The goal is clear – round the season off with three more points. SVW will welcome VfL Bochum to the wohninvest WESERSTADION on the final matchday of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CEST). After picking up a point in Leipzig, head coach Ole Werner stated that the Green-Whites want “to bring their A game and beat Bochum” in Thursday’s press conference.
Werder will be joined by some very special guests at wohninvest WESERSTADION for the final matchday of the season. The double-winning 2003/04 SVW side will reunite and watch the game against Bochum together this weekend. Icons like Johan Micoud, Aílton and head coach Thomas Schaaf will be in attendance at the match. When asked which of the legendary 03/04 side he would pick to bolster his SVW side, head coach Ole Werner opted for Werder’s former number 10. After noting that players would that double-winning team would improve any club in the league, Werner expressed his happiness that “the boys are operating at a good Bundesliga level” ahead of the final matchday of the season.
The focus now lies on the present and the chance “to turn a good season into a very good one,” explained Werder’s head coach. Bochum aren’t just a side who are very trigger-happy – Saturday’s visitors also like to make the opposition get their hands dirty. The Green-Whites’ head coach stated that he’s expecting a similar game to the reverse fixture earlier this season. “If you watch a lot of Bochum games, you notice that it doesn’t look pretty when you play against them,” explained Werner. He went on to say that the goal is to accept the challenge head-on and come away with a victory.
If they win, the Green-Whites have the chance to jump up to eighth place and into the play-offs of the UEFA Conference League, provided that results around them go their way. Given that there is so much on the line, Michael Zetterer will start for the Green-Whites on Saturday, even though Werder’s first-choice keeper himself stated that he would have let teammate Jiri Pavlenka play in his place in the Czech international’s final game for the club. “We’ve got to start the players who will give us the best chance of winning,” explained Werner. It goes without saying that Pavlenka, Nick Woltemade and Christian Groß will all receive worthy send-offs regardless.
If Werner struggles to get to bed after the match on Saturday, the SVW fans will be happy, as the feelings of euphoria after a victory often entail a bad night’s sleep for Werder’s head coach. Werner described this exact scenario happening the night after his former club, Holstein Kiel, secured promotion to the Bundesliga. “I’m happy for the team and looking forward to our matches next year.”
????️ Ole Werner on the final day:
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) May 16, 2024
"We'll focus on ourselves in the first half. We'll still have a look at how things are shaping up elsewhere to gauge how we should play in the closing stages."#werder#svwbocpic.twitter.com/OyHgpvIwKC
