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Early-year struggles, cup runs and emotional moments
A LOOK BACK ON WERDER'S SPORTING SUCCESS IN 2025
31/12/25 | 3 Min
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The 2025 footballing year has certainly left its mark on SV Werder Bremen. We take a look back on all the emotional moments, from painful defeats to the greatest successes.
Early-year struggles: The men’s Bundesliga team did not begin the 2025 calendar year on the strongest footing and a 1-0 victory over 1. FSV Mainz 05 was desperately needed after four winless games – especially with both centre-backs Marco Friedl and Niklas Stark shown a red card in stoppage time against the 05ers. SVW had spent the winter break in seventh place but lost touch with the upper reaches of the table in February at the latest. One of the most painful defeats came in the DFB-Pokal, as the Green-Whites exited at the hands of Arminia Bielefeld (2-1). In the spring, SVW rallied momentum, going eight matches unbeaten to end the season and missing out on the European qualification spots by just two points.
The journey to Cologne: The SV Werder women’s team produced an incredible cup run in 2025, granting the fans a final to get excited about. SVW enjoyed some sensational DFB-Pokal moments, with a 3-1 win for the departing head coach Thomas Horsch’s side after extra-time in the Nordderby against HSV in a sold-out Volksparkstadion arguably topping the lot. Even despite the Green-Whites just falling short in the final at the RheinEnergieSTADION in Cologne, losing 4-2 to FC Bayern München, 1st May 2025 nevertheless remains a day for the Werder history books.
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Young stars take the title: The Werder U19 side also delivered a remarkable campaign, even bringing a trophy back home to Bremen. Head coach Cedric Makiadi’s side just missed out on a spot in the final of the German U19 Championship, losing on penalties to eventual winners 1. FC Köln; therefore, they had more than deserved to make it to the U19 DFB-Pokal final, where the Green-Whites saw off Karlsruher SC to take the crown. Concurrently, key figures within the team, including Karim Coulibaly and Patrice Čović, celebrated their Bundesliga debuts.
Changes in the dugouts: Thomas Horsch had communicated ahead of time that he would leave his post come the end of the 2024/25 season, allowing the Werder women’s team to find a fitting replacement in the shape of Fritzy Kromp. Through stints with the Germany youth national sides and Eintracht Frankfurt’s second team, Kromp brings much experience to the role. The Bundesliga men’s team would have happily continued its cooperation with Ole Werner; however, he communicated that he would not extend his contract beyond the current season. Managing director of professional football Clemens Fritz decided in collaboration with other members of club hierarchy to find a new person to take on the head coach job, appointing Horst Steffen to assume the reins after an impressive push for promotion with SV Elversberg in Germany’s second tier.
Emotional goodbyes: Not only on the sidelines but also on the pitch were there a number of departures from Bremen. Milos Veljkovic and Anthony Jung, two heroes of the promotion campaign, had already been bid farewell at the end of the season, while Marvin Ducksch and Michael Zetterer also chose to take on new sporting challenges during the summer transfer window. Goalkeeper Livia Peng and striker Sophie Weidauer, two faces of last year’s success, departed the Werder women’s side.
A record-setting first half of the season: The Werder women’s team have performed unbelievably over the course of the current campaign to date, finishing 2025 third in the standings. Not only are they enjoying success in the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga, but the dream of another DFB-Pokal final in Cologne is well and truly still alive. Kromp’s side have only fallen to defeat against the highest-quality opponents, VfL Wolfsburg (4-2), Bayern München (4-0) and Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0), during the first half of the season. A loss to Freiburg then marked the commencement of the campaign’s second half. The Green-Whites possess the third-highest scorer in the top flight in Larissa Mühlhaus, who bagged a brace to see off Hamburger SV in the Nordderby once again, as Werder prevailed 2-0 at a sold-out Weserstadion in front of 37,000 fans.
Positive signs: The Bundesliga men’s team began the new campaign under some testing circumstances. First of all, Horst Steffen had little time to act in the transfer market following his appointment so for the most part is working with the squad he arrived to. Moreover, alongside Mitchell Weiser (ACL), another key leadership figure in Jens Stage (foot) missed the entirety of pre-season as well as the opening three competitive fixtures. In spite of that, SVW managed to win three straight home matches in the autumn, although a loss in the Nordderby and a 4-0 defeat against Stuttgart somewhat put a dampener on things. Nevertheless, the team reacted well to secure a point in their 0-0 draw with FC Augsburg, demonstrating their togetherness and providing some positive indications going forward.
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