Werder Bremen: Bittencourt didn’t have easy days after squad criticism

“Stand by what I said”

Werder Bremen’s Leonardo Bittencourt reported complicated days after his clear words about squad planning and professional football director Clemens Fritz. “It wasn’t easy,” said the 30-year-old after Bremen’s 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga game at VfL Bochum. Looking at Fritz and sports director Frank Baumann, the midfielder said: “Frank and Clemens told me clearly what they thought about it and then that’s fine with me. I have neither a problem with Clemens nor with Frank.”

Bittencourt had recently, among other things, called for new players for Werder and criticized Fritz for mentioning the 7-1 defeat at 1. FC Köln in January 2023 after the friendly defeat at Eintracht Braunschweig. “I may have said things that I thought were true, but maybe they weren’t really right. Everyone has to decide for themselves,” explained Bittencourt.

“I stand by what I said. It’s nothing bad either. “I didn’t make a sweeping blow, I just expressed my opinion to some extent,” the 30-year-old continued. He found the fact that his words were understood as a sweeping blow to be “exaggerated”. Despite all the criticism expressed, Bittencourt (quoted via “Dike room“) also emphasized that “when everyone is together, our squad definitely has the quality to stay in the Bundesliga and even more.” In his own opinion, Bittencourt “protected his teammates to a certain extent” through his statements. “In the end it worked in the sense that we showed a different face today than in Braunschweig. And now the topic is over.”

In addition to Bittencourt, coach Ole Werner had also called for additions to counteract the thin staffing level. Sports boss Baumann then said in an interview with the “Deichstube”: “We have great confidence in our squad, there are alternatives in every position and we are convinced that we can achieve our goals with this squad. Nevertheless, we will bring in one or two players in the winter.” The focus is on the defense and the midfield. The first arrival could be Argentine defender Julián Malatini (22, Defensa y Justicia). “We are trying to make a commitment and are in good discussions, but nothing is fixed yet,” confirmed Fritz on Saturday.

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