All around the Weser Stadium and right across the city of Bremen, Champions League fever has taken hold, yet , despite the euphoria, trainer Thomas Schaaf is keeping a cool head. Laid back and relaxed as ever he answered a volley of questions posed by the international media which had gathered at the Weser Stadium on Tuesday evening: "Someones got to keep their nerve and the whole team are doing that very well. They are highly concentrated, in recent days they've done their tasks well in the Bundesliga and can focus from now on FC Barcelona. I'm sure the nerves will set in tomorrow and I'll be less calm on the bench than I am here now", the trainer commented at the post training press-conference.
Possible is, that one reason for Schaaf's inner quiet is the knowledge that he has a secret weapon up his sleeve to use against Barcelona on Wednesday. When questioned about the introduction of Nelson Valdez from the start on Wednesday night, the trainer grinned: "The likelyhood of him playing is very high. I mean, he speaks Spanish so he can listen in to what they're saying - that gives us a bonus point on information which can only be an advantage." Also then on a more serious note, Thomas Schaaf impressed the fact that the young Paraguayean striker can plug the hole left by the absence of Klose: "Nelson is in good shape, he's had to suffer with the fact that Miro and Ivan Klasnic have scored so often of late. That's a luxury problem for us but Nelson can prove himself tomorrow", explained Schaaf.
Thomas Schaaf was also very clear in his tactics, opting to replace the suspended Miroslav Klose with another striker rather than selecting a more defensive strategy: "Barcelona have the potential to win the Champions League. If you just wait for them to come and shoot you off the park, they will accept the offer very quickly. For that reason we are not just going to pack our penalty area, quite the opposite, we are going to stick to our guns and not be robbed of our strenghts. We want to play attackingly and put Barcelona under pressure."
Werder vice-captain Torsten Frings is well aware that it won't be an easy task: "In my eyes Barcelona are favourites to win the Champions League title, but here at the Weser Stadium we can beat anyone, why not Barcelona?"
A glance back to last seasons results will instill some confidence in the Bremen side as they twice overcame Spanish opponents FC Valencia during their last campain. Frings commented: "Werder beat the Spanish champions last season, due to that Barcelona won't underestimate us. They know exactly what's going on here tomorrow." Comparisons to last seasons crushing by Olympique Lyon were inevitable, when asked about whether Werder have learned from that experience, Schaaf joked: "Spanish teams suit us better."