Winter lows, derby day highs and survival secured

There have definitely been a few seasons more enjoyable to look back upon than this one. The campaign just gone was certainly characterised more by the low points than the highlights. Despite that, though, there were a number of emotional moments from this campaign that will be hard to forget anytime soon. From a tough winter period and a change of head coach, to derby day euphoria and securing survival – this was our 2025/26 season.

Early in the summer of 2025, Ole Werner’s three-and-a-half-year long spell on the Weser came to an end. With Werner not willing to extend his contract beyond the upcoming season, the club decided to part ways with the coach. SVW reacted quickly to find a replacement, selecting Horst Steffen as the next candidate to head the men’s first team. “When Werder got in touch,” Steffen said at his unveiling, “it initially felt like a great recognition of me and my work.” The coach had made his name at SV Elversberg, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga the season prior after losing in the play-offs.

An early sense of optimism was quickly dampened to some extent by a 1-0 DFB-Pokal exit at the hands of Arminia Bielefeld, courtesy of a stoppage-time winner. There were emotional farewell tears from Michael Zetterer in his final game for Werder, and a few days later his move to Eintracht Frankfurt was confirmed. “The days leading up to it, knowing the move was happening, were very emotional,” Zetterer said in his interview upon leaving Bremen. “I really wanted to play the match, but I would have liked a better ending.”

Just a few days later, the goalkeeper would come up against his former club when Werder kicked off their Bundesliga campaign away at SGE, with Zetterer starting in the 4-1 win for his new side. A week later, though, youngster Karim Coulibaly provided what would turn out to be one of the most exhilarating moments of SVW’s season, netting a last-gasp equaliser in the 3-3 draw away at Bayer 04 Leverkusen and writing his name into Green-White history with the strike. “It was simply incredible,” Coulibaly said in a WERDER.DE interview in January. “I will never forget that moment.”

Meanwhile, the squad for the year took shape as the transfer window came to an end. Yukinari Sugawara, Isaac Schmidt, Karl Hein, Victor Boniface and Cameron Puertas came in to strengthen Steffen’s squad. Sugawara and Puertas in particular quickly became key players, while goalkeeper Hein impressed away at FC Bayern München (4-0 defeat) and in a 1-0 win over FC St. Pauli. Overall, Werder seemed to be on a promising path after a dramatic 2-1 home win over VfL Wolfsburg left them eighth in the table. Then came the winter slump…

The poor run, which also included a 3-2 defeat in the Nordderby, ultimately cost Horst Steffen his job. Even Keke Topp’s last-minute equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach was not enough to keep him in post after 10 games without a win. Steffen left having collected 18 points towards Werder’s eventual survival. His successor Daniel Thioune was initially unable to halt the slide, with the 2-1 defeat away at St. Pauli proving the low point as the Green-Whites dropped into the automatic relegation places. “Next week will be a final for us,” Thioune said at the time. “At the end of the day, we have to win football matches. That’s the only thing we need to talk about.”

By that point, his players’ backs were firmly against the wall. At home to a 1. FC Heidenheim side already cut adrift, Werder failed to take several huge chances. Even so, Thioune’s team recovered from those setbacks and managed to come away with a 2-0 win. “I have to give the team huge credit. They could have fallen apart. But what I saw was a side that wanted to win together,” reflected Clemens Fritz.

With that, the belief that they could win games returned. SVW beat direct rivals Union Berlin (4-1), VfL Wolfsburg (1-0) and finally HSV in the Nordderby (3-1). “As a Bremen boy, you can’t allow HSV to win both derbies,” said goalkeeper Mio Backhaus. “I’m really pleased we made up for the reverse fixture.” Werder continued their good form with a draw in Stuttgart, though the three defeats that followed were another reminder of just how difficult this campaign had been. Many even described it as a season to forget.