A good start to the season can suddenly spark title dreams for promoted teams like 1. FC Köln – while a poor start can quickly lead to chaos and fears of relegation. And that’s despite the fact that the season is much longer than just the first few matchdays, and things often look very different in the end. That’s why many agree: we can spare ourselves looking at the league table in the first few matchdays, or at least not use it as a basis for assessment. The same applies to the work of many coaches: unless there is enormous pressure like at Bayer Leverkusen in the opening matchdays, clubs usually give new coaches time to develop the team and implement their playing philosophy.
This is also what Bremen’s new coach Horst Steffen hopes for. “After eight or ten matchdays, you can take a look at how the start went. After ten matchdays, you can ask me,” the coach was quoted as saying by ‘Bild’ regarding his assessment of the start to the season. Ten matchdays – that would be after the game against Wolfsburg on November 7, when almost 30 percent of the matches will have been played.
Currently, Werder sits in 16th place with just one point from two games and is already out of the cup. For Steffen, there’s no reason to worry. In addition to the numerous new signings who still need to settle in at Bremen, there’s also a long injury list along the Weser. He also cited anecdotal evidence in his conversation with ‘Bild’: “I was once bottom of the table after the third matchday and ended up getting promoted.” Back then, he was coach at Elversberg in the Regionalliga Südwest – and we all know how that story ended. This afternoon, Steffen’s team will play their third Bundesliga match of the season – away at Gladbach at 5:30 p.m. Maybe that’s where the foundation will be laid for what will stand as the result of Steffen’s work after ten matchdays.
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