Werder Bremen had imagined their final game of the year entirely differently. After a disappointing season thus far, the Green-Whites had hoped to bid farewell to 2010 with a victory. But Bremen ended up losing 2-1 at home with gifts and well wishes but no points. "We absolutely wanted to win to at least keep up with the top teams," said a somber Aaron Hunt. Head coach Thomas Schaaf was clearer in his disappointment. "We wanted to finish the first half on a high note but we were unable to do that today. The first half was not yet over before the game, but now it is a lost cause. We were not satisfied with the results and we did not expect such a performance," said Schaaf.
"The players know that some things have to change to reach the goals we set. The game today was symptomatic for the entire first half. We wanted to do so much and then we allowed the 1-0 goal after not even having touched the ball," said Hunt about the deficit after 23 seconds. “Now we have to watch out that we don’t slip downwards,” said Marko Marin looking forward to the first matches in the new year. "The start of our second half is not that easy," said Marin. But a winter break awaits the Werder players. "We know that we need the break to regain some strength, especially because a number of players had to give an enormous effort in the first half. On the other hand, we have enough to do to push forward," said Thomas Schaaf about his team’s up-coming holidays.
"Actually we do not deserve the reward of the winter break. But on the other hand, a number of players need the holidays to relax and gather strength for the second half," said manager Klaus Allofs. “It will only be a happy holidays if we don’t think too much about football,” said Alllofs. Still, the Green-Whites have hopes of hunting down the leaders in the second half of the season. "We are closer to the relegation ranks and we lost against a team that is behind us, and it will be difficult to get out of this situation with this kind of performance. Still, I believe that we can reach other portions of the table with other players," said Allofs.