Felipe stresses the need for Udinese restraint

Udinese Calcio captain Felipe has urged his side against throwing caution to the wind as they look to reel in Werder Bremen's two-goal lead in the UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg. "If we stay calm the goals will come naturally," he said.

Frustration
Like his team-mates, Felipe was frustrated by the number of chances Udinese squandered in the 3-1 defeat in Germany last week, but, with his side having won their last four home UEFA Cup matches, the central defender is confident of staging a comeback. "It was a relief that we scored our goal at the end of the match," he said. "We knew that coming back from 3-0 down would have been almost mission impossible. It's a shame we missed so many chances but we got one which was crucial and now we have something to build on."

Measured approach
At 24, Felipe is a young skipper but his composed style, speed of movement and ability to read the game make him mature beyond his years. The Brazilian's advice is to not panic and attempt to ease back into the tie slowly but surely. "We need to be careful not to throw too many players forward," he said. "We must attack but we have to do it in an organised way. If we're 1-0 up with only minutes left that's fine because the second goal can come right at the end if necessary. If we play the way we know then the goals will come naturally. We need to stay calm and play our way and then we'll be fine."

Survivor
Along with Christian Obodo, Felipe is the sole survivor of the Udinese XI that faced Bremen here in the UEFA Champions League three seasons ago. The Brazilian defender was unfortunate to score an own goal in the group game, which resulted in a 1-1 draw, and he believes that this Bremen side is stronger than the 2005/06 vintage. "This Werder team is stronger than the one we faced three years ago. The other one certainly wasn't too bad. They had Miroslav Klose at the time and he is a class act. But this side has more quality in depth. Their midfield is very good indeed."

Diego threat
And so is their playmaker Diego, who is the subject of considerable transfer speculation in Italy, but who is struggling to recover from a thigh strain. "I know Diego well because I played alongside him for the Brazil Under-17 side. I think he's definitely good enough to play in the Selecão and he would fit in well in Italian football too. He is strong, has great technique, two good feet and an incredible shot. He's got everything really. He's the complete player, so obviously I hope he doesn't play tomorrow. If he does we'll just have to make sure [Gaetano] D'Agostino keeps an eye on him."