Seven months after their UEFA Cup semi final exit at the hands of Espanyol Barcelona, Werder Bremen are back in the same competition again.
Seven months after their UEFA Cup semi final exit at the hands of Espanyol Barcelona, Werder Bremen are back in the same competition again.
Seven months after their UEFA Cup semi final exit at the hands of Espanyol Barcelona, Werder Bremen are back in the same competition again. With Real Madrid beating Lazio Rome 3:1, Werder, despite their 3:0 defeat in Piraeus, finished third in their group and remain in Europe through the winter.
As the final whistle blew in Greece, Werder’s knowledge of an extended stay in European competition was somewhat dampened and Clemens Fritz commented: “I am still too disappointed at the moment to be able to clearly think about the UEFA Cup”. Diego was even more direct in saying: “The UEFA Cup is no consolation for me”. Tim Borowski could see his team mates point of view and added: “When you have the chance to qualify for the Champions League in your own hands, the disappointment in not having achieved that goal is greater than the joy at making the UEFA Cup. I’m sure we’ll play well in it though.”
With the challenge of the UEFA Cup ahead of them, Werder have set their sights firmly on the future: “We will approach the task positively despite the disappointment. Our goal has to be to get further that last year”, said a determined general manager, Klaus Allofs , who sees the ‘City of Manchester’ stadium on May 14th 2005 as being the only goal that the Green-Whites can now aspire to. “Of course that competition doesn’t present the sort of atmosphere that the Champions League does but if we can get through the next two rounds it is just as interesting and lucrative. We got to see that last time around”, concluded Allofs.
At the beginning of the year, Werder surpassed Ajax Amsterdam, Celta Vigo and AZ Alkmaar to make it to the semi-final against Espanyol Barcelona: “This time we want to make it all the way”, explained Jurica Vranjes.
- Facts surrounding Werder Bremen’s 2008 UEFA Cup start:
- As a third placed side in the Champions League, Werder will be drawn against one of the UEFA Cup group second placed sides. The Green-Whites will not face another German side at this stage.
- In the round of the last 32, Werder will play on 13th/14th.02.2008 at the Weser Stadium and play the second leg on 21.02.2008 away from home.
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- The draw for the next two rounds will be made on Friday, 21.12.2007 at 1pm.
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- The Green-Whites will have a great deal of German competition in their quest to reach the cup final. After the final group games in the UEFA Cup, all German participants had made the next round meaning Bayern Munich, Hamburg SV, Bayer Leverkusen and FC Nuremberg are all possible last sixteen opponents.
- Aside from the German sides, there are several other top names in European football to reckon with, such as Tottenham Hotspurs, FC Everton, Villareal, Atletico Madrid, Panathinaicos Athens, Spartak Moscow, FC Basel, Girondins Bordeaux, Olympique Marseille and Benfica Lisbon.
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- The dates in the run up to the final are: Final 32 teams 13./14.02.2008 and 21.02.2008, last sixteen teams 06.03.2008 and 12./13.03.2008, quarter finals 03.04.2008 and 10.04.2008, semi finals 24.04.2008 and 01.05.2008, Final 14.05.2008
