Werder can look back on a successful year, filled with several special moments. With 2022 drawing to a close, we take a look at some of the statistics from the past 12 months.
Werder can look back on a successful year, filled with several special moments. With 2022 drawing to a close, we take a look at some of the statistics from the past 12 months.
Ole Werner’s time at Werder had just begun, as he took to charge of his fourth game at the club back in January. Three games later, our head coach boasted a flawless record of seven games and seven wins. Although he was unable to match Otto Rehhagel’s record of eight wins from his first eight matches in charge, the run saw Werder climb up the table from seventh to fourth and then into third. Following matchday 23 — the first time that Werder dropped points under Werner — the Green-Whites still managed to move into top spot in Bundesliga 2.
However, the rest of the league was matching the Green-Whites step for step, ensuring a tense and thrilling title race. With two games left to play, five teams still had a chance to win direct promotion. Going into the final game of the season against Jahn Regensburg, Werder’s promotion was still up in the air. But, thanks in part to goal machines Marvin Ducksch and Niklas Füllkrug, SVW were able to make an immediate return to the top flight, just like in 1980. A total of 358 days had passed since their devastating relegation from Germany’s top tier.
Ducksch and Füllkrug in particular stood out in the second half of the campaign. Werder scored 33 goals in this timeframe, with 26 coming from the duo — an incredible return!
Upon returning to the Bundesliga for the 58th season in club history, the Green-Whites continued where they had left off. The highlight of the opening half to the season so far was the 3-2 win in Dortmund, where Werder became the first team to overturn a two-goal deficit and win from the 88th minute onwards. In their previous 7,221 matches, SVW had only managed to come back this late on to draw on five occasions.
The Green-Whites have proven they have the stamina to go the distance this term, having scored a league-high 11 goals in the final 15 minutes of their matches.
In addition to the duo of Ducksch & Füllkrug, Mitchell Weiser has also impressed with his performances this season. Having joined the club on a permanent move from Bayer 04 Leverkusen over the summer, the 28-year-old has found a rich vein of form. He has provided the most assists of any defender in the Bundesliga (6), and is in the top three for intensive runs and sprints in the division. Weiser has also won the fourth-most challenges of any player in the Bundesliga in 2022/23.
