Werder vs HSV in video

The 1985/86 had in the end a sad finish for Werder. In the last round, Werder needed only a draw away at Stuttgart to win the championship, but the game finished 2-1, with two goals by Karl Allgöwer for Stuttgart and Burgsmüller for Werder, and Werder lost the title in favor of Bayern Munchen at goal difference. From that season we can still take some good matches and one of them was the 2-0 win against HSV in the 4th match day, trough goals by Neubarth and Wolter. Here are the highlights and some interviews from that game:

In our days the big battle will be between the two gifted midfielders: Diego and Van der Vaart. Who’ll win this battle can then take his team to victory. A comparison of the two is carried out in the video below:

Bundesliga Round Up: Stuttgart Stopped, Schalke Win Ruhr Derby

Borussia Dortmund put a stop to any Champions League ambitions that Stuttgart may have harboured with a 3-2 win at the Signal Iduna Park. Elsewhere Schalke moved into second with a convincing 3-0 win over Ruhr rivals Bochum. Hansa Rostock went down to Hannover to leave them languishing at the bottom of the table.

Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Stuttgart
Bochum 0-3 Schalke
Karlsruhe 1-1 Energie Cottbus
Hannover 3-0 Hansa Rostock

Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Stuttgart

Borussia Dortmund gave their passionate fans something to celebrate with a fine 3-2 win over a Stuttgart side looking for European qualification.

A pretty average first saw Stuttgart with the upper hand but they were punished for not making the most of their superiority when Dortmund made the most of a rare opportunity. A quick throw in from Dede saw Giovanni Federico lay the ball onto Tinga on the edge of the box. The Brazilian midfielder chested the ball well, before firing a well placed shot past Schäfer in the Stuttgart goal.

Five minutes into the second 45 minutes and Stuttgart managed to get themselves back on level terms with a goal from Mario Gomez. Dortmund had trouble clearing a VfB free kick and when Fernando Meira whipped the ball back into the centre, Gomez was on hand to head in from close range.

However, their relief was short lived with Dortmund regaining the lead four minutes later. The home side were awarded a free kick on 59 minutes on the edge of the box, which Swiss striker Alexander Frei curled over the wall to outfox Stuttgart keeper Raphael Schäfer and put BVB back into the lead.

As the game proceeded and VfB looked for the equaliser, Dortmund looked to be the stronger of the two teams and they duly grabbed their third of the night on 79 minutes. Valdez beat both Beck and Meira down the left, before sliding a great ball across to Alex Frei, who had the easiest of chances to put the ball over the line.

With the clock ticking down, Mario Gomez made things interesting on 80 minutes with his second of the evening. Cacau gave him the ball and the German international let fly with a superb shot that gave Höttecke no chance in the Dortmund goal.

Bochum 0-3 Schalke

The Ruhr derby was won by Schalke to take them into second place, albeit temporarily with Werder playing tomorrow.

After a strong start to the game from the home side, Schalke came more into the game and took the lead after 34 minutes through Gerald Asamoah. Ivan Rakitic received the ball from Jermaine Jones in an offside position, but took advantage of the missing flag to cross into the middle. Former German international Asamoah was in the right place to nod home from just five meters leaving Lastuvka no chance in the Bochum goal.

The Königsblauen doubled their lead over their Ruhr rivals on 67 minutes. Altintop made a good run down the left before laying the ball back to Rakitic cutting out the entire Bochum defence as well as keeper Lastuvka. The Croatian midfielder was thus able to fire home from 13 meters with relative ease.

The result was put beyond doubt five minutes from time when Schalke captain Marcelo Bordon headed home a Rakitic free kick from close range.

Karlsruhe 1-1 Energie Cottbus

Cottbus grabbed what could be a vital point in their bid to survive with a 1-1 draw against Karlsruhe.

The spectators inside the Wildparkstadion were made to wait until the second have for the breakthrough after both defences were on top in the opening 45 minutes.

The away side grabbed the opening goal on the hour mark with Rivic getting the goal. Angelov played the ball to the Cottbus striker, who saw his shot slightly deflected Markus Miller in the KSC goal.

The home side were only behind for five minutes though with defender Stefan Buck grabbing his first of the season. Tamas Hajnal fired in a dangerous free kick on the Cottbus goal, where Buck got a fortunate touch on the ball to knock in the equaliser.

Hannover 3-0 Hansa Rostock

Struggling Hansa Rostock had the worse possible result going down 3-0 to Hannover, which sees them rooted to the foot of the table.

Hannover were slightly the better side in the first half and took a deserved lead after 19 minutes through midfielder Hanno Balitsch. American Cherundolo beat Stein on the right hand side and crossed to the edge of the six-yard box. Stajner’s header was pushed onto the bar by keeper Hahnel, but Balitsch was onto the rebound quickly to score.

Two minutes into the second half and substitute Rosenthal scored Hannover’s second. Szabolcs Huszti crossed into the centre where Orestes’ header failed to clear the lines. The ball landed at the feet of Rosenthal and he fired the ball in from 16 meters.

The three points were sealed for Hannover on 87 minutes with Rosenthal heading in his second of the game. Huszti whipped in an inviting corner that found Rosenthal’s head inside the six-yard box.

source: goal.com

Hamburg SV v Werder Bremen: Preview

Werder Bremen are sweating on the fitness of playmaker Diego as they prepare for what could be another heated north German derby against Hamburg on Wednesday.

The Brazil midfielder is still bothered by a calf strain which forced him to sit out last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Energie Cottbus.

“Diego is still having problems,” Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said. “But I hope he will be fit in time.”

With six points between the two rivals, only a win could put Hamburg back in contention for a place in the Champions League next season.

But Hamburg coach Huub Stevens tried to play down the importance of the highly anticipated clash.

“It is always nice to be among the top teams at the end of the season,” he said.

“But we don’t always have to speak about what happens if we win or lose against an opponent.

“All that matters is the position after 34 rounds.”

Stevens, who will part company with Hamburg at the end of the season to take charge at PSV Eindhoven, also tackled questions about alleged internal problems within the team.

“A lot of things have been written about crisis and disharmony,” he said.

“All I can say is that there are always problems if you work with 50 people over such a long period of time. But I have not noticed a crisis.”

Meanwhile, Bremen sports director Klaus Allofs voiced his confidence that the 87th north derby would be played in good spirits.

“It is a very special match with a lot of emotions,” he said. “There is a lot at stake but only on the sporting side.”

Torsten Frings is on the Bremen absentee list after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.

source: ESPNsoccernet.com

Carlos Alberto Joins Botafogo

Botafogo have signed Werder Bremen forward Carlos Alberto on loan for the rest of the year after he was released from a similar arrangement at São Paulo in mid-April.

Alberto, 23, was released from his loan deal at São Paulo on the 16th April after missing training earlier in the month and then having a public bust-up with team-mate Fábio Santos, which proved to the final straw for the club as they sent him back to Germany.

With a string of such incidents behind him, Alberto is quickly becoming known as a disruptive influence and his unbalanced personality appears to have all but ended his hopes of resurrecting a European career any time soon.

However, another Brazilian team are ready to take a gamble on the talented forward, with Botafogo having secured him on loan for the Brazilian Championship after a meeting between the player and sporting director Ricardo Rotenberg on Monday.

Alberto will be presented to the press as a Botafogo player on Wednesday and although he is eligible to play in the Copa do Brasil, he will not be part of the squad to face Atlético Mineiro on Thursday.

Botafogo lost out in the final of the Rio State Championship to Flamengo over the weekend, but go into the Brazilian Championship confident of improving on the 9th place finish they managed in 2007.

source: goal.com

Click here to view Carlos Alberto’s profile with pictures and videos

Will HSV again prove Werder’s gateway to the Champions League?

“We don’t need to spend so much time thinking about others but instead focus on ourselves,” said Daniel Jensen ahead of the 32nd match day of the season – which tosses up one of the most eagerly awaited games in the Werder Bremen calendar, the north German derby clash with Hamburg SV (Wednesday, 07.05.2008 kick-off 8pm). The curious thing about the Danish midfielders statement, is that it is almost identical to the one made by HSV sport director Dietmar Beiersdorfer on Monday.

The teams have shut themselves away. Neither Hamburg nor Werder have any intention of wasting the limited time they have between games as the season draws to a close. Of course there is no need to constantly stoke fires that are in no fear of burning out. The fact that both sides are treating their opponents with an equal amount of indifference is proof of the confidence brooding in the individual camps.

“Above all in Bremen it is a very important game. We are aware of that and that importance will be mirrored in the way we present ourselves,” explained Tim Borowski. A win against the league’s fourth placed side would be “important of course, but also a huge step towards direct qualification for the Champions League.” The German internationals colleague at both club and country level, Clemens Fritz looked forward optimistically stating: “We can go there feeling confident because we know exactly the sort of results we have achieved in recent games. We intend to continue our run in Hamburg.”

Werder coach Thomas Schaaf suggested the constellation was one in a “special framework” and is hopeful that both sides will “fill that framework with top performances for the sake of the fans.” A very inspiring sentiment.

source: werder.de

Ivan Klasnic nominated for Croatian EURO 2008 squad

There was fantastic news for Werder’s Ivan Klasnic on Monday afternoon as Croatian national team coach Slaven Bilic nominated the 28 year old striker for his European Championships squad. Whilst German national coach Joachim Loew will keep his final squad to himself until 16.05.2008, Klasnic knows he is one of six Bundesliga representatives who will definitely be involved in the tournament this summer.

“I’m delighted about the news. It’s a great success for me and confirmation of my good performances,” stated Klasnic, after the European Championship 2004 and World Cup 2006 participant was told of his renewed selection.

Klasnic’s team mate Jurica Vranjes did not receive the call-up from Bilic. The midfield man was not part of the 23 man Croatian squad set to take their place in Group B, along with Germany, co-hosts Austria and Poland.

source: werder.de