FC Bayern Munich -:- SV Werder Bremen - Bundesliga Spieltag 32, 2003/2004 RELEASE 1

At the Beginning of the 2003/2004, no one rated Werder Bremen to be among the contenders. Even after the first half of the season, when Werder was in 1st place, many still believed that they would end the season outside first place, just as had happened numerous times in the previous 20 or so years. Uli Hoeness, the general manager of Bayern Munich, knew this, and made it clear what he thought of Thomas Schaaf’s side (and it wasn’t much). As the Title race neared the end of the season, Werder maintained a 6 point lead over Bayern Munich. Spieltag 31 was to set the stage for the two teams, as Werder Bremen hosted northern rivals Hamburg, while Bayern Munich traveled to lowly 1.FC Koln (with a very young up and coming striker named Lukas Podolski). Bayern edged out Koln 2-1 after Poldolski had put the home side ahead, boosting the confidence among the Bayern players. Meanwhile, in Bremen, Werder demolished northern rival hamburg by a score of 6-0, while Ailton, the league’s leading scorer, netting 3.

With their 6 point league maintained, Werder traveled to the Munich Olympiastadion with a chance to win the league, something Werder had not done for 11 years. Uli Hoeness had guaranteed victory for the Home side, and as the teams walked into the sunshine of Munich, the fate of the Bundesliga season hung in the balance.

ScreenShots: