“Tonight we celebrate until morning. Nobody sleeps there, and if someone sleeps, I wake them up,” says Captain Ömer Toprak. As in the past few weeks, the hit of the evening was the song “Ducksch is on fire”, which was rewritten by the fans and celebrated Werder striker Marvin Ducksch. Coach Ole Werner was also applauded and got involved on the deck of the bus.
“It’s an extraordinary achievement,” said Werner, who narrowly failed in the relegation game at 1. FC Köln last year with Holstein Kiel. Now the 34-year-old coach can call himself a first division coach from the summer. “We know that great challenges await us in the coming season, but tonight we’ll celebrate first,” said Werner.
New league, new squad
In the coming days, however, the first decisions should be made as to what the squad will look like for the coming season. “We have already done some preparatory work and are trying to implement this in the next few days and weeks,” said sports director Frank Baumann in the NDR’s “Sportclub”, “so that we have the squad for the new season in time compared to the previous season, so that we can use the preparation to our advantage”.
The North Germans need reinforcements in all parts of the team. Also in attack, where the strike duo Niclas Füllkrug and Ducksch were responsible for a total of 39 of the 65 goals this season. But there is a gap behind the duo, and new players are also needed in midfield and in defense in order not to be relegated from the top flight again next year.
Schmid has to tremble for position
ÖFB U21 team player Romano Schmid, who played in 33 of 34 possible games, will have to be prepared for competition in attacking midfield. The Styrian played a good season with three goals and seven assists, as did Marco Friedl as central defender (27 games/four goals).
“We have very concrete ideas about how we want to put the squad together. We know that next season will be a very difficult one,” said Baumann. But first Baumann and the others in charge wanted to enjoy the ascent. “It’s a good mix of pure joy and relief,” said the ex-player.
