commentator shouted this person's name, a goal would be born on the screen.
Sometimes the commentator did not shout it that way. They would shout, "Super Ibi!"
But no matter what the tall player on the screen was called, he was always scoring goals.
He shot with great force, he leaped up to head the ball, he leaned on the opposing defender and turned to shoot …
"Although just by looking at the highlights, any player can become a powerful character like Pele and Maradona. But at least we can know what the other person's strength is. He's very good at scoring goals. "After the video was finished, the screen went dark, and the room fell into darkness. Tang En spoke in the darkness. "Also, can I ask, is there no one sitting next to the switch?"
"Just the three of us. Tony, Dunn and I are still by your side." Kerslake's voice rang out in the darkness. "Also, the data shows that his assists are also very good."
"Alright, I'll go …" Tang En had just stood up when he knocked over the chair next to him. He let out a yelp and then cursed, "Damn chair!"
Dunn thoughtfully took out his phone to light up the room, but the light was too weak.
Tang En did not fumble around. He directly stretched out his leg and kicked over everything in front of him. Amidst the clattering sounds, he walked to the switch and turned on the lights in the room. The snow-white light shone down, causing the three people present to squint their eyes.
The room was a mess. A few chairs lay in disorder in the room.
Only then did Tang En lift them up and put them back in place.
"Back to the topic just now. What do you think of this person? "
Dunn did not utter a word. Kerslake shook his head and said, "We watched the video of him a season ago. His performance that season was miraculous. But Tony, the Bundesliga often produces these 'commoner strikers' who can only make it big for a season. Look at his performance last season. It's like he's a different person from the video. I'm not optimistic about him. "
Tang En did not express his opinion. He just looked at Dunn.
"It's a risk, Tony." Dunn's words were simple, but he did not explicitly object. To be honest, he couldn't make up his mind.
Twain nodded. "I can understand your concerns. In the 2008-09 season, he scored 37 goals and almost broke Gerd Muller's record of 40 goals in a single season. It was absolutely a miraculous performance. Just based on that season's performance, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to buy him even if we offered 30 million. But his performance in the 09-10 season was completely incomprehensible. He only scored ten goals in a season … It was a far cry from his performance last season. "
"If you already know, why do we still need to watch his video?" Kerslake asked.
"Because I don't think this man's success is accidental. On the contrary, his strange performance last season was accidental." Tang En laughed. "I like the story behind him. I like his character. I think his success is definitely not due to luck. There are many reasons for his poor performance last season. First, the tactics that Rangnick designed for Hoffenheim have been thoroughly studied by the Bundesliga teams. Hoffenheim is not a newly promoted team, but a Champions League team. Naturally, no one will underestimate them. Second, as the Bundesliga's top striker and Europe's top striker in the 08-09 season, Ibišević was heavily marked by his opponents, which somewhat limited his performance. Third, the multi-tournament campaign made Hoffenheim's entire team tired and in poor form, which affected Ibišević's goal tally. Fourth, injuries. He suffered an injury last season. After resting for two months, he could no longer find his form. It's a little strange to say, but it's understandable. Things like form are not something we can completely grasp. So, I think the sharp decline in his goal tally last season has nothing to do with his personal ability. Do you want to hear why I'm optimistic about him? "
Kerslake nodded.
"Psychology." Twain retracted the three fingers he had just put up, leaving only one. "Why do I say his success is not accidental? Look at his experience playing in the lower leagues and being a substitute. Those are valuable assets for a striker. He has a good mentality and has never given up on his efforts as a good killer. This is important. Bayern Munich's leading striker, Luca Toni, also had a hard time before he became famous in Fiorentina, but he finally broke out. I believe Ibišević can become the second Luca Toni. It's just that he needs a wider stage. Hoffenheim is no longer suitable for him. No matter how rich that boss is, he can't be richer than the United Arab Emirates royal family. Manchester City has spent so much money, and Hoffenheim has not won any championships. I think Nottingham Forest is a brand new big stage suitable for him to play to the fullest. "
"In addition, thanks to his terrible performance last season, it shouldn't cost us too much money to make a move now. And as a Bosnian who has lived in the United States, he also speaks fluent English. There are no language problems when he comes to the United Kingdom to play. This will help him integrate better and faster with the team. The striker most needs to adapt to the team's style as soon as possible. This is good for him and for us. "
Kerslake looked at Twain. "Actually, you've already made up your mind, haven't you?"
Twain laughed. "Don't say that, David. I have to listen to your opinions. "
"You've said everything that needs to be said. What other opinions can we have? Right, Dunn? "Kerslake turned to ask Dunn, who was sitting next to him.
"Toni believes a player's psychological quality determines his achievements," Dunn replied. "I have reservations about that. But as an assistant manager, I support the manager's work. "
Twain clapped his hands. "Then it's settled! Tomorrow, let's get our people to sound out Hoffenheim! "
※ ※ ※
The small village of Hoffenheim, with a floating population of only 3,300 people, belonged to the city of Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. But in fact, Sinsheim was not a big city. Although it was a city, it was not much different from a "town." After the train passed Sinsheim station, it was a monorail. It was a veritable small station.
But it was such an inconspicuous little place that set off a whirlwind in the Bundesliga and European football in the 08-09 season. They finished second in the league as a newly promoted team and as the first team to participate in the Bundesliga in history. The team's top scorer, Vedad Ibišević, became the Bundesliga's top scorer that season and was honored with the European Golden Boot.
It was a crazy season. After the season ended, all the players in the Hoffenheim team attracted the attention of teams in Germany and Europe.
But the club's owner, Dietmar Hopp, the owner of the European software giant "SAP," was ambitious and did not lack money. So, not only did he not sell a single player, he also brought in a number of players to replenish the team's strength, ready to show off in the new season's European arena.
Unfortunately, a football was round …
The team's results in the new season's two-front competition were all disastrous.
The Golden Boot Ibišević, who performed well last season, also seemed to have lost his shooting boot overnight. He only scored ten goals in the league tournament and only scored three goals in the UEFA Champions League, which was far from what everyone expected of him.
Even the team's manager, Rangnick, could not figure out why he could score thirty-seven goals in a season and only ten goals in a season. This matter is the same as when he only scored five goals in a season in 2. Bundesliga. I can't figure it out. "
Not to mention him, Ibišević himself did not understand. He thought he had made great progress compared to before. At least after a successful debut season in the Bundesliga, his confidence had been greatly strengthened and consolidated. In terms of technique, there was absolutely no such thing as a regression. So what exactly caused him to suddenly lose his composure?
Perhaps this would become a famous unsolved mystery in German football …
※ ※ ※
It only took ten minutes to drive from Sinsheim to Hoffenheim. The distance between the two was really short.
After Vedad Ibišević drove his beloved car into Hoffenheim, he was often greeted by oncoming Hoffenheim villagers. It was a quiet little village … even if the people here had experienced the first UEFA Champions League trip in history last season.
But Ibišević was not in the mood to greet the fans who liked him one by one. He had his own troubles.
Just before he drove to the Dietmar Hoppe Stadium for training, he received a call from his agency, Stars & Friends.
The agency asked him on the phone if he was interested in changing clubs to play football.
He received a lot of such calls last summer. Manchester United, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Barcelona … The European powerhouses came almost everywhere with one purpose — to take him away from the small village of Hoffenheim.
At the time, he still had a one-year contract with the club, but he refused all of them and chose to renew his contract with the club until 2013. He was successful and happy in Hoffenheim. He could not think of a reason to leave. Was it just because Hoffenheim was a little small? But I like the quiet life in the countryside. Sinsheim can sell all the daily necessities I need, and I don't think the big city has any advantage over Sinsheim.
But a year later, I don't know if he will regret the choice he made at the time.
He did not see what he wanted to see in the new season. His form and the team's form were declining. Hoffenheim's great plan did not develop smoothly, and Hoppe's ambitions were thwarted. He was also labeled as "the most dazzling shooting star in the history of the Bundesliga."
The powerhouse teams that had been interested in him all withdrew without exception. The number of scouts who appeared in the stands at the Rhein-Neckar Stadium decreased day by day. Everyone shook their heads and sighed that he was another Mintal — "scoring a lifetime's worth of goals in one season."
The biggest problem was not that he scored fewer goals, but that he did not know why it was like this.
Before the injury, there was nothing wrong with his body. The team's routine physical examination before the start of the season made the team doctors click their tongues and exclaim that he was as strong as a bull.
In the middle of the season, the German media reported that Ibišević was mentally unbalanced — he wanted the team's top salary and related treatment, and some off-field scandals also interfered with his normal training. He scoffed at it. In this world, only he knew what his mentality was like. He never relaxed his requirements for himself because of the success of the previous season. Because the years of drifting in the European lower-level leagues had made him understand one thing: there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. One euro of success required an investment of ten thousand euros.
Perhaps the injury could explain some of the reasons? But it was not an injury serious enough to threaten his career. No professional player did not suffer an injury during their playing career. If an injury would completely sink, then he was not suitable to be a professional player. Ibišević did not think he was that kind of person.
After recovering from the injury, he still gave himself an extra half an hour of shooting practice after training every day. He had no complaints about the arrangement of the manager, Rangnick. But he and Rangnick were caught in an inexplicable crisis — at the end of that season, he was no longer the "Super Ibi" who made the Bundesliga powerhouses tremble with fear. More often than not, he just wandered between wasting opportunities and looking for opportunities. The team lost the qualification for the UEFA Europa League, and there were rumors that Rangnick would be fired early by Hoppe in the middle of the season.
Another summer came, and the transfer market was in full swing. Ibišević, who made the whole of Europe crazy last summer, was suddenly "left out in front of the goal". There were still teams interested in him, but they were some second-rate teams. It was better to stay at Hoffenheim and find a chance to prove himself again than to go to such a team.
But today, the agent's company mentioned a completely different name on the phone — Nottingham Forest.
He knew that team. The history of the late 1970s and early 1980s was too far away for him, but in the summer of 2007 and 2008, the red team had won the UEFA Champions League two years in a row and became the first team to successfully defend the title after the restructuring of the Champions League. At that time, it was world famous and in the limelight for a while. At that time, Hoffenheim was still working hard in the Bundesliga 3 and 2 to play in the First Division. The club's general manager, Mr. Rotthaus, always used Tony Twain's team to motivate the young blue and white team — "One day, we will also become a team like Nottingham Forest! This is by no means an unachievable dream! "
They had almost succeeded …
Later, with the sudden heart attack of the manager, Tony Twain, the team that was famous for creating miracles suddenly lost its miraculous halo and even lost the chance to participate in the European competition. It was not until the final stage of the last season that they narrowly squeezed out Chelsea and qualified for the next season's UEFA Champions League.
At the time, he just felt that the team was very similar to his own experience, but he did not think he would receive an invitation from Nottingham Forest.
He told the agent that he had to think about it seriously. Now, he would not say with confidence, "I just want to fulfill the contract with the current club."
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