Injury-weakened but not clever enough

Alexandros Tziolis in a duel against Miso Brecko.
First Team
Monday, 04.05.2009 / 13:38

The dress rehearsal for the decisive UEFA Cup semi-final return leg did not go as planned for the Green-Whites...

The dress rehearsal for the decisive UEFA Cup semi-final return leg did not go as planned for the Green-Whites. Emotions were high after the 1-0 loss at Cologne as some even saw the match as competitive distortion and Bremen having an attitude problem. But Werder were aggravated about the missing points and defended themselves against the accusations.

 

"I don't think that today was competitive distortion. And we did not have an attitude problem. We just needed to have used our numerous chances in the first half and that would have been enough," said keeper Tim Wiese after the final whistle. Head coach Thomas Schaaf said he did not willingly call upon only 16 players for the game. "All of the players who were not here were injured or suspended. These are also important points for us. We still take the Bundesliga very seriously. Those who watch our team in the stands can see that it works hard to play with a lot of effort and willingness to run. There have also been a number of close matches among those games," said the coach. Manager Klaus Allofs sees the current situation similarly. "I have said it a hundred times and I'm happy to say it for the 101st time: "We do not rest any players. We want to collect points and win our games. If players like Diego, Mesut Özil and Hugo Almeida are injured, well, then they cannot play," said Allofs.

 

The Green-Whites could not understand the accusations fired at them since it hurts the most those key players who were unable to play. They gladly would have gained some confidence ahead of the game against Hamburg. And Werder leaders of course hope that the injured players will be available for the UEFA Cup semi-final return leg. "I hope that we have our personnel situation back under control by Thursday. But I don't know about that today. I only know that the suspended players will be back," said Thomas Schaaf. Torsten Frings is the main suspended returnee that Schaaf will need on Thursday.

 

Werder players also rejected the idea that they were already thinking about the next game against Hamburg in their match against Cologne. "It was not that way for me and the other players. We know that we played a poor Bundesliga season until now. That makes it our duty to get the most out of it as we can. Today, it just was not enough," admitted captain Frank Baumann.

 

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