Leverkusen's hope springs eternal

Bayer 04 Leverkusen hope that their optimism is not misplaced as they travel to FC Dinamo 1948 Bucuresti tonight with the aim of saving their UEFA Cup campaign.

Tricky situation
After a 1-1 draw at Club Brugge KV and a miserable 1-0 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur FC last Thursday, Michael Skibbe's side face elimination with a game to spare if a defeat in Bucharest coincides with a win for Club Brugge in their final Group B fixture at Beşiktaş JK. However, after a 3-1 win against FC Energie Cottbus on Sunday ended a run of two successive Bundesliga defeats, the 41-year-old former BV Borussia Dortmund coach is seemingly bursting with optimism. "Of course we are very relieved," he said of the Energie win. "The team gave a fantastic response."

Corner turned
Such stellar performances have been few and far between for Leverkusen this season, with some poor results and indifferent football standing in stark contrast to the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League finalists lofty ambitions. However, Skibbe is sure that the corner has been turned. As he looked ahead to the trip to Bucharest, he was bursting with enthusiasm for the challenges ahead. "We are not only competitive in the league but also in Europe," he said, adding that his side would battle "with all our might" in order to reach the last 32 "with a win against Beşiktaş" on 14 December.

Völler concern
Some, though, may take some convincing about that. The performance against Tottenham was a poor one and caused sporting director Rudi Völler concern. "It was an unbelievably important win after some terrible matches," he said after the Energie game. "Now we are established in the middle of the table." The former Germany coach described the game against Energie as "a character test" and compared it to "a UEFA Champions League final" for his side. "It is important that it was understood that without a win we would have been stuck deep down at the bottom," he said.

Skibbe confident
Skibbe, meanwhile, sees the victory as a springboard to glory. "We are so strong that we can start a run and stalk our way to the top," he said. "If we perform at Dinamo Bucuresti like in 70 or 80 minutes of the game against Cottbus, we will return with a point." However, given Leverkusen's form this season, that is a remarkably big 'if'.