Werder Bremen have long searched for the coach that would lead them back to glory since the departure of Thomas Schaaf. With the consistency Florian Kohfeldt has brought to the club this season, the search is now over.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Revierfoto
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At the moment, Werder Bremen is the definition of a mid-table Bundesliga team.
Their 4-2 victory over Schalke at Bremen's Weserstadion on Friday lifted them into ninth place — smack dab in the middle of Germany's 18-team top flight. They rank seventh in both goals scored (43) and goals allowed (37) in the division. Their nine draws this term is tied with Freiburg for the second most behind Hoffenheim.
Yet for a team that has flirted with the relegation zone the previous four seasons, this league campaign has been a resounding success, and head coach Florian Kohfeldt deserves a lot of credit for making that happen.
Bucking the trend
Bremen fans have seen a number of coaches emerge from the tunnel at the Weserstadion. Kohfeldt, who was promoted from the reserve team in November 2017, is the fifth coach to take the helm since Thomas Schaaf's 14-year run came to an end in May 2013.
Kohfeldt's two predecessors, Alexander Nouri and Viktor Skripnik, were sacked by Bremen with the team in the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Kohfeldt, in his second season in charge, has managed to avoid the drop zone completely — his Bremen team this season has not fallen below 11th place in the table.
Florian Kohfeldt celebrates a late equalizing goal from Claudio Pizarro in BerlinImage: Imago/Nordphoto/Kokenge
What is even more impressive is that the 36-year-old has made Bremen into an attractive attacking team. His side has scored in all 25 of its league games this season, the first time that has ever happened in the German top flight.
His squad is also putting up numbers Bremen fans haven't seen in nearly a decade. Werder have held an average possession of 52.9 percent, have fired 14.9 shots per game and have passed with a success rate of 80.2 percent, according to football statistics website WhoScored.com.
Those are the best marks the team has put up since the 2009-10 season, when Bremen finished second in third place. That team had household names such as Mesut Özil, Tim Borowski, Torsten Frings and Marko Marin, not to mention much younger versions of Claudio Pizarro and Martin Harnik.
As a result, Bremen have collected an average of 1.44 points per game this season under Kohfeldt, the best average for a Bremen coach since Schaaf.
A spot in Europe?
With 36 points on the season, Werder Bremen remain in contention to qualify for a European competition, a feat which would end their eight-year absence.
However, they still face an uphill battle towards the international stage. Unlike all the teams above them in the table, Bremen still have to face both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund a second time. They also have difficult away fixtures against Leverkusen, Hoffenheim and a surprisingly difficult Düsseldorf team.
Bremen - gunning for Europe
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But Bremen seem to be rounding into form at just the right time. They are unbeaten in the eight games they have played in 2019 and have scored 15 goals in the new year, tied for the fifth most. Harnik, a crucial squad player who has dealt with a nagging hip injury all season, scored on Friday in his return from a four-game absence.
Kohfeldt's side also never seems to be out of a game. They have faced a 1-0 deficit in each of their last four games, and they have gone on to either draw or win each of them.
Qualification for Europe may yet be beyond their reach at this point in their development, but with Kohfeldt at the helm, the club is certainly headed in the right direction.
Bundesliga Matchday 25 roundup
Bayern Munich turned up the heat in the Bundesliga title race, while Borussia Dortmund struggled in the wind and rain against Stuttgart. On Friday night, Schalke improved but not by enough while Nuremberg lost again.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Pförtner
Hannover 2-3 Leverkusen
In perhaps the craziest game of the season, Leverkusen got a win that keeps them in the European race. Kevin Volland's brace had Leverkusen cruising, but heavy snow slowed the visitors and eventually stopped the game. Hannover were denied a goal when the snow held up Genki Haraguchi's shot, but battled back through Jonathas and a Mitchell Weiser own goal. Kai Havertz headed in a late winner.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Pförtner
Fortuna Düsseldorf 0-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt went into this match unbeaten in 2019 and duly handed Düsseldorf another goal-heavy 3-0 defeat. Yet they didn't have it all their own way as the hosts defended resolutely. Frankfurt turned their dominance into goals in the second half, though, with Gonçalo Paciência opening the scoring and Sebastian Haller scoring two goals late in the match.
Image: picture alliance/Fotostand/Wundrig
Hoffenheim 2 - 1 Nuremberg
A double from Andrej Kramaric condmened Nuremberg to their 16th defeat of a dreadful season. The Croatian thought he'd won an early penalty but VAR replays showed he dived. Shortly after though, Kramaric did get the chance to score from the spot and took it. The hosts allowed Nuremberg back in through Hanno Behrens but an improvisational backheel from Kramaric settled it in the 78th minute.
Image: www.imago-images.de
Bayern Munich 6-0 Wolfsburg
The defending champions reclaimed the top spot in the Bundesliga with a dominant performance against Wolfsburg. Robert Lewandowski (left) scored twice and Serge Gnabry collected a goal and an assist, but it was Franck Ribery who stole the show with three assists off the bench. Bayern now lead rivals Borussia Dortmund by two goals with nine games to go.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/S. Widmann
Mainz 0-1 Gladbach
Dieter Hecking's side got their first win in over a month, although it was a result that flattered the Foals. Mainz were full of intent and had plenty of shots, but failed to really test Yann Sommer. In the second half of a game short on chances, Tobias Strobl found Nico Elvedi. His shot crept up under an impressive Florian Müller and Gladbach moved level on points with RB Leipzig.
Image: imago/Jan Huebner/Scheiber
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Stuttgart
Four days after their elimination from the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund got back to winning ways in the Bundesliga. Marco Reus (middle) put the hosts ahead from the spot, his 14th of the season, but Marc-Oliver Kempf equalized to leave Dortmund desperate. With time running out, Paco Alcacer (right) put BVB back in front before Christian Pulisic added a third in stoppage time.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Freiburg 2-1 Hertha Berlin
Freiburg collected their second consecutive home win on Saturday by dispatching Hertha Berlin. Nils Petersen (right) put the home team ahead when he headed in a cross from Vincenzo Grifo (middle). Hertha captain Vedad Ibisevic leveled the score in the second half, but his own goal 10 minutes from time gave Freiburg the victory.
Image: picture alliance / Pressefoto Baumann
Leipzig 0-0 Augsburg
Despite dominating for most of the game, Leipzig failed to earn all three points on Saturday against a stubborn Augsburg side. The hosts had 16 shots in the contest, half of which were on target, but the Bavarian team escaped with a valuable point away from home as they try to distance themselves from the relegation zone.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/J. Woitas
Werder Bremen 4-2 Schalke
The Green and Whites continued their unbeaten run in 2019 on Friday by dispatching Schalke in the Weserstadion. Milot Rashica (middle) scored in each half while Max Kruse (left) and Martin Harnik also chipped in. Breel Embolo scored twice in his return from a four-month injury absence, but it wasn't enough for Schalke as they extended their winless streak to seven games.
