Werder’s defence let in 29 goals over the first half of the season. It’s not a stat the Green-White defenders can be proud of, and it isn’t, says Werder’s leader at the back, Niklas Moisander. “We played good football many a time, but it’s the little things in defence like covering counter attacks and pressing up which we have to bring back to our game with more consistency,” says the centre-back.
Moisander knows to keep the team’s work in perspective. It’s no secret that Werder’s defenders aren’t the fastest in the league. But that presents “no problem”, says Moisander, as the defensive organisation is perfectly designed for that. “We know what the solution is with the types of player we have available. As defenders, we absolutely have to stick to our man as close as we can. We can’t give them an inch of space; if we give them room, it’ll be difficult to stop them.”
The foundations for this type of defending were set long ago. In the 2017-18 season, Veljkovic, Moisander and Co. set a respectable tally of 40 goals conceded. The Finn would like to undercut that number this season, but that will be a tall order with 17 league games still to be played before the end of the season. The motto for the team is therefore: focus on the basics at the back and win the games up front. “We all want to qualify for Europe and, as before, this goal is achievable for us. We have to turn the tight games in our favour; that’s the biggest challenge. The team is strong enough to reach the international stage,” says Moisander.
Nevertheless, intensive training on maintaining a constant level of superiority in defence will be a priority in several drills at the training camp in Johannesburg. It’s a task which Moisander is taking as his duty in addition to his own performance. “I’m completely satisfied with my first half to the season, especially before my foot injury I delivered some good performances. I made one mistake in the match against Mainz. I’m an experienced player and I shouldn’t be making any mistakes at all. Although that is super difficult in the Bundesliga as you have to make split-second decisions all the time,” says the Finn.
