Founded in 1899, Werder Bremen have been a constant presence in Germany's premier league competition, the Bundesliga.
Champions on four occasions (1965, 1988, 1993 and 2004), Die Grun-Weissen (The Green-Whites) have also added six German Cups to their trophy cabinet.
Their only taste of major European success came in 1992 when they beat As Monaco in the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
Bremen have appeared in six of the previous Champions League competitions and, like Tottenham, qualified for this year's group stages via the play-offs.
In a dramatic encounter with Sampdoria, the German team looked destined to receive the Europa League consolation as late as the third minute of injury time after forfeiting a 3-1 first leg lead.
Markus Rosenberg then sent the tie to extra time before former Chelsea striker Claudio Pizarro clinched the tie 5-4 on aggregate.
Match preview / Redknapp to play it safe / Tonight's fixture list
The Boss
Head Coach Thomas Schaaf is a major contender for the ultimate one club man prize after spending his entire playing and coaching career with Werder.
Signed to the youth academy in 1972, the former defender took on a coaching role while still playing and rose through the ranks before taking over the first team reins in 1999 and he hasn’t relinquished control since.
Preparation
Just like Harry Redknapp, Schaaf has had a whole host of injury concerns since the start of the season and will be without key defensive duo Per Mertesacker and Naldo as well as forward man Pizzaro.
Add to that the departure of Germany World Cup star Mesut Ozil to Real Madrid this summer and Werder could be forgiven should they face up to Tottenham with their tails between their legs.
However, all is not lost for the resilient Germans who have refused to forfeit their Ozil-inspired attacking principles, instead opting to exploit the opportunity by graduating the impressive Marko Marin (more about him later) to the vacant role to good effect.
Werder held Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich to a goalless draw at the weekend and have picked up four points from their opening three league fixtures.
Danger Man
Bosnian-born Germany World Cup playmaker Marko Marin has been cast as the man to fill the vacant boots left behind by Ozil in the summer.
Thus far the 21-year-old has thrived in his new starring role and will require close attention from the Tottenham defence.
Marin made two appearances for Germany in South Africa, both as a second half substitute in the games against Australia and Serbia and was also part of Germany’s European Under-21 Championship winning side last year.
Familiar Face
Amid a defensive crisis, Bremen are likely to call upon the services of former Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre who upped sticks for Germany after his contract expired at the Emirates in the summer.
Premier League observers will have noted that the Frenchman is not the defensive force he once was and could struggle against the pace of Aaron Lennon.
Trivia
Redknapp and his players should be fearing the sound of a ship's whistle tonight as that is likely to indicate that they have just conceded.
As one of only three German clubs associated with port cities, Werder Bremen have decided to both recognise and celebrate their naval heritage with a quick toot upon the conversion of every home goal.
Source: DSG
