Werder defeats Hamburg 3-2 to advance to finals of UEFA Cup

Despite being done a goal heading into second-leg of the UEFA Cup the Green Whites stormed into the Volksparkstadion and defeated HSV 3-2 to advance to the finals on aggregate. Werder will now face Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk in the finals on 20 May in Istanbul.

Werder posed the first threat of the day as twelve minutes in Claudio Pizarro sent Sebastian Boenisch's cross from right over the bar from close range. However a minute later as Joris Mathijsen supplied the always dangerous Ivica Olić a perfect through ball with the Croatian international driving into the net past keeper Tim Wiese. Just before the thirtieth minute Diego and Claudio Pizzaro linked up with the former sending the ball over Frank Rost to square the match. Both sides came close before break but most concerning was Diego receiving a yellow-card, disqualifying him for the final. After the break the fast-pace continued, with Werder dodging a bullet when Jonathan Pitroipa couldn't turn-in Marcell Jansen's low cross. Six minutes past the hour when Claudio Pizzaro drove from the circle and struck a soft goal from twenty-five plus metres to make it 2-1, tying the aggregate. With seven minutes left a peculiar incident occurred as a simple backpass was thrown off-course from a object thrown onto the pitch, resulting in a corner. From the resulting corner, Hugo Almeida flicked on the ball for Frank Baumann to head in for a confident 3-1 lead. Four minutes later Ivica Olić came roaring back to bring the match 3-2. In the final moments Hugo Almeida got into a modest pushing match with Jerome Boateng, earning a yellow card and like Diego will miss the final. That aside the match finished with Werder leaving with the win and making plans for Istanbul.

Green Whites move to Pokal final

The Green Whites took another step towards the DFB Pokal as they defeated Nord derby rivals Hamburg 4-2 on penalties. With the victory Werder advances to the DFB Pokal final at the Olmypiastadion on 30 May.

Thomas Schaaf's side took the lead eleven minutes in as Diego's free-kick from the edge of the left side of the box was pushed back at the last gasp by HSV 'keeper Frank Rost but the rebound was pounded in by German international Per Mertesacker from close range. HSV brought the match level seven minutes past the hour when on a fast counter Ivica Olić's effort was saved by Tim Wiese but the rebound came out left to Guy Demel. His quick shot was re-directed by Olić in to square the match up.

Without further scoring the match headed to extra-time and still thirty additional minutes the match headed to penalties. Although Joris Mathijsen converted for HSV, one after another Tim Wiese denied Jérôme Boateng, Ivica Olić and Marcell Jansen while Claudio Pizarro, Mesut Özil and Torsten Frings converted. Werder now has the chance to win the DFB Pokal for the first time since their victory over Alemannia Aachen in 2004.

Nigel de Jong DEAL DONE!

The deal to bring Nigel de Jong to Manchester City from Hamburger SV has been finalized with a rumoured fee of €19.5m.

The 24-year-old Netherlands international signed a four year agreement with the club and is leaving for Tenerife training camp shortly. He said via the club web-site:

“I feel very good and for me it is the next step in my own career after three years in Germany and I hope to be successful here at Manchester City.

“The ideas and the planning behind this Club are very hopeful and it’s a new adventure so I’m delighted to be here right now.”

“The Stadium looks great and I think it can only be better when it’s full of people.

“I’m looking forward to playing here and everybody knows that the Premier League is maybe the biggest competition in the world.”

Nigel de Jong deal looks to be done

As per German media source Kicker Sportmagazin the deal to bring Nigel de Jong from Hamburger SV to Manchester City has nearing completion with a final price-tag of €20m. The only outstanding item is approval of the twenty-four year-old Netherlands international.

Both clubs have yet to issue any statements on whether the offer has been accepted.

City move for Nigel de Jong

A variety of German news agencies are reporting that Manchester City has tabled a €15m bid on Nigel de Jong of Hamburger SV. The twenty-four year-old Netherlands international would be another cog in shoring up the City defending abilities and he would join for Hamburg teammate Vincent Kompany who joined the Citizens in the August of this past year.

Both clubs have yet to issue statements.

Vincent Kompany on the FA Cup

A product of Anderlecht’s youth system, since coming over from Hamburger SV Vincent Kompany has been a steady performer for Mark Hughes. In speaking of tomorrow’s FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest, the twenty-two year old Belgian spoke of the match:

“It’s quite exciting because I am someone that likes to play cup football. You know where it can go, and for me playing at Wembley would be a dream for me. We’re a long way off it, but I want to play in this country for a long time and I hope to one day make it to Wembley.

“The FA Cup was always accessible for people in Belgium, or when I was playing in Germany. There always seems to be something special happening in FA Cup games. They are great to watch and I hope it will be a pleasure to play in.

“Watching the cup results come up on TV with all the surprises was always enjoyable. But we’ve seen when we lost at Brighton what can happen in cups so it’s about the most motivated team. We have to realise that this is a serious game, if we do then I am sure we will go far.

“Unless we fully respect Forest, we won’t get a positive result. We have to understand they can play football as well, they are a good side and they deserve our respect. We’ll have to perform well.”

“It was painful losing at Brighton, especially through penalties. I’m sure this Saturday will be completely different and we won’t make the same mistakes.”

Die Adler put Hamburger SV to the test

Eintracht Frankfurt forced the most out of Hamburger SV but in the end fell 1-0 to the fourth-place club. Die Adler supporters can stand proud with the performance as they did not give a ball up without a challenge and show intense desire to bring home points. While the Martin Jol-led Hamburg side controlled much of the possession they were consistently disappointed with Die Adler intensity and defending prowess. It is not appropriate to single-out one player it such a strong defensive effort but clearly much credit is owing to Michael Fink, Markus Steinhöfer, Mehdi Mahdavikia and former Japanese capped Junichi Inamoto for a courageous performance that choked off most scoring chances before they could enter a more dangerous phase. With Friedhelm Funkel's tactical plan obvious to assault on the counter, Hamburg grew wary and with a raised eyebrow was cautious going forward. Yet the goal line was finally broken just before the hour as Piotr Trochowski's cross was headed-in by a diving Mladen Petrić. Nikos Liberopoulos had a late opportunity to bring the match even but it unfortunately the effort fell short and the match ended with a 1-0 deficit.

While disappointment is natural with a defeat, this should not be the case as Die Adler played brilliantly and in-consideration of the enormous injuries we can look forward to the second half of the season.

Ivica Olić delivers payback

Since joining Hamburger SV from CSKA Moscow, Ivica Olić has become a fan favourite notably for his tough work-ethic and timely production. In the Nord derby today he not only settled the match with a explosive goal to give Hamburg the 2-1 victory but also served up a tidy bit of payback to Tim Wiese for his grievous foul last year.

In front of a sell-out crowd at HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg cracked down on the Green Whites painfully inept defensive only six minutes after the opening whistle as Paolo Guerrero jumped on a rebound off Mladen Petrić free-kick. In hindsight it was a tough goal to stomach as Werder could easily be said to have played their most disciplined match of the season and provided Martin Jol's few opportunities. However eighteen minutes later Diego brought the match equal as he struck as his free-kick sailed over the wall and glanced off 'keeper Frank Rost's mitts and into the net. Through the balance of the half, Werder created a number of opportunities but couldn't muster up the final touch. The second half started with both sides on the hunt for goals but final third defending was textbook and advances were thwarted. Finally, out of the blue with sixteen minutes remaining Croatian capped Ivica Olić hammered a drive to the far post from twenty-meters out to bring the crowd to their feet. Looking for the equalizer, Werder went on the attack but Hamburg held strong and turned aside each attempt to hand the visitors a 2-1 defeat.

Werder played a brilliant match and showed elements to their game that we haven't seen in quite some time and in essence the match was decided with a stunning individual effort. While disappointment is only natural it is equally something that can be built upon.

Nord derby

The 89th installment of the great Nord derby promises to be a highly explosive one within the early winter season. With Werder defensive woes, the attacking style of Martin Jol's Hamburg promises to make this a high scoring match if the Green Whites do not pay special interest in protecting Tim Wiese.

Thomas Schaaf is unsure of Clemens Fritz while Germany U-21 Mesut Özil is still serving suspension for his discretion. Hamburg will be without the services of Nigel de Jong and David Jarolim is suspended for the match.

While Werder fought hard to resist calling their situation as a "crisis" during a miserable October they have since rebounded with a mini-three match unbeaten streak, defeating the Berliners, FC Köln while playing VfL Bochum to a draw. Hamburg on the other hand has suffered with inconsistent play, looking brilliant at times while they beat Bayer Leverkusen and then being destroyed by the likes of TSG Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg and Hannover 96. However their fortunes turn measurably at home and have yet to lose this year.

The expected lineups are:
Bremen: Wiese - Pasanen, Mertesacker, Naldo, Niemeyer - Baumann - Frings, Vranjes - Diego - Almeida, Pizarro

Hamburg: Rost - Boateng, Reinhardt, Mathijsen, Jansen - Demel, Alex Silva - Trochowski, Guerrero, Olic - Petric

Conditions for the match will be perfect, well at-least perfect to me as I like matches in the snow. How this controls pace could could work to Werders advantage as it might nullify Hamburg's attack. While many will point to the key for Werder being the attacking forces of Diego and Claudio Pizarro, success in this match Torsten Frings and assuming he is healthy, Clemens Fritz. Without a controlling midfield, heavy on work-rate the Werder back-line woes will be exposed and this will be a long afternoon.

Clemens Fritz and Sebastian Boenisch doubtful for Hamburg

Looking forward to this Sunday's match against Hambur Clemens Fritz and Sebastian Boenisch are both highly doubtful. With many players off on international duty the club went through skeleton training sessions and Fritz and Boenisch took part in re-hab sessions.

Sebastian Boenisch said of his training:
“The run went quite well for me, but I have to admit, I did feel some strain in my thigh. I will have to wait and see now just how my muscles react to the training,”

Clemens Fritz noted:
"I’m on the right road. We are increasing the workload daily to see how the muscles react. I need a few more days but hope to be able to train with the rest of the team by the end of the week. Problems with muscles are always very sensitive issues."

BVB loses 2-1 to Hamburger SV

Although putting forth a good game-plan and showing some inspired performance, BVB lost to Hamburger SV 2-1 in front of a capacity crowd of 57,000. The was coupled with a meltdown by Robert Kovač after the match concluded as he continued to argue with the referee and was shown a red-card while most players were walking off the pitch. Martin Jol's club capitalized on poor marking scoring on both occasions that will give Jürgen Klopp nightmares. At the ninth minute Piotr Trochowski's corner reached Mladen Petrić at the back post which he easily headed-in. Twelve minutes before the half Mladen Petrić headed to Ivica Olić who then struck the ball to the back of the net. Die Schwarzgelben maintained significant possession of the ball but weren't able to get into position for a high-probability chance. Just after the break Tamás Hajnal found himself in the opportune spot as he latched onto a rebound from a Diego Klimowicz effort and made it 2-1. Hamburg's defensive lines were suspect for the balance but BVB couldn't break through and the match ended in a frustrating 2-1 loss.











After the match both managers said:

Martin Jol: "We did quite well in the first half. After the break, Dortmund was obviously the better team. We did not connect offensively, but we fought well and gave our best. That´s why I am happy now."

Jürgen Klopp: "For what we invested in the match, we did not get enough out of it. Therefore we are going home unhappy. We did not play badly, but we were not focused enough in some situations."

time to visit Martin Jol

Die Schwarzgelben visit Hamburger today in the midst of a six-match unbeaten string. While much of the attention before the match has been directed towards Mladen Petrić and Mohamed Zidan moving to each others club, the he said, she said story of this transfer means very little as matches are settled on the pitch and that has nothing to do with a professionals motivation. Martin Jol has led his club to a good start although they have had some issues recently and were target practice for Hannover 96 last week, losing 3-1. However they have yet to lose at home yet and their boisterous capacity crowd won't make it easier.

Piotr Trochowski said with confidence:
"I expect us to bag three points. We want to go on a run and stop that rollercoaster ride."

Hamburg goes into the match likely without the services of Nigel de Jong and Paolo Guerrero and Guy Demel is doubtful. BVB boss Jürgen Klopp will need to deal with the loss of Dede, Mats Hummels and Alexander Frei and likely Nelson Valdez and Tinga as well, as both are doubtful. To the shock of absolutely no-one, Jakub Błaszczykowski after a myriad of injuries will play but the Polish international is workhorse that won't be stopped.

Returning to the Mladen Petrić and Mohamed Zidan situation, BVB tried to dispel rumours with Sport Director Michael Zorc stating the "Petric did not depart because of problems" and Jürgen Klopp adding in a statement that really didn't translate well; "We could spend a nice afternoon together spontaneously."

I won't touch the last comment but you get the idea. Nothing happened and we're all professionals. However rest assured everyone likes to give their former club a bit something to remind them of your play and both will be gunning for goals.

BVB injury update

Die Schwarzgelben injury situation has taken a turn for the worse.

Team physician Dr. Markus Braun, confirmed that Mats Hummels will be out for four weeks with a torn ligament in his right ankle. The nineteen year-old German U-21 defender started the Vfl match but was replaced by Robert Kovac at the break after suffering the injury. Unfortunately BVB will additionally be without Alexander Frei for two weeks with a similar injury. Like Mats Hummels, the Swiss international started the Vfl match but was substituted with nineteen minutes remaining.

If their is a reason for optimism, it is that Jakub Blaszczykowski's surgery to repair a broken nose was successful. The tough-as-nails Polish international hasn't missed anytime and Jürgen Klopp is hopeful that he will be available for the weekends tilt against Hamburger SV. Given Kuba's past history is dealing with pain it will take quite an effort to keep him out of the lineup.