Final leg in Leverkusen

There was an atmosphere of communal bliss at the Weser Stadium last Saturday afternoon. Werder Bremen had beaten Hannover 6:1 in the final home game of the Bundesliga season and club veteran Tim Borowski was given a euphoric send off by some 40,000 ecstatic Green-Whites fans.

“I was absolutely delighted about that,” commented the 28 year old as he recalled his substitution, and general manager Klaus Allofs went on: “It was confirmation of the fact that no one has forgotten what he has done for the club in his time here.” Before Tim Borowski begins the trek down a new road though, there is still the final leg of this journey – a game in Leverkusen which could secure Werder’s direct qualification for next season’s Champions League competition.

The fact that it won’t be an easy task was made clear by both Klaus Allofs and Per Mertesacker who spoke for everyone at the club: “This game is of vital importance,” reminded ‘Merte’ and Allofs added: “It’s a really tough challenge, Leverkusen need the points.”

source: werder.de

Werder enjoy a racy first date with Volkswagen

Plenty of horses under the hood! Plenty of aero-dynamic designs! Plenty of fun to be had! For the Werder Bremen players, Tuesday represented the first date with new top sponsor Volkswagen – and it was a successful first meeting between the players and the car manufacturer, who took the opportunity to do some speedy test driving directly at the Weser Stadium.

A twelve man ‘Volkswagen-Experience’ team blocked off the two main parking lots in order to present the company’s product range. Frings, Fritz & Co. were given the opportunity to let off some steam. They could either test drive their future company car themselves or take it easy on the passenger seat and enjoy a first-hand display with two professional racing drivers. And they could show just what these new vehicles are capable of.

“It was great fun to get to know each model available. The cars have some serious power under the bonnet. I’ve tested them all out,” grinned horse-power junky Sebastian Boenisch, who gave some of the guys from the VW-Group a taste of his driving talents.”

More settled about the task of selecting a new company car was team captain Frank Baumann, who took a more conservative approach to the search: “The range available from VW is just so massive that I really can’t decide. I will keep my ear to the ground and make up my mind about which one to take over the next few days.”

source: werder.de

Vander and Co-Trainer trio extend contracts

On Tuesday afternoon, Werder Bremen’s general manager Klaus Allofs confirmed the completion of four personnel related matters. Goalkeeper Christian Vander, as well as all three members of trainer Thomas Schaaf’s coaching team, Wolfgang Rolff, Matthias Hönerbach and Michael Kraft, have extended their contracts with the club for a further two years.

On the continued co-operation with Vander, Allofs said: “This is our way of expressing how satisfied we are with him. He meets all of our demands. He is both a good and a reliable goalkeeper. He makes a good impression on us and the players as well as always being highly motivated. He drives Tim Wiese to perform so strongly,” explained the Werder general manager, who went on to say: “In the public eye he doesn’t come off so well. We get to see him every day in training, where he continually performs on the sort of level that he displayed under competitive conditions against Real Madrid and Hamburg SV.”

source: werder.de

Klasnic eager to sort future

Werder Bremen striker Ivan Klasnic wants his future to be decided before Euro 2008.amid reports of bids from Turkey and England.

The Croatia striker is out of contract in the summer and negotiations over a new deal are set to commence after the final game of the season on Saturday.

However, according to Bild newspaper, Besiktas have stolen a march on Bremen by tempting the 28-year-old with a lucrative offer.

Wigan are also believed to be monitoring the situation regarding the frontman, who has returned to form after a kidney transplant last year.

“I want clarity before the European Championships,” said Klasnic.

That leaves Bremen just a few days after next weekend to convince him to stay before he joins the Croatia squad for their Euro 2008 preparations.

source: sportinglife.com

Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 33

Mathew Burt runs the rule over the best in Germany over the midweek matches in Round 33, which saw Hansa Rostock and Duisburg finally relegated but the race for Uefa Cup places hot up.

Wolfsburg trounced Stuttgart 4-0, while Bayer Leverkusen got back into contention with a 2-1 win over Rostock. There are now four teams trying to secure just two European places. Werder Bremen thrashed Hannover 6-1 at the Weser Stadion to cement second place behind champions Bayern Munich.

Adler

Fritz   Naldo   Demichelis   Krstajic

Azaouagh   Borowski   Frings   Rolfes

Podolski   Sestak

Goalkeeper:

1)  Rene Adler (Bayer Leverkusen)

“Thank god for Rene Adler” were trainer Michael Skibbe’s words at the final whistle as his side celebrated a 2-1 win over Hansa Rostock.  The Werkself scored two penalties to put them in front, but relegation threatened Hansa really put the pressure on the Bayer goal, but just couldn’t find a way past possibly the ‘Goalkeeper of the Season’.  He pulled off some tremendous saves in the dying minutes to seal an important three points in Leverkusen’s bid for a Uefa Cup berth.

Defenders:

2)  Clemens Fritz (Werder Bremen)

Werder’s right full back was on good form against Hannover and did his chances of making it into Joachim Löw’s final squad for the European Championships this summer no harm at all.  Secure at the back, Fritz could often be seen as an additional wide midfielder as Bremen tore Hannover to shreds in the second half.

3)  Naldo (Werder Bremen)

The classy Brazilian defender strode forward to set up Hugo Almeida for Werder’s opening goal in their 6-1 thrashing of Hannover before he beat Vinicius to the ball to head in the Green and Whites second of the game after just 27 minutes.  Adept at the back, and a danger going forward, the Brazilian was on top form on Saturday.

4)  Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)

Demichelis underlined why he is possibly Bayern’s best defensive player this season, and potentially the best defender in the league.  His ability to read the game and deal with the danger quickly and without fuss against Duisburg led to Bayern having an easier time of it than they may have thought against a side close to the drop and fighting for their lives.  Solid and dependable.

5)  Mladen Krstajic (Schalke)

Krstajic was the match winner for Schalke against Eintracht Frankfurt heading in the only goal of the game with a flying effort after 65 minutes.  Rakitic’s corner found the Serb in the middle and he scored a potentially vital goal in the Königsblauen’s bid to finish second.  With regard the Champions League next season, the goal could well be worth millions.

Midfielders:

6)  Thorsten Frings (Werder Bremen)

Frings has had a torrid season with injuries but he looked back to his majestic best on Saturday against Hannover.  Biting in the tackle and driven, the midfielder enforcer allowed his team mates to attack and will have given German trainer Yogi Löw a timely reminder of his form.

7)  Mimoun Azaouagh (Bochum)

A day after signing a new permanent deal at Bochum, U-21 midfielder Mimoun Azaouagh put in a ‘Man of the Match’ display for Bochum to show the fans just what they are getting.  He scored the away side’s first goal himself against Karlsruhe, before turning provider for Dabrowski.  He was the creative force in the Bochum midfield as they triumphed 3-1 over KSC.

8) Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen)

The Werder midfielder was given a fine send off by the home fans inside the Weser Stadion on Saturday.  Borowski will join Bayern Munich next season and his commanding display highlighted just what Werder will be missing.  He capped an impressive display with a goal and a 6-1 victory.  Werder’s loss will be Bayern’s gain.

9) Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen)

After two successive defeats, Leverkusen needed to get themselves back on track and midfielder Rolfes helped them do that against Rostock with a top performance.  He kept his nerve before half time to stroke home a penalty to put the Werkself in front.  Rolfes was the key man in the Bayer engine room and deserves a large slice of the credit for their win (alongside keeper Adler).

Forwards:

10) Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)

With both Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose out injured, the responsibility for getting the goals fell to Podolski, who was partnered by Jan Schlaudraff.  The youngster didn’t disappoint (as he has done at times this season) scoring two early goals to send Duisburg down into the second division.

11) Stanislav Sestak (Bochum)

He may not have hit 20 goals and finished top of the goal scoring charts, but Stanislav Sestak has gone a long way to make Bochum fans forget about Theofanis Gekas.  The Slovak hit his 13th league goal of the season against Karlsruhe to cap a fine debut season in the Bundesliga.  He has quickly become a fan’s favourite and will be looking forward already to a second successful season for Bochum.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are only eleven slots in the team of the week, so some players who played well for their club haven’t made it.  They do however get an honourable mention.

Anthar Yahia (Bochum) was a rock at the back against Karlsruhe as was Per Mertesacker for Werder Bremen.  Petri Pasanen was on form at full back in a fine display for Thomas Schaaf’s side.

Another defender to impress was Marcelo Bordon of Schalke.  Stiven Rivic was on top form for Cottbus as they secured their top flight status, while the whole Wolfsburg’s team deserve a mention for their display against Stuttgart.

source: goal.com