Posts Tagged ‘Werder Bremen’

UEFA Cup Quarter-Finals Draw (2008-09): Udinese Get Werder Bremen

Friday, March 20th, 2009

UEFA Cup

The draw for the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League took place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, today at 13:00 CET (I liveblogged the event on Soccerlens).

Udinese, the only Serie A team remaining in Europe, can be moderately satisfied. They have the chance to avenge AC Milan, but will have to watch out from conceding too many goals. Despite a rather bleak Bundesliga campaign this year, Bremen have grown accustomed to scoring lots of ‘em in recent years.

I’ll make a more elaborate analysis later in the day, but for now here are the draw results.

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2008/09 UEFA Cup
Quarter-Finals
to be played April 9 and 16

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Hamburg
Hamburg
vs.
Man City
Manchester City
Paris SG
Paris SG
vs.
Dynamo Kiev
Dynamo Kiev
Shakhtar Donetsk
Shakhtar
vs.
Marseille
Marseille
Werder Bremen
Werder
vs.
Udinese
Udinese


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2008/09 UEFA Cup
Semi-Finals
to be played April 30 and May 7

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Werder/Udinese
vs.
Hamburg/Man City
PSG/D.Kiev
vs.
Shakhtar/Marseille

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AC Milan 2-2 Werder Bremen: Claudio Pizarro Vaporizes Rossoneri’s European Dreams (UEFA Cup Round of 32, 2nd Leg)

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Bremen forward Claudio Pizarro, right, of Peru, scores a goal as AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini looks on during the UEFA Cup, Round of 32, second-leg soccer match between AC Milan and Bremen, at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. (AP Photo)

Don’t trust the numbers you read between Milan and Werder Bremen in the title: the scoreline may say 2-2 but this was match with only one team on the grass. And it certainly wasn’t the Rossoneri. For not only did Werder fight back from an (undeserved) 0-2 half-time deficit: the German side had literally every other goalscoring chance of the 90 minutes, capitalizing the playmaking skills of Diego and lethal aerial ability of Claudio Pizarro.

The idea of winning the only silverware missing from Milan’s trophy room might have been tempting, but Berlusconi has to come down to the sad reality of things: this is a team in need of change, and team needing change fast. “Experience” and “name prestige” just don’t do it anymore.

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Werder Bremen 1-1 AC Milan: Inzaghi for the Opener, Diego for the Finale (UEFA Cup Round of 32, 1st Leg)

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

AC Milan's (from L) Mathieu Flamini, Clarence Seedorf, Filippo Inzaghi and Andrea Pirlo celebrate a goal against Werder Bremen during their UEFA Cup soccer match in Bremen February 18, 2009.  (REUTERS)

In times of fluctuating economy, shifting weather conditions, and Blatter’s opinion of South Africa (“2010, yes or no? Should we stay or should we go?”) there is one global truth we can always be sure of today (and probably for the next 10-20 years to come): there will be goals at Weserstadion. Indeed, no other team epitomizes the lack of defensive effort coupled with goalscoring power better than Werder Bremen, and as expected Wednesday’s Round of 32 UEFA Cup tie vs. AC Milan ended with goals. No shower mind you, just 1-1, but it’s a scoreline which leaves everything open for the return leg in Milan next week.

And since we’re speaking of goals, here’s one guy that’s been scoring lots in the past decade (especially in Europe). Wednesday’s tally marked Filippo Inzaghi‘s 66th goal in European competitions, a brilliant achievement for the Milan striker who got his party spoiled by Werder’s 84th minute equalizer. An equalizer bearing the signature of another player in search of European stardom (especially in the region of Turin): Diego Ribas da Cunha.

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Inter Milan 1-1 Werder Bremen: José Gets First San Siro Boos, Nerazzurri Tied at Home (UEFA Champions League 2008-09)

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

The love-story between Mourinho and Inter has hit its first hurdle. Losing the Milan derby was already a big no-no moment this week-end, but Wednesday’s home draw to Werder Bremen really did not sit well with some Nerazzurri supporters, who did not hide their discontent in the San Siro stands.

And with good reason. Much like their match against Milan, Inter only “woke up” in the final 15 minutes of the match, exhibiting severe deficiencies in terms of character the rest of the time. The “José plan” evidently, still needs to be fully absorbed by some Nerazzurri elements, while the three-pure-strikers attacking formation (with Adriano, Ibrahimovic, and Balotelli) still requires quite a bit of fine-tuning. After UCL’s matchday 2 draw, Inter are left sharing the Group B lead with the surprising Cypriot team of Anorthosis.

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UEFA Champions League – Inter, Roma, Juventus, Fiorentina GROUPS Analyzed

Friday, August 29th, 2008

For the first time in 3 years, the Italian Serie A managed to get 4 Clubs to the UEFA Champions League Group Stage. With the DRAW taking place yesterday, “someone came out smiling” and others not so much. “Four Italian teams and four levels of satisfaction” as Gazzetta would say.

Let’s have a look.

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Group B
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Inter Milan Inter Milan
Werder Bremen Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis

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All things considered, Inter were the luckiest ones. Being seeded in the first pot certainly gave them a big advantage, but they also avoided all the tough obstacles (e.g. Bayern Munich & Villareal from pot 2, Zenit & Marseille from pot 3). José Mourinho & Co. will thus face Diego’s Werder Bremen, Panathinaikos and Cyprus’ Anorthosis Famagosta. On paper a fairly easy group, as it’s difficult to find a squad that could cause problems for Inter.

Werder Bremen ranked 3rd in the Bundesliga last year, solidly ranking in the top 3 since 2004. They also have the reputation of being very productive goalscoring-wise, but alas at a cost: they concede a lot too. Against Mourinho’s openly attacking-style 4-3-3 formation (who unlike Werder contains some pretty solid defenders at the back) expect the Nerazzurri to prevail.

As for the other two teams, Panathinaikos should provide an interesting match-up if only to see Giorgos Karagounis meet his old teammates again (the Greek midfielder spent two seasons in Milan, with only 20 club appearances however). Also, the biggest curiosity will be the match against Anorthosis, champions of the Cyprus first division and a first-timer in the Champions League (getting rid of Rapid Wien and Olympiakos on the way). Their nickname is “the Old Lady”, but… does anyone believe they could be as strong as Juve?
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Match Schedule
16 September Panathinaikos
vs.
Inter
1 October Inter
vs.
Werder Brema
22 October Inter
vs.
Anorthosis
4 November Anorthosis
vs.
Inter
26 November Inter
vs.
Panathinaikos
9 December Werder Brema
vs.
Inter

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Group A
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Chelsea Chelsea
AS Roma Roma
Girondins de Bordeaux Bordeaux
CFR Cluj CFR Cluj

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The silver medal in satisfaction goes to Roma. As a second seed, the Giallorossi couldn’t avoid one of the big ones, but I’m sure every Romanista smiled when the club dodged the big Man Utd bullet here.

Not that Chelsea is necessarily a better deal mind you. The UCL 2007-08 finalists are back stronger than ever this year, scoring 4 unanswered goals in their EPL debut. Since last season, big-name recruits like Deco (£8m), José Bosingwa (£16m) and very soon, Robinho, have fortified the ranks of the EPL juggernaught, who will undoubtedly have a score to settle with fate after losing last year’s competition to penalty kicks.

Apart from playing against the Blues, Roma will have to face Laurent Blanc’s Bordeaux, Ligue 1 runners-up and the only team that could provide a serious title challenge to Lyon last year. They also now have former AC Milan player Yohann Gourcuff in their ranks.

Finally there is CFR Cluj, a Romanian football club from the city of Cluj-Napoca. Another first-timer in the Champions League, but one who managed to outrank veterans like Steaua Bucharest in last year’s Romanian Liga I. If you have a look at their current team roster, you’ll notice they actually have very few Romanians on the squad. Could *they* be the Inter Milan of Transylvania? :mrgreen:
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Match Schedule
16 September Roma
vs.
Cluj
1 October Bordeaux
vs.
Roma
22 October Chelsea
vs.
Roma
4 November Roma
vs.
Chelsea
26 November Cluj
vs.
Roma
9 December Roma
vs.
Bordeaux

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Group H
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Real Madrid Real Madrid
Juventus Juventus
Zenit St. Petersburg Zenit
FC Bate Borisov Bate Borisov

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Things could have turned out a bit better for here. Although they had some luck (Schalke, who had a better UEFA coefficient than the Bianconeri, was conveniently eliminated in the Preliminary Round, putting the Old Lady in pot nº2), Juventus were probably hoping for an easier group.

Real Madrid are a well-known adversary, bringing back painful (1998 UCL Final) but also happy memories (2003 UCL Semi-Finals… I was there by the way :mrgreen: )

Zenit St. Petersburg, who will play the UEFA Super Cup final against Manchester United today, were one of the most feared unknowns. That Andrei Arshavin guy is one freakingly good player, and no, I don’t believe he’s overrated. (and let’s not forget last year’s UEFA Cup topscorer, who managed to score as many goals as Luca Toni, a certain Pavel Pogrebnyak)

Belarus’ Bate Borisov seem to be the easiest opponent in Group H, but let’s not forget they got rid of Anderlecht and Levski Sofia (not exactly UCL newbies) to get here.
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Match Schedule
17 September Juventus
vs.
Zenit
30 September Bate Borisov
vs.
Juventus
21 October Juventus
vs.
Real Madrid
5 November Real Madrid
vs.
Juventus
25 November Zenit
vs.
Juventus
10 December Juventus
vs.
Bate Borisov

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Group F
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Olympique Lyonnais Lyon
Bayern Munich Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina Fiorentina

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Finally, those getting the short end of the stick were undoubtedly Fiorentina, something which everyone expected because of their low ranking (pot 4).

With an ironic twist of fate: Toni and Bayern Munich is a recipe for an exciting match, but one which will prove of considerable difficulty for La Viola. The German giants need no introduction really, having regularly appeared on top of European football in the past decade (and beyond). A bleak 2006-07 campaign resulted in the club’s chairmen to make massive moves on the transfer market, resuling in talented recruits such as Hamit Altintop, Miroslav Klose, Franck Ribéry, and the aforementioned Luca Toni. The following year Bayern won 3/4 tournaments they were competing in.

Lyon and Steaua Bucharest aren’t easy opponents either. The French club has been dominating the Ligue 1 scene since 2002 (when, believe it or not, they won their first French championship). From then on, there was virtually only one club dining at the big 1st-spot table in France, all the others playing for scraps. As for the Romanians, they have not won their home league since 2006 but remain the most decorated football club in the country (with 23 championship titles).
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Match Schedule
17 September Lyon
vs.
Fiorentina
30 September Fiorentina
vs.
Steaua
21 October Bayern Munich
vs.
Fiorentina
5 November Fiorentina
vs.
Bayern Munich
25 November Fiorentina
vs.
Lyon
10 December Steaua
vs.
Fiorentina

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For the full table of the UEFA Champions League 2008-09 Group Stage draw, see this post.