Schaaf: "I'd Prefer To Be Out There As A Player"

First Team
Wednesday, 22.11.2006 / 08:12

When Thomas Schaaf thinks of the tie against Chelsea, he’d very much like to be lacing up his own boots again to take an active part: “If I’m totally honest, I would naturally prefare to experience such a game as a player. Everyone dreams of being back at it again.

When Thomas Schaaf thinks of the tie against Chelsea, he’d very much like to be lacing up his own boots again to take an active part: “If I’m totally honest, I would naturally prefare to experience such a game as a player. Everyone dreams of being back at it again. You could tell in training though that some of the other players are a bit quicker so I don’t think anything will come of that tomorrow”, who attempted with a grin to explain the excitement prior to Wednesday nights big clash. Later he added: “It’s a fantastic feeling as a trainer too though.”

 

The clash with Chelsea, the English Premier League title holders, is the absolute highlight of the 5th match day in Europe’s top club competition. 270 journalists will follow the tie, 26 camera’s will record the coverage and transmit live pictures to some 60 countries around the globe.

 

With that in mind, Werder have every intention of realising their dream of reaching the latter stages of the tournament and take a step closer to that against one of Europe’s top sides: “We have every opportunity and want to take those now. We want to use this game to return to our fitness, use our fully loaded battery and find our way back to our old strength”, explained Per Mertesacker, who took a place at the internationally inspired press conference on Tuesday. Werder wish to perform great acts on a great stage: “We have to show everything that we can do, at this level, it’s just not enough to concentrate on one or the other aspect”, warned Schaaf who doesn’t expect the English side to hold back despite their strong position in the group and their up-coming mega-clash with Manchester United in the Premier League this Sunday: “Firstly, we can’t imagine that they would want to lose a game, especially as it’s important to gain confidence prior to such a big match. Secondly they have an extremely high quality team of players in every position”, noted Schaaf. Klaus Allofs shrugged his shoulders: “Who wants to play in such a B team? There just aren’t those kind of players.” Almost by way of complimenting Allofs comments, Jose Mourinho announced the changes he will be making to his side on Tuesday evening: “Cole will play in place of Robben, Ballack for lampard and Boulharouz for Carvalho.” A ‘B-team’ certainly looks differentand then Mourinho added: “I can only state once and clearly that we are here to win! I only want to lose when I play with my kids.”

 

It’s up to Werder to put it up to the London club in the opinion of Allofs: “I can only imagine, that only if we should put up a top performance from the out-set that we can show them there is nothing available for them in Bremen. Maybe they’ll fail to defend themselves as per normal considering the challenge but that can only happen if we play very strongly.” Klaus Allofs pointed to the example of FC Barcelona last season as to how top teams deal with such situations: “They played their final group game with what many considered to be a weakened team, gave their all and won it to qualify for the final stages. Teams on that level always want to win every game.”

 

Barcelona could again this year be responsible for Werders qualification. This time though it would be down to them dropping points against Levski Sofia. Nobody in Bremen really expects that to happen: “We hope that the Bulgarians will respond to the task better than they did against us but we won’t be worrying about that match. We’ll ask about the result of that one when our game is over.”

 

As far as Michael Ballack is concerned though, he’d prefer to see Werder qualify in second place behind the English giants. Per Mertesacker spoke to his international colleague last week as the German squad were together: “He gave me the impression that he’d prefer to see us progress. I think he secretly has his fingers crossed for his international team mates and would love to see them experience some success.” Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho was disinterested in commenting when faced with that particular question: “Of course Barcelona are a joint favourite for the title and Bremen are rank outsiders but if I said I wished Werder the progression and they then beat us in the quarter final I would be a laughing stock.”

 

Johnnie Muldoon

 

What Chelsea had to say of Werder Bremen

 

Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf (pictured) and international defender Per Mertesacker had to answer questions from the German media on tiredness and the English media on the possibility of Chelsea not looking to win the game at their Uefa press conference this afternoon, Monday.

 

Bremen have taken one point from their last two Bundesliga games, and the first question to Mertesacker was about how tired the team has looked. He dismissed the idea.

 

‘We’re looking forward to this game. Of course we’ve lost a bit of our strength lately, but this is a very good possibility to get to the next stage. We’re all looking forward to his game. Of course it’s a big challenge, but it’s a great game.’

 

Schaaf denied that striker Aaron Hunt was looking tired. ‘He has played great games and we are very happy with his performance. We can expect something more of him, that’s for sure, but we cannot blame him for the poor results of the near past. That’s not his fault. He will be on the roster.’

 

Schaaf also said that defender Christian Schulz who has been injured recently is fit again.

 

The English press wondered if Chelsea might not be on top of our game due to a defeat putting Barcelona in qualifying difficulty and also due to the more crucial match in the Premiership against Manchester United coming up at the weekend.

 

Schaaf scoffed at the idea. ‘I don’t think they will be unconcentrated. I think they have prepared very well for the game tomorrow night. I think it’s important for them to go home and prepare for Manchester having won here, and I think they will do everything to win the game.

 

‘I don’t think that there is any team that likes to lose games, and I cannot imagine that Chelsea will lose the game on purpose. We know that Chelsea has very good players and very good quality on their roster and can always have a strong performance. We just have to be concentrated on our game and on ourselves.

 

‘Both teams have a very important task tomorrow night and both can strengthen their positions. We know how much self-confidence a good game can get us, for example the Barcelona game, and we all know that Bremen and Chelsea are two very good teams and play football very well.’

 

He sidestepped the need to go for a win. If Bremen draw and Barcelona win at Levski, then both will have eight points, and a score draw in the final game at the Nou Camp will almost certainly put Barcelona through. A Bremen win tomorrow will mean a Barcelona win at the Nou Camp will be necessary for Barça to have any chance of qualifying.

 

‘We’re not at the Barcelona game yet,’ he said, ‘and to be honest I don’t really care how Barcelona plays in Levski. It’s important to see how the performance of my team is tomorrow and then we’ll see how the game in Barcelona will be. Nevertheless, I think it will be very a interesting one.’

 

On specific issues, the following was said.

 

Mertesacker on how much respect he has for Didier Drogba: ‘A certain amount of respect, just normal in the Bundesliga and Champions League. It’s not okay to be afraid of Didier Drogba and I don’t think we’ll be afraid. We know he’s a very strong player and it will certainly be a challenge, but we’ll see.’

 

Mertesacker on meeting with Michael Ballack when with the national team and whether they talked about the game: ‘I think he’s happy to be here in Germany and I think he would prefer it if Bremen reached the next stage rather than Barcelona. He wants Germany to have a better international reputation and therefore of course it’s better if a German team advances to the next level.’

 

Schaaf on what he learned about Chelsea in London: ‘We are not allowed to make any mistakes.’

 

Schaaf on José Mourinho: ‘I can only say something from far away, but everywhere he has been he has been very successful, and everything I hear from his players and former players is very positive, and he has to be a top manager.’

 

Weitere News

Your web browser ist outdated.
The web browser you are using is no longer supported.
Please download one of these free and up to date browsers.
Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge
Chrome Firefox Edge
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
MS Edge
Why should I use an up to date web browser?
Security
Newer web browsers provide better protection against malware, data theft and other threats to your privacy and security. Up to date browsers continuously close security holes that allow attackers to enter your computer.
New Technologies
The technologies used on modern websites are better supported by newer web browsers. This both increases functionality and improves the website layout. By benefiting from new functions and extensions you will be able to surf the web faster and easier.