Thomas Schaaf did not think his birthday would be such a big deal one day before the UEFA Cup first leg against Hamburg. But a majority of the questions surrounded the Werder head coach's 48th birthday...
Thomas Schaaf did not think his birthday would be such a big deal one day before the UEFA Cup first leg against Hamburg. But a majority of the questions surrounded the Werder head coach's 48th birthday...
Thomas Schaaf did not think his birthday would be such a big deal one day before the UEFA Cup first leg against Hamburg. But a majority of the questions surrounded the Werder head coach's 48th birthday, which comes on Thursday. "What kind of experience with football do you have on your birthday?" was a question at the final press conference. After a short moment of thought, Schaaf had to pass on the question. "Man, you guys think up all kinds of stuff! I haven't been keeping a list over the past couple years and can't really tell you any statistics about how things have gone. So I can't say anything," said the coach.
If Thomas Schaaf had known the statistics, then he and his team would maybe be more confident heading into the 30 April 2009 match. Schaaf has almost always been successful on his birthday as either a player or coach for Werder Bremen. But he has never had an international match on his birthday - either as a Bremen player or coach. When asked what he wishes for his birthday, his answer was not really a big surprise. "That's easy. I want what all fans want - that we play a good game; get comfortable quickly; that the fans are behind us and push us; that it remains peaceful and fair; and that we get a result that we can use next week to reach the final in Istanbul," said the coach.
Advancing to another final would be more than a great belated birthday present. "This has nothing to do with any anniversary. Reaching an UEFA Cup final would really be a wonderful thing. It would be extremely important for the team. But this goal calls for strength and discipline because we will need to knock off a really tough opponent," continued the coach.
