As Torsten Frings stepped up to take his penalty at Mestalla Stadium, he could hardly hear himself speak. Even though only 37,223 fans showed up at the aging arena, the atmosphere...
As Torsten Frings stepped up to take his penalty at Mestalla Stadium, he could hardly hear himself speak. Even though only 37,223 fans showed up at the aging arena, the atmosphere...
As Torsten Frings stepped up to take his penalty at Mestalla Stadium, he could hardly hear himself speak. Even though only 37,223 fans showed up at the aging arena, the atmosphere was heated and electric. The fans were pushing their team forward so much that even the Werder players were impressed. "That was so fiery, so loud that you couldn’t even communicate with someone two yards away from you. And that stadium supports that kind of atmosphere with its construction," said Clemens Fritz. Even keeper Tim Wiese was heavily impressed. "This was a super football evening. The atmosphere was excellent. If you have an atmosphere like this as the home team, it’s understandable that you can still play at a high level with just 10 men. The fans were jumping up at every small thing and were totally behind their team," said Wiese.
Maybe it was the crowd and the atmosphere that led Bremen to losing their game plan more and more over time after sticking to it so well for the first half hour. "We got caught up in the hectic which came about," said manager Klaus Allofs. Head coach Thomas Schaaf had a bit of criticism for his team. "After the red card we were much too passive. We really let Valencia play their game. At the end there were chances at both ends to win the game. Either team really could have won it," said Schaaf.
Werder have a strong starting position as they hope to qualify for the quarter-finals in the return leg next week. "Next week we are the ones who will have the fans behind us. This kind of atmosphere is also possible at Weser Stadium," said Clemens Fritz. After the match at Mestalla Stadium, a visit to Weser Stadium will definitely be worth it.
