Fourth match, same starting eleven for the fourth time – the fourth win in a row. SV Werder Bremen have continued their streak under coach Ole Werner.
Naturally, there was once again talk of Marvin Ducksch and Niclas Füllkrug, the strike duo involved in all of Bremen’s goals in Saturday afternoon’s 3-0 home win over Fortuna Düsseldorf. One (Ducksch) as a goal scorer and two-time assist provider, the other as a double goal scorer. This also prompted Werder’s social media department to send out a tweet just minutes after the final whistle offering the prospect of free “Duckschkrug” jersey flocking up to and including Sunday. Only one person didn’t really want to take part in it.
Werner thinks it’s appropriate to “look at the collective “
When asked about the once again impressive performance of the two Werder attackers, coach Ole Werner thought it was more appropriate to “look at the collective”. The whole team played a major role in creating numerous chances – which in turn made it possible for Ducksch and Füllkrug to score again in the end. The coach praised this as much as the Bremen defence, which did not allow Fortuna (weakened by the red card in the 58th minute) a single compelling chance over the 90 minutes. Ergo: Everyone played their part. Werner: “Especially the back row and Christian Groß in front did a very good job. “
The coach’s tenure so far can also be described as at least a good job. Werner continued his run with a fourth successive win and the same starting line-up for the fourth time, while the goal difference of 14:3 also reflects Bremen’s dominance in these games since he took over – which has lifted the Bundesliga relegated side to the relegation place in the table, at least overnight. The 33-year-old thus introduced himself to Werder better than coaching icon Thomas Schaaf did in May 1999 (three wins at the start were followed by one defeat). However, Otto Rehhagel’s mark (eight wins in a row) is still some way off.
The football on show is “very close to what I had in mind “
But more important to Werner (“I’m not interested in personal records”) than such comparisons is the fact that the football Werder have shown under his direction so far “comes very close to what I had in mind”. His approach of making the best possible use of the players’ strengths is currently working perfectly. “And then it’s often an expression of the quality we have on the pitch,” Werner reasons – to explicitly emphasise once again: “Not only up front.” Not only in the person of Ducksch and Füllkrug.
