Werder Prepare For SC Challenge

First Team
Tuesday, 08.01.2008 / 17:02

Three and a half weeks without seeing Werder Bremen on a football pitch will soon have an end. On Thursday, 10.01.2008 at 6:35pm (c.e.t), the Green-Whites will be hoping to get the year 2008 off to a successful start.

Three and a half weeks without seeing Werder Bremen on a football pitch will soon have an end. On Thursday, 10.01.2008 at 6:35pm (c.e.t), the Green-Whites will be hoping to get the year 2008 off to a successful start. The first test of the year will be a friendly against second division SC Freiburg as part of the Victoria Cup tournament in Kundu, Turkey. Werder are one of three German sides involved in the mini-tournament along with Freiburg and FC Schalke 04 – the latter pairing are set to meet on Tuesday evening.

 

It’s all a little different in Freiburg....

 

The second Bundesliga side from the far south of Germany is one of the country’s legendary sides. SC were always a little bit different!! This is a club where a civics teacher managed to maintain an attractive footballing policy for 16 years despite being relegated from the top division three times during his reign. Here the club president regularly follows the proceedings of the games on video text, as he finds the stadium and all the goings on much too stressful. In an environmentally friendly and wonderfully quaint ‘Badenova-Stadium’ there are even solar panels mounted on the roof of the west stand. SC found their way into the hearts of football fans all over Germany after their first appearance in the top flight back in 1993 and the following year, the Bundesliga’s new ‘Darlings’ secured an impressive third spot (having beaten Bayern Munich 5:1 on the second day of the season). The dizzying heights lasted another two seasons for trainer Volker Finke and president Achim Stocker before they suffered their first relegation. SC became something of a yo-yo club, bouncing back and forth between the first and second division whilst often producing surprises such as their European adventure in 2001/2002. That season, and in 2005, the Freiburg club tasted the bitter sting of relegation yet again and twice just missed re-promotion, finishing fourth in the second division table.

 

Last season brought about plenty of change for SC. Trainer Finke announced his retirement at the end of the season after a poor a start and a political struggle ensued which even the club found difficult to decipher. A fan and member initiative was called into existence with the aim of changing Finke’s mind and encouraging him to stay put and the extremity of their efforts surprised plenty of on-lookers. In spite of a much improved second half to the season, which almost brought about another promotion, the trainer stuck to his guns and Robin Dutt has been pulling the strings since July.

 

Dutt answers his critics

 

The coach, who came to Sc from Stuttgart Kickers, was able to avoid early criticism thanks to some impressive performances from the outset. At the end of the first round of games, Dutt’s men are in fourth place in the table, level with FC Köln having lost just three games. The basis for their success has been a strong home record where they were beaten just one and that by league leaders Borussia Mönchengladbach on match day 16. The teams stabling pillars are defender heiko Butscher, midfield man Eke Uzoma and best striker, on five goals, Henrich Bencik. Former Bremen keeper Alexander Walke has been first choice between the posts since the tenth game of this campaign but has competition now from new signing Michael Langer (VfB Stuttgart).

 

Last year, Werder began the year with a 4:0 against Besiktas Istanbul in Kundu’s ‘WOW Football Centre’. The Green-Whites went on to claim the Efes Cup after a 2:1 win over Feyenoord Rotterdam. Hopes are high that this season Victoria Cup could start with a similar result against SC Freiburg.

 

John Muldoon

 

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