For comeback at Werder Bremen: Naby Keita cancels international trip

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With the recommendation of 37 goals, second division top scorer Rudi Völler moved from TSV 1860 Munich to Werder in the summer of 1982. The transfer fee of the equivalent of 500,000 euros was intended to help the financially struggling “Lions” in the fight for the license, but in the end there was still forced relegation. Völler, on the other hand, started on the Weser, became top scorer in the upper house in his first year and gave Bremen a transfer fee of 3.75 million euros when he left for AS Roma in 1987.

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Financial problems at the selling club also played a role in the signing of Bruno Pezzey a year later. Bremen brought the Austrian libero, who died in 1994, from Eintracht Frankfurt, where he previously held the captaincy. Pezzey also showed strong performances on the Weser, although he was unable to win a title with Werder and ended the season as runner-up twice.

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In 1987/88, when Pezzey and Völler had just left the club, the Green-Whites won their first championship. And his successor played a large part in this as a record signing. Karl-Heinz Riedle came from relegated Blau-Weiß Berlin for 800,000 euros as Völler’s successor. In his debut season, the eventual world champion scored 18 goals – including the decisive goal for the championship on matchday 31 in a 1-0 win in Frankfurt.

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Thorsten Legat, who came from VfL Bochum for 1.2 million euros after a strong season in the summer of 1991 and replaced Riedle in Werder’s record departure, also celebrated several titles on the Weser. In addition to the championship and cup victory, Legat was also part of the 1992 European Cup winners, although he was not used in the final. After three years he moved on to Eintracht Frankfurt.

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However, Andreas Herzog, who came from Rapid Vienna a year after Legat for the new record sum of 1.5 million euros, was far more influential in the club’s history. The Austrian playmaker was active for Werder for almost ten years – and was celebrated by the fans even after a year-long interlude at FC Bayern in 1995/96. However, his second departure and the associated return to Rapid in January 2002 were rather unpleasant. Israel’s current national coach announced, among other things, his desire to change on TV, causing displeasure among those responsible in Bremen.

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The club suffered a transfer flop in the summer of 1995 with the signing of Rodolfo Cardoso. The Argentine was released from SC Freiburg for 3.25 million euros after two strong years, but was unable to meet the expectations of his new club. After just a year and a half, the playmaker, who had arrived as a record signing, moved on – to northern rivals HSV, of all places.

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Manager Klaus Allofs was visibly proud to present the next record entry in Werder’s history. Courted by numerous clubs, Miroslav Klose decided to move to northern Germany in the summer of 2004. In Bremen he was top scorer in 2005/06 and was one of the most important players in his three years at the club. The transfer fee of 5 million euros for today’s World Cup record top scorer was even tripled when he went to FC Bayern in 2007.

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The signing of playmaker Diego, who came from FC Porto for €6 million just one year after Klose, was also a huge hit. In his three years in the green and white jersey, he provided plenty of playful highlights and ultimately won the DFB Cup in May 2009. The Brazilian, who is still active today, then moved to Juventus Turin for 27 million euros – the highest transfer fee that Werder has ever achieved for a player.

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After Diego’s strong debut season, Werder manager Allofs got a taste for it and brought in another Brazilian in 2007 for a record fee. However, the time of Carlos Alberto, who was supposed to succeed his compatriot, was primarily characterized by headlines off the pitch. At no point did he justify the 7.8 million euro transfer fee. Hardly surprising given only five appearances. After just six months, he was loaned back to his homeland for the first time and finally left the club permanently in 2010. However, the former record man no longer brought in a transfer fee.

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400,000 euros more expensive than Carlos Alberto was his successor as record signing Marko Marin, who was brought in from Gladbach in 2009. Today’s globetrotter – Marin was now active as a professional in nine countries – was considered one of the greatest hopes in German football at the time. In his three years on the Weser, however, he did not always show his talent consistently and lost his place in the national team. However, Chelsea paid almost the same amount when they signed him a year before his contract expired in the summer of 2012.

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It wasn’t until nine years later that the mark set by Marin would fall. Werder then made a new record sum of 13.5 million euros for Davy Klaassen in 2018. The Dutchman was in a sporting dead end at Everton FC. In Bremen, on the other hand, he impressed for long stretches and even served as captain of the team in some games. In 2020 he went back to Ajax Amsterdam.