Werder Bremen are in the Champions League for the fifth time on the trot this season. This achievement shows that Werder are established on both national and international stages. This is due, in large part, to the successful partnership of Thomas Schaaf and Klaus Allofs. The coach and the general manager are now in their tenth season at the club and looking to pick up some silverware again this time round. Yearning for the Bundesliga title if officially allowed in Bremen.

Pizzaro returns

Three players who were not always in the starting eleven, but were nevertheless important squad members, left Werder over the summer: Tim Borowski, Ivan Klasnic and Pierre Wome. There were no big name signings in the other direction. The only deal was the 12 month loan move of Claudio Pizzaro from Chelsea. The striker was previously at Werder Bremen from 1999 to 2001.

Strong up front

Despite the list of not so well known new signings Werder Bremen have retained certain strengths. On the one hand this is as ever excellent coordination, closely followed the team’s attacking potential. Last term Werder scored the most goals in the German top flight with a total of 75.

Problems at the back

This season has continued to see Werder Bremen finding the back of the net on a regular basis: a total of 23 goals is just one less than league leaders Hoffenheim and one more than Bayer 04. Werder are also currently top in another area and this explains why the Champions League participants are only in ninth place in the Bundesliga. The north German side have conceded 20 goals on the first nine games of the current campaign. They have only picked up three wins to date, including the 5-2 runaway victory against Bayern Munich.