Florian Meyer to take charge in Berlin

Experienced FIFA referee Florian Meyer will take charge of the Bundesliga clash this Saturday, 05.04.2008, between Hertha BSC Berlin and Werder Bremen. The referee from Lower Saxony has dealt with the Green-Whites on a total of twelve occasions throughout his Bundesliga career from which Werder only lost one game – back in 2002 when Bremen stumbled to a 1:3 against 1860 Munich. Meyer last took charge of a Werder match at the Weser Stadium on 16.02.2008 as the Green-Whites beat FC Nuremberg 2:0.

Florian Meyer played actively for Eintracht Braunschweig before deciding to take to the whistle in 1982. He has refereed 144 Bundesliga games in total and gathered a great deal of experience internationally both at club and national level. This Saturday he will be assisted on the sidelines by Thomas Frank from Hanover and Dirk Margenberg from Wermelskirchen, with Stefan Lupp from Zossen acting as the fourth official.

source: werder.de

The battle for places heats up

The Green-Whites are looking to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga when they take on Hertha BSC this weekend in Berlin and one possible guarantor for that could well lie in the battle for places, which has heated up in light of the number of previously injured players who are again available: “We have a different situation now to the one that we’ve had for about 85% of the season. We have 25 or 26 players available now from which I have to choose 18. Everyone knows that he gets stuck in or gets left out”, commented Thomas Schaaf, who sees the personnel situation positively.

“Everyone has to give a little extra, not just those who are looking to get back in the squad. Those in the starting eleven will have to improve on what they showed the previous week – which means every player from number 1 to number 40 in the squad”, explained Schaaf, and the trainer saw just how serious these opinions are being taken out on the training pitch in the past few days. It may be of some assistance, albeit a little disappointing, that Werder are now in a position to focus 100% on the Bundesliga: “Now that we are out of the cup competitions we have more time to train but that doesn’t mean we’re being barricaded in”, remarked team captain Frank Baumann.

In order to make perfect use of the situation, Thomas Schaaf intends to draw out the battle for places until the very last moment. Following the final training session on Friday afternoon, the coach will select his 18 man squad: “We will take everything into account, including the impressions made during the final training session”, concluded Schaaf. It could be a tough on a number of players after a hard week of training to find they haven’t made the cut.

source: werder.de

Hertha Berlin v Werder Bremen: Preview

Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf has taken a hard line with his team this week in a bid to stop the rot ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hertha Berlin.Two consecutive Bundesliga defeats have seen fifth-placed Bremen drop out of the Champions League berths, while their hold on the final UEFA Cup spot is under threat from in-form Stuttgart, two points behind them in sixth.

Schaaf cancelled all his team’s days off this week and also called in his players for a double training session on Wednesday.

“The team worked very well,” Schaaf told reporters after that session.

Schaaf’s week has also been blighted by fresh speculation on the future of talented midfielder Diego, whose father and agent on Thursday claimed Real Madrid, Juventus and Arsenal were leading the chase to sign the Brazilian.

Whether Diego stays or goes is likely to depend on Bremen’s participation or otherwise in next season’s Champions League.

The chances of that being realised are reducing by the day, but Bremen will at least be buoyed by the prospect of facing Hertha at the Olympic Stadium, where they have lost only once on their previous five visits.

Hertha have their own transfer rumours to contend with after Germany international Arne Friedrich was linked with a big-money move to Roma.

Bremen’s Tim Borowski is definitely on the move after agreeing to join Bayern Munich in the summer, but for now he remains a key part of Schaaf’s squad, which is shorn of injured duo Daniel Jensen and Pierre Wome.

Hertha coach Lucien Favre will give a late fitness test to top scorer Marco Pantelic (calf) before deciding on his starting XI.

source: espnsoccernet.com

Here are the highlights of the first match, played on Weserstadion on 10th match day:

Andreas Herzog interview

Andreas Herzog is well known in the Bundesliga. In almost ten years, he played in 264 Bundesliga games, scoring 59 goals. Almost the whole time, he played for Werder Bremen. The only time he played for another Bundesliga team was the 1995-1996 season, when he played for FC Bayern.

Herzog has been Assistant Manager of the Austrian national team since January 2006, and is now busy getting ready for the upcoming EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

bundesliga.de speaks with Herzog, who talks about “his” Bremen team, predicts the Bundesliga champion and which place other teams will have at the end of the season.

bundesliga.de: Mr. Herzog, as a one-time Bundesliga great, you of course keep an on on the league. How do you evaluate the current situation in the Bundesliga?

Herzog: FC Bayern will win the title. The competition just aren’t consistent enough to take advantage of Bayern’s mistakes. Bayern are the only team that haven’t lost any important games all season long. And that’s why they’re going to win the title.

bundesliga.de: As an former Bremen player, does it bother you to see how Werder have wasted their chances to win the title?

Herzog: I was surprised that Werder were in second place despite all the mistake they made. Now they have to take care that they don’t squander a fine season.

bundesliga.de: Why should that happen now of all times, when the team finally healthy is?

Herzog: I also wonder why. You just shouldn’t lose games like the one against MSV Duisburg is you want to qualify for the Champions League. But the same is true for Schalke, Leverkusen and Hamburg. You shouldn’t give up any points to teams in danger of relegation.

bundesliga.de: In the first half of the season, Werder lost just one home game. But since the winter break they’ve lost three. How can you explain that?

Herzog: It’s hard to say. Of course it’s been a trying season for Bremen, with important players like Torsten Frings, Tim Borowski and Clemens Fritz out with long injuries. Diego hasn’t been a hundred percent lately because of a pubic bone inflammation. That sums it up. The other players have jumped into the breach, but they can’t always play to the limit.

bundesliga.de: On Matchday 27, the top game pits Stuttgart against HSV. Which will prevail: VFB’s offence, which was outstanding in Hannover, or Hamburg’s defence?

Herzog: For Hamburg, it’ll be important that their defence holds steady in Stuttgart. VfB are on the move again, after not a very good start to the season. For a while things looked really bad. But that’s how things go for a lot of teams after winning the title. But I’m predicting a draw.

bundesliga.de: Down at the other end of the table, there’s Duisburg versus Cottbus. Both of them won against big teams recently. Which one can keep a streak going?

Herzog: Duisburg won in Bremen. But of course a victory over Cottbus would be more important. MSV could get ahead of Cottbus and put them on the spot. But at the moment both teams are under tremendous pressure. When you’re playing near the top of the table, it’s a positive pressure. But in the battle against relegation, your existence is on the line, and that really strains you.

bundesliga.de: Bayern left some points behind in Nurenberg, but the competition still couldn’t close the gap on them. Does that sound familiar?

Herzog: Bayern have the best squad now. Someone like Franck Ribery can decide a game on his own. When Ribery is on form, they’re going to win games. And that’s the case most of the time.

bundesliga.de: Two more questions. Who are going to clinch Champions League berths? And who will be relegated?

Herzog: Hamburg will finish second. Werder are getting a bit weaker, and Schalke are going to be weakened by their quarter-final matches against Barcelona in the Champions League. But I think Bremen will be able to come away with third place.

bundesliga.de: And who will be relegated?

Herzog: Nurenberg are of course the season’s big disappointment. But I hope they don’t get relegated. In the end, it’ll be decided by which team picks up points on the road when no one is expecting it. Like Duisburg in Bremen. But I can’t say for sure.

source: bundesliga.de