Just minutes before departing for Udine, Werder headcoach Thomas Schaaf commented on the task that lies ahead of his attakers.
Just minutes before departing for Udine, Werder headcoach Thomas Schaaf commented on the task that lies ahead of his attakers.
Just minutes before departing for Udine, Werder headcoach Thomas Schaaf commented on the task that lies ahead of his attakers. "The difference between the Bundesliga and the Champions League until now has been that we've failed to use our chances in Europe - it's now our task to achieve our Bundesliga quota in the Champions League." Statistics show the scale of challenge the coach has set his team who have scored 27 goals in nine games in the league compared to just one in two matches on the European stage.
One player who has taken this task very much to heart is Nelson Valdez. The young Paraguayean gets the chance to prove his worth again thanks to the suspension of Ivan Klasnic who was red carded in Athens. He intends to take this opportunity to correct what he sees as a misrepresentation of himself against FC Barcelona in a tie where his missed chances overshadowed a hard battling performance. Valdez: "I was simply over motivated during that game, that won't happen again. I'm not under so much pressure now." The South Americans comments are surely related to his last two impressive performances. Against Hertha BSC Berlin, Valdez capped a strong performance with a stunning winning goal in the nick of time. The Paraguayean international followed this up with a goal for his national side which guaranteed their World Cup ticket. "I'm just in good form", beamed the obviously more relaxed front man.
Valdez also sees his Bundesliga 'Super-Sub' roll as an advantage for the game against Udinese Calcio. With a grin he declared: "I doesn't matter whether I play well or excellently, on Saturday I'll be on the bench again anyway so I can play much more freely."
That is exactly what Thomas Schaaf expects of his man. The Werder coach has no intention of trying to calm his striker down: "I would by no means attempt to put the anchors on any of my players. He has got to be as active as ever and battle, create space and be courageous. That's his game and noone wants to change that. He has also shown that he's on his way to hitting the target more often, as he as proven recently, and I'm happy about that."
Valdez can also look forward to the support of his colleagues. Christian Schulz: "Loosing Ivan klasnic is always a heavy blow but we have Nelson as back-up and we all know he's just as good."
Johnnie Muldoon
