Resurgent Bremen fighting fit

Thursday, 15 February 2007
by Steffen Potter
from Frankfurt
Back-to-back Bundesliga defeats may have dented their German title hopes, but Werder Bremen underlined their European credentials with a 3-0 UEFA Cup Round of 32 first-leg victory against AFC Ajax.

Resurgent confidence
Sub-standard performances in their last two league outings have left Thomas Schaaf's side six points adrift of FC Schalke 04 in the title race, but there was no sign of malaise as Bremen put three goals past ten-man Ajax last night. Olaf Lindenbergh's dismissal for a second bookable offence after just 23 minutes handed Bremen the initiative and they took full advantage as Per Mertesacker, Naldo and Torsten Frings all scored in the second half.

'We are back'
"My team has shown that we are back," said Schaaf. "We haven't played all that badly in recent weeks but we lacked that little bit extra you need to win games. We have discussed the mistakes we made in the past 14 days and the team has improved and returned to the levels of the past." Schaaf accepted that Lindenbergh's dismissal had helped his side regain their footing, while Ajax coach Henk ten Cate was also in no doubt of its significance. "It was a difficult match for us," said the Dutchman. "We gave them very few chances in the first half but lost a lot of strength in the process."

Gloomy assessment
Understandably, Ajax are not feeling overly optimistic about next week's second leg. "Anything is possible in football, but Bremen really have a very strong team," said defender Jaap Stam. Bremen general manager Klaus Allofs added: "If we play like this in the return, we're sure to qualify." While a Round of 16 tie against FC Spartak Moskva or RC Celta de Vigo may already be on Bremen minds, their main talking point last night was their hopes of another Bundesliga crown, with a huge northern derby against Hamburger SV looming on Saturday.

Critics silenced
Mertesacker, scorer of the opener against Ajax, believes the UEFA Cup win has given Bremen wings after losing their last match 4-1 at VfB Stuttgart. "This was a clear message to all those who had written us off," he said. "It's nice to silence our critics just four days after the Stuttgart game. We are back up to international level and have shown we can dominate a match again. Now we have to do the same in the Bundesliga." Schaaf agreed, adding: "We are on the right path. We have to continue this on Saturday and achieve the same kind of dominance as we did today."


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