The UEFA Cup first leg tie against Braga could hardly have gone much better for Werder Bremen. The Green-Whites secured themselves a comfortable 3:0 lead heading into the return leg in Portugal. Werder.de got to hear the opinions of those involved following another electrifying European night at the Weser Stadium.
Manuel Machado (Braga coach): "It’s quite clear. A 0:3 is a very negative result for us and it makes it very difficult for us to progress in the tournament. We simply couldn’t keep up with them. That was clear to see in the first half when we went behind so early on in the match. We will have to approach the tie very offensively next week. It will be difficult but anything is possible in football."
Thomas Schaaf (Werder coach): "We made a very good start to the match. Naldo’s early goal really helped us there. The Portuguese set out with two rows of four players who were willing to pull back to 25 meters from their own goal. It wasn’t easy to find holes in their armour - but we managed it."
Naldo: "We really shouldn’t allow ourselves to become overconfident but, instead, cast our memories back to the game against Ajax last year. We won the first leg 3:0 then too and only scraped through after a 1:3 defeat in Amsterdam. Braga are strong at home and proved tonight just how much pressure they can apply going forward."
Clemens Fritz (who was out through injury until recently): "My participation came as a real surprise to me. A week ago I would have been delighted just to be named in the squad for that game. I’m really happy about the 3:0 win but we did allow them to create too many chances. We can’t afford to do that next week. It certainly won’t be an easy task - we can all remember what happened in Amsterdam last year."