2017 was a year of two halves for SV Werder Bremen. In the first half of the year, Werder Bremen could not stop picking up points as they went on an eleven-game unbeaten run. In Autumn however, the tide changed. This time, the Green-Whites were 11 games without a win.
It was not an easy start to the year for SV Werder Bremen, but despite poor results and harsh winter conditions the Weser-Stadion was sold out for every home game. The Green Whites lost 2-1 at home to both Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München. If anyone told a Werder fan back in February that they would be competing for a spot in a European competition, they would have been told to get checked out medically. Werder were really struggling at the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
However, the team managed to make a spectacular comeback. The Green Whites picked up their first win of the year against Mainz thanks to early goals from Serge Gnabry and Thomas Delaney. Three points, first win of the calendar year. SV Werder Bremen continued to pick up points with wins against Wolfsburg and Darmstadt, and a draw against Bayer Leverkusen.
Cut. August 2017. Fans were questioning whether FC Bayern München would be able to win a sixth consecutive Bundesliga title. Who were second favourites? SV Werder Bremen. But unfortunately, the Green Whites did not live up to expectations. They began their Bundesliga season with a 1-0 defeat to TSG Hoffenheim, followed by a 2-0 defeat at home to FC Bayern München. Lewandowski scored twice for the record champions, but that was not the end of difficulties for the Green Whites as they drew five times and lost twice in their next seven games. The team were desperate for three points.
The Green Whites certainly knew how to pick up three points earlier on in the year. In March, Werder Bremen beat RB Leipzig 3-0 with goals from 3 Austrian players. That was the biggest defeat suffered by RB Leipzig in the 2016/17 Bundesliga season. The Green Whites took this momentum into their next league game and Thomas Delaney scored a hattrick against SC Freiburg to secure three more points for the team. But when he was asked whether he wanted to take home the match ball, he said: “No, I can see that better on Wikipedia than I can on this ball.”
Football in a digitalised world, eh? That ball is probably still in Freiburg.
To be continued…
