Schaaf Happy, Skibbe Frustrated After Werder Win

Werder Bremen trainer Thomas Schaaf was left a happy man after his side beat Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 to secure the runners up spot behind champions Bayern Munich. Leverkusen trainer Michael Skibbe was however left frustrated at finishing just seventh in the Bundesliga.

A close game at the Bay-Arena was settled by a second half strike from Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg.

“We are very happy with the victory and with the season as a whole. Second place after such a season as we’ve had is a tremendous achievement” Schaaf explained.

“Leverkusen did everything in the game to put us under pressure and we had the luck and the capability to achieve something tremendous. It was a great end to the season for us” he added.

Leverkusen on the other hand miss out on European qualification altogether after this home defeat. They finish 7th in the table and don’t even have the luxury of the Intertoto Cup.

“We were not rewarded for a very good performance” explained Werkself trainer Michael Skibbe.

“In spite of good goal scoring opportunities, we couldn’t win the game. We have failed to achieve our season’s targets, but that wasn’t because of this one game.

“We are disappointed and frustrated” he added.

source: goal.com

Werder take second place!

Champions League here we come! On the 34th, and final, match day of the 2007/2008 season, Werder Bremen beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-0 (0-0) to secure both the runner-up spot in the Bundesliga and their place in next seasons Champions League. 22,500 spectators at the BayArena saw Markus Rosenberg produce what was to prove a ‘Golden-Goal’ for the Green-Whites (80’).

The fans packed into the BayArena had decidedly little to shout about during the first half. Both sides were quite clearly stifled by the importance of the match and, on the whole, there were just two serious attempts on goal during the first period.

In the 17th minute, Werder keeper Christian Vander was forced to make a last ditch clearance with Tranquillo Barnetta posed to strike. Just minutes later, striker Hugo Almeida failed to connect with a dangerous delivery from Diego, who had done excellently to make his way past two opposition players.

The second half saw a vast improvement in the quality of the play and there was plenty more to raise the spirits of the fans with chances being created at both ends. Firstly Leverkusen’s Sascha Dum sliced a shot just wide of the post (56’) and five minutes later, Diego hesitated just long enough to allow a defender to get back and force an error after the Brazilian had been set up by Tim Borowski.

And so the game continued, with first Borowski (68’) and then Barnetta (70’) missing clear chances to put their respective sides in front before Markus Rosenberg eventually broke the deadlock. The Swedish striker profited from some good work by Torsten Frings and slotted past the Leverkusen keeper René Adler to make it 1-0 and seal the title of runner-up in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen.

The game at a glance:

Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Adler – Castro, Friedrich, Callsen-Bracker, Gresko (81′ Risse) – Vidal, Rolfes – Freier (46′ Dum), Barbarez, Barnetta – Bulykin.

Werder Bremen: Vander – Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen – Frings – Özil (46′ Owomoyela), Borowski – Diego (77′ Niemeyer) – Rosenberg, Almeida (57′ Klasnic).

Goal: 0-1 (80′) Rosenberg

Referee: Kempter (Sauldorf)

Attendance: 22,500 (BayArena/sold out)

Yellow cards: Vidal, Barbarez, Gresko – Frings, Diego.

source: werder.de

Bundesliga round-up

Nurnberg were relegated on the final day of the season as they lost 2-0 at home to Schalke, while Hamburg and Wolfsburg qualified for Europe.

Nurnberg needed to better Arminia Bielefeld’s result against Stuttgart but they fell to a Schalke side striving for second spot and automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League.

Marcelo Bordon was the star for Schalke as he netted a brace, opening the scoring after 19 minutes and then doubling his tally on 61 minutes.

Arminia Bielefeld played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Stuttgart, whose defence of their title ended with a disappointing sixth-placed finish.

Robert Tesche’s opener for Arminia after nine minutes was cancelled out by Mario Gomez’s penalty on 73 minutes.

Stuttgart took a 2-1 lead through Manuel Fischer after 85 minutes but Christian Eigler equalised only a minute later.

There was an intriguing tussle for the two Uefa Cup spots as four teams started the day on 51 points.

Hamburg were the most convincing winners as they crushed Karlsruhe 7-0 to climb up to fourth place.

Rafael Van der Vaart set Hamburg on their way with a penalty after 23 minutes and Paolo Guerrero then scored a quick-fire hat-trick with goals on 34, 43 and 49 minutes.

Piotr Trochowski made it 2-1 in the 57th minute and Ivica Olic polished things off with two further goals, after 78 and 89 minutes.

Wolfsburg produced an impressive performance to defeat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 and take fifth spot.

Sascha Riether (3) and Marcelinho (6) gave Wolfsburg a flying start before Alexander Frei pulled one back after 25 minutes.

Marcel Schafer restored Wolfsburg’s two-goal cushion on 62 minutes and Grafitu (76) made sure of the points after Dortmund had briefly threatened a comeback when Frei struck his second after 68 minutes.

Stuttgart in sixth will enter the Intertoto Cup but there will be no European football for Bayer Leverkusen after they slipped from fourth down to seventh with a 1-0 loss to Werder Bremen.

Markus Rosenberg netted the crucial goal to keep Werder second and ahead of Schalke.

Champions Bayern Munich brought their triumphant season to a close with a resounding 4-1 victory over Hertha Berlin.

Luca Toni did the early damage as he broke the deadlock after just three minutes and then added a second on 28 minutes, before Franck Ribery got in on the act after 32 minutes.

Toni completed his hat-trick after 61 minutes before Valeri Domovchiyski salvaged some pride for Hertha six minutes from time.

Already-relegated Hansa Rostock climbed off the foot of the table with 1 2-1 win at Bochum.

Enrico Kern (40) and Fin Bartels (77) found the target for Rostock after Mergim Mavraj had put Bochum ahead in the 36th minute

Duisburg’s miserable season ended with a 4-2 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt to ensure they slumped below Rostock.

Ioannis Amanatidis gave Frankfurt an early lead (13) and Martin Fenin made it 3-0 at the break with goals on 15 and 38 minutes.

Claudio Niculescu (59) and Markus Daun (86) scored for Duisburg in the second half but Marcel Heller’s strike on 78 minutes staved off any chance of a recovery.

Arnold Bruggink (24), Jiri Stajner (45), Vinicius Bergantin (59) and Hanno Balitsch (90) scored for Hannover as they beat Energie Cottbus 4-0 in a clash between two sides in mid-table.

source: skysports.com

Ivan Klasnic fit and ready for the Bayer clash

Whilst German national team coach Joachim Löw was announcing his squad for the European Championships from Germany’s highest peak, ‘Zugspitze’, – a squad which includes Werder Bremen’s Torsten Frings, Tim Borowski, Per Mertesacker and Clemens Fritz – the Green-Whites were going through their final training session of the current season.

Ivan Klasnic recovered from his shin bone periostitis problem and was able to complete the full training session ahead of Werder’s clash with Bayer 04 in Leverkusen: “I really wanted to be there,” said Klasnic, who now hopes to make his final appearance for Werder Bremen this Saturday, 17.05.2008, after seven years with the club.

On a less positive note, trainer Thomas Schaaf found he would be without the services of team captain Frank Baumann and Aaron Hunt, who have both fallen ill. Due to poor health, the Werder duo are unable to make the trip to Leverkusen and will miss the final game of the season, as will Tim Wiese and Daniel Jensen, through injury, and the suspended Jurica Vranjes.

The squad for this season’s Bundesliga closer is:

Christian Vander, Sebastian Mielitz; Sebastian Boenisch, Petri Pasanen, Naldo, Clemens Fritz, Markus Rosenberg, Diego, Mesut Özil, Dusko Tosic, Patrick Owomoyela, Ivan Klasnic, Boubacar Sanogo, Torsten Frings, Hugo Almeida, Tim Borowski, Peter Niemeyer, Per Mertesacker

source: werder.de

Wenger Eyes Diego Deal – Report

Hleb was one of the Gunners’ most important players this season, forming a creative pairing with Cesc Fabregas that had them sitting top of the table for much of the season.

But the Belarus international has been strongly linked with a switch to Inter Milan, and recently his agent confirmed the 27-year-old was seeking a move abroad due to his displeasure with life in London.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will be under immense pressure to replace the former Stuttgart man should he leave, and the Bundesliga may be the first port of call in the search for his replacement.

According to the Daily Mail, the Frenchman has targeted Diego to fill the void on the flanks, in a type of move very similar to the one that brought Hleb to North London.

The 23-year-old has risen to fame playing in the hole between the midfielders and the strikers, much as Hleb did during his time in Germany, but Wenger would no doubt seek to install him on either wing.

The Brazil international has been linked with a host of clubs across Europe, including Juventus, Real Madrid and Liverpool, but Bremen are keen to keep hold of him, meaning the Gunners may have to splash out an uncharacteristically large sum for the ex-Porto man.

source: goal.com