An eventful year of Bundesliga action has now come to an end, and SV Werder Bremen currently sit six points clear of the relegation zone in 13th place. Nevertheless, head coach Ole Werner admitted in the end-of-year interview that the past twelve months could have gone better in terms of the number of points collected by Green-Whites and their inconsistent performances. We’re using the time between Christmas and the New Year to take a look back on the best stats, dates and facts from 2023.
Most goal contributions: Marvin Ducksch will certainly hold the year 2023 close to his heart due to his success on the pitch. The 29-year-old was in excellent form throughout the 12 months and was involved in 24 of Werder’s goals, scoring 16 and assisting another eight.Ducksch’s consistent performances and impressive goal tally caught the attention of the national team, and he made his Germany debutagainst Turkey in November. Werder’s number 7 also broke personal records this year, bagging his first brace in the away fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach in March before proceeding to score his first Bundesliga hat-trick in SVW’s 4-2 win over Hertha BSC a month later.
Putting in the hard yards: Over the year 2023, the Green-Whites covered a total of 4,080 kilometres in their Bundesliga fixtures, which is approximately the distance from Bremen to Madrid and back again.Jens Stage contributed the most to this number, racking up a total of 343.8km over the 12 months, closely followed by defender Anthony Jung (329.1km).
SVW’s key men: With 2,833 minutes of playing time under his belt, Marvin Ducksch spent the most time on the pitch for Green-Whites in 2023.Anthony Jung came in second place, sporting a Werder shirt for a total of 2,689 minutes over the year. In the current season, Mitchell Weiser (1,386), Jens Stage (1,350), and Marvin Ducksch (1,275) are the top three players in terms of game time, having consistently been in action for the Green-Whites over all 16 Bundesliga fixtures so far.
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— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) November 18, 2023
Congratulations to Duckschi on making his first international appearance tonight ????????#werder#gerturpic.twitter.com/kRcccRX1P8
Captain Friedl leads the way: Defenders are vital part of any team’s build-up play, so it is hardly a surprise that Marco Friedl has had the most touches on the ball for SVW this year (1,897). Anthony Jung once again came in second with 1,890 touches over the 12 months, 948 of which have been during the current season, the highest number of any Werder player. The fact that Romano Schmid is in fourth place with 800 touches is evidence of the Austrian's strong season so far.
Young talent: Fabio Chiarodia made his first appearances at the age of 17 against Bochum in February and went on to play against Borussia Mönchengladbach in March. It was the youngster’s first Bundesliga start and he would go on to join the Foals in the summer. Leon Opitz followed in Chiarodia’s footsteps by impressing in pre-season and making brief cameo appearances in the home games against Bayern and Mainz. The youth international is currently out injured due to a ruptured ankle ligament.
The veteran: Christian Groß, who is more than 16 years older than Leon Opitz, is once again the oldest player in Werder’s squad. The 34-year-old, who returned to the starting XI in the 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig, is held in high regard by his head coach. “Grosso has worked hard for everything that he’s experienced in football and sets an example in the changing room,” said Ole Werner after the Leipzig game. “He was written off a thousand times but has nevertheless remained a key member of the squad - that’s impressive.” Werder’s number 28 naturally featured when SVW fielded their oldest starting eleven of this season which had an average age of 28.8 years old.
