“Not where we want to be yet”

The wait is finally over. SV Werder Bremen begin their 2026/27 competitive campaign on Saturday, 22nd August 2026 (15:30 CEST), when they face Lüneburger SK Hansa in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. The Green-Whites will be looking to make their status as favourites count against the Oberliga side from Lower Saxony. Speaking at his press conference ahead of the cup game at St. Pauli’s Millerntor-Stadion, Werder head coach Daniel Thioune discussed...

...the game against Lüneburger SK Hansa: “A win would give us something positive to build on. We’ve prepared very thoroughly and made sure we know everything there is to know about Lüneburg. We’ve watched two of their games in full and gone through all the details. We don’t want any surprises and we certainly don’t want what is the game of the year for Lüneburg to turn into a nightmare for us. That can’t happen. Ultimately, the important thing is to get through to the next round. We know what’s expected of us. We’ll have 20,000 Bremen fans behind us and they’ll make plenty of noise.”

...the goalkeeping situation: “We don’t know for certain yet, but we’re not expecting Karl Hein to be out for long. He slipped during shooting practice and is now having some muscular problems, so we’re being very cautious with him. We expect him to be back in training next week. That also means Alex Schlager will be in goal on Saturday.”

...the goalkeeping situation after the cup game: “If Karl Hein is pain-free next week and can train fully, he’ll be in goal in Freiburg. I can also say quite openly that I hadn’t expected Alex Schlager to play in the first round of the cup. Karl was meant to start this game. But when you have two goalkeepers of this quality, it’s only natural that you have to think carefully about how you handle the situation. We were clear throughout pre-season, though, that Karl Hein was our first choice.”

...the start of the season: “We’ve spent the last few weeks assessing our friendlies and talking about what was good and what wasn’t. Now the new season is here and I’m really looking forward to it. The task now is to use what I would describe as a somewhat bumpy pre-season as the foundation for everything that comes next. With all due respect to our opponents this weekend, Freiburg will present us with a completely different challenge. As you’ve heard, we have a lot of injured players, but also a number who are on their way back. That’s why it’s helpful to have another week before Freiburg. We learned a lot during pre-season, but it also showed that we’re not where we want to be yet.”

...Niclas Füllkrug: “I still haven’t made a final decision on which strikers will start on Saturday. Too much can happen from one day to the next. But I know the impact he can have. He’s absolutely buzzing, full of energy and has confidence to spare. You could bottle it up and sell it. We’ve brought in someone who wants to drag us out of what has perhaps been a bit of a lull over the past few months. You can be sure he’ll make his presence felt. I also get the impression the other lads are really happy to have Niclas back. He hasn’t come here just to go through the motions. He wants to drive things forward and play a big part in where we go from here. My aim is to get Niclas into the best possible shape, so that perhaps he can put himself back on the radar elsewhere too.”

...his options up front against Lüneburg: “Yes, you could look at it as a chance for Niclas to settle in during a game like this. But there are different ways of looking at it. Cedric Itten has been with us for two weeks now and could get the opportunity to become more familiar with how we play. It could also be a chance to reward Salim Musah for a good pre-season. So, as you can see, I can’t really make the wrong decision on Saturday.”

...the captaincy: “Marco Friedl is and will remain our captain. We sat down together and went over exactly what we expect from him. When I made that decision, players such as Eren Dinkci, Ludovit Reis and Niclas Füllkrug weren’t yet in the squad. I may decide on 31st August to appoint two vice-captains alongside Marco. I’m not sure there’s much need for a formal players’ council at the moment. I could instead see us having a broader leadership group. I don’t want to restrict that to three, four, five or six players. I’ll speak to the lads individually and see what I need from each of them. Marco will clearly remain the main point of contact, with the other two there to support him.”

...the full-back positions: “We have a few options. Mick Schmetgens has played at right-back in the last two games. That’s the more defensive option compared to Marco Grüll. Marco is our Swiss army knife. He’s incredibly reliable and tactically very well drilled, so he’s another option there. We could also consider a different shape, such as playing with a back three. And, of course, we’re also expecting some of the injured players to return. We know how good Felix Agu can be and what Mitchell Weiser is capable of.”

...Ludovit Reis: “Ludo is exactly the type of player we were looking for. It was an opportunity in the market that was too good to pass up. He can play as a six or an eight and he’s fit and ready to play. He’s also a very open character. He’ll almost certainly be in the squad and then it’ll be up to him to show what he can do on the pitch.”