“Everything hangs on confidence”

Once again, Werder have failed to secure victory, and once again, there was a sense of frustration in the mixed zone after the game. SV Werder Bremen will return home empty-handed following a 1-0 defeat away at SC Freiburg. WERDER.DE spoke to the Green-Whites after the final whistle and has gathered all the post-match reactions here.

Head coach Daniel Thioune: “The effort was there, but the end product was just missing. I get the feeling that this team is very eager to get back to winning ways. Confidence is lacking right now, and that's crucial if you want to take more away from Freiburg. We can build on the last two days in training, because the team is hungry. Today, there were just 20 seconds between a goal of the season contender and the goal that decided the game. That’s what I found frustrating this afternoon.”

Captain Marco Friedl: “I could say the same thing every week. We were a man up for 40 minutes again, we were well back in the game, and at the end of the day, we still didn't do enough. If we can't score any goals, we won't be successful this year. That's the reality of football. We need to keep trying. For us right now, everything hangs on confidence. We have to break this run and start winning games again.”

Jens Stage: “We started the game with good energy, the coach really fired us up. We were ready to give everything, but in the end, it was once again a question of quality. Freiburg scored a brilliant goal, we didn’t – even though we came very close through Justin ten seconds earlier. That’s extremely frustrating. We need to find our confidence, everyone has to contribute more towards scoring goals, and we have to rediscover our quality in the final third.”

Felix Agu, returning from a long-term injury: “We didn't cause them enough problems. The only thing we managed to do was hit balls in from out wide. We didn't make enough use of the deliveries, though, and the quality of the crosses also left a lot to be desired. We simply have to do better here. Freiburg kept things very tight on the pitch. The new coach has given us fresh energy and belief. In recent weeks, we lacked conviction in our actions, and that’s something that he’s tried to address. It hasn’t clicked 100 per cent yet. We have to keep playing with courage and use those hours on the training pitches to regain our sense of stability.”

Managing director for sport Clemens Fritz: “It’s difficult to find the correct answers right after the final whistle. Freiburg take the lead from a counter-attack, and at the moment we lack the ability to shift the momentum in our favour. We weren’t incisive enough and need to start playing with more purpose. It’s clear that we’re not brimming with confidence, but we’re also putting ourselves under pressure. When you’re down at the bottom, you have to earn everything the hard way.”

Head of professional football Peter Niemeyer: “We’re fully aware of the situation. We have to accept it, keep going, and work hard. We should have been able to prevent their goal, and then you’re chasing the game. After the red card, we were doing all of the attacking, but we weren’t clinical enough with our finishing, and our crossing wasn’t good enough to create any real danger.”