Bremen vs Chelsea

THE clash between one of the four most romantic sides in the world (Barca, HSV, Stuttgart + Bremen) and one of the most negative, tedious and downright evil teams club football has ever seen

David vs Goliath

the no-budget team (Diego was the most expensive signing ever at under 6 million Euro) vs the filthy rich rouble oil billionaires (how much did they pay for SWP or Parker again ?)

Schaaf, the shyest, most humble manager in the Bundesliga vs the most arrogant Portuguese loudmouth of all-time

the talent spotter Allofs vs Kenyon, the big-name heat-seeking missle

the MONSTER vs the DROGBA

Diego vs the ONE

Frings vs Makalele

.....

played out in the Weserstadion where miracles often DO happen

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so , how do you see this game going ?

will Chelsea still go for a win, or merely try to hit Werder on the break ?

will Chelsea feature a second-string team ?

Bremen have recently lost their winning touch somewhat, failing to get three points in their last two Bundesliga games

they will also miss Baumann, their captain and underrated DMC

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football fans the world over pray for a victory of good over evil

let's hope the Russian party-poopers don't blind the humble Germans with all their oily bling-bling !!!!

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,,1951972,00.html

You and N18wing have a lot in common - making me, (and I'm sure I'm not the only one either) want teams like Bremen and Man United to lose, just to hear you both eat some humble pie.

Come on Chelsea!

The Real White Pele wrote:You and N18wing have a lot in common - making me, (and I'm sure I'm not the only one either) want teams like Bremen and Man United to lose, just to hear you both eat some humble pie.

Come on Chelsea!

so all it takes is for England's No 1 fan to support a bunch of bargain-basement romantics vs arrogant, boring oil-billionaires and our Hungarian friend feels compelled to join the forces of evil

shouldn't you at least pretend to wrestle with your conscience before selling your soul to the devil ?

More importantly, who do you think will win otto (like I need not ask )

otto: Albion's No 1 fan wrote:

The Real White Pele wrote:You and N18wing have a lot in common - making me, (and I'm sure I'm not the only one either) want teams like Bremen and Man United to lose, just to hear you both eat some humble pie.

Come on Chelsea!

so all it takes is for England's No 1 fan to support a bunch of bargain-basement romantics vs arrogant, boring oil-billionaires and our Hungarian friend feels compelled to join the forces of evil

shouldn't you at least pretend to wrestle with your conscience before selling your soul ?

What is so evil about Chelsea? That they have a lot of money? Hardly a new concept in world football.

To be honest, I dont really care who wins, it'd be nice to see Bremen upset the odds, but frankly from a personal perspective, I dont think I could bare the inevitable self congratulatory posts that HSV's now defected no.1 Bremen fan will subject us to on this hallow board's ground

i want bremen to win
so barca will ha a even weaker chance of qualifying lol

Bremen to win please. At least they play attractive football. I can't stand Chelsea's set piece/counter attack orientated football

Good Luck Fritzes

punty wrote:i want bremen to win
so barca will ha a even weaker chance of qualifying lol

that all depends on Barça. Barça are entirely dependent on themselves, so the chances aren't really that weak. Win their last two matches and they're through. The only thing is that if Barça win against Levski, and Bremen fail to do the same against Chelsea, they will have enough with a (non-scoring) draw against Bremen at home.

@Otto

Hmm, considering our recent bad performances, our chances against Chelsea are pretty small. But on the other side before our match against Barca our situation was about the same. A shame Baumann is booked though, he's a very important player for us...

Btw, what the hell makes the HSV a romantic side, Otto?

chrissicross wrote:@Otto

Hmm, considering our recent bad performances, our chances against Chelsea are pretty small.

Btw, what the hell makes the HSV a romantic side, Otto?

haha

I see, REALISTIC as always

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why are HSV romantic?

their sensational rise to third spot in the Bundesliga : OUT OF NOWHERE

then their HEROIC CRASH, making them sympathetic no end

+

they have 3 Dutchies: isn't that reason enough to be considered "romantic" ?

besides, any club "I" support is by definition romantic

@ pele

you fear Bremen winning because of my probable self-congratulatory talk/reaction ?!

don't damn what you would like

there are worse things than getting a verbal spanking from Albion's no 1 fan

you knows it's true

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@s4p

in a one-off game on neutral ground I'd fancy Bremen to win

but for this game the tactics favour Chelsea; Werder HAVE to attack and expose their fragile back to a team that is ace at picking you off

it's not a level playing field

realistically speaking, Chelsea have the slight edge; if you Londoners believe an edge is enough against German steel, you'll be in for a suprise though

@ otto

I think Jose will have mixed feelings about the selection for Bremen. Jose will want to finish the group unbeaten, making a mockery of all those who thought/hoped he would fail.

But with Manchester United and Bolton (both away) within 7 days of the Bremen tie, Jose might not put out his best available XI. Lampard is also suspended which is a big blow for Chelsea, but it gives added responsibilities for Ballack. Let's see how well he does under pressure.

I know Bremen have 2 excellent CB's, but they are going to have to work extremely hard to match the pace and power of Drogba, along with the creativity and skill of Shevchenko.

I think the team (with Lampard suspended) I would start is:

--------------Cudicini---------------
Geremi--Carvalho--Terry--A Cole
-------------Makelele---------------
-----Essien--------------J Cole-----
--------------Ballack----------------
-------Shevchenko--Drogba-------

Imo, it will end a draw.

S4P wrote:@ otto

I think Jose will have mixed feelings about the selection for Bremen. Jose will want to finish the group unbeaten, making a mockery of all those who thought/hoped he would fail.

But with Manchester United and Bolton (both away) within 7 days of the Bremen tie, Jose might not put out his best available XI. Lampard is also suspended which is a big blow for Chelsea, but it gives added responsibilities for Ballack. Let's see how well he does under pressure.

I know Bremen have 2 excellent CB's, but they are going to have to work extremely hard to match the pace and power of Drogba, along with the creativity and skill of Shevchenko.

I think the team (with Lampard suspended) I would start is:

--------------Cudicini---------------
Geremi--Carvalho--Terry--A Cole
-------------Makelele---------------
-----Essien--------------J Cole-----
--------------Ballack----------------
-------Shevchenko--Drogba-------

Imo, it will end a draw.

If I could chose between Lampard and Ballack to be booked against us, I would chose Ballack to be honest...when I remember how many points he has saved for Bayern throughout the years...

That's irrelevant (in my opinion) though chrissi. The fact of the matter is that Ballack still hasn't found his best form in the Chelsea system (it's improving, but it's not quite up to his best standards), whereas Lampard has been brilliant in the Chelsea team (excluding the last few months of last season) for the past 2 and a half years now, and knows the system Chelsea play (which I think Ballack is starting to understand).

Ballack's technically far better than Lampard, but Lamps has outshone him so far this season, and I think (at this moment) he is the more important player.

I think Ballack will come very good for Chelsea (both Maka and Essien struggled in their first seasons)

S4P wrote:@ otto


I think the team (with Lampard suspended) I would start is:

--------------Cudicini---------------
Geremi--Carvalho--Terry--A Cole
-------------Makelele---------------
-----Essien--------------J Cole-----
--------------Ballack----------------
-------Shevchenko--Drogba-------

Imo, it will end a draw.

@s4p

having either Lampard or Ballack suspended is actually an advantage in a way; I just don't like the two in the same team; it makes no sense

the DROGBA is the main threat; without Baumann Werder will have to adjust whilst still having to win three points: a dream-scenario for the diver

my hunch is that Bremen will not win; it's either going to be a tactical draw or Chelsea winning by virtue of a goal scored on the break, possibly by another one once Werder are chasing a draw

Bremen are now getting punished for not getting a point in London

tough luck

otto: Albion's No 1 fan wrote:

S4P wrote:@ otto


I think the team (with Lampard suspended) I would start is:

--------------Cudicini---------------
Geremi--Carvalho--Terry--A Cole
-------------Makelele---------------
-----Essien--------------J Cole-----
--------------Ballack----------------
-------Shevchenko--Drogba-------

Imo, it will end a draw.

@s4p

having either Lampard or Ballack suspended is actually an advantage in a way; I just don't like the two in the same team; it makes no sense

the DROGBA is the main threat; without Baumann Werder will have to adjust whilst still having to win three points: a dream-scenario for the diver

my hunch is that Bremen will not win; it's either going to be a tactical draw or Chelsea winning by virtue of a goal scored on the break, possibly by another one once Werder are chasing a draw

Bremen are now getting punished for not getting a point in London

tough luck

Come on Otto, thats not the attitude one expects from albion's no 1 fan!

Where is the pomp, the one eyed certainty, the inescapable underhanded dig??

I fear you may be changing, and I'm shocked by this...

so for this reason you've now swayed it back to Bremen - come on Werder, lets see an upset! Werder to win, Barca to lose and suddenly things in thr group are looking very very interesting..

@pele

which club do you support again ?

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Interview with Naldo

http://www.sport1.de/de/sport/artikel_598206.html

Let's hope Chelsea shows their sportsmanship and win!

If Werder win by 3 goals (3-0, 4-1 etc), Bremen will go top of the group. Making the table look:

Bremen 10
Chelsea 10
Barcelona 8
Levski 0

I wouldn't mind this to be honest, because it still means that all we need is a draw at home versus Levski (because of our +ve H2H with Barcelona), to qualify.

otto: Albion's No 1 fan wrote:@pele

which club do you support again ?

-------------

Interview with Naldo

http://www.sport1.de/de/sport/artikel_598206.html

Ferencvaros of Budapest, however since leaving to live in England its been rather difficult to get to many of their home games...

@pele

you are ENGLISH now, aren't you ?!

surely you have the decency to support an EPL team ?!

by the way, were you born in Hungary or on this island ?

otto: Albion's No 1 fan wrote:@pele

you are ENGLISH now, aren't you ?!

surely you have the decency to support an EPL team ?!

by the way, were you born in Hungary or on this island ?

Otto declares love for England in that fragile word. Oh otto, has this country convinced you of its beauty already?

otto: Albion's No 1 fan wrote:@pele

you are ENGLISH now, aren't you ?!

surely you have the decency to support an EPL team ?!

by the way, were you born in Hungary or on this island ?

If you are truly interested mein freund, I'm half/half; and was born in Hungary but have lived most of my life in England; my father is English as are most of my remaining family/relatives. Supporting a club side here has been a little difficult seeing as I havent had an affinity with any one side.

If I had to choose any side though, it'd be Spurs, from having lived in North London for awhile, and of course because the great Steffen Freund played for them, the ULTIMATE 00 agent

PS Are you really an albion fan, as in West Brom, or am I missing something?

The Real White Pele wrote: PS Are you really an albion fan, as in West Brom, or am I missing something?

I assumed 'Albion' as meaning England

Sheffield gunner wrote:

The Real White Pele wrote: PS Are you really an albion fan, as in West Brom, or am I missing something?

I assumed 'Albion' as meaning England

Is it? If true, then I sense this might be an ironic statement by our German friend

The Real White Pele wrote:

Sheffield gunner wrote:

The Real White Pele wrote: PS Are you really an albion fan, as in West Brom, or am I missing something?

I assumed 'Albion' as meaning England

Is it? If true, then I sense this might be an ironic statement by our German friend

It's an archaic name for England or Britain I think, and I also sense it is a tongue-in-cheek statement!

Small squad that Chelsea has taken. Just 16 outfield players:

GK: Cudicini, Hilario, Hedman
DF: Gérémi, Ferreira, Boulahrouz, Terry, Morais, A Cole
MF:Essien, Makelele, Diarra, Ballack, Mikel, Wright-Phillips, Robben and J Cole.
FW: Drogba and Shevchenko

Missing from the 20 outfield players are suspended Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho who suffered an ankle injury against West Ham on Saturday, Salomon Kalou who is still recovering from a knee injury, and Wayne Bridge who is about to become a father.

Boula in the Centre at last

I hope he starts to play there more reguarly - I can MEBPA on the horizon

yeah, Boula should be playing in the centre alongside the worlds best CB for this one. I'm sure they'll be a great partnership (certainly won't be intimidated by anybody)

Jose has (supposedly) named his starting XI ALREADY

Jose: "I play with the team I played in the last match except I play with Joe Cole instead of Robben, Ballack instead of Lampard and with Boulahrouz instead of Carvalho"

That means the starting team will be:

Cudicini; Geremi, Boulahrouz, Terry (c), A Cole; Makelele, Essien, Ballack, J Cole; Drogba, Shevchenko

http://www.chelseafc.com/article.asp?hlid=430386&m=11&y=2006&nav=news&sub=latest+news

I hope Joe Cole gets to start "in the hole". That's where he's at his best IMO.

If he does, it'll be good to see how he compares to Diego.