As of: October 9, 2025 4:03 p.m
The Werder Bremen footballers are asking HSV to play in the Bundesliga northern duel on Saturday evening. More than 30,000 tickets have already been sold for the game in the Weserstadion. In front of the home record crowd, the hosts are the favorites, but they have to fear the opponent’s desire for revenge.
Because that was something. Last season. In Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. A game for eternity. A game that the players involved will certainly never forget. In the semester final of the DFB Cup, both teams fought a bitter duel on March 23rd. In front of 57,000 spectators, a late goal from the then captain Sarah Stöckmann saved the HSV footballers into extra time to make it 1-1. There the Bremen women had more staying power, were successful twice more thanks to Sophie Weidauer and Verena Wieder and booked the final ticket.
So now it’s coming on Saturday (5:45 p.m., in the NDR live center Livestream of the first) for revenge. Not in the cup, but in the Bundesliga and not on the Elbe, but on the Osterdeich. But of course the Hamburg women – who were still in the second division at the time – will not have forgotten the bitter bankruptcy in their own living room.
Will the home advantage become a disadvantage?
This time almost everything is different for HSV. Of the around 31,000 tickets sold so far, not even 1,000 tickets have been bought by his fans. Unlike the cup hit in Hamburg, this time the Bremen team will be cheered on by the vast majority of fans.
A supposed advantage, but it can quickly become a disadvantage if your head doesn’t cooperate. “It will also be about not falling into a state of shock because you might be completely overwhelmed by the emotions and volume that are being met with,” said Werder coach Friederike Kromp.
For the 40-year-old, who has never coached a team in front of such a large crowd, it will also be important to take the nerves of her players away in the run-up to the game. It’s not an easy task, as Kromp openly admitted: “We’re already counting down the days and hours. We try to say it’s a normal Bundesliga game. But in the end we’re honest and know: it’s not.”
Kromp: “We have to accept the role of favorite”
After their strong start to the season with seven points from the first three games, the hosts have recently suffered two defeats. However, the opponents were VfL Wolfsburg (2:4) and FC Bayern Munich (0:4) and, as is well known, do not fall into the category of “walk-in customers”.
Accordingly, nothing has changed in the starting position for the northern duel. “We have to accept the role of favorites,” said Kromp and he is undoubtedly right. After all, Werder has now established itself as a Bundesliga team since promotion in 2020, while HSV only returned to the first floor this summer after 13 years.
Werder have great respect for league newcomers HSV
In order to survive in the upper house, the squad was more or less turned inside out. In addition to a new trainer (Liése Brancão), there were nine external additions. Among them is attacker Sophie Hillebrand, who was also on Werder’s wish list.
“This is a very interesting player,” said Kromp. The Werder coach follows the northern rivals closely and attests that the newcomer is developing well. “HSV performed impressively in the first five games. They have arrived in the league,” explained the 40-year-old.
No question: Bremen goes into the northern duel with a lot of respect. But also with a record crowd behind us. And it has been known since March 23rd in Hamburg that the Werder team inspires rather than intimidates full ranks…
