The Werder Bremen players who were involved in Wednesday evenings UEFA Cup win over SC Braga were merely on call for treatment and massage the following day but in spite of that, trainer Thomas Schaaf had plenty of participants at Thursday’s morning session. It was a further sign of the ever improving personnel situation following the successful return of both Partick Owomoyela and Clemens Fritz in the Green-White.
Both were extremely active in the wide positions over the full 90 minutes against SC Braga: "What ‘Owo’ produced against Braga and the way in which he imposed himself on the game was absolutely fine. He showed flashes of just what we expect from him, for example the impulses he brings into our attacking play", remarked trainer Thomas Schaaf on the performance of the 27 year old on Wednesday night.
The coach was just as positive about the impression that Clemens Fritz made on him during the game: "We have been building him up bit-by-bit. The absolute superiority that he normally oozes is not yet full there though." On the whole, Thomas Schaaf considers his experiment with the introduction of Owomoyela and Fritz to have been a successful one which surprised the opponents.
The same could have been said of Werder’s midfield on Wednesday. In place of Tim Borowski, Thomas Schaaf opted for striker Aaron Hunt in the starting eleven: "We are well aware that ‘Boro’ is not playing at his best at the moment. He worked well in preparing for the re-start, has been good in training and is determined but that hasn’t yet transferred onto the pitch. We expect to see him back to his old self soon", were Schaaf’s encouraging words for the German international.
Borowski will not be available for this weekend’s home clash with 1. FC Nuremberg after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend. Neither Petri Pasanen (rehabilitation training) nor Dusko Tosic (stomach bug) will be available to the trainer for selection either.