Comeback, contest and a chef

Monday’s team talk

Luca Caldirola picked up plenty of game time for the U23s against Paderborn, playing the entire 90 minutes (photo: nordphoto).
Team Talk
Monday, 20.02.2017 / 17:39

+++ Luca Caldirola took another important step towards returning to first-team action after he played his first competitive game for five months in Werder U23’s victory over SC Paderborn. The centre-back played the entire 90 minutes of the 1-0 win and was absolutely delighted to be back on the pitch after his first appearance since picking up an ankle injury in September. “It was good to finally get some match practice. It was not an easy game. The boys battled well and deserved to get the win. My foot and my fitness levels were good and now I can train with full intensity,” said Caldirola told WERDER.DE. The Italian, who is also very active on social media, announced to his followers the news that “my ankle is not causing me pain anymore. I will continue working and hard and will soon be able to play in the Weser-Stadion again.” We’re delighted to see you back on the pitch, Luca! +++

+++ Wiedwald impresses: His performance really stood out. Felix Wiedwald was key to Werder’s victory over Mainz and was rewarded for his efforts by being voted the Volkswagen “Man of the Match” on the official Facebook page for the Green-Whites. Thomas Delaney came in second place after he hit a wonderful free-kick to score his first Bundesliga goal. The Dane also featured in the best XI of the week in German magazine “Kicker”, while Wiedwald along with Clemens Fritz and goalscorer Serge Gnabry were nominated in the best XI of the week in German website “Sportschau”. +++ 

You'll never get tired of watching Thomas Delaney's superb free-kick in Mainz (photo: WERDER.DE)

+++ Free-kick contest: There may have been some question marks around Delaney beforehand but those were quickly vanquished when he stepped up and curled it right into the top corner. Head coach Alexander Nouri explained how the Danish new signing ended up taking the free-kick instead of established takers such as Junuzovic, Kruse or Gnabry, after the match. “The four boys practiced it in training last week and worked on free-kicks in a kind competition. Thomas seemed the most consistent so he was allowed to take it.” +++

+++ Chef Gnabry? Serge Gnabry provided two surprises at the weekend. First there was the composed header he scored to give the Green-Whites the lead, made all the more surprising by the fact that at 1.73m tall, he is the second shortest player in the team. He then sent the cheering Werder fans into raptures with a cooking gesture for his celebration. “I am a huge NBA fan and James Harden always does that celebration. It was a tribute to him,” clarified Gnabry. However there was absolutely no speculation as to where that perfect connection with the ball came from. Frank Baumann threw the former coach for Germany’s U21s as well as the Olympic team Horst Hrubesch’s name into the ring. “Maybe he learnt that from him,” said Baumann with a smirk on his face. +++ 

 

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