Samuel Mbangula steps up for Werder Bremen | OneFootball

Things were looking really shaky for Werder Bremen and Samuel Mbangula.

The team, in the midst of an extended winless run, were down 2-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt heading into the final 15 minutes. Bremen had not been playing badly, but defensive mistakes had put them in a hole and it didn’t look like their attacking talents could dig them out.

Mbangula, meanwhile, was once again left sitting on the bench, helpless to prevent what had happened. It was a bitter sight for the Belgian, who was signed this past summer for 10 million Euros. Despite a strong start to his Werder career, he had fallen out of favor.  

Shortly after, everything might have changed for both sides.

Super sub

Mbangula was finally brought on in the 75th minute.

Unbelievably enough, after only five minutes, Die Werderaner were ahead. 

The winger played a huge role in the sudden turnaround. As soon as Mbangula stepped onto the field his impact was evident, picking up the ball out wide and driving at defenders. He drew fouls, and he ended up taking one of the resulting free-kicks himself.

It’s a good thing he did. As soon as he struck the ball you could tell the delivery was excellent. There was pace on the ball, and it flew directly towards the six-yard box. Jens Stage rose up to meet the cross, flicking it past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

While Mbangula didn’t technically assist the following goal, he set it all up. Cutting inside near midfield, he spotted the run of Romano Schmid in-behind the opposing defense. The pass was on the money, and it allowed the playmaker to set-up Jovan Milosevic for a simple finish.

Just like that, the Belgian showcased why the club spent big money on him this offseason. He was the epitome of a gamechanger, exactly what Bremen had been missing these past few weeks. 

Feuding or coaching?

The relationship between the manager and the player is complicated. 

Mbangula has only started a single game since the start of November. That didn’t end up working too well, as Werder lost that contest 4-0. It wasn’t the wingers fault, to be fair, as he was forced to track back a ton despite that not being his strong suit.

That was one of the problems. Steffen has spoken about how he needs the Belgian to offer more defensively. That wasn’t the plan initially, as his system was supposed to be a 4-3-3 that allows wingers to push up as far forward as possible.

However, as time went on, the coach opted to utilize three centerbacks. First Marco Friedl was shoehorned at left-back, and his lack of speed impacted the rest of the team. If he made a run up the field, the winger had to sprint back to cover. That wasn’t something Mbangula was good at.

That tied into the other main issue. Mbangula was called out for a perceived lack of effort, both in training and in games. Now supporters are never going to really know what goes on in practice, but the claims made some sense considering what we saw on matchdays.

The number #7 isn’t a constant runner. He finds space and finds where he wants to operate, and he stays in that general area. While it looks bad at times, it’s harsh to call it laziness or carelessness. 

Mbangula plays at his own tempo, his own rhythm. You could see that versus Frankfurt. He wasn’t sprinting past defenders, he was slowly dribbling towards them and around them. There’s a calculated approach to his game that maximizes his talent.

He isn’t without blame, of course. There’s always going to be moments where you’d wish the Belgian would push himself a little more, press a little harder, or look like he cares a bit more than it seems.

That could be why Steffen is treating him the way he is. Developing a personal feud with your club’s biggest signing and hope for the future would be silly, and it’d only hurt the manager in the long run. The front office will get rid of him long before the player if an ultimatum took place.

Instead, the manager is trying to help him at this stage of his career. Only turning 22-years-old a few days ago, Mbangula has plenty to learn about how to approach the game. A youth product at Juventus, this is his first season away from there, and it’s the first campaign where he's expected to be a key part of the first team. 

If things aren’t worked on now, they’re going to become even bigger problems down the line.

A needed spark

For Bremen, they’ll hope this is just the start of the winger’s return to form.

The fixture list won’t get any kinder anytime soon, as this weekend sees a trip to Bayer Leverkusen before a home matchup against high-flying Hoffenheim. Then, a few weeks later, Bayern Munich comes to town.

While Die Werderaner aren’t in legitimate relegation danger at the moment, another extended stretch without points will see them right in the mix come the end of the campaign.

They’ll need their biggest names to step up, and there’s an opportunity for Mbangula to cement himself as their star man. If he plays like he did during his most-recent cameo, then he’ll do just that.