NEWS
Alex Schlager makes competitive debut for Werder Bremen
The Austrian international goalkeeper is in the starting XI for the first DFB-Pokal round against Lüneburger SK. Rival Karl Hein is out injured.
Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager will make his competitive debut for SV Werder Bremen on Saturday in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against fifth-tier club Lüneburger SK (3:30 PM CET).
The 30-year-old Austrian international goalkeeper moved from FC Red Bull Salzburg to Bremen this summer, where he is competing with Estonian Karl Hein (24) for the number one jersey.
However, Hein will miss Werder's competitive season opener in the cup due to muscular problems.
"Clear commitment to Karl Hein"
"It's not certain, but also not to be assumed that Karl Hein's absence will last longer," said Werder coach Daniel Thioune at the press conference before the cup tie. "We assume that he will return to training next week."
Thioune announced that Hein would be in goal for the Bundesliga opener against SC Freiburg, should he have no complaints next week and complete full training.
"I can honestly say that I would have initially ruled out Alex Schlager playing in the first round of the cup. Karl was intended for this round," said the coach. "But it's completely normal that when you have two goalkeepers of this quality, you also have to think about how to manage it. However, we had a clear commitment to Karl Hein during pre-season."
