As the opening day to the Bundesliga looms ever closer, Outside90’s Tim Klinger takes a look at exactly how Werder Bremen could fare this season.
Well, maybe not exactly, but armed with the next best thing – a copy of popular simulation game Football Manager 15 (FM15) and an edited database including all transfers in-and-out of the Weserstadion so far this preseason – we run through the German top flight gauntlet and see where the Green-whites come out on the other side.
The Liberty has been taken of removing Dutch flyer Eljiro Elia from the Bremen squad and placing him at Southampton, with the deal edging closer and closer to completion each day.
Before a ball was kicked in Bremen’s virtual 2015/16 campaign, the German media had their say on where the Green-Whites would finish come the final day. General consensus was that while the squad would not struggle with the demands of a rigorous campaign, Skrypnyk’s men would not be troubling the big hitters of the division with a rather safe prediction of a 12th placed finish.
There was more action in the transfer market as Skrypnyk brought in 22-year-old right back Patric from Barcelona for a nominal fee of £700, 000. Also arriving at the Weserstadion was Ghanaian loanee Jeffrey Schlupp, joining from Leicester City as the coach looked to replace Elia. The only notable exit out of Bremen was attacking-midfielder Levent Aycicek, who dropped a division to join FC St. Pauli on a season-long loan.
The board had set Skrypnyk the task of securing survival early in the season before pushing ahead for the higher places on offer in mid-table. Along with their league expectations the board noted they would also like to see a strong showing from the club in the domestic cup and challenge in the later rounds, a request all too easy for a squad the likes of Werder Bremen, surely?
Well no, it was not. As Bremen went down on penalties in round one of the cup and the first competitive fixture of the season to SV Sandhausen after scores were level 2-2 from a disappointing 90 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse with the opening of the Bundesliga as the team fell to a 3-1 home defeat against European hopefuls Borussia Monchengladbach. FM15 decided to keep piling on the pain for the Werder faithful, as they went the opening seven matches of the Bundesliga season without registering a solitary win. A stat eerily similar to the opening of last season’s campaign which saw former manager Robin Dutt lose his job.
As the colder weather began to hit October finally saw the Green-whites collect their first three points of the season with a convincing 2-0 win away against Hannover, controlling 61% of the possession on the day. With the monkey finally of their back, Skrypnyk looked to lead the club into the winter break with more confident performances to loosen the noose that had been tightening around the Ukrainian’s neck.
MORE: Looking at Werder’s undefeated 2015-16 preseason campaign
When January rolled around and the league came to a grinding halt to see out the worst of the German winter, Bremen and Skrypnyk were sitting happily in 15th place, five points clear of the drop zone and after spectacular wins against the likes of Schalke and Dortmund, were eyeing an assault on the upper reaches of the table. A key performer so far in the season was attacking midfielder Ludovic Obraniak, who had provided six assists and had achieved a pass percentage rate so far of 84%.
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As the Bundesliga returned in 2016 there was no slow restart for Bremen, putting together their best run of the season in going undefeated for six matches, seeing-off the likes of Ausburg and Hoffenheim. The run had catapulted the Green-whites to the dizzy heights of seventh on the table, as players and fans alike believed European qualification was a realistic goal for the club.
Unfortunately the run for Bremen would not last, returning to the up-and-down form they have become associated with in past seasons, ending in 13th place, with 10 wins, nine draws and 15 losses giving a grand total of 39 points, seven off of European qualification.
Now, for the individual players. Most were average at best, some were standout performers and others sunk like a ship with no notice at all. Bremen’s player of the season status was given to Danish centre-half Jannick Vestergaard, who boasted 30 appearances and won six Man of the Match awards, averaging 4.12 tackles a game. A very solid season from the 22-year-old who finished with an average score of 7.46/10. Unsurprisingly, Bremen’s runner-up in player of the year was fellow defender Santiago Garcia, who managed an average score of 7.16 from 33 appearances.
Top goal scorer? This was none other than now-departed Argentinian hitman Franco Di Santo, who hit the net 10 times throughout the campaign and provided another four assists in his 32 appearances. The biggest disappointment of Bremen’s season, however, was Austrian Zlakto Junjuzovic. Despite taking the field 28 times his season passed by in a whimper as he could not find the net, or his team mates’ boots, failing to register a single goal or assist with a pass rating of 74%.
Skrypnyk’s new signings did not fare much better either, with only starting appearances between the likes of Wiedwald, Oztunali, Schlupp and Garcia. Ujah and Patric performed admirably for the club, making 29 and 26 starts respectively.
Football Manager has predicted another up-and-down rollercoaster ride coming for the Weserstadion and, it would be going out on a limb saying anything different. Come next May we will know for sure if FM15 really can predict the future.
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