Schaaf credits Bremen's bravery

Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf paid tribute to his side's "belief in a miracle recovery" despite the 2-1 defeat at home against RCD Espanyol that confirmed their UEFA Cup elimination.

Early lead
Trailing 3-0 from the first leg of the semi-final in Barcelona, the odds were stacked against the German side claiming a place in the UEFA Cup final in Glasgow on 16 May. But in keeping with past memorable comebacks at the Weserstadion, Bremen took the game to Espanyol, going ahead through Hugo Almeida after just four minutes only for Miroslav Klose's dismissal 15 minutes later to stop them in their tracks.

Bremen praise
Schaaf, who had already endured the pain of seeing his side miss out on the UEFA Champions League knockout stage by just one point despite being pooled alongside both Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona, refused to be too downhearted. "Congratulations to Espanyol and at the same time a great compliment to my team," he said. "Credit for the way they played and their belief in a miracle recovery."

Miracle results
Home advantage has got Bremen out of some improbable situations in the past. In 1987/88 they overcame a 4-1 deficit against FC Spartak Moskva, winning 6-2 at home to reach the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. A year later they trailed Berliner FC Dynamo 3-0 after the first leg of a European Champion Clubs' Cup tie only to triumph 5-0 in the return. More recently, they overturned a 3-0 defeat in the first leg of a 1999/2000 UEFA Cup third round tie against Olympique Lyonnais with a 4-0 win at the Weserstadion. Sadly for Schaaf, there was to be no addition to that list of great comebacks. "Down to ten men we played with courage," he said. "But I am afraid it wasn't enough."