Baby Bremen steps
August 18, 2014
For any Bundesliga side, beating fourth-tier FV Illertissen 3-2 after extra time is hardly a badge of honor. Yet for Werder Bremen, this skin-of-the-teeth victory actually counts as progress, following first-round DFB Pokal exits in three consecutive seasons.
This rather sums up the club's position more generally - even underachievement can now be counted as improvement. Just consider sporting director Thomas Eichin's comments to football magazine Kicker in the off-season.
"When I arrived in 2013, we finished 14th with 34 points. The next year, 12th, with 39 points," Eichin said, adding he would like to see continued improvement in this vein. The desire of finishing in the top 10 is realistic, but also rather a low bar to set for one of Germany's historical top teams.
How Werder's standing has changed in ten years since its German double. Mesut Özil, Per Mertesacker, Diego, Torsten Frings, Naldo, Miroslav Klose, Ailton, Tim Borowski - such stars are now consigned to the club's history books. Except for a Kroos, younger brother Felix to Real Madrid and Germany's Toni, Bremen's current squad cannot boast household names.
The club sent nobody to the 2014 World Cup. Only new signing Izet Hajrovic made the plane to Brazil for Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that was thanks to his form with Grasshoppers Zurich and then Galatasaray, not with Bremen.
The rebirth starts here?
However, in the same interview Eichin voiced hope that, this season, Bremen could emerge as the Bundesliga's surprise package - like Mainz last season, or Freiburg before that.
"Many clubs have the potential to do that," coach Robin Dutt cautioned when asked about this. "But I wouldn't want to contradict our sporting and commercial director."
For Bremen to mix it at the classier end of the table, everything would need to go swimmingly. Right-sided attacker Hajrovic would have to make the impact everyone at the Weserstadion is counting on. Felix Kroos would need to swiftly establish himself in the first team, Raphael Wolf would require a strong second season in goal, Luca Caldirola and Assani Lukimya would have to forget their defensive frailties of past campaigns. And most crucially of all, somebody - be it Nils Petersen, Elijero Elia, or Franco di Santo - would need to deliver more than just a handful of goals.
Or perhaps it starts here?
Should Elia, di Santo and Petersen continue their patchy form, perhaps Bremen's goals could come from the green-and-whites' next great hope.
Davie Selke scored the winning goal in extra time against Illertissen on Sunday, barely two weeks after netting six times for Germany's Under-19's en route to winning the U19 European Championship. The 19-year-old's shot at breaking into Werder's first team appears nigh; especially if the club cannot swoop for any attacking reinforcements before the transfer window slams shut.
Selke has yet more pressure on his shoulders, as fans seek a replacement for undisputed attacking leader of seasons past, Aaron Hunt. Former Bremen strategist Klaus Allofs, Eichin's predecessor, has brought Hunt across to his new base of operations in Wolfsburg.
One foot out of the door?
Even the emergence of a new hope like Selke is a double-edged sword for a mid-table club like Bremen; as the club eagerly seeks to tie up the new star to a multi-year deal, Selke senses a shot a greener pastures.
"I have a contract with Bremen until [July] 2015. Until then I will give everything for Werder. What happens after that? I can't yet say," the teen said, presumably with a coquettish wink, after his six-goal haul for the under-19s. Selke might also be upset at being dropped from the senior squad by coach Dutt late last season following a training ground altercation with Werder mainstay Clemens Fritz.
Despite Werder's status downgrade, Eichin points out that one thing - the ideal transfer policy - has not changed: "As always, we want to buy in players at good value and sell at high prices." For a player of Selke's ambitions, and a club in Werder's current malaise, even that might not prove possible.
It took Mesut Özil more than two years to outgrow the Weserstadion, ultimately departing in 2010 when Real Madrid whipped out the check book. The new-look, mid-table Werder cannot afford to lose future stars to domestic rivals for next to nothing. Bremen's new great hope is yet to score a Bundesliga goal, but already seems hungry for the next step.