What On Earth Is Going On At Werder Bremen?

[@daniel_361]

You could do a whole video on the collapse of the entire German upper middle class. Bremen, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Schalke together won 21 national championships (Bremen and Stuttgart as recently as 2004 and 2007) and all were relegated within the same short time frame of just five years and for very similar reasons.

[@villek3722]

Its so sad to see these legendary German clubs falling😔

[@aurelinho0075]

Not to mention, their historical performance in European football. Hamburg, champions league winners, cup winner's cup winners Werder Bremen, cup winners cup winners. Schalke 04, Europa League. It's a heartbreaking that these giants are now in second division.

[@12345Yeah]

Ni

[@thefather5765]

Yeah but we also see the rise of Hoffenheim, Leipzig, Gadlbach or even Wolfsburg

[@filux7329]

Could also add Nuremberg and Kaiserslautern, they won 13 championships combined

[@j.lucasuniversity8694]

Brazilian here. Werder is my favorite team in Germany. Klose, Frings, Naldo, Klasnic, Diego, Baumann... Good times. I hope Bremen will rise again! 🇧🇷❤️🇩🇪

[@hitv7191]

Ailton,Diego,Naldo 💚🤝🏼🇧🇷

[@MonTube2006]

...Pizarro

[@KLHK1981]

Cruel fact - wont rise . Even Bremen manage to scout a good talent abroad and shine in bundesliga, next season will go to bayern

[@InEx945]

The main reason for the downfall: a clueless manager Frank Baumann and a chairman Marco Bode who doesn't have the guts to get rid of him, because they were former teammates.

[@GaminGusTav]

its all nepotism nowadays, not just in football.

[@InEx945]

@JAIVIR SINGH MALIK In Germany we say manager to the sporting director. Baumann is the one in charge of hiring and selling players. I didn't translater properly. Kohfeld was the coach and made some errors himself. But in the broader picture it was Baumann who made us worse by making bad transfer decisions in my opinion.

[@DerdiedasBlue]

@@InEx945 Kohfeldt played a part in those, too. I feel like Baumann is not really the one making the decisions, just carrying out decisions that have been made for him. That worked as long as Tim Steidten was in charge of assembling the squad and players like Delaney, Augustinsson, Gnabry, Kruse came in. But Kohfeldt, while a likeable, down to earth guy with some good theoretical knowledge, had some horrible player judgement, overestimating certain players that only worked because Kruse made the attack tick and pushing for nonsensical transfers like the one of Leo Bittencourt, who never fit the squad's playing style. That plus the deteriorating work of the scouting department, briefly headed by another do-nothing ex-player Clemens Fritz (who was demoted at the start of the season for being so bad at his job, even his Werder buddies were fed up), led to the fall from grace since 2019 - a time when cashing in on assets like Rashica and Eggestein plus smart recruitment to replace them could've transformed Bremen into a Europa League contender. However, the downward spiral never really stopped since the later Allofs years.

[@Rayray18999]

Dont forget buddy fritz

[@mr.talldarkandhandsome4111]

Vote the chairman out then, you have 50+1.

[@johnmitchell2269]

I remember when they had two giants in the middle of defence with Per Merteseker and Naldo. Tim Borowski and Torsten Frings in midfield and the superb Diego.

[@mikejackson1003]

Loved Diego! Still playing for Fluminense or someone similar in Brazil

[@RevanSurik]

@@mikejackson1003 He plays for Flamengo lol Fluminense is Flamengo's arch-rivals. Diego is not in top form any more (he's 36 already), but still puts up some classy performances, and has been a key player in that which is one of Flamengo's most victorious eras (2019 onwards).

[@yannick245]

@@RevanSurik Does anyone remember his goal against Barcelona with Atletico? What a hammer! _kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXzLdY2ajpmZm6-T

[@aasemahsan]

Absolutely love these documentary style videos. The amount of information presented in these are simply mind-boggling. It's truly fascinating to learn about. For someone who loves history & loves football like me, these videos are gold mines. Thanks for the amazing work, Alfie!

[@HITCSevens]

Thanks Aasem, very kind of you & I'm glad you enjoy them.

[@DisasterArtist1997]

Klose, Micoud, Ailton, Klasnic...those were the times when i was a little kid watching football for the first time

[@thedoc225ify]

They had a striker from New Zealand called Winton Rufer. I don't know the stats but it looked liked he scored as often as Lewandowski (obviously not) but I always liked watching him

[@roryslaine7896]

I know he's a bit of a joke now because of his time at Arsenal but Per Mertesacker was also solid asf for Bremen. They had Torsten Frings for a while too, didn't they? Edit: just got to the bit in the video where me mentions all those players haha.

[@PassivesAbseits]

The real problem is the complacency of Frank Baumann. Let me explain: Baumann treated the Coach Florian Kohfeld as the next Schaaf or Rehagel after that 2018/19 season, even though all he did was... failing to qualify for the international competition. Baumann never understood, that the great offensive season was mostly due to Max Kruse's ambition to get an offer from a Champions League participant. And yes, Kruse is secretly that good, if he is motivated. Yet, Baumann thought, it was all Kohfeld. Even the awful Relegation Play Off Season couldn't change his mind. Instead of firing Kohfeld, he was still "he is such a great coach, who had this awesome season"... even though it was only awesome, if you really lack the ambition to compete for higher goals. This whole "we lower our ambition" led to an inevitable relegation. If it hadn't happen last season, it would have happened next season. And this year, Baumann will celebrate failing to get promoted as a "stabilizing season" and a step in the right decision. Until 10 years from now, they celebrate finishing 10th in the 2nd league...

[@Drigallski]

the other problem actually started with Schaaf. Schaaf was the same as Kohfeldt, but Schaaf actually had coaching skills. Schaaf was fired waaayyy too late, as they kept him even tho Bremen was steadily declining since 2010, but no one had the balls to fire him. Im not saying that Schaaf wasnt a good coach, but they let him stay when he was way beyond his prime. Also Kohfeldt sucks and probably no team will ever sign him again

[@aidygooner]

The first time I got into the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen won the double in 2004. 😮 In that decade teams like Schalke, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Dortmund and Leverkusen would actually make Bayern Munich sweat for the title and even stop Bayern winning. So sad how German football has become beyond monopolised in the last decade. 😢

[@auranewaters9574]

They wont win the league this year. Nagelsmann is a fraud

[@vanlandings7466]

@@auranewaters9574 Despite Nagelesman s appointment, Bayern are still huge favourites to win the league. They have too much money to spend compared to rest of the league. They can just go out and fork 80 million on a leftback who doesn't even get in their starting eleven while there are some clubs who can't even afford a five million transfer. Bundesliga really needs a better television revenue distribution.

[@ivailobumbovski4286]

@@vanlandings7466 Bayern have the budget like a top 4 premier league team and their closest rival have a budget like everton or west ham bundesliga is just a one team league for the past 45 years

[@aidygooner]

@@ivailobumbovski4286 even Everton have splashed the cash in recent years and wasted money unlike the Bundesliga clubs who don't make signings costing tens of millions. At the same time we cannot disrespect how authentically Bayern Munich have grown into world giants because before the Bundesliga era they weren't big at all. I just wish Dortmund didn't bottle the title in Lucien Favre's first year as Marco Reus' loyalty deserves a league title or a club like Hertha Berlin from an elite city would behave like an elite football club with resources to challenge Bayern.

[@bricktop.]

HITC Sevens: here's my video o worked hard on. Comments section: " do which Ugandan 3rd division under 23 2nd XI player lives furthest from the training ground"

[@Raheem_925]

😂😂😂👍🏻

[@moritz1317]

As a life-long Bremen Fan this is just heartbreaking to see... still a great video! I really hope Baumann will be sacked soon, so we can return to our identity as a offensive playing Top Team in the Bundesliga.

[@NiSiochainGanSaoirse]

You're not ENTITLED to top level football mate...

[@Rayray18999]

We need money for that, and baumann likes to remind us that we dont have cash fairly regularly like the clown he is

[@ja1295]

@@NiSiochainGanSaoirse he didnt say they were lmao just wants his club back to their top flight best

[@aidygooner]

I miss seeing a competitive Werder Bremen side that qualified for Europe and reached Cup finals. Hopefully many other of Germany's big clubs rise up again soon as it's really needed for German football.

[@yellowsyellows9150]

What are your thoughts on Rashica?

[@StAtIc__5]

Yes. I have been waiting a long time for this. As a Werder Bremen fan myself, your research and information is very accurate. I cannot disagree with anything you have provided. Thank you so much Alfie for your hard work, time and effort to making this video. I appreciate it 👏

[@Alex-cm7hr]

Do you think you can win the second division this season? Schalke seem to be in much worse shape. Losing Sargent isn’t great though.

[@bananajoe4233]

@@Alex-cm7hrFirst 3 games weren't promising (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss) and we still have to sell players and it doesn't look like we can afford new players so personally I am not very optimistic at this point but only the future can tell

[@Alex-cm7hr]

@@bananajoe4233 maybe being out the Pokal will allow them to focus on the league.

[@bananajoe4233]

@@Alex-cm7hr It still sucks because of the money that we lose

[@StAtIc__5]

@@Alex-cm7hr - hey. Honestly it’s really difficult to say right now. Werder needs to do something they haven’t done for a long time as a team. Be Consistent. I don’t expect Werder to win 2. Bundesliga, but IF by some miracle they do finish 1st or 2nd or at the very least go into the playoffs by finishing 3rd and get through it, then anything is possible. Right now, i will wait to see what happens in the future 🤷‍♂️

[@mikeoxlong246]

I can't believe you actually made it. Can't wait to hear your take on it. Thank you Alfie. 🤩

[@MarkWTK]

hehe it's a spicy and interesting topic. are you a Bremen supporter?

[@mikeoxlong246]

@@MarkWTK sadly yes 😓

[@panagiotishadjipierou5841]

I think you could do a "rise and fall of APOEL FC" if you can get enough info, the club with the most trophies in Cyprus, most successful cypriot club in Europe, with enormous amounts of money coming in from revenue but ultimately wrongly used by the sketchy president who is taking money out of the club whenever he can, and sliding down the table at the moment

[@12345Yeah]

No

[@eeeeewewew]

Please do this! Very interesting story

[@mayukhdatta4017]

Haven't had a very big fall from grace just yet. More like a really bad patch prolonging for now.

[@someguynamedmike4766]

CL quarters in 2013 as well wasn't it?

[@panagiotishadjipierou5841]

@@someguynamedmike4766 yeah in 2012 actually

[@Ash-vm6vy]

I think you should do a "The rise and fall of Sheffield Wednesday". Obviously they used to be (and still are) a big club with a lot of problems. There's probably a few clubs you could do this with in League One also.

[@semvisscher6419]

Oploo Sint Maarten en ik ga er maar ik ga er maar een jaartje of the Netherlands in t temak

[@12345Yeah]

Ni

[@12345Yeah]

No

[@stephenlynch6389]

"And still are" haha thanks mate need a good laugh 😂😂😂

[@Ash-vm6vy]

@@stephenlynch6389 they are a big club. A big club for me doesn't have to be in the top flight.

[@powermetalbard]

Best wishes to Werder. A great club with even greater fans. Hope to see you back in the Bundesliga soon! Respect from Aalborg BK, Denmark💪🏻🔴⚪️

[@TheArjunSingh_]

Hopefully over the summer you could do another video on schalke and werder describing the changes that allowed them to bounce back and what their hopes and chances are in the future

[@corvus2512]

I dont know why, since i knew both players played for Bremen, but wow... KDB AND Ozil? Bremen churned out two of the best midfielders seen in the last decade.... well done

[@Leberschaden603]

Don’t forget Diego and Micoud at their prime.

[@Rayray18999]

@@Leberschaden603 i wish i could go back in time just to watch diego play for bremen again...good times,good times.....

[@nicholasmeadowcroft7]

Just remember De Bruyne was on loan and already very promising after signing for Chelsea and ozil was born and raised at Schalke before he joined Bremen

[@thefebo8987]

@@nicholasmeadowcroft7 it was de Bruynes first year in a top5 league. very important year for him. market value went from 8Mio to 22Mio. Özil was a raw talent (bought for only 5Mio) with potential but not ready for a big club. other then de bruyne Werder made Özil how we know him. he was one of the best Bundesliga players after some time there, played for the national team and many big clubs like Real got interested.

[@thefebo8987]

don't forget Gnabry

[@tf5493]

22:00 as an Augsburg fan (we could also have gone down if we lost our last two games) I was a nervy wreck during that match, luckily we survived in the end🔴🟢⚪ brilliant video Alfie, your knowledge of German football is quite astounding!

[@Ash-vm6vy]

His knowledge of all football is astounding. Quite incredible.

[@gardeningniceperson]

Augsburg is small club tho. Augsburg going down is much less of an event as Werder doing so. At the end it wouldn't have been more expected or fair if Augsburg would have been relegated, but much less "spectacular".

[@tayfun8975]

As a Werder supporter I have to say this was heartbreaking quality content, thank you Alfie !

[@fl9975]

As an Augsburg supporter, I hope we shall see us again next season in the first division

[@Luiser27]

As a Werder fan it was painful to watch this, still great video!

[@uselessDM]

I think one turning point really was the signing of Carlos Alberto. He cost 7,5 million, which doesn't sound a lot, even for back then, but his failure at Bremen really put a huge dent in the club financially and on the sporting side especially. Wesley was a similar story a couple years later.

[@Mudaro222]

You know more about my club than me 😳 great video!

[@marten0303]

Nice vid and very good research. Makes me sad and thinking everytime I remember the good old days in Champions League and Europa League. From chasing Bayern and winning cups to playing window cleaners in the 2nd tier all inside 15 years... But we will be back. Sometime.

[@TobyLerone-yn3rr]

Not blowing smoke but these mini docs really deserve to be behind a pay wall.l absolutely love them.

[@12345Yeah]

No

[@lordhenry3383]

Great to see my favorite club getting that thorough HITC treatment! I think you did a phenomenal job! A few remarks though: I was surprised to note that you didn't mention the acquisition of Carlos Alberto, who for many Werder supporters is the ultimate embodiment of the failed transfer policies during the late Schaaf/Allofs era. Alberto came from Portugal promised to be the next superstar and the replacement for Miroslav Klose who went to Bayern. Alberto won the Champions League with Porto and even scored the opening goal in the UCL final against Monaco. However, he played only 2 Bundesliga games and was never able to make any contribution whatsoever. At the time, it was believed Thomas Schaaf was a master in handling "difficult" players with unorthodox characters. In reality, though, this has not proven to be true (see Arnautovic, Elia, Alberto...). On top of failed transfer market business, Werder Bremen struggled with a disastrous stadium expansion. In the wake of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Bremen was promised to be one of the tournament venues. With that, substantial federal money for stadium improvements would have been allocated. You can still see this in Leipzig, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hannover, or Cologne where modern stadiums have been built for clubs far from the top of German football. Bremen was snubbed at the last minute, the stadium modernization went underway anyway. This endeavor is a story in itself, local residents filing lawsuits against the planned expansion, keeping the capacity well below the original proposal, steel prices that rocketed, ever increasing expenses for flooding protection (the stadium is built on a small island on the Weser river), the relocation of the local tennis club and swimming pool, and many issues more lead to an explosion in costs. Werder is still paying for a stadium modernization that is barely up to modern standards now and cost more than completely new constructions elsewhere. If that wasn't enough, the most recent success of Werder Bremen came RIGHT before the absurd money influx into modern football we have seen over the last maybe 10 years. Werder played 7 consecutive years of international football up to the 2009/10 season, earning good money in the Champions League, sure, but not to the obscene extent we're seeing now. This parallels the inflation of transfer fees that Werder was just missing out on. Özil went for 16 million pounds to Real Madrid. Unbelievably cheap in today's standards. So, Werder's decline coincided with other teams earning significantly more, making the competition that much harder and putting much more pressure on the sporting decisions at the time. Combined with the failed stadium expansion you can see that the risks necessary to be taken to compete ultimately were too high. Now, with the Youth Center still existing only on paper, with all sporting decisions in the hands of former players who seem to lack that last bit of professionalism and no creative scouting approach to be found...the future is anything but bright for Werder Bremen.

[@frankunodostres473]

I got a video idea for you: 7 most misleading debuts. examples: - thiago silva for chelsea vs west brom: absolutely atrocious performance, conceding 3 goals. went on to have a world class season - kevin quevedo for alianza lima vs juan aurich: scored 4 goals on his debut but then never scoring again for the rest of the season

[@peteredeoghon6457]

Great idea

[@MjolnirMarks]

Good thinking

[@yehbytheway2297]

Really enjoy these mini documentaries. Thanks.

[@roanfloermartinez1097]

Keep the bundesliga content coming!! There’s not a lot of English language videos talking about it and it’s probably the third most supported league globally.

[@flo3381]

Thank you Alfie for making this video! As a Werder fan, I really enjoyed! I think Werder will play a least one or two seasons in the second Bundesliga, however the financial situation will make it super hard to return, so a lot of work has to be done

[@Plinfastudios]

I don't think they can play less than one season😂

[@doctort434]

I remember their Bundesliga title in 2004, they played some mesmerising stuff, klasnic, Diego, micoud, ailton, Bauman

[@pascalplenge1882]

Deserved that Relegation like none else. Worked for that for years.

[@DivMuzza]

Got a Werder top as a gift one year. Roughly 2004. Had a soft spot for them ever since. Still pick up one of their shirts every few seasons.

[@KetchupGuzzler]

Good summary on how mismanagement, a bad transfer policy where big bucks are spent on injury prone/ lackluster players and where one season wonders/ talented young players in peak form aren't sold for a huge profit but instead let go for free or on the cheap side and how a lack of communication from the club to the fans and to the team can have catastrophic consequences on a well established first division side with a lot of tradition.

[@bentarbuck6161]

one of the best series on youtube and im sure theres no shortage of candidates for this

[@mohammadtaha4523]

Man, Werder would be an amazing FM22 save.a fallen giant of some sort. You can try and get promoted immediately then slowly but surely challenge BVB and FCB

[@bradthelad828]

Werder Bremen remind me a lot of Southampton. The great players they have grown and developed and had a good identity close to European places. Werder have Ozil, De Bruyne, Gnabry, Mertesacker. Southampton have had Shaw, Clyne, Lallana, Oxlade Chamberlain, Chambers I know Southampton haven’t been relegated but they’ve had those incredibly low moments the 9-0 games.

[@EchnatonOne]

I love the way you pronounce Bremen. It sounds a bit like Plattdeutsch, the accent spoken in this region

[@timothyhurkmans7251]

Thank you very much for this great video. As a fan of the club this hurts a lot but that is the reality of the business. If you do a bad job for years you’ll feel the consequences sooner or later and that has now happened.

[@hiltibrant1976]

I really enjoy these club history lessons. Makes one appreciate how far some of these clubs have fallen, and just how integral they once were to their respective leagues.

[@coloradocrustaceans]

“Couldn’t hit a cow’s ass with a banjo” never heard anything more true 😹😹😹

[@jairmorales2017]

As Peruvian, it’s mind blowing how good Pizarro was in the bundesliga. It’s also mind blowing how shit he was for the national team.

[@BattleGhul]

OMG, thank you for this. Childhood Werder fan here. The breakdown of their terrible transfer business ever since the turn of the decade (letting literally all their good players go and not effectively replacing them) is exactly my thoughts on how their downfall happened, and also the reason I stopped following their games for the most part (although I am still happy for them when they do well, as rare as that is nowadays)

[@choppa3358]

If you wanna do a similar video on their main rival, Hamburger SV, i could answer a lot of your questions as they are my home team. Loving the video, cheers

[@rhysjackson2597]

Jahn Regensburg are my German team, having done of those 'mystery football shirt' things last year and being given a Jahnelf shirt. I'll be interested to see how they get on against Werder this season, could also throw in some upsets!

[@tf5493]

I'm amazed to see a fellow Jahn-Fan at a HITC video!🔴⚪ Do you like the kit you got?

[@rhysjackson2597]

@@tf5493 it is great! I have the 3rd kit from 2018-19, I may buy the 2021-22 shirt later this year and already making plans to go to see the Jahnelf either this season or next season subject to COVID 😁

[@ottocooper4256]

I grew up in England but am half Bavarian! My mum is from a village called Pfatter near Regensburg. And Jahn are our family club :)

[@12345Yeah]

"fan" because you got a jersey 😂😂😂

[@tf5493]

@@rhysjackson2597 if you ever come to Regensburg I'd be more than happy to buy you a pint or two😁 I'll be in the stadium for the Schalke game next, that's gonna be one hell of giant-vs-underdog match😂

[@AskingAlexandria43]

I remember the days of torsten frings, per mertersacker, Tim wiese etc they were a good team. Gonna have to do a footy manager save now

[@BrunoSantos-li7jz]

I would like to hear your take on the Boavista case here in Portugal. Boavista is one of the only 2 clubs to break through the big 3 dominance and actually win a league title.

[@baliksupper6043]

These may be the best researched and most interesting vids about football on line.Well done and thank you.

[@Rayray18999]

Lifelong werder Fan here.... this will be tough to watch

[@koy4191]

On the one hand, I'm super excited that you made a video about my favourite club, but then again, I would've hoped it had been for a more positive reason... still a great video!

[@christopherhicks8107]

Excellent video. I wish 2. Bundesliga got more international love, tbh, I think 2nd Division football is the best, has a great balance of talent and sport. As a St. Pauli supporter, this season is most exciting.

[@lnhart7157]

The whole club is just run by incompetent former players. Incredible that this is still a thing in 2021.

[@Zevonfan524]

I love these videos. They are super informative & give me ideas for teams to do “Back to Glory” rebuilds on Fifa.

[@maxschmidt6533]

Love this video!! Bundesliga 2. Is gonna be cracking this season, the Championship doesn’t even compare

[@Ulkomaalainen]

Why? Just because of Bremen, Schalke, Hamburg, Nuremberg? Or the East German powerhouse of Dresden? Or last GDR champion Rostock? Or everybody's second favorite team St. Pauli? Okay, I kinda start to see your point.

[@n3rd25]

@@Ulkomaalainen I thought st pauli are super controversial?

[@Ulkomaalainen]

@@n3rd25 St. Pauli, having a distinctively left leaning fan base and very liberal policies, is widely despised by the far right fans, that is true. Also of course there is the local rivalry with Hamburg. But they are indeed quite popular outside of these two aspects. The other club who people may think of as "everybody's second team" - Freiburg, Bundesliga though so not relevant here - may have fewer detractors. But the broad "masses" are seeing St. Pauli in a positive light methinks. Definitely less controversial to the general public than the likes of Hoffenheim or Leipzig, Leverkusen or Wolfsburg.

[@bass8889]

Thanks for focusing on a really special team. Sad they are down in 2. Bundesliga

[@BeWe1510]

Small correction: Bayern missed out on the first two Bundesliga seasons. So Bremen was the sole record holder for the most Bundesliga seasons and should they be able to win promotion immediately they would still be co record holders

[@jochenklausberger9076]

I just can not get over the fact that you are pronouncing Bremen with a near perfect lower german accent. Congrats, even I can not pull that off :D

[@XXV_Flea333]

Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Schalke, Nurnberg, Dusseldorf. That's insane league right there. Sorry I forgot an East German giant, Hansa Rostock is back too.

[@depekthegreat359]

Werder Bremen are one of my favourite German clubs ever since I was a child and would watch almost all of their respective matches and even want to buy and wear their respective jerseys but they were not sold here,good friend!!!I am extremely so sad for their relegation to the second division of the German football but hoping for them to be promoted for the first time asking,good friends!!!

[@bumblethebeadle3504]

I love seeing the old and original (?) posed pics of the clubs. There's always like only 11 or 12 members shown. Players must have been super fit back in the day! Also, bring back the hats for goalies - they look sharp.

[@coloradocrustaceans]

OMG a HITC 7s video about Werder that makes me so happy!!! Thanks lads

[@rivet4431]

I love Bremen , a great city. I was lucky to live and work there for six months in 1980. Went to watch werder when ever they were at home.

[@sinful9347]

Never thought I'd see my team featured in a HITC video

[@Andrewjg_89]

They kind of reminds me of Plymouth Argyle, Yeovil Town, Celtic and other football clubs that have green kits and everything green. 💚💚

[@andi6879]

You start to question yourself when both your football clubs get what went wrong videos at HITC Sevens :D

[@mr093242]

Wow I make one comment about Werder on a video and this gets made! Truly the peoples' channel. From Werder's only Aussie fan (probably).

[@officialrobertcenox]

My favourite team in Germany Big hug from sporting portufal

[@coloradocrustaceans]

It’s so sad the way we’ve fallen from grace. FloKo and Baumi are a big part of this

[@mikexstad1121]

I love these Bundesliga documentaries. Often times the focus is too much on the premier league, which isn't particularly interesting or new. Your Schalke video is one of my favorites

[@dominicbraham3508]

This is an interesting video, but I am sitting with an eye-witness of the games against Napoli in 1989. He was in Naples and remembered that Werder won the game 3-2. We checked in the records and he was right! For a few seconds you had him doubting his own memory!!

[@fanis6dd]

One of these for Benfica would be amazing! great work Alfie!

[@samjenko]

The 14 Year Challenge sounds like a nice idea for a Football Manager save 👍

[@antlereddruid8359]

Pavlenka could also be a good transfer away since Zetterer and Kapino are quite good goalies especially at the second tier. So selling one of/the highest valued goalie in the german second tier when not needing him might be helpful.

[@LG-hf8ni]

Little funfact , here in germany we call Ailton the Kugelblitz : Ball lightning , because of his sheer speed that no one wouldve expected given his physique. Most people in germany that are interested in football love Ailton and he became a reality tv star here as well. Featuring in some shows on one of our TV Stations Pro7 , in events like : Schlag den Star (beat the star) , Ice Football , and iirc even stock car racing and Celebrity bob sliding

[@mrsd8401]

Superb work. You may well end up doing a video on Hertha this season if Jovetic doesn't make a fast start, and the club continues to be run so poorly off the pitch. Hoping for a better year for the Alte Dame #HaHoHe

[@timokarff6162]

From a fan's perspective I can understand it, but I think the deal of Hertha with rather dubious young entrepreneur Lars Windhorst - celebrated by Kohl in the 90s as a German proto-Zuckerberg, but a failed one who somehow stayed rich or got rich again(?) - is not what it looked to be. I picture Hertha BSC as rather the German Anzhi Makhachkala than the German Manchester City. If you understand German, this is the Wikipedia article about Lars Windhorst: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Windhorst

[@mrsd8401]

@@timokarff6162 thank you for sharing, I appreciate that. I remember the late 90s with Hertha qualifying for the Champions League (99/00). I think that was a time for the club to build, and they didn't. Since then, it's been a steady decline, bookmarked by two relegations. The stadium situation is particularly dire, as is the lack of effective sponsorship (a Berlin-based club could do more). Furthermore, the Olympiastadion is a fucking pain to get to (especially from the Neukölln area) and is not suited to the club's needs. There are a litany of problems. But I still don't know about Windhorst's background, and I struggle a bit with German, but I'm married to a Berliner. Dankeschön! :)

[@Mi-1990]

Great thank you. I called for this video. Thank you great job!

[@bmg_darby]

As a Bolton fan who supports Werder on the side, I'm seeing a few parallels between Werder right now and Bolton a few years ago. The directionless upper management basically stalled the club's progress since around 2013/14 and replacing mediocre managers with other mediocre managers while barely investing in the squad and selling the best players on. So now the squad is filled with subpar players that look like they aren't trying, just as we had with Bolton when we kept getting relegated. At least Bolton are making clear progress now.

[@deredelpenner]

You should do: the rise and fall and rise again of Borussia Mönchengladbach

[@eethkoth3343]

Yes!!!!!

[@manchestair]

You know you're club is in trouble when he makes a 'what on earth is goong in at' video 💚💚💚

[@HustlerHorstRuediger]

Well as a fan of Werder Bremen I was honestly wondering, when the first video Like this will be released. I am curious to hear your view on this. 💚

[@Drigallski]

you forgot Mainz as a Club that really rose up during those last Bremen games. Mainz stood at 7 points after half of the season and then came back with 32 (!) points in the second half

[@karlfriedmann5320]

they managed to pull of their worst and best half season ever in the same season. that is kind of impressive.

[@Drigallski]

@@karlfriedmann5320 yeah with a new coach as well. I know its silly, but also kind of impressive to think of, but if they had performed like this in both parts of the season, they wouldve played champions league

[@itsjared4845]

When you see that Derby, Schalke and Bremen have their kits supplied by Umbro. Then your team signs a new deal with them.... Gulp... 😂

[@lucasandino1280]

Great video, do one about Chievo Verona, who were recently regelated from serie B to serie D do to debts.

[@jamieleepurdy1280]

Am a Norwich fan and I can happily say thank you for the class signings of recent times

[@JK-ev2uw]

They will certainly help you in the Championship next year 😉

[@Roenick272]

Sargent and Rashica will become benchplayers😄

[@SkullSnax]

I’ve been a fan from afar for many years. They are my go to team for FIFA careers every year since 2009. One of the things that has always grated me is that they just kept selling their best players and not replacing them. Even years after that last great team, they keep selling their best players (even if they were only mediocre players by league standards) like Sokratis, Hunt, Arnautovic, Junuzovic, Sahin, Oztunali, Klaasen, Kruse, Delaney, Gnabry. Their turnover of players is too high. Never keeping enough quality to build around. They don’t even get good money for their best players. 12m for Rashica is a steal!

[@eleanorbrazier169]

would love a documentary style video about portsmouth

[@DBSG1976]

Ja, Werder Bremen ist Schlect! Seriously appreciate a look at these once mighty giants of the Bundesliga!

[@thefebo8987]

not a big surprise that traditional clubs leaving the league when you have new clubs like Red Bull Leipzig and TSG Hoffenheim. same will happening with other clubs like that, sooner or later. and there already happened to every other bundesliga club outside the financially top4 (Bayern, BVB, Wollfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.)

[@demareatunes]

this series is a gift

[@samkarl9124]

Will be very interested in hearing about a football rivalry you find very interesting. Historically and at present

[@zigaskof8813]

Do you remember our goalkeeper Tim Wiese tho? I loved watching him, he was my favorite. Absolute mad house he was. And all the others like Pizzaro, Ozil, Klose, Per, Diego, Ailton, Almeida, Fringz etc. we had some amazing players.

[@Bigboy-tm1rz]

Day 165 of saying you should make a video on how individuals become referees and make it to the pro level. I'm currently going through the ranks in the US and think it's more interesting, more difficult, and more complicated then people think.

[@BauhauF]

You should make a series where you look at clubs and tell them what they have to do to become Champions.

[@Samuel-vv3dw]

Great video, probably not popular but would love to see you cover St. Johnstone's cup double

[@patrickscottwalsh]

man, that shaaf really can put together a team.

[@DC.15]

I heard Werder Bremen were pretty relaxed as far as the competitions go, a peoples club that were punching up. Or at least have been in the last few decades.

[@AblemanSy]

Well, we went back up again immediately! But next year will a tough one!

[@tombardsley3081]

I think they can be competitive. If teams like Freiburg and Union Berlin can qualify for the Europa League then there is a chance at least to be mid table

[@mckenziecallahan5196]

Alfie, can we please get a "Rise and Fall of Portsmouth FC"? They're a club with a long history, 2 FA Cups, and a pretty tragic last 20 years or so until about 3 or 4 years ago

[@torbenbehmer8481]

Great video, as always. One aspect that I think deserves inclusion is the marked shift towards teams relying on outside money in the Bundesliga. Surely, the rise of teams like Leipzig, who have been phenomenal, and the seemingly endless stream of money flowing into clubs like Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, and Hertha (the latter two of which haven't been worth their money), has made it ever more difficult to achieve a top-5 ranking. If you start with the premise that teams like Leipzig, Bayern, and Dortmund will take up places 1-3 in the league, you're really just playing for places 4-18. The competition for 4th-6th is brutal, as it is elsewhere. But now you add artificial clubs with no need for real sporting success to fund future transfers, and coming in 6th is really becoming an amazing feat. There's a reason why sporting directors like Eberl of Moenchengladbach are hailed as amazing. Any of this is not to say that Bremen haven't been mismanaged. One more aspect I should mention as a fan of Bremen: If you grew up watching Bremen take home trophies in the 90s and 00s like I did, there's a certain level of expectation you have from your club. Those expectations are no longer attainable, but nonetheless, they make it such that any fan like myself will look at a Bremen-Mainz, Bremen-Augsburg, or Bremen-Bielefeld match and expect a drumming. When we can't even convincingly beat those teams, fans like myself grow unsatisfied. It also means we have to play a certain style of football, and can't park the bus for 90 minutes, like many Bundesliga teams do. A set pieces and counter-attack style doesn't work with fans who are used to winning. Kohfeldt actually seemed to have wanted to change it up and turn towards parking that bus, and counter, but perhaps that was far too late, and perhaps the team wasn't built for it. Anyways, I'd love to hear what your thoughts are!

[@fhlostonparaphrase]

I really like these docus focused on single clubs, whilst it might not be everyone's cup of tea, I quite enjoy long form :) One quip though; its WerdEr not WerdAr, that kinda grated on me :P

[@edwarburton]

Have to respect the amount of effort in these videos

[@fsaeuqwe]

I see a lot of people blaming Baumann playing defensive for Bremen's downfall , but I would rather blame it on our financial situation(we were a selling club for the whole decade) , and manager's failure to build a defense for us . when you look at our transfer since schaaf left at 2012, we deserve relegation nearly every single year . We never got any good defense ( I only look at the goals/assist the defender have to count them as a useful player or not , because every game you can see primary school level of defending ). Our Forward depends on 36-40 yrs old Pizarro . If Kruse didn't join us for two years , our whole decade would have been fighting the relegation battle . This was doomed to happened .