Werder Bremens Champions League win over Anderlecht is now merely a thing of the past. As trainer Thomas Schaaf commented: "The Bundesliga always brings us back to earth. We work here week in, week out - this is where we build our confidence." On Saturday, 06.11.2004, It's back to the daily slog of the Bundesliga and Werder travel to Berlin to take on Hertha at the Olympia stadium.

A few days have passed since Werders fantastic 5:1 win over RSC Anderlecht but the result is, if only physcologically, still a great importance: "We want to take that 'Anderlecht Feeling' to the capital with us", said Thomas Schaaf. The trainer also swept aside any thoughts of the possibility of his side crumbling under the constant pressure: "Two or three days after the game it still tweeks a bit, but then the rigmarole continues. Still, we played on Tuesday so we've had one extra day to regenerate."

Werder without Magnin

Werder have no reason to feel ashamed of their away record. Three wins and two defeats. Werder last took three away points ten days ago at the highly rated VfB Stuttgart. Now Hertha are in for it: "We can regain our contact with the frontrunners with a win in Berlin", commented sport director Klaus Allofs: "We want to tap into our offensive strenght at the Olympia stadium and attack them."

Thomas Schaaf is once again forced to make changes - nothing new one would think. Ludovic Magnin still has one match of his Bundesliga suspension to sit out. His replacement in midfield is as yet undecided. Good news on the other hand for Tim Borowski who has been suffering from a back injury. 'Boro' is expected to return to full team training on Friday.

Hertha with offensive trio

Hertha BSC Berlin have only to do without the services of one first team player against the German champions. Captain Arne Friedrich will miss out due to knee ligament damage but trainer Falko Götz can recall defender Josip Simunic to the side having recovered from his injury. After a somewhat poor start to the season, Hertha have recovered some ground. On 14 points the "Alte Dame" (old-lady) find themselves in ninth place. The Berlin attack has been made more flexible with the addition of Gilberto and Bastürk to the side who relieve some of the pressure which was shouldered soley by Marcelinho in the past. "They're stronger this year than they were last season, considering their potential they should be up there challenging", was Klaus Allofs opinion.

So, Werder must only concentrate on their own strenghts and not those of their opponent in the Olympia stadium. That brings us back to the Anderlecht game: "Last tuesday we didn't allow ourselves to orientate toward their opponents, we consentrated on ourselves", said Thomas Schaaf reflecting on last Tuesday.

Johnnie Muldoon