Work hard, play hard

A look back at Werder’s 2019: January to May
120 years of Werder Bremen: Werder had a lot to celebrate in win over Augsburg (Photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Wednesday, 25.12.2019 / 11:16

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!

03.01.2019: South Africa training camp

03.01.2019

A new year, a new start, new experiences: shortly after the turn of the year, SV Werder embarked on a new experience and made the trip to South Africa to prepare for the second half of the season. During their ten-day stay, the Green Whites not only tested their skills out on the pitch, but also acted as a cooperation partner of the DFL as ambassadors for the Bundesliga. “We want to use our visit to help make Werder and the Bundesliga as a whole better known, and to be a worthy ambassador,” said Werder’s Chairman of the board, Klaus Filbry, ahead of the trip.

 

More than just football was on the agenda in South Africa (Photo: Ritter).

The Werder team managed to gain new experiences during their time in Africa. Despite not everything going as smoothly as they would’ve liked, particularly the second half of the friendly match against the Kaizer Chiefs, the trip was an overall success. “We achieved almost everything we wanted to do in training and had the perfect conditions for it. The weather wasn’t too hot, the hotel was outstanding and the journey also went swimmingly,” said Kohfeldt joyfully.

The Bundesliga statistics speak for themselves after the hard work in Cape Town: SV Werder started the second half of the season with twelve games unbeaten, including wins against Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen. The first defeat came on Matchday 29 with a 1-0 loss against Bayern Munich, four days before the disappointing 3-2 loss in the semi-final of the DFB Pokal against the same opponents. Werder will spend the winter break in the new year at a training camp in Mallorca this season.

Other important events:

  • 08/01/2019: The squad were hugely impressed by the visit to the Amandla Safe Hub. They also enjoyed spending time with kids from the Diepsloot township. “This day makes me both happy and proud,” said Nuri Sahin.
  • 19/01/2019: Werder started the new year with a 1-0 win over Hannover 96. The match winner was, as it so often is, Milot Rashica who continued his fine run of form into the second half of the season with the all-important goal.

04/02/2019: Werder Bremen celebrates 120th anniversary

It’s a club anniversary of a different kind. To celebrate its birthday, SV Werder Bremen released an album with numerous songs about the famous club of the north. Jan Delay, Revolverherd, Gloria and LENNA were just some of the features in the creation. Musical icons took part in the “LAUTER WERDER” concert, hosted in the “Old Shipyard” in Bremen’s Überseestadt to celebrate the occasion. 2,500 fans attended the event!

 

Jan Delay was one of many artists to appear in the album (Photo: WERDER.DE).

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the specially-made anniversary kit by attacking trio Josh Sargent, Claudio Pizarro and Johannes Eggestein, to be worn in the game against FC Augsburg. “We want to create something unique,” Klaus Filbry said about the kit that was made out of various shades of green and funky patterns. They certainly achieved this. The online shop and SVW official website eventually crashed due to an onslaught of potential buyers. Fans even camped out in front of the shop from 2:30 am to secure their purchases. Every single copy sold-out in lightening quick time.

The festive dinner in the renowned Bremen Park Hotel three days before added a bit of class to the occasion. Committee representatives, Werder legends and celebrities from all kinds of professions were all in attendance.

Other important events:

  • 01/02/2019: Yuya Osako and Japan narrowly missed out on winning the Asia Cup, losing 3-1 to Qatar in the final of the competition. With four goals, Osako finished the tournament as the second top scorer, shortly before being announced as Japan’s Footballer of the Year. Frank Baumann was in attendance to watch the striker receive his award.
  • 05/02/2019: Werder win against Borussia Dortmund on penalties to advance through to the semi-final of the DFB Pokal. Jiri Pavlenka was the hero in the shoot-out, saving two penalties before Max Kruse netted the winner. Werder had previously managed to come from behind twice during the game.  
  • 10/02/2019: Werder succeed in their anniversary fixture against FC Augsburg, securing a convincing 4-0 victory as they show off their fancy kits for the occasion.
  • 17/02/2019: Claudio Pizarro rescues a point for Werder with a last-minute equaliser against Hertha BSC. The striker made history as he became the oldest ever player to score a Bundesliga goal.

06/03/2019: Championship shield for Werder – MegaBit and MoAuba celebrate victory

There wasn’t just reason to celebrate on the football pitch for Werder at the start of 2019, but also in the gaming world. Werder’s eSports team secured their place at the top of the “Virtual Bundesliga Club Championship in FIFA 19.” Michael “MegaBit” Bittner and Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous rose to the top of the table on Matchday four, and remained there for the rest of the tournament. Werder celebrated winning the championship with one game spare due to the impressive points tally accumulated by the duo over the course of the season.

 

Werder won the 'Virtual Bundesliga' in their first ever season (Photo: nordphoto).

It was a special moment for Michael “MegaBit” Bittner, who then went on to secure the individual title in May, making him the best FIFA player out of all the Bundesliga clubs. “By joining the eSports world, Werder has already proven their ambitions to be among the pioneers in Germany. It makes us all very proud that we have been able to confirm this pioneering role by performing well in the Virtual Bundesliga. The club trusts our skills so it was up to us to repay that trust,” Bittner said.

Werder then added international triumph to club and domestic success five months later, with Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous securing the FIFA 19 World Championship on 4th August, making him the best virtual football player in the world. What a debut season for Werder in the virtual football world.

Other important events:

  • 09/03/2019: Fin Bartels celebrated his return to action in the 4-2 home win over Schalke 04. The winger climbed the fence of the Ostkurve and joined in with the celebrations after the game. Unfortunately, that turned out to be his last minutes on the pitch until December later in the year.
  • 15/03/2019: Maximilian Eggestein was called up to the German national team by Joachim Löw but unfortunately didn’t manage to make his debut and is still yet to do so. Eggestein was an unused substitute for international games against Serbia and the Netherlands.
  • 28/03/2019: Florian Kohfeldt was named “Manager of the Year”. Laudator Clemens Fritz praised Kohfeldt as “an irresistible combination of football expertise, intelligence, creativity and the dogged determination to make sure his team always stick to his footballing ideas.”
 
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