All to often in football, the gap between success and heartache is all too fine. As, for example, was the case during Werder's away match in Augsburg on 20th September...
All to often in football, the gap between success and heartache is all too fine. As, for example, was the case during Werder's away match in Augsburg on 20th September...
All to often in football, the gap between success and heartache is all too fine. As, for example, was the case during Werder's away match in Augsburg on 20th September, when half way through the second half Marwin Hitz' unbelievable fingertip save prevented Izet Hajrovic the 3-2 lead. Instead, Augsburg's Werrner used his opportunity at the other end of the field to put the home side in front on the 77th minute. The game would end in a 4-2 defeat. What nobody could anticipate, however, was the series of downward-spiralling results that would follow Werder's first defeat of the season. After the depressing home defeat against promoted side 1. FC Köln, the club decided to part ways with manager Robin Dutt.
Indeed it was a promising start for the Green-Whites against FCA. Full of appetite and confidence, the two highly-passionate and attacking motivated sides offered up a fantastic spectacle. It took Davie Selke just three minutes to fire Werder into the lead. Baier (14th) and a dubious Vergaegh penalty (45th +3) turned things around for Augsburg, before Franco Di Santo similarly equalised from the penalty spot. "At 2-2 we were playing really well and applying plenty of pressure", emphasised Dutt. Unfortunately, Hajrovic missed the previously noted chance, whereas Werner punished Werder for poor marking in their own 18-yard box.

The second half of that fateful week of fixtures highlighted exactly how "merciless the Bundesliga is" (sporting director, Thomas Eichin). It took the Green-Whites just 180 seconds to carelessly throw away what until then had been a solid home performance in the first half, leaving even Schalke scratching their heads at what had happened. Shortly after the restart, Schalke scored two quick goals to take the lead (Meyer 48th, Neustädter 51st). Barnetta extended the lead to 3-0, five minutes before the break. To cap it off, the dreadful week ended with a 2-1 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg.
Marnon Busch's first Bundesliga goal aroused only temporary feelings of relief, as the Green-Whites failed to gain a result against a far from impressive opponent. "It's typical of our season so far. Wolfsburg themselves don't quite know how they won that game. Considering the performances we have shown, we simply haven't collected enough points", admitted Sebastian Prödl. All the more so when they failed to improve their form at home against Freiburg the following matchday. With just four points from seven games, "the situation is getting ridiculous", Junuzovic made clear, "we are bottom of the league, there no one behind us. That's a catastrophe."

Record champions FC Bayern, without needing to really step out of second gear, took advantage of the seemingly deflated and intimidated Bremen. In the moments after the 6-0 thrashing, even Thomas Eichin found himself in a state of disbelief. "Today we played like a team at the bottom of the league. There was too much respect for them and you can't play like that here." Purpose, sacrifice, unity - none of these words could be used to describe the Green-Whites during this period. That form would continue into the fateful home match against 1. FC Köln.
On that dark Friday evening in October, it became distinctly clear just how fragile and static the Bremen's football had become. Despite all their honest attempts, Bremen barely created a chance going forward. Köln would win 1-0 and just a few hours later, Werder's manager was relieved of his duties. "We would like to thank Robin Dutt and his team for their work. He led SV Werder through a difficult stage in the past couple of months with a lot of passion. But after the recent results, we are convinced that the team needs a new impulse to get them out of the current situation," announced Thomas Eichin. The nail in the coffin came through soon to be Werder player, Anthony Ujah's, winning goal for Köln.
