Agent: Baros Staying With Lyon

The Czech international spent the latter half of the 2007/08 season on loan with Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth, and had been tipped to make a permanent exit from Stade Gerland this summer.

Bolton and West Brom were alleged to have lodged Premier League interest in the 26-year-old, while Bundesliga runners-up Werder Bremen were also rumoured to be keeping tabs on Baros.

However, his representative Pavel Paska revealed that the striker is likely to stay at Lyon. The club have installed Claude Puel as manager in place of Alain Perrin, and Paska is confident that Baros can make a positive impression on his new boss.

He told MF Dnes: “We are not changing the strategy.

“Lyon are one of Europe’s top teams and Baros belongs there. The new coach is looking forward to working with Milan.”

Baros has endured a chequered Lyon career thus far, with a number of indiscretions to his name since his 2007 transfer from Aston Villa.

He has served a suspension for alleged racist remarks, and had his driver’s licence revoked after clocking 271 km/h in the region of Ain.

Lyon’s communications director Olivier Blanc refused to confirm whether the striker will be staying with the club.

source: goal.com

Werder’s young hopefuls make the difference

Werder’s second friendly game was confirmation of what began in Ottersberg, and the Green-Whites more senior citizens got to see just how much pressure the young guys are putting on them. The trainer team had the chance to see just what the less experienced players in the squad are capable of.

In spite of his impressive performance on Friday, Pascal Testroet considered himself to be somewhat behind the top four strikers in the Werder squad, but that wasn’t to be seen on the pitch. The former Schalke player used the opportunity to show just how dangerous he can be in front of goal – and he notched up another goal into the bargain. The fans in the stadium also had something very special to celebrate as Philipp Bargfrede hammered home from distance.

“You can clearly see that we have a lot of fun playing with the kind of players you normally only see on television. When you play with guys with such class, anything can happen,” said Bargfrede, commenting on the whole team and how there is no problem between the younger and older members of the squad. “It’s exactly the opposite of what you might think, we enjoy being together. We’re all delighted that things are going so well. We achieved quite a lot today in the second half.”

Max Kruse was another of those who gave his all and expects a lot this year – and the list of young lads with plenty of potential is not a short one. Both Sebastian Prödl and Said Husejinovic were spoken of very positively. It was the comments of the more experienced players in the side that made everything clear though. Jurica Vranjes commented: “There could have been a few more goals. These young lads can get a few tips from me about finishing,” remarked the Croatian with a smile. The young lads made quite a difference and we are sure to see more from them.

source: werder.de

Werder win 5:0 in Oldenburg

There were a mere 18 hours between Werder Bremen’s first pre-season preparation game in Otterberg and their second when referee Peter Hatzler got the game against VfL Oldenburg underway, in front of 5,000 fans. Trainer Thomas Schaaf made a number of changes to his side with only captain Frank Baumann, central defender Naldo and Daniel Jensen in the starting eleven.

Just as on Friday, the Bundesliga side showed who was boss early on in the tie and will to attack was rewarded with a goal early on. Martin Harnik made a break forward and had his shot turned away by keeper Thomas Wegmann but new signing Said Husejinovic was perfectly placed to make it 1:0. In the 23rd minute, Martin Harnik won a free kick on the edge of the box and Daniel Jensen bent the ball around the wall to make it 2:0.

Schaaf made more changes in the break and in the second half, the Green-Whites proved even more determined. Eight minutes into the half, Philipp Bargfrede rocketed a shot into the top corner from 27 meters out whilst Bargfrede, Heider, Testroet and co. contend to rock the Oldenburg defence. In the 69th minute, Jurica Vranjes made it 4:0 and in the 73rd, Pascal Testroet made it 5:0.

Werder Bremen, 1st half: Christian Vander – Sebastian Boenisch, Naldo, Niklas Andersen, Alparslan Erdem – Frank Baumann, Max Kruse, Daniel Jensen, Mesut Özil – Said Husejinovic, Martin Harnik

Werder Bremen, 2nd half: Sebastian Mielitz – Sebastian Boenisch, Niklas Andersen, Sebastian Prödl, Dusko Tosic – Jurica Vranjes, Peter Niemeyer, Aaron Hunt, Philipp Bargfrede – Marc Heider, Pascal Testroet

VfL Oldenburg: Thomas Wegmann; Stefan Noack, Ansgar Schnabel, Tim Steidten, Cüneyt Özkan, Christian Claasen, Arek Wojcik, Andreas Bitter, Roman Wöhlecke, Manuel Schicke, Malte Müller

Goals: 0:1 Husejinovic (4.), 0:2 Jensen (23.), 0:3 Bargfrede (53.), 0:4 Vranjes (69.), 0:5 Testroet (73.)

Referee: Peter Hatzler (Eversten)

Attendance: 5,500

source: werder.de