"Vandastic!" - Standing ovation for Werder keeper

Christian Vander was outstanding against Bayern, playing a decisive role in gaining point.
First Team
Monday, 02.03.2009 / 13:47

After the final whistle, half of the East Curve quickly found their song to celebrate the 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich. Borrowing the hard rock band AC/DC, chants of "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na - VANDER!...

After the final whistle, half of the East Curve quickly found their song to celebrate the 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich. Borrowing the hard rock band AC/DC, chants of "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na - VANDER! Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na - VANDER!" chimed through the stadium. The Werder fans were honouring the man of the evening. Goalkeeper Christian Vander had a number of spectacular saves to keep his sheet clean despite plenty of pressure from Bayern Munich.

 

But it wasn't just the fans praising the keeper, who was also excellent in replacing regular keeper Tim Wiese in the UEFA Cup in Milan. Teammates and management were also happy for the 28-year-old Vander. "We had a tremendous keeper. He had a fantastic showing and was rewarded for all his efforts and his daily work. It's not always easy in his role to be motivated and do your best every day as a backup. But what he showed us today was the result of his hard work," recognised head coach Thomas Schaaf.

 

Manager Klaus Allofs also praised Vander: "Everybody is happy for Christian for this kind of game, where he can stand there as a hero. He recently had the misfortune of his showings not really being recognised. He often went into goal under very difficult circumstances and was criticised because of an unlucky action. But we always expressed to him our trust and that's why we extended our contract with him."

 

Vander's teammates were raving about the backup keeper as well. Diego told WERDER.TV: "He was the best man on the pitch today and I congratulate him for that. He really helped us a lot." And Claudio Pizarro added: "That was outstanding. He worked really well and used his chance. I hope he keeps playing like this."

 

And the likeable keeper was thankful for all the recognition. He was beaming in accepting the award for the Citibank Man of the Match. "I am happy to have played so well in front of the home fans. That was really good for me. A clean sheet is always nice for a keeper. But I don't see myself as the hero of the night. I won't go flying out of the stadium. Not everything was my doing. Football for me is a team sport."

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