Now or never
By: Jackson | November 26th, 2008It is now or never for the Green Whites as they face Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus. The Cypriot powerhouse has been one of the bright stories of the Champions League and on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stage as they are in second place of Group B. Conversely and it is impossible to deny, Werder is one of the tournaments great disappointments floundering like a fish out of water, with a lowly three points in four matches. Overall play has been so poor in the Champions League and in Bundesliga action that Klaus Allofs and Thomas Schaaf spending much of their time downplaying talk of “crisis.”
While I am obviously guilty of finding the silver lining, the club does appear to have turned the corner in the last three matches and actually playing some defense. The weaknesses of poor work ethic, caused by questionable levels of fitness have made a measurable improvement recent on defending, evidenced in the nil draw to VfL Bochum, the 3-1 victory over FC Köln and the 2-1 loss to Hamburg in the Nord derby. Although there is much left to be desired, it is a start in the right direction.
In the opening match against Anorthosis Famagusta, Werder was was humbled at home with the Cypriot squad playing to a nil draw. The high energy attack that the Green Whites boast was a trickle, were shot after shot were off target and their opposition followed a point-by-point plan on the way to the draw. While obvious, to be victorious in Cyprus, Werder must not only continue their return to defending but find the ability to finish, which equally has been a problem.
Werder heads into the match with Sebastian Boenisch and Clemens Fritz confidently able to play but both decisions will likely be wait till the last minute. Mesut Özil, who is suspended domestically suspended will be available. Anorthosis Famagusta will be boosted with the return of Arian Beqaj but Traianos Dellas and Cedric Bardon are questionable.
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Category: Team News
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Comments
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Just in: Wiese out injured, Vander in. Oh well…
Posted from
Germany
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This one’s gettin wild..
Posted from
United States -
And another embarrassing performance by Werder Bremen in Europe. A shameful dive by Hunt brings them back into the game, they equalise and then Almeida has the golden opportunity to steal the game. But that would have been extremely undeserved.
UEFA Cup is still possible but they need to beat Inter at home to reach that goal. Sorry, but Bremen’s performances in the CL get worse every year. Not getting out of this group, potentially not even qualifying for the UEFA Cup is just not acceptable.
Maybe a year without any European football next season would help Bremen rethink their approach a bit.
Posted from
Germany
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