Note: I'll try to publish next week worth of chapter in this week, as I won't be active from 13th to 22nd or so.
Enjoy ☺️☺️
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In March 2018, the League battles in Germany were still raging. After the recently concluded German Bundesliga round, Hoffenheim did not stop their progress. In the new League round, they once again secured three points, maintaining their strong position of leading the standings tied with German Bundesliga giant Bayern Munich.
At the post-match press conference, the reporters' focus was, as always, on Oliver.
"Oliver, congratulations on scoring again! 24 League goals, 14 Champions League goals, how does it feel to be a dual top scorer?" The flashlights focused on his young face.
Oliver's expression was calm and focused, without much complacency.
"It feels great, but this is not my personal honor; team honor always comes before personal honor. The victory and goals are by no means the work of one person; this is the success of the Coach's tactics, and also the embodiment of the teammates' excellent cooperation time and time again. All I'm thinking about now is the next match; I'm really looking forward to our next Champions League opponent."
Nagelsmann, sitting beside him, saw his protégé answering questions more and more skillfully, and he felt even happier. This kid has really grown a lot, from being awkward with reporters at first to now being able to deal with them.
However, the spotlight of the football world will not only focus on data and victories. A few days later, on March 16, 2018, at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Eight European teams, who had fought their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, were about to find out their next hurdle on the way to the Champions League pinnacle.
Tonight, in the Hoffenheim club meeting room. Coach Julian Nagelsmann, the first-team players, and the club's senior management were all gathered, with the live broadcast of the Champions League quarter-final draw ceremony playing on the big screen. Oliver was as nervous as everyone else. Today, he uncharacteristically skipped his usual extra training and arrived at the meeting room early, all to be in the best state to face the upcoming "judgment." The draw began, and one by one, small balls were taken out, forming the match-ups.
When Marchetti's hand reached into the last pot containing the "non-seeded teams". Nagelsmann held his breath, his assistant Coach behind him unconsciously poked his notebook with his pen, and Chairman Hopp also nervously clenched his fists.
"Hoffenheim..." Marchetti clearly read out the name.
Then their opponent will be... "Manchester City!"
This time, Lady Luck did not favor the brave challenger from the small village. They drew what was theoretically the toughest opponent in the quarter-finals, Premier League leaders Manchester City, led by Guardiola!
"Hiss..." A collective gasp of cold air instantly filled the meeting room.
This was followed by suppressed sighs and disbelieving whispers.
"Manchester City?! Oh my goodness..." Chairman Hopp was shocked by the draw result.
"Oh my goodness..." Gnabry said, frowning.
"Such bad luck..."
"It's actually Manchester City..." Maguire, sitting in the back row, also couldn't help but gasp.
Others might not know Manchester City well, but Maguire certainly did. Before being loaned to Hoffenheim, Leicester City had already been thrashed by Manchester City in the Premier League. In the meeting room, every face at Hoffenheim was filled with solemnity and undisguised bitterness. Oliver quietly took a breath, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, then he quickly regained his composure.
He looked around, clearly feeling the pressure spreading. Manchester City, they were one of the few teams that all clubs in the draw pool wanted to avoid. At this time, Manchester City in the 2017-2018 season was performing a nearly terrifying display of dominance in the Premier League. Since Guardiola took over at the Etihad in the 2016/17 season, the team had embarked on a path of transformative evolution. Although they failed to win the title in the 16-17 season, only finishing third, Guardiola's Manchester City's fluid, precise, and pressing Tiki-Taka tactical prototype had already struck fear into the entire Premier League, and everyone saw the makings of a champion.
And this season, the storm intensified, turning into a true sweep. By March of this year, Manchester City had already pulled ahead of their cross-town rivals Manchester United by more than double-digit points, leaving them far behind. The Premier League title was almost certainly in their grasp. They crushed opponents with suffocating passing and control football, scoring profusely and conceding very few goals.
Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva, Sterling, Aguero...
This central axis and attacking line, composed of top stars and perfectly integrated into Guardiola's tactical system, was enough to make any opponent tremble. Amidst the discussions in European football, Hoffenheim, this Champions League dark horse, encountering the Premier League's quasi-dominant force, undoubtedly became one of the most dramatic and anticipated top clashes of the quarter-finals. As the draw results settled, the air in the meeting room almost solidified for a few seconds.
Nagelsmann rested his chin on one hand, his brows tightly furrowed, making it impossible to tell if his expression was one of worry or if some fighting spirit had been ignited. He said nothing, only nodded slightly at the screen, then was the first to stand up and say in a deep voice: "Alright, lads, the results are out, everyone can go back and rest, we have a new goal now, meeting adjourned."
Nagelsmann didn't state what that goal was, but everyone present understood perfectly, and they all left with low spirits. And for Manchester City, they were equally unoptimistic. Guardiola also watched the draw ceremony with his coaching staff. When "Hoffenheim VS Manchester City" appeared on the screen, the Spanish Coach also lost his usual cheerful demeanor, instead looking solemn, even slightly troubled. Guardiola did not, like some optimistic Manchester City fans, feel that drawing Hoffenheim was a "dream draw." On the contrary, Guardiola never underestimated any team that made it to the Champions League quarter-finals based on their reputation or history, especially Hoffenheim coached by Nagelsmann.
In Guardiola's eyes, this team from a small German village was by no means an easy target. Nagelsmann's talent and tactical innovation were not hidden from a tactical master like Guardiola. Hoffenheim's performance in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season, rather than being a miracle of a dark horse, was the inevitable result of precise tactical drive and strong team belief. Their playing style was flexible and varied, combining German efficiency and attacking power with subtle short passing and off-ball movement, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
Nagelsmann, though young, possessed a master-like tactical acuity and ability to make in-game adjustments. What troubled Guardiola even more was the super rookie in the Hoffenheim squad, Oliver, whose terrifying efficiency could even, to some extent, determine the outcome of a match. This 17-year-old possessed a calmness and maturity beyond his age, world-class positioning, world-class vision, top-tier shooting, and frequently shone in important matches. He had even specifically studied Oliver's positioning, shot selection, and ball progression, and even had his players imitate his ball handling under high-intensity pressure.
The more he studied, the more Guardiola felt that Nagelsmann was extraordinary. A young Coach who could integrate the entire team's potential to its fullest, coupled with his talented protégé. The Hoffenheim master-apprentice duo, along with the rest of the Hoffenheim youth army, made Guardiola feel real pressure.
Guardiola rubbed his bald head, deep in thought with a frown. Just a few hours after the draw, reports and analyses of this clash were already flying like snowflakes across global media and online platforms. BBC described the clash as "a collision of passing art and youth storm"; Kicker magazine called it "a new dimension challenge for the Bundesliga dark horse against the Premier League's quasi-giant"; The Guardian even ran an intriguing headline: "Guardiola VS Youthful Guardiola?"
...
Once the draw day passed.
Time seemed to hit fast-forward, entering a wartime state the moment the draw results were finalized. It was already midnight. Nagelsmann's desk was already piled high with video clips and analysis reports of Manchester City's last ten matches. The coffee cup, originally placed to the side, had been moved to a closer, more convenient position. Besides Nagelsmann, all other Hoffenheim coaching staff members, video analysts, scouts, and so on, were present in the office, not one missing. They were discussing everything about Manchester City.
"The starting point of their high press is concentrated on Fernandinho and the two center-backs dropping deep..."
"Attacks through the half-spaces are their lifeline, Sterling, Sane those guys do some insane pressing."
"De Bruyne's vision and long-range passing..."
"Ohhhh, Kevin de Bruyne... Ohhh-"
"Shut up!"
"There are set-piece defensive vulnerabilities, but very few..."
Amidst the discussion, Nagelsmann drank coffee sip after sip, his eyes bloodshot but exceptionally bright. Guardiola's tactical system and player configuration brought unprecedented immense pressure to this young Coach, who was only 30 years old. This pressure didn't just come from the talent gap between players, but from the suffocating high precision and intensity of tactical execution.
Manchester City's matches gave one a feeling that: They seemed to maintain a unified mindset and high level of focus at every moment within 90 minutes, dragging opponents into their pre-set rhythm.
Nagelsmann understood that his team relied on a youth storm, unimaginable team cohesion, and a highly flexible tactic executed to its extreme. Facing Manchester City, which was like a precise machine, how to find the key connection points of the gears before the machine started running, and how to make it "jam," became the core problem furiously spinning in his mind. He constantly overturned and rebuilt possible countermeasures on the tactics board, simulating various details of attack and defense transitions.
Although Nagelsmann's dark circles grew heavier, his eyes became even more fervent. Guardiola, the idol he admired, was now his opponent.
...
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away in Manchester, at the Coach's office of the Etihad training base, the lights also burned brightly through the night. Guardiola did not show the slightest contempt for Hoffenheim just because they were a small club. On the contrary, he gave this team and its Coach unprecedented attention.
In the office, Manchester City's coaching staff were also busy, with key video clips of Hoffenheim eliminating Porto playing on the screen. As well as their highlights from the Bundesliga, especially replays of Oliver's goals.
"Look at this kid's positioning, Mikel," Guardiola said to his assistant Arteta, pointing at Oliver's agile figure moving through the screen.
Arteta took notes beside Guardiola.
"Do you see? He's as pervasive as mercury. His explosiveness, balance, and final touch in front of goal are extremely rare for this age group- no, even for any age group. He has the nose and composure of a top striker." Guardiola paused, then pointed to a segment of Hoffenheim's overall pressing on the screen,
"And the team built by this young man, their counter-pressing is very organized, not relying on brute force, very layered. Their formation changes are very flexible."
Guardiola's face did not show the usual relaxed expression when facing weaker opponents; instead, it held a rare seriousness and a hint of worry.
"Hoffenheim gives me a feeling, well... a bit like- uh- like a second Bayern."
This evaluation made Arteta slightly stunned.
"Look closely, Mikel, in Nagelsmann's attacking philosophy, that obsession with space utilization, the emphasis on wide play and half-space combinations, the interchangeability of player positions. Is there a shadow of Klopp's passionate counter-attacking? Mourinho's defensive organization? Simeone's toughness? No, most importantly, he has a very clear space-based attacking organization logic- very much like the Bayern we once faced. But they are younger than Bayern, more energetic, without the psychological burden of 'we are a big club.' They are very dangerous."
In Guardiola's view, Hoffenheim had not come this far simply because of a super rookie like Oliver. Nagelsmann's displayed tactical imagination and execution made this veteran Coach, who had seen countless talented coaches, feel amazed and a touch of caution. This dark horse team had clear ideas and strong team execution, like an exceptionally sharp dagger, capable of finding those tiny gaps even against heavy armor. He also locked himself in his office, repeatedly studying Hoffenheim's tactics board, simulating how to counter their high-speed transitions, how to limit the ubiquitous #17 Oliver, and how to break down their seemingly varied yet disciplined defensive formation. He even called some friends in the Bundesliga, trying to gather more information about Nagelsmann's training details and in-game coaching habits.
Guardiola respected Nagelsmann and admired his talent. But precisely because of that respect, he had to use his richer experience and stronger resources to suppress this flash of genius. Two teams: one a world-renowned Coach who has achieved great success but continues to push himself, the other a rising young Coach leading a youth storm; One a quasi-giant aiming to conquer Europe and establishing a dynasty in the Premier League, the other a Bundesliga dark horse dreaming of making history and longing to continue its fairy tale.
Guardiola is obsessively meticulous about tactical details, while Nagelsmann excels at maximizing combat power by integrating limited resources. The war between Hoffenheim and Manchester City has already begun in the tactical meeting rooms.
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