Tweleve monts ago, Valérien Ismael was still wearing a Werder jersey, was a favourite with the fans and was one of th most important figures i the squad. Then in summer 2005, the Frenchman moved to FC Bayern Munich. With a couple of days to go prior to his first trip back to the Weser Stadium, Ismael spoke to werder.de about his experiences, the match ahead against his ex-colleagues, the 2006 World Cup and his shattered dreams.
Hello Vale, with Olympique Lyon, the last French side have just been knocked out of the Champions League. Does that sadden you?
I saw the match. It's just unbelieveable when you go out against AC Milan in the last minute like that but the Italians have that quality.
Sounds like some of the pain of FC Bayern Munich's exit against Milan is still playing on your mind.
Sure, that was a real disappointment. The Champions League was our sporting dream and that has been shattered. It was an amazing game. Statistically we won everything - more challenges, more possession, more chances...but in the end it finished 4:1 for Milan. That was traumatic. It's very important for us to win the championship and the cup now if we are to make the disappointment more liveable.
For you personally the season is going well though. You are an unquestioned first team player having played every minute in the Champions League, DFB Cup and the Bundesliga - the only exception being your suspension on the second match day of the season.
That was a real shock - first game and then a red card but that was an experience. As a Bayern player it's always more difficult with the referee's. In unclear situations the referee will normally blow against you. It really is that way, I've compared it to my time at Werder. I've learned to hold back in my tackles and use my positioning skill to do the job.
Another dream you hoped to have come true by joining Bayern Munich, participation at the 2006 World Cup, would also appear to have slipped past. Was it true that you wanted to play for Germany?
That wasn't just a rumour. The possibility was looked into but unfortunately I had played a game for the Under 21 French national team. I've long since given up on playing for France and I've already booked my holiday for June. I'm not as sad as I was a couple of month's ago, I just realised that the national coach had no interest in nominating me. I never had any contact with the coach personally but when I see players who are battling against relegation being called into the side and me, as a Bayern Munich player not being invited, well that's proof enough.
Are you annoyed that you played that Under 21 game for France?
Yes, that is annoying because it makes the option for the German national team unfounded. It would have suited me as I know the best part of the team very well. Everyone knows that I want to stay in Germany when my career ends. It would have been nice for me but it's over now. I'm concentrating on this season.
This season offers you the second possible double of your career - that would be an amazing success. Is that also part of your motivation?
To be honest I don't really want to talk about that. I've haven't achieved anything with Bayern as yet. There are still a few weeks of tough games ahead of us.
The run-in to the end of the season begins with the clash against Werder Bremen. What do you expect from the game?
It'll be an interesting tie. We are well aware of the fact that Werder have a tendency to score a lot of goals at home. We'll have to be highly concentrated. We also know that Bremen are suspect at the back and we intend to use that. It's also time that we proved we are capable of winning a top match away from home - we haven't managed that this season, drawing at Schalke and losing in Hamburg, Turin and Milan. We need three points in Bremen but that will be difficult.
Is the match still something special almost a year after waving goodbye to Bremen?
The game is of course still something special. If you've played for Werder Bremen and enjoyed the success that I did then you really look forward to returning. We won the league and cup - that creates a tie. I still have contact to Bremen. I telephone with Miro, Boro, Johan, Kalli Kamp and others. I have quite a bit of contact to Ivan (begind to laugh) as his contact man for Allianz-Arena tickets. I'm really looking forward to the day there.
How will the fans at the Weser Stadium greet you? You always had a special connection to them. You even bid farewell with an open letter to them which is now hanging in the WUSEUM.
I really didn't know that the letter would be hung up. For me it was a symbol of how well I felt there. I hope the fans react positively even if I couldn't say goodbye the way I would have liked to. I will never forget what happened to me in those wonderful years.
Could that still have something to do with the fact that you have often been seen privately in Bremen?
Yes, now I'm in Bremen more often than I'm in Strasbourg (his home town). My girlfriend is from Bremen and lives with me in Munich. Whenever I have a couple of free days we travel to Bremen to visit her parents.
Johnnie Muldoon