Bundesliga 2025/26 Tactical Previews: Werder Bremen

In the second of our 18 tactical previews to be released here on Get German Football News,it’s time to get a good scout in well ahead of what promises to be the “monster match-up” of the opening DFB Pokal Round. Like the Bundesliga club covered in our first section, Werder Bremen kick off competitive play this coming Friday night. In the case of these Hanseatic city-staters, it’s time for an immediate re-match against 2024/25 DFB Pokal semi-finalists DSC Arminia Bielefeld. Can Werder head back to the Alm and reverse the humiliation of their February quarterfinal defeat?

A most intriguing question, particularly in light of the fact that Bremen (like Union) have just completed an especially poor training camp. Horst Steffen’s Werderanerwent four test fixtures without scoring a goal. It was only two years ago that Bremen suffered the humiliation of cup elimination in the first round, falling to 3. Liga opponent Viktoria Köln in Niclas Füllkrug’s final match with the club. Current Bremen defender (and longtime Bielefeld professional) Amos Pieper’s early red card did Bremen in early in that game.

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The storylines truly abound ahead of Friday’s showdown and – it’s such – that we’re releasing Bremen as the second tactical section. Note that the final Werder roster very much remains a work in progress. Many moving components. So many unanswered questions. It’s simply time to take the deep dive here. Germans certainly harbor a lot of curiosity with respect to this team. In their current state, we could even see them factor into the relegation race. Despite Bremen’s recent resurgence, Bundesliga watchers will never forget the horror of the 2019/20 and 2020/21 Florian Kohfeldt squads.

Some of the ugliest German top flight football ever!

Things can always get ugly quick in this beautiful city.

SV Werder Bremen

Bremen’s personnel section runs significantly longer than Union’s as there’s truly much to discuss. The winners/losers segment does contain a few amalgams as lot has been going on at the Zillertal base. Many youngsters have gotten auditions under Steffen’s aegis in Austria. Patrice Covic racked up the most promise points from a large and interesting pool

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Major personnel shifts, Bremen

Estimated Summer Transfer Balance = -€7.5 million

At the risk of sounding haughty, what’s going on with these Hanseaten almost counts as a textbook case on how not to manage personnel during the offseason. One genuinely wonders why Clemens Fritz and Peter Niemeyer opted to be so negligent towards the end of last season. A team tanking hard during the 2024/25 campaign’s third act did scream for some change this summer, but the two most prominent club administrators almost seemed make no effort to leave their options open. A total overhaul was presaged as early as March.

The manner in which Niemeyer and Fritz have dragged their feet getting the roster together reminds one very much of the summer ahead of the 2021/22 2. Bundesliga season. While it was ultimately the case that that team ultimately earned promotion back to the top flight immediately, one shouldn’t forget what an absolute mess they were under Markus Anfang at the beginning of the campaign. Fritz and then top personnel chief Frank Baumann (sorely missed) brought in Ole Werner to turn things around. Now, pretty much everyone who engineered that upswing is gone.

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We might as well begin with Werner, dismissed at the end of last year due to the fact that the front office wasn’t proactive in getting his expiring contract extended. Marvin Ducksch – perhaps the most instrumental actor in the 2021/22 promotion campaign – received the same treatment. The total mismanagement of Oliver Burke’s contract extension merits a mention here as well. A decent coach and two prominent strikers should have at least been given a chance to play a role in the club’s future. Most of us accept the consensus that Dawid Kownacki is a lost cause at this point, but his case might not have been so clear-cut.

Though it likely remains the case that Bremen have upgraded at the trainer position by swapping Werner for the “Elversberg Magician” Horst Steffen, it must be emphasized that Steffen basically lorded over an embarrassment of riches at his Saarland club. The 56-year-old passively sat back and let countless Bundesliga clubs send him their best developmental talents on loan. Fritz and Niemeyer probably banked on the likes of Paul Wanner, Fisnik Asllani, and countless others wanting to come to Bremen in order to play under their old coach.

Oops.

That didn’t come to pass.

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Who have the Hanseaten added this offseason? Only Maximilian Wöber on loan and Samuel Mbangula at great expense. Naturally, this doesn’t constitute a totally failed strategy. Wöber brings with him exceptional leadership and qualities and Mbangula could end up being one of the most impactful signings of the summer. A good bit of Werder’s lousy training camp can be attributed to the raft of injuries Steffen has had to deal with.

If Fritz and Niemeyer can sew up the André Silva and Isaac Schmidt deals, we have a decent roster here. Definitely not a European-worthy roster, but decent nonetheless. Steffen can probably keep this team above the relegation fray for most of the season whilst leading them to a lower-third table finish. That’s at least the assessment at this point.

Notes from camp, Werder Bremen

Steffen immediately junked Ole Werner’s steadfast 3-5-2 formation and began to train his team in a new 4-2-3-1. This constellation cruised through the first two “creampuff friendlies” before stumbling against stiffer competition. As noted above, Steffen’s charges managed one paltry goal in their last five test fixtures. The final four friendlies were played in two days as Bremen squared off in afternoon “double-headers” against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Udinese Calico.

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Steffen doesn’t have an experienced striker to lead the line and it shows. Romano Schmid – actually looking pretty decent as a ten – scored the lone goal in the second Udinese match, albeit from the penalty spot. Justin Njinmah, Keke Topp, and 19-year-old Salem Musah have taken their turn as the lead striker. Despite the fact that they can work as center-forwards, Steffen has kept Mbangula and Marco Grüll on the wings for now.

The two “twin bill afternoons” gave Steffen a chance to sort out the battle for his starting keeper position. Veteran Michael Zetterer edged out young German prospect Mio Backhaus. There haven’t been too many other battles for starting positions to speak of, though it isn’t necessarily easy to project the new Werder trainer’s preferred XI. We’ll give it our best shot in the final section below.

Winners from camp, Werder Bremen

Amos Pieper, CB

Yes, we’ve all sort of forgotten about him at this point. The former top prospect – a Germany U21 European Champion under Stefan Kuntz in June 2021 – never really was one to hack it with the German senior international team. People mentioned it, but said people fell in the “Klugscheißen” category; a.k.a. smart-asses who thought they could stun everyone with a “hot-take” scout. Pieper’s reached his peak long ago. His career was destined to stall long before his November 2023 injury. He wasn’t even playing when it happened.

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In any event, the 27-year-old has logged his fair share of minutes in the pre-season warm ups and looks to be in decent form. His chances of displacing squad captain Marco Friedl and Wöber in central defense are slim. He also probably lies behind his fellow “staller” Niklas Stark on the depth chart. Still, Pieper’s solid isn’t wholly insignificant. Friedl is prone to get hurt. Werder’s horrible run in Friedl’s absence last spring shows that a strong central defender waiting in the wings could be crucial to this team.

Pieper counts as an excellent candidate to start against his former club Bielefeld in the forthcoming Pokal fixture. It’s also possible that Pieper can beat out Stark for a place next to Friedl if Steffen opts toy start Wöber at left-back. One honestly did assume that Pieper would be the most obvious casualty of Steffen’s decision to ditch a back-three. The former German Olympic representative surprised us all by battling back.

Olivier Deman, LB

Another unexpected surprise. The Belgian seemed to be on his way out and probably wouldn’t still be here if Werner had stayed. A highly disappointing sophomore campaign with Bremen led to Deman being loaned to Antwerp last season. There were simply way too many wingbacks in Werner’s squad. Steffen’s switch to a 4-2-3-1 hands the thrice-capped international – who did excel at Bremen during the 2023/24 season another chance.

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Steffen has used him on the right to some success. He could even start on the left if Wöber remains central. Deman, along with Skelly Alvero, have at least proven their detractors wrong by securing back-up roles. Of course, the Mitchell Weiser and Jens Stage injuries helped both players out here. Alvero and Deman could be on the move in January.

Patrice Covic, RW

The 18-year-old attacking talent grabbed a late brace in the first of the two “creampuff” friendlies and earned three total pre-season starts. Steffen used the summer promotion from the U19s in virtually all matches on both the right and left flanks. Plenty of SV youngsters got their chances in training camp. Musa (19), Leon Opitz (20), Wesley Adeh (18), and Karim Coulibaly (18) all had their flashes, but Covic stood out. At the start of camp, one considered Covic nothing more than a showcase for a loan. As it stands now, he could be making a Bundesliga debut soon.

Losers from camp, Werder Bremen

Isak Hansen-Aarøen, ATTM

The young Norwegian with the distinctive throat tattoos certainly got his opportunities. Steffen deployed the 20-year-old all along the second attacking axis. One could still conceivably see a future for Hansen-Aarøen as a back-up ten should Bremen lose Romano Schmid to Premier League courters. One nevertheless hopes both for the sake of player and club that Schmid stays put and the former Manchester United academy man heads out on loan again.More playing practice and less throat tattoos for this youngster.

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Julian Maltini, CB

One certainly feels for the young Argentine who once declared it a “dream to play in the Bundesliga”. Like Deman, Malatini has made his presence felt in the German top division with two top flight goals. Unfortunately, there just isn’t enough room. Steffen gave the 24-year-old an ill-fated trial at right-back. Even before Malatini botched a start in one of the Hoffenheim fixtures, his chances of displacing the surprisingly loyal Felix Agu were essentially non-existent. A loan-out for this tall talent as well.

Tactical Scout, Werder Bremen

In this case, we’ll project a lineup for the highly anticipated Friday Pokal fixture against Bielefeld. Bremen can probably feel confident about themselves despite the recent bad history against Bielefeld. The 4-2-3-1 hasn’t produced desirable results yet, but at least the team’s consistent drilling in it gives the players some “muscle memory” to fall back on.

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Lineup—Werder Bremen (Projected)

Keke Topp – who some may recall recorded a hat trick in the opening Pokal round last year – spearheads the attack. One assumes that Steffen isn’t prepared to chance it with Mbangula (still recovering from a minor capsule injury) from the start for now. That should present no serious problem as Justin Njinmah tends to do better on the wings anyway. Pieper does earn his start whilst Wöber swings out left. Backhaus takes a bow before the league campaign starts.

Signs point to a successful debut.

Feel free to disagree.

GGFN |Peter Weis