Could the Werder Bremen renaissance lead to a new golden era?
Werder Bremen have been in spectacular form in the Rückrunde, sparking hopes that the club could be on course to bring back magical European nights to the Weserstadion.
Everything eventually comes to an end. This includes Werder Bremen’s fantastic run of four wins in a row on the road. On Saturday, Die Werderaner fell 2-1 to Hoffenheim, or more precisely to their star striker Maxi Beier. But despite that defeat, Bremen remain fourth in the Rückrunden Tabelle—as the Germans call the second half of the season standings—behind only Leverkusen, Stuttgart, and Dortmund.
Like in the overall standings, Leverkusen are far and away the top team since the second half of the season kicked off on matchday 18. Die Werkself are first with 19 points, three points ahead of Stuttgart, five points ahead of Dortmund, and six points ahead of Bremen. But the fact that Bremen are just two points behind Europe’s best club team throughout the last seven games is noteworthy, especially as it also reflects the overall standings.
Quietly, Bremen have worked their way up to eighth place in the standings. Indeed, the defeat to Hoffenheim on Saturday hurts a little as it is now Die Kreichgauer and not Bremen, who sit in what could become a precious seventh place. Should Leverkusen win the DFB Pokal or the Bundesliga snatch an extra Champions League spot, seventh might be enough to qualify for the UEFA Conference League.
While we are still some ways away from celebrating Werder’s return to Europe, the sheer possibility of the Weserstadion seeing games under the floodgates once again is a tantalizing prospect. After all, Bremen have a rich European history, and the club history includes not one but two Wunder von der Weser (miracles at the Weser, the name of the river that runs through the city).
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