There are no reliable figures as to whether the residents of the Hanseatic city of Bremen have recently increasingly turned to esotericism. But that’s not unlikely, because there has to be some explanation for this queasy feeling in the stomach that just won’t go away. And it can’t just be because of the kale season that ended in December.
The good thing is that you don’t need an exorcist or a shaman seminar to find the trigger. When the people in Osterdreich are doing badly, their SV Werder is usually not entirely uninvolved. The only question is: How do you finally get rid of this strange feeling that something reminds you of 2021, even though the calendar has been shown to show the year 2023 and a whole lot is very different than back then?
Well, a win would help. However, that didn’t happen on Sunday either, Werder lost 2-1 against TSG Hoffenheim, who were threatened with relegation. This means that Bremen are stuck at the 31 point mark, which is still very hated in the city and was not enough two years ago to stay in the league. If there are still enough games, optimists could now object. Among history-conscious Hanseatic citizens, however, precisely this argument is likely to trigger moderate stress symptoms. It was also almost spooky back then how suddenly and apodictically the team had forgotten how to win in spring 2021 – and how clueless those responsible seemed, none of whom have certainly completed training as medicine men since then. The geographically closest shaman course is offered in Hamburg, and that should make Bremer rather skeptical: What experiences gained in Hamburg could contribute to a stable first division membership?
No, Bremen have to try to be objective, which is why it’s good news for them that their coach Ole Werner is easily one of the 100 most objective Germans. On Sunday, too, he did not allow himself to be lured out of his reserve by journalists asking about evil spirits and bitter metaphysics. Sure, said Werner, he couldn’t explain everything either. For example, why the team went through one of their now almost institutionalized phases of weakness at the beginning of the second half, in which they conceded goals from Andrej Kramaric (50th minute) and Christoph Baumgartner (52nd) within a very short time. A recurring phenomenon that is believed to have cost points number 32 to 38.
“And then we make exactly the same mistake twice.”
Werder consistently manages to meet teams of better quality on an equal footing, which is a world of difference compared to the relegation season two years ago. Currently, however, the results are repeatedly torpedoed by avoidable negligence on the defensive. “We briefly talked about the fact that we have to be wide awake now and not make the same mistakes as in the past again,” said Bremen defense chief Marco Friedl. “And then we make exactly the same mistake twice.” Both Hoffenheim goals came from crosses that Bremen didn’t prevent at first and against which they then poorly defended. A staid game got a winner who looked equal, but was inferior in almost all relevant statistics (ball possession, shots on goal, tackle rate).
Tried a lot, but with little profit: this side kick by Niklas Füllkrug did not go into the Hoffenheim goal either.
(Photo: Burghard Schreyer/Kolbert/Imago)
But it’s not just the fragile security concept that has contributed to the fact that the Werner team has lost some of their first-round aura. Even the often late, sometimes game-winning goals from this phase of the season cannot be reproduced in series. On Sunday, Werder managed to get the goal back through substitute Amos Pieper (76th), and Maximilian Philipp, who also came on for the final offensive, contributed a low shot that almost certainly would have gone over the line a few weeks ago. In the spring of 2023, someone like that will hit the post.
“We can’t rely on them scoring two or three goals up front,” Friedl complained. This meant the strikers Niclas Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch, who continue to harmonize splendidly on good days. In the spring of 2023, however, these days have also become a bit rarer. And Sunday didn’t fall into this category because the Werder duo was constantly surrounded by the tall TSG defender trio of John Anthony Brooks, Kevin Akpoguma and Kevin Vogt, who headed out every ball that Bremen chipped into the penalty area.
“We’re going in circles,” said Ole Werner, who would never hide behind dark forces in his analysis. In 2021, however, the Bremen team learned something that will still be important in 2023: if you don’t make progress, you run the risk that the competition will overtake you at some point. As unrealistic as eight games before the end of the season may seem.
