Vastly improved FC Augsburg

In Werder’s 3-1 loss in the first half in Augsburg, the hosts were the hungrier and in the end stronger team.
First Team
Friday, 01.03.2013 / 09:22

Werder Bremen are hoping for a completely different performance on the 24th game day than the match last weekend. The Green-Whites will take on FC Augsburg on Saturday 2 March 2013 at 3:30 p.m. and the guests have very little..

Werder Bremen are hoping for a completely different performance on the 24th game day than the match last weekend. The Green-Whites will take on FC Augsburg on Saturday 2 March 2013 at 3:30 p.m. and the guests have very little in common with Bayern Munich other than their similar Bavarian roots. But Werder's 3-1 loss in the first match-up showed that Augsburg have some strong qualities despite being 16th on the table and cannot be underestimated.

Just like last season, things went pretty poorly for Augsburg in the first half of this season. Both this and last season, they spent the winter break in last place but then gathered points in the second half as though they were an international team. Augsburg have collected nine points already in 2013 with just one close defeat, giving them the lead in the fight against relegation at the moment.

Sascha Mölders has already scored nine times in just 13 matches.

Mölders a symbol for Augsburg's push

There are a number of reasons for that. New manager Stefan Reuter went out on the transfer market in the winter and got cheap but effective reinforcements. In addition to Michael Parkhurst and Stephan Hahn, Augsburg's new offensive force Ji Dong-Won helped beat fellow relegation candidates Hoffenheim with a fantastic goal. Ji and his South Korean compatriot Koo Ja Cheol, who returned for the second half after a long injury in the first half, build a strong central midfield. And the biggest beneficiary of that is Augsburg's current man of the hour Sascha Mölders. The striker has already scored five times in 2013. "He just has an irrepressible will. That's his style of play and he's been able to implement that very, very well at the moment," said Werder coach Thomas Schaaf.

"They have really caught wind in the last few weeks. I think they have a lot of courage and you can see that in their very dedicated play. Even in Leverkusen, they really attacked the opponents offensively and didn't hide at all," said Schaaf. And the coach knows that his team must try to break down Augsburg's offensive game. In that regard, Schaaf is calling for a strong, aggressive and motivated performance by his team against Augsburg.

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