lebenslang grün weiβ~
First and foremost - an honest apology to jay_ay90 for the midnight message. Hope I didn't irritate you too much with it. ><
Was watching the Berlin - Bayern match [live telecast] while waiting for the Bremen game, which was going to be a delayed airing, and around the final whistle, the commentator mentioned something about the score for the Bremen match being 2-0 or 2-1 in Bremen's favour, I think, but I wasn't paying that much attention at the time. After watching the actual game, however, I'm so, so glad that I was wrong.
[Warning: proceed with caution. Possible excessive fangirling and bias against Leverkusen, though I'll try to keep myself in check. Don't say I didn't warn you, though. XD
Oh, and I actually wrote this all out at three in the morning last night and saved it to post today, but something happened with the Word file and now I have to rewrite it, which I don't mind so much, but this report now has a slight deficit of details due to me unable to remember certain things. Please be patient. >< ]
They showed the pre-game of the Bremen vs. Leverkusen match, which was good - the Weserstadion was packed with fans, and I caught a glimpse of Diego hugging Boro, daww. By the way, shiorikazen , the commentator for the Bremen game was the good, funny one, so yay. Oh, and you guys know Bremen's 'W' logo, right? For this game, it wasn't encased in its usual diamond, but instead in a Christmas tree, due to it being the last match before the winter break. I love this team. X3
The lineup of the players came next, and I saw the usual: Wiese in goal, Naldo, Fritz...and then, Klasnic's name. Could it be true? It was; he was positioned as left striker next to Rosenberg! The article in the Sunday paper [again, I sped-read, so it might not be accurate] said that it wasn't his first game in the Bundesliga after his operation, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the first game where I saw him play again in the league, and I was so happy when I saw him included with the rest of the Bremen players about to step onto the pitch.
Rolfes captained Leverkusen, who attacked the right goal in the first half, while Boro led Bremen. The first few minutes or so weren't that great for Bremen - Diego wasn't his usual self, and I noticed Vranjes' hesitation before passing the ball to the strikers, which by then, gave the Leverkusen players enough time to regroup in order to form a solid defense. And speaking of defense, Bremen's in the first half had their typical loophole, and Barnetta of Leverkusen [very dangerous player] took advantage of that and scored within the first ten minutes or so. Sigh. Oh, and the commentator mentioned something that I'd been suspecting for a very long time: Wiese's officially the worst goalie in the Bundesliga. To give him the benefit of the doubt, this 'title' is only for the season up 'till the winter break, but still. Anyway, I'm not surprised at all! He can't save well, and it was about time someone noticed that. ><
In the 30th minute, however, Bremen equalised. Boro was in the penalty area with the ball, and attempted a shot, which was deflected by Adler's arm, and it fell to the left, where Ivan was - all he had to do was speed up, and he did, tapping the ball into the goal. Boro zoomed off to the left, already celebrating, while Klasnic ran right, giving the goalpost a pat, and hugged Vranjes. The goal was horribly simple, but really beautiful in its own way - the fans were cheering like mad [so was I]; considering everything he's been through, Ivan definitely deserved this.
Play went downhill from there, though. Leverkusen's players piled on the aggression, and initiated some bad tackles. Things got worst when a Leverkusen player [Castro, if I'm not mistaken?] attempted to get the ball from Rosenberg near the left of Bremen's goal, and accidentally clipped Rosenberg's leg slightly at the end of the tackle- not much, but enough to cause a fall. Leverkusen were incensed at that, and it's perfectly understandable: from a different angle, it looked like Rosenberg dove on purpose. Five Leverkusen players, all furious, gathered around Rosenberg, who was being shouted at by either Castro or Gresko [I think the latter, who's also of Leverkusen], and he did an almost-headbutt - restrained himself at the end, but it wasn't pretty at all. Adler stepped in and, after putting Rosenberg to the side, tried to calm his team down, which earned him some major respect on my part.
Half-time ended with a 1-1 draw, but not before Schaaf replaced Boro and Vranjes with Andreasen and Hunt, as well as an Ivan Klasnic attempt on a penalty kick. I was seriously expecting either one of the three with him to take it - Jensen, Naldo, or possibly Diego, but he did it, and it was good! Sharp, powerful shot towards the lower left end of the goal, which Adler had to stretch for.
The second half was good for Bremen. They pulled together, worked out their usual quick, short flick passes, and even Wiese made a couple of good saves [not great, mind you, but they were crucial nonetheless]. Second goal for Bremen came from Diego - Jensen slid a pass to Rosenberg, who passed it to Diego, who slid it in - literally! He didn't even look at it, I think it was instinct with plenty of momentum. Went around rousing the crowd during his celebration, as only he can. XD
I thought that was pretty much it for Bremen, but the third goal came by surprise and took my breath away. Jensen passed an intercepted ball to the upper right of the field, and Fritz sprinted up to take it - gave it a deadly, powerful low shot to the left corner of the goal, which Adler couldn't save. Very Celta Vigo-ish, which is probably his trademark style of scoring, but considering he hardly does...and anyway, it was amazing enough to make me have to stifle a scream. His goal celebration with Klasnic was really cute, too: Ivan patted him on the head. XD
And the 4th goal - Ivan received a pass from the left in the penalty area, and attempted to pass it right to another Bremen player [I can't remember who now] who was in a better position than he was, but it was blocked by Barnetta in front of him, who then stumbled, and Ivan took the opportunity to go for goal himself. It went in, and the crowd went absolutely crazy - had to muffle another scream myself, and Ivan was engulfed by many, many Bremen player!hugs. Diego jumped on him, XD.
The fifth goal was very casual - typical, considering who scored it. Anyway, Ivan in the penalty box, with Rosenberg on his right. Can't remember what happened exactly: either he passed to Rosenberg on his right and Rosenberg attemped a shot, which was saved by Adler but couldn't hold on to, and Rosenberg just tapped it in, or Ivan went for goal, which was saved by Adler but couldn't hold on to, and Rosenberg just tapped it in. Something like that. Anyway, their celebration was also a cute one - they jump-danced in a circle with their hands behind the other's head. Bad description, I know, but erm...try to imagine it all the same? XD
Leverkusen fought back with another goal from Kieβling, who sent the ball sailing over from the right side of the penalty area over Wiese's head, but it wasn't enough. Harnik [yey! X3] came on for Ivan in the 83rd minute, who left the pitch amidst the fans singing/chanting his name. Final score was 5-2, Bremen the victor. I seriously cannot be prouder of them, they played so wonderfully in this match, excluding the first fifteen minutes or so of it. Cannot deny that I missed this form of theirs that they've been lacking since after last year's winter break, and to be able to witness it after almost three months of not watching football...they were good, and I just hope that the whole team'll continue to retain this fighting spirit. Ah, my Bremen. X3
Was watching the Berlin - Bayern match [live telecast] while waiting for the Bremen game, which was going to be a delayed airing, and around the final whistle, the commentator mentioned something about the score for the Bremen match being 2-0 or 2-1 in Bremen's favour, I think, but I wasn't paying that much attention at the time. After watching the actual game, however, I'm so, so glad that I was wrong.
[Warning: proceed with caution. Possible excessive fangirling and bias against Leverkusen, though I'll try to keep myself in check. Don't say I didn't warn you, though. XD
Oh, and I actually wrote this all out at three in the morning last night and saved it to post today, but something happened with the Word file and now I have to rewrite it, which I don't mind so much, but this report now has a slight deficit of details due to me unable to remember certain things. Please be patient. >< ]
They showed the pre-game of the Bremen vs. Leverkusen match, which was good - the Weserstadion was packed with fans, and I caught a glimpse of Diego hugging Boro, daww. By the way, shiorikazen , the commentator for the Bremen game was the good, funny one, so yay. Oh, and you guys know Bremen's 'W' logo, right? For this game, it wasn't encased in its usual diamond, but instead in a Christmas tree, due to it being the last match before the winter break. I love this team. X3
The lineup of the players came next, and I saw the usual: Wiese in goal, Naldo, Fritz...and then, Klasnic's name. Could it be true? It was; he was positioned as left striker next to Rosenberg! The article in the Sunday paper [again, I sped-read, so it might not be accurate] said that it wasn't his first game in the Bundesliga after his operation, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the first game where I saw him play again in the league, and I was so happy when I saw him included with the rest of the Bremen players about to step onto the pitch.
Rolfes captained Leverkusen, who attacked the right goal in the first half, while Boro led Bremen. The first few minutes or so weren't that great for Bremen - Diego wasn't his usual self, and I noticed Vranjes' hesitation before passing the ball to the strikers, which by then, gave the Leverkusen players enough time to regroup in order to form a solid defense. And speaking of defense, Bremen's in the first half had their typical loophole, and Barnetta of Leverkusen [very dangerous player] took advantage of that and scored within the first ten minutes or so. Sigh. Oh, and the commentator mentioned something that I'd been suspecting for a very long time: Wiese's officially the worst goalie in the Bundesliga. To give him the benefit of the doubt, this 'title' is only for the season up 'till the winter break, but still. Anyway, I'm not surprised at all! He can't save well, and it was about time someone noticed that. ><
In the 30th minute, however, Bremen equalised. Boro was in the penalty area with the ball, and attempted a shot, which was deflected by Adler's arm, and it fell to the left, where Ivan was - all he had to do was speed up, and he did, tapping the ball into the goal. Boro zoomed off to the left, already celebrating, while Klasnic ran right, giving the goalpost a pat, and hugged Vranjes. The goal was horribly simple, but really beautiful in its own way - the fans were cheering like mad [so was I]; considering everything he's been through, Ivan definitely deserved this.
Play went downhill from there, though. Leverkusen's players piled on the aggression, and initiated some bad tackles. Things got worst when a Leverkusen player [Castro, if I'm not mistaken?] attempted to get the ball from Rosenberg near the left of Bremen's goal, and accidentally clipped Rosenberg's leg slightly at the end of the tackle- not much, but enough to cause a fall. Leverkusen were incensed at that, and it's perfectly understandable: from a different angle, it looked like Rosenberg dove on purpose. Five Leverkusen players, all furious, gathered around Rosenberg, who was being shouted at by either Castro or Gresko [I think the latter, who's also of Leverkusen], and he did an almost-headbutt - restrained himself at the end, but it wasn't pretty at all. Adler stepped in and, after putting Rosenberg to the side, tried to calm his team down, which earned him some major respect on my part.
Half-time ended with a 1-1 draw, but not before Schaaf replaced Boro and Vranjes with Andreasen and Hunt, as well as an Ivan Klasnic attempt on a penalty kick. I was seriously expecting either one of the three with him to take it - Jensen, Naldo, or possibly Diego, but he did it, and it was good! Sharp, powerful shot towards the lower left end of the goal, which Adler had to stretch for.
The second half was good for Bremen. They pulled together, worked out their usual quick, short flick passes, and even Wiese made a couple of good saves [not great, mind you, but they were crucial nonetheless]. Second goal for Bremen came from Diego - Jensen slid a pass to Rosenberg, who passed it to Diego, who slid it in - literally! He didn't even look at it, I think it was instinct with plenty of momentum. Went around rousing the crowd during his celebration, as only he can. XD
I thought that was pretty much it for Bremen, but the third goal came by surprise and took my breath away. Jensen passed an intercepted ball to the upper right of the field, and Fritz sprinted up to take it - gave it a deadly, powerful low shot to the left corner of the goal, which Adler couldn't save. Very Celta Vigo-ish, which is probably his trademark style of scoring, but considering he hardly does...and anyway, it was amazing enough to make me have to stifle a scream. His goal celebration with Klasnic was really cute, too: Ivan patted him on the head. XD
And the 4th goal - Ivan received a pass from the left in the penalty area, and attempted to pass it right to another Bremen player [I can't remember who now] who was in a better position than he was, but it was blocked by Barnetta in front of him, who then stumbled, and Ivan took the opportunity to go for goal himself. It went in, and the crowd went absolutely crazy - had to muffle another scream myself, and Ivan was engulfed by many, many Bremen player!hugs. Diego jumped on him, XD.
The fifth goal was very casual - typical, considering who scored it. Anyway, Ivan in the penalty box, with Rosenberg on his right. Can't remember what happened exactly: either he passed to Rosenberg on his right and Rosenberg attemped a shot, which was saved by Adler but couldn't hold on to, and Rosenberg just tapped it in, or Ivan went for goal, which was saved by Adler but couldn't hold on to, and Rosenberg just tapped it in. Something like that. Anyway, their celebration was also a cute one - they jump-danced in a circle with their hands behind the other's head. Bad description, I know, but erm...try to imagine it all the same? XD
Leverkusen fought back with another goal from Kieβling, who sent the ball sailing over from the right side of the penalty area over Wiese's head, but it wasn't enough. Harnik [yey! X3] came on for Ivan in the 83rd minute, who left the pitch amidst the fans singing/chanting his name. Final score was 5-2, Bremen the victor. I seriously cannot be prouder of them, they played so wonderfully in this match, excluding the first fifteen minutes or so of it. Cannot deny that I missed this form of theirs that they've been lacking since after last year's winter break, and to be able to witness it after almost three months of not watching football...they were good, and I just hope that the whole team'll continue to retain this fighting spirit. Ah, my Bremen. X3