“A challenging year”

Florian Kohfeldt looks back on a tough 2020

Tough challenges have not been in short supply for Florian Kohfeldt and Werder this year (photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Tuesday, 29.12.2020 / 17:42

2020 has been a year that no one could have expected beforehand. On 4th February 2020, Florian Kohfeldt and the Werder Bremen players were celebrating wildly with fans in a sold-out wohninvest WESERSTADION after the 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal. Less than two months later, everyday life had come to a standstill, with the Bundesliga no exception to this. “It’s been a challenging year, there’s no doubt about that,” says the head coach of Werder as he remembers the year gone by. But although it demanded a lot both from him and from the club as a whole, he emphasises one thing very clearly: “We’ve made a lot of great memories again this year.”

Just like for everyone else, life turned upside down for Florian Kohfeldt and Werder Bremen in March earlier this year. “Lockdown, individual training for months, completely new rules and regulations for the dressing room and on matchday,” lists the 38-year-old head coach as he looks back on the previously unimaginable changes to everyday life at Werder. “It’s been a case of constantly adapting to whatever is thrown at us and trying to adjust as best we can,” he continues. While the same rules have applied to all 18 clubs in Germany’s top tier of football, Werder faced the added demands of a relegation battle on top of the pandemic. “It was by far the most exhausting thing I've had to face in my career so far,” remembers Kohfeldt. “Of course, there were days that were very tough and that hurt. Even after all of the challenges of this year though, I can say without a doubt that I love what I do and consider it an absolute privilege to be the coach of Werder Bremen.”

Pure relief from Kohfeldt and his team after the relegation playoff against Heidenheim (photo: nordphoto).

Though 2020 has been a bit of a rocky road for Werder fans, the Green-White family stuck together when it mattered most. “Everyone at the club suffered together, but we’ve also had good moments where we’ve all been able to celebrate,” says Kohfeldt. Werder’s head coach is keen to look on the bright side as he remembers the year that’s gone by: “Sometimes it’s the case that when the challenge is particularly difficult, overcoming it is an unbelievable memory that really sticks with you.” The 38-year-old has the final few days of the battle against relegation in mind when he says this. “I’ll remember those days in June for the rest of my life. Experiences like that are very important to keep in mind and take with you as you develop as a manager,” Kohfeldt explains.

However, one thing from 2020 that Kohfeldt cannot take a positive view of is playing in front of an empty stadium. “It’s a situation I’ll never get used to, nor would I want to,” emphasises Werder’s coach, adding “It’s just really tough to not be able to get together with people, both in terms of football and normal life as well.” It’s no surprise then that his main wish for 2021 is to be able to return to normality, so that Werder are able to play in front of fans and celebrate together at the wohninvest WESERSTADION again.

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