Four North Derbies within 19 days: that has never happened. And the magic that these games usually bring has not been lost on the players. Even the relatively reserved Finnish international Petri Pasanen grabbed...
Four North Derbies within 19 days: that has never happened. And the magic that these games usually bring has not been lost on the players. Even the relatively reserved Finnish international Petri Pasanen grabbed...
Four North Derbies within 19 days: that has never happened. And the magic that these games usually bring has not been lost on the players. Even the relatively reserved Finnish international Petri Pasanen grabbed the microphone and came up with an interesting proposition: "Why should we play Hamburg four times in such a short time? Let's set one Derby Day and we'll play 90 minutes four times in a row and the tickets will cost 150 euros!" After his comment, Pasanen laughed and headed off to the team bus fully satisfied.
The Werder player's idea has its pluses and minuses. On the one hand, 150 euros would be a bargain if you can watch all four games on one day. On the other hand, not enough fans would be able to see the games live. Better than that would be two games at Weser-Stadion and two at HSH Nordbank Arena. Werder manager Klaus Allofs likes that idea better. "Actually I would rather play against international opponents in international competitions. But if both teams are really strong, then it's hard to avoid that down the stretch in the cup competitions. We are happy about every game. First off, both teams want to reach the German Cup final and then head to Istanbul (for the UEFA Cup final). And in the Bundesliga, Hamburg are still near the top and absolutely need the points.
One Werder player is especially looking forward to the games against Hamburg. German international Per Mertesacker said after reaching the UEFA Cup quarter-finals that he would like to face off against Hamburg in the semis. "A German semi-final in the UEFA Cup, that hasn't happened in more than 10 years. This will be a real highlight for German football. And I am excited about it," said Mertesacker. The defender also sees the constellation as very practical. "I think it's a huge advantage that we don't have the stress of travelling for the semi-finals. At the moment, all we are doing is travelling around. So I welcome the short trip," said "Merte".
The early prognoses for the up-coming North derbies are also fascinating. Especially interesting is the answer to the harshest question you can ask Werder players in this situation: "Would you hope that Hamburg win the Bundesliga title if Werder can win both cup competitions?" Many had to really mull it over, and none of them screamed "hooray" or the like. All the players needed between five and 40 seconds to think about it. One answer, from Clemens Fritz, was: "Hamburg as (Bundesliga) champion and us as Cup winner and UEFA Cup winner? Yeah, I could live with that."
