On Wednesday, 27.09.2006 at 8:45pm, Werder Bremen will meet FC Barcelona for the fifth time in the clubs history. The Bremen side face an opponent again that they have never managed to beat.
On Wednesday, 27.09.2006 at 8:45pm, Werder Bremen will meet FC Barcelona for the fifth time in the clubs history. The Bremen side face an opponent again that they have never managed to beat.
On Wednesday, 27.09.2006 at 8:45pm, Werder Bremen will meet FC Barcelona for the fifth time in the clubs history. The Bremen side face an opponent again that they have never managed to beat. In the 1983 European Super Cup Final, Werder took a 1:1 home result to Barcelona and were narrowly beaten 2:1 in the return leg. Last season Werder were beaten in both legs of the first round against the Spanish giants (2:0, 3:1) but managed to leave a deep impression on the subsequent tournament winners.
Deco – impressed by the Werder attack
“Last season Werder were our toughest opponents in the group”, remembers Barcelona’s midfield playmaker Deco. “We got a little lucky with the 2:0 win in Bremen”. The Portugese international was also impressed by Werder Bremen’s attacking style: “That impresses me”, explained the 29 year old and Xavi was equally positive about how the Green-Whites play: “In addition to the traditional strengths they also try to play good football”, noted the Catalan midfield man.
Samuel Eto’o in top form
With all the respect they may have for the German side, Barcelona make the trip to the Weser as clear favourites. The ‘Azulgrana’ have followed up the title win and Champions League success from last season with a great start to the new season. The Spanish masters were beaten severely by FC Seville in the Super Cup final (4:0) but since then have notched up a number of impressive results in the league against Celta Vigo (3:2), CA Osasuna (3:0) and Racing Santander (3:0) whilst drawing 1:1 with FC Valencia last weekend. Particularly impressive has been the form of young striker Samuel Eto’o who has scored four goals so far this season.
Werder have no need to hide
Werder Bremen and in particular defender Clemens Fritz feel they have no need to fear the attacking potential of this guests this week: “We are playing at home and want all three points”, explained the 25 year old new signing. Torsten Frings is also quietly confident: “We will have to play positively and prevent them from getting into the game. Then we could cause an upset.” The head coach of the German outfit Thomas Schaaf declared: “We have to approach the match with 100% will.” The Werder trainer is realistic though and expecting Barcelona to be even stronger than last season.”
Barcelona Improvements
The Champions League title holders have managed to strengthen their side yet further for the challenge ahead. The Catalan club snapped up both Liliam Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta from disgraced Italian’s Juventus Turin. The Barcelona strike force has also been bolstered by Icelandic international Eidur Surdi Gudjohnson from FC Chelsea. Still, Frank Rijkaard’s side have had to deal with the departures of Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich) and Henrik Larsson (Helsingborg SK).
On Wednesday, Bremen will most likely have to make do without Hugo Almeida who is suffering from a calf injury and has not trained since the HSV game: “He was injured during the scene which almost led to the 2:0 – It doesn’t look good though”, commented Thomas Schaaf who does have other alternatives up top.
World Cup ‘Golden Boot’ winner Miroslav Klose was able to get through a complete training session and is optimistic about his chances: “I’m not in any pain. I took it easy with shooting, I didn’t want to overdo it. So long as all goes well in the final training session, not like last week, then I expect to play”. His colleagues were also delighted with the news. Tim Borowski: “He is really important to us with his presence on the pitch and his constant availability.”
Midfield ace Diego is also fit again after the cruel foul which cut his game short against HSV on Saturday. “I’m not in pain anymore, I feel good and it looks like I’ll be able to play.”
The training staff took the opportunity to try out all available options for Wednesday during training. It was a long, tough training session for all involved with numerous variations on the cards. Schaaf commented: “I just wanted to give the team some idea of what will be awaiting them on Wednesday. We have any number of variations so at the moment I still have no set first eleven in my head.”
Tim Borowski sees possible changes in a rather positive light: “We haven’t started two games this season with same eleven and as such it’s not a new situation for us. The result of which is that it is also more difficult for Barcelona to prepare for us.”
