“We’re like a young plant”

SV Werder Bremen are heading to the capital for matchday 25 of this current Bundesliga season. As the sun sets in Berlin on Sunday, 8th March (17:30 CET), the Green-Whites will kick off against Union Berlin in another crucial top-flight clash. Head coach Daniel Thioune sat down for his weekly press conference ahead of the trip, discussing the upcoming opponent, possible adjustments to the system and his relationship with Union boss Steffen Baumgart. Here’s Daniel Thioune on...

...Union Berlin: “They operate in a fairly similar way to Heidenheim. Physicality is at the forefront of how they approach the game. They also have a lot of pace in the team, and so it’s important that we set up in such a way as to not get stung on the counter. They often look to dominate on second balls, which is not to say that they’re incapable of building up more intentionally. They also pose a real threat from set-pieces. Ultimately, we know that they’ll likely generate a lot of opportunities for themselves, especially in front of a home crowd, and we need to be effective in how we defend against that.”

...the win against Heidenheim: “There was naturally that sense of relief after the final whistle blew. We finally got to experience what we’d been missing and hoping for after such a long while. Still, though, we need to be clear that we’ve achieved nothing yet, rather we’ve just quenched our thirst temporarily. Considering the results last weekend, it was absolutely crucial that we won our game as well. That’s also part of the reason that I made it clear to the lads that we have to keep going and build on the win.”

...the quality of the team: “We’re like a young plant, it’s important to nurture the development. I’ve often reiterated that I got a much more positive impression of the team than most people would think. I also think it’s important to say that we’ve largely matched up to a lot of teams, looking back to the game in Freiburg, for example. Against St. Pauli, as well, we were right there in the game, just not as efficient as our opponent on the day.”

...the right system: “I’ve noticed that it’s only in Bremen that you seemingly need to decide whether you operate with a back-three or a back-four. Many teams in this division are comfortable with both approaches to setting up. I think for us, it’s mostly down to the fact that we’ve been successful with a four-back in the past – as we were against Heidenheim. I’m a coach who prefers to operate with two central defenders rather than three. That doesn’t mean that I won’t adapt the system to suit a particular challenge. At the end of the day, we have to tailor the way we play to each game as it comes. I do think we’re also able to adapt how we operate within the game itself, though, and we’ll continue doing that as we move forward.”

...SVW’s chance conversion rate: “I’d be more worried if we weren’t creating any opportunities, or if the players started to give up after missing chances. Romano and Jovan managed to keep their heads up and turn it around, though, which is crucial. The fact that we are able to miss such big chances is also a testament to our ability to create them. We put up our highest xG value of the season against Heidenheim, and we were better at nullifying our opponent’s attack as well. That boosts the chance of securing three points and I hope that we can make good on this progress over the coming weeks.

...Marco Grüll: “We know how much Marco offers us with the way we want to play. He’s earned the minutes I’ve given him on account of his reliability. He maybe didn’t have as much of an impact against Heidenheim as he has done before, but I don’t solely assess him based on his goals or assists. His defensive work makes it a lot harder for teams to create high-quality chances against us, for example. Perhaps if we remind him of his goal in the first leg, it might be a little easier for him to score again.”

...his relationship with Steffen Baumgart: “We got to know each other over quite a while. A long time ago, when he was at Paderborn, and I was in charge at Osnabrück, we played against each other. We’ve watched and analysed games together, and we’ve often got in contact if things aren’t going great for one of us. On Sunday, as ever, it’s a competition first and foremost, which we’re both capable of approaching professionally. Still, though, I’m looking forward to seeing him.”

..VAR: “VAR is obviously something that people debate a lot, but for me, it makes the game fairer. That’s why I think the ideas that have been agreed on are good, but it will also take time to implement them properly. In the end, there are still people sitting there, and people can always make mistakes. I do hope that there will be fewer errors in the future, though.”