Zidan sitting pretty at Bremen

By Mark Bennett

When Werder Bremen announced the signing of Mohamed Zidan during the Bundesliga winter break, few knew much about him. Having spent his whole European career in the Danish Superleague, the 23-year-old - brought in on loan as a replacement for Angelos Charisteas - was something of a mystery man.

Ringing endorsement
However, Danish national team coach Morten Olsen was quick to assure Bremen fans that they were getting an excellent player. "Mohamed Zidan does the unexpected and that is something that isn't very common these days," said Olsen. "We would all love to see him play for Denmark."

Injury blow
To begin with the striker had little chance to live up to his reputation. In a friendly against Hamburger SV during the winter, Zidan was on the receiving end of a strong challenge from Raphael Wicky that saw him sidelined for almost two months with an ankle injury.

Debut goal
Nevertheless the Egyptian-born player bounced back and showed just what he was capable of on his Bundesliga debut. The FC Midtjylland player scored with his very first touch after coming on as a late substitute for Bremen in their 2-0 win against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on 12 February.

'Great feeling'
"I got the ball and thought to myself: 'Go on have a go'," said Zidan after making his cameo appearance against Mönchengladbach. "And that is exactly what I did. It was a great feeling to see the ball beating the goalkeeper and crossing the line."

Suspended sentence
However, fate was to have a new blow in store for Zidan. Three days after making his Bremen debut, he was handed a 60-day suspended sentence by a Danish court after being found guilty of buying a stolen watch on the streets of Copenhagen before his move to Germany.

Substitute strikes again
It had little effect on his striking prowess. In his second game for Bremen, he scored the final goal in a 4-1 win against Hannover 96 just two minutes after coming on to the field as an 83rd-minute substitute. It was enough to persuade the German club of his value.

Permanent switch
He may not have scored any goals since then, but Bremen were happy to pay €3m to Zidan's Danish club to make his move to Germany permanent, and the player has now signed a contract which will keep him at the Weserstadion until 2008. "Mohamed was unlucky with injury in his first weeks at Werder, but he has still showed his outstanding talent," said Bremen general manager Klaus Allofs. "We are convinced he will continue to develop in the next years and will become a key player for our team."

Midtjylland backing
Danish supporters certainly seem to hope that will happen. As Bremen played at home against VfL Bochum 1848 on 26 February, 50 Midtjylland supporters travelled to Germany to watch their former idol - who scored 42 goals in 98 games for the club - in action again.

Gesture of thanks
"They wanted to thank him for his time in Denmark and his great goals," said Bremen fans representative Dieter Zeiffer. If Zidan can continue his good work on the field in the next few matches, he could become a local hero in Bremen too.