Klose goes for milestone against former club
Miroslav Klose is in search of his 100th Bundesliga goal.
Bremen, Germany - All eyes will be on Miroslav Klose on Saturday as the former Werder Bremen striker returns home as a member of Bayern Munich in search of his 100th Bundesliga goal.
Klose joined Bayern from Werder Bremen over the summer in a $13.5 million move. Now, the German international star will try to return Bayern to the ranks of the elite in Germany after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the league last season.
The towering striker has already paid dividends with two goals in the club’s opening match, a 3-0 win over promoted Hansa Rostock, giving him 99 tallies in his Bundesliga career.
It will be an emotional day for Klose, who is expected to get a rough welcome from the Bremen supporters. The home side is also planning a small ceremony to welcome back its former star, but Klose and his mates will be more concerned with picking up another win and proving that they are the team to beat in Germany this season.
In addition to Klose, the club plucked striker Luca Toni from Serie A side Fiorentina, giving Bayern a lethal duo up top. Toni also netted a goal in last week’s win, and you can bet that there is plenty more to come from this strike tandem.
While Bayern is riding high, Werder Bremen is trying to find its way after a few early-season struggles. Bremen blew a two-goal lead in its opening match and had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Bochum. They also had trouble getting past Dinamo Zagreb in Champions League qualifying this past week, going a goal down before rallying to win 2-1.
Bremen needs to be careful not to fall too far behind Bayern, because they might not be able to dig themselves out. They were a very inconsistent team last season, but they need to find their stride early this season to stay near the top.
Bremen figures to be one of the chief competitors to Bayern this season, and would take a big step toward proving that with a good result on Saturday.
In Friday’s contest, Mike Hanke and Hanno Balitsch scored in the second half as Hannover rallied for a 2-1 win over Karlsruher. Maik Franz scored in the first half for Karlsruher.
Also on Saturday in Germany, another title hopeful, Schalke, will host Borussia Dortmund, Arminia Bielefeld and Eintracht both recorded wins in their opening games and get together at Schuco Arena while Hansa Rostock and Nurnberg both try to rebound from opening-week losses. Hertha Berlin entertains defending champion Stuttgart and Duisburg meets Wolfsburg.
On Sunday, Energie and Bochum, both coming off draws in their first match, meet up at Stadion der Freundschaft and Bayer Leverkusen visits Hamburg.
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