Schaaf Stays Cool Despite The Heat Of The Couldron

First Team
Wednesday, 29.08.2007 / 10:41

For Dinamo trainer Branko Ivankovic, it will be a „Festival of football for all the fans. Our supporters will be behind us for the full 90 minutes.”

For Dinamo trainer Branko Ivankovic, it will be a „Festival of football for all the fans. Our supporters will be behind us for the full 90 minutes.” For Jurica Vranjes it’s a match in hell! I know that from games with the national team. These fans can force an extra 20% - 30% out of the players. “ Klaus Allofs knows: “Anyone fearing going into this game shouldn’t even be on the plane to Zagreb.” Trainer Thomas Schaaf is remaining cool headed: “At the end of the day it’s still just a game of football.”

 

Those in charge at Werder know their side all too well and will not need any special coaxing to fully motivate the players: “The lads are well aware of exactly what this means. There is a big difference between playing in the UEFA Cup and in the Champions League – the financial aspect alone is decisive. It can have a detrimental effect on the development of the team in the coming months and even years. If we were not to progress it would be a setback for us, or at the very least leave us stuck were we are”, explained general manager Klaus Allofs. Coach Thomas Schaaf added: “Our goal is clear. It would be sensational to reach the Champions League for the fourth time in a row.”

 

The Werder management and coaching staff will be hoping to use just that experience to survive the pressure at the bubbling cauldron of the Maksimir Stadium, which presented a bare and somewhat run-down appearance as Werder trained on Tuesday evening: “We won’t experience anything there that we haven’t already seen. Our players have been involved in World Cups and European Championships. They came through the test in Basel and have stood their own in many tense, packed stadiums”, noted Allofs.

 

Even without the expected tension in the air for Wednesday’s clash, the Werder players are already tingling to their toes with concentration and preparation for the game, as Jurica Vranjes explained: “Of course it’s a very special game, only these 90 minutes count. You can’t make things better that go wrong. It’s the match of the year. We’ll certainly be stronger than we were two weeks ago when we didn’t exactly put on a perfect performance. If we raise our game then Dinamo won’t be in a position to play theirs.” As far as a game plan goes, Thomas Schaaf said: “Dinamo will put on a stronger performance but we will too. We are two weeks further along now and have been working on ourselves on a daily basis.”

 

Both teams will have to rise to the occasion and the narrow 2:1 win in the first leg doesn’t leave Werder with any room for error. Ivankovic summed up: “A 1:0 win would put us through but we will have to be disciplined for the entire game. On the other hand we will have to take a calculated risk.” No easy task in front of such fanatical supporters.

 

Johnnie Muldoon

 

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