Fun Facts — Werder Bremen
The great successes and the miracles of the Weser - the unforgettable floodlit European nights against Anderlecht, Dynamo Berlin or Lyon - are long part of German football history.
Fun Facts
The great successes and the miracles of the Weser - the unforgettable floodlit European nights against Anderlecht, Dynamo Berlin or Lyon - are long part of German football history.
The great successes and the miracles of the
The great successes and the miracles of the Weser - the unforgettable floodlit European nights against Anderlecht, Dynamo Berlin or Lyon - are long part of German football history.
The great successes and the miracles of the Weser - the unforgettable floodlit European nights against Anderlecht, Dynamo Berlin or Lyon - are long part of German football history. But Werder are more than miracles. There are plenty of fun facts about the champions of 1965, 1988, 1993 and 2004 that will let you score points against any HSV fan.
Werder? Hamburg has had enough. Bremen against HSV
Werder?
Werder? Hamburg has had enough. Bremen against HSV has never gone well, and whenever Bremen become champions, Hamburg tend to get hammered along the way. In 1992/93 Andy Herzog and company routed the hated Rothosen 5:0 at the Weserstadion, and in 2004 Hamburg lost 6:0 there again. In both cases Bayern were not amused and suspected some sort of north German provincial farce, badly misunderstanding the Hanseatic rivalry. In both seasons, however, Werder ended up as champions ahead of Bayern.
The best throw-in of all time: Bayern have
The best throw-in of all time: Bayern have more reason to be annoyed with Werder.
The best throw-in of all time: Bayern have more reason to be annoyed with Werder. On August 21, 1982 their new goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff made sure everybody noticed. In the 44th minute he became the victim of the first throw-in goal in Bundesliga history. Striker Uwe Reinders, a man with strong arms and a big mouth, hurled the ball into the six-yard box with a bit of help from the wind. It bounced high - too high for Pfaff, who, impeded by Klaus Augenthaler, only brushed it with his fingertips and diverted it into the net. Had he not touched it, it would not have counted. Worse still for Bayern, it was the only goal of the match. Reinders coolly insisted afterward that he had only wanted to throw to Rudi Voeller for a flick-on. Curiously, Werder also benefited from the second and, as of 2019, last throw-in goal in Bundesliga history, when Stuttgart's Borna Sosa surprised his own keeper in 2018.
The year of Freibad Toni: Ailton is without
The year of Freibad Toni: Ailton is without question one of the most colorful players Werder ever had under contract.
The year of Freibad Toni: Ailton is without question one of the most colorful players Werder ever had under contract. Signed from UANL Tigres of Mexico in 1998, the Brazilian won the Bundesliga scoring title in the 2003/04 championship season with 28 goals, the best return since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1980/81. In 2004 he was even voted Footballer of the Year. He also won Goal of the Month three times in that season. There was not much more he could have done.
Otto and Assi on pub chairs: the title-winning
Otto and Assi on pub chairs: the title-winning promotion campaign in the second division in 1981 at Oldenburg was watched by coach Otto Rehhagel and m...
Otto and Assi on pub chairs: the title-winning promotion campaign in the second division in 1981 at Oldenburg was watched by coach Otto Rehhagel and manager Rudi Assauer from specially fetched pub chairs on the touchline of the cramped ground.
The Piza phenomenon: as of December 2019 the
The Piza phenomenon: as of December 2019 the Peruvian Claudio Pizarro held three Bundesliga records: most appearances by a foreign player, oldest Bund...
The Piza phenomenon: as of December 2019 the Peruvian Claudio Pizarro held three Bundesliga records: most appearances by a foreign player, oldest Bundesliga goalscorer, and Werder Bremen's record scorer.
Werder's kings of goals: only one of them
Werder's kings of goals: only one of them also lifted the league title.
Werder's kings of goals: only one of them also lifted the league title. Four Werder strikers won the Bundesliga scoring crown in more than 55 years of league history, but only Ailton in 2004 did so as German champion. The line began with Rudi Voeller in the runners-up season of 1982/83, continued with Super Mario Basler in 1994/95, who even had to share the title with Heiko Herrlich, and then Miroslav Klose in 2005/06, whose 25 goals again only brought Bremen a runners-up finish behind Bayern.
Otto, I like him: a monument in front
Otto, I like him: a monument in front of the Weserstadion commemorates the club's greatest successes and the longest coaching reign in Bundesliga history, from 1981 to 1995 under King Otto Rehhagel.
Otto, I like him: a monument in front of the Weserstadion commemorates the club's greatest successes and the longest coaching reign in Bundesliga history, from 1981 to 1995 under King Otto Rehhagel. On his farewell, the team even sang him a somewhat awkward little song.
European football is not for cowards: Come out,
European football is not for cowards: Come out, you cowards, so we can finish you off, Werder striker Manfred Burgsmueller shouted at the dressing-room door of Dynamo Berlin before the 1988 European Cup tie.
European football is not for cowards: Come out, you cowards, so we can finish you off, Werder striker Manfred Burgsmueller shouted at the dressing-room door of Dynamo Berlin before the 1988 European Cup tie. After losing the first leg 3:0 in East Berlin, Werder overran the East German champions 5:0 in Bremen - and it could even have ended 6:0 if a first-half effort had not been hacked off the line.
The jungle kings: with Ailton in 2012 and
The jungle kings: with Ailton in 2012 and Thorsten Legat in 2016, two former Werder professionals made fools of themselves in RTL's I'm a Celebrity...
The jungle kings: with Ailton in 2012 and Thorsten Legat in 2016, two former Werder professionals made fools of themselves in RTL's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.
The ship to the match: Werder Bremen offer
The ship to the match: Werder Bremen offer a service unique in the league.
The ship to the match: Werder Bremen offer a service unique in the league. On matchdays supporters can travel to the stadium by ferry, with stops along the way, or take the Sielwall ferry from the P+R lot on the Stadtwerder to Osterdeich.
Fun Facts — Update 2020–2026
Niclas Fullkrug was perhaps the most unlikely World Cup story of 2022.
Niclas Fullkrug was perhaps the most unlikely World
Niclas Fullkrug was perhaps the most unlikely World Cup story of 2022.
Niclas Fullkrug was perhaps the most unlikely World Cup story of 2022. The Werder academy product, who had battled knee injuries for years and had never looked like an obvious Germany international, scored against Spain in Qatar and became a darling of the nation overnight. His goal celebration — built around the gap in his teeth — turned into a meme. The move to Borussia Dortmund for around 15 million euros followed in summer 2023.