For this
interview, I look back at Werder Bremen’s Cup Winners Cup
adventure in 1991/92 season.
The Interview will be as a video link companion, while the Blog
will be a presentation of the events.
The Interviewee is:
German
Werder Bremen fan Mr. Hanno Büchner.
Mr. Büchner is a Werder Bremen fan from his youth and experienced this 1992
Cup Winners Cup adventure.
Mr. Büchner’s
contact info:
Facebook: under Hanno Büchner https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006951631665
My contact information:
on twitter @sp1873 and on
facebook under Soccernostalgia.
Werder Bremen in the Cup Winners Cup 1991/92
As the 1991/92 season
kicked off, Germans side Werder Bremen were to take part in the Cup Winners
Cup. They had qualified by winning the 1991 DfB Pokal.
Werder Bremen Manager
Otto Rehhagel had been in charge for a decade now and had transformed the club
into a force in German Football (winning the Bundesliga title in 1988).
The transfer activity in
the offseason was rather light. They made a double signing from Bochum, striker
Stefan Kohn and midfielder Thorsten Legat. In addition, striker Kay Wenschlag
arrived from BSG Rotation Berlin, while midfielder Lars Unger was promoted from
the youth side.
The backbone of the team
and the regulars included goalkeeper Oliver Reck, Norwegian defender Rune
Bratseth, veterans such as Uli Borowka, Jonny Otten, Gunnar Sauer, Thoams
Schaaf, Günter Hermann, Mirko Votava, Thoams Wolter, Klaus Allofs, Frank
Neubarth and New Zealand striker Wynton Rufer.
The up-and-coming
generation as represented by Marco Bode and Dieter Eilts.
_1228x1565.jpg) |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 40, May 1992
|
(Werder
Bremen squad 1991/92) |
In the first round of
this 1991/92 Cup Winners Cup, Bremen faced Romanian side FC Bacau. It was a
rather comfortable round, Bremen won (6-0) away from home and followed with a
(5-0) win at home.
In the Second Round, they
faced Hungarian side Ferencvaros. It was a stiffer test as Bremen just squeaked
a win at home (3-2) on October 23rd, 1991, at home.
In the return leg on
November 6th, 1991, Ferencvaros just needed a goal at home to
advance but it was Bremen that scored and Marco Bode’s winner was enough to push
Bremen into the Quarterfinal round.
By midseason, it was
clear that Bremen were off the pace in the Bundesliga. It would be a poor
season by Bremen’s standards and they would eventually finish in the Ninth
position.
It was clear that
European victory would be the only way to play in Europe the following season.
_4962x3237.jpg) |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 40, May 1992
|
(Werder
Bremen 1991/92) |
_4962x3254.jpg) |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 40, May 1992
|
(Werder
Bremen 1991/92) |
In March, Bremen faced Turkish
side Galatasaray in the quarterfinals. In the First leg at home on March 4th,
1992, they won (2-1) at home.
In the Second Leg on
March 18th, 1988, they earned a scoreless tie at Istanbul to advance
to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, they
faced the strong Belgian side Club Brugge in April.
On April 1st,
1992, Bremen lost (0-1) away from home at Brugge. On April 15th,
Bremen pulled off the (2-0) necessary scoreline to advance to the Final.
 |
Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2404, May 5, 1992
|
(Otto
Rehhagel Interview) |
 |
Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2404, May 5, 1992 (Otto
Rehhagel Interview) |
In the Final, they were
to face French side AS Monaco managed by a certain Arsene Wenger. The team
included the likes of Liberian striker George Weah and Youri Djorkaeff among
others.
Just a day before the
Final on May 5th, 1992, there was a stadium disaster in France in
Furiani at Bastia that killed 13 and injured hundreds.
This was clearly in the minds
of the French as they faced Bremen in Lisbon on May 6th, 1992.
Nevertheless, they took
the early initiative in the match in the first 15-20 minutes.
It was against the run of
play that Bremen scored. 35-year-old Klaus Allofs, who lost the 1979 edition of
this Final with Fortuna Dusseldorf against Barcelona, scored Bremen’s opener in
the 40th minute by striking in Rufer’s header across the box.
Monaco tied to get back
but Bremen took advantage of a counter attack. In the 54th minute,
Allofs sent a long cross towards Rufer, who went around Jean-Luc Ettori and
scored into an empty net.
Allofs had lost his place
in the team some weeks before and was not expected to start.
Rehhagel had notified
just hours before that he would start. Rehhagel decided to take a chance on him
because of his experience. He added that he needed experienced players for such
a match and stated, “the result showed I was right.”
Rehhagel had now led
Bremen to a European Cup trophy following the Bundesliga title in 1988 and the
DfB Pokal in 1991.
This victory gave Werder
Bremen a springboard for the winning the Bundesliga Title in the following
season (1992/93), the DfB Pokal (1993/94) and coming close to winning the
Bundesliga title in (1994/95) in Rehhagel’s final season at Bremen.
_3836x2622.jpg) |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 41, June 1992
|
(May
6, 1992, Cup Winners Cup, Werder Bremen 2-Monaco 0) |
_1661x2307.jpg) |
Photo
From: World Soccer, June 1992
|
(May
6, 1992, Cup Winners Cup, Werder Bremen 2-Monaco 0) |
_2170x1458.jpg) |
Photo
From: Soccer America, Vol. 42, No. 19, Issue 1060, May 25, 1992
|
(May
6, 1992, Cup Winners Cup, Werder Bremen 2-Monaco 0) |
Sport Verein Werder Bremen von 1899 e.V. (1991/92 season):
Goalkeepers:
Oliver Reck (February 27, 1965, Frankfurt) (aged 26-27
years old at the time)
Jürgen Rollmann (October 17, 1966, Gelnhausen) (aged
24-25 years old at the time)
Florian
Klugmann (September 9, 1970, Lübeck) (aged 21 years old at the time)
Defenders:
Manfred Bockenfeld (July 3, 1960, Südlohn) (aged 31 years old at the time)
Uli Borowka (May 19, 1962, Menden) (aged 29-30 years
old at the time)
Rune Bratseth (Norway) (March 19, 1961, Trondheim,
Norway) (aged 30-31 years old at the time)
Jonny Otten (January 31, 1961, Hagen im Bremischen)
(aged 30-31 years old at the time)
Gunnar Sauer (June 11, 1964, Cuxhaven) (aged 27 years
old at the time)
Thomas Schaaf (April 30, 1961, Mannheim) (aged 30-31
years old at the time)
Andree Wiedener (March 14, 1970, Helmstedt) (aged 21-22
years old at the time)
Markus Witossek (March 8, 1972) (aged 19-20 years old
at the time)
Midfielders:
Marco Bode (July 23, 1969, Osterode am Harz) (aged 22
years old at the time)
Dieter Eilts (December 13, 1964, Upgant-Schott) (aged
26-27 years old at the time)
Uwe Harrtgen (July 6, 1964, Bremen) (aged 27 years old
at the time)
Günter Hermann (December 5, 1960, Rehburg) (aged 30-31
years old at the time)
Thorsten Legat (November 7, 1968, Bochum) (aged 22-23
years old at the time)
Lars Unger (September 30, 1972, Eutin) (aged 18-19
years old at the time)
Mirko Votava (April 25, 1956, Prague, Czechsolovakia)
(aged 35-36 years old at the time)
Thomas Wolter (October 4, 1963, Hamburg) (aged 27-28
years old at the time)
Forwards:
Klaus Allofs (December 5, 1956, Dusseldorf) (aged 34-35
years old at the time)
Marinus Bester (January 16, 1969, Hamburg) (aged 22-23
years old at the time)
Stefan Kohn (October 9, 1965, Ellwangen) (aged 25-26
years old at the time)
Frank Neubarth (July 29, 1962, Hamburg) (aged 29 years
old at the time)
Wynton Rufer (New Zealand) (December 29, 1962, Wellington,
New Zealand) (aged 28-29 years old at the time)
Arie van Lent (Holland) (August 31, 1970, Opheusden,
Holland) (aged 21 years old at the time)
Kay Wenschlag (February 25, 1970, East Berlin, East
Germany) (aged 21-22 years old at the time)
Coach: Otto Rehhagel (August 9, 1938, Essen) (aged 53
years old at the time)
Team Captain: Mirko Votava
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Puma
Shirt Sponsor: Portas
Transfer Activity:
Arrivals:
Stefan
Kohn (Bochum)
Thorsten
Legat (Bochum)
Kay Wenschlag (BSG
Rotation Berlin)
Lars
Unger (Promoted from youth side)
Departures:
Oliver
Freund (Hannover 96)
 |
Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2404, May 5, 1992
|
(Werder
Bremen squad 1991/92) |
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