Not only for the fans but also for the players and staff at Werder, excitement is rising before the Wednesday clash with Italian giants Juventus Turin in the UEFA Champions League. Werder midfield engine Torsten Frings had the opportunity to play Juventus with Bayern Munich in last seasond Champions League Group C heavyweight battle and is especially looking forward to this highlight: "When do you get the opportunity to play against Juventus. They are one of the favourites for this years title", remarked the Werder vice-captain.
A quick look at the Italian Serie A table is enough to realise the might of the task that faces Werder - Juventus stand head and shoulders above the rest on 67 points with, the old lady, AC Milan in second trailing the Turin side by 10 points. Juventus have only lost one league game so far this season, back on match day 10 against their closest rivals from Milan (3:1).
Before the game, Werder coach Thomas schaaf was full of praise for coach Fabio Capello's team: "We are about to meet a fantastic opponent. It's such a strongly equiped and have many possibilities in every position. In their last game they left players like Thuram and Trezeguet on the bench. With Nedved and Camoranesi in offensive midfield, it's like having two extra strikers on the pitch."
On Tuesday it was announced that striker David Trezeguet will be fir enough to take part on Wednesday. The Frenchman was forced out of training early before the tie against FC Messina with an ankle injury but was able to come on late as a substitute in the 2:2 draw. Werders hopes have also been raised by the immanent return of Miroslav Klose. The striker has returned to full training after the shoulder injury he picked up against St. Pauli in the DFB Cup and believes he will be ready to face the Italians.
Torsten Frings is aware that the tie will be a tough one despite the German internationals return: "It'll be difficult against a team who have just world class players, it'll be difficult to get a result. But we have the chance to win at home which will leave everything open for the return leg. Surely they have weaknesses too. We're not just going to seal ourselves in and play defensively and try to hold them out. Fact is that Juventus are the toughest opponent we could get." Although Juve have the best defensive record in the league (17 goals against in 26 games), Messina proved that it's possible to score against them. The Werder coach added: "These two goals were an absolute exception."
The Italian champions came through on top of Group A against Bayern Munich, Rapid Vienna and FC Brugge with five wins and one defeat to the German champions. "We are going to give our all and try to use our qualities to create chances. We have to believe in our strenghts if we are to pull off something exceptional", was Schaaf's aim at any pessimists.