Friday, September 9, 2011

Crunch time for Hamburg at Bremen in Bundesliga

By CIARAN FAHEY

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:26 a.m. ET Sept. 8, 2011

BERLIN (AP) -Hamburg coach Michael Oenning knows his job is on the line at bitter rival Werder Bremen in the northern derby on Saturday.

Hamburg is bottom of the Bundesliga after a miserable start in which it has conceded 14 goals - more than any other side - and claimed just one point from four games.

Despite flirting with relegation last season, Bremen is third after recovering from its shock early exit in the German Cup.

"We know it's the moment of truth," said Hamburg captain Heiko Westermann.

Also Saturday, defending champion Borussia Dortmund hosts Hertha Berlin, top-of-the-table Bayern Munich hosts Freiburg, Stuttgart welcomes Hannover, Hoffenheim travels to Mainz and Borussia Moenchengladbach hosts Kaiserslautern.

On Sunday, Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath welcomes former side Schalke, which is second, and Cologne hosts Nuremberg.

Promoted Augsburg starts the action against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.

"I know that a win in Bremen is of utmost importance. It's a special game because we've a lot to gain there," Oenning said. "Obviously we want to get off bottom spot."

Hamburg has never been relegated from the German top flight, and has played in the Bundesliga since it was formed in 1963.

The club's management has publicly backed Oenning, but supporters will not stand for another inept performance - especially against its biggest rival.

There were signs of improvement in the 4-3 loss to Cologne before the international break - Hamburg was leading 3-2 before throwing it away in the last six minutes - and Oenning says he knows what needs to be done.

"We know what the problems are. They are minor things, individual mistakes and wrong decisions made within seconds. That's what we have to work on," Oenning said. "I would never change my general way with the players, but certain things change automatically. The team is under obligation, we cannot lose."

Sporting director Frank Arnesen is aware the 45-year-old coach needs time to make the team gel following a summer of transition.

"We simply have to believe in ourselves and use the positives taken from our last game," Arnesen said.

Hamburg was Germany's busiest club in the summer transfer window, allowing 17 players go in both directions as it struggled to reduce its wage bill.

"If we still had a situation today like we had on July 1, we would have slipped into a critical (financial) phase," chief executive Carl Jarchow told Die Welt newspaper.

The departures of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to Malaga, Germany midfielder Piotr Trochowski to Sevilla, Netherlands winger Eljero Elia to Juventus, and goalkeeper Frank Rost to New York Red Bulls may help balance the books, but they left Oenning short of vital experience.

Signings like Serbia defender Slobodan Rajkovic (22), Turkish midfielder Goekhan Toere (19), Italian midfielder Jacopo Sale (19) and England under-21 defender Michael Mancienne (23) - all from Arnesen's former club Chelsea - will need time to settle in their new club.

But, as Oenning said: "Patience and time are two things we haven't got. The team is under pressure from inside, it's putting itself under pressure."

Hamburg earned ?9 million ($13 million) from the sale of Elia, and Werder earned a similar amount for captain Per Mertesacker, who completed a transfer to Arsenal on the final day of the transfer window.

Clemens Fritz, who has 22 caps for Germany, is Bremen's new captain, and he warned against underestimating a wounded rival with a "couple of problems."

"We shouldn't believe that we can simply blast the troubled Hamburg (side) out of the stadium. It can backfire very quickly."

Brazilian midfielder Naldo could make his long-awaited return from injury after 15 months out.

"It's getting better every day, but we have to see whether he'll be back (on Saturday)," said Werder coach Thomas Schaaf on Wednesday. "We'll decide that in the next two or three days."

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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