Wome's Run: Never Lost To Chelsea

First Team
Monday, 11.09.2006 / 16:31

Despite the negative display and result in the DFB Cup as well as the list of injuries, the mood at Bremen Airport was up-beat as the team prepared to take to the skies with London for the Chelsea clash in their sights.

Despite the negative display and result in the DFB Cup as well as the list of injuries, the mood at Bremen Airport was up-beat as the team prepared to take to the skies with London for the Chelsea clash in their sights. : “To play at stadiums in England is always something special. Even the evening before the game for the final training session you get goose pimples”, commented Clemens Fritz, who played at Anfield Road against Liverpool with Bayer Leverkusen. Andreas reinke also has fond memories of his London experience: “I played against Tottenham Hotspurs for Kaiserslautern in the UEFA-Cup.” Back then the 'Red Devils' from Lautern were beaten 1:0 but notched up a 2:0 win in the second leg and proceeded to the third round.

 

One particular Werder man has distinct experience of playing against FC Chelsea – Pierre Wome. Werder’s summer signing once played in the colours of FC Fulham and was particularly optimistic prior to take-off on Monday morning: “I’ve never lost a game against Chelsea. I played against them twice for Fulham, wnning at home and getting a 1:1 draw at their place.” Wome continued confidently: “Tomorrow I want to win there.”

 

Trainer Thomas Schaaf is not just going to rely on his players experience though. The coach has had his opponent watched very carefully and has made some observations: “Everone knows that they have a collective group of high quality players and my colleague has no problems in exchanging any player. They have the very best that’s on the market at the moment in their squad. With players there such as Ballack, Lampard or Schevchenko, it’s not possible to concentrate on just one individual.” So far as the style of the English champions play is concerned the 46 year old remarked: “They do have central defenders who tend not to push forward but even there they have players who can do a lot for the offensive game they play.”

 

The Green-Whites are not about to go weak at the knees worrying about their opponents though: “It will be difficult to find a chink in their armour but if you look very carefully, you can see that Chelsea too have had their problems since the World Cup, just like any other side with so many internationals within their ranks. They’re not yet at full fitness and still haven’t really gelled.”

 

The coach is aware though that his side will have their work cut out for them: “All those problems apply to us too and probably this time even more so than in previous years. For the internationals we’ve always only managed a short preparatory period, such as last year after the Confederations Cup. The point is that when that becomes repetitive, the effects are more noticeable.” Schaaf is expecting a raise in his teams performance: “I am sure that we can quickly win back the stability of our play. That is a process that shouldn’t take too long. It would be all the better if the bubble were to burst on Tuesday”, explained Schaaf.

 

The Bremen head coach went on: “We have earned an amount of international success in recent years which we must confirm again and again.” The trainer wants to take the example made by Premier League club Charlton Athletic, who were beaten 2:1 by Chelsea at the weekend but had the clear favourites on the verge of a defeat. “They were right in a lot of what they did and even got an equaliser. It was only a lapse in concentration that decided the game in favour of the champions”, noted Schaaf who hopes to see the game on Tuesday evening take its course without such unnecessary mistakes proving decisive.

 

Johnnie Muldoon

 

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