SV Werder Bremen

Head coach Ole Werner will have to do without Milos Veljkovic when SV Werder take on VfL Bochum away from home on Sunday afternoon, 14.01.2024, 15:30 CET. The Serbian international, who limped out of training last week due to knee pain and missed the friendly in Braunschweig, will also not be available for the resumption of the Bundesliga.

Head coach Ole Werner and head of professional football Clemens Fritz answered journalists’ questions ahead of the final game of the first round of matches in Bochum on Sunday, 14th January at 15:30 CET. Squad news was the main focus of the press conference.

SV Werder Bremen will kick off a new week of training on Wednesday, 10th January to start their preparations for the final game of the first half of the season, which will see the Green-Whites travel to VfL Bochum on Sunday. Niklas Stark will not be involved in the first team session of the week, but will instead be working individually. Nicolai Rapp (foot injury) and Felix Agu (ill), who were involved with the rest of the boys on Monday, will also be back with the team again today.

There are some important weeks to come for SV Werder when the second half of the season begins on Sunday, 14.01.2024, 15:30 CET away at VfL Bochum. With a win away from home, the Green-Whites could give themselves some breathing space rivals who are level on points with them, before taking on these rivals in head-to-head clashes in the coming weeks. However, Leonardo Bittencourt wasn’t able to confirm whether these are the most important games of the season. “We also need to keep on picking up points following this in order to achieve our goals. There are still 18 games left to play and not only five or six,” the midfielder emphasised in the mixed zone on Wednesday.

Amos Pieper is often asked how he’s getting on at the moment. “Things have been better, but given the circumstances,” he answered hopefully. The broken ankle that the 25-year-old suffered at the end of November in training is the worst injury in his career so far. Due to the fact that the schedule for rehab is heavily dependent on the healing process, Pieper has had to learn to be patient.

SV Werder Bremen were unable able to kick off 2024 with a win after losing 3-1 to second-division side Eintracht Braunschweig in a friendly fixture on Sunday. Fabio Kaufmann gave the hosts an early lead (10’), which was doubled by Rayan Philippe just before the break (41’). After half time, Thórir Helgaso fired home Eintracht’s third (47’), which the Green-Whites were able to respond to through Nick Woltemade in the closing stages (83’), but it was unfortunately too little too late for Werder.

Niklas Stark is not hugely fond of New Year’s resolutions. When he wants to change something, he does so immediately, rather than waiting for a specific date. In an interview on Thursday afternoon, the 28-year-old provided an insight into what the Green-Whites have been working on over the Winter break and aim to implement into their performances in the second half of the season.

Milos Veljkovic will train individually over the coming days due to a knee joint issue and will miss Sunday’s friendly against Eintracht Braunschweig (7th January, 15:00 CET). It remains to be seen whether he will be fit in time for the first competitive match of the year against VfL Bochum (14th January).

Before SV Werder began their training for the second half of the season on the morning of Tuesday, 2nd January 2024, our head of professional football Clemens Fritz spoke, among other things, about the transfer market and the rumours concerning striker Rafael Borré.

2023 has certainly not been as spectacular for SV Werder Bremen as 2022, which was the year of their promotion back to the Bundesliga. Ole Werner’s team sat in 13th place at the end of May 2022 after having returned to top-flight football the previous season, and managed to avoid the relegation zone for the entire campaign. In 2023/24, the Green-Whites are currently 13th in the table once again, which is respectable, but nothing to be overly enthusiastic about. We’ll be taking a look back on a 2023 full of ups and downs, with memorable moments such as the vital 4-2 win in the capital to avoid relegation in April, the crowning of a Green-White top goalscorer, and the reunion of a prolific strike partnership on the international stage.