The last part of the schedule for the champions reunion was the Loft at the Bremen main railway station. That was the place where the big double celebration took place - nearly 10...
The last part of the schedule for the champions reunion was the Loft at the Bremen main railway station. That was the place where the big double celebration took place - nearly 10...
The last part of the schedule for the champions reunion was the Loft at the Bremen main railway station. That was the place where the big double celebration took place - nearly 10 years ago. "We came back to the place where the most legendary party for all of us took place," said Markus Daun Saturday, thinking back to the Green-Whites party a decade ago. Daun was part of the 2003-04 team which finished ahead of their rivals Bayern Munich to win the German championship and shortly thereafter won the German DFB Cup to complete the biggest triumph in the club's history. And 10 years later, nearly all of the double heroes were back together to bask in the glory of nostalgia.
"Whenever I am in Bremen, I am always happy. But today it is something special. It's a big moment for everyone. For the team, the fans - actually for the entire Werder family. It will be very emotional," said Ailton even before the appearance of the championship heroes during half-time of the Hertha Berlin match. And the Brazilian, who was the league's leading scorer that season with 28 goals, proved to be right.
Micoud, Klasnic, Baumann and Co. were frenetically celebrated at 4:21 p.m. as stadium PA announcers Christian Stoll and Arnd Zeigler read off one-by-one the first names of the double winners with the fans screaming out the players' last names. And every one of the players felt a wave of passion going from the players' tunnel onto the pitch. Whether it was long A in Ailton or a long I in Micoud, the audience felt as if they were transformed back to the 2003-04 championship season.
The championship coach Thomas Schaaf was also given a special reception. "This team was definitely a special team. And 2004 was an extraordinary year. A year you don't experience very often here. I am happy to see the guys again. It's really something special," said Schaaf. Among his "guys" was also Johan Micoud. The Frenchman, who is no longer in the football business, was happy about his return to Bremen. "It's always nice to come to this city, in this stadium," said Micoud. And Andreas Reinke added: "When you go down to Osterdeich and experience the great atmosphere in the stadium and see the old colleagues, then it's a pretty nice thing."