Next defeat despite the majority
©IMAGO
New coach Daniel Thioune tried to hold out, and sports director Clemens Fritz was extremely annoyed. “Well, that’s enough for me now,” Fritz grumbled to the journalists after his Bremen team lost 1-0 at SC Freiburg and left without saying a word. He had previously spent seven minutes looking for reasons for the deep Werder crisis, which Thioune later described aptly: “The finishes were there, but not as consistently as I would have liked. Then you can ask the question of quality to some extent.”
The Green-Whites’ nerves are fraying after falling to 16th place in relegation, while the question mark surrounding the quality of the squad is getting bigger and bigger. “Cold-snout” and “killer instinct” would be missing at the front and back, rumbled captain Marco Friedl. “That’s why we deserve to be where we are right now after eleven games without a win.” Something has to change, otherwise there is a risk of a “blue miracle”.
Fritz confirmed that he sees “good quality in our team”. “For me, the head plays a bigger role than the quality.” But Werder’s sports director also knows what the bitter reality is: “If you’re down there, if you’re in this relegation battle, then you have to work hard for everything.” Above all, scoring opportunities, especially with one more player for almost the entire second half. But Werder only partially managed that.
Despite a long majority after the red card for Freiburg’s Johan Manzambi (52nd minute), there was simply far too little offensive. A great goal from Niklas Beste (13th) was enough for the South Baden team to win at home. Werder’s dilemma: lots of crosses, no return. And there was also a lack of resources against Freiburg’s compact defense. “We played more or less around the penalty area,” complained Fritz. “So it is of course difficult to score a goal.”
Werder Bremen’s sports director Fritz is annoyed by too many step-overs
Keke Topp, who was back in the starting line-up for the first time since the 2-3 defeat at HSV at the beginning of December, and especially strike partner Justin Njinmah had little success. “We play back and forth and do three stepovers and then we think we’ll do a fourth,” criticized Fritz, without naming Njinmah, who had demonstrated the masterpiece. “It has nothing to do with determination.”
There was great displeasure in the stands about the lackluster performance. With whistles and gestures that required little interpretation, the Werder fans among the 34,700 spectators said goodbye to the team. “If I were a Werder Bremen fan, I would react the same way,” admitted Friedl. “We are all disappointed. Of course I can understand that,” said Fritz and assured that “no one will go home with a smile.”
The deep fan frustration matched the Bremen mood after the unsuccessful Bundesliga debut of coach Thioune, who in the few days as Horst Steffen’s successor was unable to correct the deficiencies that have been plaguing SV Werder for a long time. “We lacked creativity,” the coach stated matter-of-factly.
As soon as he takes office, Thioune has to quickly find answers and rally around perseverance. “The last thing I want to see is hanging heads,” said the 51-year-old. “If you look down, you can’t see what’s in front of you.” And Fritz demanded: “We have to work intensively and we must not lose faith.” Even if the next opponent is FC Bayern Munich.
