Werder Bremen vs Mainz preview - Tough call for Skripnik on Selke

Posted Friday, April 03, 2015 by PA

Werder Bremen coach Viktor Skripnik has a difficult decision to make when he names his starting XI to face Mainz on Saturday, with the transfer of attacking prodigy Davie Selke to Leipzig proving controversial in northern Germany.

The 20-year-old has quickly become a fans' favourite in Bremen in his debut season as a professional.

His six goals have helped take them into the hunt for a place in Europe next term, but on Monday the bombshell was dropped that he would be moving to big-spending second division side Leipzig in the summer.

It is a transfer Bremen will benefit from substantially in terms of the fee - undisclosed, but understood to be high. However, it could cost them dearly in the season run-in.

The negative fans' reaction has caused enough concern for the European Under-19 Championship winner to require a bodyguard when he arrived for training. With eight games of the campaign remaining, the fear is he may already have played his last game for the club.

"A new chapter starts for me in the summer, but until then I would like to end the current season as well as possible," Selke said in a statement explaining his move.

"I've been able to develop perfectly here and taken a huge step forwards, and I want to prove that until my very last day."

Skripnik must therefore gauge whether the potentially hostile reaction from the fans at the Weserstadion could affect the player and the rest of his team, although he has pleaded for forgiveness.

"This is how football works," he said. "All I can do is ask for understanding.

"Players have moved from Dortmund to Bayern, from Barcelona to Real Madrid, so why should he be criticised?"

Bremen director of sport Thomas Eichin would have no qualms about fielding Selke against Mainz, saying he's "strong enough psychologically" and "knows what to expect".

Beneficiaries of all this could be Saturday's opponents, who have no such distractions.

"We want revenge," Mainz coach Martin Schmidt said. "What they did to us at our own place [2-1 win], we can do to them at theirs."