New start amidst relegation battle: How Thioune is setting up the 'new' Werder

A new coach, fresh impetus – and yet the same worries. There’s an intriguing mix of cautious optimism and brutal reality at Werder Bremen at the moment. The club are mired in the relegation battle after 11 Bundesliga games without a win, but have now turned to a coach in Daniel Thioune who wants to impress with clear principles rather than big headlines. There was no great departure in the 1-0 defeat at Freiburg in his first match in charge, but between aggressive pressing, vertical risk in build-up and a reimagined role for the wide players, there were already signs of the direction he wants to take SVW in. Ahead of the meeting with FC Bayern on Saturday (15:30 CET), one question stands out in particular: just how dangerous is this Werder side, who are caught between their old insecurity and new ideas?

The palpable momentum following the change of coach at Werder Bremen has given way to a sober assessment of the situation for the time being. In the 1-0 defeat at Freiburg, Thioune deliberately opted for reliability over upheaval, making only one change to the starting line-up – Keke Topp replaced Samuel Mbangula in attack – and largely sticking to the same basic game plan. Bremen's play followed familiar patterns for long stretches, with the same approaches but also the familiar problems in the final third. “We have to reduce it to one-on-one,” Thioune said afterwards. “The difference was the sharpness in the penalty areas. The team has to learn that and do better.”

A look at the stats brings the situation into sharp focus: 11 league games without a win for Werder, who have registered just four victories in total this season – clearly well below their standards. The Green-Whites are currently in the play-off place, still within reach of mid-table but very much in the relegation battle. What’s striking is the discrepancy between effort and returns: Bremen have had 287 attempts on goal and 219 crosses in open play – putting them way out in front in both categories – but have only scored 22 goals. Only three teams have been less effective in front of the opposition goal. There are question marks physically too: Werder are also in 16th place when it comes to distance covered with 2,463 kilometres (Bayern in contrast are in first place with 2,597 kilometres), and they’re struggling in the air – just 320 aerial duels won also represent 16th position.

Thioune: Pragmatist with clear principles

Thioune came to Bremen with a reputation for consistently tailoring his playing style to the profile of his squad – and there was already a hint of that in his debut at Freiburg, even if there was no big bang. Instead of a complete break with style, the 51-year-old opted for a controlled start, leaving the five-man defence in place and mainly changing the roles within this structure. The 5-3-2 formation with Topp and Justin Njinmah up front and Romano Schmid in central midfield was less of a revolution than a cautious readjustment. Thioune sent a clear message: first stabilise the foundation, then work on the details. However, the structural weaknesses in the final third – a lack of presence in the penalty area, too little clarity in the final action – were also evident under him. The expected goals value of less than one is a clear indication of this.

At the same time, there was evidence of what kind of football philosophy he would like to implement at Werder in the future. Thioune thinks less in terms of static formations and more in terms of recurring principles: aggressiveness against the ball, courage in forward passing, high tempo after winning the ball. His previous stints had one thing in common: the formation was determined by the players' profiles, not the other way around. This makes him a pragmatist who focuses on his squad without abandoning his own guidelines. “If I can then fire up the team a little, that, combined with a few key points, is what the lads need,” he said.

Thioune is not scared of high-risk pressing, accepting that his team have to go long distances. Yet the match against Freiburg also revealed the flip side: the energy-intensive closing down can’t be sustained over 90 minutes. After about half an hour, the Bremen lines retreated deeper together, the pressing became more restrained and Freiburg found it easier to get into their own structures. His task is to balance intensity and compactness so that Werder defend consistently for 90 minutes and not just in phases.

With the ball, the new coach made his first adjustments without disrupting the familiar framework. The back five repeatedly gave way to a variable 4-3-3 formation in build-up. This fits in with Thioune's basic approach: he prefers football that looks to get forward quickly rather than circulating sideways for long periods. “My idea is to get to the goal quickly and play forward rather than wide – not with long balls, but with short passes,” said Thioune when he took up his post, clearly addressing the shortcomings: “We are not where we should be in the transition process because the window is a bit too big.”

One core principle is: first vertically, then horizontally. Whenever possible, the defence should play directly into the next line, letting the attackers give and go, with the central midfielders moving up – a vertical combination pattern designed to gain space with few contacts. Only when close to the goal is width sought in order to pull the opposition back line apart. In Bremen, this could change the role of the wingers in the long run: they should advance to the byline much more often instead of crossing early from the half-space. That would be a direct response to one of the biggest problems of recent weeks: lots of crosses but few clear scoring chances.

We saw the first outlines of this approach at Freiburg – for example, in the period after the hosts’ red card. Thioune disbanded the five-man defence, switched to a more attacking line and doubled up on both wings. Substitutes Mbangula and Felix Agu attacked down the left, Yukinari Sugawara and Marco Grüll constantly pushed forward on the right. Werder produced a huge number of crosses (43) from this shape, without finding the crucial breakthrough in the penalty area – a familiar pattern. The idea was right, but precision in the final third remains the big issue.

In his comments after the Freiburg game, it became clear that Thioune is thinking about the situation at Werder Bremen not only tactically, but also psychologically. The long run without a win is affecting the players' minds, as can be seen in their hesitancy when they have the numerical advantage, their lack of courage in their finishing and their uncertainty in the penalty area. “The most serious problem is the run of games without a win. That's affecting the lads,” conceded Thioune. When he talks about bringing an “empty rucksack” for the players to unload their baggage into, it's more than just a metaphor: Thioune wants to give an unsettled team not only new processes, but also a new feeling.

This includes sticking with the back three for the time being, but seeing it as a basis from which he can make adjustments. He emphasises that changes are possible and flexibility will be required – this also fits in with his image as a coach who prefers to focus on playing principles rather than rigid formations. The big challenge is to find the right mix of tactical clarity and emotional relief so that Werder can play with conviction in both boxes again.

Bayern vs. Werder: Lessons from last time

The first meeting with Bayern this season (4-0 from the record champions' perspective), while still under the management of Horst Steffen, nevertheless provides valuable insights into how Werder generally play against opponents of this calibre – and where opportunities may arise for the visitors from Munich. The North Germans defended for long periods with a 4-4-2 midfield press, which was heavily designed to keep the spaces in the centre tight. The two strikers stayed close together and tried to block the path to the central centre-back, while the two central midfielders made sure that Bayern's players could not turn unchallenged between the lines.

As the game went on, it was clear that Werder were struggling to control the positional switches and overloads in Bayern’s play. The German champions repeatedly staggered their positions with attacking players dropping in, midfielders dropping back and full-backs pushing up, creating numerical advantages in the half-space. Players such as Konrad Laimer, Tom Bischof and Serge Gnabry exploited the spaces in the number 10 zone, dropping back, drawing opponents out or sprinting from deep into the gaps.

Bremen with room for improvement in attack

With the ball, Werder's passes were often too inaccurate, the gaps in midfield were large, and there was a lack of support around the first player. As a result, Bremen's attacking play remained fragmented in many phases, while Bayern, for their part, took control with fresh energy and high intensity. In the end, it was a confident and deserved victory for FCB – and, from Bremen's point of view, the realisation that pure stability in midfield is not enough if there is a lack of precision in build-up play and purpose in the final third.

That’s exactly where Thioune wants to come in now, at this point between structure, bravery and efficiency, in order to form a lasting turnaround out of this cautious optimism. “Our aim for the match has to be to play in a way that doesn’t make it easy for Bayern,” said Thioune ahead of the clash with the league leaders. “The hurdle is obviously very high but it’s football, anything can happen.”

The facts on the meeting in Bremen: