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Werder Bremen History
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Werder Bremen is a German football club playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded in 1899 as FV 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 island", 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. They were the first club to charge spectators a fee to attend their games, and to fence in their playing field. Steady growth after World War I led the club to adopt other sports and, in 1920, change their name to the current SV Werder Bremen. Football remained their primary interest, so much so that in 1922, they became the first German club to hire a professional coach. Werder remained competitive through the 30's and 40's in the country's Oberligen and Gauligen, the highest levels of play at the time.
Like other organizations throughout Germany, the club was disbanded on the order of the occupying Allied forces after World War II. They re-constituted themselves in late 1945 as Gymnastics and Sport Club Werder of 1945, which was quickly changed to Sport Club Green White of 1899. They were able to reclaim the name SV Werder in early 1946. 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 the number two team in the north behind 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 four 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 2:10 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 2006 German Cup competition the club suffered a controversial 1:3 quarter-final loss to FC St. Pauli, 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.
In recent seasons, Werder Bremen has played attractive football, scoring nearly 80 goals in 34 games in the 2005-06 season. At the half way mark of the current season the team is sitting atop the Bundesliga table having netted 47 goals in 17 matches.
Current 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 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 1:1, and defeating Chelsea 1:0 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 semi-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. (The 3 semi-finalists are all Spanish La Liga teams whilst Werder Bremen are the only non-Spanish team.) Werder have a lot to do in the second leg if they want to stay in the competition, as RCD Espanyol emerged 3-0 victors in Barcelona. Espnayol won second leg 2-1 after Bremen scored first but then Klose, Bremen's striker was sent off in the 19th minute, dashing all hopes. Espanyol came back from a goal down to smash them into oblivion.
Club Culture
Werder Bremen has long-running friendships with Rot-Weiss Essen and FC Kaiserslautern, who both currently play in the 2. Bundesliga. They hold a long-term enmity with Bayern Munich, and have developed a recent, but intense, feud with FC Schalke 04, whose title-hungry manager Rudi Assauer, has lured away several of Werder's top players (including Ailton [now with Grasshopper Club Zürich], Mladen Krstajic, Frank Rost [now with Hamburger SV], Oliver Reck [now retired], and Fabian Ernst) with lucrative contracts.
The side prides itself on being one of the few coastal cities in the Bundesliga – currently the only other is Hamburger SV: 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.
Being in the north of Germany, Bremen has attracted a number of Scandinavian players.
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 "second-most-loved clubs" for fans who first follow their own local side.
source: wikipedia.org
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