Sofia prove a tough test

Werder Bremen’s general manager Klaus Allofs was quite satisfied with his side’s trip to Sofia.
First Team
Wednesday, 06.08.2008 / 11:16

Applause erupted all around the ‘Georgi-Asparuchow-Stadium’ in the 66th minute, not because a goal had been scored but instead simply because the fourth official raised the number 22 to declare a substitution.

Applause erupted all around the ‘Georgi-Asparuchow-Stadium’ in the 66th minute, not because a goal had been scored but instead simply because the fourth official raised the number 22 to declare a substitution. Werder Bremen’s Torsten Frings left the field of play after a good night’s work that was duly acknowledged by the 15,000 supporters in the ground. In a game that proved a rather physical affair on the pitch over the 90 minutes, the gesture at the substitution was just one example of the sort of positive hospitality that the Bremen delegation experienced in Sofia.

 

“The people here were curious about Werder Bremen and the Bundesliga,” noted general manager Klaus Allofs, “they paid us a great deal of attention.” The press conference, where eight TV teams were present, at the greeting from the Bulgarian Football Federation, in gathering new contacts or the live television broadcast which was beamed across ten nations, are just a sample of some of the exceptional factors involved around this tie.

 

The 51 year old Allofs summed up: “The trip as part of the DFL-‘Foreign Initiative’ was a very sensible move.” The sporting value of the journey to the Bulgarian capital was clear at the very latest during an intensive, and at times overly physical, 90 minutes between Levski and Werder - a situation for which the host side could consider themselves majorly responsible.

 

Werder coach Thomas Schaaf analysed mildly after the match: “There were one or two occasions when there was a little too much determination involved in the challenges.” Klaus Allofs made a more concrete statement: “The physical element went just too far at times, in particular when I think of the foul that put Boenisch out of the tie.”

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