Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 3

Heimeroth

Lahm   Reinhardt   Subotic   Friedrich

Barnetta  Westermann  Baumjohann  Zé Roberto

Marin

Kießling

Goalkeeper

(1) Christopher Heimeroth (Borussia M’gladbach)

The Fohlen keeper put his and Borussia’s nightmare start behind him by putting in a top performance against Werder on Saturday to help ensure that their first points were secured.  He pulled off a number of great saves, even if at times he made the simple things look difficult.

Defenders

(2)  Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)

Lahm has been one of Bayern’s top players this season and he continued that form against Hertha on Sunday.  With Jürgen Klinsmann playing with a back three for a change, Lahm was given licence to get forward and he claimed a long awaited Bundesliga goal with a fine strike reminiscent of his 2006 World Cup goal.  He still managed to track back when required to make some vital tackles though.

(3)  Bastian Reinhardt (Hamburg)

HSV defender Reinhardt was the instigator of Hamburg’s comeback from their two-goal deficit against Bielefeld.  He scored three goals last season and has now nearly matched that with his strikes against his former club.  Hamburg may have invested heavily to purchase Petric, Jansen and Neves, but it was an old-hand who proved the star on Saturday.

(4)  Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

BVB defender Subotic has taken to the Bundesliga like a duck to water since his move from second division Mainz in the summer and this is now his second consecutive appearance in the Goal.com Bundesliga Team of the Week.  He proved to be the match winner for Dortmund with his second goal of the season, and once again the Borussia defence is looking much more assured with him at the heart of it.

(5)  Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen)

The German international defender cleared up the danger at the back for Leverkusen against a lively Hoffenheim side and involved himself in the Werkself attacks whenever possible.  He scored the second goal of the game, heading home a Barnetta corner.

Midfielders

(6)  Heiko Westermann (Schalke)

Westermann was pushed up into a midfield role for the Ruhr derby against Bochum, and showed his versatility with a fine performance capped with the only goal of the game.  Rafinha’s cross from the right was headed home by the impressive Westermann to send Schalke top of the table on goal difference.

(7)  Zé Roberto (Bayern Munich)

The Brazilian put in a highly polished performance for Bayern in midfield against Berlin.  He was always involved, and made numerous excellent forward runs.  He was the heart and soul of Bayern’s side in their first win of the season.

(8)  Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen)

Swiss midfielder Barnetta was the start of the show in Leverkusen’s 5-2 over Hoffenheim.  He was heavily involved in three of Bayer’s goals. He created the first two for Haggui and Friedrich from excellent set-piece delivery, before scoring the fourth himself seven minutes from time to  make the three points safe for the Werkself.

(9)  Alexander Baumjohann (Borussia M’gladbach)

The former Schalke youngster’s goal against Werder must surely be a main contender for goal of the season, and ranks up there with Lionel Messi’s wonder strike from last season.  He picked up the ball inside his own half, before dribbling the past Frings, Naldo, and Prödl and firing in past Wiese.  His all-round game was very good even disregarding the goal.

(10)  Marko Marin (Borussia M’gladbach)

Marin was on sizzling form against Werder as Borussia secured their first win of the season.  He showed fantastic vision and pass selection for the opening goal, and was a constant thorn in the side of the Werder defence.  They just had no answer to his ability at times, especially when he ran at them with his dazzling dribbling and close control.

Forwards

(11)  Stefan Kießling (Bayer Leverkusen)

Kießling scored his first double for Leverkusen as he helped Bayer to a 5-2 win over Hoffenheim.  With Patrick Helmes shining in the first two games, Kießling has now shown that he could also be a prolific marksman this season.

Honourable mentions:

As always there are a number of players, who deserve a special mention despite having not made it into the final XI.

Farid Mondragon, Geromel, Portuguese midfielder Petit and striker Novakovic were all in impressive form as Köln secured their first win of the season.  Brazilian forward Grafite was on form in his first game of the season for Wolfsburg after completing his suspension.

Mats Hummels and Tamas Hajnal are worthy of note for Borussia Dortmund as is Artur Wichniarek, who grabbed his fourth goal of the season for Bielefeld.

The whole Mönchengladbach team could be deemed worthy of a mention here but I’ve picked out Brouwers, Daems, Albermann, and Friend.   As for Bayern, who won their first game of the season, Bastian Schweinsteiger impressed with his all-round display and he continues to be one of the Bavarians most consistent performers this season.

source: goal.com

Two points from three games: Memories of 1999’s stuttering start

The last time that Werder Bremen only managed two points from their first three games was back in the 1999 Bundesliga season. It was Thomas Schaaf’s first new season in charge and soon after the season started that year, Werder signed Claudio Pizarro. Back then Werder Bremen were certainly not considered a possible challenger for the title, which probably goes to explain how frosty the atmosphere is now, in 2008, after the first three match-days. Clemens Fritz came straight to the point, stating: „That is a botched start! We only have ourselves to blame. We certainly expected to be in a very different position in the table after three matches.“

Neither the performances nor the results have been satisfactory. Thomas Schaaf, who last week felt he had seen his side take a step in the right direction against Schalke, had to admit after the game in Mönchengladbach: „That was a big step backwards.“ General manager Klaus Allofs summed up on Saturday evening: „We must acknowledge now, that with the exception of the first half against Schalke, nothing has worked out this season so far the way we planned it. If we are to achieve our targets, then we can’t allow for such blackouts. That was a major shot across bows.“

Both the team and those in charge are hoping to learn from the errors which have been made and use that as a spring-board to get a good run going: „We have plenty to talk about to ensure the healing process begins here and now! We will again make it absolutely clear that no matter how good you may be, if you don’t put in the effort, you won’t have success.“ Allofs went on to say: „We won’t be making any new signings before the transfer window closes, but things are going to get a little uncomfortable for the players.“

source: werder.de

Attitude problems result in post-match disappointment

It was a defeat that carried a great deal of disappointment. Nothing much went right for Werder Bremen against Gladbach at the Borussia-Park on Saturday afternoon and the attitude towards the game was all wrong. It was no wonder that general manager Klaus Allofs was extremely frustrated after the game: „There is no explanation for this performance. Of course you can always have a bad day, but to display the lack of passion that we did today is something I’ve never experienced before. I have seldom been so disappointed. The way we played today hurt a lot more than the three points that we dropped.“

Allofs continued: „Without disrespecting Gladbach, we should simply be the better team. We knew that it wouldn’t be easy here and that we would have to be determined and aggressive, but all of that was missing. You can’t go away and play like that. We just took everything as it came. When you are 0-3 down and nothing is working, then you have to start thinking about what needs to be done. We collectively failed to fulfil the task in hand.“

Head coach Thomas Schaaf was no less annoyed about the performance of his team: „Gladbach played well. They were energetic, aggressive, passionate, up for the battle – all things that we were missing. If you don’t give your all, when the basic attitude towards the task is wrong and you think you can get things going just with an ability to play football then you won’t win a single game.“ Throughout the last week there were no signs that such a set-back was on the cards: „You couldn’t have seen that coming. We trained well, everything worked out. Nothing worked out today,“ said Schaaf.

source: werder.de

B. M’Gladbach vs Werder 3-2 Highlights

One and a half minute highlights of the 5 goals scored with German commentary from Premiere:

Schaaf: It’s Step Backwards

The 3-2 scoreline rather hides the poor performance from the Green and Whites which sees them with only two points from their first three Bundesliga matches.

Marko Marin inspired the home side to a first half 2-0 lead with goals from Matmour and Friend, before a stunning solo effort from Alex Baumjohann clinched all three points.

Late goals from Pizarro and Diego were merely cosmetic as the Fohlen took the points.

“Gladbach deserved their win” Schaaf admitted after the final whistle.

“They played very aggressively, were combative, and committed.  Those are all things we were lacking” he added.

“We have taken a huge step backwards with this performance and result.”

Borussia trainer Jos Luhukay on the other hand was understandably delighted with the win.

“We played with heart and passion and were tactically very good.  We scored some beautiful goals as well” he explained.

“I am happy that we have got our first win, but now we cannot afford to let up.”

source: goal.com

Bundesliga Round-Up: Hoffenheim Hit For Five, HSV Win

Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Werder Bremen

Schalke 1-0 Bochum

Arminia Bielefeld 2-4 Hamburg

Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 1899 Hoffenheim

Wolfsburg 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Energie Cottbus 0-1 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Werder Bremen

Gladbach put on a superb team performance to clinch their first points of the season with a 3-2 win over Werder Bremen, who continue to struggle at the start of the season.

The opening goal inside the Borussia Park fell to the home side and Marko Marin was the architect.  A divine pass from the young midfielder split open the Werder defence and Matmour found himself clean-through on Tim Wiese.  The Algerian then thumped the ball past a hapless keeper to make it 1-0.

On the half hour mark Gladbach produced a superb flowing move which resulted in a second goal.  Ndjeng overlapped on the right hand side, and his pin-point cross saw Rob Friend beat Prödl to the ball, before glancing a powerfully directed header past Tim Wiese.

The icing was put on the Mönchengladbach cake on 71 minutes with a dazzling goal from Alexander Baumjohann.  He picked the ball up inside his own half before setting off on a powerful run.  He shook off a challenge from Torsten Frings, rounded Naldo and Boenisch before firing past Tim Wiese.  It was reminiscent of Lionel Messi at his best.

Werder did grab a consolation on 79 minutes through Peruvian Claudio Pizarro.  Almeida flicked on a corner and the ball was cleared off the line.  The ball however rebounded back and Heimeroth had to save from on the line.  Pizarro was on hand to stab home his first goal since his recent return to the club.

A nervous finale was set up on 89 minutes when Brazilian Diego curled in a direct free kick from on the edge of the area, but it proved too little too late and trainer Jos Luhukay was left to celebrate his first Bundesliga win of the season.

Schalke 1-0 Bochum

A rather disappointing game was settled by a single goal and Schalke deserved the three points against a rather toothless Bochum side.  The visitors put in a lot of energy but were largely unable to threaten the Königsblauen goal.

The first half was brought to life on 36 minutes with Heiko Westermann heading in the opening goal.  A long ball from defence released Rafinha, and the Brazilian full back’s cross to the near post found Westermann, who headed in from four meters out.

The home side had chances to increase their lead in the second half but were wasteful and had some nervous moments towards the end.

Arminia Bielefeld 2-4 Hamburg

Bielefeld and Hamburg shared six goals at the Schüco Arena, but it was the Hanseaten who triumphed after coming back from two goals down.

Minutes after hitting the post, Christopher Katongo put the home side in front after nine minutes.  A poor touch from Joris Mathijsen put the ball into the penalty area where Artur Wichniarek was quicker than Frank Rost and Guy Demel and headed the ball to Zambian Katongo, who calmly slotted home.

That lead was doubled on 37 minutes when Artur Wichniarek helped himself to his fourth goal of the season.  The Polish striker left Mathijsen for dead before firing past Frank Rost from about ten meters.

Hamburg however hit back quickly and five minutes before the break they pulled one back.  A long free kick arrived at Demel in the area and he laid it off to Reinhardt, who scored against his former club with a left-foot shot.

Five minutes after the restart, and Bastian Reinhardt grabbed his second of the game to put Hamburg on level terms again.  Trochowski flighted in a perfect cross from the right hand side and the centre back was again on hand to head in.

The Hanseaten comeback was complete on 64 when Ivica Olic put them in front for the first time in the game.  Paulo Guerrero was the provider after a storming run into the Bielefeld area.  His ball set up Olic for a relatively easy chance.

From two down, the ‘Rothosen’ then made it 4-2 on 77 minutes.  Guerrero picked out captain David Jarolim inside the area and the Czech took the ball on his chest, before firing in from 20 meters with a slight deflection.

Bayer Leverkusen 5-2 1899 Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim were given a rude awakening at the Bay-Arena with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen.  Despite never giving up, Bruno Labbadia’s side proved too strong and fired home five goals.

The home side took the lead on eight minutes with Karim Haggui getting the goal.  A free kick cross from Tranquillo Barnetta saw Haggui out-jump Luiz Gustavo and his header shot into the top corner.

With 17 minutes on the clock another set-piece resulted in the second goal of the afternoon for Leverkusen.  Barnetta delivered the corner and this time it was Manuel Friedrich, who was on the spot to power an unstoppable header past keeper Özcan.

Four minutes later however and the visitors had regained their composure and grabbed a goal back.  A poor free kick from Djakpa allowed Hoffenheim to counter.  Salihovic was able to cross quite unopposed from the left and Vedad Ibisevic was alone in the middle to head in his fourth goal of the season.

An eventful first half concluded with a third deserved goal for Bayer.  A Barnetta corner was cleared only as far as Djakpa, who put the ball back in.  Kiessling was in the six yard box, but not offside, and he fired in to make it 3-1.

The table toppers from Sinsheim however, were given a lifeline on 58 minutes when Salihovic stroked home a penalty awarded after Djakpa was adjudged to have fouled Ibisevic.

The result however was put beyond doubt on 83 minutes with a fourth goal.  Barnetta the creator of the first three this time got his name on the scoresheet.

The goal-fest continued four minutes later with Kiessling grabbing his second of the afternoon.  Substitute Gekas beat Nilsson into the penalty area, before serving the German striker who slotted home the seventh goal of the game.

Wolfsburg 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Wolfsburg’s rather disappointing start to the season continues after a 2-2 home draw with Frankfurt.  Despite twice going in front, the Wölfe were twice pegged back and had to settle for a point against the Adler.

A dream goal opened the scoring on 22 minutes and it was Eintracht who scored it.  An error in midfield from Josue let Amanatidis through on goal and the Greek forward looped a superb ball over the advancing keeper and into the net.

The lead only lasted a matter of five minutes, when Grafite levelled from the penalty spot.  Aaron Galindo was judged to have fouled Grafite from behind, and the Brazilian stepped up to convert the spot kick himself.

Felix Magath’s side then got their noses in front six minutes into the second half.  A good cross from Schäfer bypassed keeper Nikolov and Dejagah was in the right place inside the six-yard box to volley home from a tight angle.

A point however was rescued by Frankfurt with Toski scoring six minutes from time.  Ochs passed to Toski, who gave keeper Lenz no chance with his right footed shot.

Energie Cottbus 0-1 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund kept up their recent good record at the Stadion der Freundschaft with a 1-0 win over the Lausitzer.  One goal was enough to clinch all three points for Jürgen Klopp’s men.

Just before the half-time whistle, Dortmund took the lead.  Hajnal’s corner from the left was headed back into the middle at the far post by Kringe where Subotic was on hand to score his second goal of the season.

source: goal.com

Too little, too late – Werder crash in Mönchengladbach

On the third match day of the Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen went down 2-3 (0-2) to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach. 54,067 spectators at Borussia-Park saw Karim Matmour (12’), Rob Friend (30’) and Alexander Baumjohann (71’) put the home side three goals up before Claudio Pizarro (79’) and Diego (89’) snatched what were to be little more than consolation goals for the Green-Whites.

Compared to the starting eleven which drew 1-1 with FC Schalke 04 last weekend, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf made two changes to his side. German international Clemens Fritz got the nod ahead of Petri Pasanen and Olympic Games participant Diego returned to replace Mesut Özil from the outset.

After a cautious begin from both sides, the home team made their breakthrough in the 12th minute. German international Marko Marin lobbed a ball over the heads of the Werder defence and found Matmour who had time to allow the ball to drop perfectly and hammer past Tim Wiese to give his side the lead.

Having gone in front, the hosts grew visibly in confidence but the better chances to score fell to the Green-Whites. Firstly Claudio Pizarro missed out with a shot after a Naldo free kick (24’) and just minutes later the Peruvian striker was denied by VfL keeper Christofer Heimeroth (27’). Right on the half-hour mark Borussia then doubled their lead as Rob Friend stole in to head home a wonderful delivery from Marcel Ndjeng.

After the break, Werder threw everything into attack in their search for a way back into the game but it was again the home side that did the scoring. Gladbach’s young star Baumjohann took on the ball in his own half of the pitch and drove forward powerfully before shooting into the far left corner past Tim Wiese to make it 0-3 from Werder’s view point.

Despite the three goal deficit, Thomas Schaaf’s men refused to throw in the towel and reduced the deficit in the 79th minute when Claudio Pizarro pounced on a loose ball to offer Werder a lifeline. Then in the 89th minute, Diego expertly curled a free-kick into the top corner of the net to make it 2-3 and create a tense finish. In the end, Gladbach held on to their lead to inflict Werder with their first defeat of the season.

The game at a glance:

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Heimeroth – Daems, Brouwers, Callsen-Bracker – Albermann (75′ Levels), Ndjeng (86′ Kleine), Paauwe, Baumjohann – Marin (77′ Coulibaly), Matmour – Friend.

Werder Bremen: Wiese – Fritz, Prödl (70′ Harnik), Naldo, Boenisch – Baumann (46′ Özil), Frings, Jensen, Diego – Pizarro, Rosenberg (46′ Almeida).

Goals: 1-0 Matmour (12′), 2-0 Friend (30′), 3-0 Baumjohann (71′), 3-1 Pizarro (79′), 3-2 Diego (89′)

Yellow cards: Daems, Matmour – Naldo, Jensen, Diego, Pizarro

Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)

Attendance: 54,067 (Borussia-Park)

source: werder.de

Click here or enter trough the Matches page to see pictures from the game

Özil: Versatile and ready for Gladbach

“I am fit, feeling really good and I hope we can put on a good performance in Gladbach and take the three points back home with us,” said Özil on Friday after the final pre-match training session. Last weekend, following an impressive performance against his former club, FC Schalke 04, the 19 year old was named ‘CITIBANK Man of the Match. After his introduction during the week in the friendly against Lok Leipzig, the attacking midfielder set up Werder’s decisive second goal for Hugo Almeida.

With the return of Diego, a further midfielder is back in the Werder ranks. Özil remarked: “Of course I want to play tomorrow but I don’t necessarily have to play in the role behind the strikers. I can also play on the left or right flank.” Ultimately the starting eleven will be decided upon by trainer Thomas Schaaf and his coaching staff: “We have to make decisions every weekend which are relatively close calls. Every single player needs to question his own performance every week. We consider everything and then make our decision based on what we feel is the best solution. That’s the team that plays,” explained Schaaf.

The squad for the away game in Mönchengladbach is:
Tim Wiese, Christian Vander – Sebastian Boenisch, Petri Pasanen, Naldo, Frank Baumann, Jurica Vranjes, Clemens Fritz, Markus Rosenberg, Diego, Mesut Özil, Sebastian Prödl, Boubacar Sanogo, Daniel Jensen, Torsten Frings, Hugo Almeida, Claudio Pizarro, Martin Harnik

source: werder.de

Preview: Borussia Mönchengladbach – Werder Bremen

Borussia Mönchengladbach host Werder Bremen at the Borussia Park on Saturday with both sides in need of the three points.  The Fohlen have yet to secure any points yet, while Werder have had a stuttering start with two draws.

Time To Believe

Despite starting the season with two successive defeats, the theme of the week at Mönchengladbach is ‘belief’.  The club were crowned second division champions last season with only four losses all season, so they find themselves in unfamiliar territory at the moment.

Gladbach were blown away by three first half goals in their opening fixture against Stuttgart and then went down to a narrow 1-0 loss to fellow promoted side Hoffenheim last weekend, which has left them rooted to the bottom of the table with no points.

“Last season we topped the table for long periods.  Now the players have to maintain their confidence in their own ability” explained trainer Jos Luhukay.

Those sentiments were echoed by Belgian defender Filip Daems.  “There’s no need to go over the top now or start analysing things too much.  We’ve only played two games after all and I’m convinced things will go better on Saturday.”

Sporting director Christian Ziege believes the Fohlen just have to build on the positives from the previous two games, and not dwell too much on the fact that they remain the only Bundesliga club not to have claimed any points yet.

“It isn’t as if we’ve just woken up from a dream” he said.  ”We’ve been saying right from the beginning that this season is all about avoiding relegation.  And that’s not going to change.

“We simply have to look at the positives – against Stuttgart we created a lot of good chances.”

Werder Bremen are a quality side just like Stuttgart, and the home side will be hoping for a better performance and a better result.

Time For Three Points

Following two successive draws, the time has come for Werder Bremen to step up and claim their first three points of the season.  A disappointing point apiece away to Bielefeld was followed up last Saturday with a 1-1 draw against title rivals Schalke.

It’s not doom and gloom at the Weser Stadion yet but the club know that three points will be just what they need to jump-start their season.

A similar poor start last season saw them draw their opener before losing 4-0 to Bayern.  A victory in their third game away to Nürnberg gave them a boost and they went on to finish level on points with Bayern at the Winter break.

Werder haven’t had the best of records in Mönchengladbach in recent years, but trainer Thomas Schaaf will be looking to change that this weekend.

“We’ve already experienced a few games in Gladbach, where we have played well but they’ve got their noses in front.  We have to play our own game” he stressed

“We also have to careful when attacking not to be counter-attacked.  Their fast counters were the root of the past few victories over us.”

Werder will have talisman Diego back in action after the Brazilian missed the opening two fixtures because he had skipped off to the Olympics- albeit against the club’s wishes.

FORM GUIDE

Borussia Mönchengladbach

23/08/08  v 1899 Hoffenheim (a) LOST 1-0  (Bundesliga)

17/08/08  v VfB Stuttgart (h) LOST 1-3  (Bundesliga)

09/08/08  v VfB Fichte Bielefeld (a) WON 1-8  (German Cup)

02/08/08  v Valencia (h) WON 4-2  (Friendly)

29/07/08  v FC Kleve (a) WON 7-1  (Friendly)

26/07/08  v TuS Koblenz (a) LOST 1-0  (Friendly)

Werder Bremen

23/08/08  v Schalke (h) DREW 1-1  (Bundesliga)

16/08/08  v Arminia Bielefeld (a) DREW 1-1  (Bundesliga)

12/08/08  v Esbjerg (a) WON 0-3 (Friendly)

09/08/08  v Eintracht Nordhorn (a) WON 3-9 (German Cup)

05/08/08  v Levski Sofia (a) DREW 0-0 (Friendly)

02/08/08  v Trabzonspor (h) LOST 1-3 (Friendly)

Head to head record in Mönchengladbach:

25/02/07 Borussia M’gladbach 2 Werder Bremen 2

20/09/05 Borussia M’gladbach 2 Werder Bremen 1

11/09/04 Borussia M’gladbach 3 Werder Bremen  1

07/02/04 Borussia M’gladbach 1 Werder Bremen  2

24/05/03 Borussia M’gladbach 4 Werder Bremen  1

02/03/02 Borussia M’gladbach 1 Werder Bremen  0

TEAM NEWS

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Borussia will be without Steve Gohouri (thigh strain) and Sebastian Schachten (in rehab after knee surgery) for the visit of Werder.  It is also  unlikely that Sebastian Svard will be fit enough to play.  The Dane turned over on his left ankle in training in the week and suffered a severe ligament sprain.

Trainer Luhukay is however reluctant to judge whether Borussia skipper Oliver Neuville will be fit enough to start against Bremen after his brief appearance on Saturday.

“Oli has to be patient, he knows that himself.  We shouldn’t be looking just to the Bremen game, we have to think long-term.”

Probable starting XI: Heimeroth, Ndjeng, Brouwers, Daems, Jaures, Paauwe, Alberman, Matmour, Rösler, Marin, Friend

Werder Bremen

Werder welcome back midfielder Diego back from the Olympics and he should go straight into the team at the expense of the unfortunate Mesut Özil, who performed so well last week against Schalke.

Aaron Hunt and Per Mertesacker are still on the sidelines injured, so trainer Thomas Schaaf looks set to keep the side that lined up against Schalke with just Diego coming in.

Probable starting XI: Wiese, Fritz, Prödl, Naldo, Pasanen, Baumann, Frings, Jensen, Diego, Pizarro, Rosenberg

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Borussia Mönchengladbach- Marko Marin

There is a lot of pressure on youngster Marko Marin this season to live up to the huge expectations of him.  He hasn’t exactly shone in the league so far, but he did grab the glory by hitting the back of the net for Germany in their recent friendly with Belgium.  The Werder defence will be fully aware of what he is capable of, but on many occasions last season he showed that being aware of him simply isn’t enough.  An in-form Marin will go a long way to helping Gladbach secure their first points- be it one or three.

Werder Bremen- Diego

Olympic silver medallist Diego returns to action for Werder this weekend hoping to kick-start their season.  His departure for Beijing against the club’s wishes, caused a bit of a stir at the Weser Stadion, but all will be forgiven if the Brazilian midfield maestro hits his best form and leads Werder towards the top of the table.

source: goal.com

Schaaf’s memories: Controlling Gladbach and empty hands

‘Relief for Bremen!’ That was the headline in a number of reports following Werder’s third game of the 2007/2008 season. Last time around, the Green-Whites also failed to win their opening two games and were particularly demoralised by a 0-4 home defeat to FC Bayern Munich. The situation now though is that Bremen are determined to notch up three points, and break their duck on match day three – just as they did last season when they beat Nürnberg 1-0 thanks to a wonderful strike by Martin Harnik.

There is no doubt though that the opponents on Saturday, 30.08.2008 at 3:30pm, will be well capable of preventing the Green-Whites achieving their goal. They go by the name of Borussia Mönchengladbach and are in even more desperate need of points than Werder Bremen at the moment: “They are going to want to prove themselves at home,” said Thomas Schaaf. But could Werder be about to visit the Borussia-Park at the perfect time for VfL? Borussia have a distinctly positive record against their north German rivals at home, where they have lost only ten of their 39 clashes. “We’ve experienced a number of games in Gladbach which we controlled but we still ended up coming away from there empty handed,” recalled Thomas Schaaf.

How can a recurrence be prevented? “We have to force our own game,” demanded Thomas Schaaf. So the task will be to avoid a repeat of the game in Bielefeld, when a lack of spirit and determination cost Werder. The performance against Schalke was improved but a 1-1 draw at home cannot be described as satisfying. The important factor will be to win the challenges that the Werder players enter into: “We won the tackles as well as being willing to do the work and the players were there to support one another. That was a step in the right direction” – those were the comments of trainer Schaaf after his side secured the three points in Nuremberg last season and a similar analysis would be very welcome at 5:30pm this Saturday too.

source: werder.de

„A massive challenge“

After it was finally clear where the Green-Whites journey would take them this season in Europe’s biggest club competition, the reactions of those in charge at Werder Bremen were pretty similar. The players, staff and club’s executives are all looking forward to what may not be an exclusively spectacular group of opponents but a nonetheless demanding one.

General manager Klaus Allofs:

“I’m satisfied with the draw, although we didn’t exactly land in the most spectacular group. We have a mighty challenge on our hands against Italian champions Inter Milan, who have a very attractive side. We got to see first-hand in the last few years just how difficult it can be to play against Greek sides, but we cleared the hurdle of Panathinaikos on the last occasion and that’s a good omen. You could probably consider Famagusta to be the surprise package of the complete qualifying phase. I’m interested to see them.”

Head coach Thomas Schaaf:

“On the whole we are in a group which leaves every opportunity open for us to qualify for the latter stages of the competition. But we will have to be wary! We know both Inter and Panathinaikos and are aware just how difficult a challenge they posed for us in the past.”

Per Mertesacker:

“We haven’t landed in a cracker of a group but certainly every aspect of it is interesting. José Mourinho will have fond memories of me from our win against Chelsea at the Weser Stadium. We didn’t exactly have things our own way against Panathinaikos in the past but we have a chance to make up for that now. Famagusta will be a completely new experience but we can’t afford to underestimate them.”

source: werder.de

Schaaf: It’s Tough, But Can Get Through

The Werder trainer believes it a group that gives the Green and Whites a good chance of progressing to the knock-out stage for the first time.

“Overall we have been drawn in a group which gives us the possibility of reaching the quarter final.  But we will have to watch out” he said.

“In Inter and Panathinaikos we have two teams that we know, and they will be difficult opponents” he added.

Inter Milan under Jose Mourinho must start as group favourites and Schaaf is fully aware of their quality.

“You only have to look at Inter’s squad to know what an attractive opponent we have drawn.  They can call upon Ibrahimovic and Adriano in attack.  They have a lot of quality.

“They are Italian champions and we know what kind of job their trainer Jose Mourinho can do” he explained

Their Greek opponents Panathinaikos will also be a tough one Schaaf believes.

“The trainer of Panathinaikos is also a familiar face.  We come up against Henk ten Cate for the third time in international competition- he was co-trainer in Barcelona, trainer of Ajax and now Panathinaikos.

“With their victories over Tiflis and Sparta Prague in the qualifiers, they have shown what they are capable of.  They only came third in their domestic league, but they have strengthened their squad in the summer.”

source: goal.com

Champions League: Milan, Athens and Famagusta

Werder Bremen have been drawn in this season’s UEFA Champions League Group B alongside Inter Milan, Panathinaikos Athens and Anorthosis Famagusta in the battle to win a place in second round of the competition. The Green-Whites, who represent German football in the competition along with FC Bayern Munich, will have the task of progressing against the Italian champions, last season’s third placed team in the Greek league and the title holders from Cyprus.

FC Bayern Munich were drawn in Group F with Olympique Lyon, AC Florenz and Steaua Bucharest.

The initial schedule for the match days is:

1st match day: 16./17.09.2008
2nd match day: 30.09./01.10.2008
3rd match day: 21./22.10.2008
4th match day: 04./05.11.2008
5th match day: 25./26.11.2008
6th match day: 09./10.12.2008

source: werder.de

Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 3

Friday 29th August (all times local)

20:30  Karlsruhe – 1.FC Köln Saturday

Saturday 30th August

15:30  Schalke – Bochum

15:30  Wolfsburg – Eintracht Frankfurt

15:30  Bayer Leverkusen – 1899 Hoffenheim

15:30  Energie Cottbus – Borussia Dortmund

15:30  Arminia Bielefeld – Hamburg

15:30  Borussia Mönchengladbach – Werder Bremen

Sunday 31st August

17:00  Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

17:00  VfB Stuttgart – Hannover

Karlsruhe – 1.FC Köln

The Friday night match-up sees Karlsruhe welcome Köln to the Wildparkstadion with both sides in need of the points for differing reasons.

Edmund Becker’s side were unlucky to come away from Hamburg without a point last week after Joris Mathijsen downed them with a last-minute winner.  After winning their opener against Bochum, they very nearly made the ideal start to the season, but the signs are already there that KSC are going to be a difficult side to beat again this season.

Köln are still rueing the missed penalty against Frankfurt at home last Sunday.  Had Antar converted just before half-time, then the Geißböcke could well have grabbed all three points, but an equaliser from Fenin denied them the win.

It’s important for Christoph Daum’s side to pick up points at the start of the season so as not to be playing catch-up from the very start.  An away win against Karlsruhe would be just the tonic.

Schalke – Bochum

Schalke will be looking to wipe away the huge disappointment of their midweek Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid with a win in the Bundesliga on Saturday against Bochum.

The Königsblauen followed up their opening day demolition of Hannover with a 1-1 draw against Werder last week.  How much trainer Fred Rutten adjusts his team remains to be seen, but definitely out are Manuel Neuer and Orlando Engelaar.  Jefferson Farfan however, could be in contention to return.

Bochum have just one point to their name thus far- achieved last week against Wolfsburg, and trainer Marcel Koller knows he has a tough time on his hands in this Ruhr derby.

Thomas Zdebel and Shinji Ono could come into the team but apart from that he looks set to keep the faith in those that held Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Wolfsburg – Eintracht Frankfurt

Tipped by many to be an outside bet to break into the top three this season, Wolfsburg have struggled a little so far this season, but have the chance to get their campaign really off and running against an Eintracht Frankfurt side that have also failed to set the league alight in their opening fixtures.

An opening day win over Köln was followed last Sunday with a rather listless draw away to Bochum which had trainer Felix Magath far from satisfied.  The good news is that striker Grafite should be back in contention for the Wölfe after serving his two-match suspension following his sending off in a friendly against Palermo.

Frankfurt have also had a far from inspiring start to the new campaign with a defeat to Hertha Berlin and a draw against Köln.  Friedhelm Funkel saw his side grab their first point of the campaign and he will be looking to at least repeat that feat at the Volkswagen Arena.

Goalscorer from last week, Martin Fenin, could start alongside Ioannis Amanatidis, while Liberopoulos is also looking for a starting berth.

Bayer Leverkusen – 1899 Hoffenheim

Leverkusen welcome the current table toppers to the Bay-Arena on Saturday looking to build upon their well deserved win last weekend against VfB Stuttgart.

The Werkself recovered well from their opening home defeat to Dortmund to beat the Swabians and will want to give their home fans something to smile about by beating new boys Hoffenheim.  A home win is long overdue for Bayer having lost their last three at the Bay-Arena.

Hoffenheim on the other hand will want to continue their good start to the season and show that it is no flash in the pan that they are top of the season.  Consecutive wins against Cottbus and Mönchengladbach see them as the only side with a 100% record and with no goals conceded.

Summer signing Wellington could be set for his first start after recovering from a muscle tear.  He may however have to settle for a place on the bench after Demba Ba and Vedad Ibisevic’s great start to the season.

Energie Cottbus – Borussia Dortmund

Cottbus took the metaphorical bus to Hannover last week and parked it in front of their goal, but at home to Dortmund they will have to play more offensively as they look to secure their first home win of the season.

Last season was a constant battle against relegation for the Lausitzer and trainer Bojan Prasnikar will want to get points on the board early in the season in order to take the pressure off his side.

Dortmund have made a positive start to the new season under Jürgen Klopp and held Bayern to a point last weekend.  They will however be feeling they could have caused a bigger shock by taking all three points.

New signing Young-Pyo Lee may have to settle for a place on the bench, while midfielder Tinga is still a little way off returning from injury.

Arminia Bielefeld – Hamburg

Two successive draws have started off Bielefeld’s season and they will be looking to grab their first three points with the visit of Hamburg.  The omens/ stats however are not good as Bielefeld have only taken one point from their last four home games against Hamburg.

Defender Michael Lamey is a doubt with a virus infection.  If he does miss out, then trainer Michael Frontzeck has two options.  Either Bollmann moves to right back with Herzig coming into the team, or Kirch goes in at right back and Tesche starts in midfield.

Martin Jol will be looking to maintain HSV’s decent start to the season with an away win against Bielefeld.  New signings Marcel Jansen and Mladen Petric could be set to make their debuts, while Bastian Reinhardt could be set to return after injury.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – Werder Bremen

Last season’s second division champions have had a tough start to life in the top flight and Jos Luhukay’s side have yet to secure any points.  Life however doesn’t get any easier with Werder Bremen their visitors this weekend.

Successive losses against Stuttgart and Hoffenheim has seen the Fohlen as the only side without a point- they will be looking to rectify that on Saturday.

Werder will welcome back Brazilian maestro Diego back from the Olympics and he should go straight back into the side.  Despite a good performance last week against Schalke, Mesut Özil looks set to move down to the bench.

Bayern Munich – Hertha Berlin

The first Sunday fixture sees Bayern Munich hosting Hertha Berlin at the Allianz Arena in a repeat of Bayern’s final match of last season.  That afternoon was quite a party for the Bavarians, and they will be hoping to be celebrating their first win of the season this weekend.

After two consecutive draws, Bayern need a win to keep the critics off their backs.  Martin Demichelis is poised to return to the heart of the Bayern defence, whereas Lukas Podolski will be hoping for his first start of the season in attack alongside Luca Toni.

Van Bommel is suspended following his red card last week and will be replaced by Tim Borowski.  Franck Ribéry is still out injured as is Hamit Altintop.  New signing Massimo Oddo is not in contention.

Hertha will be looking to throw a spanner in the works at the Allianz Arena after their midweek Uefa Cup win.

VfB Stuttgart – Hannover

Stuttgart suffered their first defeat of the season last week when beaten 2-0 by Leverkusen and will want to make an immediate to winning ways at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

The Swabians will want to put last week’s home defeat to Leverkusen behind them.  Their 4-1 midweek win over Györ in the Uefa Cup will surely give them a boost.

Cacau, Magnin and Sami Khedira are unavailable through injury.

Hannover have started this season with a loss and a draw, and will be looking to go one better with a win this weekend.  After a poor start, Eggimann and Mikael Forssell could be set to earn their first starts.

source: goal.com

Werder wins against fresh Lokomotive Leipzig

1.FC Lokomotive Leipzig – Werder Bremen 1:3

1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig:
Evers (90. Gast) – Jülich (83. Roscher), Krauß (90. Wetzig), Köllner (90. Adam) – Ledwoch (46. Kunert), Hensgen (72. Kiezmann), Starke (78. Höhn), Aßmann (46. Quidzinski), Knoof (46. Reich) – Kind (46. Schreiber), Engler (78. Heusel)

Werder Bremen:
Vander – Tošić, Prödl (46. Boenisch), Pasanen (46. Perthel), Fritz – Vranjes, Diego (46. Özil), Huseijnovic – Almeida, Pizarro (46. Harnik), Sanogo (61. Bargfrede); auf der Bank: Pellatz, Kruse

Goals: 0:1 Fritz (12.), 1:1 Engler (50.), 1:2 Almeida (60.), 1:3 Bargfrede (88.)

Yellow cards: keine

Other: Vander saves penalty from Krauß (62.)

Referee: Marcel Unger (Nordhausen)

Zentralstadion: 13.086 Spectators

more information to come …