Bremen ready to make amends
Monday, 7 March 2005
By Mark Bennett

  

Ivan Klasnic's return could boost Bremen


Werder Bremen captain Frank Baumann was furious after his side lost the home
first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie against Olympique
Lyonnais 3-0. "We've blown our chances of reaching the quarter-finals," he
said. "Our Champions League season is basically over."

Downbeat Klose
Baumann was suspended for the first leg at the Weserstadion, and watched on
in horror as the French champions ran away with the tie. Striker Miroslav
Klose concurred with his captain. "We should concentrate on the Bundesliga
now," he said. "I don't think we can bounce back in Lyon."

  

Thomas Schaaf's side had a miserable first leg


'Early goal'
But not everyone shares that view. "Being French I know the French
mentality," Bremen defender Valérien Isma?l said. "If we can get an early
goal they'll get nervous. We shouldn't write ourselves off yet." Striker
Nelson Valdez told uefa.com: "I refuse to give up as long as we have hope."

Klasnic injury
Valdez will be a key player at the Stade Gerland. The Paraguayan has made a
name for himself as something of a super-sub, but he is expected to keep his
place on Tuesday as coach Thomas Schaaf, in all likelihood, sticks with the
4-3-3 formation which finished the first leg. A lot will depend on the
fitness of Ivan Klasnic, who was a late omission through injury a fortnight
ago. Klasnic's inclusion alongside Klose and Valdez, should he, as expected,
recover from a calf problem, would offer some hope.

'Take a risk'
The switch to 4-3-3 after an hour did not work against Lyon, but it reaped
rewards against Valencia CF on Matchday 2, when strikes from Klose and
Angelos Charisteas brought Bremen victory after they had fallen behind.
Klasnic is urging his coach to switch from his preferred 4-4-2 lineup and go
for goal at the Stade Gerland. "You can't win anything in the Champions
League if you're not willing to take a risk," he said.

Past masters
Bremen are not in totally unchartered Champions League territory. They
themselves recovered from 3-0 down against RSC Anderlecht in 1993 to win 5-3.
And twice RC Deportivo La Coru?a have bounced back after going three goals
down, most impressively last season when they overturned a 4-1 first-leg
defeat against champions AC Milan with a blistering 4-0 victory at the
Riazor. In 2002, Liverpool FC came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with FC
Basel 1893.

I have not given up hope yet

Klaus Allofs


Weser wonder
And then, of course, there's the 'Wonder of the Weser'. Can Bremen really,
for a second time, win a tie against Lyon after losing the first leg 3-0 as
they did in the 1999/00 edition of the UEFA Cup? Sporting director Klaus
Allofs thinks so. "We've lost two games against Lyon 3-0 and won one 4-0.
Let's wait and see what happens in Lyon. I have not given up hope yet," he
said. "No matter what they say they haven't forgotten the defeat against us
either. If we can get an early goal we have a good chance of springing a
surprise. We don't want to remember the Champions League with that 3-0 home
defeat against Lyon."

Pride at stake
Asking history to repeat itself - and this time away from home - might be a
bit much to ask. But pride runs deep at Bremen, and with the Bundesliga still
to play for, if the German champions do bow out they will want to do so on a
high. "We didn't do ourselves justice in the first leg and I want to see a
better display in Lyon," Schaaf said. "The result in not the most important
thing - our pride is at stake."

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