Diego Is Time-Bomb Waiting To Go Off

Mar 2 2008 By Gavin Berry In Bremen

Rangers V Werder Bremen Thursday, Kick-Off 8.00pm Uefa Cup Last 16, 1st Leg

RANGERS were last night told the best way to stop Werder Bremen's Samba star Diego is to noise him up - and the advice came from one of his own team-mates.

Danish midfielder Daniel Jensen gave the lowdown on his side's talisman who has been picked out by Gers boss Walter Smith as the biggest danger ahead of the first leg of their UEFA Cup last-16 tie.

And the incredibly honest Bremen ace was happy to reveal Diego's main weakness as he admitted the Brazilian playmaker is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode.

Former Porto star Diego's short fuse was in evidence last week when ex-Gers defender Soti Kyrgiakos, now with Eintracht Frankfurt, wound him up so much he lost his temper and was sent off.

That resulted in a three-match Bundesliga ban for the No.10, who turned 23 last week, but boss Thomas Schaaf will let him loose at Ibrox on Thursday.

Jansen revealed wind-up tactics are often used on Diego by opponents because they see it as the best way to snuff him out.

Now he fears Rangers will take a leaf out of Kyrgiakos' book and resort to gamesmanship in a bid to gain a first-leg advantage - but has warned the Brazilian to stop taking the bait.

Jensen said: "I'm worried Rangers will try to intimidate Diego but maybe it's a good tactic to get him off the pitch and out of the game.

"We have seen three serious examples - twice with Borussia Dortmund and also with Eintracht Frankfurt last week - where teams have really provoked him.

"It works and all the other teams know it now.

"I don't think Walter Smith needs Kyrgiakos to tell him about it, I'm sure he already knows.

"Diego really doesn't like being targeted and it gets on his nerves so we have to talk about it as a team. If rivals are doing that how should we respond?

"Diego also has to do a little bit of thinking. Against Frankfurt I don't know if Kyrgiakos was provoking him that much.

"Soti was irritated because he felt Diego was lying down and trying to get a free-kick.

"He was just trying to tell him to get up and that's normal in a game. It was not like he was pulling him up by the ear.

"But when we played Dortmund they had one guy who was constantly on Diego, giving him little kicks from behind every time he got the ball.

"You would think the referee would maybe give a yellow card after three times because he could see the guy was doing it on purpose but he got away with it.

"I don't like what I see on the pitch now - a lot is going on that shouldn't be. It leads to raised tempers and gets through to the fans.

"Refs have so many new rules to apply how can they be concentrating 100 per cent on the whole game?

"I don't think I have to warn the ref about potential treatment from Rangers players. Our coach also knows the problem because Diego has had two red cards now.

"So they will speak together about how to handle it. He is still young and will learn from his mistakes.

"Hopefully he will rise above it after what happened with Frankfurt. With his suspension he has had the chance to rest and get fully fit for Rangers."

Jensen even admitted Diego sometimes plays on his reputation to win free-kicks - something the Gers defence should be wary of.

The 28-year-old said: "If you see the free-kicks he gets it's something he also looks for because he plays like that.

"Sometimes he could just play the ball a little quicker and there wouldn't be a free-kick.

"So it's also his own fault sometimes. It's not like they are kicking him all the time."

When he's at the top of his game there's no doubt Diego - who was in the Porto team that lost to Gers in the Champions League in 2005 - is a huge threat.

And Jensen hopes that's the side they see of the Brazilian on Thursday.

He said: "Diego is a technical player, not that big but still great at keeping the ball. It's always difficult for big guys to tackle a skilful small man. Maybe that's why Diego is the most fouled player in the Bundesliga.

"I also think his vision is good and he reads the game well. His free-kick technique is of a high level so he's an all-round talent.

"Diego's style reminds me a little of Kaka in the way he sees play and can influence games but Kaka has something extra and is a bit bigger.

"Diego is worth a lot to Bremen now because he's an important player. But if we sell him I know we will bring in a new player who will also be valuable.

"When we played in the Champions League, Diego was linked with Real Madrid and the latest team is Juventus but hopefully we'll keep him for a few years as he is under contract."

Jensen used to tune in to Scottish football to watch countryman Brian Laudrup when he was with Rangers.

Now he can't wait to play at Ibrox and said: "I enjoyed watching Scottish football a lot when Laudrup was there, especially the big games like Celtic v Rangers.

"And of course I know Peter Lovenkrands. He said his was a positive experience in Scotland.

"He told me the supporters were great and it was an interesting place to play.

"The last time Peter was with the national team we talked a lot about Scotland and Rangers.

"I would love to have gone to an Old Firm game to experience the atmosphere."