Aaron Hunt's 10-year career in a Werder jersey is not yet quite over, but there only remains the away match at Bayer Leverkusen on the final match day of the season...
Aaron Hunt's 10-year career in a Werder jersey is not yet quite over, but there only remains the away match at Bayer Leverkusen on the final match day of the season...
Aaron Hunt's 10-year career in a Werder jersey is not yet quite over, but there only remains the away match at Bayer Leverkusen on the final match day of the season. But the 27-year-old's 10 years of playing home matches at Bremen's Weser Stadium ended Saturday. But the midfielder gave the fans a healthy dose of extra time.
Three quarters of an hour after the final whistle, long after his teammates had gone to the showers, Hunt finally made his way into the mixed zone. "I feel like I said goodbye to the whole East Curve and shook a lot of hands," said Hunt with a wide grin on his face. "The East Curve always gave me great support here so there were a lot of emotions in saying goodbye. But I am happy that I was able to give them something back today," continued the midfielder.
Hunt was the match winner with his two goals against Berlin in the 48th and 90th minutes. "I am overjoyed. It happened just like I had hoped. It was a perfect afternoon for me, the fans and everyone on the team," said Hunt. "Of course I am leaving the club a bit teary-eyed. It's not easy to leave a club after such a long time. I haven't played anywhere else since my junior days," said the Goslar native, who came to Bremen in 2001 and made his jump to the professional team in the season after the double. He is still Werder's youngest Bundesliga goal scorer at 18 years and 14 days.
In addition to Hunt, Sebastian Mielitz, Aleksandar Ignjovski, Cimo Röcker and the Stevanovic brothers Predrag and Aleksandar also said goodbye to the fans. It was a difficult moment especially for ‘Iggy', who played 60 Bundesliga matches for Werder. "I had mixed emotions today and didn't really know what I should do when I was bid farewell. I was happy when the fans applauded. I had a very close connection to the fans, also on social network. I really liked that. They supported me tremendously from the beginning," said the Serbian, who hopes to get more playing time with his new club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Saying adieu to the Bremen crowd was also difficult for Sebastian Mielitz, who spent nine years with Werder, the last six in the professional team. "That was an emotional exit for me. It was really great how the fans showed me they cared. I had a great time here and I thank the fans for their support during all the years," said the keeper.
