SV Werder Bremen

The club was founded on 4 February 1899[2] as Fußballverein Werder[1] by a group of 16 vocational high school students who had won a prize of sports equipment.[10] The students took the club's name from a German word for "river peninsula", which described the riverside field on which they played their first football games.

The predecessor to Bremen, known as SV Werder, played its first ever match on 10 September 1899 against ASC 1898 Bremen coming away with a 1–0 victory. In 1900, FV Bremen was represented at the founding of the German Football Association (DFB) at Leipzig. The club then enjoyed some early success, fielding competitive sides and winning a number of local championships. FV took part in the qualification play for the national championships in playoffs held by the Norddeutscher Fussball Verband (NFV), one of the seven major regional leagues after the turn of the century, but were unable to advance. They became the first club to charge spectators a fee to attend their games and to fence in their playing field.

In April 1914, the club became a department of Allgemeiner Bremer Turnverein 1860 and was briefly known as Sportabteilung Werder des ABTV. The relationship was short-lived, however, and the club went its own way again less than two months later.

Steady growth after World War I led the club to adopt other sports and, on 19 January 1920, change their name to the current Sportverein Werder Bremen. Football remained their primary interest, so much so that in 1922, they became the first German club to hire a professional coach. The team made regular appearances in year-end NFV qualification round play through the 1920s and on into the early 1930s, but did not enjoy any success.

German football was re-organized under the Third Reich in 1933 into 16 first division leagues known as Gauligen and Werder became part of the Gauliga Niedersachsen. The club scored its first real successes, capturing division titles in 1934, 1936, and 1937, and took part for the first time in national level playoff competition. The shape of the Gauligen changed through the course of World War II and in 1939, the Gauliga Niedersachsen was split into two divisions. SV played in the Gauliga Niedersachsen/Nord where they captured a fourth title in 1942. As the war overtook the country, the Gauligen became progressively more local in character. The Gauliga Niedersachsen/Nord became the Gauliga Weser-Ems and then the Gauliga Weser-Ems/Bremen over the next two years. Werder's 1944–45 season was cut short after just two matches.

Historical chart of Werder league performance after WWII

Like other organizations throughout Germany, the club was disbanded on the order of the occupying Allied authorities after the war. They re-constituted themselves on 10 November 1945 as Turn- und Sportverein Werder 1945 Bremen, which was changed to Sport-Club Grün-Weiß 99 Bremen on 4 February 1946. The team played in the Stadtliga Bremen, and after capturing the title there, participated in the northern German championship round, advancing to the quarter-finals. They were able to reclaim the name SV Werder on 25 March 1946 before taking part in the playoffs.

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 WW2 and the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963, the club continued to do well, being recognized as one of the top two teams in northern Germany, along with Hamburger SV. In 1961, they managed their first DFB-Pokal 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 2nd Bundesliga-Nord for the 1980–81 season after a 17th-place finish.

Werder Bremen 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 DFB-Pokal 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 DFB-Pokal. Rehhagel left the club in June 1995 after this impressive run for a short-lived turn as coach of Bayern Munich. 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 stopped a slide toward relegation and led the team to a cup victory only weeks later.

Werder Bremen won the DFB-Pokal in 2004

The team's performance stabilized in the following seasons as they regularly finished in the upper half of the table. In 2004, they managed to take both the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal – one of only four German sides to achieve the Double. Their performance qualified them for the 2004–05 Champions League play and they advanced to the Round of 16 before a dismal exit on a 10–2 aggregate to French side Olympique Lyonnais. Werder again qualified for the Champions League in 2005, 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 score. A second place in the league ensured the third consecutive Champions League qualification for Werder Bremen.

In the 2006–07 season, Werder Bremen claimed the "winter champions" title, being the first place team in the Bundesliga before the winter break period, but eventually came in third behind VfB Stuttgart and Schalke 04. A third place in the Champions League group stage sent Bremen to the UEFA Cup, where they lost in the semi-finals to RCD Espanyol. After the season, Werder lost their famous striker Miroslav Klose through transfer to Bayern Munich. As in the previous season, Bremen finished third in the Champions League, but this time lost in the Round of 16 to Scottish club Rangers. A vice-championship in the Bundesliga qualified Werder for their fifth consecutive Champions League attendance.

Bremen struggled in their 2008–09 Bundesliga campaign, eventually finishing tenth, their worst league performance in more than a decade. Nevertheless, Bremen made it to the UEFA Cup final (after yet another third-place finish in the group stage of the Champions League), as well as the national cup final. After Naldo equalized an early goal by Shakhtar Donetsk, Bremen lost the UEFA Cup final 1–2 after extra time. In the final match of its 2008–09 season, Bremen defeated Bayer Leverkusen 1–0 to win the DFB-Pokal.

Werder Bremen against rivals Hamburg in the Nordderby

Werder Bremen has a long-standing rivalry with northern German club Hamburger SV,[11] another major club in northern Germany,[12] known as the Nordderby, as well as other big clubs like Bayern Munich in particular. They have developed a recent but intense dislike of Schalke 04 after the Gelsenkirchen side poached some of their top players and staff (including Aílton, Mladen Krstajić, Frank Rost, Oliver Reck (goalkeeping coach), and Fabian Ernst).

There are seven ultra groups in Bremen: "Wanderers-Bremen", "The Infamous Youth", "Caillera", "L'Intesa Verde", "HB Crew", "Ultra Boys" and "UltrA-Team Bremen".

The official anthem of Werder Bremen is "Lebenslang Grün-Weiß" by Bremen-based band Original Deutschmacher.[13][14][15] After each Bremen goal, the song I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers is played. Lebenslang Grün-Weiß is sung before every game. After each goal a ship's horn sounds in the stadium.

Some Werder fans maintain friendly relationships with SK Sturm Graz, Rot-Weiß Essen, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem.

Companies that Werder Bremen currently has sponsorship deals with include:[19]

• Wiesenhof – Main Sponsor
• Umbro – Official Kit Suppliers
• Targobank – Official sponsors, formerly "Citibank"
• Volkswagen – Official sponsors
• Coca-Cola – Official sponsors
• InBev – Official sponsors
• Tipbet – Official Betting Partner[20]
• Tipico – Official sponsors
• SigG Solar – Official sponsors
• Ramada – Official sponsors
• Kraft Foods – Official sponsors
• Ewe Tel – Official sponsors
• CeWe Color – Official sponsors
• Haake Beck, Hasseröder – Official sponsors[21]

• In the 2008–09 Bundesliga season, during the transition of the German branch of Citibank to Targobank, following its takeover by Credit Mutuel, Werder Bremen sported on the shirts the transitional message "So Geht Bank Heute" (That's How Banking is done today).

Werder Bremen's reserve team currently plays in the Regionalliga-Nord after relegation from 3. Liga after finishing 18th in the 2017–18 season. It plays its home matches at Weserstadion Platz 11, adjacent to the first team's ground, and it is coached by Sven Hübscher.

The women's team was promoted to the first Bundesliga in 2014–15.[23]

Werder has had 19 managers since the beginning of the Bundesliga era in 1963. Otto Rehhagel served the longest term, being in office for fourteen years. Hans Tilkowski, Willi Multhaup, Rudi Assauer, and Otto Rehhagel served two terms each while Fritz Langner served three.

Head Coach	Years Coached	Notes
Willi Multhaup	1 July 1963 – 30 June 1965
Günter Brocker	1 July 1965 – 4 September 1967
Fritz Langner	9 September 1967 – 30 June 1969
Richard Ackerschott	12 October 1968 – June 69	Replacement for Fritz Langner in games 11, 12, 13, and 34
Fritz Rebell	1 July 1969 – 16 March 1970
Hans Tilkowski	17 March 1970 – 30 June 1970
Robert Gebhardt	1 July 1970 – 28 September 1971
Willi Multhaup	28 September 1971 – 24 October 1971
Sepp Piontek	Oct 1971 – 30 June 1975
Fritz Langner	8 May 1972 – 30 June 1972	Replacement for Sepp Piontek in games 31 and 32
Herbert Burdenski	1 July 1975 – 28 February 1976
Otto Rehhagel	29 February 1976 – 30 June 1976
Hans Tilkowski	1 July 1976 – 19 December 1977
Rudi Assauer	Dec 1977 – June 78	In cooperation with Fred Schulz
Fred Schulz	2 January 1978 – 30 June 1978	In cooperation with Rudi Assauer
Wolfgang Weber	1 July 1978 – 28 January 1980
Rudi Assauer	29 January 1980 – 20 February 1980	In cooperation with Fritz Langner
Fritz Langner	21 February 1980 – 30 June 1980	In cooperation with Rudi Assauer
Kuno Klötzer	1 July 1980 – 1 April 1981
Otto Rehhagel	2 April 1981 – 30 June 1995
Aad de Mos	1 July 1995 – 9 January 1996
Hans-Jürgen Dörner	14 January 1996 – 20 August 1997
Wolfgang Sidka	21 August 1997 – 20 October 1998
Felix Magath	22 October 1998 – 8 May 1999
Thomas Schaaf	9 May 1999 – 15 May 2013
Wolfgang Rolff	15 May 2013 – 25 May 2013	Schaaf's former assistant coach was interim coach for the game 34 of the season 2012/2013.
Robin Dutt	1 June 2013 – 25 October 2014
Viktor Skrypnyk	25 October 2014 – 18 September 2016
Alexander Nouri	18 September 2016 – 30 October 2017
Florian Kohfeldt	30 October 2017 –

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Werder Bremen.

• Official website (German & English)
• Werder Bremen statistics
• Werder Bremen formations at football-lineups