Sunday's game in the US was the Werder Bremen game. It was a slow scoreless affair, and so unremarkable that I cant quite remember who they played. I was quite impressed with Micoud, who created a number of good opportunities. Kicker has been writing good things about him, so it was nice to see him play. I was interested to watch Werder because they are fairly high up the charts and they are the next serious opponents that Bayern will face this season. Unless someone was missing, I do not think they will mount much of a challenge to Bayern in the game next month. In recent years I seem to remember that Werder has beaten Bayern in a number of matches, but I do not think that this team will be able to handle the Bayern midfield.
Well, they might have been a little short of energy on Sunday, given that they played a UEFA cup match on Thursday night. Bremen have been a thorn in the side of Bayern for many years (stopping Bayern's long winning streak last season to throw them off the title pace), so I wouldn't write them off.
This is funny! You watch a game with werder and don´t know who they played. Here is the solution: F.C. HANSA ROSTOCK (nad next time: please pay more attention!)
Well, it was a rather unexceptional game, but I guess the Vita Cola sponsor's logo should be enough to remind everyone that the opponent was Hansa. Best part of the game was Lisztes' chip of the Hansa keeper (Schoeber??). If that had gone in . . . . All in all, a good result for Hansa against a hot Werder team. Back on point, Werder is one of a very few teams that could, if it catches lightning in a bottle, provide a serious challenge to Bayern throughout the season's end. Realistically, though, I don't think they have the depth to so. They are likely more of a threat as a cup team (watch out UEFA Cup), where they can raise their play every once in a while as opposed to every week.
It would be too much to expect them fighting for the title. Already in the last season they had the best stats of all teams against the top 6 of the league due to their speed and counter attacking skills. They got problems with controlling the games though. This season they improved regarding this aspect with Micoud - that's why I think they might add some points and with luck get a Champions League spot. Losing points against Hansa Rostock is what hurts if you're having higher aims, but you may not forget that Hansa didn't even get a single goal against in road games this season and in Bremen they needed giant luck to continue this streak.
I do not expect Werder to be contenders for the title, but you never know. I was commenting more on their odds for the game against Bayern next month. What I am hoping is that Werder remains a thorn in Bayern's side by catching lightning in a bottle for the upcoming Bayern game. I think Bayern will get all 3 point victories between now and the upcoming Werder game, and I am hoping that Dortmund will be able to keep up. (Of course, Dortmund also have to deal with Werder Bremen in the next few weeks too, and the bottle does not need to have any lightning in it for that engagement as far as I am concerned). I apologize to all the Hansa fans, and I will pay closer attention in the future. BTW: What is the connection between Vita Cola and Rostock? When I think of Rostock, I think of the little pirate ship that is used in their logo. Vita Cola never comes to mind. Indeed, I have never heard of Vita Cola and if you had asked me what it was, I would have told you it came from Australia and was probably good for sore throats.
Vita Cola is Hansa's shirt sponsor. The logo is, shall we say, a bit bright. Kind of stands out. And that, as far as I know, is the only connection between Hansa and Vita Cola (and for all I know, Vita Cola may come from Australia and be good for sore throats).
The connection is: Vita Cola wants to invade into the Coca Cola and Pepsi sector and needs a name. For that they chose to pay 1.5 M to Rostock each season to get their brand into the people's mind. The connection simply is that Rostock was one of three teams without main sponsor at that time.