SV Werder Bremen

Football club infobox
clubname = Werder Bremen


fullname = Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V.
nickname = "Werder"
founded = 4 February1899
ground = Weserstadion
Bremen
capacity = 43,087
chairman = flagicon|GER Klaus-Dieter Fischer
manager = flagicon|GER Thomas Schaaf
mgrtitle = Coach
league = Bundesliga
season = 2007/08
position = Bundesliga, 2nd
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Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as "Fußballverein Werder" by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize of sports equipment to set them on their way. They took their name from the seldom used regional German word for “river peninsula”, describing the riverside field they first played football on.

History

The club enjoyed some early success, fielding competitive sides and winning a number of local championships. "FV" took part in the qualification play for the national championships in playoffs held by the Norddeutscher Fussball Verband (NFV), one of the seven major regional leagues after the turn of the century, but were unable to advance. They became the first club to charge spectators a fee to attend their games and to fence in their playing field.

In April 1914 the club became a department of "Allgemeiner Bremer Turnverein 1860" and was briefly known as "Sportabteilung Werder des ABTV". However the relationship was shortlived and the club went its own way again less than two months later.

Steady growth after World War I led the club to adopt other sports and, on 19 January 1920, change their name to the current "Sportverein Werder Bremen". Football remained their primary interest, so much so that in 1922, they became the first German club to hire a professional coach. The team made regular appearances in year end NFV qualification round play through the 20s and on into the early 30s, but did not enjoy any success.

German football was re-organized under the Third Reich in 1933 into sixteen first division leagues known as Gauligen and "Werder" became part of the Gauliga Niedersachsen. The club scored its first real successes, capturing division titles in 1934, 1936, and 1937, and took part for the first time in national level playoff competition. The shape of the Gauligen changed through the course of World War II and in 1939 the Gauliga Niedersachsen was split into two divisions. "SV" played in the Gauliga Niedersachsen/Nord where they captured a fourth title in 1942. As the war overtook the country, the Gauligen became progressively more local in character. The Gauliga Niedersachsen/Nord became the Gauliga Weser-Ems and then the Gauliga Weser-Ems/Bremen over the next two years. "Werder"'s 1944-45 season was cut short after just two matches.

Like other organizations throughout Germany, the club was disbanded on the order of the occupying Allied authorities after the war. They re-constituted themselves 10 November 1945 as "Turn- und Sportverein Werder 1945 Bremen", which was changed to "Sport-Club Grün-Weiß 99 Bremen" on 4 February 1946. The team took up play in the Stadtliga Bremen, and after capturing a title there, participated in the northern German championship round, advancing to the quarterfinals. They were able to reclaim the name "SV Werder" on 25 March 1946 before taking part in the playoffs.

At the time, professionals were not permitted to play in the German game, so it was normal for football players to take on other jobs, often with the club's local patron. In the case of "Werder", a number of the players worked at the nearby Brinkmann tobacco factory, and so the side took on the nickname "Texas 11" after one of the company's popular cigarette brands.

Between the end of the war and the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 the club continued to do well, being recognized as one of the top two teams in northern Germany along with the "Hamburger SV". In 1961 they managed their first German Cup win. Their performance was good enough to earn them a place as a charter member of the Bundesliga, and in the league's second season "Werder" took the championship. They earned a second-place finish in the 1967-68, but then languished in the bottom half of the table for a dozen years. An attempt to improve their lot by signing high-priced talent earned the side the new, derisive nickname of "the Millionaires" and turned out to be an expensive failure. The club dropped out of the Bundesliga for the first and only time, being relegated to the 2.Bundesliga-Nord for the 1980-81 season after a 17th place finish.

"Werder" recovered themselves under the direction of newly hired coach Otto Rehhagel, who led the side to a string of successes: Bundesliga runners-up in 1983, 1985 and 1986, champions in 1988; appearances in the final of the German Cup in 1989 and 1990 with a win there in 1991; followed by victory in the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1992. In 1993, the club earned its third Bundesliga title and, in the following year, its third German Cup. Rehhagel left the club in June 1995 after this impressive run for a short-lived turn as coach of "Bayern München".

The impact of Rehhagel's departure was felt immediately, and a succession of coaches (Aad de Mos, Dixie Dörner, Wolfgang Sidka and Felix Magath) led the club into a critical position. In May 1999 former defender and amateur coach Thomas Schaaf took over the team and stopping a slide toward relegation and leading the team to a German Cup victory only weeks later.

In the following seasons the team's performance stabilized as they regularly finished in the upper half of the table. In 2004, they managed to take both the Bundesliga championship and the German Cup – one of only three German sides to make the Double. Their performance qualified them for 2004-05 Champions League play and they advanced to the Round of 16 before a dismal exit on a 10:2 aggregate to French side "Olympique Lyonnais".

In 2005, "Werder" again qualified for Champions League, this time through a third place Bundesliga result following a difficult injury-prone season. They once more advanced to the Round of 16, this time being put out by Italian club "Juventus" on away goals after a 4:4 aggregate.

In the 2006 German Cup competition the club suffered a controversial 1:3 quarter-final loss to "FC St. Pauli",Fact|date=October 2007 but later went on to capture its first Ligapokal trophy with a 2:0 win over "Bayern München" in the August 5 final played in Leipzig.

2006/2007 season

In the 2006/2007 season, Werder Bremen claimed the 'winter champions' title, being the first place team in the Bundesliga before the winter break period. Bremen have scored a total of six goals in one game three times (against VfL Bochum, FSV Mainz 05, and Eintracht Frankfurt). Bremen encountered a tough UEFA Champions League draw, against last years champions FC Barcelona, and English powerhouse club Chelsea FC. Werder Bremen surprised many avid football viewers, by shocking Barcelona 5-1, and defeating Chelsea 7-0 at the Weserstadion during Champions League group stage. In the return leg of the group stage at the Nou Camp Estadio in Barcelona, Bremen were defeated 0-2, thus seeing them take the third place in the group, and relegated to the UEFA Cup, where they were to face Ajax Amsterdam. They won the first leg 3-0 in the Weserstadion, and despite losing 3-1 in Amsterdam, Werder Bremen progressed with an aggregate score of 4-3, to face Celta Vigo in the next round. Their domestic cup run was short-lived however as they suffered a stunning exit to FK Pirmasens in a penalty shootout. The club started the new year positively, beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 away from home. This result, however, was followed by 3 consecutive Bundesliga losses, to Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV. The aggregate victory over Ajax Amsterdam brought some respite, and the club has recently recorded an away draw at Mönchengladbach and a home victory against Bochum to close the gap on Schalke 04, who suffered 2 defeats in the same period, at the top of the league.They also passed to the next round of UEFA cup by defeating Celta de Vigo as they won 0-1 in the first leg and also winning in the second leg with 2:0 in the Weserstadion. In the quarter-finals, they held AZ Alkmaar to a 0-0 first leg draw and turned on the style in the second leg to rout the high-flying Dutch team 4-1 to win with the same score on aggregate. They face RCD Espanyol in the semi-finals. (Three of the semi-finalists were all Spanish La Liga teams, whilst Werder Bremen was the only non-Spanish team.) RCD Espanyol emerged 3-0 victors in Barcelona, and also won the second leg although Bremen scored the first goal. Striker Miroslav Klose was sent off in the 19th minute of the second game, crushing all hopes. Espanyol came back from a goal down to win 2-1 (aggregate 5-1).

Miroslav Klose, Werder Bremen's star striker, was sold to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich at the end of the 2007 season for € 12.5 million.

ponsorship

Companies that Werder Bremen currently has sponsorship deals with include [cite web |url=http://www.werder.de/english/media/medienservice.php |title=Media & PR |accessdate=2007-06-21 |year=2007 |publisher= werder.de ] :

*Citibank - Main sponsor
*Kappa (company) - Official sponsors
*Beluga Shipping - Official sponsors
*Coca-Cola - Official sponsors
*PSD Bank - Official sponsors
*EWE TEL - Official sponsors
*Volkswagen - Official sponsors
*Deutsche Bahn - Official Sponsors
*Könecke - Official sponsors
*Uhlsport - Official sponsors
*Derbystar - Official sponsors
*Meyerhoff - Official sponsors
*Haake Beck - Official sponsors

Club Culture

"Werder Bremen" supporters have a long-running friendship with "Rot-Weiss Essen", who currently play in the Regionalliga West (4th tier). They hold a long-term enmity with the supporters of local rival "Hamburger SV" as well as with those of "Bayern Munich", and have developed a recent, but intense, feud with "FC Schalke 04", whose title-hungry ex-manager Rudi Assauer, has lured away several of "Werder's" top players (including Ailton, Mladen Krstajic, Frank Rost [now with Hamburger SV] , Oliver Reck [trainer of the goalkeepers of Schalke 04] , and Fabian Ernst) with lucrative contracts.

The side prides itself on being one of the few port cities in the Bundesliga – currently the only others are "Hamburger SV" and "Hansa Rostock": the toot of a ship's whistle celebrates every "Werder" goal. This regional pride has its drawbacks, though, as opposing fans regularly taunt "Werder Bremen" fans as "Fischköppe" (fishheads), alluding to offensive smell and limited intelligence.

Finally, "Werder Bremen" is also known for its level-headed environment. In contrast to many other cities, where the local sides are often subject to intense media attention, players and trainers here are usually left in relative peace. "Bremen"'s reputation is that of sensible, respected and financially healthy club and it is popular as one of the Bundesliga's “everyone's second team” for fans who first follow their own local side.

Honours

*sport honours|Bundesliga|4|1964-65, 1987-88, 1992-93, 2003-04
*sport honours|DFB-Pokal|5|1960-61, 1990-91, 1993-94, 1998-99, 2003-04
*sport honours|UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|1|1991-92
*sport honours|DFB-Ligapokal|1|2006
*sport honours|DFB-Supercup|3|1987-88, 1992-93, 1993-94
*sport honours|UEFA Intertoto Cup|1|1997-98
*sport honours|Kirin Cup|2|1982, 1986

Players

Current squad

Players out on loan

"For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2008."

Werder Bremen II

Werder Bremen's reserve team play in the 3. Liga. The coach is Thomas Wolter.

Current squad

Recent seasons

References

External links

* [http://www.werder.de/ Official team site] (German & English)
* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/bremen.html The Abseits Guide to German Soccer]
* [http://www.resultsfromfootball.com/bundesliga-team/svwerderbremen.html Werder Bremen statistics]
* [http://www.football-lineups.com/games/?campaign=15.87 Werder Bremen formations at football-lineups]