22 11 2006 Werder Bremen 1 Chelsea 0
Following the World Cup, I was really looking forward to going back to Germany. The game to me was pretty much
irrelevant: another stadium to go to and Chelsea were all but mathematically through. A win would have been nice, but if
it means Barcelona not getting through then I have no problem with that!
The journey was not without stress though: our plane there was delayed for three hours. I have no idea what training BA
gives its pilots, but I don't really want to know that something on the nose of the plane has fallen off and needs to be
replaced, thanks very much. Needless to say, any turbulence on the flight was felt ten times more than usual.
I arrived in Bremen on the day of the match and went straight to a fantastic Beer Keller. Great atmosphere, decent beer
at a reasonable price and a full of Chelsea fans, some of whom had been drinking since midday and were visibly tipsy,
but in good humour. We then did a small pub crawl before going on the scenic route to the ground. On the way we
passed some lovely historic cobbled streets and found some great booths where you could have beers on the walkways
by the ground.
The way inside the ground was a bit messy. There was definitely some tension in the air as some of the lunatic fringe of
Chelsea's support had turned up. Nevertheless, Germany certainly seems to know how to run football matches.
In the end, the match was pretty dull. Chelsea missed Lampard. Bremen scored a goal having won a corner from a free
kick in which the Werder player seemed to breakdance on the floor without being touched. Again, and I don't want to
bore, but if Chelsea had scored after a similar incident the media would've screamed blue murder. Despite this, the
Werder fans were pretty quiet throughout the game. Chelsea fans were too, and many seemed to be there for the ride.
The local bars were not so keen to accommodate us after the game but we ended up in the Irish Bar (where else when
you go abroad!).
The whole evening was fairly hazy... Chelsea did not play that badly but certainly did not look like they were bothered
about the game. At least the players applauded the fans after the game. We will beat Levski Sofia at home, and I hope
Werder get the draw they need to dump Barca out the cup - what will the media think about that?
This Sunday we have the main event: Man U against Chelsea. God forbid we lose but I still feel we are far superior to
their side - we don't lose to teams like Southend for one! I am not looking to the journey by car back South though as
the motorways will be rammed with all those plastic Man U fans driving back to Birmingham and Surrey.
irrelevant: another stadium to go to and Chelsea were all but mathematically through. A win would have been nice, but if
it means Barcelona not getting through then I have no problem with that!
The journey was not without stress though: our plane there was delayed for three hours. I have no idea what training BA
gives its pilots, but I don't really want to know that something on the nose of the plane has fallen off and needs to be
replaced, thanks very much. Needless to say, any turbulence on the flight was felt ten times more than usual.
I arrived in Bremen on the day of the match and went straight to a fantastic Beer Keller. Great atmosphere, decent beer
at a reasonable price and a full of Chelsea fans, some of whom had been drinking since midday and were visibly tipsy,
but in good humour. We then did a small pub crawl before going on the scenic route to the ground. On the way we
passed some lovely historic cobbled streets and found some great booths where you could have beers on the walkways
by the ground.
The way inside the ground was a bit messy. There was definitely some tension in the air as some of the lunatic fringe of
Chelsea's support had turned up. Nevertheless, Germany certainly seems to know how to run football matches.
In the end, the match was pretty dull. Chelsea missed Lampard. Bremen scored a goal having won a corner from a free
kick in which the Werder player seemed to breakdance on the floor without being touched. Again, and I don't want to
bore, but if Chelsea had scored after a similar incident the media would've screamed blue murder. Despite this, the
Werder fans were pretty quiet throughout the game. Chelsea fans were too, and many seemed to be there for the ride.
The local bars were not so keen to accommodate us after the game but we ended up in the Irish Bar (where else when
you go abroad!).
The whole evening was fairly hazy... Chelsea did not play that badly but certainly did not look like they were bothered
about the game. At least the players applauded the fans after the game. We will beat Levski Sofia at home, and I hope
Werder get the draw they need to dump Barca out the cup - what will the media think about that?
This Sunday we have the main event: Man U against Chelsea. God forbid we lose but I still feel we are far superior to
their side - we don't lose to teams like Southend for one! I am not looking to the journey by car back South though as
the motorways will be rammed with all those plastic Man U fans driving back to Birmingham and Surrey.
