ELPez

Ballack on Bremen

Sunday, Sep 10, 2006

German international captain Michael Ballack has given an insight

into Chelsea’s next opponents.


Werder Bremen pay Stamford Bridge a visit on Tuesday night in the

Champions League. They are a team Ballack knows well, and speaking to

the Matchday Magazine for Charlton game, he says to expect the unexpected.


Werder Bremen will be very difficult — or very entertaining.

“Some days they can play very, very well,” he warns.

“They are a team that thinks very offensively. They want to score every game.

But sometimes they give chances to the other team,

they make mistakes in defence.”


He does not find it hard to find examples of both Werder Bremens.

“At Munich, we lost three years ago at home.

They won 3-0 and they won the national title too. This was not good.

“But I remember games where they lost badly because they were playing

so offensively. In the Champions League they lost 7-2 at Lyon two years ago.

They were not very stable.”


That was a game in which Michael Essien scored twice and really

announced himself in the Champions League. However, Ballack thinks that

Bremen may be a little more prepared for European football this season.


“As a team, seven or eight players have stayed together now for two

or three years, so they’ve grown together. Now they are very strong.”

And he sees some strong players emerging. The most well known, Miroslav Klose,

has just won the Golden Boot at the World Cup and he had an excellent 2002

World Cup as well. In our first home game this season, the 2-0 win against

Manchester City, Ballack put Klose in his World XI in his programme interview.


“At this moment, for the last six months, they are the best performances

that he has ever produced. He is scoring regularly. He can change a game

on his own.”


Then in midfield is another player who had a good World Cup, Torsten Frings.

“I played with him for one year in Munich,” — that was the year we faced

Bayern Munich in the Champions League — “and two years in the Under-21s.

He is a strong guy in defensive midfield. He can shoot with his left and

with his right foot, he can run, he’s strong. He’s a very flexible player.”



A third member of the World Cup squad is Tim Borowski.

“He’s come on in the last few years,” says Ballack.

“He’s got good technique and very good shooting.”

Werder had a good start to this season, beating Hamburg and

Bayern Munich in the League Cup, winning at Hannover ’96 and at home

to Bayer Leverkusen in the League. But then they lost at Schalke.

José Mourinho and Andre Villas saw that game.