What's going wrong with Werder Bremen? | OneFootball

It’s been a dark, dark time at the Weserstadion.

Werder Bremen are in an awful run of form. They’ve lost all of their last five games, including a nightmarish elimination from the DFB Pokal away to 3rd division side Arminia Bielefeld. Everyone’s grown frustrated at the situation, including players, staff, and supporters.

We know what’s going on, but why is it happening? Bremen were a solid outfit before this run, and the team has plenty of talent in the roster. It’d be easy to throw all the player at one man or one part of the side, but the truth is that there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Issues in net

Let’s start with the man in goal.

Near the end of the Hinrunde, there were rumors surrounding Michael Zetterer and the German national team. It made a lot of sense. Werder’s number 1 was having an excellent campaign, while Die Mannschaft were struggling for options in net. If he kept playing well, a call-up seemed inevitable.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Zetterer might be the worst goalkeeper in the Bundesliga based on current form. It genuinely feels like every shot that’s taken on him ends up going into the back of the net. While that might be dramatic, it sums up the general feeling surrounding him.

Not only is the goalkeeper lacking confidence in himself, but it looks like his teammates have lost confidence in him too. Whenever a goal goes in, you can see the Bremen players unravel, either sinking their heads or throwing their arms into the air.

The toughest thing is that Zetterer reacts the same way towards his defenders. No matter how the ball goes in, it seems like he’s just waiting for the opportunity to start screaming at someone that isn’t himself.

While he has been let down by those in front of him on some occasions, recent goals have been on him. That was the case last time out at home to Wolfsburg. The opener came from a corner hit right at the goalkeeper, but he was too weak and too late to come out to clear the danger away. On the second goal, he was thrown off by a strike from distance, and let it fly past him when he definitely could have saved it.

He has cost his side, and something has to change. One option is that Zetterer finally realizes that he’s to blame, and that this revelation changes him and gets him playing back to his best. The other option is that Werder looks elsewhere, to Mio Backhaus in particular, their promising 20-year-old keeper. It’s unclear if he’d do much better right now, but it’s hard to see him being any worse.

This change might not happen this weekend, as the team has a brutal away day against reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen. Once that day is done, though, something has to give.

Defensive miscues

Bremen’s backline has been yelled at plenty, and they have deserved it sometimes.

Ever since the injury to captain and main centerback Marco Friedl, the team has been a mess at the back. They’re usually sloppy in possession, they lose track of runners, and they fail to defend in one-versus-one situations.

In total, they’ve given up 15 goals in the span of five games. That’s a shocking return, and you can’t ever expect to win games when you’re defending like that. It’s impossible to build any momentum, and any work done by the offense will be wiped away.

Some of the issues have been thanks to injury. The aforementioned absence of Friedl has been the biggest impact, as he’s not only the leader at the back, but he’s clearly the best pure defender on the roster. Without him, the quality drops hard.

There’s also simply been too many mistakes. Youngster Julian Malatini almost single-handedly cost his side in the cup. He gave the ball away in a bad spot for the opener, and then he scored an own goal shortly after. Milos Veljkovic has made his share of errors, and Anthony Jung has kept his place in the lineup despite poor performance after poor performance.

All these errors have led to a lack of any confidence. Werder players keep looking over their shoulders, unable to trust their teammates and themselves. They’re a step behind things, and that leads to them either being late to challenges or overcommitting.

Manager Ole Werner’s system puts big pressure on the backline since there’s only three of them back there, and the wingbacks are usually sent forward. They’ve been cracking under the pressure, though, and that’s killing the team’s foundation.

Forward woes

The midfield’s usually been solid, but Bremen’s attacking names haven’t been as effective.

Mitchell Weiser used to be a real threat in the final third, but he’s not been the same as of late. He used to pick the ball up wide, linking up with teammates before bombing down the wing and whipping dangerous crosses into the box. Now he’s the one in the penalty area.

It’s a tactical tweak that makes some sense. He knows how to make a late run, and he’s scored a few goals this way, including a well-placed finish this past weekend. However, it has hampered Bremen’s build-up play.

The left-hand side lacks that same dynamic on the ball. The likes of Derrick Köhn and Issa Kaboré can’t cut inside as well, which makes their sprints down the endline more predictable. They aren’t the same level when it comes to crossing the ball either.

Management should realize they aren’t getting the most out of Weiser anymore.

When it comes to the strikers themselves, everyone seems to have some sort of problem. Oliver Burke is probably the best of the bunch at the moment, which says a lot considering how minor his role in the squad used to be. He’s doing what he can, but he doesn’t really have the raw talent needed to consistently lead the line.

Marvin Ducksch tends to be the leading man. He picked up an injury knock, but his struggles came way before that. The forward went through a crisis of confidence. He wasn’t playing well, and it started to impact him, both emotionally and when it came to his decision-making on the field. He started living in his own head, which is a problem when he shines acting on instinct.

The most recent pickup was Andre Silva. He missed his first-ever Bundesliga penalty on his debut as a Werder starter, which sums his situation up. Things are looking up the more he plays, but he still needs time to rediscover his old self.

Justin Njinmah has promise and potential, but he’s falling behind in his development. He isn’t clinical enough in the final third, and his wastefulness has really hurt the team in big moments. Meanwhile, fellow youngster Keke Topp is only now returning from injury.

The biggest problem is that Bremen doesn’t have anyone who’s taking initiative. They don’t have a leading man, someone they know will deliver in the final third. That’s what Niclas Füllkrug used to be.

While any of the aforementioned options could turn into that if they grab a few goals, it’s unclear who will be the man to step up in the present day.

Saving themselves

The bad news for Werder is that their season might already be over.

They’re obviously out of the DFB Pokal, and they’re currently seven points away from a likely European place. It’s unlikely they’ll get any closer this upcoming weekend, as they travel to reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen.

The good news is that the Green-Whites shouldn’t have to worry about relegation. They are 13 points ahead of the bottom three, and the teams down there this season don’t seem like dangers at the moment. Maybe they could get sucked into things if this collapse continues, but that’s the worst-case scenario.

If Bremen can turn things around, their upcoming schedule isn’t the scariest in the country. They will play teams that they can beat when at their best, like Borussia Mönchengladbach, Holstein Kiel, and Eintracht Frankfurt up ahead.

Maybe a miracle will take place, and Werner can lead his team on a run back up the standings. If not, the club will have a lot of thinking to do in the offseason, when it comes to both their roster and their coaching staff.