One thing is for sure, when Luxembourger referee Alain Hamer gets the Green-Whites UEFA Cup last sixteen first leg tie underway on Thursday, 06.03.2008, there will be no-holds-barred on another electrifying night of European football. Werder Bremen can expect to face up to some power play football from their hosts from Glasgow, in a very special atmosphere: “Rangers will be roared on unrequitedly by their fans who are fanatical but fair at the same time. They can respect an opponent that performs in the correct manner and gives their all”, explained trainer Thomas Schaaf who is expecting quite a night at Ibrox.
“If you are playing there then you have to know what you are going to be faced with. Our target has to be to stand our ground. There will be no time for a breather over the 90 minutes. We will have to be on our wares non-stop if we are to defend ourselves against Rangers. There’s little time for thinking - just action”, demanded the coach from his players. He is prepared for a Rangers side wearing their hearts on their sleeves, and doing no holding back.
The anticipation ahead of the game was written all over the faces of the 21 travelling Werder players too: “It’ll be a tough challenge that we need to be up to but we have no intention of altering the way we play”, commented Clemens Fritz who has foretold an open match. Despite a wrist injury, the German international can participate with the aid of a special strap support. There are a number of others whose involvement is still hanging in the balance. “Klasnic and Almeida still haven’t trained with the team and we will have to wait and see how things develop with Baumann, Harnik and Borowski who have all just returned to full team training”, remarked Thomas Schaaf, who is as yet unsure as to exactly how his starting eleven will look when they take to the pitch at Ibrox Park.