Our next opponents: A difficult start for Werder Bremen

Position

There’s no doubt that they expected a very different set of results in Bremen, but instead the Horst Steffen era has begun with cup elimination and a chastening defeat in the league. “Lots of things aren’t going right,” admitted captain Marco Friedl after the 4-1 loss in Frankfurt. Pressure is already mounting at the Weserstadion, given pre-season didn’t go all too well either. The Green-Whites lost double-header friendlies against Hoffenheim (1-0 and 3-0) and Udinese (1-0 and 2-1), before following the 1-0 defeat to Bielefeld in the cup with another 2-1 reverse at the hands of Osnabrück.

It was the second time in a year that Bremen had lost in Bielefeld, after also being knocked out of the 2024/25 DFB Pokal by the eventual runners-up. Admittedly, they played well this time, up until Leonardo Bittencourt’s 54th-minute red card, while Marco Grüll, Justin Njinmah and Felix Agu all missed big chances. Arminia then hit the winner in added time.

Things were less even last weekend in Frankfurt, where Eintracht dominated proceedings and Werder struggled to create anything going forward while also being open at the back. “We built up the attacks in a decent way but then didn’t get the feint or pass or shot right when we got to the box because we weren’t good at making the right decision,” Steffen summarised of the 4-1 loss. Njinmah had got a goal back from 3-0 down and did prompt a spell of pressure from the visitors, until Frankfurt wrapped things up with a fourth. Looking ahead to their opening home fixture of the season, midfielder Senne Lynen said, “We know we need to improve in everything.”

Personnel

Michael Zetterer had been in goal for the game in Bielefeld but was then on the opposite side in Frankfurt after ending his 10-year association with Bremen. Mio Backhaus (21) has stepped up since to make his Bundesliga debut and was powerless to prevent any of the four goals. According to Steffen, it was a challenging situation for the young goalkeeper, although the coach praised his new number one: “I think he did a cool and commanding job.” That game was also Steffen’s first as a coach at the top level in Germany. The 56-year-old had played 207 times in the Bundesliga with Duisburg, Uerdingen and Borussia Mönchengladbach before leading Elversberg from the fourth tier into Bundesliga 2 during six-and-a-half years in charge. He very nearly even took them to the Bundesliga but lost last season’s play-off to Heidenheim.

The new coach now faces some challenges with his squad. As well as Zetterer, Bremen have also lost forwards Marvin Ducksch and Oliver Burke. The former scored eight goals and provided nine assists last season before his move to Birmingham City in England’s Championship, while the latter has joined Union Berlin. The hope is that Samuel Mbangula from Juventus will help fill that gap alongside Njinmah, Grüll and Keke Topp, who all showed promise last season. Jens Stage and Mitchell Weiser were key figures last term but are both currently injured.

Left-back Olivier Deman has also recently been ruled out for a lengthy period of time with a broken ankle, following new signing Maximilian Wöber into the treatment room after his hamstring injury picked up against Bielefeld. Centre-back Amos Pieper has also suffered with a persistent hip issue of late. Given those defensive absentees, Werder signed 25-year-old Japanese full-back Yukinari Sugawara on loan from Southampton. However, the situation at the back is still tense, given captain Friedl (knee) and Julian Malatini (ankle) are both doubts to face Leverkusen.

Problems

“We have to deal with a number of setbacks at the moment, but we’ll prepare the team well this week to achieve a good result against Leverkusen in our first home game,” said Steffen ahead of the match. The Werder coach had to make major changes to his team, especially in defence, due to the injury crisis and will have to continue to do so. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that the defence is yet to gel. But there are also problems in attack. The team is failing to make the most of its chances. Strikers like Nick Woltemade, Niclas Füllkrug and Ducksch have left Bremen in recent years. Over their past eight games, the Green-Whites have scored only three goals – while conceding 14.

Performers

Like his predecessor Ole Werner, Steffen also focuses on possession football – lots of short passes, playing deep, counter-pressing and quick transitions. The new coach wants his team to “spark enthusiasm, show commitment and community spirit”. The team should “convey a sense of team spirit, real enthusiasm and joy,” he explained. Last season, his Elversberg side had the second-best defence and also the second-best attack in Bundesliga 2. Steffen wants to strike the right balance at Bremen as quickly as possible. However, given the personnel situation, this will probably take some time.