The eleventh match day of the season, on Saturday, 29.10.2005, sees Werder Bremen await the visit of Eintracht Frankfurt to the Weser Stadium. The Hessen sides only away win so far this season was on the ninth match day when they won 1:0 in Duisburg. That win was the spark which ignited a flame within the Frankfurt team. Their last bundeslaiga game was a 6:3 win against Cologne followed by Tueday nights 6:0 DFB-Cup drubbing of Schalke. For the 36th time, the current goal scoring titans clash at the Weser Stadium. The home side left the pitch as winners on every third occasion, but general manager Klaus Allofs warns: "Against a team who have been so impressive as they have of late, it would be a mistake to underestimate them."
Frankfurts positive trend has set alarm bells ringing in Bremen: "Eintracht have really given the league a wake up call. They were able to prove their recent good form against Schalke which will mean they can go into Saturdays game in a relaxed manner because they have nothing to lose here", explained Werder coach Thomas Schaaf who also understands Frankfurts system: "They are young, dynamic and courageous going forward and can get things done. Aside from that they have the ability to switch from defence to attack exceptionally quickly. Frankfurt are very disciplined and have players like Amanatidis, Jones or Huggle in the team, who can alter their positions quickly and attack again and again."
Despite this, Schaaf is confident going into the game: "You can't always expect Frankfurt to score six goals", said the Werder coach. In the league table, Einttracht coach Friedhelm Funkel's side lie back in thirteenth place after three wins, one draw and six defeats. Schaaf stressed: "We have a healthy self confidence and know that we possess a distinct quality. The next three games are very interesting for us and because of that we must stay strong and produce top performances."
As yet it is unclear as to who Thomas Schaaf will have to call upon. In particular, the involvement of Johan Micoud and Christian Schulz is still questionable. "I hope Joe and Schulle will be available although we had no problems with the changes against Wolfsburg but the importance of both players to the team is massive", said the trainer who was happy to see the duo return to team training on Thursday afternoon but knows he will have to wait and see how they cope with the effort of training.
Johnnie Muldoon