Borowski: “I may have mixed feelings”

After the end of this season, Werder Bremen’s Tim Borowski will be transferring to FC Bayern.

But first, he’s got this ultra-important game coming up: Werder want to beat Leverkusen and finish second in the Bundesliga.

“I can tell you that we’re back on track. We’ve just had a really good run. What’s more, this is a really important weekend for us. We can directly qualify for the Champions League”, Borowski says.

Goals galore?

Leverkusen versus Bremen: one offensive football team against another. Both teams always have their sights set on scoring plenty of goals. The first time they met this season, they scored seven times between them, as Werder downed Bayer 5-2. Based on that experience, expect another score-fest this Saturday.

“I’d have nothing against that. There are usually a lot of goals in games such as this one. These games are often more attractive than the north German derby against HSV. That game was full of battling and passion. First we have to check out how things are going on game day. What kind of form we’re in is going to play a deciding role, and of course I hope we can come out ahead”, the midfielder remarks.

“It’s good when your last game of the season gets so much attention, on account of it still being able to affect the outcome in the standings. It’s interesting and exciting when these things come down to the wire. It keeps everyone concentrated, and you know you’ve got one more big challenge and one more time when you can really go all out”, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf is looking forward to the match.

Twelve years with Werder

Tim Borowski will have plenty of time later to feel nostalgic about Bremen, but not this week. This final game of the season is simply too important for Werder. And for Borowski, who wants to leave on a high note – and to secure his spot on the Euro 2008 squad. He’s spent twelve years with Werder, from their training academy to winning the double. That’s something you can’t just forget about.

“I’ve been aware that I don’t have much more time here, and the time’s going by faster and faster. But transferring is all part of the football experience. And while I may have mixed feelings about it, seeing that I’ve been here a very long time, I’m also psyched about what lies ahead for me.”

Number two in the Bundesliga

But before that, Werder have to beat Leverkusen. They have to finish second in the table, and automatically qualify for the Champions League. That’s essential to Tim Borowski. He has no doubt about which team in the Bundesliga is number two, after his new club FC Bayern.

“Werder have gotten where they are now with consistently hard work. I don’t think anyone disputes that we’re number two!”

Bremen’s last game of the season, and Borowski’s last game for Bremen. It could be the perfect script.

source: bundesliga.de

Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 34

So the Bundesliga reaches the final weekend with Bayern Munich preparing for their title winning party at the Allianz Arena. However elsewhere, there is still lots to play for with four teams in the hunt for the two Uefa Cup places.

Down at the bottom either Arminia Bielefeld or Nürnberg will be relegated on the final day of the season to join Hansa Rostock and Duisburg, who are already down.

This season’s Bundesliga has provided plenty of drama, excitement and fantastic football even though it has at times been a bit of a one-horse race.  Bayern Munich will duly celebrate their title win with a party at the Allianz Arena, but Schalke and Werder behind them are still battling it out for the runners up spot.

Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, Wolfsburg, and Stuttgart are all on 51 points and will all believe they can grab one of the two available Uefa Cup places.  Then at the bottom of the table Bielefeld and Nürnberg know that one of them will be relegated by the time their respective matches finishes.  Bielefeld holds a slight two point advantage but anything could happen.

The final weekend looks set reproduce the drama and excitement of the rest of the season.

Saturday 17th May (all times local)

15:30  Nürnberg – Schalke

15:30  Bayer Leverkusen – Werder Bremen

15:30  Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

15:30  Stuttgart – Arminia Bielefeld

15:30  Hannover – Energie Cottbus

15:30  Borussia Dortmund – Wolfsburg

15:30  Hamburg – Karlsruhe

15:30  Bochum – Hansa Rostock

15:30  Eintracht Frankfurt – Duisburg

Nürnberg – Schalke

This really is the last-chance saloon for Nürnberg as they look to stage the great escape and keep their place in the Bundesliga.  This season has been an unmitigated disaster for last season’s Cup winners and few would have predicted this kind of fall from grace.

The bringing in of new trainer Thomas von Heesen did not have the desired effect as the new man at the helm has struggled to stop the downward spiral of ‘der Club’.  They now face a last-day make-or-break match with Schalke, who themselves still have a lot to play for.

Last weekend’s defeat to Hertha Berlin did the Franken no favours so they have to win on Saturday to have any chance of overhauling Bielefeld and saving themselves.

Schalke sit third and trail second place Werder Bremen by two points, so the Königsblauen are going to have to win and rely on Bayer Leverkusen beating Werder at the Bay-Arena.  Another year has past without Schalke winning that elusive title, but finishing second, combined with their Champions League quarter final appearance, would put a more positive light on their season.

Bayer Leverkusen – Werder Bremen

Even though it is the last game of a very long season for both these sides, the three points are still extremely important.  For a long while, Michael Skibbe’s up-and-coming young side were being touted as potential title contenders, but a slump after Christmas has seen them have to settle for a Uefa Cup battle.  A few weeks ago they slipped out of the top five altogether, but now have one game to secure one of the two spots in Europe next season.

Four teams sit on 51 points at the moment but it could be argued that both Stuttgart and Hamburg have slightly easier matches and maybe hold the advantage.  To miss out on Europe would be a huge disappointment to Bayer, and no doubt the calls for trainer Michael Skibbe’s head that were recently heard would resurface.

Werder will also be wondering what could have been after finishing neck and neck with Bayern Munich at the half way stage.  A poor run of form directly after the winter break allowed the Bavarians to open up a lead which they have only extended since then.

Finishing second will still be a positive achievement for Werder and will spare them the qualification rounds in next season’s Champions League, which considering the trouble they had against Dinamo Zagreb earlier this season maybe just as well.

Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

So the 2007/08 Bundesliga season comes to an end on Saturday and the biggest party will be at the Allianz Arena where champions Bayern Munich will receive the league trophy.  Receiving the “salad dish” at the end of the season is not a new experience for the Bavarians (this is the 20th time since 1964), but the feeling of joy will not be diminished because of that.

Alongside the celebrations, tributes will no doubt be paid to retiring legends Oliver Kahn and Ottmar Hitzfeld.  ‘Titan’ Oliver Kahn is hanging up his gloves after a glittering career, while ‘the General’ Ottmar Hitzfeld is calling it a day as Bayern trainer to take on the Swiss national team job.

Both men have given an immense amount to the club and will no doubt be honoured in the suitable way.

Hertha play a rather second fiddle role really this weekend.  The points are an irrelevance to them as they are safely ensconced in mid-table, and don’t expect too many crunching tackles to be flying around from the Berlin players.

Germany has been awarded an extra Uefa Cup place courtesy of the Uefa ‘Fair Play’ rankings, and as it stands Hertha would be the beneficiaries of that place so will want to avoid any unwanted yellow cards.

Stuttgart – Arminia Bielefeld

Another game of immense importance takes place at the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion where both VfB and Bielefeld need the points for wholly differing reasons.

The Swabians are still in with a chance of rescuing a largely disappointing season for them by finishing in one of the Uefa Cup spots.  At one stage it looked like they would be more likely to be fighting to avoid the bottom three than breaking into the top five, but a return to form aided by the goals of Mario Gomez has seem them within 90 minutes of qualifying for Europe.

It is still quite a climb down from last season’s title win though.  On paper they face one of the easier opponents, but Bielefeld will be fighting for their lives as they look to maintain their two point lead over Nürnberg, that would secure their Bundesliga survival.

However the worst defence in the league will have to tighten up considerably if they are to stop Super Mario Gomez from adding to his 18 league goals this season and troubling Luca Toni for the leading scorer’s crown.  What odds on a Gomez hat-trick?

Hannover – Energie Cottbus

With Hannover definitely out of the European race and Energie Cottbus definitely safe from the drop, both sides can relax a little at the AWD Arena in their final league outing of the campaign.

A win for the home side could see them finish as high as but Dieter Hecking and the Hannover fans are already looking to next season, where they will once again try to break into the top five and bring European football to Niedersachsen.

It will be a case of huge relief amongst the Cottbus players and fans after they secured their top flight survival last weekend.  The celebrations afterwards were akin to actually winning something, and any hangover from that would be understandable.

Borussia Dortmund – Wolfsburg

Could this be Thomas Doll’s last game in charge at Dortmund?  His reaction after the final whistle could be very revealing with the pressure still hanging over his head despite BVB being safe and knowing they have achieved Uefa Cup football next season.

However, finishing way down the table and only having a losing Cup final appearance to shout about is not considered good enough by a demanding home crowd.  Granted the financial clout is not the same as the “big boys” but it seems Doll is the one who is going to take the rap, even though the board are insisting they retain faith in him.

Felix Magath has no such worries as he has taken Wolfsburg to the verge of snatching one of the two available Uefa Cup places.  Last weeks 4-0 demolition of Stuttgart was a tremendous to watch as shows that the project that Magath started at the beginning of the season is already bearing fruit and next season could be a huge one for the ‘Wölfe’.

Rumours abound of the players coming in next season with the highest profile of them being Italians Barzagli and Zaccardo.  That however will have to wait as Saturday is all about getting the three points and qualifying for Europe.

Hamburg – Karlsruhe

In spite of their recent poor form, Hamburg still find themselves in the race for a Uefa Cup spot and will have a great chance to secure it when the face Karlsruhe at the HSH Nordbank Arena on Saturday.  KSC themselves are not the side they were earlier in the season with the fairy tale dying out but they will still look to make things difficult for the home side.

Taking HSV into Europe will be a wonderful parting gift from out-going trainer Huub Stevens, who is leaving at the season’s end to take over at PSV Eindhoven back in his homeland, where he can be closer to his wife.

Saturday’s game could also be the last time we see Rafael van der Vaart in a Hamburg shirt with a transfer to Italy or Spain still very much on the cards.  If the rumours are true, then Vincent Kompany could also be saying farewell at the HSH Nordbank Arena this weekend.

Karlsruhe would dearly like to finish the season on a high after enjoying a very successful season back in the top flight, in which they have won numerous admirers for the effort and style.

Bochum – Hansa Rostock

Bochum are safe and Hansa are already down so the two sides can just go out and play without the pressure that is on the teams still with something to play for.

Bochum have achieved their main aim of staying in the Bundesliga and have shown signs this season that last year’s 8th place finish was no fluke and they are likely to be around in the top division for a while yet.

For their part Hansa have only a return to the second division to look forward to, but they will want to say farewell with a win, especially for their long suffering, but ever loyal fans.

Eintracht Frankfurt – Duisburg

The final match of the final round sees Eintracht Frankfurt looking to end their own awful run of results against already-relegated Duisburg.

Friedhelm Funkel’s side have lost six of their last seven matches and drawn the other, so are long overdue a win.  Facing an already relegated club may well provide that win to give the fans at the Commerzbank Arena a positive result to take into the summer.

The Zebras however will return to second division after just one season in the Bundesliga.

source: goal.com

O’Neill Considers Diego Move

With Gareth Barry possibly moving on to join Liverpool, O’Neill is eager to boost his side’s central midfield capabilities.

Diego, a noted playmaker in the Bundesliga, would almost certainly add a bit of attacking spark to proceedings, and possibly displace one of Nigel Reo-Coker or Stilian Petrov in doing so.

The 23-year-old, however, will not come cheap, and Werder will almost certainly put up a fight as they look to hold onto their prized asset.

O’Neill and his chairman, though, are eager to land some top players this summer as they look to propel the Birmingham side towards a top four challenge next season.

source: goal.com

Tim Wiese ruled out of Leverkusen clash

It’s been quite a week for goalkeeper Christian Vander. Firstly he extended his current contract with Werder Bremen for a further two years and now it is clear that he will take up his place between the posts in Leverkusen this Saturday left vacant by first choice keeper Tim Wiese, who has been ruled out with a patella tendon syndrome.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to prove myself once again,” said Vander. The 28 year old played his last competitive game back in March for the Werder reserves against the VfL Wolfsburg reserves in the German regional league, north division. Vander did have to admit that such a lengthy break cannot pass by a goalkeeper without leaving some sort of mark: “Of course it’s very difficult without practice because you are out of the playing rhythm, but in training I am at 100%.”

Both the coaching staff and his team mates have absolute fate in the reserve keeper: “He has put on some good performances and we trust fully in his ability,” assured trainer Thomas Schaaf. Central defender Per Mertesacker shares his trainer’s opinion and commented: “He does a great job. Of course we have every fate in him.”

Aside from Tim Wiese, striker Ivan Klasnic was also absent from the Wednesday afternoon training session. Thomas Schaaf explained: “Ivan has a shin problem and we will have to wait and see how things develop with him.” Klasnic himself remarked: “It doesn’t feel so good at the moment. I’ve been carrying the knock around with me for a week now and I have the feeling it has gotten a little worse, but I am not giving up on the possibility of playing against Leverkusen just yet.”

source: werder.de

Click here to view Tim Wiese’s profile with pictures and videos

Botafogo show great interest in Carlos Alberto

All the signs would appear to be indicating that Carlos Alberto will continue to play his football in Brazil past this summer and will initially not return to Werder Bremen. At the moment though, a transfer within the Brazilian league has not yet been agreed.

Werder Bremen’s general manager Klaus Allofs has confirmed that Botafogo Rio de Janeiro have shown a distinct interest in signing the player but, as yet, the possibility of the club acting on their interest is still in the distant future: “Botafogo are very interested, but you cannot tell that by the manner in which their intentions have been focused thus far. It is a possibility that Carlos Alberto will remain in Brazil for another season,” stated the Werder representative.

On paper, Carlos Alberto is still an FC Sao Paulo player, the club to which he went on loan from Werder during the winter break. That particular contract is valid until mid-July 2008. Following some difficulties, Carlos Alberto was stricken from the squad and is currently merely permitted to train with the club.

source: werder.de

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