For those who believe in Werder Bremen's sporting direction, the up-coming UEFA Cup quarter final first leg against AZ Alkmaar is not to be missed. The game promises a clash between two strong, attacking teams who play fast, combination football.
For those who believe in Werder Bremen's sporting direction, the up-coming UEFA Cup quarter final first leg against AZ Alkmaar is not to be missed. The game promises a clash between two strong, attacking teams who play fast, combination football.
For those who believe in Werder Bremen's sporting direction, the up-coming UEFA Cup quarter final first leg against AZ Alkmaar is not to be missed. The game promises a clash between two strong, attacking teams who play fast, combination football. A real end to end battle is in sight: “It would be very wrong to think that Alkmaar are not going to want to play football against us”, prophecised general manager Klaus Allofs. With the game from last weekend still in mind, Allofs continued: “No matter who you ask, all the experts in Holland have a great deal of respect for Alkmaar. They are like Ajax Amsterdam, from the last round, plus ten percent extra, despite being behind Ajax in the table.”
The Green-Whites trainer Thomas Schaaf also knows all about the attacking abilities of the Dutch side: “They have really made people sit up and take notice of them in the last year. They have scored lots of goals and have performed very strongly. They have proven that against other European teams too.”
Werder have a particular amount of respect for the effectivity of their opponents: “If you look back at their results, they have often achieved exactly the results they needed to progress. Everything fit together. They never produced anymore than was necessary”, acknowledged Thomas Schaaf. Allofs added: “When we played Ajax, we had a chance to see how AZ did against Fenerbahce. They were 2:0 down and got back to 2:2. In the first leg they were 3:0 down and got back to draw that one too. They are not just your ordinary opponents.”
The secret to their success would appear to lie in their attack: “With Koevermans, Arveladze and the others up front, they possess real quality. You can't afford to underestimate them. Sometimes they are very subdued and then strike really quickly”, said Schaaf.
Werder are not to be startled though. The Green-Whites arrived in Holland with their heads held high on Wednesday afternoon: “We know we are one of the strongest footballing sides in the Bundesliga. You've got to be good to get a result against us”, remarked Allofs and announced the expected attacking tactics of Werder: “Alkmaar are a team that can score goals away from home too and for that reason we shouldn't rely too much on home advantage, instead lay the groundwork here.”
Punctually for the Bundesliga's second place club, the personnel situation has improved. Midfielders Tim Borowski and Frank Baumann both checked into the team hotel on Wednesday: “We have a better squad when they are in it. We want them back in as quickly as possible after their absences. We've been waiting for them for long enough.We'll see in training if they are ready to be included in the starting eleven.”
Johnnie Muldoon
