Real Madrid CF - Werder Bremen MATCH PRESS KIT Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid Tuesday 18 September 2007 - 20.45CET Group C - Matchday 1 Contents 1 - Match background 7 - UEFA information 2 - Match facts 8 - Match-by-match lineups 3 - Squad list 9 - Competition facts 4 - Head coach 10 - Team facts 5 - Match officials 11 - Competition information 6 - Domestic information 12 - Legend Match background Real Madrid CF will hope home advantage against Werder Bremen can help them end a sequence of losing starts in the UEFA Champions League group stage and set the right tone for an improved performance after recent disappointments in Europe. Visitors Bremen, for their part, go into their opening Group C fixture hoping for better luck on Spanish soil, where both their UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup runs ended in 2006/07. • The match will be Madrid's 300th in the European Champion Clubs' Cup. No team has played more games. • Madrid suffered opening defeats away from home in each of the past three seasons. They lost 2-0 at Olympique Lyonnais in 2006, 3-0 against the same opponents in 2005, and in 2004 went down 3-0 at Bayer 04 Levekusen. • The last time the Spanish club opened with a home fixture was also the last time they recorded a Matchday 1 victory, 4-2 against Olympique de Marseille in September 2003. That was the first step in a run to the quarter-finals but since the 2003/04 season, the Santiago Bernabéu side have gone no further than the first knockout round. • Madrid's European campaign last term ended in Germany with defeat by FC Bayern München. • Mark van Bommel's 88th-minute strike in the first leg in the Spanish capital proved ultimately decisive for a Bayern team who had been trailing 3-1 to goals from Raúl González (2) and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Bayern turned around the 3-2 deficit in Munich through goals from Roy Makaay and Lucio and despite a late Van Nistelrooy penalty, Madrid went out on the away-goals rule. • The Merengues had progressed to the last 16 as the second-placed team in their group behind Lyon, having recorded three wins, two draws and one defeat. • Bremen managed ten points in last season’s group stage but still finished third behind Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona, their hopes foundering on a 2-0 reverse at Barcelona on Matchday 6. It was the first time they had failed to negotiate the group stage following appearances in the first knockout round in 2004/05 and 2005/06. • The 2005/06 Bundesliga runners-up then went into the UEFA Cup where they overcame AFC Ajax, RC Celta de Vigo and AZ Alkmaar prior to a semi-final loss to RCD Espanyol – home and away defeats spelling a 5-1 aggregate defeat. Last updated 16.09.2007 23:02:20CET Match background 1 Real Madrid CF - Werder Bremen Tuesday 18 September 2007 - 20.45CET MATCH PRESS KIT Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid • Bremen finished third in the Bundesliga in 2006/07 and secured their return to the UEFA Champions League group stage by defeating NK Dinamo Zagreb in the third qualifying round. Goals from Hugo Almeida and Daniel Jensen earned the German side a 2-1 first-leg win after they had fallen behind to Boško Balaban's opener for the visitors. They then won the return 3-2 through two Diego penalties and a Boubacar Sanogo strike to secure a 5-3 aggregate success. • Madrid qualified for the group stage directly as Spanish champions. • These sides have never met before but Madrid have an excellent home record against German opponents, which reads 16 wins, three draws and two defeats from 21 matches. • Bremen have recorded six defeats and only two victories in eight previous visits to Spain. One of those two successes came at Celta last season where Hugo Almeida scored the only goal in a UEFA Cup Round of 16 match. • Madrid coach Bernd Schuster is German and played 21 times for the West Germany national team. The Madrid squad features German international defender Christoph Metzelder, who joined the club from Borussia Dortmund in July. • As a player with Bremen, their coach Thomas Schaaf was in the team beaten 2-0 at Club Atlético de Madrid in the first round of the 1986/87 UEFA Cup, en route to a 3-2 aggregate reverse. • Madrid new boys Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder both faced Bremen in the colours of their respective old clubs, Chelsea and Ajax, last season. • One of Bremen's new faces this summer, Carlos Alberto, scored FC Porto's opening goal in their 3-0 UEFA Champions League final victory over AS Monaco FC in 2004. Match facts Real Madrid • Ruud van Nistelrooy's next goal in the UEFA Champions League will be his 50th. • Madrid maintained their 100 per cent Primera División start when they disposed of ten-man UD Almeria 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday to make it three wins in as many Primera División games. • Javier Saviola, who replaced Van Nistelrooy, scored his first goal for the club on 36 minutes. The visitors lost Albert Crusat midway through the second period for a professional foul on Saviola and shortly afterwards Wesley Sneijder struck his fourth goal in three games for Los Merengues with a precise free-kick. Kala Uche managed to reduce the arrears with 18 minutes remaining but substitute Gonzalo Higuaín ensured Madrid made their best start to a league season since 1991/92. • Gabriel Heinze suffered a thigh strain in his left leg and had to be substituted at half-time. • Coach Bernd Schuster chose not to include new signing Arjen Robben in his squad. The Dutch international has yet to play for Madrid following knee surgery. On Friday Schuster said: "Next week could be his moment to enter the squad." • Pepe is continuing his recuperation from the thigh strain picked up in Madrid's opening Primera División match with Club Atlético de Madrid. Pepe had been chosen to join the Portugal squad for the first time for their international games with Poland and Serbia but had to withdraw because of the injury. Last updated 16.09.2007 23:02:20CET Match facts 2 Real Madrid CF - Werder Bremen Tuesday 18 September 2007 - 20.45CET MATCH PRESS KIT Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid • Speaking about the win against Almeria, Schuster said: "Almeria played very well but we expected that from them. I'm very happy because winning these types of games is very important. If we want to win trophies at the end of the season we have to win games like this. I didn't want to suffer when we had a man advantage and were 2-0 up. It was a great moment to finish off the game but we gifted them a goal and they did everything to level the match from that moment on." • Despite celebrating their 30th league title, Madrid sacked coach Fabio Capello at the end of last season and replaced him with former player Schuster. • Schuster's Madrid quickly took on a Dutch feel as Robben, Royston Drenthe and Sneijder were signed from Chelsea FC, Feyenoord and AFC Ajax respectively. • Defensive stability came in the form of promising FC Porto centre-back Pepe and Christoph Metzelder, who left BV Borussia Dortmund. Heinze also completed a move from Manchester United FC. • In other transfers Saviola and Jerzy Dudek left FC Barcelona and Liverpool FC respectively, both on free transfers. • A trio of players returned from loan spells: Roberto Soldado, who signed a new five-year deal with Madrid, Julio Baptista and Javier Ángel Balboa, from CA Osasuna, Arsenal FC and Real Racing Club Santander respectively. • Several players moved on to pastures new. Emerson signed for AC Milan while Cicinho (AS Roma) and Antonio Cassano (UC Sampdoria) also moved to Italy. • Three of the club's most famous players departed as David Beckham moved to LA Galaxy, Roberto Carlos joined Fenerbahçe SK and Iván Helguera signed for Valencia CF. • José Antonio Reyes finished his loan spell from Arsenal before signing for Club Atlético de Madrid, while Álvaro Mejía and Pablo García were snapped up by Real Murcia CF, the latter on loan. Getafe CF bought Rubén de la Red, Diego López joined Villarreal CF, Francisco Pavón moved to Real Zaragoza and Olympiacos CFP paid €2.3 million for Raúl Bravo. • Sergio Ramos and Miguel Torres were offered improved contracts, the former signing a six-year extension while the latter penned a five-year deal. • Madrid struggled in pre-season, losing 1-0 to RC Deportivo La Coruña prior to defeat in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup away to Sevilla FC by the same scoreline. Worse followed in the return match as Sevilla won 5-3 in the Santiago Bernabéu for a 6-3 aggregate success. • Madrid also lost 1-0 against Real Betis Balompié in the Ramón de Carranza Trophy in Cádiz, although they did defeat hosts Cádiz CF 3-1 to finish third. • Madrid nevertheless made a successful start to their Primera División campaign with a 2-1 derby win against Atlético on 25 August, goals from Raúl Gonzalez and Sneijder securing victory. Madrid then travelled to Villarreal on 2 September where they hit five goals without reply. Raúl, Guti, Van Nistelrooy and two by Sneijder settled matters in an impressive display. • Sneijder has enjoyed a fine start to the season, scoring three times in his first two games for Madrid and also finding the net on international duty for the Netherlands in their 2-0 UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying Group G victory against Bulgaria on 8 September.