Werder at Schalke: Level playing field at different level

Werder at Schalke: What do the football gods have in store for Bremen on Saturday?
First Team
Friday, 06.02.2009 / 09:58

Matches between Werder Bremen and FC Schalke 04 are usually very special, mainly because the games very often are showdowns at the top of the Bundesliga standings. But this season's match-up has a different...

Matches between Werder Bremen and FC Schalke 04 are usually very special, mainly because the games very often are showdowns at the top of the Bundesliga standings. But this season's match-up has a different feeling. Werder will hit the road on Saturday, 7 February 2009 as the 10th-place team in the standings against the ninth-placed FC Schalke 04. That is not exactly a showdown at the top, by definition. But the game is still at a level playing field - just a bit lower.

 

"If we don't get a point against Schalke, it will start getting tight in reaching the international spots," head coach Thomas Schaaf said, underlining the importance of this game. "We have to collect some points to improve our situation. Against Schalke we want to do things so that we can get something out of them later. Last week we saw once how it can work and then how not to do things," said the coach, who regularly referred to the "two faces" of Bremen in the season's first half.

 

In the Round of 16 of the German DFB Cup, the Green-Whites were convincing in beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on the road. And then just four days later Bremen lost 2-1 at home against Arminia Bielefeld. Werder hopes to rebound from this low point on Saturday and return to victory road. And the match against Schalke may be coming at exactly the right moment.

 

Over the course of the season, Werder have played much better against the so-called "big" teams while struggling against the "smaller" ones. Schalke are in theory one of the "big" clubs though they have failed to impress this season. The Royal-Blues are currently in ninth place - well behind their own expectations. Schalke started the second half with a 1-0 loss at Hannover 96. And the atmosphere in Schalke is hardly festive.

 

"We know that things are difficult right now at Schalke. They are also missing plenty of points and also had a different standing in mind. And they are unsatisfied with their situation," said Schaaf while also warning of the class of the wavering "giants". "Schalke will play with a lot of conviction and effort and try to hold their ground. They will hope to take advantage of their quickness. And they are especially dangerous in switching from defence to offence. They play the ball very quickly to the forwards and we really have to watch out." It will be exciting...

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