Werder Bremens final pre-season friendly sees them on their travels yet again but this time it's just around the corner. On Tuesday ,02.08.2005 at 6:30pm, trainer Thomas SChaafs side will take on Greek first division club OFI Crete in Köhlen near Bremerhaven. "We've come along well in our preparations and that is now coming to an end. When we play against OFI Crete it will be all about fine tuning and of course we want to be close to our fans", explained Schaaf.
OFI Crete finished in thirteenth position in the Greek first league last season. The biggest name at the club from Cretes capital Iraklion is without a doubt striker Nikoloas Machlas who has previously played for FC Seville and Ajax Amsterdam. So far Machlas has appeared on 60 occasions in the Greek national side scoring 19 goals. The experienced frontman was OFI's top scorer during the 2004/2005 season, getting on the scoresheet 13 times. The Greeks have strenghtened their side by signing ex-Chelsea and Marseille defender Pierre Issa. The South African has some 43 international caps and represented his country in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals.
The tie will take place at the local sport facility in Köhlen, the home of Landeliga club SV Rot-Weib Köhlen. So far the hosts have sold 1,000 tickets and late commers can still pick up tickets on Tuesday afternoon for four euros for children or eight euros for adults from a select number of local buisnesses. On the night tickets will be available at the gate for €5 (children) and €10 (adults). The gates will open at 5pm and the number of spectators is limited to 2,500. Werder will expect to easily overcome their Greek opponents who most recently were defeated 4:1 by German second division new-commers Eintracht Braunschweig.