Werder excited about return to Champions League

Thomas Schaaf is looking forward to Werder’s return to the Champions League.
First Team
Monday, 13.09.2010 / 20:25

On Tuesday it’s finally here – for the first time since 9 December 2008 Werder will play in the Champions League at 8:45 p.m. when they face off against English side Tottenham Hotspurt...

On Tuesday it’s finally here – for the first time since 9 December 2008 Werder will play in the Champions League at 8:45 p.m. when they face off against English side Tottenham Hotspurt at Weser Stadium. "I can hardly wait for it," said a good spirited Werder head coach Thomas Schaaf in answering a question about his team’s first Champions League match in 20 months. "Of course it’s nice to be back in the competition and we are so excited about the coming games. It is always something special to be there yourself and not have to watch the games on television and then having to play yourselves a day later."

 

Just as excited about the game against the team from England is new acquisition Marko Arnautovic. "We are well prepared for the game and it finally is going to kick off," said the Austrian, who won the Champions League title last season with Inter Milan. "I was able to gather some experience in the Champions League with Inter and I hope that I can achieve quite a bit with Werder as well."

 

One player who has gathered a lot of Champions League experience is Mikael Silvestre, who last Saturday made his Green-White debut against Bayern Munich. "Just like many of my teammates I have played a lot of games in this competition and we know exactly what to expect," said Silvestre, who played 11 years in England and knows the team’s opponent very well. "During my time in the Premier League I played often against Tottenham and it was always difficult to play against them. Now they have qualified for the Champions League for the first time and that shows clearly that the team has developed even further."

 

Thomas Schaaf agrees with Silvestre in this aspect and the coach knows the English have their strengths. "The team really got reinforcements in the summer and are very well equipped. Tottenham especially have a good mix of hard workers and technically strong players. They have good quality in all areas – toughness and playing skill as well as in the air," said the head coach. In regards to the air game Schaaf especially meant the 2.01m tall Peter Crouch. "Of course he is very good in the air with his physical size and we really have to watch out," said Schaaf, who is confident despite missing starting centre backs Naldo and Per Mertesacker. "We may be missing two strong players in the air but Sebastian Prödl and Petri Pasanen both impressively showed on Saturday that they also can play in the air."

 

New Werder acquisition Silvestre knows Crouch from many showdowns in the Premier League. "He has been in the league a long time and uses that experience in being at the right place at the right time in the area. You can compare him to David Trezequet," said the Frenchman, who was part of Bremen’s newly-formed four-man backline on Saturday in Munich. "Of course it is not easy when you have never played together before and only know one another from training. But we are all professionals and know how to play the position we are playing," said Silvestre, who also made clear what was the key to success. "We did not allow a goal in Munich and we want to do that again. But for that it’s important that we remain compact."

 

Thomas Schaaf was very happy that his team did not allow a goal against Munich, but he added: "But we didn’t score one either. Certainly there is room for improvement." Schaaf said he will look over everything to see where things can be improved. "You have to look through the entire roster and think about what the best choice is," said Schaaf, trying not to give away anything in the matchup against the Champions League debutants.

 

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