Florian Kohfeldt’s SV Werder Bremen embarked upon the new 2019/2020 Bundesliga campaign on August 17 at home at the Weserstadion in a 3-1 defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Rouwen Hennings was the catalyst for the visitors as the 31-year-old former Burnley and Karlsruher SC forward inspired a tentative first half lead for the North Rhine-Westphalia-based club 36 minutes into the contest before 21-year-old striker, Johannes Eggerstein, briefly silenced Fortuna Düsseldorf courtesy of an equalizer two minutes into the second half.
However, Fortuna Düsseldorf subsequently maintained advantage to make it 2-1 merely five minutes thereafter,via former Hannover 96 striker, Kenan Karaman. However, SV Werder Bremen’s valiant efforts to level the game was indefinitely placed in momentary doubt when Friedhelm Funkel’s defiant side confidently added a third goal in the 64th minute to comfortably extend the Flingeraners lead to 3-1 and ultimately claim the three points.
Furthermore, SV Werder Bremen’s 66.8% possession in contrast to Fortuna Düsseldorf’s 33.2% percentange was immensely indicative of Die Grün-Weißen decisive technical command and efficient emotive control, evidently apparent with 24 shots compared to Fortuna Düsseldorf’s 12 shot attempts. However, SV Werder Bremen also registered 20 crosses during the game, whereas the Flingeraners successfully logged 16 crosses throughout the opening day Bundesliga contest against Florian Kohfeldt’s side.
SV Werder Bremen’s next seven 2019/2020 Bundesliga season fixtures meanwhile are against: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (Away- August 24), FC Augsburg (Home – September 1), 1. FC Union Berlin (Away – September 14), RB Leipzig (Home – September 21), Borussia Dortmund (Away – September 28), Eintracht Frankfurt (Away – October 5) and Hertha Berlin (Away – October 19).
SV Werder Bremen currently sits fifteenth in the Bundesliga one game into the new 2019/2020 Bundesliga campaign. 1. FSV Mainz 05, FC Augsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin presently stand sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth respectively after one match this season in the Bundesliga. With a maximum of 21 points available in the next seven Bundesliga matches for SV Werder Bremen, Die Grün-Weißen invariably gears to essentially rectify their opening day 3-1 loss against Fortuna Düsseldorf and maintain continuity and consistency in the coming months leading up to the winter break.
Prior to SV Werder Bremen’s much-awaited Bundesliga clash against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim this Saturday at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena in Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg, FOX Sports Radio 96.9 FM/1340 AM’s Dean Perretta briefly caught up with SV Werder Bremen and USMNT star, Josh Sargent, to briefly discuss the expectations and targets of Die Grün-Weißen, the authority and demands of Florian Kohfeldt, coupled alongside Sargent’s thoughts on SV Werder Bremen narrowly missing out on the UEFA Europa League last season.
Dean Perretta: Josh, can you touch on the mandatory expectations and ambitions this season at SV Werder Bremen and, of course, your thoughts on the games throughout the opening month of the Bundesliga season?
Josh Sargent: We were pretty upset when we didn’t reach our goal of Europa League last season, so I know that we will definitely be pushing for that (qualification spot) this year. We have some tough matches to start out (in the new Bundesliga season), and I think it’s important to get some points in these first few games.
Dean Perretta: Die Grün-Weißen narrowly missed out on a UEFA Europa League spot last season in the Bundesliga. With that being said, can you talk about pre-season and how the intensified technical and physical preparations have pushed the squad to further improve in the 2019/2020 season?
Josh Sargent: We are all very motivated and hungry this season (to succeed), and the preparation (throughout our pre-season) was very good for us and now we’re ready to go (this time around).
Dean Perretta: Can you touch on Florian Kohfeldt and his the authority and leadership which he commands and exudes amongst the SV Werder Bremen players?
Josh Sargent: He is a very good coach and knows what he’s doing. He is hard on us sometimes (with regards to demands) but only because he wants the best for us (as players).
Dean Perretta: Can you talk about your education as a professional and what you’ve learned in particular from teammate Claudio Pizarro with regards to his longevity, preparational training and duties as a leader in the team?
Josh Sargent: It’s still only my second season as a professional (here in Germany with Werder Bremen), so there’s still so much to learn (when competing in the Bundesliga). It’s nice to have a guy like (Claudio) Pizarro around (the squad), he sets a great example (for players). You can see how important the little things are (with him). I mean, there’s a reason he can play for so long.
Dean Perretta: Lastly, SV Werder Bremen’s have finished in the top ten in the Bundelisga on six occasions throughout the course of the last ten years with the last domestic trophy being the DFB-Pokal back in 2009. However, outside of the Bundesliga, what would it mean to win a domestic cup, such as, the DFB-Pokal in the coming season?
Josh Sargent: It would of course be amazing to win the Pokal. We will take it one game at a time (this season) and give it our all to try and win it.
