Thomas Schaaf Quotations

I am delighted with the result and how we played. It is good that we could focus on this match with the Barcelona tie just around the corner.

We are fortunate to have good strikers at this club and Nelson is one of them. We decided to start him and he showed his quality with three goals.

We have to be as active again in the return leg.

He made things happen and threw himself into every tackle - that is why he is so valuable to us.

He isn't the least bit inhibited by the injury, goes right into every tackle. It will depend on how well the shoulder holds up during a final practice.

Our legs were tired tonight. Everyone is talking about the things we can win, but we had to battle hard tonight.

I think this was a dreamlike performance by our team. There was constant movement by us, something was always going on out there.

I think the win did the team good, so did all the goals. We are ready to attack again. You can see in the table, things change every week.

I think the loss was justified because we stopped playing in the second half. We dominated the first half -- we could have led 3-0.

It could have been 4-0 in the first half. Unfortunately we missed our chances and let Hamburg get back into the game.

We are in the race for the Champions League and it is more in our own hands now.

We haven't written off the title. If they stumble, we will go after our chance.

We need to protect our goal much better. We need to be compact and then hope to score at the other end.

We never found our way into the game. We were far too passive and never showed the aggression we would have needed.

We had huge chances today, but maybe they were too easy.

That was a fantastic show that both teams offered. Some times these big games are dull strategic affairs. Not this time.

We are glad to be going home with the points. We had enough chances and finally took one of them in the second half.

We can't replace Miro, but we have to put that aside.

We were too passive in the first half but we played a lot better in the second. We're not yet where we want to be but we won over very good opponents and I'm satisfied with that.

The possibility was there, but we didn't take it.

The team saw how excellently Tim Wiese had played before the second goal. We deserved to go through as the team played magnificently in both games.

We all hope he comes back, but cannot be certain.

We didn't let in a goal, that was decisive, even if we were lucky in some cases.

Both of us made mistakes, but they were able to take advantage.

Scenes such as that can not be tolerated and the game had to come to an end.

I'm pleased that he won't need an operation.

I'm just thinking about what's in grasping distance for us, and that's a place in the Champions League.

If you just want to have fun you can play in these conditions but if you're being serious you can't. Playing a game like this was dangerous for the players.

They can not afford to lose against us.

The goal has left the door ajar for us. I knew Basel were a strong side and they showed that tonight.

The chance was there to win it. We missed our chances but at least we didn't concede.

We had to be patient right until the final whistle. We did not clinch the game until late on but it is another important three points.

It's getting better step by step. The question will be whether the shoulder holds up against every twist and strain.

I can't accept this match was played - it was irresponsible.

I can't accept this match was played - it was irresponsible. We have an injured player in the dressing room and he is an important player.