Champions of Europe ----- 's second most imporant competition

Germany embraces the UEFA Cup. With Bayern Munich playing in Europe’s 2nd tournament for the first time in a decade, the rest of Germany is trying to keep up with the country’s biggest club. That includes Werder Bremen, Schalke 04 and Stuttgart, who are currently in the Champions League.


The going has been tough for the three Champions League teams. Werder Bremen and Stuttgart find themselves in 4th in their respective groups, having failed to secure draws this past week to secure the coveted 3rd spot, a position that drops teams into the UEFA Cup Round of 32. Schalke currently find themselves in 3rd spot, but questions at Chelsea following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho and Valencia’s inability to finish, leave the current second place team in the Bundesliga in a dubious position. A positive result in either of the upcoming fixtures with Chelsea could see the Gelsenkirchen side slip into second place.


It wasn’t like manager Mirko Slomka didn’t try. He employed a midfield with no width against Rosenborg, who dominated the midfield, but his team unfortunately countered for two goals. Werder Bremen’s Thomas Schaaf will be disappointed with his team’s loss to Olympiakos. The goal they so desperately wanted to concede after dominating possession by over 60% during the match, escalated into two others quickly, meaning they need to win one of the games approaching with Lazio to move up one space. Stuttgart have to hope they are less sucktacular than Lyon to secure third.


Meanwhile in the actual competition, Leverkusen, FC Bayern, Hamburg and even lowly Nurnberg made it to the group stages. Leverkusen gave away two early goals which seemed to jeopardize their chances, but pulled through at Uniao Leiria. Nurnberg used the away goals rule to get by Rapid Bucharest. Hamburg demolished a Lycra/Spandex blend from Bulgaria, while Bayern made short work of another Portuguese side. All four will find their group pairings this coming Tuesday.


If things go according to plan, the Bundesliga could see seven teams through to the quarterfinals of the competition, which is now being called “das Ligapokal Zwei” colloquially in Germany. It would undoubtedly give Germany a half-decent chance of capturing its first UEFA Cup since Bayern and Schalke’s double of 95/96 and 96/97. The closest the Bundesliga have come since was Borussia Dortmund’s loss in Rotterdam to Feyenoord in 2002. It was a tragedy, really, as Dortmund awaited the return leg only to find out the competition had changed to a one-leg final three years prior.

Is Wayne Brady Going to Have to Score 8 on a Bitch

Werder 8 - 1 Bielefeld



In reference to Sanogo's striking resemblance to Wayne Brady (and his infamous skit on the Chapelle Show)

Werder Bremen 4 - 1 Stuttgart

The European Draw

The Champion’s League draw for German teams was not easy as all three clubs found themselves in hard groups.

Schalke 04 drew Chelsea, Valencia and Rosenborg in Group B

Chelsea and Valencia are both stacked squads. While any expectation of going to Stamford Bridge and getting three points should be quickly dismissed, Chelsea have never faired will at Anfield, which is a poor-man’s Veltins Arena. Also, recently Chelsea have shown some susceptibility along the wings, and if Slomka can deploy Ozil, Pander, Jones, etc along the touch, they could spread the field and provide room for Rakitic and Kuranyi. Krstajić will have to be at his best to deal with Didier Drogba, but I think he’s up to the task.

Valencia have started out poorly in La Liga, but are still a great team with the likes of David Villa, Morientes and Zigic up front. The team boasts arguably one of the best midfields in the world with the likes of David Silva, Joaquin, Albelda, Gavilan, Marchena and Angulo. Their defense is solid but is adjusting to life without Roberto Ayala, so it is better to face them early as Moretti and converted midfielder Raul Albiol form a partnership that may be exploitable.

Roseborg are a decent squad, but just do not have the talent to compete in such a stacked group. All teams will need to take six points off them and make sure they make sure their homes are a fortress. I expect this will give Schalke all the advantage they need to sneak past Valencia for the second spot.

Predictions: Chelsea, Schalke, Valencia, Rosenborg

Werder Bremen drew Lazio, Real Madrid and Olympiakos in Group C

Lazio are no longer the giants they once were, and have become a selling team after financial scandal. They are a team that likes to get forward; thus, they are susceptible to the counter, especially now that goalkeeper and excellent organizer Angelo Peruzzi has retired. Goran Pandev is the man to be scared of and Naldo will need to be at his best to slow this emerging star down. The absence of attacking mid Stefano Mauri will help a Bremen side that is missing its best midfield man-markers.

Real Madrid are playing for fun and have started the season with a similar air as Bayern Munich. A team that refuses to sit back typically gives Bremen a hard time, and I expect their two matches will be two of the most entertaining of the group stage. Olympiakos is a team quite capable of causing problems for any of these sides, especially at home. They will undoubtedly surprise at least one team at home and that could be the crucial decider for the top two. Bremen’s backlog of injuries doesn’t bode well; however, if Martin Harnik turns out to be the real deal, the Klose cloud could be lifted from their forward line.

Predictions: Real Madrid, Lazio, Werder Bremen, Olympiakos

Vfb Stuttgart drew Barcelona, Lyon and Rangers in Group E

Barcelona and Lyon have been strong teams for the past few years in the Champions League; however, they are facing troubling times. Barcelona’s fantastic four are already causing headaches for manager Frank Rijkaard and the stagnant form that plagued them towards the end of last season, seems to be present still as Rijkaard’s tactical choices get more and more criticism. Barcelona’s defense, while better than last year, is still a concern with a goalkeeper (Valdez) who is prone to gaffs and a central back (Milito) who is prone to reds. While not an ideal draw for the reigning champion’s, they are capable of playing with the Catalan giants.

Meanwhile, Lyon is suffering from years of success. Their team has been picked apart by richer clubs and now they face the group stage without keeper Gregory Coupet and captain Cris, both suffering long-term injuries. They also enter the contest with a board that doesn’t have full faith in new manager Perrin. Once again they are not a team to take lightly, but Stuttgart are capable of playing with them in both legs. Rangers are a much improved side this year, and are blossoming under Walter Smith, but they do have the air of a team that consists of far-too-many EPL castoffs, so Stuttgart must take six points off the Scottish giants, if they want to get through the group. Much will depend on Cacau's injury for the champs.

Predictions: Barcelona, Stuttgart, Rangers, Lyon

The UEFA Cup draw was much easier for German teams.

Nurnberg takes on Rapid Bucurest of Romania, who finished 4th in Liga 1 last year. Nurnberg has the hardest draw of the three sides as Romania has coefficient rating close to the Netherlands. It’s a good league and Rapid could cause problems for a Nurnberg side that has struggled at the beginning of this season. If new boy Cesinha is allowed to run at the defense, Nurnberg could find themselves up against the wall.

Hamburg takes on Litex of Bulgaria, who finished 4th last year. Newcomer Cedric Cambon anchors the back line while Fabien Boudarène is the defensive linchpin in the midfield. If these two Frenchmen can clog up the space that Rafael van der Vaart typically inhabits, they could provide problems during the away leg for HSV. There should be little problem when the home leg takes place at the Nordbank Arena.

Bayern takes on Belenenses. Belenenes finished 5th last season in the Portuguese Superliga. Had they won it, it is still doubtful that they could muster a positive result against the Bavarians. As it stands, this was a team that needed legal technicalities to avoid relegation and sits bottom of the table currently. Bayern will be able to field the reserves to deal with this team.

Bayer Leverkusen face U.D. Leiria of Portugal. Leiria, a former haunt of Jose Mourinho, and the youngest team in the Superliga, finished last campaign in 7th. Having made few changes, they will come into the tie with good chemistry and a bit of belief as they made it to the competition via the Intertoto Cup.

Zagreb 2 - 3 Werder Bremen

All the Goals!

Review of Bayern/Bremen Match

Werder Bremen 0 – 4 Bayern Munich

If the idea of Bayern being unstoppable was being bandied about after the Ligapokal and a home victory over a promotion side, then a road win over one of the teams one would expect to contend for the title, must assuredly seal the deal. While Bayern have looked impressive, there is still a long way to go for a club that has rebuilt itself over the summer. The thorough victory over rival Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion, where they had one only once in the last seven encounters, does give credibility to their return to glory as one of the best teams in Europe.

Make no mistake about it; Otto Hitzfeld is not without problems that could derail his juggernaut. First, he needs to sit a striker. So far injury has actually come to his advantage, because Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski are both nursing injuries at the moment. Hitzfeld’s team controls play in a dynamic way when they play a 4-5-1. The formation allows Ze Roberto and Van Bommel to set back and protect the backline, while also allowing their attacking mids of Schweinsteiger, Altintop and Ribery to move forward expansively. When both return, he is most likely going to revert to the 4-4-2 which was employed early in this game, which stymied both Schweinsteiger and Ribery and allowed Diego to control the pace of the game. They also need to work out their backline, which while conceding only one shot on target in two games, is working with a questionable centerback in Lucio and one young halfback until Sagnol returns from injury. Had Schaaf been keener, he could have exploited the defense a little more. But he didn’t act in time and missed his chance.

In the first half, Bayern played a 4-4-2. Ze Roberto played in a more advanced position, Ribery was played out on the wing and Schweinsteiger seemed to settle back for crosses to the two big men. It was during the first 30 minutes of the game that Werder actually controlled the game and Diego was the most influential man on the pitch. He was getting decent support from his midfielders, although little out wide; however, forwards Almeida and Sanogo were poor. Sanogo would get better as the game progressed, but Almeida seems to be a good player against lesser sides. Had Schaaf been willing to test the game early, he would have either replaced Almeida or made Sanogo move to a midfield position. This would have allowed them to run at Bayern’s defense rather than forcing themselves to try and pick out the two strikers who couldn’t control the ball. Once Toni was taken down in the box and Ribery converted, they were chasing the game and unlikely to keep Bayern at bay for the rest of the game.

In the second half, Hamit Altintop came on for Miroslav Klose and the game opened up. What space Diego had in the first half, was lost to him when Ze Roberto and Van Bommel settled deeper. This allowed Ribery to move into the center and gave Schweinsteiger liberty to move forward. With Altintop’s pace added, they took control of the game. While the next two scores were on counterattacks that took advantage of Naldo forward position, they were unlucky to score on a half-dozen chances.

The third goal, which can be seen below, was pure magic. Ribery trapped the ball at the edge of his own box, between foot and shin. He then flicked it past Christian Schulz, ran to the half-way line before releasing the ball to Luca Toni. As he continued his run, he allowed Altintop to splint in behind him. Toni picked up on this and slotted the ball to Altintop who blasted a shot to the lower right corner.

Highlights: Bremen v. Bayern