The year 2019 is approaching its end. And even if recent results haven’t quite gone to plan, it is worth looking back at eventful twelve months filled with highs and lows. 2019 was the year Werder celebrated its anniversary. It was a year characterised by a euphoric second half of the season, with awards for Pizarro, Osako, Kohfeldt and many more. From injuries, to autumn blues, to ESPORTS triumphs, to experiencing new shores in South Africa; it’s a year worth looking back on!
Whether it be moving to Werder, making his first professional appearance or scoring his first Bundesliga goal: Johannes Eggestein has always followed in the footsteps of his older brother Maximilian. In Spring 2019, “Jojo” broke routine for the first time and was the first of the two brothers to extend his contract with SV Werder until 2022. “I’m convinced that I will be able to develop even more as a Bundesliga player over the next few years here,” Eggestein said about his reasons for extending his stay on the Osterdeich.
Just two days later, older brother Maximilian followed suit and decided to join his sibling in pledging his future to the Green Whites. Maxi Eggestein has been at the club since he was just 14 years old and has trained under head coach Florian Kohfeldt since the U15s. The midfielder made 69 consecutive starts under the boss, missing just seven minutes of the 2018/19 Bundesliga season and only eleven in the DFB Pokal. The last time Eggestein was fit to play and not chosen for the starting XI was back in October 2017 when Alexander Nouri was still in charge. He has risen to become one of the first names on the team sheet for Florian Kohfeldt. A market value of €30 million makes him Werder’s current most-prized asset.
Tying down both talented brothers to long-term contracts in April 2019 was a sign of a promising future at SVW. Both players remain key parts of Kohfeldt’s Bundesliga squad. Maxi, the midfield all-rounder, has started every single Bundesliga game so far this season with the exception of the Union Berlin game due to injury. Jojo has made ten Bundesliga appearances so far this season as well as appearing in one of the DFB Pokal fixtures.
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A fight to the end, however ultimately not enough. SV Werder once again proved their desire to qualify for Europe in a thrilling victory over DFB Pokal finalists RB Leipzig. Despite falling short of the European places after Wolfsburg’s 8-1 thrashing of FC Augsburg, the Werder fans witnessed a passionate performance from their team as they ran out 2-1 winners.
However, the game was characterised by an emotional farewell to captaon Max Kruse after three successful years at the club, who had recently announced that he would not be extending his contract at SVW. Werder’s top scorer was denied the chance to go out on a high with him being ruled out for the game due to a thigh injury. He, as well as Aaron Johannson who was also saying goodbye to the Werder faithful, were presented in front of the fans to bow out in front of a sold-out crowd of 42,000. There was, however, reason to celebrate as club legend Claudio Pizarro announced that he would spend one more season at the club before hanging up his boots. The Peruvian veteran went on to mark the occasion with the winning goal of the game, in typical Piza style.
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