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Bremen´s Klose tipped to break drought
BERLIN (AFP) - German international striker Miroslav Klose was backed by team-mate Torsten Frings on Wednesday to break his goal drought and put Werder Bremen into the UEFA Cup semi-finals with a win over Alkmaar on Thursday.
Bremen go into their home leg on the back of a 0-0 draw from last week's match in the Netherlands and a win at the Weserstadion would book them a place in the last four.
But vastly-experienced striker Klose, who won the golden boot at last year's World Cup and has scored 33 international goals in 67 games, must break his duck having gone 1122 minutes without a goal.
"Once he gets his first goal, more are sure to follow", said midfielder Frings about his team-mate, who is being heavily-courted by Italian giants Juventus to join them next season.
If Klose can find the back of the net, it would divert attention away from the Bremen defence left reeling from the loss of international defender Per Mertesacker's knee injury.
The 22-year-old is out for the rest of the season after injuring his right knee in last weekend's 1-0 Bundesliga win over Nuremburg.
His absence could hamper Bremen's title challenge as they look to make up two points on leaders FC Schalke 04 with six games to play.
Mertesacker has made 33 appearances for his side this season and scored four goals and Bremen's manager Klaus Allofs was cautious about his side's chances against the Dutchmen without their star defender.
"The 0-0 draw wasn't bad for us, but it is still a dangerous result and the game is wide open," he said.
But Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese says the team must ignore the loss of Mertesacker and take confidence in their own ability against Alkmaar.
"We are so close to a semi-final place, but we have enough good people in defence, so I am confident we can do the job even without Per," he said.
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