738 Super Ibi’s Troubles (2/2)

Including the transient population, the small village of Hoffenheim only had 3,300 people and belonged to the German city of Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg. Sinsheim was not considered a big city. Albeit labeled as a city, it was more like a town. The train that passed through Sinsheim station was a single track, which made it a veritable small station.

Yet, such a humble little place caused a whirlwind in Bundesliga and European football in the 2008-09 season. They did well and ended up the runner-up in the league tournament as a newly promoted team, as well as made their first ever appearance in Bundesliga. The team's top striker, Vedad Ibišević, became Bundesliga's top striker that season and was awarded the European Golden Shoe.

It was truly a crazy season. At the end of the season, all of the Hoffenheim players had attracted looting by teams in Germany and Europe.

The owner of the club and European software giant, SAP, Dietmar Hopp was ambitious and had money. Not only did he not sell a single player, he also signed a number of well-known players to supplement the team's strength and prepared them to play in the new season in the Europe arena.

Unfortunately, a football was round. The team's results competing in two tournaments in the new season went down the tubes. The Golden Boot, Ibišević, who did well the previous season, appeared to have lost his goal-scoring ability overnight. He only scored 10 goals in the league tournament and three in the UEFA Champions League, which was a far cry from what people expected of him.

Even the team's manager, Rangnick, was baffled by his sudden breakout and dormancy once again. ”Why was he able to score 37 goals in one season and only 10 goals in another season? It's the same thing when he scored five goals in a single season in two. I don't understand.”

He was not the only one. Ibišević himself could not understand. He believed he had made great progress as compared to his previous self. At least after a successful Bundesliga season, his confidence was greatly reinforced and strengthened. He definitely did not take a step back in his skills. So, what made him suddenly lose his state? Perhaps it would become a famous unsolved mystery in German football.

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It was slightly more than a 10-minute drive from Sinsheim to Hoffenheim. After Vedad Ibišević drove his cherished car into Hoffenheim, he would often be greeted by the oncoming villagers. It was a quiet little village, even if the people there had their first ever foray into the Champions League last season.

Ibišević was not in the mood to greet the fans who liked him one by one. He had his own troubles. Just before driving to Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion, he received a call from his agent's firm, Stars & Friends International Holding. The agency's person asked him over the phone if he was interested in playing for another club.

He received a lot of such calls last summer. Manchester United, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Barcelona... The European powerhouses practically came everywhere for one purpose—to take him away from the small village of Hoffenheim.

At that time, he only had one year left on his contract with the club, but he refused them all and opted to renew his contract with the club until 2013. He achieved success in Hoffenheim and had a good time. He could not think of a reason to leave. Just because Hoffenheim is a small place? But, I love life in the quiet countryside. Sinsheim sells everything I need, and I don't think big cities have any advantages over Sinsheim.

A year later, it was not known if he would have regretted the choice he made at that time. He did not see what he wanted to see in the new season. His form and the team's form slipped. Hoffenheim's great plans had not gone down well. Hopp's ambitions had suffered setbacks. He was also labeled as the ”brightest shooting star in the history of the Bundesliga.”

The powerhouse teams that were once interested in him had all withdrew without exception. As the number of football scouts dwindled in the stands at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, everyone shook their heads and sighed that he was just another Mintál who ”scored 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 became that way. There was nothing wrong with his body after the injury. The team doctors smacked their lips and proclaimed that he was as strong as an ox before the start of the season.

In the middle of the season, there were reports in the German press that Ibišević was in a state of flux. He wanted to be paid and treated accordingly as the team's No. 1 while the off-field scandals interfered with his normal training. He sneered at those things. Only he knew the state of his mind in the world. He had never relaxed the demands on himself because of his successes last season. The wandering years of playing in Europe's lower leagues had taught him there was no pie in the sky in the world. A euro's worth of success would cost him 11 million euros' worth of effort.

Maybe the injury could explain some things, but it was not the type of injury that could threaten his career or something a professional player was immune from while playing. If an injury could completely sink him, then he was not fit to be a professional player. Ibišević did not think of himself as that kind of person.

After he recovered and returned from the injury, he still gave himself 30 minutes of shooting after training every day and had no complaints about Manager Rangnick's arrangements. But, he and Rangnick were caught up in an inexplicable crisis. At the end of the season, he was no longer the ”Super Ibi” that made the Bundesliga strong teams trembled with fear. More often than not, he was just wandering between the wasted opportunities and the search for chances. The team lost the qualification to play in the UEFA Europa League. At one point during the season, Rangnick was rumored to be fired early by Hopp.

Another summer came, and the transfer market was in full swing. Ibišević, whom the entire Europe went crazy for last summer, was suddenly at the ”bottom of the heap.” There were still teams interested in him, but they were all the second-tier teams. It would have been better to stay in Hoffenheim and looked for a chance to prove himself again than to go to those teams.

Suddenly, a completely different name was mentioned in the call from the agency: Nottingham Forest. He knew the team.

The history from last century's late 1970s and early 1980s was too far away for him, but the red team that won the UEFA Champions League titles for two years in a row in 2007 and 2008 to become the first team to defend the Champions League title since the reform was world famous and without parallel for a moment. During that time, Hoffenheim was still working hard to be promoted to the Bundesliga from the 3. Liga and Bundesliga tournaments. The club's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rotthaus, always used Tony Twain's team to inspire the young blue-and-white team. ”One day, we will be like the Nottingham Forest team! This is by no means an impossible dream!” They almost succeeded.

Later, with Manager Tony Twain's sudden heart attack, the team, known to create miracles, suddenly lost its miraculous halo and, at one point, even lost the chance to play in the European competition. It was not until they squeezed out Chelsea in that thrilling final stage of last season that they were able to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.

Ibišević thought the team's experience was very similar to his at that time, but he did not think he'd receive an offer from Nottingham Forest. He told the agency that he had to think it over. He was no longer confident enough to say, ”I just want to finish my current contract with the club.”

A voice in the deepest part of him was perhaps saying, Maybe a change of place can bring about new changes.