Old friends now foes for Hugo Almeida

Werder Bremen's meeting with SC Braga in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 will see striker Hugo Almeida putting old allegiances to the test.

• Bremen forward Hugo Almeida could potentially be up against three former team-mates in his first game against opponents from his native Portugal since leaving FC Porto in 2006.

• He played alongside Carlos Fernandes, João Pinto and Zé Manuel during a loan spell at Boavista FC in the 2004/05 season.

• Bremen qualified for the Round of 32 after finishing third in UEFA Champions League Group C. Braga finished second in UEFA Cup Group F.

• The two sides have never met in UEFA club competition.

• Bremen have played two games against Portuguese opponents, meeting FC Porto in the group stage of the 1993/94 UEFA Champions League. They lost 3-2 in Portugal and 5-0 in the return fixture at the Weserstadion.

• Then coming to the end of his playing career as a defender with the club, Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf was an unused substitute in that ill-fated second leg. Schaaf is a famous one-club man having worked for Bremen in one position or another since signing up as an eleven-year-old on 1 July 1972.

• A 1-1 draw at home against FC Bayern München in the group stage of this season's UEFA Cup was Braga's third game against German opposition. They have drawn two of those games and lost the other, with the defeat coming at FC Schalke 04 in their only previous game on German soil.

• Braga have changed coach since the start of the group stage with Manuel Machado replacing Jorge Costa due to disappointing results in the Portuguese league.

• Braga had not won in three European games prior to their 2-0 win against FK Crvena Zvezda in their final group stage game.

• Braga will host the second leg in Portugal on 21 February. The winners will meet the victors of the tie between Rangers FC and Panathinaikos FC in the Round of 16 on 6 and 12/13 March, playing the second leg at home.

• Winter UEFA Cup registrations
Bremen: In - Ivan Klasnić, Peter Niemeyer, Mesut Ozil, Max Kruse.
Out – Leon Andreasen, Pierre Womé, Norman Theuerkaf, Carlos Alberto.
Braga: In – Miguelito, Pablo Contreras, Matheus.
Out – Hussain Yasser Abdulrahman, Vítor Hugo, Lenny, Anilton Júnior.