Andreas Reinke made his first appearance between the posts on Tuesday night for a friendly in Meppen, four months after the clash with a VfB Stuttgart player which left him hospitalised on 08.02.2006.
Andreas Reinke made his first appearance between the posts on Tuesday night for a friendly in Meppen, four months after the clash with a VfB Stuttgart player which left him hospitalised on 08.02.2006.
Andreas Reinke made his first appearance between the posts on Tuesday night for a friendly in Meppen, three months after the clash with a VfB Stuttgart player which left him hospitalised on 08.02.2006. For the vast majority of the game, the 37 year old keeper found himself with little to do and was only really called into action on a single occasion. An almost disappointed Reinke commented after the game: "I could only get a little match practice here, that's all i can really say about the game. I would have been happier if I'D had a bit more to do." Ironically he added: "It was a very difficult game, I had ONE save to make!" Reinke was describing the scene in the 15th minute as he turned a deflected free-kick from Meppen's Barton away for a corner.
It was clear that Reinke is no longer troubled by health problems as he played the game without his protective plexiglass face mask. The keeper had a surprising reason for not wearing the facial protection: "I forgot the mask. I never even thought aout it but I think that's a good sign. I didn't feel a thing, the whole game went without problems." The keeper was not yet ready to talk about making a comeback though: "I was never really away so comeback is the wrong word."
Trainer Thomas Schaaf could understand Reinke's comments. The coach said: "I would have liked him to see more action too. It's a pity that almost nothing happened. We couldn't really get a picture of his current condition or how far along he is." On the whole the trainer was happy with the teams performance: "It was a good training session for everyone. The ball flowed well and we played some good combination football. That was alright."
General manager Klaus Allofs saw the charity side of the tie as being in the foreground: "The important thing is that we could play our part here in ensuring that football continues here. When we can help a club with whom we've been connected with for many years then we will." Werder Bremen charged no fee for the game in Meppen. All takings went into supporting the club who are currently experiencing some financial difficulties.
John Muldoon
