It was a wonderful taster of what is to come on ‚Tag der Fans‘ (Day of the Fans). On Thursday, 31.07.2008, the complete Werder professional squad was on hand for an event initiated by the clubs main sponsors, Citibank, in the CentrO, Oberhausen on Luise-Albertz-Platz. The Green-White fateful were surrounded on the day by fans from Schalke, Dortmund, Bochum and Duisburg, who are all at home in the Ruhr Valley area.

That considered, the CentreO was packed full as trainer Thomas Schaaf’s men pulled in with the team bus at 4:30pm. Top sponsor ‘Deutsche Bahn’ brought the Bundesliga players then to the main railway station with one of their high speed ICE trains. Many of the fans had spent several hours in the searing heat waiting to catch a glimpse of Frings, Fritz, Rosenberg & Co.: “In particular when we play in the cities here, we are repeatedly reminded of the support that Werder Bremen has in the west of Germany,” commented Thomas Schaaf during the event, and he continued: “That’s why we chose to make this journey and we are delighted to have been greeted so heartily.”