Hoffenheim’s premiere on the Weser

On Saturday, 27.09.2008 (kick-off 3:30pm), Werder Bremen will play host to one of the top teams in the league when 1899 Hoffenheim visit the Weser Stadium. Top team? Hoffenheim? Somewhat surprising, but that’s just how it is. The newly promoted side have quickly raced up the Bundesliga table and are currently in second place. The world of football has been watching on in amazement, but not Werder coach Thomas Schaaf: “Hoffenheim have a lot to offer. I’m not at all surprised that their doing so well.”

The side from Baden-Württemberg will be bringing the Bundesliga’s current top scorer with them when they visit the Weser Stadium for the first time: Vedad Ibisevic has so far notched up six goals and also has two assists to his credit: “He has made an amazing breakthrough. His scoring record speaks for itself,” explained Schaaf, who is well aware of just what the Hoffenheim attack has to offer: “They have fantastic alternatives in Obasi and Ba, who can become involved at any point in the game, put in the running and win challenges. They have a good team together that is willing to put in the work and approach their games actively.”

The visitor’s self-confident, attacking style of football could well play right into Bremen’s hand on Saturday. Werder have recently had problems dealing with more defensive sides: “Hoffenheim won’t hide away from us. They will look to take charge. The stage is set for a very interesting game. A high quality game would suit us but first and foremost we want to be successful,” commented Schaaf. Hoffenheim will be looking to get back to winning ways having been disappointingly eliminated from the DFB Cup on Tuesday night as they went down 3-1 to second division SC Freiburg.

source: werder.de

Positive personnel developments

The Werder players are extremely eager to get going against 1899 Hoffenheim. The anticipation ahead of the clash with one of the newly promoted sides was distinctly noticeable at training on Thursday, as almost the whole team was involved in the session. To add to the positive sporting headlines of the last week, there was also some positive news on Werder’s personnel situation.

“We will have to wait and see how some of the players deal with the added strain of full team training, but I expect everyone to be available for the game against Hoffenheim,” remarked Werder coach Thomas Schaaf. That group of players also included Per Mertesacker, who has recovered from flu and went through an individual session on Thursday: “On Monday, things didn’t look so good but I’m happy to say that I feel a lot better now,” commented the lofty central defender on Thursday afternoon.

Daniel Jensen and Martin Harnik were both back in full team training again on Thursday. The Dane had been suffering from an Achilles tendon strain which kept him out of action whilst the Austrian international Harnik had caught a cold. Torsten Frings got through the complete team session and will be available to play on Saturday.

source: werder.de