Penalty for Werder! Drunk with the juices of success, some 30,000 fans at the Weser Stadium called for keeper Tim Wiese to take the spot kick. A number of the Green-Whites on the pitch felt it was a good idea too and beckoned Wiese forward. The keeper initially made a few steps towards the Hannover goal but then stopped and decided against the idea. For the Green-White’s goalkeeper, respect for the opponents played a major role in his eventual decision.

General manager Klaus Allofs commented on the situation after the game with a wry smile: “Maybe some time in the distant future we will have fan voting on such issues as who should take free-kicks and penalties but we are not that far along just yet. Aside from that, our goal difference could play a very significant role and we have a clear group of players responsible for set pieces.”

Fairness also played a vital role for Werder Bremen. Vice-captain Torsten Frings made it very clear to his goalkeeper that he should remain in his own half of the pitch: “That’s just not the right thing to do, especially when your opponents are so far behind. That would just be a mockery of our opponent and that is something we don’t do here,” declared Frings.