Four games in 19 days! All of northern Germany is anxiously awaiting the string of derbies between Werder Bremen and Hamburg. And the four-act series kicks off tonight at 8:30 p.m...
Four games in 19 days! All of northern Germany is anxiously awaiting the string of derbies between Werder Bremen and Hamburg. And the four-act series kicks off tonight at 8:30 p.m...
Four games in 19 days! All of northern Germany is anxiously awaiting the string of derbies between Werder Bremen and Hamburg. And the four-act series kicks off tonight at 8:30 p.m. as Werder travel to their northern rivals for the German DFB Cup semi-final. And before Werder and Hamburg face off in the UEFA Cup semi-finals (30 April 2009 and 7 May 2009) and in the Bundesliga (10 May 2009), both teams will be fighting for a spot in the Cup final in Berlin.
The extremely rare "Quattro-Derby" is the top topic of discussion for football fans throughout Bremen. "There's a lot of life in the whole thing. There are a lot of emotions and lots of talk," admitted head coach Thomas Schaaf, who also added: "There is a lot of more hype going around than by us. Of course we hear everything but we aren't getting caught up in it at all. We are dealing with the situation calmly and concentrated. We are focussed solely on the game on Wednesday."
The same goes for Hamburg. Even though Hamburg coach Martin Jol has tried to convince outsiders that the league is the most important competition and that the German and UEFA cups are "just a dream, a bonus and an honour", everyone knows Hamburg will not just give anything away. "Both teams will give their all in the game. Both teams respect each other. And I think it will be a tight, very hard-fought match. Still, I hope that it will be fair and we will be successful in the end," said Schaaf about the start of the derby marathon.
