So far, match day 20 in the Bundesliga has gone according to plan in Werder Bremen’s opinion. The players allowed themselves a satisfied grin as they saw the results from around the country coming in.
So far, match day 20 in the Bundesliga has gone according to plan in Werder Bremen’s opinion. The players allowed themselves a satisfied grin as they saw the results from around the country coming in.
So far, match day 20 in the Bundesliga has gone according to plan in Werder Bremen’s opinion. The players allowed themselves a satisfied grin as they saw the results from around the country coming in: "We knew the result from the Schalke game and also knew that we would need a win to send a message to the league leader and keep the pressure on at the top", explained Per Mertesacker, who was also happy about their competitors from Karlsruhe and Leverkusen sharing the points on Saturday.
Werder’s general manager Klaus Allofs noted: "We did what we had to do whilst Schalke and Leverkusen both slipped up. Tomorrow we can take a relaxed view of what happens in Hanover and Hamburg." The Sunday games this week see Hamburg SV play host to VfL Bochum and FC Bayern Munich make the tricky trip to Hannover 96.
In spite of the intensity of the coming weeks, Bremen are viewing the slowly developing title race optimistically. The continually improving personnel situation in Bremen could well prove to be the ace up Thomas Schaaf’s sleeve when the final phase of the season closes in. Whilst Diego had an almost exclusive hold on the ‘Citibank Man of the Match’ title during the first half of the season, his colleagues are now coming to the forefront, in particular Daniel Jensen."
It’s not only in the midfield though, where on Saturday both Jurica Vranjes and Aaron Hunt both picked up bonus points, that games are decided. Mesut Özil is playing a more important role as is Clemens Fritz. Frank Baumann has slotted into the centre half role very comfortably and with Tim Borowski having sat out his suspension, the options are increasing for the Werder coach.
The battle for places up front is a mighty one too. Despite the absence of Boubacar Sanogo, who was Werder’s top scorer in the first half of the season, in recent weeks, the goals have not dried up. Hugo Almeida, Markus Rosenberg and Ivan Klasnic have all been getting their names on the score-sheet.
