Tragic — Werder Bremen
Ulrich Borowka - Iron Foot: the Axe played 239 times in the Werder shirt.
Tragic
Ulrich Borowka - Iron Foot: the Axe played 239 times in the Werder shirt.
Ulrich Borowka - Iron Foot: the Axe played
Ulrich Borowka - Iron Foot: the Axe played 239 times in the Werder shirt.
Ulrich Borowka - Iron Foot: the Axe played 239 times in the Werder shirt. From 1987 to 1995 the tackle-happy and hard-shooting defender formed the wall in front of Bremen's goal, giving opponents little room and using every means available. Back in his Gladbach days he had greeted Olaf Thon with the words, I'll break both your legs right now. The point was clear even if he never made good on the threat. With Werder he became German champion in 1988 and 1993 and won the DFB Cup in 1991 and 1994. His career peaked with the Cup Winners' Cup in Lisbon in 1992, by which time he was already a Germany international. After retirement came the fall: alcoholism, violence, rehab, and finally a book in which he admitted he had already been an alcoholic while still an active player. Brave, but his past kept catching up with him. Even twice the DFB reportedly struck him from lists for honoring former cup heroes, which he publicly complained about in late 2019.
Horst-Dieter Hoettges - The trauma of 1966: Hoettges
Horst-Dieter Hoettges - The trauma of 1966: Hoettges played for Moenchengladbach from 1960 to 1964 and for Werder Bremen from 1964 to 1978, scoring 55 goals in 420 matches for the Hanseatic club.
Horst-Dieter Hoettges - The trauma of 1966: Hoettges played for Moenchengladbach from 1960 to 1964 and for Werder Bremen from 1964 to 1978, scoring 55 goals in 420 matches for the Hanseatic club. He was also capped 66 times by West Germany between 1965 and 1974. His great sporting misfortune was Geoff Hurst. Hearing the name still made him brood. Hoettges was a regular in the German side at the 1966 World Cup final against England. He had just come back from injury and was not fully fit. Hurst, by contrast, was in top form, ran riot and scored three times. England became world champions. For Hoettges, by his own admission, it was a true nightmare.
Erwin Kostedde - Innocent in jail: Kostedde scored
Erwin Kostedde - Innocent in jail: Kostedde scored 98 goals in 219 Bundesliga matches and became the first Black player to represent Germany, making three appearances in 1974 and 1975.
Erwin Kostedde - Innocent in jail: Kostedde scored 98 goals in 219 Bundesliga matches and became the first Black player to represent Germany, making three appearances in 1974 and 1975. He debuted on December 22, 1974 in the European Championship qualifier against Malta. Then-Werder manager Rudi Assauer once said that Bremen did not need Kostedde to run anymore, it would be enough if he just stood in the box and scored goals with his backside. Kostedde delivered, scoring 38 goals in 75 matches for Werder. After his career ended he lost savings of more than a million marks through a dubious financial adviser. In 1990 he was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery at a betting shop in Coesfeld and spent months in pre-trial detention before being acquitted. The police had investigated poorly and a witness had mistaken him for somebody else, but by then the damage to his reputation had been done. He received a meager 3,000 marks in compensation for the wrongful imprisonment. As he later put it, the former Erwin Kostedde died in 1990.
Manfred Burgsmueller - No luck at the end:
Manfred Burgsmueller - No luck at the end: Manni Burgsmueller was the fifth-highest scorer in Bundesliga history, a clever striker and an old fox.
Manfred Burgsmueller - No luck at the end: Manni Burgsmueller was the fifth-highest scorer in Bundesliga history, a clever striker and an old fox. His misfortune was that with Gerd Mueller around he barely figured for the national team, winning only three caps. He scored 213 top-flight goals for Rot-Weiss Essen, Borussia Dortmund, Nuernberg and Werder Bremen. At BVB it is still Burgsmueller, not Aubameyang, Chapuisat or Zorc, who holds the club scoring record with 135 Bundesliga goals. He ended his sporting life by playing six years of American football for Rhein Fire Duesseldorf and made the record books as the oldest player ever in that sport. The long career left its mark: arthrosis. Bild once launched a solidarity appeal and described his suffering in detail. Burgsmueller died in May 2019 at the age of 69.
Tragic — Update 2020–2026
On 12 August 2024, Willi Lemke died at the age of 77.
On 12 August 2024, Willi Lemke died at
On 12 August 2024, Willi Lemke died at the age of 77.
On 12 August 2024, Willi Lemke died at the age of 77. The long-time Werder manager had been part of the legendary triumvirate with Franz Bohmert and Otto Rehhagel under whose leadership Werder enjoyed the most successful era in club history. Lemke later served as a UN special adviser, senator for education and science, and Bremen’s interior senator. His death marked the end of an era. His public feuds with Uli Hoeness were as much part of his legacy as the invention of VIP boxes in German football, which had their beginnings at the Weserstadion.
The end of the club’s 41-year Bundesliga membership
The end of the club’s 41-year Bundesliga membership in May 2021 was itself a tragic moment in Werder history....
The end of the club’s 41-year Bundesliga membership in May 2021 was itself a tragic moment in Werder history.