Reinke seizes rare opportunity

Veteran goalkeeper Andreas Reinke returned to Bundesliga action last night with Werder Bremen almost a year after suffering a life-threatening head injury.

Happy return
The 38-year-old's 226th Bundesliga appearance proved to be a calm one as Bremen ran out comfortable 2-0 winners against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. "I was right in the match from the kick-off - the lack of match practice did not bother me," said Reinke. "Not conceding is always a great reward for a goalkeeper's performance." It was a far cry from the events of 8 February 2006 when the goalkeeper was involved in a nasty collision with VfB Stuttgart's Martin Stranzl nine minutes before the end of a league game. Reinke was immediately hospitalised with what quickly proved to be a very serious facial injury.

Grave injuries
Examinations revealed that the goalkeeper had broken his nose and the bones in his sinuses and had also sustained a fractured skull. Before undergoing a four-hour operation to repair the damage, Reinke was told to make his will. Having not missed a Bundesliga game in two-and-a-half years, tough times lay ahead. While he was back in action relatively quickly, appearing in a friendly game last April, Reinke's absence saw Tim Wiese installed as Thomas Schaaf's first-choice custodian, although at first Reinke seemed unwilling to accept the new situation, saying: "I still feel that I'm the No1 keeper."

'Different eyes'
Nonetheless, the goalkeeper who won a Bundesliga title and a German Cup with the club was consigned to the bench. Yet in the light of his injury, things did not seem so bad. "I look at everything through different eyes now," he said. "I always knew football wasn't the most important thing in life." First-team opportunities have since been few and far between. He deputised for Wiese in a 2-0 UEFA Champions League defeat at Chelsea FC on 12 September having put in a disappointing performance as Bremen bowed out of the German Cup on penalties to FK Pirmasens three days earlier.

Bundesliga return
However, with Wiese struggling with muscle problems in recent days, Reinke was handed a chance to show his skills in the Bundesliga again, although his meaningful contribution to the game involved little more than a decent save with his foot in the seventh minute of a one-sided encounter. "It didn't look like it was a different goalie was between the posts," said sporting director Klaus Allofs. "That's always good. Knowing that the substitute is as good as the usual goalkeeper gives the team confidence."