Diego makes title vow

Diego: Warning for Bayern Munich

Werder Bremen playmaker Diego has thrown down the gauntlet to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich as far as next season's title race is concerned.

The north German outfit finished second behind Bayern last season despite enduring a year plagued with injuries to key players and Diego says he believes that he and his team-mates can bring the title back to the Weserstadion in 2009.

"Things will look very different next season," the 23-year-old told Bild.

"We have got the ability to win the league and we will do everything possible to achieve our goal.

"All the problems we had last season made our second-place finish even more valuable. Nobody could have really expected that," he added.

Despite losing Germany international Tim Borowski to Bayern this summer, Bremen will be looking to strengthen their squad to challenge the Bavarian giants and sport director Klaus Allofs echoed Diego's words with regard to their title chances:

"We will not be starting next season with the intention of finishing second again," noted Allofs.