Introducing Werder Bremen: It's Time to Shine in Europe

Werder Bremen 1- 0 Nurnberg. Markus Rosenberg had just scored a goal against the meanest defence of the Bundesliga in the 2006-07 season. Miroslav Klose and Tim Borowski were both part of that Werder side.

Werder Bremen finished third that campaign. The following season, they disappointed as usual in the Champions League. I am going to introduce the club to you with some highs and lows that are going to amaze you.

Introducing Coach Thomas Schaaf

Thomas Schaaf is one guy who never fails to amaze me. He spent his whole career at Werder Bremen. He made 281 appearances for Werder as a defender and has been the coach of the club since 1999. Such loyalty can hardly be found anywhere.

Interesting facts: In Thomas Schaaf’s playing days, Werder won the Bundesliga, lost it twice on goal difference and even got relegated once. After Thomas Schaaf took over, Werder’s consistency improved. They have never finished below ninth position in the Bundesliga and have given FC Bayern Munich a few problems over the last few years.

In the 2006-07 campaign, Werder was the reason behind Bayern’s slip into the UEFA Cup. In the 2005-06 season, Bayern claimed the Bundesliga title. Werder however had the two best strikers in Miro Klose and Ivan Klasnic and thus the best offence in the Bundesliga. The two strikers had combined to score 40 goals that campaign in just 26 matches with Klose scoring 25 and Klasnic scoring 15.

Werder is not a “typical” German side. A "typical" German side is usually clinical. A very good example would be the Germany vs. Turkey match in the semi-final of the Euros. Turkey had 11 shots on target, yet lost, whereas Germany had three shots on target and won, 3-2.

Werder love to play attacking football and enjoy crushing teams like Eintracht and even Bayern. Werder beat Eintracht 5-0 this season. They also shocked Bayern in the Allianz Arena 5-2. In the game against Hoffenheim, Per Mertesacker received a red card a few minutes after the hour mark. Hoffenheim took advantage but still lost 5-4.

Bremen however last qualified for the last 16 in the Champions League in the 2005-06 season.

Through a Werder Fan’s Eyes

Werder have one problem: they are extremely inconsistent. Their squad is a mixture of youth and experience. Werder have beaten Real Madrid, they have beaten Inter, they have beaten Chelsea, and they have thrashed Bayern.

However, this campaign, Werder managed to lose to Panathinaikos! They didn’t lose to Inter and got four out of a possible six points in two matches against Inter.

Consistency is the key to success.

Werder have disappointed in Europe almost every season. Memories of the 10-2 thrashing by Lyon in the 2004-05 season are still alive in most Werder fans’ memories.

Yet what hurts more is when you are kicked out of the Champions League due to the away goals rule, that’s exactly what happened in the 2005-06 season. Werder despite beating Juve at the Weser 3-2 in the first leg, were unable to qualify. The tie finished 4-4 with Juve advancing on the away goals rule.

Luck is one thing you need to win and that’s exactly what cost Bremen a possible UEFA Cup. On the back of an impressive group stage in the 2006-07 season Bremen went into the UEFA Cup. They were knocked out, despite beating Chelsea as they lost to Barcelona. One point was the difference between Barca and Bremen in group A of the Champions League.

They beat Ajax and Celta Vigo to advance into the UEFA Cup quarter-final where they meet AZ. They finished off AZ in front of the AZ fans 4-1. Miroslav Klose ended his 907 minutes goal drought with two goals while Borowski and Diego opened and closed the scoring respectively.

In the semi-final Werder lost the first leg 3-0. However they weren’t down. They began the second leg at the Weser strongly and were 1-0 up within the first five minutes.

However the ref decided to send possibly the gentlest man on the pitch off. Werder were one man down in the twentieth minute. Miroslav Klose was sent off with a second yellow card for a DIVE! This was the guy who told the ref that Werder shouldn’t be awarded a penalty as he hadn’t been fouled in a Bundesliga match!

Werder’s dream was shattered there as Espanyol finished the match as winners, the scoreline being 2-1 in their favour.

Werder’s inconsistency has also led to some poor results in the German Cup. They are yet to be knocked out however, they won it in 2004 but exited the competition in the semi-final the following season. Their form in the competition declined since then. They got knocked out in the quarter-final, the third round and the first round in the following seasons respectively.

Finally,comes Diego. Juve are not going to let go of this guy! According to the media, they are still chasing him. Werder is far from a one man show, they boast the likes of Mesut Ozil, Per Mertesacker, Tim Wiese, and Torsten Frings. They have up and coming young talent such as Aaron Hunt in their side as well.

They will manage without Diego but they really do need another Miroslav Klose or Tim Borowski. When I say Miroslav Klose, I mean the one who scored 25 goals in the 2005-06 season and beat Dimitar Berbatov, then of Leverkusen to the Bundesliga Cannon, neither Almeida nor Sanogo are capable of scoring that many goals. Aaron Hunt and Markus Rosenberg are not consistent while Pizarro is only on loan from Chelsea.

What I have to Say:

I am a Bayern supporter but I really enjoy watching Werder play. Their football is nothing short of impressive. Dortmund are no longer the 1997 Champions League winners' side. Leverkusen are impressive but are still short of the 2002 “Neverkusen” side. It’s probably time for Werder to take their chance in Europe.

I am sure Werder fans are quite satisfied with the draw they received in the UEFA Cup…AC Milan. Werder will be underdogs to win this one and as most Werder fans know, Werder love being the underdogs.