6 August 2004 - The Night The Lights Went Out In Bremen

On 6 August 2004, defending Bundesliga champions Werder Bremen opened the new season with a 1-0 win over Schalke 04, thanks to the latest goal ever scored in the German top flight.

Werder Bremen entered the match full of optimism, having won the double the previous season, claiming their first league title since 1993 (their fourth overall) and their first German Cup since 1999 (sixth overall). They had also won the corresponding fixture against Schalke that year, 4-1. But in the opener for the new season, the defenses dominated as both teams struggled to shows any signs of life on offense.

Playing in an evening fixture, the flow of the match was interrupted when the lights at Werder's Weserstadion went on, forcing a lengthy delay for repairs. As the match restarted late in the evening, Werder Bremen manager Thomas Schaaf replaced his star forward Miroslav Klose with Paraguayan striker Nelson Valdes in the 73rd minute. Ten minutes later, Valdes (pictured) justified the switch by scoring the match-winning goal.

Because of the delay, Valdes scored his winning strike at 23:13 - the latest goal ever scored in the German top flight. Despite the dramatic start to the season, Werder Bremen were unable to replicate their success from the previous season, finishing the 2004-05 season in third place.