The painful end

A look back at Werder’s 2019: October to December
The end of a tough Hinrunde: Werder lose to Bayern Munich, Mainz & FC Köln (Photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Tuesday, 31.12.2019 / 10:25

The year 2019 is approaching its end. And even if recent results haven’t quite gone to plan, it is worth looking back at eventful twelve months filled with highs and lows. 2019 was the year Werder celebrated its anniversary. It was a year characterised by a euphoric second half of the season, with awards for Pizarro, Osako, Kohfeldt and many more. From injuries, to autumn blues, to ESPORTS triumphs, to experiencing new shores in South Africa; it’s a year worth looking back on!

Sargent takes off

19.10.2019

After the dramatic 2-2 draw in Frankfurt, Josh Sargent began October by scoring his second goal of the season in front of the home fans. When he scored the opening goal against Hertha, the young American made Werder history by becoming the youngest player to score four Bundesliga goals for the club, just ten months after his making his debut.

 

Joshua Sargent has scored twice in the Bundesliga so far this season (Photo: nordphoto).

Even though his goal only managed to help Werder get a point in the game against Hertha, Sargent showed his positive development as a player. After he arrived from the US in winter of 2017, the forward got his call-up to the first team by playing with the U23s, and was able to celebrate both his senior debut and first senior goal for the club last year.

During pre-season preparations before the current season, Kohfelt met with Sargent to talk about continuing to use him as a substitute, because at his young age, it is important that the American should get as much experience of playing at the top level as possible. However, the Werder injury crisis worsens and two regular starters in Niklas Füllkrug and Yuya Osako are sidelined, leading Josh Sargent to make an appearance in the starting eleven sooner than expected. Sargent started six games and rewarded the faith the manager put in him by scoring twice and assisting two more goals. Also, after being out of the squad for three months, Sargent receives a national team call-up and makes an impressive return, with a goal for his country in October and a brace in November. In the end however, the injury crisis that plagued the club in the Hinrunde caught up with him, as he suffered torn muscle fibre at the start of December.

Other important events:

  • 23/10/2019: As October drew to a close, the fans spent a wonderful evening with the team at the Bremen Freimarkt.
  • 26/10/2019: The month of the draws. After Frankfurt and Berlin, Werder drew again against Bayer Leverkusen.
  • 30/10/2019: Florian Kohfeldt's teammade it through to the round of 16 of the DFB Pokal thanks to a 4-1 home win agaist Heidenheim. Borussia Dortmund awaits.

Werder Women become Herbstmeister

27.11.2019

While the Men’s team were having a particularly bumpy autumn, the Werder Women were in the midst of some of their best months yet. In the 2. Frauen Bundesliga, Alexander Kluge’s side enjoyed many wins in the first half of the season. Under the leadership of the new head coach, the team have amassed a strong 36 points at the end of the Hinrunde, and have built up a gap of 12 points between themselves and the first non-promotion place in the table. At the end of November they managed to secure the position of Herbstmeister early with a landmark 2-0 win over Wolfsburg II. In addition to goals from Katharina Schiechtl, Selina Cerci’s goals have helped, of course. With 13 goals in twelve appearances, she is not only Werder’s top goalscorer, but also the top goalscorer in the league. Giovanna Hoffmann and Cindy König, who are both tied on 99 goals each in a Werder shirt, have also impressed with seven goals each.

 

The secret to Werder’s success? Cohesion. “You can see that the team have grown together over the last few years. They’ve experienced many highs together, but also many lows. That feeling of togetherness also helped me when I took over the team in the summer,” says Kluge, who had previously coached the Werder U17s for years. The goal for the second half of the season and the start of the new year is clear: Werder should get back into the top division.

Other important events:

  • 14/11/2019: A battle of Werder stars took place in Euro 2020 Qualification as Pavlenka's Czech Republic qualified by beating Milot Rashica's Kosovo.
  • 25/11/2019: In the Annual General Meeting, SV Werder revealed a record turnover for 2019. In addtion, Bremen surpassed 40,000 members.
  • 25/11/2019: IIn conjuction with the AGM, it Niklas Moisander's contract extension was announced.

The low point against Mainz

17.12.2019

On a wet and cold evening in Bremen, Werder hit the lowest point of the season so far when they suffered a humiliating 5-0 home defeat in front of their own fans against close rivals Mainz 05, pulling them into a relegation battle that they did not want to be a part of.

 

It still hurts: the "Highlights" from the Mainz game (Photo: nordphoto).

“We can only apologize for this performance to the fans, the injured players and everyone else. That was terrible, ”says a frustrated Maximilian Eggestein after the game. Iconic striker and Bundesliga legend Claudio Pizarro came immediately to the defence of head coach Florian Kohfeldt. The whole team had “very clearly” let him down, said the Peruvian the following day. “We didn’t give a good account of ourselves as a team and we didn’t do our job. That is on us, and we have a duty to show that we can do better.” But Werder throw away their shot at redemption with a 1-0 loss against Cologne in the last game of the year just four days later.

And so after 17 games in the first half of the season, Werder take only a measly 14 points into the winter break. It is the worst Hinrunde in the club’s history. Werder only get one home win between August and December. As Fortuna Düsseldorf won their last game, Werder slipped into 17th place and the relegation zone on the Sunday before Christmas. Having conceded 41 goals, Werder Bremen have the worst defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues. These hurtful stats lead to an unpleasant end to the review of the year, a year that started with success and hope ended far more bleakly. Goodbye 2019!

Other important events:

  • 01/02/2019:Werder beat Wolfsburg 3-2, their first win siince September.
  • 03/12/2019: Werder's delegation suggested a seperation of policing costs at the DFB General Meeting, but this was rejected.
  • 29/12/2019: Dr. Daniel Hellermann followed Dr. Benjamin Schnee and became Werder's new team doctor.
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