“We all have to stick together” | OneFootball

Horst Steffen will make his Bundesliga home debut as head coach of SVW (Photo: W.DE).

Horst Steffen on our first competitive home game against Bayer Leverkusen

The first home game of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season is fast approaching for Horst Steffen’s Green-Whites. The match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen this Saturday, 28th August at 15:30 CEST also marks the new SVW head coach’s first Bundesliga game in charge at the Weserstadion. During his press conference on Thursday, he discussed...

...possible appearances for Felix Agu and Niklas Stark: “Both of them are feeling better and they both took part in first-team training. If there are no changes there, they will play on the weekend. Regarding Marco Friedl, it’s expected that he’ll be back for the next Bundesliga game after the international break, but I can’t predict the exact course of his recovery.”

...a first start for Karim Coulibaly: “We all saw what he could do during pre-season. He is a really good player and he’s very strong in the tackle. He’s already so mature for his age, and he showed that in the friendlies. He’s going to be in the starting XI against Leverkusen. I don’t need to have any specific conversations with him before the game, because I’m so convinced that he’ll be able to do a good job.

...first impressions of Yuki Sugawara: “He was able to deal really well with tricky scenarios in training and he’s got incredible game intelligence, which will really help us. He’s made a great impression, which is why I’m convinced that he’s going to put in a good performance on Saturday.”

...the injuries across the backline: “I don’t feel worried about it, I’m more feeling good about the boys that we do have and who will play on Saturday. It’s also not new territory for me - whether in my own playing career or as a coach, I’ve always been aware that challenging situations like this can arise. It also offers an opportunity to those players who haven’t quite had their chance yet, and I’m excited about that.”

...opponents Bayer Leverkusen: “They’re still a top team with a lot of great players, and they play to an extremely high level. Even with all of their changes this summer, they’re still a very good side. Our job is to find solutions in our attacking play. We want win our first home game and leave the fans with a positive feeling.”

...his Bundesliga home debut as Werder’s head coach: “I’m looking forward to my first home game in this stadium and taking it all in. My family will be there, so I’m hoping for a lot of support. I was also moved by the atmosphere and the reactions from the fans to show their support for Mio after the game in Frankfurt. This is a special situation, where we all have to stick together.”