Schaaf salutes Anorthosis achievement

Coach Thomas Schaaf says Werder Bremen’s Matchday 1 opponents Anorthosis Famagusta FC have “put in an unbelievable effort” to qualify for Group B – even if FC Internazionale Milano and Panathinaikos FC are the German club’s main rivals.

Respect due
Having overcome FC Pyunik, SK Rapid Wien and Olympiacos CFP to reach the group stage, the Cypriot champions have earned their right to sit at Europe’s top table. So the Bremen boss is not about to take Temuri Ketsbaia’s side lightly. He said: “All these small teams qualified for this stage by beating higher-profile sides, so they must be strong. They know how exciting the Champions League is and put in an unbelievable effort. These teams concentrated and focused so hard in the qualifiers that they got through.”

Lessons learned
Bremen host Anorthosis on Tuesday with three points the target. “A good start is always a positive,” Schaaf said. “If you can dominate and beat your opponents, it’s good for the team and for morale. It’s good to know you can win games – that’s very important.” The 47-year-old hopes his side can “play an important role” in this season’s competition, explaining: “We have been gaining experience over the last few years and we have also played Panathinaikos and Inter before, so we know what to expect from the stadiums and from the opposition. It’s going to be very exciting.”

False start
Schaaf’s men have made a shaky start in the Bundesliga, taking two points from their first three matches – ”we just haven’t been at the top of our game”. They will need to peak soon if they are to attain Schaaf’s knockout-stage goal. “We always set high standards,” he said. “When we reach them we can see what else is possible. If we play well, I believe we can reach the knockout stage and then have the ability to go even further. But first we have to survive the group stage and this will be difficult enough.”

Group complexion
“Inter are the clear group favourites,” he went on. “They are the team with the big name and the famous coach [José Mourinho]. Without a doubt, Inter have the potential to go far in this competition. Then there are teams, with Panathinaikos and ourselves, who most people would think will scrap for second place, and Famagusta who are the unknown newcomers, but no less dangerous.” Finally, a note of caution about Bremen’s ability to cope with Europe’s élite: “We know we have to face the top clubs, in a financial sense as well as a sporting one, and that won’t always be an even contest.”

source: uefa.com

Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 4

Friday 12th September (all times local)

20:30  Eintracht Frankfurt – Karlsruhe

Saturday 13th September

15:30  Borussia Dortmund – Schalke

15:30  1.FC Köln – Bayern Munich

15:30  Werder Bremen – Energie Cottbus

15:30  Hamburg – Bayer Leverkusen

15:30  Hertha Berlin – Wolfsburg

15:30  1899 Hoffenheim – VfB Stuttgart

Sunday 14th September

17:00  Hannover – Borussia Mönchengladbach

17:00  VfL Bochum – Arminia Bielefeld

Eintracht Frankfurt – Karlsruhe

The Friday evening game sees Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Karlsruhe at the Commerzbank Arena.  Neither side has made a sparkling start to the new season and will want to gain a morale boosting three points.

Friedhelm Funkel’s Frankfurt side have taken just two points from their opening three games- they lost their first game against Hertha Berlin before sharing the spoils against Köln and Wolfsburg.

The injury list at the club is still lengthy though with Preuβ, Vasoski, Bajramovic, Russ, and Korkmaz all on the sidelines.  They have been joined by key forward Ioannis Amanatidis.  Alex Meier and Benni Köhler have recovered from injuries and could feature.

Karlsruhe for their part are on a bit of a downward spiral after losing their last two games.  A win over Bochum on Matchday 1 was followed by successive losses to Hamburg and Köln.

Andreas Görlitz is back in training but will not feature, while midfielder Godfried Aduobe is also missing with a knee injury.  Christian Timm is well again after a bout of flu and could return to the starting XI.

Borussia Dortmund – Schalke

The first Revier-derby of the season takes place on Saturday with Borussia Dortmund hosting arch-rivals Schalke at the Signal-Iduna Park.  80,000 fans are sure to pack out the stadium and create an electric atmosphere for the arrival of the Königsblauen.

Dortmund fans were hoping for a positive change under new trainer Jürgen Klopp and they can certainly be happy with the start they have made.  Wins over Cottbus and Bayer Leverkusen coupled with a creditable draw with Bayern has seen BVB take seven points from a possible nine.

Despite a slight injury, Florian Kringe should be fit to play, while Alexander Frei will be fighting with Mohamed Zidan for the chance to start up front alongside Valdez.

Schalke too have made an impressive start to the new campaign, the only blight of which has been their Champions League elimination against Atletico Madrid.  They too have taken seven points from nine so this weekend’s game has extra spice in terms of potentially going top of the table.

Fred Rutten may opt to rest Rafinha as he will only return from Brazil on Friday.  That means Westermann would switch to right back with either Höwedes or Krstajic partnering Bordon in the centre.  Orlando Engelaar is still a little off his return, so Levan Kobiashvili will continue to deputise.

1.FC Köln – Bayern Munich

When Köln achieved promotion to the top flight it was games like this against Bayern Munich that would have whetted the home fans appetites.  It has been three years since the two sides met at the Rhein-Energie Stadion and this weekend sees Christoph Daum’s troops looking to test themselves against last season’s champions.

The ‘Geiβböcke’ have steadily improved this season after their opening day loss to Wolfsburg.  They sealed a point against Frankfurt, before gaining their first three points of the season last time out against Karlsruhe.  That win was however overshadowed by the collapse of defender Ümit Özat.

Pierre Wome is suspended for the Bayern game, while Manasseh Ishiaku is also out injured.

Bayern too have improved in their last game following an average start to their title defence.  Two draws against Hamburg and Dortmund had the doom-mongers out in force, but an impressive win over Hertha Berlin has put things in a little more perspective.

The question for Jürgen Klinsmann is whether to go with a back three or a back four, and whether to partner Lukas Podolski or Miroslav Klose with Luca Toni.  Klose’s hat trick for Germany against Poland in midweek may see him win out, but that will once again have the Podolski exit rumours starting again.

Massimo Oddo could be set to make his debut, and we may even see Franck Ribéry on the bench.

Werder Bremen – Energie Cottbus

Werder desperately need a win and a good performance to kick start their season and give them a boost going into next week’s Champions League fixtures.  The Green and Whites have certainly looked any but one of Europe’s elite so far this season in the league.

Consecutive draws against Bielefeld and Schalke were followed by their 3-2 defeat at the hands of Borussia Mönchengladbach the week before last.  A win and three points are very much the order of the day at the Weser Stadion.  The good news is that both Torsten Frings and Naldo should be fit to start, but Per Mertesacker may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Cottbus trainer Bojan Prasnikar has already received a ‘vote of confidence’ from the club’s hierarchy, which is often a sign that a team is struggling.

Their opening day loss at home to newly promoted Hoffenheim got them off to a bad start, which has been compounded by a bore-draw with Hannover and a loss to Borussia Dortmund.  Another defeat to Werder would see them playing serious catch-up already.

Daniel Ziebig should return from suspension, while Igor Mitreski will also hope to feature.

Hamburg – Bayer Leverkusen

Both HSV and Leverkusen have made bright starts to the season and will want to continue that on Saturday at the HSH Nordbank Arena.  Following their draw with Bayern Munich on the opening Friday, Hamburg have notched up two successive wins against Karlsruhe and Bielefeld but have not had things all their own way.

New Brazilian signing Thiago Neves looks set to start, which means that Jonathan Pitroipa will drop to the bench.  Jerome Boateng and Marcell Jansen will vie for the right back slot.

Bayer have recovered well from their loss at home to Dortmund and have beaten both Stuttgart and Hoffenheim in the last two outings.  Their 5-2 win over high-flying Hoffenheim was particularly impressive with forwards Kiessling and Helmes on top form.

Bruno Labbadia should be able to call upon goalkeeper Rene Adler for the first time this season, but it remains to be seen whether Arturo Vidal will feature after his long midweek trek to South America.  Gonzalo Castro, Hans Sarpei, Vratislav Gresko, and Bernd Schneider are definitely out.

Hertha Berlin – Wolfsburg

Unbeaten Wolfsburg travel to the nation’s capital to take on Hertha Berlin this weekend.  Felix Magath’s side haven’t exactly lived up to their pre-season hype as yet with a number of new players trying to integrate into the side, but will be looking for an away win to boost their confidence.

Consecutive draws against Frankfurt and Bochum have seen them stutter somewhat despite the massive investment of the summer.  A solitary win over Köln is all they have to shout about.

If Josué doesn’t feature, then Riether will occupy the defensive midfield role and Zaccardo will drop back into defence.  Ashkan Dejagah and Makoto Hasebe provide Magath with options in midfield.

Berlin were well beaten last time out against Bayern Munich, but they will not be the only side blown away by the Bavarians this season.  They have a good opportunity though to take all three points against Wolfsburg to go with the three they won on the opening day against Frankfurt.

Hertha trainer Lucien Favre has two big selection questions to answer.  Which two from Simunic, von Bergen, Kaka, and Friedrich will line up in the centre of defence, and does he play new signing Andrei Voronin from the start?

1899 Hoffenheim – VfB Stuttgart

Hoffenheim face another one of the Bundesliga heavyweights on Saturday as Stuttgart arrive in town.  With two opening wins over Cottbus and Gladbach under their belts, their bubble was burst last time out as they went down to a 5-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.  The visit of 2007 champions Stuttgart will provide another serious test of their capabilities and will show them where they stand in the top flight.

Andreas Ibertsberger is fit again so Matthias Jaissle may have to drop to the bench.  Tobias Weis and Selim Teber are battling for the right hand midfield berth, while Obasi is in contention too.  However Demba Ba and Ibisevic should start.

Stuttgart have been up and down in the first three games this season.  An impressive  3-1 win over Mönchengladbach was followed by a 2-0 home loss to Leverkusen.  However two weeks ago they beat Hannover 2-0 at the Mercedes Benz Arena.

Armin Veh has personnel worries in attack with Cacau injured and Marica, Fischer and Ljuboja also doubtful.  He may opt for a 4-2-3-1 system with Mario Gomez as the lone striker.

Hannover – Borussia Mönchengladbach

The embryonic Bundesliga table currently has Hannover sitting bottom of the pile after three games and that is a situation that trainer Dieter Hecking will want to see change on Sunday as his side take on Borussia Mönchengladbach.

A drab goalless draw with Energie Cottbus has been their only source of points so far with two defeats against Schalke and Stuttgart their other results.  With the club’s management looking for European qualification this season, games like this at home must surely be won.

Defender Valerien Ismael and midfielder Szabolcs Huszti are back in contention, but a big question mark hangs over striker Mikael Forssell who limped off in Finland’s midweek World Cup qualifier against Germany.  Hanke and Jan Schlaudraff should start in attack.

Mönchengladbach must surely still be on a high following their superb win over Werder Bremen and trainer Jos Luhukay will want to see that form continue against Hannover.  Two successive defeats wasn’t the best start for the Fohlen, but the Werder result has their season up and running.

Oliver Neuville is fit again but may have to settle for a place on the bench with the winning formula against Werder tried once more.  New signing Michael Bradley should also feature on the subs bench.

VfL Bochum – Arminia Bielefeld

The final match of the weekend pits VfL Bochum against fellow strugglers Arminia Bielefeld at the Rewirpower Stadion.

Neither side has won yet this season with Bochum suffering two defeats and Bielefeld one.  Both of Bochum’s losses came away from home while they drew their only home game against Schalke.

Christoph Fuchs is suspended, for Bochum following his earlier sending off, and Marcin Mieciel is on stand-by should Stanislav Sestak miss out.    Michael Frontzeck’s Bielefeld side opened with two draws with Artur Wichniarek in fine form, but suffered a 4-2 loss to Hamburg in their last match despite leading 2-0 at one stage.

Bielefeld have no injury or suspension worries so trainer Frontzeck could well send out an unchanged line-up for the fourth consecutive game.

source: goal.com

Daniel Jensen gives Danes reason to celebrate

It was to be Daniel Jensen’s evening. In the most exciting and closely fought out World Cup qualifier on Wednesday evening, between Portugal and Denmark, the Werder midfielder made it 3-2 for Denmark in the second minute of added time to seal all three points on an unforgettable night.

Markus Rosenberg and his Swedish team mates are level on points with Denmark in the race to secure a starting place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Trainer Lars Lagerbäck’s side, for whom Rosenberg came on in place of Zlatan Ibrahhimovic in the 81st minute, recovered from the disappointment of their campaign opener (0-0 in Albania) to beat Hungary 2-1 on Wednesday evening.

The evening was somewhat less memorable for the Green-White’s Austrian duo. Following their stunning 2-1 win in France on Saturday, Martin Harnik, Sebastian Prödl & Co. were brought crashing back to earth by a 0-2 defeat in Lithuania. Both were involved over the full 90 minutes but neither could do anything to prevent Danilevicius’ winning brace (52’/58’).

Lithuania have now closed in on Serbia, who include Dusko Tosic in their squad. On Wednesday evening the Serbs lost momentum after a 1-2 defeat to France in Paris. Brazil’s 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign continues to stutter. After their poor start in qualifying was followed by a splendid run in the first seven games, their midweek clash with Bolivia ended in a less than inspiring 0-0 draw. Diego was in Brazil’s starting eleven and made way for Elano in the 76th minute.

source: werder.de

Mask or no mask – making amends for a “disastrous match”

First he wore it to protect his recently operated nose, but not for long! Torsten Frings discarded his carbon face mask during training on Wednesday and continued with the session: “I completely forgot to put it back on,” admitted the 31 year old at the end of training. The midfielder has had no pain and no problems with his nose throughout the course of the week.

With the developments of the week considered, the signs are positive for the German internationals involvement against Energie Cottbus at the weekend: “I don’t think that I will need the mask on Saturday,” said an optimistic Frings, who is looking to guide Werder to their first three pointer after a poor start to the season: “If we battle, really give our all, then we will be able to make our technical superiority shine through. But technical ability alone won’t be enough,” explained Frings, who continued: “That disastrous match in Gladbach is behind us now, but we know that we still have to make amends for that.”

All going well, Per Mertesacker could also play a role in Bremen on Saturday. The central defender has confirmed the positive impression that he made over recent days. ‘Merte’ returned to full team training at the beginning of the week: “At the moment it looks very good, we are delighted about that but we are not playing tomorrow, rather on Saturday, so we can give no guarantees right now,” remarked trainer Thomas Schaaf. So far Boubacar Sanogo, Sebastian Boenisch and Mesut Özil have already returned from international duty to work with their club.

Naldo, who still hasn’t fully recovered from an ankle tendon strain, is today, on his 26th birthday, set to go through an individual programme, as is Aaron Hunt. Due to his calf injury, Hunt is out of the reckoning for the clash with Cottbus, but his recovery is coming along bit-by-bit: “I might even be able to train with the team again on Sunday,” noted the 22 year old attacker optimistically.

source: werder.de