Stop Diego And You'll Stop Bremen Says Bayern Munich Star Bastian Schweins Teiger

Feb 24 2008 By Gavin Berry

GERMAN international Bastian Schweinsteiger has told Rangers they'll have to stop Brazilian ace Diego to have any chance of dumping Werder Bremen.

The Bayern Munich midfield star was once an Ibrox loan target and offered the lowdown on his Bundesliga title rivals after helping dump Aberdeen out the UEFA Cup.

Having drawn with the second-placed side only a fortnight ago, Bremen are still fresh in Schweinsteiger's mind.

And he instantly singled out former Porto man Diego as the single biggest danger to Walter Smith's men ahead of their European showdown.

Midfield maestro Diego was voted Bundesliga Player of the Year by top German magazine Kicker last season after the Brazil international wowed fans with some mesmerising displays.

And Schweinsteiger, 23, said: "Bremen are a good team but they have one special guy - Diego. He has the ability to play in any team.

"Diego is the playmaker. Everything goes through him so Rangers must stop him. He is quick, has great technique and is always on the move.

"If Rangers can keep him quiet they will have a much better chance of winning the tie.

"My advice would be to man-mark Diego and keep him quiet. Maybe the quality makes the difference.

"I'm not sure of Rangers' players but in that position we have Mark van Bommel and Ze Roberto who are pretty good at such a task."

The good news for the Ibrox side is that Diego - who already has 25 caps despite being just 22 - has a recurring pelvis problem. The playmaker has been bothered with the injury since October and has been used sparingly.

He sat out the midweek UEFA Cup return against Braga after Werder racked up a 3-0 first-leg lead.

The Brazilian said: "The doctors say it is an inflammation of the pubic bone.

The pain just won't go away.

"The higher the burden of matches the greater the problem becomes.

"I don't want it to keep getting worse so we agreed I wouldn't play against Braga but that I'd be back for our next Bundesliga game against Frankfurt."

Schweinsteiger knows it would be a massive boost for Rangers if Diego's injury keeps him out of the first leg at Ibrox on March 6 and the return in the Weser Stadium the following week.

But the Bayern star insists Bremen will prove a tough nut to crack with or without their Brazilian ace and that Gers must rack up a decent score at home if they hope to progress.

Schweinsteiger said: "Diego has an injury just now. I don't know how serious it is but it would be a massive boost for Rangers if he didn't feature in the UEFA Cup games.

"But Werder Bremen have other good players as well such as Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg, Brazilian defender Naldo and Danish midfielder Daniel Jensen. Bremen also have an advantage being away from home first and Rangers will have to take a 2-0 lead at least to Germany to have a chance.

"That will then give them something to defend and in the return they must play a counter-attacking game and capitalise on any Werder mistakes.

"I think Rangers have to play a 4-5-1 system in Bremen because Werder have such a good home record and they're so quick on the attack. You have to dominate the midfield, that's the most important thing.

"Werder have such an attacking philosophy and defend and attack well as a unit. It's like a big blockmoving from left to right up and down the pitch and that makes them difficult to play against."

Schweinsteiger revealed flop Ibrox boss Paul Le Guen tried to lure him to Gers for a season-long loan but he knocked them back to stay with the German giants. However, he'd now love to visit Ibrox in the UEFA Cup.

He said: "Rangers wanted to take me on loan for one year. It was flattering because I love the passion of the Scottish fans which was highlighted again when we played Aberdeen.

"It was my agent who asked if I wanted to go but we just had a newstadium built at Bayern and had a good team. I wanted to be part of that.

"But I'd love to play Rangers in a later round in the UEFA Cup. I like to play in stadiums like Pittodrie, Celtic Park and of course Ibrox is one of the best and most famous.

"As a German I should want Werder Bremen to win but I am desperate to experience new venues and I'd rather play at Ibrox than the Weser Stadium."