Is Tim Wiese He-Man?
By: Jamie |
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…. you know, minus the whole shirtless, Speedo-wearing, sword-carrying, saving-the-universe thing. For some reason, his bouncing and dancing about before saving Eduardo’s penalty reminded me of He-Man. Well saved and well defended once again today, Green-Whites.
Holy crap, you guys! ANOTHER clean sheet! Have we shocked all the other Bundesliga fans yet?
Match Preview: Werder vs. Hoffenheim
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Last season, this fixture ended in an epic 5-4 scoreline in favor of the Green-Whites. It was quite the Werderesque performance – knocking goals in for fun, leading Hoffenheim 4-1, then giving up three goals to give Hoffenheim the hope of emerging with a draw or perhaps stealing the win. Then our golden boy Özil struck the final goal, giving three points to the home boys. It was only one of two wins in a dismal opening couple of months in the 08/09 season.
Hoffenheim are currently only one point behind us in the Bundesliga table, so once again they can’t be taken lightly. I’m always more nervous after a long international break – hopefully everyone can fall back into the swing of things quickly, and we can once again celebrate three points at home.
Internationals, Injuries and Videos, Oh My
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Ahhh Werder Bremen, I have not forgotten about you. I have been watching the internationals with the Green-White boys in mind. Özil continues to be one of the only bright spots in a rather lacklustre German squad. I was unhappy to see Marko was not featured in either match. I was pleased to see Moreno and Bolivia surprisingly defeat Brazil.
It seems we have emerged from another international break unscathed – none of the Werder lads picked up injuries, but Borowski and Almeida have both been delayed in their recoveries. Torsten got a bit of a rest during the internationals due to a foot injury.
And Özil remains the breakout star of the season – the club are hoping to hold on to him beyond this season, but the player himself has admitted that he swoons over Barcelona but is of course currently dedicated to helping Werder have a successful season.
And, finally, here are a couple of Nike spots that Mesut and Marko filmed:
Category: Team NewsWerder, meet Defense. Defense, meet Werder Bremen.
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Ladies and gentlemen, Tim Wiese has kept the ball out of his net for 529 minutes. The match against Stuttgart represents the fourth Bundesliga clean sheet in a row for the Green-Whites – quite impressive for them. It’s not completely unheard of; the past two seasons they’ve managed three in a row. But considering Werder is not particularly known for their defending, let’s go ahead and celebrate, eh? Especially considering we actually look decent at the back and still plenty threatening up front.
Here is Captain Torsten, clearly asking his defense where they’ve been hiding for quite some time:
Next challenge: keeping Ibisevic out of our goal.
Also, the Aaron-Hunt-to-Liverpool rumor? Shot down. For now, anyway. It still brings up some interesting points. I had completely forgotten that his contract was up at the end of this season. Let’s hope Allofs works on keeping Hunt for longer. It’d be nice to keep some consistency in the side, especially because this squad finally seems to be gelling quite well together.
Scousers looking to Hunt?
By: Jamie | 2 Comments
Sorry, everyone, I’ve been so busy that I still haven’t had a chance to watch the match from this past weekend. But now that the international break is on, there’ll be plenty of time for a report and analysis before Werder are back to business.
Lately there have been rumblings about English Premier League side Liverpool being interested in our very own super in-form Aaron Hunt. There have been other rumors that they’d be interested in shipping Dutch striker Ryan Babel to us in exchange for Hunt. To which I say: pshaw, as if, whatever, all those sort of ’90s phrases.
Okay, to be honest, I haven’t seen much of Babel. I am staunchly anti-Liverpool and don’t particular enjoy watching them if I don’t have to. Babel doesn’t start many matches, which is why he’s aching for a move away from Merseyside. Hunt has become a regular starter for the Green-Whites. I just don’t see this happening, especially if our Aaron keeps performing well as he’s been doing, because each goal just puts his value up higher.
So should Werder get rid of one of their proven best players this season to bring in another youngster who could potentially be great/awful – and perhaps some extra money?
Category: Team NewsClimbing Up the Table!
By: Jamie | 5 Comments
Here’s a match that I was definitely worried about – Stuttgart have the potential to be quite dangerous, but it seems like with the loss of Mario Gomez, they have indeed lost a lot of their potency. I haven’t had a chance to watch the match yet, but it’s up on ESPN 360, so I plan to watch it tomorrow and will get back to you all with a match report. Hunt is keeping up his excellent goalscoring record, and Pizarro keeps proving what an important permanent signing he was as well.
2-0 to the Green-Whites, and almost in a Champions League position!
Here are highlights – check out ickle Marko squaring up to Mad Jens!
Category: BundesligaHighlights and Interview from Athletic Match
By: Jamie | 5 Comments
Here we go again, a video of highlights and an interview with Thomas Schaaf (really wish I could understand what he was saying about Hunt’s goal). Edit: I had to reupload this, so the Schaaf interview may be gone.
Upon rewatching, I can see that it wasn’t luck that made the ball fall for Hunt to smash into the net, it was actually a really excellent pass from Özil. And the work from Marko to win the ball and chip it over the Bilbao defense to Pizarro was absolutely lovely as well.
I do attribute the fact that Özil didn’t have his shooting boots on to him coming back from injury. He had good chances and created good chances, so he should be back on target soon.
Category: Europa LeagueEuropa League: Werder 3 – 1 Athletic Bilbao
By: Jamie | 3 Comments
The Green-Whites move to the top of Group L with a great win over their La Liga opponents. I felt a bit inspired at half-time, put together my thoughts, then continued writing as the second half progressed. So bear with me; here’s my as-the-match-happens blog:
First half thoughts:
Aaron Hunt’s goal – fantastic. Oh man. You can’t strike a volley much better than that. Prior to the goal, there was some lovely passing between the younger Werder boys (Marin, Bargfrede, Özil, Hunt) and yes, it was a bit lucky that the ball fell to Hunt, but wow. What a gorgeous strike! The keeper didn’t even get a sniff. That boy is on a roll. I’m glad to see him still in the squad with Özil, instead of just being his back-up. I guess we can thank Borowski for getting injured at the appropriate time, but that’s a bit cruel on Boro.
And the second goal was well played, too. The ball fell for Pizarro and I – along with perhaps everyone else watching the match – expected him to stuff in into the back of the net (or directly at the keeper, as is another Werder habit). He took his time getting to the ball, looked like he was setting to strike – then instead passed to Naldo (makeshift striker once again) who banged it in. Awesome.
We were fortunate to successfully get away with a few fluffs the first half. Wiese made a spectacular mess of a clearance, managing to slice the ball out of play instead of missing it completely, then made an impressive somersalt as he fell over. Then, Athletic had a brilliant chance to score, but Toquero fluffed his shot, allowing a very surprised Naldo to clear.
Side note: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was playing during half-time at the Weserstadion. Some fans are singing along. If the Green-Whites are trying to win my heart further, they are succeeding.
Second half thoughts:
Marko can’t seem to buy a goal. The guy works so hard, but he also tends to dribble right into traffic and get robbed of the ball. But, his freekicks into the box have been excellent today. Unfortunately nobody could hit any of them goalward.
Side note Part 2: The referee looks like Daniel Faraday from Lost! This is highly amusing to me.
Ridiculous – Niemeyer is on the pitch for FOUR minutes, manages to pick up a second yellow card, and is sent off. They were both nasty tackles, yes, with the slippery pitch working against Niemeyer as well. The second offense seemed a bit unfair as the Faraday-ref didn’t look like he was going to give a yellow card until he saw that the player down needed medical assistance. Now the Werder defense really have a job to do. Frustration builds quickly as Hunt is penalized for whining at Faraday-ref. Athletic show they can play dirty as well when their player goes studs-up on Marko’s ankle.
With 15 minutes to go, Schaaf takes off Marin and brings on – Rosenberg? Surely you’d want to bring on more defensive help? I am always happy for the Swede to get on the pitch, but this isn’t the substitution I would have made. But this is why I’m not the coach, I guess.
Aaaaand then, into injury time, Werder give up the inevitable goal. I don’t blame them; they were very impressive defensively, especially considering for the last 20-plus minutes they were playing with 10 men.
And at practically the last second, Werder get a penalty! Frings buries it, and we can breathe a sigh of relief for the remaining moments. 3-1 at home to the Green-Whites in what I thought was an entertaining match.
Europa League Preview: Bremen vs. Athletic Bilbao
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So, our defense starts to look relatively good for a change – and what happens? Practically our entire back line picks up injuries, of course! First, Fritz was subbed early in the match on Saturday, and Boenisch also emerged from the match complaining of a thigh injury. He’s still doubtful. Then, Per Mertesacker gives himself a great birthday present by getting a nasty cut above his eye. Fortunately, it looks like Fritz and big Per are fairly certain to play tomorrow. But let’s not have these close calls, okay guys?
Boro picked up a back injury as well and is doubtful for the Athletic match. I think we could do with giving him a rest. And apparently he was booed during the Mainz match? Come on now, ladies and gentlemen, we were winning the match; no need for booing. I mean, was he really THAT bad? I understand that you want to let the players and team know what you think of them, but I don’t advocate booing the team you support. Nice of Frings to defend his pal, though.
Athletic Bilbao have had a hard time in La Liga, most recently being demolished 4-0 by Sevilla. So they’ll either be vulnerable to attack or they’ll be really incredibly hungry for a result. I’m guessing the latter.
Weekend round-up
By: Jamie | 1 Comment
Thank you, Werder, for breaking this streak of 0-0 draws that you were threatening to continue. It took over half an hour, but the goals started flowing on Sunday against Mainz. 3-0 to the Green-Whites with two lads in fine form lately getting the goals: Hunt scored the opener and Pizarro bagged a brace.
And that’s three clean sheets in a row in the league? (Knock on wood.) Werder defense, take a bow while you can!
This is a quick, fairly undetailed match report as I was unable to watch the match. But I am pleased to see goals going in again. This brings us up to fifth in the table, ahead of reigning champs Wolfsburg on goal difference.
In other news, Werder have drawn Kaiserslautern at home in the next round of the DFB-Pokal. This match will be played at the end of October (either the 27th or 28th). I am rather excited about this one; can’t really say why. Maybe I have a soft spot for Kaiserslautern because it’s the club that Miroslav Klose started with.
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