Are Werder Bremen doing well? | OneFootball

The 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign has been flying by, and we’ve already seen a 10th matchweek pass us by. With yet another international break wrapping up, now is as good of a time as ever to look back at the season so far.

On the surface, things are looking pretty good for Werder Bremen. They currently sit in 8th place, and they haven’t lost a game in six weeks. They’ve also won their last three home games. All in all, supporters at the Weserstadion are happy.

However, underneath the surface, there’s some concern growing. It’s nothing too bad, where fans are angry or demanding sudden change. Instead, there’s a subtle fear about Bremen’s recent games.

Getting the job done

While Werder are picking up results, they aren’t really playing well. In all honesty, they’ve played quite poorly for substantial stretches in recent weeks. The defense is holding up alright, but going forward things look ugly.

Part of that was to be expected. With new manager Horst Steffen coming over in the summer, he was going to bring a brand new style of play with him. The formation was going to be different, the tactics were going to be different, and the kind of personnel needed was going to be different. That’s a lot of change.

Even though we’re a few months into the campaign, you can’t blame Bremen too much for not being completely acclimated. What is worrying is how far off they look from figuring it out at times.

There’s a popular meme on social media about waiting all week for your favorite team to play only for them to look like they’ve never seen a football before. Supporters of Die Werderaner have felt that a little too often recently. The team can’t connect three passes together at times, and the shape is a mess. It’s like watching children on a playground.

In Bremen’s defense, this is only when they’re at their absolute worst. They’ve had plenty of other spells where things click, and the ball zips around the final third at an electric pace. Attackers are getting past their markers, and then finding teammates in space to keep the move going. They were a joy to watch in their dominant win away to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Werder’s past few weeks have been more about surviving and advancing than putting on a show. That can either be a really good thing or a really bad thing. If performances improve, then surely the winning ways will only continue since they picked up victories in worse conditions. Then again, if they don’t start playing better and the results stop coming, then it’ll be time to actually worry.

These are all concerns on the attacking side of the ball. In terms of the defense, everything is going well. They’re almost going too well.

Big decisions

The manager now has a selection headache. Bremen have three starting-caliber center backs, and only two places for them in the lineup.

Marco Friedl is the club captain, and one of the best defenders in the country. He has carried the backline when healthy, which led to recent appearances for the Austrian national team. Amos Pieper was formerly a star with Arminia Bielefeld, and he’s rediscovered that form in recent weeks, bossing it on the ground and in the air. Karim Coulibaly, meanwhile, has blossomed since making his first-team debut this season, and is one of the most hyped-up 18-year-olds on the planet.

Most Bundesliga clubs would be happy just to have one of the three. Werder have them all. They’re playing at a high level, only conceding a single goal in the last three home matches. Steffen’s set-up and tactics call for a back four, which likely won’t be changed. Someone has to be the odd man out.

The Green-Whites have tried a temporary solution, but it’s clearly not a permanent one. Due to an injury crisis at fullback, Friedl had to cover at left-back. He used to play the position as a youngster, and his defensive talents provide extra cover, even if he’s not impactful going forward. He’s been there while Pieper and Coulibaly have been in the middle, but that won’t work for much longer.

Friedl has already been exposed at full-back, and things would only get worse against better opposition. He wants to push up the field, but he doesn’t have the speed to track back in time. Even when he gets the ball in the final third, he’s unable to create anything off the dribble. It’s a square peg in a round hole.

With the injured left-backs returning, and Isaac Schmidt impressing off the bench, the manager knows he has to make a change there when the international break is over. The problem with doing that is someone has to step aside.

In most situations, Friedl would be the one to miss out since the other two have been so good as a pairing. That isn’t a simple decision due to his aforementioned status as captain and lead defender. However, it’s not as easy as slotting him straight back at centerback.

Coulibaly would be the one expected to sit on the bench. While that’s the right decision in the short-term since the other two are technicallym better and more experienced right now, it would come at a real cost to the future. The youngster is shining on the field, and he’s developing at a remarkable speed. The more minutes he gets, the higher and higher his stock will climb. However, a spell on the sidelines would bring that to a near halt.

Sacrificing Pieper could also cost Bremen. First, it would be a bad look to the rest of the squad if they see a player get his chance in the lineup, deliver great performances, and then get sent back to the bench just because the usual starter returned. You have to reward good play, and keep the squad morale high.

Then there’s the fact that the number 5 is technically out of contract at the end of the season. As things stand he can depart at the end of the campaign, and the club gets nothing in return. They want to re-sign him, and he’s certainly interested in staying, but it’s unlikely he’d be willing to stick around if he knows he won’t be starting when everyone’s available.

For Steffen, he’s damned no matter what he does. Even if he changes tactics to fit in all three, then someone further up the field will have to be removed, and everything his players have learned about his system will go to waste. It’s not an envious position.

A key final month

The pressure is on, as SVW have a tough final stretch before the winter break.

It begins with a visit to an old friend. They travel to RB Leipzig, who are currently coached by former Bremen manager Ole Werner. He’s having a wonderful time over there, currently sat in 2nd place even after a summer transfer window full of change. His new boys are dangerous, and they won’t show any mercy to their coaches former players.

Werder then take on the two newly-promoted sides, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be easy games. They host FC Köln, the surprise-package of this campaign who are only a single point behind in 9th place. Following that is a Northern Derby against bitter rivals Hamburg, and that’s a physical contest every time due to the stakes at hand.

The final two games to end the Hinrunde are home to 4th place VfB Stuttgart and an away day against Augsburg. One outfit is full of talent and ability, while the other is the epitome of resilience in German soccer. They keep coming back.

It feels like we will know a lot more about the Green-Whites when this spell comes to a close. If they are still hanging around the European picture, then they are legitimate candidates to clinch a Conference League or Europa League spot. Then again, if they slip down the table, then it’ll become clear this year is more of a developmental season than anything else.

At the very least, there won’t be another international break to take Bremen away from their supporters anytime soon.