Werder have never been so uncommunicative at the start of an international mission. Almost all of the players walked by without making a comment Wednesday morning to the cameras set up at the departure area of the Bremen airport. It was a silent message the Green-Whites were sending out: actions not words against AC Milan will secure a berth in the next round of the UEFA Cup.

"We definitely did not tell them to keep quiet. But maybe that was already the concentration of the game that we felt," explained Klaus Allofs, who was more in demand than ever at the airport. "I am confident that we will play a good game. Whether it's enough to reach the next round we will have to see," said the manager, who assumes it will do the team good being underdogs.

"It is definitely a very different position than in the Bundesliga losses where we were heavy favourites against Bielefeld and Cottbus and couldn't handle that. It's not exactly false to say that we really have taken to heart the games against the big teams this season," said Allofs, referring to contests against Milan, Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin.