Four wins in 2024, plus seventh place in the Bundesliga: things couldn’t be better for Werder Bremen in the second half of the season, and even the European Cup suddenly seems possible. Nevertheless, the Hanseatic townspeople are still planning on a two-pronged basis.
Licensed player manager Clemens Fritz now revealed to “Bild” why this is the case. When the newspaper asked whether Werder Bremen had also applied for a license for the 2nd Bundesliga, the former national player said firmly: “Yes, of course!”
Even after the most recent series of successes, which started with the 1-0 away win at FC Bayern a month ago, the Bremen professional boss does not want to approach the current constellation too naively, which at first glance appears to be extremely comfortable for Werder.
The newcomer from the year before last was seventh in the table, leading the broad midfield of the Bundesliga and could possibly even qualify for the Conference League from this position.
The relegation place, which is currently occupied by 1. FC Köln, is already 13 points away, and the course towards staying in the league is clearly set.
Werder hosts Darmstadt 98 on Saturday
Nevertheless, those responsible for Werder don’t want to leave anything to chance, as Clemens Fritz further explained in the “Bild”: “Example training camp. If you play in the second league, everything starts a little earlier. We now have our training camp for the first league planned, but of course you have to keep an option for an earlier date if the worst case scenario occurs.”
The Hanseatic city residents are currently working hard to ensure that this “worst case” is averted and that Werder can plan for the 2024/2025 Bundesliga season in a relaxed manner. The home game against SV Darmstadt 98 is next Saturday at 3:30 p.m., after that it goes away at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.