Juventus V Werder Bremen MATCH PRESS KIT Delle Alpi, Turin Tuesday, 7 March 2006 - 20:45 CET First Knockout Round - Matchday 8
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Juventus v Werder Bremen MATCH PRESS KIT Delle Alpi, Turin Tuesday, 7 March 2006 - 20:45 CET First knockout round - Matchday 8 After staging a remarkable late revival to clinch a 3-2 victory against Juventus on Matchday 7, Werder Bremen travel for the return knowing they only have to repeat their last result in Italy to claim a UEFA Champions League quarter-final place for the first time. Important draw · A 1-1 draw away to Udinese Calcio on Matchday 3 helped the German club qualify from Group C as runners-up to FC Barcelona. A header from Johan Micoud deep into added time two weeks ago means that if Bremen can stay all-square with Juventus in the Stadio Delle Alpi then they can write a new chapter in their club©s history. Juventus blow · The late goal in the Weserstadion was a heavy blow for Fabio Capello's team who had gone behind to Christian Schulz's first-half opener but then struck back with devastating effect as Pavel Nedvěd and David Trezeguet scored twice in the space of nine minutes late on. The match had seemed to have turned in the visitors© favour before Tim Borowski©s clever finish three minutes from time paved the way for a stunning finale. Six wins · Confidence for the Bianconeri in the return game centres on their recent winning form at home in the UEFA Champions League. Since losing 1-0 at home to RC Deportivo La Coruña in the second leg of the 2003/04 first knockout round, they have played seven games in the competition proper, winning seven and drawing one. Amazingly they have conceded only one goal in that run ± to FC Bayern München in this season©s Matchday 4. · They have won all their last three home games against opposition from Germany and in 18 games have only numbered three defeats in total. Strong challenge · Juventus, twice winners of the European Champion Clubs© Cup and aiming for a third quarter-final appearance in four seasons, always had the look of qualifiers from their group and successive wins in their first two fixtures did nothing to alter that view. · Trezeguet was on the scoresheet in three of the first four games and his goal two weeks ago has raised his tally for this campaign to five. Bad memory banished · Even if Bremen bow out they will have at least banished the bitter memory of last season©s first knockout round when they suffered a 10-2 aggregate defeat by Olympique Lyonnais. · A 7-2 defeat in France was a humiliating experience while in this campaign their three away fixtures in Group C resulted in two defeats and one draw. Nevertheless Thomas Schaaf©s team qualified with seven points, the same number as Udinese Calcio who they edged out thanks to a superior head-to-head record. Final flourish · After losing their first two games in the section it was not thought that Bremen would be serious contenders but the point they picked up in Italy on Matchday 3 gave them an impetus that eventually saw them through. A 5-1 victory against Panathinaikos FC meant that they finished with a flourish. Last Updated 6.3.2006 12:15:36CET uefa.com 1 Juventus v Werder Bremen MATCH PRESS KIT Two wins · Bremen have twice won on Italian soil, the last occasion being the third round of the 1989/90 UEFA Cup when they overcame Napoli Soccer 3-2. In eight away fixtures they have encountered defeat on four occasions. Knockout format · Clubs play two matches against each other on a home and away basis, with the team scoring the greater aggregate of goals qualifying for the next round. In the event of both teams scoring the same number of goals, the team which scores more goals away qualifies. If this proves inconclusive, extra time of two periods of 15 minutes is played after the second match. If during extra time both teams score the same number of goals, the away goals count double (ie. the visiting team advances). If no goals are scored during extra time, the winner is decided by penalty kicks. Match facts · Until sitting out Matchday 7, Christian Abbiati had been the only Juventus player to have played every minute of their UEFA Champions League campaign to date. · Only Mauro Camoranesi in the Juve squad has featured in all seven games in this season©s competition, although he has yet to complete a full 90 minutes. · Lilian Thuram made his 100th appearance in UEFA club competition in the 3-1 victory at SK Rapid Wien on Matchday 6, having already passed 50 games in the UEFA Champions League alone this season. · Emerson made his 50th appearance in the UEFA Champions League on Matchday 7. · Robert Kovać, who did not play a fortnight ago, is still one game off his half-century in Europe©s premier club competition. David Trezeguet is two away and Gianluigi Buffon, who made his first UEFA Champions League appearance of the season on Matchday 7, has three matches to go. · Trezeguet is joint-second behind Andriy Shevchenko in this season©s UEFA Champions League top scorers© list. He has five goals, which is the same as Ronaldinho but two fewer than Shevchenko. · Trezeguet has had 12 shots on goal compared to Shevchenko©s 18, which is the most of any player in the UEFA Champions League. · Zlatan Ibrahimović has been ruled offside more than any other player in this season©s competition. He has been caught 19 times, seven ahead of his nearest rival. · Patrick Vieira has received four yellow cards in this season©s competition, the most of any player left in the competition. · Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Camoranesi and Del Piero were all in Italy©s starting eleven that earned an impressive success 4-1 against Germany on Wednesday, one of several international friendlies involving Juve players. · Buffon was playing his first international since June after a shoulder injury while Del Piero struck Italy©s fourth goal from Camoranesi©s assist. · Del Piero©s goal was his 26th at international level to make him Italy©s fifth-highest scorer of all time, moving ahead of Alessandro Altobelli and Adolfo Baloncieri. The Juventus captain is one behind Roberto Baggio and nine short of record holder Luigi Riva. · Ibrahimović was substituted after 38 minutes of Sweden©s 3-0 defeat in the Republic of Ireland, having picked up a knee injury that kept him out of Juve©s 1-0 win at UC Sampdoria on Saturday. Last Updated 6.3.2006 12:15:36CET uefa.com 2 Juventus v Werder Bremen MATCH PRESS KIT · Vieira, Thuram and Trezeguet all featured in France©s 2-1 home defeat by Slovakia. · Unlike his compatriot club-mates, Trezeguet completed just the first half before being substituted with a right ankle injury that caused him to join Ibrahimović on the Juve injured list last Saturday. · All 26,000 volunteers and workers involved in last month©s Torino 2006 Winter Olympics have been offered free tickets for the visit of Bremen. · Gianluca Zambrotta returned to action in the last game against Sampdoria after missing the last three weeks with a thigh injury. · An ankle injury ruled Adrian Mutu out of Romania©s 2-0 win against Armenia last Wednesday, although the striker was back in the Juve squad at the weekend. · Emerson collected his 70th cap for Brazil after being included in the starting eleven that won 1-0 in Russia. · The match against Sampdoria saw Juve set a record for successive away league matches with at least one goal scored (20). · Torsten Frings is the only Bremen player to have played every minute of their UEFA Champions League campaign to date, including both legs of the third qualifying round. · Andreas Reinke had also not missed a minute before Matchday 7, when a serious facial injury ruled him out and gave a first chance of the season to Tim Wiese. · Patrick Owomoyela, Christian Schulz, and Johan Micoud have also featured in all nine of the games. · Micoud has only missed two minutes, having been substituted late in the second leg of the third qualifying round tie against FC Basel 1893. · Along with those five, Frank Baumann and Nelson Valdez have all played some part in all of the seven UEFA Champions League games in the competition proper. · Reinke is still five matches away from his 50th appearance in UEFA club competition. · Valdez is joint-second in the list of players with most shots wide. Like Adriano, he has missed the target 14 times, while Kevin Kuranyi has fired wide on 16 occasions. · Frank Baumann is joint-second in the list of players with most fouls committed. He has been penalised 25 times, four fewer than Jefferson Farfán. · Miroslav Klose is the leading scorer in the Bundesliga with 17 goals, despite having played just 16 games because of shoulder and cheekbone injuries this season. Ivan Klasnić has an impressive haul too, with eleven goals. · Bremen, who drew 1-1 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday, are the most dangerous team in the Bundesliga with 55 goals scored, an average of 2.29 per match. · The weekend draw was the first time this season Bremen had failed to win in the Bundesliga before playing in the UEFA Champions League. · No other Bremen player has played in all of the 24 Bundesliga matches. Micoud, Patrick Owomoyela and Naldo have the most appearances with 23 each. Last Updated 6.3.2006 12:15:36CET uefa.com 3 Juventus v Werder Bremen MATCH PRESS KIT · Last week, Bremen sporting director Klaus Allofs extended his contract at the club until 2009.