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

Austrailian Milligan on trial with Werder

Werder coach Thomas Schaaf will have a watchful eye on more than just the usual group of players in training this week, as the Green-Whites have a visitor for a trial week. Australian defender Mark Milligan has been mingling with the Werder players since Wednesday. General manager Klaus Allofs explained: “He will definitely be training with us until at least Friday. He is a young, interesting player who we’ve had an eye on for some time and he recently performed well at the Olympic Games. He is a genuine defensive all-rounder.”

23 year old Milligan is considered a rising talent. He has been a member of the extended Australian national team since 2003 and was part of the squad at the World Cup in 2006, although he didn’t play any part. For the last three years he has been on the books at FC Sydney.

source: werder.de

Bundesliga Weekend Preview: Round 6

Friday 26th September (all times local)

20:30  1 FC.Köln – Schalke

Saturday 27th September

15:30  Werder Bremen – 1899 Hoffenheim

15:30  Hamburg – Borussia Mönchengladbach

15:30  Hannover – Bayern Munich

15:30  Hertha Berlin – Energie Cottbus

15:30  VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen

15:30  Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart

Sunday 28th September

17:00  Eintracht Frankfurt – Arminia Bielefeld

17:00  Karlsruher – VfL Wolfsburg

1 FC.Köln – Schalke

Köln held out for 74 minutes last weekend against Bielefeld before going down to a 2-0 defeat at the Schüco Arena.  That was their third loss in five games so trainer Christophe Daum will want to see at least a point against high-flying Schalke.

Daum may switch back to a 4-2-3-1 formation to combat Schalke and it could well be that Brecko starts at right back with Broich going into central midfield.  Striker Manesseh Ishiaku is still out injured while captain Umit Ozat is also still on the sidelines.

The Königsblauen continued their fine start to the season last weekend against Frankfurt even though they did make rather hard work of beating ten men after Chris was sent off for Eintracht in the first half.  An own goal from Ochs handed Fred Rutten’s side a 1-0 win and they will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table with a win at the Rhein-Energie Stadion against Köln.

Fabian Ernst is suspended following his red card against Dortmund, but it could be that Vicente Sanchez keeps his place on the left after an impressive display in their midweek Cup win over Hannover.  Manuel Neuer is also a potential to return in goal.

Werder Bremen – 1899 Hoffenheim

Werder fans are on cloud nine after their 5-2 thrashing of Bayern Munich last weekend and they will want to se another three points gained against Hoffenheim.  Beating Bayern will count for less if they don’t follow it up with another win against the newly promoted minnows.

Trainer Thomas Schaaf  must decide whether to keep faith with the team that blitzed Bayern or freshen things up/ rest players ahead of next week’s Champions League tie with Inter.  Per Mertesacker has been suffering with flu and if he doesn’t make it, then Prödl would come in.  Petri Pasanen is an option in both full back positions.

This is the first time these two sides have met in the Bundesliga but Hoffenheim will go into the game in confident mood following their positive start to the season following their promotion from the second division.  Their bubble appeared to have burst a little when they lost 5-2 away to Leverkusen, but the responded superbly last weekend with a 4-1 win over Dortmund.

Ralf Rangnick should bring midfielder Luiz Gustavo back into the starting XI after he was rested for the midweek Cup tie, while Obasi is an option in attack.

Hamburg – Borussia Mönchengladbach

Hamburg lost for the first time last weekend to Wolfsburg and trainer Martin Jol will be hoping that it was temporary blip rather than a change in fortunes.  For the third successive league game, HSV went two goals down, but there was no way back against Felix Magath’s side and they went down to a 3-0 defeat.  They also faced a tough game in the Cup on Wednesday as Bochum made them work for their 2-0 win.

Martin Jol could opt to rotate his side with Olic and Alex Silva candidates to be given a rest.  That would see Bastian Reinhardt and midweek goal-hero Mladen Petric starting.

It’s been a bad week for Mönchengladbach with a 1-0 home defeat to Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga last weekend followed up with 3-0 loss at the hands of Energie Cottbus in the German Cup on Tuesday.  Trainer Jos Luhukay will be hoping to see a performance like the on that beat Werder Bremen three weeks ago, knowing that a loss could see his side bottom of the table this weekend.

Personnel wise, Luhukay has question marks over the availability of Patrick Paauwe and Karim Matmour, but forward Rob Friend will be fit to start.

Hannover – Bayern Munich

Both Hannover and Bayern conceded five goals last weekend so both trainers will want to see a positive reaction from their sides when they clash at the AWD Arena on Saturday.

Hannover lost 5-0 at the Bay-Arena to a rampant Bayer Leverkusen side last Friday and although they were hit with injuries, trainer Dieter Hecking will not be pleased with the fact that his side have gone from beating Gladbach 5-1 to losing 5-0 themselves.

His injury and illness ravaged side will be seriously depleted against Bayern this weekend so it could be a case of damage limitation.

A wounded Bayern Munich side will provide a tough game as they look to make amends for their own humiliation last week.  The Bavarians hadn’t lost at home since April 2007, and to go down to such a heavy defeat will have really hurt Bayern’s ego so expect a reaction on Saturday.

Trainer Jürgen Klinsmann reverted to a back four for their German Cup win over Nürnberg and it remains to be seen which formation he sends out this weekend.  Lell could come in for Oddo, Podolski is an option to replace Klose, while either Kroos or Sosa could come in for Schweinsteiger.  Franck Ribéry could also feature for the first time in the league this season.

Hertha Berlin – Energie Cottbus

Hertha sit in mid table right now with just one defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich as a black mark against them.  They secured their second win of the season last weekend away to Gladbach and will want to quickly grab their third this weekend against Cottbus.  They were unluckily knocked out of the Cup in midweek in extra time by Borussia Dortmund.

Trainer Lucien Favre hopes to have both Gojko Kacar and Patrick Ebert available after the duo were rested for their Cup tie with BVB due to injury.  Josip Simunic has completed his ban following his red card and could also return.

Cottbus managed to score their first goal of the season last week against Bochum, but the fact that that they also conceded one means that they remain bottom of the table with just two points from five games.  An away trip to East German neighbours Hertha will be  a tricky task for Bojan Prasnikar’s side but points are a must if they are not to lose further ground at this early stage of the season.

They scored three more in the Cup in midweek so will be hopeful of providing more of a goal threat.  Prasnikar could well keep faith with the side that won through to the next round of the Cup.

VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen

Bochum host high-scoring Bayer Leverkusen at the Rewirpower Stadion with the tough task of stopping in form Patrick Helmes.  Marcell Koller’s side have had a win, loss and a draw in their last three matches so will be looking for a more consistent run in the league in their forthcoming games.

Bayer put on a scintillating display last week against Hannover and will be wanting to continue that away to Bochum on Saturday.  There shouldn’t be any reason for trainer Labbadia to change the XI that did so well last Friday with Patrick Helmes looking to add to the six goals he has scored in the Werkself’s first five games

Borussia Dortmund – VfB Stuttgart

Fresh from their midweek Cup win, Dortmund are back in action at the Signal-Iduna Park this weekend as they take on VfB Stuttgart.  Their extra time Cup victory over Hertha Berlin would have gone some way to wipe away the disappointment of losing last week to Hoffenheim, but trainer Jürgen Klopp will be demanding three points in the league to properly make up for their 4-1 defeat.

Antonio Rukavina missed the Cup win with a muscle injury and remain doubtful for Saturday.  Also missing for BVB are Zidan, Hummels, Blaszczykowski, Owomoyela and Dede.

Stuttgart have won their last three matches in a row in league, Cup and Europe, which has taken them up to third in the table.  They kept up their recent good form in the derby against Karlsruher with a  3-1 win at the Mercedes-Benz Arena  last week and trainer Armin Veh will be demanding more of the same against Dortmund.

For VfB the trio of Pavel Pardo, Mathieu Delpierre and Yildiray Bastürk will in all likelihood miss out through injury.  Ciprian Marica could start ahead of Cacau to give the Brazilian a rest.

Eintracht Frankfurt – Arminia Bielefeld

On Sunday Eintracht Frankfurt entertain Arminia Bielefeld at the Commerzbank Arena looking for points as they seek to improve their lowly league position which currently has them sitting in 17th.  Friedhelm Funkel’s side have played a game less, but have still only taken two points from their four games thus far.  To make matters worse they were dumped out of the Cup in midweek after losing 2-1 to Hansa Rostock in extra time.

Funkel may be without Patrick Ochs after he was injured against Rostock.  Should he miss out, then either Steinhöfer or Mahdavika could feature.

Bielefeld’s 2-0 win over Köln last week will have given them confidence and they will be looking to follow that up with another good performance against Frankfurt on Sunday.  Michael Lamey is back in contention following his suspension, while both Rudiger Kauf and Artur Wichniarek should also start after injury lay-offs.

Karlsruher – VfL Wolfsburg

The weekend action is concluded with Karlsruher taking on Wolfsburg at the Wildparkstadion.  KSC trainer Edmund Becker will be keen for his side to gain some points to make up for the loss last weekend in the derby match with local rivals Stuttgart.  The Badener have now lost their last three league matches so the rot will have to stop on Sunday.

Maik Franz and Joshua Kennedy were both injured in their midweek Cup win over Kickers Offenbach so Stöll and Timm could be called in.

Felix Magath’s Wolfsburg find themselves in a rich vein of goal scoring form with ten goals in the last two games.  An impressive 3-0 win over Hamburg last weekend was followed up by a 7-0 demolition of Oberneuland in the Cup on Wednesday.

Magath could switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation meaning that one of the two strikers would be sacrificed and possibly Hasebe coming into midfield.

source: goal.com

Werder progress to the last 16

Werder Bremen guaranteed their place among the last 16 teams in this season’s DFB Cup thanks to a narrow 2-1 (1-1) win against FC Erzgebirge Aue. The goals for the Green-Whites were scored by Claudio Pizarro (26’) and Markus Rosenberg (54’) after Fabian Müller had opened the scoring for the visitors (7’).

Thomas Schaaf’s side got off to a shaky start and very quickly found themselves trailing. Skerdilaid Curri played a pass to Fabian Müller and the 21 year old drove unstoppably past Tim Wiese into the top left corner, from all of 20 meters out, to put his side in front with the very first attempt on goal from the hosts. Just a minute later Aue created their second opening and very nearly doubled their lead. A long ball from the back was nodded into the path of Aue’s Mohammed El Berkani, who broke free on goal, but luckily for the Green-Whites, Naldo made up for his initial error with a well time challenge to rescue his side from going two behind.

Having recovered from their poor start, Werder began to take control of the match and went in search of an equaliser, with Pizarro proving especially threatening. Having come close twice with efforts in the 17th and 19th minutes, the Peruvian striker finally levelled the scores as he headed home a free-kick from Diego, with his back to goal, to make it 1-1 as the sides went into the half time break.

With just five minutes of the second half played, the ever menacing Pizarro came agonisingly close to putting his side in front with a shot that went just wide of the right post. Aue were not about to sit back and allow Werder to completely run the show though. Tim Wiese had to be alert to parry away a headed effort by Tomasz Kos which was goal-bound. Werder always looked the more likely to produce, and after a clever one-two with Pizarro, Markus Rosenberg broke away and slotted past Stephan Flauder in the Aue goal to make it 2-1 (54’).

The third division side threw caution to the wind as the tie came to a close and Wiese was again called into action to save a free-kick attempt from Curri. In the end the score was to stay at 2-1. Werder carry on now to the next round of the DFB Cup and the fans can continue to dream of another big day in Berlin.

The game at a glance:

FC Erzgebirge Aue: Flauder – Klingbeil, Kos, Paulus, F. Müller – Cimen, El Berkani (63‘ Hochscheidt), Hensel, Curri, Feick – Schmidt (60‘ Glasner).

Werder Bremen: Wiese, Pasanen (61‘ Fritz), Prödl, Naldo, Boenisch – Baumann, Vranjes (46‘ Hunt), Özil (80‘ Niemeyer), Diego – Rosenberg, Pizarro.

Goals: 1:0 F. Müller (7‘), 1:1 Pizarro (26‘), 1:2 Rosenberg (54‘)

Referee: Aytekin (Oberasbach)

source: werder.de

German Cup 2nd Round Preview

The task for Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf will be to keep his players’ feet on the ground as they prepare to take on Erzgebirge Aue.  Following their 5-2 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, Werder must feel like they can beat anybody.  Aue are clear outsiders sitting as they do second from bottom in the new third division.

The first of two all-Bundesliga clashes sees Energie Cottbus hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach.  Energie trainer Bojan Prasnikar will be looking for a good Cup performance to hand a boost to his side’s flagging league form which has seen them take just two points and score one goal in their first five matches.  Gladbach certainly have good Cup pedigree with three wins (1960, 1973, and 1995).  The Fohlen have taken just one more point than opponents Cottbus in the league so they too will want to win to kick-start their season.

If Werder are clear favourites against Aue, then Bundesliga leaders Schalke also start as the favourites against fellow top flight side Hannover.  The Königsblauen top the table at the moment and host a Hannover side that is in the midst of an injury crisis and who were thrashed 5-0 by Leverkusen on Friday.  Dieter Hecking looks to have only 14 healthy players available to him!

Another struggling Bundesliga side are in action against Hansa Rostock.  Eintracht Frankfurt are second from bottom although they have played a game less than the rest.  However, trainer Friedhelm Funkel knows that his side will have to raise their game against Rostock, who were relegated from the top division last season.  They find themselves in mid-table in the second division and will see a victory over the ‘Adler’ as an important confidence boost in their ultimate quest to return to the Bundesliga.

Mainz, who are unbeaten and second in the second division will be looking to take the scalp of Bundesliga side Köln when the two sides meet on Tuesday.  They were bitter rivals for promotion last season when the Geiβböcke pipped Jürgen Klopp’s side to a place in the top flight.  Christophe Daum however knows his side are in for a tough time of things.

One of the toughest tasks in the second round is faced by Augsburg, who take on the in-form Bayer Leverkusen.  The Werkself have hit 15 goals already this season so the Augsburg defence better be on its guard.  However Bruno Labbadia may decide to give top-scorer Patrick Helmes a rest and play Theofanis Gekas.

The final game from Tuesday’s batch of matches sees 1860 Munich taking on MSV Duisburg.  The Bavarians are struggling somewhat in the second division with four defeats in the first five matches, whereas the Zebras find themselves eighth after a fine start.

Tuesday’s games in full:

Erzgebirge Aue – Werder Bremen

Schalke – Hannover

Energie Cottbus – Bor. Mönchengladbach

Eintracht Frankfurt – Hansa Rostock

Mainz – 1.FC Köln

Augsburg – Bayer Leverkusen

1860 Munich – Duisburg

source: goal.com

Frings and ‘Merte’ don’t make Aue trip – Özil on board

Once again the Werder players are on their travels for another away game. On Monday the destination wasn’t the champions in Munich but rather the more obscure Erzgebirge region. In the district town of Aue, the Green-Whites will take on third division opposition in the second round of the DFB Cup on Tuesday evening.

Unfortunately for trainer Thomas Schaaf, once again he will have to make do without the services of a number of very important individuals. Aside from Daniel Jensen (Achilles tendon) and Torsten Frings (muscular problems), who are still suffering with problems from the previous week, now Per Mertesacker and Martin Harnik have had to remain in Bremen through illness.

On a more positive note, German international Clemens Fritz and Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida have both returned to join their team mates. Mesut Özil will also make the trip to Erzgebirge, glowing with confidence after another extremely impressive performance at the weekend. And there was plenty of praise about for the young midfielder on Monday: “We are very satisfied with the manner in which he has approached the task here with us. On Saturday he rewarded himself for a great game with a fantastic goal. He is going about things much more offensively both on and off the pitch,” acknowledged Thomas Schaaf.

The coach expects more and more from the attacking 19 year old: “We’ve known for some time just how much talent he possesses, but now he is displaying that better all the time. He has the ability to become a very important player here with us. He is certainly headed in the right direction, but he also knows that there is more to come. He will have to continue proving himself and develop further as a player.”

The squad for the DFB Cup clash with Erzgebirge Aue is:

Tim Wiese, Christian Vander; Sebastian Boenisch, Petri Pasanen, Naldo, Dusko Tosic, Frank Baumann, Jurica Vranjes, Clemens Fritz, Markus Rosenberg, Diego, Mesut Özil, Aaaron Hunt, Sebastian Prödl, Boubacar Sanogo, Hugo Almeida, Claudio Pizarro, Peter Niemeyer

source: werder.de

“Leaf back through the history books…”

As if such a win – unbelievably high scoring! Against the champions! And closest rivals! Away from home! – wasn’t pleasing enough on its own, all of those who witnessed the Green-Whites sensational 5-2 win at the Allianz-Arena went on an immediate search for sensational comparisons. Being able to categorise the win would maybe make it all the more tangible – it seems so hard to really believe!

“Leaf back through the history books to the game against Real,” began general manager Klaus Allofs. He was of course referring to the calibre of the opponents, their status in European club football, their name alone, the majesty of the performance and not to forget the personnel situation in Bremen at the time: “Back then we had a lot of injury problems too.” For last November’s amazing 3-2 win in the Champions League, there were even more first choice players absent – but what was true back then was also true of Saturday’s game in Munich: “We had a good team together anyway, that didn’t throw us off. It just means that you’ve got to work harder to compensate for those who are missing.”

The performance of the winners is only one element worth flicking through the history books to acknowledge. The situation surrounding a very inferior FC Bayern has also left many speechlessly searching for facts and figures to prove that such “Disasters” (as Franz Beckenbauer put it) have occurred in Munich down the years. The quality of the Bremen performance is made all the more clear by just how far back one must search for evidence of such ‘Bayern-Bloopers’. It was the highest defeat in the clubs history since March 1979 – almost 30 years ago. Back then Bayern crumbled 0-4 against Arminia Bielefeld. After the game Tim Wiese queried rhetorically: “When was the last time that anyone scored five goals here against Bayern?” The answer is 1976, when FC Schalke beat Bayer 0-7.

source: werder.de

Bundesliga Team Of The Week: Round 5

The weekend witnessed some fantastic football with some absolutely outstanding individual and team performances.  Werder Bremen humiliated Bayern Munich 5-2 at the Allianz Arena, while Bayer Leverkusen hit five past a helpless Hannover on Friday.

Schalke gained a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to keep up their fine start and move top of the league thanks to Hamburg’s 3-0 loss to Wolfsburg.  Hoffenheim returned to their early season form with a 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund while Stuttgart triumphed in the Baden-Württemberg derby with a 3-1 win over Karlsruher.

Goalkeeper

(1) Dennis Eilhoff (Arminia Bielefeld)

Bielefeld kept a clean sheet for the first time this season against Köln and one of the major reasons for that was keeper Eilhoff.  He was on top form throughout the 90 minutes and denied Novakovic in the second half with a fine parry.

Defenders

(2)  Michael Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen)

The Czech defender signed from Sparta Prague made his first start of the season against Hannover and was highly impressive.  The young left back kept things tight at the back and ventured forward well to join in with a potent Werkself attack giving Bayer plenty of width alongside fellow full back Gonzalo Castro.

(3)  Naldo (Werder Bremen)

The giant Brazilian enjoyed himself against Bayern after Werder’s inconsistent start to the season.  The back line has come under some criticism in the early part of the season, but Naldo hit back with a strong defensive performance which saw him shut out both Luca Toni and Lukas Podolski.  He capped a fine display with Werder’s second goal of the game.

(4)  Alexander Madlung (Wolfsburg)

Defender Madlung kept his place in Felix Magath’s defence after an impressive showing in the midweek Uefa Cup game and was once again one of Wolfsburg’s top players.  He helped keep thins tight at the back against a dangerous Hamburg side and ventured forward well, scoring the second of the game in a 3-0 win.

Midfielders

(5)  Renato Augusto (Bayer Leverkusen)

Leverkusen put on a magnificent display on Friday to beat Hannover 5-0 at the Bay-Arena and Brazilian midfielder Renato Augusto was one of the main architects behind their dominance.  While the whole team played fantastically well, it is worth picking out Renato as the key midfielder in their sublime performance.  He seemed to have it all- dream passes, tantalising crosses and great shooting.  No wonder he is being dubbed the ‘new Kaka’.

(6)  Mesut Özil (Werder Bremen)

Werder celebrated a marvellous 5-2 win over rivals Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and young midfielder Mesut Özil was arguably the Man of the Match for Thomas Schaaf’s side.  The 19 year old scored a tremendous third goal for the ‘Green and Whites’ and peppered a fine game with some great passing, vision and shooting.

(7)  Diego (Werder Bremen)

The general rule is that when Diego plays well, Werder play well and that was in evidence on Saturday against Bayern.  While the whole team played well and Mesut Özil stole the show a little, Diego was on top form pulling the strings that allowed Werder to score five.

(8)  Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim)

The Bosnian midfielder put in a fine display against Dortmund as Hoffenheim returned to the form they showed in their opening two games and climb to second in the table.  He curled in a superb direct free kick in the first half to help Ralf Rangnick’s side on their way.

Forwards

(9)  Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)

Although the Bayern defence must take some of the blame for their 5-2 loss to Werder, Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg did what all good forwards do, and was on hand to profit when it counted.  His cool finish opened the scoring and he then added another in the second half following moment of madness from Michael Rensing.  He now has four goals in five games.

(10)  Vedad Ibisevic (Hoffenheim)

With five games gone this season the Bundesliga leading scorer is not Luca Toni, Mario Gomez or Kevin Kuranyi, but Vedad Ibisevic of newly promoted Hoffenheim with six goals in five games (joint with Patrick Helmes).  The Bosnian grabbed a double against Dortmund which isn’t bad from a player who started the campaign at the third choice striker at the club.

(11)  Patrick Helmes (Bayer Leverkusen)

New Leverkusen striker Patrick Helmes has a very bright future ahead of him.  He was unlucky to be omitted from the final German squad for Euro 2008, but his early season form puts him ahead of the likes of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez.  He helped himself to a hat trick against Hannover on Friday and terrorised their defence all night with his pace.  He even set up the Werkself’s opener for team mate Simon Rolfes.

Formation: 3-4-3

Eilhoff

Kadlec   Naldo   Madlung

Renato   Özil   Diego   Salihovic

Rosenberg   Ibisevic   Helmes

Honourable mentions:

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

I could be forgiven for not just picking the entire Team of the Week from Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen; such was the quality on show from those two sides this weekend.  As it is they have to be content with seven of the eleven places on show.  Suffice to say that the rest of those players deserve an honourable mention.

Artur Wichniarek continued his good early season form for Bielefeld against Köln, while Rafinha and Jefferson Farfan were solid performers for Schalke as they went top of the table.  Josip Simunic played well for Hertha Berlin, while the only Bayern player to come away with any real credit was substitute Tim Borowksi.

source: goal.com

Pictures from the Bayern game

With a little delay the pictures from the sweet match at Allianz Arena are available in the Matches page. You can also access the pictures from HERE

Bayern vs Werder Highlights

2 videos with highlights from the game:

– 10 minutes highlights with english commentary(low quality)

– 6 minutes highlights with german commentary(better quality)

Attitude, callousness and perfect timing

Trainer text books, learning material, example films – there is seemingly no end to the amount of material produced in order to support, describe and explain football. But; How do you win a game in Munich with a three goal advantage, score five and show the perfect reaction to a disappointing 0-0 against Famagusta on the previous Tuesday? Does anyone have the recipe?

Ingredient number one: The mental seasoning, otherwise known as the right “Attitude”: “We were highly concentrated on our own game,” praised Thomas Schaaf. “That gave us strength, which transferred to more stability on the ball but also improved our defensive properties.” For Claudio Pizarro the decisive factor was clear: “The will to win was there from the outset. That should always be the way.” And Frank Baumann’s comment fits well into the same category: “The important thing in Munich is to stand up for yourself.”

There are of course plenty of other ingredients needed to make up such a performance. Mesut Özil spoke of the right amount of “Aggression”, whilst Thomas Schaaf and Tim Wiese both spoke of turning the plans from off the pitch into actions on it. General manager Klaus Allofs repeated an element that he always considers vital and can be decisive in such games: “We know that we have the ability.” Bayern coach Jürgen Klinsmann summed up quite simply: “Bremen were more determined, livelier and cleverer.”

The second telling ingredient in the mix: Effectiveness in front of goal. And it was a factor that would prove decisive for Werder in Munich. 10:22 shots on goal was the official statistic for the Green-Whites against Bayern – two of those efforts were blocked, two went wide and one hit the post. The statistic displays a 50% quota, and Bayern keeper Michael Rensing didn’t make a single save. “There are days that you can stand about picking your nose and the ball still ends up in the net,” remarked Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer in unusually entertaining, when a little simplified, fashion. For Frank Baumann, these things slot together: “Sometimes things just go your way and then you score your goals. It is particularly good that our strikers scored because they have taken a lot of stick lately.” Maybe it was a case of the scale being rebalanced after the wasted chances in the Champions League on Tuesday. Tim Wiese noted: “Against Famagusta we had the chances but didn’t score the goals. Today almost every shot ended up in the net.”

source: werder.de

Maintaining focus amidst the celebrations: “Don’t flip-out”

There is no question that such a historic, stunning and unexpected win over your arch rivals will leave you feeling drunk on emotion, but even on such an occasion, the Bremen contingent haven’t lost focus. There is no reason to lose your head over a 5-2 win – quite the opposite. There were enough level headed individuals on hand to remind everyone that the great success in Munich only really means one thing:”Three very important points,” as Thomas Schaaf noted directly after the game, before going on to make the clear statement: “There’s no need to flip-out.”

And the trainer’s comments didn’t fall on deaf ears. Captain Frank Baumann also appealed to his colleagues to remain focused. A 5-2 win isn’t really worth much if it is to prove a one-off event: “Now it’s up to us to confirm this performance and not sit back on what we’ve achieved,” warned the experienced midfielder, and he went on:

“We took it upon ourselves to put on a determined performance. Now we have to prove that we can repeat that. This game was the benchmark for the games that are coming up in the next couple of weeks.” Aue in the cup and Hoffenheim on Bundesliga match day 6 may be of a different calibre to FC Bayern, but they deserve no less respect.

Goalkeeper Tim Wiese also made it clear that the team must now stick to the task: “We can’t afford to rest on that performance!” There is at least one good reason to continue where they left off: “Everyone got a confidence boost from that game.” Werder could well do with a boost in confidence following the disappointment of the 0-0 draw with Anrthosis Famagusta, which could have left many beginning to doubt themselves, and the team. Thomas Schaaf explained the importance of the reaction that his side showed in Munich: “If you don’t pull off the little things in football, then you can’t expect to achieve great things.” It was a game in which Werder once again found their no strings attached, straight-forward and highly effective style of football.

source: werder.de

Bremen bounce back with 5-2 drubbing of Bayern

On the fifth match day of the season, Werder Bremen pulled off a stunning and extremely surprising 5-2 (2-0) win away to FC Bayern Munich. 69,000 spectators at a capacity filled Allianz-Arena saw goals scored for the Green-Whites by Markus Rosenberg (30’/67’), Naldo (45’), Mesut Özil (54’) and Claudio Pizarro (59’), as well as a brace for Bayern by former Werder man Tim Borowski (71’/85’).

Despite being without Torsten Frings, Daniel Jensen, Clemens Fritz and Hugo Almeida, due to illness and injury, Werder controlled the game from the start and caught a rather tired looking Bayern side out cold with some clever combination football. Following a shot against the post from Diego after 18 minutes, the Green-Whites took a deserved 1-0 lead thanks to Markus Rosenberg. Latching on to a perfect through ball from Mesut Özil, the Swedish striker burst past Martin Demichelis and slotted coolly past the advancing Michael Rensing in the Bayern goal to put his side in front.

Having gone behind, the German champions raised their game and attempted to press back the visitors, but efforts from Lukas Podolski (33’) and a header from Luca Toni (39’) failed to really threaten and Werder punished the hosts for their wastefulness. With seconds to go before the half time whistle, Özil floated in a cross which Rensing could only bat down to the feet of Naldo and the Brazilian central defender didn’t need to be asked twice before hammering into an empty net to make it 2-0 for Werder at the break.

Those expecting to see Bayern Munich going into the second half with all fires blazing were to be bitterly disappointed. The home side sought a way back into the game but the Green-Whites took the opportunity shake off the frustration of recent weeks. Following a perfectly weighted pass from Diego, the stunningly impressive Mesut Özil pushed forward, and with Massimo Oddo allowing the 19 year old to go unchallenged, the young winger belted the ball unstoppably into the top left hand corner from 15 meters out to make it 3-0 (54’).

Thomas Schaaf’s side could have sat back at this stage but instead continued to go in search of goals – and proved exceptionally successful. Diego played a long ball forward to Rosenberg who squared to Claudio Pizarro in the centre. The Peruvian striker swivelled on the ball and shot past Rensing on the near post to make it 4-0 (59’). With a number of frustrated Bayern fans already making their way out of the stadium, Rosenberg struck again. Rensing got a fist to a Diego free-kick, but the clearance fell comfortably for the Swede, who netted to make it 5-0 and give the travelling fans real reason to enjoy the long journey home.

Bayern substitute, and former Werder man, Tim Borowski struck in the 71st minute to reduce the deficit to 5-1 and he was on target again with five minutes to go, making the final score 5:2 but it was all too late for the hosts. On the day it was the Green-Whites who would get to enjoy the party on the home turf of their most acute rivals in recent years.

The game at a glance:

FC Bayern Munich: Rensing – Lucio, Demichelis, van Buyten (46‘ Borowski) – Lell (46‘ Oddo), van Bommel, Schweinsteiger, Zé Roberto (67‘ Sosa), Lahm – Toni, Podolski

Werder Bremen: Wiese – Prödl, Naldo, Mertesacker, Boenisch – Baumann (46’ Hunt) – Vranjes, Özil (77’ Niemeyer) – Diego – Rosenberg (70‘ Sanogo), Pizarro; on the bench: Vander, Pasanen, Tosic, Harnik

Goals: 0-1 Rosenberg (30’), 0-2 Naldo (45’), 0-3 Özil (54’), 0-4 Pizarro (59’), 0-5 Rosenberg (68’), 1-5 Borowski (71’), 2-5 Borowski (85’)

Referee: Kinhöfer (Herne)

Attendance: 69,000 (sold-out Allianz-Arena)

Yellow cards: Demichelis – Baumann, Vranjes

source: werder.de

Bundesliga Round Up: Werder Thrash Bayern, Schalke Go Top

Bayern Munich 2-5 Werder Bremen

Bayern Munich’s 20 match unbeaten home record came crashing to the ground as Werder Bremen thrashed them 5-2 at the Allianz Arena.

Seconds after Bayern saw Lukas Podolski was called back for offside, Werder broke upfield and scored after 30 minutes.  A tremendous, incisive through ball from Mesut Özil found Markus Rosenberg through on goal and he clipped the ball past Michael Rensing with a clinical finish to hand Werder the lead.

Bayern then found themselves two goals down before the half time break when Naldo scored right on the stroke of the interval.  Özil bent in a superb free kick from the right which missed everybody and had to be saved low from Michael Rensing.  When his parry came out, it was Werder defender Naldo, who was on hand to poke the ball home.

Klinsmann reacted with a double substitution, but the Bavarians then went 3-0 down on 54 minutes when Mesut Özil produced a fantastic finish after being played in by Diego.  The former Schalke man hit a rasping shot that fizzed past keeper Rensing and into the top left corner.

The bad dream then turned into an absolute nightmare five minutes later when Werder scored a fourth.  Terrible defending inside the Bayern penalty area saw Rosenberg waltz through and Claudio Pizarro was allowed to steer the ball past Rensing.

A goalkeeping howler from Michael Rensing on 67 minutes then handed Werder their fifth goal of the afternoon.  The Bayern keeper came out to punch away a Diego free kick, but failed to connect properly and Markus Rosenberg was able to stab home with relative ease.

The Bayern fans were given a modicum to cheer about on 70 minutes when former Werder man Tim Borowski fired home after good work from Massimo Oddo.

Borowski then scored a second on 85 minutes, but few Bayern fans were celebrating with the result well beyond doubt by then.

Schalke 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

Schalke have gone top of the Bundesliga after a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.  With Hamburg playing tomorrow, the Königsblauen now sit at the summit of the German top division on 11 points.

Brazilian Chris was sent off on 34 minutes for an elbow on Heiko Westermann.  It looked a harsh decision on the replay.

The opening goal at the Veltins Arena then arrived on 41 minutes via an own goal from Patrick Ochs.  Jefferson Farfan went through on goal and Ochs attempted to clear the ball away but only succeeded in deflecting the ball past keeper Nikolov into his own net.

The single goal proved enough to secure three points and top spot for Fred Rutten’s men.

Energie Cottbus 1-1 VfL Bochum

Cottbus remain bottom of the Bundesliga despite a point at home to VfL Bochum.  The Lausitzer scored their first goal of the season but failed to secure all three points against Marcell Koller’s side.

The first time the Cottbus attack were given any room they scored.  Jelic fed Sörensen from the left and the Dane scored from 12 meters out for the opening goal.

Following the early goal, Cottbus fell further and further back into defence and invited Bochum forward.  They were rather fortunate that the visitors didn’t take any of the chances that came their way in the first half.

They were however punished two minutes into the second half when Yahia grabbed a deserved equaliser.  Mimoun Azaouagh left Ziebig standing down the right hand side and put the ball onto the head of Yahia, who left Tremmel with no chance.

Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 1.FC Köln

Bielefeld condemned visitors Köln to another defeat the Schüco Arena with two quick goals in the final 15 minutes.

The opening goal didn’t arrive until the 74th minute when winger Jonas Kamper scored from a direct free kick conceded by Pierre Wome.  The Danish substitute was rather fortunate though as his effort took a wicked deflection off of the Köln wall.

The first goal may have taken 74 minutes to arrive, but their second arrived duly arrived three minutes later.  Köln centre back Kevin McKenna put through his own net attempting to clear a goal bound effort from Wichniarek after keeper Mondragon had failed to deal with a long ball.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-1 Hertha Berlin

Hertha Berlin grabbed an important away win at the Borussia Park to inflict a second successive defeat on Mönchengladbach.  The Fohlen now find themselves in the bottom three, while Hertha have climbed to seventh.

The first chance that came Hertha’s way was converted by Gojko Kacar for the opening goal.  A dream pass from Cicero to the Serbian saw him convert from inside the penalty area into the corner of the goal.

That goal proved to be the only one of the game and saw Hertha grab a vital three points away from home.

source: goal.com