One or the other will certainly remember the crazy first leg between Dortmund and Bremen. For Ole Werner, however, the furiously late victory no longer matters – less so does the Super Bowl, which is simply too late for him.
Ole Werner has the game against Dortmund in mind.
IMAGO/Philippe Ruiz
Saturday, August 20, 2022, a memorable game: SV Werder Bremen, who returned to the Bundesliga after a year in the second division, takes on favorite Borussia Dortmund after two draws at the start of the season and is 2-0 behind shortly before the end. But then Joker Lee Buchanan (89th minute), Niklas Schmidt (90th + 3) and substitute Oliver Burke (90th + 5) appear on the plan. Within a few minutes, the green-whites silenced the packed Signal-Iduna-Park – only in the guest block, a kind of Gallic village in the BVB stadium, did the bear tap-dance. And on the pitch, Bremen players are hugging each other while Borussia are wondering.
Almost seven months later, Werder coach Ole Werner believes that this crazy first leg is no longer very present in purely sporting terms. “I don’t think the first leg plays a big role – neither for us nor for Dortmund,” said the coach on Thursday at the official press conference before the second leg on the upcoming 20th matchday (Saturday, 3.30 p.m., LIVE! at kicker) . “They’ll just try to get more points on the clock. And we’ll continue the current good run.”
In detail, it looks as follows: While the black and yellow came out of the winter break extremely successfully and, in addition to four three-pointers in the German Oberhaus (13:5 goals), also reached the quarter-finals in the DFB Cup (2:1 in Bochum), Green and White caught up with two wins in a row (2-1 against Wolfsburg and 2-0 in Stuttgart) after the bad 7-1 in Cologne and the narrow 2-1 against Union Berlin.
Dortmund, “that’s top quality”
However, Werner did not want to talk too much about Dortmund and any claims to the title: “They are in the championship race, which certainly meets the club’s requirements. They came out of the winter very well, won all the games. They are an absolute top team – and we’re preparing for that.” The fight at the top of the table, in which Bayern, Union, Leipzig and Frankfurt are also involved, “is not my topic. It’s tight up there – and the teams have to figure that out among themselves”.
Rather, it’s about setting up his team correctly – and seeing through BVB to find weaknesses. Which is not so easy, as the Bochum game he watched on TV showed: “There was nothing fundamental about it – nothing that wasn’t already known in this way.” Nevertheless, the appearance in the DFB Cup serves as the latest example of how you can play against Dortmund. According to Werner, Bochum did it well in phases – and from that you can draw conclusions for your own appearance.
But: “Dortmund defends robustly, allows little. It’s a complete team that wins even tight games. That’s top quality.”
First minutes for Philipp?
And Werner wants to counter that with the best possible staff. The selection for this is almost complete, only captain Marco Friedl (5th yellow card) and Felix Agu are missing: “It looks good, the only one who will be unhealthy is Agu. All the other guys are back.” For example Mitchell Weiser, who will almost certainly return to the starting XI after serving a 5th yellow card suspension.
It also means that Maximilian Philipp, who was brought in from VfL Wolfsburg in the winter, has a good chance of playing. In which form? According to coach Werner, that will be revealed: “Maximilian has survived his ankle injury, is physically fit and has an option for everything. But let us surprise you with how we approach our line-up – we are not known for revealing too much in advance.”
Veljkovic back in the starting XI?
As a result, the 34-year-old Bremen coach did not reveal whether Milos Veljkovic, who was substituted on three times late and previously used as a regular defender, will start for Friedl. But the 27-year-old Serb doesn’t have to worry: “I know what I have in him. Situations like this just happen from time to time. But nobody has to worry that he won’t be able to play in the near future. Milos is totally with it He was professional and after coming on as a substitute in those games he was there. You have to offer yourself and wait for your next chance – and it usually comes.”
Available again after serving a suspension: Bremen’s winger Mitchell Weiser.
IMAGO/Nordphoto
In general, Werner is faced with a line-up puzzle week after week, from game to game – including a few questions in order to come up with a common denominator in the end: “I can (roughly in the eighth position; Anm. d. Red.) only make the wrong decision, because I always leave out someone who deserves to play. But that’s how it is in team sports. I’m trying to make the best decision: who makes what impression? Who is like? What can you bring from the bank? What also suits the opponent?” That always has to be answered in the best possible way – and also shows the coach that the Werder Bremen squad has a number of options.
American Football: “I’m interested in it”
After the home game against Dortmund on Saturday, there is another competitive game in Frankfurt a week later, so there was also a question about American football at the end of the PK. Finally, in the night from Sunday to Monday (12:30 a.m. CET, LIVE! on kicker) between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl will take place in its 57th edition (LVII).
However, SVW coach Werner will not be watching the grand finale of the National Football League (NFL) live: “It’s too late for me, to be honest. I’m interested in it, and I know it quite well – but I don’t think I’ll gonna watch that.” And his players? “I’ll knock on everyone’s door and see if they’re asleep – and woe to you!”
