One League Cup match, two DFB Cup clashes, thirteen friendlies, 16 European ties and 34 Bundesliga appearances make up the 66 games that Werder Bremen played in 2007. There were many high and low points and here we have quickly reviewed the most enjoyable moments.

European night to remember

It wasn’t as if Werder Bremen had anything to prove in Europe in the 2006/2007 season. Thomas Schaaf’s men were unlucky to be eliminated from the Champions League’s ‘Group of Death’, which included FC Barcelona, FC Chelsea and Levski Sofia, having picked up ten points against some of the worlds finest. In the history of the tournament, only a handful of clubs have failed to progress to the last sixteen having scored so many points but the Green-Whites could move in the UEFA Cup with their heads held high and a stunning performance against AZ Alkmaar saw Werder make the semi-final. After a 0:0 draw at the Weser Stadium in the first leg, a technically and technically very capable Dutch side could only hold their own against the superior Germans for a half hour, keeping the score down to 1:1 until Klose popped up with a brace and Diego joined in on the scoring to eventually beat AZ 4:1.

Bremen shake off the shock to fell Berlin

To be absolutely honest, the end of April and beginning of May hadn’t quite lived up to the Green-Whites expectations. After three wins on the trot in the Bundesliga, a desperate slip up and 3:2 loss to Armenia Bielefeld saw Werder lose ground in the title race and four days later the clubs dreams of a UEFA Cup final date were dashed after a 0:3 and 1:2 semi final defeat to Espanyol Barcelona. The reaction was a performance in front of 74,000 at the Olympia Stadium in Berlin which proved just how mentally strong this side were. Markus Rosenberg, who scored with a rocket from twenty meters out in the first half, commented: “That game wasn’t just good, it was simply fantastic. We proved that you can still count on us.” With two games to go, Schaaf’s men were just a point off the top. Unfortunately a week later the disappointment was devastating.

A Cold Night In Hell : Dinamo Zagreb – Werder Bremen 2:3 (2:2)

The return leg in the Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb was destined to be a ‘Trip into the fires of hell’ as local lad Jurica Vranjes suggested. The Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb carries a damning reputation. The Croatian champions had put themselves in a good position, only going down 2:1 in Bremen in the first leg and they believed they could finish the job. Werder had experience on their side though after three consecutive season’s of Champions League football and Klaus Allofs reminded the players and fans “We’ve played in much bigger, capacity filled stadiums.” Werder knew just what to expect as they headed into the chilling atmosphere of the Maksimir. Diego in particular rose to the occasion and hammered home two penalties, the decisive one, to make it 3:2 nestling in the top corner of the net despite a great deal of provocation. Werder’s other goal was netted by Boubacar Sanogo as Werder let all of Europe know that they belong in the big house.

Hugo Forever : Werder – VfB Stuttgart 4:1 (3:1)

It was some five years since German champions VfB Stuttgart had last lost a game at the Weser Stadium but on the sixth match day of the current season, their positive run was brought to an abrupt end. It was a game that had all football needs within the first fifteen minutes. It was 2:0 for the Green-Whites within four minutes thanks to two almost identical goals. Hugo Almeida twice struck from the edge of the box with his powerful left, sinking the first in the top right and the second in the bottom left corner of the net. It was to prove the fastest and earliest brace in the history of the Bundesliga. “I’m a striker and goals are my job”, explained Hugo Almeida – how true that is!!! By the quarter hour mark, VfB had gotten a goal back before Bremen restored the two goal cushion with a much talked about Sanogo header. The remaining 75 minutes saw an end to end clash, often controlled by Diego who came agonisingly close with a spectacular over-head kick before finally making it 4:1. That day the Brazilian had signed a contract extension with the club and exclaimed later: Yo, it’s fun here. This is where I belong.”

Bremen bash eight past Bielefeld

The home highlight of 2007 was surely the clash with Armenia Bielefeld – an extravaganza of football which ended with a record breaking score-line. Bremen hadn’t achieved such a win in the Bundesliga since 1983 but this 8:1 was homage to the many other great wins at the Weser Stadium. It was more Green-White madness. With a 3:0 win over Bochum, with an Aaron Hunt hat-trick, the 3:1 win having come from behind against Aachen, with goals from Daniel Jensen, Markus Rosenberg and Diego, the 4:0 drubbing of newly promoted Karlsruhe as well as a 5:2 win against Leverkusen, Werder’s table neighbours – the goals just keep coming when Werder take to the pitch. This year alone, the Green-Whites have found the net 43 times in the Bundesliga – that makes two and a half goals per match. The sport is without a doubt at home when Werder are about.

The Big Scalp: Werder - Real Madrid 3:2

Just why wins against teams like Real Madrid are so important was clear to see in the 75th minute of the big clash at the Weser Stadium. The worlds between the two side could be seen by two substitutions. Real brought Dutch winger Arjen Robben, who broke the Spanish transfer record as he arrived from Chelsea for €30 million, for Brazilian superstar Robinho. Shortly afterwardsWerder made a change too, with youngster Martin Harnik, who joined Bremen from SC Vier- and Marschlande two years previously – a class difference on paper, but on the pitch? One should not forget that the Spanish giants have won Europe’s biggest club trophy nine times so far.

History doesn’t win football matches though and on the day it was the German side that had more to offer and approached the game against their prominent opponents more determinedly. A combination of spirit, power, brevity, patience and control as well as luck (Rosenberg’s opener and van Nistlerooy’s miss), originality (Sanogo’s stunner to make it 2:1) and effectivity (Hunt’s 3:1) saw Werder run out 3:2 winners. It was a win to mark the year 2007 with a massive scalp and proof that Werder Bremen as a club is certainly bigger than the sum of it’s individuals.

Johnnie Muldoon