Bulinews Player of the Season Awards: Werder Bremen's Player of the Season | OneFootball

Werder Bremen's 2025-26 campaign proved to be a turbulent one despite starting on a hugely positive note. Life under new head coach Horst Steffen, who impressed during his spell at SV Elversberg, got off to a flyer with four wins and draws before early November. From there, the rot started with Bremen going on a 13-game winless run that ended the 57-year-old's reign before Daniel Thioune came in to steer clear of relegation.

One source of consistency, however, was ever-present around the park. That man was Jens Stage who delivered yet another remarkable campaign in green and white. Without fail, the midfielder tirelessly put himself about whether in possession or hassling the opposition's attackers. One would easily be forgiven for thinking there was two of him on the pitch given his high-octane levels. 

As was the case in the 2024-25 campaign prior to the most recent, Stage reached double figures in goals for a second consecutive season. Coupled with his athletic frame, the 29-year-old has perfected the skill of arriving in the box late to find the net. Finishing as Bremen's top scorer with 10 is no mean feat, however fans will be nervously waiting to see whether TSG Hoffenheim can poach their star player. 

STANDOUT PERFORMANCE:

With Werder Bremen in desperate need of points to avoid being sucked into a relegation scrap, facing arch rivals HSV on Matchday 30 was the perfect platform for Stage to deliver. The Dane popped up on the end of a Suguwara cross on 37 minutes to head the hosts in front. Parity would be restored before the break as Robert Glatzel struck for the visitors. 

Having already been defeated by their city foes earlier in the season, revenge was on the cards. Stage, given too much space at the top of the box, was fed by Puertas before curling his shot in off the underside of the crossbar. The game was wrapped up late on as HSV threw caution to the wind. Puertas would seal it with the third, but the afternoon ultimately belonged to two-goal hero Stage in a 3-1 win. 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Unlucky to miss out on this accolade was Mio Backhaus who delivered a fine season between the posts for Bremen. The 22-year-old shot-stopper earned three votes from our writers for producing 102 saves, his 65% save success rate and keeping 5 clean sheets in 32 games. The only other individual to claim a nomination was Yukinari Suguwara who filled in well in the absence of long-term injury Mitchell Weiser and delivered 6 assists.