Mertesacker: Sampdoria draw a tough task

Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker admits his side will have to be at their very best to reach the group stages of the Champions League after being drawn against Sampdoria in the final qualifying round.

Bremen play host to the Blucerchiati in the first leg at the Weser Stadion on August 17 or 18 before travelling to Genoa for the decisive return leg a week later, and Mertesacker recognises the challenge the Serie A side will pose.

“That is certainly not an easy task,” he said from Bremen’s training camp in Austria, where the whole squad followed the draw live.

“When a team comes fourth in Italy and finishes ahead of Juventus in the league, then that says something.

“It is going to be tight and anything but a top performance will not do.”

Captain Torsten Frings is looking forward to the clash, which would not have been out of place in the group stages of the competition.

“It is a tough, but good draw,” he said. “Duels between German and Italian clubs are practically classics and we know right away where we stand.

“I hope we can get some great support at the Weser Stadion.”

And the club’s director of sport Klaus Allofs does not expect Samp to be happy with the draw either.

“I am sure they did not celebrate this draw in Genoa,” he said.

“We have already gathered experience about how tough these games are to win in the past against Basel and Zagreb. This is going to be equally tough.”