Niclas Füllkrug returns to Werder Bremen – but as a Borussia Dortmund player. There he meets Marvin Ducksch. About the reunion of two footballers who recently played very differently.
In the days before the reunion, Niclas Füllkrug had a concern. He wanted to apologize. “I’m really sorry: Unfortunately, I didn’t see this great gesture in the stadium in the first leg,” Füllkrug told the “Deichstube” portal. “That would have been a really nice moment for me. I would like to do it again.”
Füllkrug wanted to apologize because, in all the excitement, he had missed a token of love in October. When Werder Bremen traveled to Dortmund in the fall and narrowly lost there, fans in the guest block unfurled a banner. It read: “Thank you for your commitment, Lücke.”
The nickname “Gap” has become established. That’s what the people in Bremen called him, where he played as a youth. Where as a professional he took a detour via Fürth, Nuremberg and Hanover in order to establish himself as an attacker at Werder from 2019. In four years he scored 45 goals in 88 games and is now a national player. “Gap” is what they call Füllkrug, 31, also in Dortmund, where he has been playing since last summer.
Füllkrug’s reunion with Ducksch
On Saturday (09.03.2024, from 6.30 p.m. in the live ticker and in the full audio report) Füllkrug will compete with BVB in Bremen. For him it is a journey back in time. And a reunion with Marvin Ducksch. He was Füllkrug’s partner in the attack in Bremen; they harmonized brilliantly, on and off the pitch. They even had a common nickname. They were the “ugly birds.”
In November, when Füllkrug was already playing in Dortmund and Ducksch was still playing in Bremen, the nickname became an issue again. Füllkrug had been a national player for a long time, a bearer of hope in a position for which there had been little hope in Germany. At some point Füllkrug sat at a press conference for the national team; he was also supposed to say something about the new guy at the DFB. He knew him after all.
The new guy, of course, was Ducksch, 30, who had been nominated by national coach Julian Nagelsmann for the friendly games against Turkey and Austria. Füllkrug said: “Ugly Birds is going international now.” That’s how it happened. Ducksch came on as a substitute in both games, once playing eight minutes together with Füllkrug. But that wasn’t Bremen, it was the national team. They didn’t manage to score a goal. Germany lost both games.
Ducksh at the European Championships? It would be a surprise
When the European Championships take place in Germany in the summer, Füllkrug should have his place in Nagelsmann’s squad secure; he actually always scores in the national team: 13 international matches, 10 goals. Ducksch only has outsider chances. In the end, his name was rarely mentioned, at least less often than Deniz Undav. Or that of Maximilian Breier.
In the days after the game in Bremen, Nagelsmann will announce which players he trusts for the international friendly matches against France and the Netherlands at the end of March. It would be a surprise if Ducksch’s name were mentioned. He isn’t having a bad season, quite the opposite: in 23 league games for Bremen he scored nine goals and prepared five goals.
But this year he has only scored twice. Most recently, when Ole Werner’s team lost in Hoffenheim, Ducksch was substituted after just under an hour. He didn’t look satisfied. He said: “I think I played well today. The coach had a different idea.”
Ducksch is a specialist for 1-0 goals
Werner will almost certainly rely on Ducksch again against BVB; he is Werder’s best attacker after Füllkrug’s departure. Even if he’s not in top shape. Also because he doesn’t just score any goals. Ducksch scored from a penalty and a free kick, and he can also head it. He scored the important 1-0 goal five times, only he scored once and secured Werder three points. Once he equalized late and prevented defeat.
It’s also because of him that they are really happy to look at the table in Bremen at the moment. This shows Werder in seventh place. Of course, they still miss their former top scorer Füllkrug there. He was a formative figure, athletic and also as a leader in the locker room, said coach Werner. “It’s different without him. A lot of things were tailored to him.”
Füllkrug often scores, at least in the Bundesliga
In the days before the reunion, Werner will have reminded his players of Füllkrug’s strengths, the header and the shots, often hard and yet placed. Maybe he will also tell you about how Füllkrug found his way around the BVB system better and better after initial difficulties. That he scored six goals in eight league games this year. But that probably won’t be necessary. They know their “gap” in Bremen.
At the beginning of the season Füllkrug was sometimes just a joker in Dortmund. Recently the question wasn’t whether he would play. The only question was who would play alongside him. In 30 competitive games for BVB he scored twelve goals and provided nine goals – it’s not a bad rate. It could be better, but Füllkrug is still a stranger in the Champions League (7 games, 1 goal and 1 assist each).
Of course, Füllkrug has sometimes been asked about his return to Bremen recently. Füllkrug told the “Deichstube” that he would “always remain a fan of this club”. He will therefore not celebrate a goal against his former employer. He avoided the subjunctive.
