Daniel Thioune’s Werder Bremen ended up losing their Bundesliga match against RB Leipzig yesterday, but there were still plenty of positives to take from a narrow loss against former head coach Ole Werner’s German Red Bulls. Thioune’s team – having won three of their last five Bundesliga fixtures – still remain four points above the relegation playoff place. Young striker Salim Musah (20) also became the sixth Werder player to score his first Bundesliga goal this season. Musah’s five young Werder colleagues have made important contributions too.
Musah is one of a cohort of young players who have helped keep this injury ravaged squad rise above the relegation fray. In a recent Get German Football News “Relegation Check” feature, this website predicted that Thioune’s team possessed enough talent and momentum to extricate themselves from the race. Recent performances, and an easy enough remaining schedule, appear to render it likely that Thioune has beaten back the long odds he faced at the beginning of his appointment.
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Werder remain without a proven natural No. 9 on their squad. Midfielder Jens Stage (7 goals) remains the team’s leading goal-scorer. While German attacker Justin Njinmah has chipped in with a respectable five goals this season, the 25-year-old hasn’t been consistent in his unnatural role alone up top. Massive summer transfer bust Victor Boniface is surprisingly on track to make an improbable comeback, but still hasn’t scored a single goal in the colors of his Bundesliga club. Thanks to the modest contributions of the “Werder Six”, he may not need to.
Who are the Werder Bremen Six Scoring Debutants?
Leeds United loanee Isaac Schmidt (one goal), expensive summer purchase Samuel Mbangula (three goals), influential Stuttgart loanee Jovan Milosevic (three goals) all have interesting stories in their own right. Schmidt fought off injuries to help the team out at left back. Mbangula – a massive leverage budget-wise for the middle market club – has mostly been a flop while Milosevic arguably saved the embattled Werder administrative regime by producing timely goals since arriving in January. The Swiss, Belgian, and Serbian international have helped in important ways.
From a German perspective, however, Musah’s German colleagues are the most interesting stories. Defender Karim Coulibaly counts as one of Germany’s most exciting rising talents. Berlin-born attacking midfielder Patrice Covic still represents Croatia at youth level, but would be most welcome to feature for the country of his birth. Covic’s showcased his unique set of skills for Werder during this summer’s training camp. The 18-year-old finally got off the mark in Werder’s massive win over relegation rivals Union Berlin last month.
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Daniel Thioune speaks on Salim Musah
“We stood toe-to-toe with the opponent for much of the game,” Thioune remarked during his opening statement at yesterday’s post match press conference. “One can see that we can do a lot with a little. We were on equal footing for much of the first half and could have scored more goals. In the second half, Leipzig were more dominant and we couldn’t find a solution. Much to my chagrin, I had to make some early substitutions.
“I tried more with later substitutions as I had the feeling that we could shoot a goal and get the home supporters back on our side,” Thioune continued. “We finally did get the goal [Musah’s 1-2 at 90+4] thanks to the fact that we were responsible for getting the crowd back on our side. If we had managed that earlier, we would have gotten more out of it.
“I’m personally very happy about the decision to bring in a young striker [Musah in the 76th minute] who produced three scoring chances within a few minutes,” Thioune concluded. “The fact that his [Musah’s] third effort went in means he can rest easy tonight. We have some things to work on. If we do that well, we can get more out of the game next weekend in Köln.“
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“I don’t want to accuse any of my other players of not wanting it,” Thioune said in response to his first question of the press conference, which happened to be about Musa. “But you can see that Salim really wants it. We’ve given him a shot. He’s earned emergency deployments out of necessity. He’s stepped up and proven that he can deliver under pressure.
“He got something out of his efforts today and will continue to reap rewards in the future provided he keeps working at it,” Thioune continued. “He still missed a couple of good chances, but it’s simply fun to work with the lad. He’s an academy player who has developed here. I’m sure that he would still trade his debut Bundesliga goal for three points [from a win].“
“It’s conceivable that he might [get a start],” Thioune said in response to a later question. “It’s possible. I don’t think it’s about him playing from the start, but rather bringing him in during a stage of the match at which he can make an impact.“
GGFN | Peter Weis
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