Hoffenheim "hoffenheim" is composed of two German words, "hoffen" means "hope" (verb), while "heim" means "home" (noun).

When practicing, it is "Hometown of Hope".

And today, in this small village, Hoffenheim Club welcomes someone who is said to bring them more hope.

This is not the first time Chu Zhongtian has come to Hoffenheim, so when he saw the sign at the door, he smiled knowingly.

"If the dog rushes out, please lie on the ground and wait for rescue. If no one comes, then I can only wish you good luck!"

It's really nostalgic. The first time I saw it was two years ago in 2006, when he and Metz came here to compete. The day before the game, he and his teammates came out to visit Hoffenheim.

At that time, Ribery complained by his side that this place was a village, and he still hoped that there would be more big cities. As long as he played football at Metz, he would definitely race against the horses in Paris as long as he had a holiday. He really liked big cities.

On the other side, Ibisevich felt that there was nothing wrong with the small village, but it was small and quiet. He liked quiet places.

The past has come to my mind. Now he and these two are separated. Ribery is in Bayern Munich, and Ibisevic is still in Metz. He has arrived in this small village with one-time relationship.

At that time, he would never have thought that he would transfer to join this team one day.

Fate is really a wonderful thing.

Rangnick, who followed Chu Zhongtian to get off the car from the other side, found Chu Zhongtian standing at the entrance of the club department, but looked at a sign on the side of the road and was stunning.

"What's wrong, Chu?" he asked.

Chu Zhongtian withdrew his gaze and shook his head with a smile: "It's nothing, I suddenly remembered something."

"I know you came here with the team two years ago and played a warm-up match..."

"Yes, I didn't expect that I would join Hoffenheim at that time."

Rangnick smiled and patted his shoulder: "Let's go, everyone is waiting for you."

※※※The people Rangnick mentioned are not the media or his new teammate, but the team doctor and the chairman of the club.

On June 20, when the European Cup was in full swing, Chu Zhongtian handled all the things at Metz, said goodbye to his friends who should say goodbye, notified his teammates, and called Metz coach Jean Fernandez, who was on vacation, for his help and training for him in the past four seasons.

After doing all this, he came to Hoffenheim today by plane, train, car and other means of transportation.

He will have a physical examination here and if he passes the test, he will sign a four-year contract with the club.

This contract has increased his weekly salary to 60,000 euros, and his annual salary after tax is 3.12 million euros. Among Hoffenheim's existing player contracts, this is the highest weekly salary in the team.

Although some players are discussing new contracts with the team after the team is upgraded, it is estimated that no one can surpass Chu Zhongtian's contract.

In order to attract Chu Zhongtian to play for the team, Hoffenheim spared no effort.

The transfer fee of 30 million euros is currently the highest value in the Bundesliga this summer. Maybe he will become the "marker" of the Bundesliga this season!

"China's Mark King"! Chinese media who followed Chu Zhongtian from Ligue 1 to the Bundesliga have also had good hype materials. Now they all have - "The most expensive player in the history of Chinese professional football!" "The highest-priced player in Asia was born!"

Previously, the highest transfer fee for Chinese players was created by Dong Fangzhuo. He transferred to Manchester United for 3.5 million pounds, which also ranked third in the Asian player transfer fee ranking. It turns out that the highest transfer fee record for Asian players belongs to retired Japanese star Hidesu Nakada. After helping the team win the 2000-01 Serie A championship in Rome, he transferred to Parma for 18.6 million pounds. This transfer fee record has not been broken yet.

The second-ranked Korean star Park Ji-sung, who transferred to Manchester United for £4 million in July 2005. He won the Premier League championship with Manchester United. This season, he also won the UEFA Champions League trophy with Manchester United and became the most successful Asian overseas player.

Now Chu Zhongtian has broken the Asian transfer fee record that Nakada Hideho has maintained for seven years with a net worth of 24 million pounds. The next goal that Chinese media has found for Chu Zhongtian is to break Park Ji-sung's honor record at Manchester United. But looking at the team Chu Zhongtian joins... the media feels very discouraged. It seems that if Chu Zhongtian wants to win the Champions League, there is only one transfer again. Maybe Hoffenheim is just a springboard, and Chu Zhongtian's next stop is Bayern?

The discussion on this matter is even more intense on the Internet in China. After everyone accepted Chu Zhongtian's transfer to Hoffenheim for 30 million euros, they began to criticize the Chinese Football Association.

The masses said that a player with a net worth of money could rank among the top ten in the world and the number one in Asia could not be selected for the national Olympic team. This is simply the biggest scandal in the history of Chinese football! It is also a great regret that Chu Zhongtian did not participate in the Beijing Olympics.

Some people in the Football Association were indeed shocked by this value, but the people led by Xie Yalong had already made the decision not to let Chu Zhongtian participate in the Olympics. How could they bow their heads and admit their mistakes? Fortunately, in the "fight" with fans and media over the years, they have long mastered the skill of inserting their heads into the sand and sticking their butts out, and turned a blind eye to things outside the window, "I close my eyes and it will be dark." No matter how winds are in the east, west, south and north, I will not move... Besides, their biggest reliance is naturally the Olympic achievements. As long as the national Olympic team plays a score that satisfies the Chinese people and the leaders in the Olympics, Chu Zhongtian is not a problem at all. At that time, the whole of China will praise them, and no one will disgust them with "Chu Zhongtian".

Just like the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, all Brazil shouted that Scolari had summoned Romario. Scolari just refused to listen and became a public enemy of the whole people and was scolded by hundreds of millions of people. What happened? His Brazilian team lost Romario and won the World Cup championship. He transformed from a public enemy of the whole people to a national hero. No one mentioned any disgusting things like "Why not recruit Romario to join the team".

The Football Association believes that they will be like this. As long as they play well in the Olympics, they may become a contribution if they don’t attract Chu Zhongtian. Chu Zhongtian, don’t you agree with us? Let’s take a good Olympics result and keep your arrogance down to see if you agree in the future!

Well, it's too far... Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. The record 30 million euro transfer fee is actually a sharp double-edged sword. Because high value also means high pressure. Since you have made the club spend so much money, the media and fans will stare at you every day, put every game of yours in a magnifying glass and observe and study repeatedly to see if you are really worth the 30 million euros. As long as you have one or two games, you may face fierce criticism from the media and fans.

So far, the highest value of the Bundesliga this season, the highest annual salary in the team... These are both a shining halo for Chu Zhongtian and the terrifying sword of Damocles.

He must use his continuous and stable performance in the new team to prove that Hoffenheim's 30 million spending is not unfair and prove that he is worth the money.

This is a big challenge. However, Chu Zhongtian himself likes challenges the most.

When Chu Zhongtian was undergoing a physical examination, except for their own official website, the club did not invite a media reporter. Just when it was reported that Chu Zhongtian was sure to join Hoffenheim, a German media came to ask the club's chairman Mr. Hope, and asked him if he was introducing Chu Zhongtian for the Chinese market.

Hope's answer was straightforward: "Hoffenheim will not buy players just because he opens up the market in some place. We spend money on Chu Zhongtian because we are optimistic about him. Rangnick believes that he has the potential to become the second Summer..."

The German media interviewing Hope were stunned for a moment.

The second Summer? That Summer?

Seeing the doubt in their eyes, Hope explained: "It's Matthias Summer."

So the German media was in a mess.

As long as you are a German footballer, you must know what the name "Mathias Summer" represents. The former "Caesar II" was the successor appointed by Beckenbauer, a big shot who led Dortmund and the German team to win the championships in the Champions League and the European Cup.

Now Hope actually said that a Chinese player has the potential to become the second Summer? Isn’t the second Summer the third Beckenbauer?

He didn't have a fever, right? Rangnick's mind is still clear, right?

The German media naturally did not believe it, and Hope did not explain it much. In fact, Hope himself didn't know what to explain. He was not sure whether Chu Zhongtian was as powerful as Rangnick. But he believed Rangnick. Since it was Rangnick's words, he would just repost it.

In his heart, he felt that Chu Zhongtian could only perform like he did at Metz. As for the second Summer and the third Beckenbauer, the words... it was just a gimmick... Hope and Rangnick were waiting outside the room at this moment, waiting for Chu Zhongtian's physical examination report to come out.

The door opened, and the team's team doctor Dr. Pieter Beks (pieter_beks) and Chu Zhongtian walked out one after another.

He nodded to Rangnick and Hope: "Very perfect. His physical indicators are normal and better than I imagined."

Hearing this sentence, Hope smiled. Rangnick also cast a praise look at Chu Zhongtian.

With his understanding of Chu Zhongtian, he naturally knew that Chu Zhongtian was not a problem in terms of physical fitness.

"He had a strain on his left leg muscle in the League Cup final and his right forearm also broke. But now he can't see it and he's completely cured."

Since there is no problem with the physical examination, what are you waiting for?

Chu Zhongtian followed Hope and Rangnick to sign the contract.

With the contract, he took a look. If his own decision continues, he will be a Hoffenheim player at least in the next four years.

Do you regret it?

This question is really meaningless.

I have never regretted it since I made this decision.

Chu Zhongtian wrote down and signed his name on the contract.

After signing, club owner Hope took the lead in reaching out to him: "I'm glad you can finally choose Hoffenheim, boy."

"Thank you, Mr. Hope." Chu Zhongtian replied in German. He still respects the old man in front of him. After learning about Hoffenheim's history, he could not miss the richest man in Germany. Hoffenheim's ability to be today is inseparable from this gray-haired old man. If it weren't for his 20-year investment to support Hoffenheim, rebuild the team's hardware facilities, improve the youth training camp for the team, set up women's football team, and build the best high-tech clinic in Germany...

Without his enthusiasm for football and his hometown team, Hoffenheim would never appear in the Bundesliga, and Chu Zhongtian would not choose to join Hoffenheim. It is precisely because he learned that Mr. Hope is a club owner who loves football and knows football that he can join with confidence. Because he believes that here, he will not worry about facing a large number of different teammates every year. If the team wants to achieve results, a stable environment is needed. Hoffenheim has these, but it lacks a real core. So now he is here.

"I believe this club will have a bright future, so I'll come here," he told Mr. Hope.

Dietma Hope nodded, very satisfied with Chu Zhongtian's reply. "You are right, young man. We do have a bright future here. Come on, do it well! I believe in Ralph's (Rangnick)'s vision, and I also believe in your ability. We have followed you and observed you for two whole seasons. Don't let Hoffenheim fans down, young man."

Chu Zhongtian replied: "I will not disappoint Hoffenheim, Mr. Hope."

Hope stepped aside with satisfaction, and then Rangnik came up. Although he and Chu Zhongtian had known each other for a long time, he still stretched out his hand to Chu Zhongtian: "Hoffenheim welcomes you, Chu! You made the right choice!"

※※Although the contract has been signed, it will take until July 1st to officially join. Rangnick has told Chu Zhongtian that on July 1st, the team will hold a welcome ceremony for him on the stadium. After all, he is also the club's highest investment so far this summer, and it is probably the highest investment for the entire season. It is also the right to arrange a welcome ceremony.

Chu Zhongtian did not leave after signing the contract, but was busy moving, buying a car, and learning a driver's license. He planned to use these days to learn how to drive a car, strive to get a driver's license earlier, and then buy a car, so that it would be very convenient for him to go anywhere.

Because he finally confirmed that the place where he lived was Sinsheim, and it was still a bit far from Hoffenheim, so if he didn't have a car, it would be more troublesome to go to train.

All the wines he had delivered from Metz arrived. He carefully unboxed and checked them to make sure that each bottle of wine was intact, and then he paid.

He attaches great importance to these bottles, so he specially invested in high insurance. But he still doesn't want any damage to these bottles during transportation. These are not something that can't be bought for much money, and they are related to his honor and memories.

His home in Sinsheim has been packed and the wine cabinet has been bought in advance, just putting the wine in it.

At present, this house is rented, but it is just a temporary place to settle down. Chu Zhongtian still has to take time to buy a house.

He handled all these things by himself. Anyway, he knew German, so it would be no problem to communicate. If you buy a map and carry a bag, you would run around, look at the house and buy furniture.

Time flies very quickly, June is fleeting, and July 1st is in the blink of an eye.

The day he met with Hoffenheim fans for the first time has come.

Previously, Rangnick told him that the club had arranged the most grand welcome ceremony for him, so Chu Zhongtian was still looking forward to it.

As a result, when I arrived at the scene, more than a thousand fans sat in the team's original home court, Dietmar_hopp_stadion, waiting for him.

These people are not as many fans as he met when he played in Wimbledon...the media has come a lot, but except for a few representative media in Germany, most of them are from China, or to be precise, they are transferred from France to themselves.

In fact, if Rangnick didn't say that this was a grand welcome ceremony, he might not have felt the feeling of loss now. Because what he had not expected before was all the words of Rangnick that made him suddenly look forward to it.

Rangnick seemed to notice Chu Zhongtian's emotions. Before he appeared, he pointed outside and said: "Hoffenheim has only 3,000 people in total, but more than half of them are our members. Usually, the attendance rate of this stadium is as high as 94.9%. Of course, compared with those big Bundesliga teams, we have too few fans, but our supporters will gradually increase, when we achieve good results in the Bundesliga."

After being told through his worries, Chu Zhongtian smiled embarrassedly.

But he believed in Rangnick's words - as long as the team's performance is good, there will naturally be more fans. This is an eternal truth.

This made him feel that playing football at Hoffenheim would be more fulfilling. It not only made the team's performance better and better, but also made the team's fame more and more fans who like the team... This is Chu Zhongtian's idea, but in fact, there are other reasons behind only 1,500 people this time.

Chu Zhongtian's arrival caused a "split" for Hoffenheim fans. Some people welcomed a star who had won the UEFA Cup championship to join the team, believing that Chu Zhongtian's joining will help improve the team's strength and help them gain a foothold in the Bundesliga. Others made a frustrated voice for Salihovic. It was clearly Salihovic's outstanding performance in the first two seasons that allowed the team to successfully advance to the first level. Rangnick said more than once that Salihovic had the Bundesliga level. Why did he turn against others just now and buy Chu Zhongtian to replace Salihovic?

In the past season, local media have been advocating that Hoffenheim has the ability to play directly in the Bundesliga. So who else can we buy? Don’t buy 30 million if you want to buy people... Who knows if he is really worth the price? 30 million is not three million. If the one you buy is a parallel product, who will be responsible?
To be continued...